Brooklyn Half Marathon 2019

Thursday 5/16
I took a late red eye flight out of Ontario Airport. Lately, I've been making it a point not to fly out of LAX. Once I arrived at the airport, I made my way into parking lot 5 which costs $11 per day. Unfortunately JetBlue flies out of terminal 2 and I didn't want to wait for the shuttle, so I hoofed it over. It was so much easier to get through TSA at this airport compared to LAX. During boarding, they had announced that it would be a very full flight. Fortunately for me, the center seat next to me was empty. Once we were in the air, I put in the earbuds and slept most of the way out to JFK.

Parking lot 5

Friday 5/17
The plane landed at JFK at about 8 am. From there, I took the AirTrain over to Jamaica Station. Thankfully I still had money on my MTA MetroCard, so I was able to skip the lines to use one of the kiosks. I made my way straight to the subway station to catch the E Train over to Manhattan.

Landed at JFK

I got off of the train at the 5th Ave station. Originally I was going to get breakfast at Connolly's, my usual spot. However I decided to mix things up as well as to save some money, so instead I ate at Chick-fil-A. I used the mobile app and ordered a chicken breakfast bowl meal. I used the code provided by the app to check-in on the tablet near the pick-up spot. When the food was brought out to me, it was a chicken burrito. Since the ingredients were pretty much the same thing, I didn't bother informing them of their error. The meal came with hash browns and a small cup of coffee. I found a seat at the bar to eat my breakfast.

Breakfast at Chick-fil-A

After finishing my breakfast, I walked over to the AMC Empire 25 to catch a movie. On this visit, I watched The Sun Is Also A Star. It was a nice movie to watch in New York City as a lot of the scenes were shot near where I usually stay at when I'm in town. It was kind of your typical story about love and destiny. Unfortunately the story was pretty half baked, disjointed, and just not very believable. I'm normally a sucker for a romantic film, but this one was just poorly executed.

Alex Morgan's Nike ad at 8th Ave and 42nd St

After the movie, I walked over to the nearby Jollibee at the corner of 8th Ave and 40th St. It was pretty small inside and the line to order was long. However they had a guy going through the line taking orders on an order sheet to help speed things up. Unfortunately they didn't have the palabok fiesta on their menu. The guy told me that it was because they didn't have a full sized kitchen at this location. Instead I went with their 1 pc Chickenjoy and spaghetti with pineapple juice. Once I got my order in and paid for the food, I was given a pager. When my food was ready, it was rather difficult locating a spot to eat my food. Fortunately a family at a small table was just ready to leave.

Limited menu at Jollibee

Chickenjoy!

1 pc Chickenjoy with spaghetti and pineapple juice

After I was done with my meal, I walked over to the Port Authority Bus Terminal to catch the first A/C Train heading downtown. I took that over to the High St Station in Brooklyn. From there I walked up to the race expo at the Brooklyn Bridge Park. It was drizzling a bit during my walk, but not enough for me to pull out my umbrella.

Brooklyn Bridge

They had the standard participant name wall at the entrance of the expo. I found my name before going inside. After being assigned a bib number and getting my race shirt, I went through the official merchandise and the rest of the expo.

Expo entrance

Found my name

Race shirt

Back of race shirt

Before leaving, I briefly checked out the pre-race celebration area. The rain was starting to come down a bit harder so I decided to bail and start heading out to the subway station.

Pre-race celebration area

I took the first A/C train uptown and got off at Fulton St Station. From there, I walked over to the nearby 7-Eleven to buy some water. I guess I was a bit tired as I had forgotten that the place that I was staying at for this trip provided complimentary filtered water.

Smartwater x2

After buying the water, I walked over to the Club Quarters Wall St to see if I could check into my room a bit early. I was able to check myself in via one of their kiosks. Unfortunately I was unable to use their mobile app on my phone instead of the traditional room key. It would've been very convenient to open my room with my phone and not have to carry one more thing with me.

Toiletries

After getting settled in, I took a shower and relaxed for a few hours before going back out to the nearby Chick-fil-A to pick up dinner. I used the mobile app to place my order before walking over. Thank goodness as there was an extremely long line to place an order. I used the code that was provided to me on the app to check-in on their tablet. I ordered a grilled chicken sandwich and waffle fries. Once the food was brought out to me, I took it back to my room to enjoy. Boy, those waffle fries were mighty good with their Chick-fil-A sauce!

Grilled chicken sandwich and waffle fries

I laid out my flat runner before calling it a night. It had rained the last 2 times that I've run this race, so it was nice not having to plan for a rainy race. I decided to wear the shirt from last weekend's race.

Flat runner

Saturday 5/18
Even though Prospect Park wasn't too far away, I still hate being late getting to places. I got ready early and caught the first 2/3 train from the Wall St station. I took that over to the Franklin Ave station. The entrance to the corrals was right there as I exited the subway station. The weather forecast for today was going to be very nice. Still there was a chill in the air, so I wrapped myself up in my mylar blanket. While waiting for the security check stations to open, I ended up talking to a fellow runner named Rafael. We talked a bit about doing the 9+1 program to secure a guaranteed spot for the NYC Marathon. He was a bit shocked when I told him that I was doing that program from the West Coast. We both agreed that it would be better to go through one of the charities as it would be much cheaper and charity runners have VIP access.

Once I went through the metal detectors, I headed inside my assigned corral to use one of the portapotties. After I was done, I headed over to my friend's corral to see if I could find her and say hi. Unfortunately I was not able to spot her before I headed back to my corral as it was starting to get crowded with runners everywhere.

Starting corral

Having run this race in the past 2 years, I knew that the first 7 miles had the hills followed by a nice long gentle downhill to the finish line at Coney Island. Both years that long downhill felt like it was slightly uphill. This year I was hoping that it would feel easier, but once again I struggled from about mile 8 to the finish line. This year the problem might have been that the weather was too nice. It got a bit warm during the final miles and my legs were beginning to cramp up as I reached the boardwalk.

Free race photos

Finish line

Finish: 1:56:46
Click here for my Garmin data.

Relive 'Brooklyn Half Marathon'

Overall I was happy with my race. After posting slower finishing times in some of my recent half marathons, my goal today was to just finish in under 2 hrs. The race did get a tad warm in the final few miles.

I always love the finisher medals for NYRR's bigger races. I thought this one was nicely designed with a very nice two colored lanyard. After receiving my medal, I walked further down the finisher chute before given a recovery bag full of recovery snacks and drinks.

Finisher medal

Post race recovery goodies

Since it was my first time running this race where it wasn't raining, I decided to go check out the post race festivities inside the MCU Park. It was quite packed inside. There wasn't anything that warranted me sticking around, so after I got my stuff packed up in my bag, I started heading out over to the Coney Island/Stillwell Ave station. I took the first available N/Q train over to Atlantic Ave/Barclays Centers station. From there I switched over to the 2/3 train and took it back to my hotel getting off at Wall St station.

Post race at MCU Park

Back at my room, I watched the football match between Bayern Munich and Eintracht Frankfurt. With the win, Bayern Munich won the Bundesliga title. I currently only follow the English Premier League. However I think I should start following the Bundesliga as well. I will first need to choose a team. I'm leaning towards Borussia Mönchengladbach.

Bundesliga

After the game was over, I walked over to Chick-fil-A to pick up lunch. I got the usual grilled chicken sandwich and waffle fries. I could get used to eating here instead of McDonald's! :)

Grilled chicken sandwich and waffle fries

I was feeling pretty exhausted from all of my recent traveling and racing, but one of my old college friends wanted to meet up for dinner. He came all the way out from the Long Island area. Man, we haven't seen each other since the late 90's when we were still going to UCSD! It was good to catch up. We ended up going to a ramen shop that was close to my hotel. It was called Kuu Ramen. I ordered the Okinawa shio ramen and edamame. It was decent, but nowhere near the best bowl of ramen that I've had. My main issue was that the broth wasn't served piping hot. Nobody likes a lukewarm bowl of ramen!

Edamame

Okinawa shio ramen

After dinner, we walked around the World Trade Center area. I ended up playing the tour guide as I've been to this area numerous times and it was my friend's first time there. I showed him the Oculus, 9/11 Memorial Pools, Survival Tree, and the FDNY Memorial Wall. After that short foot tour, we said our goodbyes and I went back to my room to get some rest.

FDNY Memorial Wall

Sunday 5/19
I checked out of my room at a little before 10 am. I walked over to the Fulton St station to catch the first A/C train up to 59th St/Columbus Circle. From there it was a short walk over to the NYRR RUNCenter to get my medal engraved. It was one of the perks of being a NYRR member. The line wasn't as long this time, so the whole process didn't take very long.

Medal engraved

After getting my medal back, I walked over to the Go Go Curry on W 38th St to eat my usual lunch before heading home. I got the Home run plate with chicken katsu and added fukujinzuke.

Home run with chicken katsu add fukujinzuke

After lunch, I headed over to the AMC Empire 25 to catch a movie before heading to the airport. I ended up watching John Wick: Chapter 3 - Parabellum. Although I would be watching it with my friends in a couple of weeks, this was the only movie that worked with my schedule. I thought chapter 3 was better than chapter 2. The much advertised scenes with Halle Berry were a bit disappointing. She was overacting. On the other hand, Laurence Fishburne did quite well reprising his role as the Bowery King. The role suits him. Keanu Reeves' fighting skills were once again okay and sufficient. However he wasn't keeping up with his Asian costars. His skills were akin to the celebrity partner compared with the professional dancers on Dancing with the Stars. Still overall it was a good John Wick movie. If you've seen the first two, you have to see this one. The way the movie ended, there would definitely be a fourth chapter.

After the movie, I headed over to the 42nd St/Times Square/Port Authority Bus Terminal to catch the E train over to JFK Airport. I got off at the Sutphin Blvd/Archer Ave/JFK Station. Then from there I took the AirTrain over to Terminal 5 to catch my flight home with JetBlue.

Once again, the flight crew announced that the flight was full. As luck would have it, the center seat next to me was empty again! After getting my drink and some snacks, I tried to get some shuteye. The plane landed at Ontario Airport a few minutes before 11 pm. I didn't see a place that was designated as the shuttle stop, so I just went ahead and hoofed it back to my car.

Drink

Snacks

Santa Barbara Wine Country Half Marathon 2019

Friday 5/10
I can't remember when was the last time that I've been to Solvang. It was back when we had those non-optional family road trips with a couple of other families. I was a scrawny little kid back then. I suppose that I could relate to Hans Christian Andersen's story of The Ugly Duckling. Just like any kid, I didn't really like those trips. However now that I'm going by myself, I was looking forward to this trip.

Before hitting the road for Solvang, I stopped at the nearby Target to pick up some snacks and water for the trip. I was on the road at about 9 am. I timed it so that I wouldn't get stuck in some of the morning work traffic.

Snacks and water

It was pretty much smooth sailing the entire way along the 101 with the usual traffic through Downtown LA. I made it to Buellton in a little over 3 hrs just in time for lunch. I decided to have lunch at Pea Soup Andersen's Restaurant. Before getting a table, I stopped in to use the restroom first.

Pea Soup Andersen's

During my research prior to the trip, I knew that they had their Travelers Special which was all-you-can-eat Andersen's World Famous Split Pea Soup. Sounds like a good deal since I do like split pea soup. However I wasn't too keen on drinking that much pea soup the day before a race! So after perusing the menu, I ordered their Danish sausage sandwich with potato salad. I also did the Hap-Pea's add-on which had the option of a split pea soup and an iced tea for my drink. The sandwich was really good with some yellow mustard on it. The soup was definitely good as well. Next time, I will have to try the soup with extra toppings.

Split pea soup, pumpernickel and onion cheese bread

All gone

Danish sausage sandwich and potato salad

After settling my bill, I hopped in the car and drove a few miles East on Highway 246 into the city of Solvang. The race expo was located in the parking lot just South of Solvang Park. Unfortunately I didn't find any parking immediately next to the park, but I was able to find street parking near the corner of 1st St and Oak St.

Danish capital of America

The race expo was pretty small. After picking up my bib and race shirt, I was done with the whole expo within a few minutes. Even though it was small, the vendors were giving out samples. I got a sample can of Zevia organic tea. I saw that Firestone-Walker Brewery had a booth for you to sample some of their beers. They brewed some of my favorites when I used to drink. I liked their Luponic Distortion series, Merlin milk stout, DBA, and Union Jack. Every now and then, I do miss drinking beer.

Race expo

Bib pick-up

Shirt pick-up

Race shirt

Tea

Beer sampling

I swung by the windmill on my way back to my car. I enjoyed walking around the quaint little town. It definitely makes me want to visit Denmark.

Danish Village

Windmill

For this trip, I stayed at the WorldMark Solvang. It was a very short drive from where I was parked. The property was located just on the outskirts of all of the town's stores and restaurants. Everything looked to be within walking distance, so I left my car here for the weekend. One of the things that I liked about this property was that they did not pester me to attend an owner's update with a complimentary breakfast. I don't think they have that at this location. It's always hard for me to say no because they always dangle so many Wyndham Reward Points in exchange for my attendance.

After I got settled into my room, I went back out to check out the rest of Solvang as well as to time how long it would take for me to walk to the start line for tomorrow's race. During my stroll, I checked out The Little Mermaid fountain, the Hans Christian Andersen statue, the Solvang Founders, Artistic Pony Studio, and a clock tower.

The Little Mermaid fountain

Hans Christian Andersen statue

Solvang Founders

Artistic Pony Studio

Clock tower at 1st St and Park Way

Before heading back to my room, I stopped in at The Book Loft to check out the bookstore and the Hans Christian Andersen Museum. If you are a bookworm, you will need to check this place out. The museum was located upstairs and was pretty cool to check out, but it seemed a bit clustered. I ended up purchasing one of their The Ugly Duckling t-shirts.

The Book Loft

Hans Christian Andersen Museum

The Little Mermaid

The Ugly Duckling

The Ugly Duckling shirt

Back at my room, I went to the game room area to rent out a movie to watch before dinner. While going through their movie selection, I came across Star Wars Ep 8: The Last Jedi. I have no problem watching those God awful prequels, but I absolutely cannot get myself to watch this piece of hot garbage for a 3rd time. I think I gave it more than a fair shake by watching it a second time when it was still in the theaters. Instead I checked out Sorry to Bother You. The guy at the front desk asked if I had seen this movie before. When I told him, no, he warned me that I'd better be ready for a mind-trip. In short, he was correct. It was a very weird, but original movie. I definitely haven't seen anything like it before.

Star Wars Ep 8: Hot Garbage

Sorry to Bother You

On my way out for dinner, I first dropped off the movie at the front desk. I decided to check out the Bit O' Denmark. At first I was a bit skeptical to come here because according to the Yelp reviews, it appeared to be a hit-or-miss restaurant. Still I wanted to check out their roast duck entree. I'm always game for some good duck. The prices were on the higher side, but the portions were big. Normally I don't eat this much food the night before a race, but man, that was some good duck meat especially with the gravy! Everything that came with it was also very good! There was nothing left on my plate except for a pile of bones when I was done.

Bit O' Denmark

Roast Duck

After walking back to my room, I relaxed a bit and laid out my flat runner for tomorrow's race. Lately I've been wearing the race shirt from my previous race. I've gotten to the point where I haven't been very motivated in choosing what to wear. That might be a sign that I've been running too many races.

Flat runner

Saturday 5/11
The race was scheduled to start at 7 am, so I planned to leave my room at 6 am after one last emptying of the bladder. It was going to be a warm day, but there was still a bit of a chill in the air so I brought along my mylar blanket.

Start line

The course started next to Solvang Elementary School. From there it was a nice big counterclockwise loop up to Los Olivos. There were several picturesque vineyards along the way. The entire first half appeared to be flat, but it was a steady incline. For some odd reason I was feeling hungry in the early miles. That made absolutely no sense since I ate so much yesterday. I started eating some of my energy chews that I had brought along that I normally reserve for after reaching mile 8. That climb up Ballard Canyon Rd was mighty steep. However once I got past that section, it was mostly downhill all the way to the finish line on Copenhagen Dr at 2nd St.

Finish line

Finish: 2:00:19
Click here for my Garmin data.

Relive 'Santa Barbara Wine Country Half Marathon'

I was hoping to keep it under 2 hrs, but I came up a tad short. Honestly I just felt fat, heavy, and out-of-shape. I'm pretty sure it had something to do with all of the delicious food that I had the day before the race!

After getting my finisher medal, I also got a bunch of post race goodies and a bottle of QURE water. Since I don't drink alcohol anymore, I decided to skip the post race wine tasting and head back to my room.

Finisher medal

Post race goodies

Along the way back, I came across Edelweiss. I stopped because of the name, but it was just a gift shop. I ended up taking a picture of my medal with the windmill in the background. A random Asian tourist came up to me. I'm guessing he didn't speak a word of English, but he gestured that he wanted to take a picture of my medal. I obliged.

Edelweiss

Finisher medal and windmill

After getting cleaned up, I watched a bunch of TV and took a nap. I went back out for a very early dinner at the Hitching Post 2. Their steaks came highly recommended by one of my trusted steak-eating friends. I was there at about 4:30 pm and the parking lot right next to the restaurant was already packed. There was plenty of additional parking right next to it. Since I was there without a reservation, I thought that there was going to be a wait to get a table. However since I was dining solo, they were able to put me at a small table near the entrance right next to the bar. The bar was packed with day-drinking tourists as it was made famous by the movie, Sideways. For me, I came for the steaks!

"World's best BBQ steaks"

Bar area

I started things out with an iced tea. For my meal, I ordered their 15 oz Prime Top Sirloin with a baked potato and a side salad with blue cheese. While waiting for my steak, the waitress brought out some fresh vegetables and pickles. That was followed by a cup of turkey tortilla soup and the side salad.

Appetizer

Cup of turkey tortilla soup

Side salad with blue cheese

Then came the steak. I can see why my friend recommended this place. From reading the Yelp reviews, I knew that the cook knew how to properly cook a steak. I ordered it medium and it was a perfect medium. I have to order medium-rare at quite a few steakhouses to actually get it cooked medium. That was one of the best top sirloin steaks that I've ever eaten. I was definitely not disappointed!

15 oz Prime Top Sirloin with baked potato

Medium

Sunday 5/12
I wanted to get an early start on the drive home, but I also wanted to catch some of the English Premier League football matches as it was the last week. The champions of the Premier League wasn't decided until the final week. It was unbelievable that Liverpool came in 2nd having lost only 1 game all season! In the end, they lost by 1 point to Manchester City.

Last week of the EPL

After packing up my stuff and checking out of my room, I stopped at the Chevron in Buellton before hopping on the 101 freeway. I was actually surprised that the price per gallon was pretty much the same as what I pay back at home. I was expecting a touristy location to be a bit higher.

Expensive Californian gas

During the drive home, the Waze app kept telling me to head up to the 118. It might have been because people were slowing down with all of the butterflies flying across the freeway! I didn't see any accidents, but there was a lot of congestion. Once I hopped on the 23 North and got on the 118 East, there were less of those butterflies and the traffic was much more free flowing. From the 118, I got onto the 210 East.

The drive home took just a little under 3 hrs. It was one of the instances were following Waze helped cut the travel time. The first thing I did when I got off of the freeway was roll into one of the neighborhood McDonald's. Before placing my order, I had to go empty my bladder first. I ordered 2 McDoubles for $3 plus a Happy Meal. Home sweet home!

Home sweet home