Late late Friday evening, I took a red eye flight from out of LAX headed for Little Rock, Arkansas with a layover in DFW. Originally it was a 2 hr layover, but that got changed to almost 5 hrs. I played a whole lot of Angry Birds and read some of my magazines. It was a very short flight from DFW to LIT. Eventually I got to Little Rock. I barely slept on the flights. I took the #12 bus for $1.35 instead of renting a car.
After getting off at the River Cities Travel Center in downtown, I hiked it over to the Statehouse Convention Center to attend the race expo. I saw some of the usual people at the expo, the Marathon Show and Bart Yasso. I guess you go to enough race expos you'll end up being one of them.
Waiting for the #12 bus at LIT Airport
Statehouse Convention Center
They love their Bill Clinton in Arkansas!
Expo
The Marathon Show in progress
The legendary Bart Yasso
What I used to look like before I got fat :)
After picking up my race packet, I was pretty hungry. I wanted to try a place called Doe's Eat Place where they serve big steaks (2 lbs minimum). I walked several blocks only to come up to a closed restaurant with a sign that says they're only open for dinner starting at 5:30pm on Saturdays. So I hiked all the way to the River Market and went to plan B, Flying Fish of Little Rock. There was a long line out the door. From listening to the people in line and looking inside, it kind of had a tourist trap feel. Since the line barely moved, I decided to go to plan C, Flying Saucer. It was only a few buildings over so off I went. I've been to the one in Houston, so I knew what I wanted to eat and drink.
Flying Saucer
Diamond Bear Paradise Porter
German plate
Diamond Bear seasonal IPA
Diamond Bear IPA
After eating lunch, I stopped by the River Market to pick up some drinks. I then hiked about 10 blocks to the hotel over on Broadway and 6th. This La Quinta was pretty nice.
Just let me tell you that it is not good to stack the deck against yourself. Eventually you'll fall. Literally. While taking a red-eye flight saved on costs, it made me really tired since I barely slept a wink on the plane. Then I drank 3 beers for lunch. When I stepped into the bath tub to take a shower, I took a bad step with my bad ankle on the slippery tub, lost my balance, and fell out. It sounds funny, but it happened very quickly and I could've hit my head on the toilet. Lucky for me my fat butt took most of the fall. I guess that officially makes me old, because I've always wondered how old people fall and break their hip. Well, there you go.
I took a nap and awoke to buy some dinner. The left lower back and butt was a little sore, but I guess I was okay. I walked over to the gas station first to buy a Coke and some water. Then I stopped by McDonald's to buy 2 Big Macs for $4. What a deal!
River Market
La Quinta
2 Big Macs for $4
Race Day
After the little falling incident, I wasn't too excited to get up for the race. I got ready and walked over to the convention center. It was open, so everyone went inside to stay out of the cold. It was a chilly mid 40 degrees in the morning. At 7am the Marathon Maniacs and Half Fanatics all gathered for the pre-race photo. I can't say that I know too many maniacs since I tend to run mostly for the charities that I support.
As it got closer to the start, I headed over to the gear check trucks to check my bag. It felt really chilly for some reason. I had to jog a little just to warm up. I entered corral C and tried to find people that I knew. Eventually I found some familiar maniacs and I hung out with them. A pre-race prayer was said, the national anthem was sung, and the race was ready to begin.
The first 3 miles was really crowded and we ran straight into the sunlight. I tucked behind the 3:55 group. About a mile or so in, my friend Mitch finds me. Once the crowd loosened up, the pacers sped up. I fell back when I took my walk break after about 30 mins running. I had to take off my arm sleeves as it warmed up pretty quickly. Once I started running again, I ran behind the 4:00 group. After about an hour of running, I took my second walk break and fell back. I had to control the soreness in my right ankle and calf by slowing down a little more. I got to the halfway mark at 2:09:49. Mile 15 was the Michelob Ultra mile. They were passing out 8oz cans of beer. Since I was pretty much in walking mode, I took one and chugged it. There was a big downhill around mile 16. I tried to keep all of my miles below 15 minutes. There was a lot of walking because it got really warm and very sunny. The out and back section all the way to mile 21ish was nice as I got to see some of my friends that took the early start. I kept everything slow and steady. I was very glad to finally see the finish line.
1: 9:14
2: 8:41
3-4: 18:33 (9:17)
5: 9:21
6: 8:58
7-8: 20:29 (10:15)
9-10: 21:07 (10:34)
11-12: 20:51 (10:25)
13: 11:11
14: 13:28
15: 14:38
16: 13:33
17: 15:06
18: 14:57
19: 14:45
20: 14:57
21: 16:12
22: 14:23
23: 14:50
24: 14:19
25: 14:05
26: 14:36
26.2: 2:11
Finish: 5:20:24
Post race Stuff
This was actually a very rough race for personal reasons. Our family dog passed away on 2/29. She was a 14 year old Jack Russell Terrier. During the race they passed out a lot of bananas. I ate some at first, but the bananas only reminded me of my dog because it was one of her favorite foods. When the weather turned hot and I started to have salt all over me, that also reminded me of how she would lick me for a long time after I come home after a long run. Well such is life... dying is a part of living. I was kind of glad that I had a marathon to fly off to so I didn't have to deal with it right away.
After picking up my coveted finisher's medal, I picked up some food and chocolate milk and headed over to the gear check trucks. After eating, resting, and checking Facebook, I texted and met up with Mitch. We watched some of our Marathon Maniacs finish. We went our separate ways but would meet up later at the post-race BBQ dinner.
Size matters, right? :)
Post race BBQ
Live music
We ate some pulled pork and chicken sliders and some awesome potato salad. I believe the potato salad was awesome because it had bacon in it. I had other food but decided to switch to liquids since my stomach can get pretty sensitive after about 5.5 hours of sucking down GUs and salt caps. They only had cheap beer, so I stuck to vodka drinks. While waiting in the long line to get into the dining hall, I started talking to a couple. The wife happened to also be a Marathon Maniac. We ended up sitting at the same table and had some good conversations. It's always nice to meet fellow runners. Most people that run marathons are exceptional people. The post race BBQ was a nice touch although the music was too loud. I sometimes had a hard time hearing the conversation. Again, another sign that I'm getting old. :)
Liquid recovery
Leah Thorvilson, 4 in a row winner
Mark Chepses, 2 in a row winner
The Day After
Early in the morning, I went down to the lobby to eat some of the free breakfast. After checking out of the hotel, I hiked it over to the River Cities Travel Center to catch the bus to the airport. The bus that I needed was just leaving when I got there, so I had to wait a while for the next bus. The next bus was late. It turns out the driver was being trained, probably still learning the route. After the short flight to DFW, I took the Skylink to my terminal and ate at the first place I saw. It turned out to be a bad choice. It was the Cool River Cafe. Everything was incredibly overpriced and not very good. I should've just drank a second Blue Moon. At least the salmon and salad was probably good for recovery after a marathon.
22oz Blue Moon
Salmon Caesar Salad
