Run Through Redlands Half Marathon 2024

Sunday 3/3
I got ready and left the house at about 5:15 am for the drive out to Redlands. I arrived at just before 6 am at the same parking lot as last year, at the corner of Citrus Ave and Eureka St. After finding a suitable parking spot, I walked over to the AK Smiley Public Library to pick up my race packet. While the volunteer could've looked up my name, I searched for the registration email to provide her with my barcode. While I was searching, my friend Robert saw me. After being assigned a bib number, I met up with him over at the t-shirt pick-up spot at the other end of the tent. I told him that I was going to head over to the nearby Starbucks. Since we had at least an hour to pass, he decided to join me.

Race shirt

Back of race shirt

The Starbucks was just a few blocks north of the start line at the corner of Eureka St and Stuart Ave. It was right after crossing the train tracks. Per the usual, I hopped on the mobile app to place my order. I offered to add my friend's order, but he opted to do it the old fashion way and placed his order at the counter. I guess they prioritized walk-up orders ahead of mobile orders as he got his drink before I did. I ate my KIND protein bar with my grande pistachio latte. This routine has quickly become my new pre-race routine. We used their restroom before heading over to the race. One of the restrooms was marked as closed. However, we saw 2 employees use it, so we figured it was being reserved for employees.

Grande pistachio latte

"Restroom Closed" aka reserved for employees

We then walked back to the corner of Citrus Ave and Eureka St to catch the start of the 10k at 7 am. There was even one runner dressed up as a dinosaur! After the bulk of the participants went on through, we crossed the street to use one of the portapotties one last time before heading over to the start line. We ran into our fellow Half Fanatic friends from San Diego. After I was done, I went back to my car to ditch the jacket and to grab my handheld bottle. I wasn't really planning on lining up so far at the front of the corral, but all of my friends were already there.

10k start

Dinosaur!

Dan

The usual suspects

Having run this race in the past 2 years, I was well aware of the climbs for about the first 8 miles. Even after reaching the highest point of the course, there would still be some little climbs here and there. The first 2.5 miles or so were relatively flat and easy. The climbing would begin after a left turn onto Lakeside Ave. There would be some short sections where the course would flatten out a bit only for there to be some more climbing. We would get some longer stretches of downhill after merging onto Sunset Dr at about mile 7.5 into the race. It had been drizzling for a while already and my face was pretty wet. Shortly after being caught and passed by Robert, I had to remove my glasses as they were just sliding off of my face. I was pretty dang blind without my glasses, but I was able to follow the runner just ahead of me. The runners ahead of me were out of my very limited view as I made the turn onto Terracina Blvd at mile 10.5 into the race. The cones at Fern Ave were a bit confusing, but the volunteers at that aid station told me to keep heading straight ahead. I came to a complete stop for a brief second at Olive Ave as I couldn't read the sign. The volunteer told me to turn right, followed by an immediate left turn onto Chisholm Trail. Fortunately, there were a couple of runners that passed me so I was able to follow them. In the past 2 years, the climb up Bellevue Ave wiped me out. I had much better stamina this year, so I was able to cover that climb without feeling completely spent. Just as before, the last stretch along Olive Ave took what seemed to be an eternity! It seemed flat, but I would say that it was a very gradual incline all the way to the final turn onto Eureka St for the finish line.

Finish line

Finish: 1:55:58
Click here for my Garmin data.

I knew that I was in shape to finish in under 2 hours. It was just a matter of by how much. I guess I had become much better with my pacing given my current level of fitness as I managed to place 3rd in my age group. However, this was a small town race, so they were not giving out age group awards.

After receiving my finisher medal and getting some post race orange juice, I met up with Robert. We went over how our races turned out. This guy is a machine! He ran a marathon yesterday and I still finished almost 4 minutes behind him! He had to leave to meet up with his family, so we went our separate ways. After taking a quick selfie with the Smiley brothers, I went back to my car to change out of my wet shirt.

Finisher medal

Post race orange juice

Smiley brothers

I then walked over to the Breakfast Shack to get some breakfast. I used a portapotty along the way. That was a good call as the place was packed with a lot of people waiting outside. Before putting in my name on the waitlist, I messaged a couple of my friends as they had expressed wanting to get food after the race. Since I did not hear back from them, I put in for a party of one. I was hoping to get a spot at the counter without having to wait, but they were using those seats for groups as well. The wait ended up being about 45 minutes. From what I could tell, the place was usually busy on Sundays and it was exceptionally busy as it was packed with 5k/10k participants along with their family and friends. As I had expected, I ended up being seated at the counter. I started things off with coffee as I looked over the menu. I already knew that I wanted their steak and eggs, but still I wanted to see what they were offering. With the steak, medium rare and eggs, sunny-side up, I got their country potatoes and biscuit & gravy. The alternatives were hash brown and toast. Turned out to be great choices as both were very good, especially the biscuit & gravy! The steak was also cooked just right. This meal certainly hit the spot after running a challenging half marathon.

Reminds of Kacey Musgraves' song, Biscuits

Kitchen

Coffee Bean

Steak and eggs with country potatoes, biscuit & gravy

Steak medium rare

After finishing my meal and paying for it, I used their restroom before heading back to my car. When I got home, I crossed paths with my parents. They were on their way out to pick up lunch and they had ordered food for me! Well, it's a darn good thing that I eat like a dang hobbit! Elevenses, check. Now, time for lunch! They ordered my favorite, the combination rice, from Mimi 5 Bobee. I wasn't sure if I could put away a large quantity of food as well as I used to, but apparently, I still could as I had little trouble finishing everything!

Combination rice

LA Chinatown Firecracker 10k 2024

Sunday 2/25
I've been running this race since back in 2016. I've skipped this race only 3 times. In 2017, I was already registered for the defunct Run to Remember Los Angeles Half Marathon. In 2021, the race became a virtual event due to the COVID pandemic. In 2022, the event was once again virtual due to a surge with the Omicron variant. I had always taken the Metro light rail to this event. I would pick up my race packet on Saturday and partake in their "carbo-load" snack (i.e. a small take-out container of noodles). This year, I decided to just drive to Chinatown on race day and forego taking the Metro as doing so last year was not a very pleasant experience. I left the house at about 5:15 am and arrived at about 5:45 am. I found street parking next to the Alpine Recreation Center. There was some street parking that was a bit closer, but I didn't want to be too close to the event just in case it got too busy when it came time to leave. It was still dark as I walked over to the Chinatown Central Plaza to pick up my race packet. After the volunteer scanned my QR code, I was assigned bib #8786. I was also given the usual race shirt and a drawstring bag. Both items looked great this year for the year of the dragon!

Bib pick-up

Nice clean design for the race shirt

Sweet looking drawstring bag

Goodie bag contents

Since the opening ceremonies weren't scheduled to start until 7:30 am and the 10k wasn't to start until 8:40 am, I decided to walk over to the Starbucks at the corner of Broadway and Cesar Chavez Ave to get coffee. It was a pretty peaceful walk over, but I did notice that there were huge piles of crap at the base of some of the trees that lined the sidewalk. Not sure if it was from a dog or a person. No matter how much the city tries to gentrify the area, there are people out there that seem to go out of their way to make the place a dump. Prior to entering, I placed my order for a grande pistachio latte on the mobile app. Normally, I only go through this area when I take the bus from Union Station up to Dodger Stadium for a game or when I run by during the LA Marathon. After getting my drink, I found a spot at the counter along the wall to eat my CLIF bar and to drink my coffee. Once I was done with my breakfast, I got the code for the restroom from one of the employees. I then headed back to the Chinatown Central Plaza to check things out before the ceremonies began. I finally remembered to stop by the Foo Chow Restaurant near the Chinatown West Gate. It was the location that was used for one of the scenes in Rush Hour.

Grande pistachio latte

Chinatown Gateway

Southern California Teo Chew Association

Peking Poultry

Foo Chow Restaurant

Chinatown West Gate

Bruce Lee

Eventually, I got situated at my usual spot, on the east side of Broadway just across from the Chinatown East Gate. I noticed that the dragon decals on the Longo Toyota Lexus official pace vehicles looked pretty badass! Once a couple of the local politicians had said a few words, the firecrackers were lit! Boy, were they loud! Thank goodness, there was no wind this time. I had learned to make sure not to stand downwind whenever there was wind!

Chinatown East Gate

The Immortals Lion Dance Team

Lighting of the firecrackers

Once all of the firecrackers had been spent, a few guys came by with push brooms and shovels to clear the street of the debris. Then at 8 am, it was time to send off the 5k runners. I ended up chatting with Shelley (Bib #7604) who was wearing her LA Leggers gear. Eventually, I excused myself to go back to my car and get ready for the 10k race. Along the way, I used one of the portapotties that was on the Hill St sidewalk. I thought that it was much better to have them here versus over on College St.

5k start

Per the usual, I found my friend near the front of the starting corral. I don't see her much these days. As we were catching up, I noticed that the timing mat was about 15 meters ahead of where we were lined up as the starting line. Although that looked a bit odd, it seemed to be the norm for this race. In the end, it's just a fun event, not to be taken too seriously. Per their mission statement on their website: all proceeds are reinvested in the community, in support of elementary schools and non-profit organizations, providing service and programs that benefit local neighborhoods.

Luisa

I was caught a bit off guard as the 10k race actually started right on time at 8:40 am! Most years, there was a delay. Fortunately, I had acquired a GPS signal earlier, so I was able to start my watch on time. This year, my plan was to run at a pace where I could refrain from having to take any walk breaks. I resisted going out too fast in that first mile (7:53). The next 2 miles (8:28, 8:13) would be my slowest as it had the bulk of the climbs for this course. The next 3 miles (7:58, 7:51, 7:51) would have most of the downhills. I tried to take advantage of them, but my hips were still not liking them. I was glad that I was able to cover that final climb past the Dodger Stadium Downtown Gate before crossing over the 110. I really had to fight the urge to take a quick walk break especially when having to dodge those 5k walkers. Once I made that turn onto Bishops Rd, it was time to empty the tank. All that was left was a straight shot down Broadway for the finish line.

From Jack

Finish: 49:00
Click here for my Garmin data.

2023: 55:13
2022: Deferred due to Omicron variant surge
2021: Virtual due to COVID
2020: 50:06
2019: 50:20
2018: 53:35
2017: Participated in Run to Remember Los Angeles Half Marathon
2016: 49:54

Compared to the 5 other times that I had run this race, this was my best performance. Those climbs were every bit as difficult as I remembered them to be, but I was able to cover them all with a controlled effort. All of those daily hilly hikes around my neighborhood paid off! I had not gotten faster, just smarter with my pacing.

I received my finisher medal and the volunteer marked my bib. They really upped their game this year with the medal. Per the usual, the medal had a great design. However for this year, the lanyard was exceptionally beautiful! I continued down the finisher chute where I collected some drinks, fruit, and a couple of fortune cookies. I took one of the empty fruit bags that were laying around to carry everything. After giving away my free beer ticket to a random race participant, I continued through the Chinatown Central Plaza to see what else there was to offer now that all of the vendors had shown up to their booths. I was hoping to see if they were handing out noodles, but I guess they were only giving that out on Saturday. During my walkthrough, I bumped into my friend Laura. She placed 2nd in her age group for the 5k! As I was heading out, I was able to get a quick selfie with Miss Los Angeles Chinatown queen and her princesses right before they were going to take the stage.

Finisher medal

Post race drinks and snacks

Beer garden line

Laura, 2nd place in her age group for the 5k

Sun Yat-Sen

Miss Los Angeles Chinatown queen and her princesses

Palm Desert Half Marathon 2024

Sunday 2/18
I got ready and left the house at just before 3:30 am. I arrived at the Palm Desert Civic Center Park at about 5:10 am. Since I was early and it was still about 20 minutes before we were told that packet pick-up would begin, I had my pick of parking spaces. While I waited in the car, I ate my usual protein bar for breakfast.

At about 5:30 am, I got out of my car and headed over to the packet pick-up spot. Along the way, I came across a family of ducks crossing the path just ahead of me. They were moving slow and were probably wonder why there was a person in the park at dark o'clock! It would seem that the volunteers weren't quite ready for us. First we had to look up our race bib numbers, but they still hadn't powered up the laptops. A fellow runner and I powered them up, but it looked like they had not loaded the new bib file. Once that was done and I got my bib, the volunteer was a bit confused as to where the race shirts were. Having run this race before I knew that the boxes behind them contained those shirts. There were other volunteers that were just beginning to open them. After I received my long sleeve race shirt, I used the park restroom before heading back to my car.

Long sleeve race shirt

About 30 minutes before the start of the race, I headed over to the cache of portapotties that was near the car to take care of the last minute pre-race business. As soon as I was done, I grabbed my handheld bottle and headed for the start line. I bumped into the usual suspects taking pictures by the start line.

Start line

The usual suspects

Per the usual, I started that first mile a bit too fast, covering it in 7:39. Near mile 1.5, I made the right turn onto Monterey Ave. Having run this race before, I knew that it would be a very gradual incline up to about mile 5 at Gerald Ford Dr I ran each of the next 4 miles (8:02, 8:24, 8:34, 8:46) slower than the 1 before. The next 2 miles (8:17, 8:22) were quicker after making the left turn onto Gateway Dr as we got a short stretch of downhill. I reached mile 7 with the right turn onto Portola Rd. I thought I had enough to cover the incline up to mile 8, but I had to pull over for a walk break as I was overheating. That resulted in a slow mile (9:47). The next 3 miles would be mostly downhill, but I would start to struggle by the time I made the right turn onto Magnesia Falls Dr (8:55, 8:43, 9:13). Leg cramps were starting to set in, so I took another walk break. As I approached the turnaround at Monterey Ave, a runner next to me was confused as to where to go as they had left up the sign for half marathoners to turn right. I told him, "oh no, you don't want to go that way!" Apparently, all he heard was, "go that way." Fortunately, there was another runner just behind that made sure he didn't. From there, it was just a little more than a mile to go (9:52). I was able to speed up for that final mile (8:37).

Finish: 1:54:18
Click here for my Garmin data.

I was hoping to equal or improve upon my time at the Surf City Half Marathon. However, I was definitely not fully recovered from the Mesa Marathon last weekend. My pace had been slower during my midweek daily walks around my neighborhood. Also, I needed to do a better job at watching my pace during that first mile!

That runner that was confused by the sign near mile 12 was a 72 year old named Ron bib #650. I chatted with him after the race, mostly to apologize for adding to the confusion. He finished ahead of me and won his age group! He was a retired pastor. He told me that this was a training run for the LA Marathon where he wants to run under 4 hours. He told me that he would have some of his church youth members run portions with him in the second half of the race. Before going our separate ways, I told him that I would look for him at the marathon.

After getting my finisher medal, I grabbed a small bottle of water and a plate of random snacks. I was feeling pretty depleted from that race, so after finding a spot to sit down, I proceeded to eat my snacks. I'm not a huge fan of Red Vines or Oreos, but I ate them anyways. I stopped by the beer garden to say bye to my friends before heading out.

Finisher medal

Post race snacks

The Dreamer by David Phelps