Route 66 Marathon 2013

Saturday
I flew out of one of my favorite airports, the Ontario airport, headed for Tulsa, Oklahoma. Time to start knocking out marathons in some new states! For this trip, I used my last set of the Southwest free booze tickets. Coffee with Baileys Irish Cream... mmmmmm coupled that we free satellite TV via DISH made for a nice flight. I got to watch an episode of Man v. Food.

Southwest

Coffee and Baileys

I stayed at the Fairfield Inn & Suites on Main Street. The location was perfect. It was close enough to walk to the expo, the starting line, and right next the finish area. I parked my car in the hotel's gated parking lot and was able to check in early. I then decided to hoof it over on foot to the Cox Business Center (Tulsa Convention Center) for the expo.

It was a pretty cold walk, but it's always nice to stretch out the legs after sitting on the airplane. I picked up my race packet and went through the fairly small expo. It was cool to see so many familiar faces. I stopped by the Marathon Maniac booth to pick up my bracelet to gain entrance to the Maniac corner before and after the race.

Expo

After we were done with the expo, Marathon Mitch drove a couple of us to a nearby Golden Corral to carboload for tomorrow's marathon. The restaurant was located pretty close to the freeway, so it was very easy to find. After paying to get in, we grabbed an empty booth before going up to get our food. Definitely don't come here expecting gourmet food, but it was not bad here! It was pretty much good cafeteria food. They do have some nice comfort food. I liked their roasted potatoes, corn on the cob, meatloaf, steaks, carved meats, breaded shrimp, and breaded clam bites. You can load up on a big variety of food for such a low price. From the cashier to the people bringing out the food to even our bus boy, we had fantastic service. Everyone was friendly and nice even though it was not a very glamorous job.

Carboloading with friends

Plate#1

Plate#2

Plate#3

Plate#4

After I got dropped off at my hotel, I went through the expo haul. There wasn't much, but the drawstring bag was pretty nice. Too bad I have about a gazillion of them from other races. I need to figure out what to do with all of my race swag. Before calling it a night, I laid out my race gear. Originally I thought about wearing a cap in case it might be rain, snow, or wintery mix. Eventually I went with the knit cap for maximum warmth so that my ears don't freeze and fall off. :)

Expo haul

Race gear

Sunday
Brrrrrrrrrrr! Boy was the weather cold! It was in the mid 20's and the windchill made it feel even colder. Everybody I came across going to the starting area was either snickering at me for wearing shorts or asking if I'll be warm enough for the race. But hey I'm from Southern California where I don't need to own any running tights. All I have to choose from are shortie shorts, not-so-shortie shorts, and regular shorts. The calf sleeves, the arm sleeves, and gloves helped a lot. One big thing that I like about running marathons in very cold conditions is that I'm less susceptible to leg cramps. I made my way to the Marathon Maniac corner and got in with my bracelet. I lined up for the portapotty and realized that they were taking the group photo. I stayed in line since peeing before a race was much more important. :) I checked my bag and met up with my Oklahoman friends. We made our way to our separate corrals.

Course map

It was a bit crowded at the start and I took it slow. I made sure not to run any mile under 8 minutes. It was such a blast to see so many Marathon Maniacs and 50 Staters all in one race! It was also cool to see the Route 66 sign as we made a right turn onto Southwest Blvd from Riverside Drive. The full marathoners veered off as the half marathoners approached their finish line. In a nutshell, we ran to the University of Tulsa before running back to the finish line except we took the long way. Tulsa had a lot of rollers. I liked it. Kept it from getting boring.

From Dave Mari

During the last mile, I hung a right to take the detour to the Center of the Universe. At the turnaround, they were passing out beer. Just as the detour was about to rejoin with the course, they were a pair of volunteers handing out the coin for taking the detour. I was happy with my finish as even with the detour I was still able to finish under 4:40 which was my plan.
1: 9:04
2: 9:20
3: 8:44
4: 8:31
5: 9:15
6: 8:30
7: 8:36
8: 9:00
9: 9:48
10: 9:36
11: 9:38
12: 10:30
13: 9:43
14: 11:30
15: 10:54
16: 10:09
17: 12:30
18: 11:50
19: 12:00
20: 12:12
21: 12:01
22: 13:02
23: 11:24
24: 11:24
25: 11:59
26.3: 13:48
26.5: 2:10
Finish: 4:37:11

After crossing the finish line, I received a regular finisher's medal. I had to go to the Marathon Maniacs tent to exchange it for the Maniacs version of the medal. Before I found the MM tent, I went through the food and water tent. I skipped eating anything since I can't really stomach anything right after running a marathon. I shot the breeze with a few of my friends in the tent. We were all a bit cold from the weather even after putting on my jacket from my gear bag. I said my congratulations and decided to head back to my hotel room to take a nice hot shower!

Finisher stuff

I had dinner at The Tavern. I came here because it was just across the street from my hotel. I ordered their Tavern Burger. I also had a couple of their Marshall Big Jamoke porter on tap as well as a bottle of the Marshall Atlas IPA. I prefer the porter. The burger was very tasty... definitely a good burger! The burger came with shoestring fries. I would definitely not hesitate to come back here if I'm ever in Tulsa again. I sat at the bar and the bartender took good care of me the whole time. I was in the seat closest to the one and only TV. I would come here just for the great service. They could add a few more TV's in the bar section so people can come watch a sports game while they have a drink or eat a meal.

Marshall Big Jamoke porter

Tavern Burger

Marshall Atlas IPA

Monday
After checking out of my room, I still had time before I needed to head to the airport to catch my flight. So I drove out to the AMC Southroads 20 to watch The Hunger Games: Catching Fire. This was the best movie theater that I'd been to in a very long time. It looked like they had just recently remodeled the place. There was no bad seat in the house! The seats were big, nice and comfy, and they all reclined with a foot rest at the push of a button. You also got to select your seats when you buy your tickets. After the movie, I gassed up the car at the gas station across the street and drove to the airport.

I dropped off the rental car and after getting through TSA, I had lunch at Home Team Sports which was located really close to my gate. I had their bacon cheddar burger with fries and a few large sized Shock Tops while waiting for my flight. The burger was pretty good for airport food. Service was great. I sat at a small table just away from the bar, but close enough so that I could see the TV. The bartender covered for the roaming waitress and even took my order instead of waiting for her coworker to come around to my table. They made sure to check up on me every now and then.

All in all, I enjoyed my trip and first marathon in Tulsa, Oklahoma. Everyone that I came across during my visit all seemed really nice. I just might have to come back again for this marathon!

Shock Top#1

Bacon Cheddar Burger and Shock Top#2

Shock Top#3

Rock n Roll Las Vegas Marathon 2013

Saturday
I guess that I was pretty eager to get to Vegas as I got pulled over doing 91 mph shortly after crossing the State Line. I knew that it was a speed trap zone, but my foot was extra heavy that morning. The highway patrol officer was just shooting fish in a barrel that morning. After he was done with me, he nearly clipped my car to go catch another speeder just as I was pulling back into traffic. Oh well, this was one ticket I definitely deserved. I was hauling ass the entire way. Mini Coopers are very fun to drive especially while cutting through traffic.

I drove straight to the expo... mostly because I need to find a place to pee. I parked at the LVH parking lot and walked over to the Convention Center. Per the usual, it was your typical Rock n' Roll event expo... only this time one thing was missing. It was the sign giving you a discount for signing for next year's race. Makes me wonder if this race could come to an end at any year. I ended up buying a Flip Belt. It looked interesting and might be a better way for me to carry my ShotBloks. I then left the expo to eat a late afternoon, early supper with my friend at the Wicked Spoon. On the way out, I bumped into a couple of my Marathon Maniac friends and their adorable baby.

I'm sure that I've mentioned it several times before... the Wicked Spoon is my favorite buffet in Vegas. I ate enough to skip eating a real dinner. I just ended up snacking and drinking water.

Plate#1

Plate#2

Plate#3

Plate#4

Before checking into my hotel, the Hampton Inn, I drove to the usual nearby Albertson's to buy some snacks and drinks. I don't have a sweet tooth, but I do love eating Mallomars when they become available during the Winter season. Always something to look forward to every year. If I remember far back enough, I believe that I started to eat Mallomars because they were mentioned in the movie, When Harry Met Sally.

While resting in my room, I went through the expo haul. I found some of my running friends in the Disney brochure. My friends are famous! Later I got my race gear ready even though the race didn't start until early evening the next day. I prepared to wear the arm sleeves since the weather does get colder as the race goes on, but it would turn out to be a bit warm to wear them.

Mallomars!

Expo haul

My friends are famous!

Race gear

Sunday
After checking out of my room, I ate a pre-race lunch meal at my favorite ramen shop in Vegas or even the entire United States, Fukumimi Ramen. Unlike last year, I remembered to not eat a bowl of spicy ramen! After lunch, I drove over to park at the Planet Hollywood parking structure. It's near one of the exits for the finishing chute and close enough to the starting area for me to walk. I walked over to the gear check area and hung out in the shade until it was closer to the starting time before checking my bag.

I love edamame

Best ramen in Vegas!

Gear check

I met up with a couple of Marathon Maniacs and bumped into one that was dressed up as Forrest Gump. He was pretty cool and happened to be deaf. We went into our separate corrals. I sort of decided to start with the 3:30 pace group just to get a few faster miles in. While waiting for the start of the race, I bumped into a Maniac named Eddie. He was just taking pictures of all the Maniacs that he came across. Both the half marathoners and marathoners started at 4:30pm this year.

Maniacs!

Forrest Gump!

Corral ahead

Corrals behind me

I do believe that some of those mile markers were misplaced for some of the later miles. I started the race running with or around the 3:30 pace group for the first 5k. Then I let them pull ahead of me during my first walk break. By the 10k mark, I was already getting tired and not liking the time of day. I always prefer running early in the morning. Also I was still having problems with my left ankle. The best section of the marathon course last year was running down Fremont Street. This year we ran it twice, once going out around mile 10 and again at around mile 22 while heading towards the finish line. Running up on MLK Blvd to about mile for the first out and back took forever. Then the second out and back on Carey Ave was pretty quiet and dark. Once you make that last turnaround at about mile 16.5, you knew that it was mostly all downhill to the finish. It wasn't until about mile 24, right around Stratosphere where we finally merge with the half marathon course on The Strip. I still think that running on The Strip is way overrated!

Course map

1: 8:00
2-3: 15:47 (7:54)
4: 8:27
5: 8:34
6: 8:42
7: 8:55
8: 10:06
9: 9:13
10: 8:56
11: 11:03
12: 10:00
13: 9:32
14: 13:36
15: 10:32
16: 14:30
17: 11:33
18: 12:10
19: 11:13
20: 14:53
21: 8:53
22: 12:41
23: 13:25
24: 13:36
25-26: 25:58 (12:59)
26.2: 1:41
Finish: 4:41:54

I was hoping to finish under 4:40... but hey close enough, I'll take it! I like this year's medal. I always prefer a more traditional round medal over any other shape.

Finish!

After the race, I bumped into and hung out with Eddie who I had just met earlier before the start of the race. We chatted for a while just shooting the breeze about our upcoming races and drinking our post race beer. It turned out that we both had the Tokyo Marathon coming up. Then it was time for the drive back home because I had work the next day that I couldn't skip out on. I cleaned up a bit in the hotel restroom before hopping into the car and making the long drive home.

New York City Marathon 2013

Friday
This race almost didn't happen for me. I was all set to take a red eye flight with Virgin America on Friday night after work out of LAX. But that morning there was a fatal shooting in Terminal 3 at LAX. What a horrible time that we live in! At first I was hoping that they would be able to reopen the terminal before my flight, but all flights out of that terminal was canceled indefinitely until investigation has been completed. The phone lines were tied up with Virgin airlines and the two closest airports with that airline were San Francisco and San Diego. I could attempt to fly out of San Diego, but I did not bring my bag with me to work. I would still need to go home to get my bag and the only available flight was not late enough. I eventually found a JetBlue flight out of Long Beach airport, but it cost a good amount because all of the JetBlue flights out of LAX terminal 3 were diverted to LGB airport. As I milled over the idea of whether to go or not, the price of the ticket kept fluctuating. One major deciding factor was that I booked my original flight with points. Eventually I decided to go since it's hard and very expensive to get into the NYC Marathon. So I bought the one way ticket with a stop in Boston Logan airport.

So after work, I drove home, picked up my bag and headed over to the LGB airport. I must say that I love this small airport! With the recent renovations having been finished, this is now my go to airport every time I want to fly over to New York or Boston. The TSA lines were very short and less of a pressure packed ordeal here.

Saturday
I landed in Boston Logan airport and ate "breakfast" at Boston Beer Works. I sat at the counter and the place was super busy. The bartenders and waiters were all reeling from the wave of costumers that had hit before I got there. There were dishes everywhere and they were all just ignoring me. I was still sleepy from the uncomfortable little sleep that I got on the flight so I didn't care. Once they finally got caught up they started to wait on me. I started with a Boston Commons and ordered the Sunday Burger followed with a Fenway Pale Ale. Sometimes I love drinking beer in the morning and not have a care in the world since I don't have to drive anywhere.

Boston Commons

Sunday Burger and Fenway Pale Ale

After landing in JFK, I took the subway over to expo at The Jacob K. Javits Convention Center. Out of all the marathons that I've run, this marathon is by far my favorite marathon. Besides just having an awesome race course having you run through all five boroughs, this race from start to finish is world class and arguably second to none! It is no wonder that everyone wants to run this marathon!

This marathon has the best expo! It is very well organized. I resisted buying some of the official race merchandise because I had so many races that I still have to run. All major big city marathons should strive to have their expo like this one.

After picking up my race packet and going through the expo, I hoofed it over to my hotel, Hotel Carter, which was located in the Theater District . It was super cheap, but you pretty much get what you've paid for here. There was no soap or shampoo. Good thing I always bring my own. The room was super cramped. The shower was tiny even for a skinny guy like me, but hey at least you get a private bathroom instead of having to use shared bathrooms. Besides being pretty old, it was clean.

Spiderman!

I went through the expo haul and found one of my Marathon Maniac friends quoted in one of the pamphlets. That's pretty awesome!

Friend made it in print! Save your juice!

For an early dinner, I walked over to Totto Ramen. I ordered their Paitan ramen with pork add soft boiled egg and a bottle of beer. The bowl of ramen was excellent. Just the way that I like it. The noodles were firm, the pork was delicious, and the broth was very tasty was not overly greasy. If we're talking about the ramen only, I would rather come here than Ippudo. Their service is not spectacular, but not bad. They are a victim of their own popularity. You'll definitely feel like they're trying to rush you out of there throughout your dining experience. They could improve in this area, but there's really no point... they have a huge line of eager customers outside all the time. They definitely do not have a shortage of hungry bellies to fill. Try not to come here on a warm summer day. Oh dear God, this place is tiny and hot! But then again, on a warm summer's day you might have a shorter wait for a seat. Overall, they serve excellent ramen here, perhaps the best in Manhattan. Bring your patience as it will be a long wait! Oh yeah, remember to sign the waiting list as soon as you get there and bring cash.

Long wait

Paitan Ramen with pork add soft boiled egg

Sunday
Woke up early, got ready, met up with a friend to take the subway down to Battery Park to catch the Staten Island Ferry. It was a bit warm on the subway while wearing a full spandex suit. Once we got off of the ferry, we walked over to the buses and took a ride down to Fort Wadsworth. You definitely notice the heightened security. My friend had a blanket that almost didn't pass security check. We were given a bag either to check or a non-checking bag to bring into the starting village. Those that opted to not check a bag were also given a pink wristband to wear so they could bypass the gear bag lines after the race. Eventually we found a place just inside the tent to stay out of the wind as it was a chilly brisk morning. I went to go fill up my handheld with Gatorade. Then later I went to meet up with a good friend who was starting out of another starting village to take our customary pre-race photo. Then she went off to start in wave 1.

Staten Island Ferry Ride

Spandex in the starting village

My friend and I were both in wave 2. Once the start of our wave got closer, we hit the portapotties for one last time and headed for our corral. I waited until the waves started moving into position before I ditched the sweatshirt and sweatpants. I've had both for about 18 years, so I guess they qualified for throw away clothes. Besides they were both sized XL... loose fitting clothes were "in" back in the days.

Starting line

It was pretty crowded going across the Verrazano Narrows bridge and we got split up. I had originally planned to run with her or more accurately keep up with her for as long as could. My fault, I got a little too pumped going down the bridge. But I made sure to not dip down into sub 8 min miles especially after having calf issues in last weekend's half marathon. During my first walk break, I saw her pass me but it was super crowded and she was on the other side of the street. I realized that there was no way I could keep up with her, so I plodded along and ran my own race. I stuck with my plan with getting to the half way point at about 2:05, then cruise it in after that and also to save it for the Queensboro Bridge.

Picture from Mideleon

My friend who lives in New York spotted me at around mile 22 or so. It was pretty cool to hear my own name being shouted after hearing "Go Spider-Man!" for the entire race. Running through Central Park was great and pretty much meant that the end of the race was quickly approaching, but my legs were also quickly cramping up. During the last mile or so, I was passed by a runner who exclaimed how happy he was to have beaten Spider-Man. :)
1: 9:16
2: 8:10
3: 8:49
4: 9:02
5: 9:21
6: 9:03
7: 9:08
8: 9:27
9: 9:39
10: 9:29
11: 10:00
12: 9:46
13: 9:37
14: 10:26
15: 11:06
16: 11:14
17: 11:01
18: 10:31
19: 12:00
20: 12:12
21: 12:50
22: 12:04
23: 11:54
24: 13:08
25: 12:08
26: 11:59
26.2: 2:12

5k: 27:16
10k: 55:42
15k: 1:24:59
20k: 1:55:16
13.1: 2:02:27
25k: 2:28:54
30k: 3:03:22
35k: 3:41:44
40k: 4:19:45
Finish: 4:35:36

After the race, even though you didn't check a bag, we still had to walk many many many blocks before we were allowed to take the "early" exit to leave the park. Once we're on Central Park West, we had to walk a while still before we got to the volunteers that were handing out those awesome orange ponchos. Despite the long walk, I knew that they had to do that to control the crowds. It's also a good thing to keep on walking shortly after finishing a marathon. After I got my poncho, I actually found a bench to sit down and text my friend to check on her post race plans.

Finisher medal

Superhero's closet

I hoofed it back to my hotel room, got out of my costume, and got cleaned up. While I was resting in my room, I checked into my flight home. Then I got on the Prime Time shuttle website and booked a ride from LAX to LGB. Eventually I dragged myself out of my hotel room and met up with my friend and her family to eat dinner at Emmett O'Lunney's Irish Pub. We traded race stories over a few beers and my traditional post-race burger.

Post race Guinness

Bacon Cheeseburger

Blue Moon

After a while, we decided to start pub-crawling back to our hotels. We stopped at Hard Rock Cafe to have another drink. They were pretty busy, so the service wasn't that great. I guess that goes with the place being such a tourist trap.

Shock Top

For our next and final stop, we ended up at Croton Reservoir Tavern. It was right next door to my friend's hotel so it was quite convenient. They were actually already ready to close, but kept the place open because they had a couple of patrons there celebrating their marathon achievement with an expensive bottle of wine. They were quite amazed that the two of us were Marathon Maniacs and have run so many marathons already. I switched from drinking beers to drinking a nice glass of Chianti. I've been wanting to make the transition from beer to only wine.

Chianti Ruffino Superiore

Monday
After checking out of my hotel room and before heading to the airport, I stopped at Go! Go! Curry! to eat an early lunch. The Grand Slam is one of my favorite meals to have after the race. Plenty of protein to start repairing the leg muscles for another marathon!

Grand Slam

I flew back home on the original return flight with Virgin America. I landed in LAX and took the Prime Time shuttle over to LGB airport. It was a pain in the butt to ride with a bunch of strangers, but it got me back to my car at a reasonable price. I'm really glad that I made the decision to go through with this race and again, I hope to run this marathon every year as long as I can get in through their lottery. This marathon will forever be my favorite marathon!