Fortunate for me, I had Friday off from work to attend the expo held at the Universal Hilton. I arrived at Universal Studios a little after 10am. The line of cars waiting to park at the Hilton was ridiculous. It was not moving at all, so I bailed out of the line and parked at the CityWalk. It was $15 for general parking, but I was planning on watching a movie later so it ended up being $7. I parked at the Jurassic parking lot and hoofed it over to the Hilton.
The expo area was a bit too small. It was very crowded. They did a lot of things to treat the expo attendants like celebrities, but it caused several choke points. Right as you entered the expo, there was Marilyn Monroe. Everyone wanted a picture with her. Right next to her was a photo op on the red carpet. Most of the crowding and chaos was at the table to pick up shirts. They could fix all of this by finding a bigger place and moving the shirt tables to a place where lines can be formed. Perhaps they should also consider holding the expo over 2 days. I loved that the race shirt was cotton and not another cheap quality tech shirt. They were offering an upgrade to a new looking tech shirt for $10 which I declined. For tech shirts, I prefer only those made by Nike or Ink-n-Burn.
I was on my way back to my car, but turned around to go back and pick up a race packet for my friend. I bumped into another friend and we end up hanging out a bit with some of our other running friends at the hotel restaurant. Eventually we left and I went over to the AMC to watch the Hunger Games. Jennifer Lawrence did a great job as Katniss, but I thought the movie overall was only okay. The guy who played Peeta was too short and the guy who played Gale was too big and rugged for someone starving in the Seam. The pacing was way too fast. They even left out one important character, so I'm not sure how they're going to address that in the second movie.
For dinner I met up with a couple of my old church friends at a nearby ramen shop, Jinya. I got the tonkotsu black ramen and shrimp gyoza. They were both good. Good enough that I will come back here next year for sure. Afterwards we drove down to Hollywood and Wilcox to attend a Good Friday evening service. It was a very contemporary service. Call me old fashioned, but I'm still very used to and prefer the traditional type.
Tonkotsu Black at Jinya
Race day
The race started at 6am, so I left the house by 3:30am to avoid any traffic. I prepaid online for parking for $10. I arrived and parked at the lowest level at the Jurassic parking lot and took a quick cat nap. I got my gear ready and headed over to the starting area at the Universal Studios globe. The Maniacs and Fanatics gathered for a group photo. Soon we dispersed and I found a bench in my corral to sit down. The corrals were a little bit confusing. I left in the 3rd group (7 min per mile pace). No matter how many races I've ran, I still wonder why walkers feel the need to start in front especially with chip timing. It's dangerous for everybody. If you're going to start up that far in front, at least run the first mile or so fast.
Marathon Maniacs and Half Fanatics
Waiting in the corral
Goal A: finish under 2:00
Goal B: finish under 2:10
Albeit with some lingering discomfort, I was able to finally run with my usual stride through the first 10k. But I was running on fumes by mile 8. The first 3 miles were fun. It was great to run somewhat fast downhill and not feel like your leg is going to break. I ran with the 1:40 pace group through the 5k marker and then backed off so Superman doesn't collapse somewhere on the side of the road. Most of the race I was just focusing on the breathing and how I land. It was definitely good to be able to breathe again. Even without the final 2 mile hill, there was already a knot in my left calf. I could still run, but I just gave up. One voice in my mind said that "even if we jogged, we would probably finish under 2 hrs." Instead I listen to the other voice that said, "please let me walk!" :) While the hill was grueling, it wasn't that bad. I think it's very similar to the final hill at AFC but definitely not as hard as the hills at La Jolla.
Superman totally got chicked by a girl wearing a dress :)
I think I could get used to running as Superman
1: 7:56
2: 7:47
3: 7:33
4-5: 18:26 (9:13)
6: 8:47
7-8: 17:52 (8:56)
9: 9:03
10: 10:15
11: 10:34
12: 12:12
13.1: 13:38
Finish: 2:04:06
Post race
I hung out with my friends at the finish area. Then we decided to head back to Universal Studios. Most of us walked it while a few of us waited in line for the "limo". They were actually party buses. They had the lights, a pole for dancing, and soda. All it was missing was the music. The ride only lasted about 2 minutes. Booo! :(
A pole for dancing! :)
Riding the party bus!
Don't take your hobby too seriously. It's ok to have fun with it every now and then. :) A lot of the spectators liked the costume and told me to fly or run faster. I usually tell them that Superman is slow because he's not used to running. This race was a fun race with a lot of people dressing up. I'm still coming back from a bad injury and making good progress. Since I'm not 100% it was good to have a race that promoted some Hollywood fun. Obviously there was some problems with an inaugural race, but overall it went well. There were a couple of water stations that ran out of cups. As I seasoned runner, I always carry a handheld for all long runs. Based on what I read on the race's Facebook page, the race director already knows what went wrong. It's just always good to be prepared for the worst. That's why I always show up to races super early. You just never know what will and can happen along the way. FYI, I'm already registered for next year's race and I hope to see you out there!
One of the best medals!
