Santa Barbara Red Rock Trail Marathon 2014

11/29 Saturday
On a fine Saturday afternoon, I drove up to the Santa Barbara area for a trail marathon that would take place on Sunday. After picking up some last minute supplies at the local Albertson's, I hopped on the freeway. I took the 210 freeway to the 134 to the 101 just so I could avoid driving through Downtown LA. As I was well into my car trip, I thought to myself, "how in the heck did I used to drive this far early in the morning to make it for the start of the old Santa Barbara Half Marathon?" I was pooped! Since I knew that there was no way I could make the drive up on race morning, I booked a room at the Motel 6 in Carpinteria on Via Real. When I checked in, the girl asked if I was okay with a room facing the freeway. I said that it wouldn't bother me so that's where she put me. I went up to my room to use the restroom. I noticed that my room did not have any bath towels, so I went to get some from the front desk. After taking care of that, I went back out to get some food.

For food, I decided to check out Padaro Beach Grill on the other side of the freeway on Santa Claus Lane. I found the place tucked away on the beach side of the small street. It would appear that a lot of people park here to access the beach. I was fortunate enough to find a spot just in front of the restaurant. I ordered the Prime Burger and added cheddar cheese. I also ordered their shrimp tacos. The tacos came with some chips. I ordered my food to go. They gave me a pager while I waited for my food. It was a pretty short wait. I took it back to my motel room to devour. The burger was pretty good but on the small side. I liked the shrimp tacos better than the burger. Those tacos were good! Both items were good enough that I will definitely make a return trip if I'm ever in the area again.

Shrimp tacos

Prime burger with cheddar

I got my gear ready for tomorrow and watched a little TV before turning in for the night. I went to sleep pretty early since I had to get up at very dark o'clock to get to the starting area in time for pre-race check-in.

11/30 Sunday
The final instructions email said to make it to Rancho Oso prior to 5 am. Google Maps said it would take about 40 minutes to get there. I budgeted an hour just to be on the safe side. I left at about 3:30 am and got there about 20 minutes after 4 am. It was a pretty dark drive after getting off of the 154 at Paradise Road. Once I got there, I paid $10 at the gatehouse to enter. I was directed to park in a lot just to the left of the gatehouse.

After parking the car, I walked over to the screen room, the only building besides the restrooms that had the lights on. I picked up my bib and the race shirt. There was a trailer selling coffee and whatnot, but I don't drink coffee. So I went back to my car to take a little cat nap.

Shirt and bib

As the start of the race approached, I got my stuff ready and headed for the restroom. While waiting in line to use the restroom, a girl in front of me was telling her friends that she's a road runner and has no real desire to run an ultra. It was more of a duration issue for her. She doesn't like running anything that'll take more than 3 hrs to complete. Looks like she's a sub 3 road marathoner. I'm pretty sure she was racing the half marathon. It was interesting to hear someone else declare that they'd rather run road races versus trail races. I just prefer sure footing where I can zone out running miles after miles. But you really can't beat the views of a trail race, so you'll find me from time to time running a trail race.

After some last minute instructions by the race director in the screen room, it was time to run some trails! The start for the 3 distances was staggered. Those running the 50 miler were sent out first, followed by the marathoners, then the half marathoners.

Just as the marathoners were about to be sent out, the rain started coming down. First it was just a sprinkle then it became a steady light rain. The intensity of the rain would fluctuate for most of the race. Fortunately the course never got too muddy. The race only had two aid stations, so the runners needed to bring enough nutrition and fluids. While it was still dark, I stumbled here and there as I couldn't really see the terrain. I had to stop and move aside for some runners. Once there was light and the faster runners had disappeared into the distance, everything was a bit more enjoyable. There was a mile or so on some asphalt after reaching the first aid station.

While chugging along on a nice fire road section, Fred, a Vietnam veteran came up to me and talked to me because of the Team RWB shirt that I had on. There was a bit of climbing but the views were pretty nice as I headed to the second aid station.

After leaving the aid station, I made my way up to the halfway point. We were to report the color of something on the ground that would signify that we had actually reached the turnaround point. Near the mine, a couple of us saw something on the ground that looked like what could be a turnaround marker. Good thing a runner ahead of us told us to keep going. After a little bit of climbing, we reached the red flag on the ground. Yay! Time to head back to the finish line!

Nope, not the turnaround marker

Turnaround flag

1: 1:25:13
2: 1:06:14
3: 0:37:15
Halfway: 3:08:42

When I made it back to the aid station, I reported the color of the flag to the volunteers. They gave me a finisher's amulet necklace to wear back to the finish line. I pretty much leapfrogged with a girl named Summer for the entire race. I was running a very even race until the very last leg from the last aid station. On some of the climbs, I had to stop just to catch my breath. The sun had also come out and it had gotten a little warm for my taste. I had a huge bonk that cost me about 30 minutes. It was hard to get my legs to move even on the flat and downhill sections!

Nice bench! Can a sit a spell?

Once I saw the horses, I knew that the finish line was getting closer. I sucked it up as best I could and made as strong a push that I could muster up on my way to the screen room. I was happy just to finish under 7 hours.
4: 0:38:46
5: 1:04:39
6: 1:56:29
2nd half: 3:39:56
Finish: 6:48:38

After crossing the finish line in the screen room, I was able to score a post race PBR and found a place to sit down. I enjoyed the beer while chatting with Jay and waiting for some of my friends to finish.

PBR at the finish line

Thanks to my generous friends, I was able to shower at their cabin. After getting cleaned up, we went back to the finish area to hang out and cheer on the finishers of the 50 miler. When I sat down at the picnic table, there was an empty bottle of Stone Enjoy By 12-26-14 IPA. I guess I had to run faster to enjoy the better beer! Instead I got to drink a can of Tecate! :) It still hit the spot after a romp through the trails of Santa Barbara.

No Stone for the slow runners

Beer for the slower folks :)

Philadelphia Marathon 2014

11/21 Friday
I took an 11:30 pm red eye flight with United flying out of LAX. There would be about a 2 hour layover at Chicago's O'Hare airport. What was nice was that I'm now at silver status, so I got to board with group 2 regardless of where I was sitting on the plane.

11/22 Saturday
While waiting for my flight into Philadelphia, I bought breakfast at the McDonald's that was near my gate. I love McDonald's hash browns! I thought that I would be able to rest a little at a quiet airport since it was pretty early in the morning, but in came a huge group of high school kids. They just flooded the gate area with their endless amount of energy. I believe they were headed to Washington DC for a field trip.

Sausage McMuffin

I landed in Philly at about 11 am and headed directly for the platform to catch a train into City Center. The train ticket purchased from the conductor was $8. I got off at the Jefferson Station formerly known as Market East. Getting to the expo at the Pennsylvania Convention Center required going up a few flights of escalators. Getting to the expo from the station was pretty easy since you never have to step a foot outside.

Train ticket

Expo

Along the way to the bib and packet pick-up area, I came across the seminar stage. Lo and behold it was the legendary Boston Billy giving out pointers on running a smart race on a challenging or hilly course. After picking up my bib and long sleeve race shirt, I started making my way through the expo to check out the different booths.

Seminar schedule

Boston Billy

Packet Pick-Up

After I was done with the expo, I made my way over to the Reading Terminal Market. It was super crowded and a pain in the butt to move around having my bags with me. It took my a bit of navigating to finally find the end of the line for Tommy DiNic's. The line was long but it moved quickly. There was one guy taking orders. I ordered their pulled pork sandwich with provolone and spinach to go. There was a team of about 3 or 4 people just making the sandwiches. Then finally there was one person as the cashier. It was a well oiled machine! I then walked across the street to check into the Marriott. There appeared to be a big convention or conventions taking place that weekend, so the lobby was super busy and crowded. The guy at the front desk was able to give me a room with 1 king size bed, but it was an accessible room. I had no problem with that since I'll be a little "disabled" after the marathon. I'll need all the help that I can get getting in and out of the shower. :)

Tommy DiNic's

Marriott

After dropping my bags and getting a little bit situated, I sat down to eat my sandwich while watching some television. I must say that this was a better sandwich than the usual cheese whiz steak sandwich that they tell you that you're supposed to get when you're in Philly. Good stuff. So skip that cheese whiz steak sandwich and eat one of these sandwiches instead! Also if you prefer, you can get broccoli rabe instead of spinach.

Pulled pork with provolone and spinach

I went through the expo haul and threw away all of the advertisements that I had picked up. Most exhibitors have stopped giving out whole samples at expos, but this was one where I got some bars. I then gathered my race gear to make sure that I had brought everything. With my calendar full of races, I'm always half packed and sometimes I'm known to forget to bring something.

Shirt and expo haul

Back of shirt

Race shirt

For a quick dinner, I walked across the street to buy a burger from BurgerFi. I was in a mood for a burger and this was one of the closer choices. So I walked on over and ordered their BurgerFi Breakfast All Day Burger. It was a natural Angus burger with American cheese, hickory bacon drizzled with maple syrup, fried egg, hash browns, grilled diced onions, and ketchup. They gave me a pager to alert me when my burger was ready. It was a short wait before I got my burger. I took it to go to eat back at my room. It was wrapped in aluminum foil so the burger stayed perfectly warm. It was a pretty decent burger but it was rather small. It was good enough that I might want to try their other burgers on the menu, but I wouldn't go out of my way to come here. I stopped by the 7 Eleven to buy some drinks and bananas before heading back to my room.

BurgerFi Breakfast All Day Burger

11/23 Sunday
The race starts at 7 am but the instructions said to be there no later than 5:30 am. All bags were to be inspected before entered the starting area. So I got ready and walked over to the starting area just a little after 5 am. There were no lines for the security check so after a quick inspection, I pretty much walked on through. I scoped out the area to find my starting section (black) and the gear check trucks. I used the portapotties at about 6 am and checked my bag at the truck. Turned out to be a bit early. Even though I had a mylar heat blanket with me, it was a bit chilly waiting in the empty corral. So I got back up and walked around. Eventually I waited next to one of the gear check trucks to shield me from the wind. While waiting, out of sheer luck I happened to spot my friend Sam, the guy who ran 61 marathons back in 2010 to raise money and awareness for his charity, Operation Jack. Sam is doing all he can to better the life of his son, Jack, who is autistic. This is one of the charities that I support through my marathon running because my younger brother is also autistic. We caught up a bit before we headed to our respective corrals.

Found Sam

Starting corral

The race started with us heading east on Benjamin Franklin Parkway continuing on Arch Street. We would head south on Columbus Blvd when we reached the Delaware River. We would then loop back onto Chestnut Street where we headed west towards University City on the other side of the Schuylkill River. This was where we had our first hill in what was a pretty rolling course. The next several miles would alternate between downhill and uphill. It started to wear me out as I kept reminding myself to ignore the half marathoners. It was about mile 11 and they were speeding up as we ran along the Schuylkill River. I was pretty familiar with this section as I had run this part in the Philadelphia Rock n' Roll Half Marathon. I did all I could to relax and run at a comfortable stride without caring about the pace. There was a little bit of climb up to mile 13. This was when we said goodbye to the half marathoners as they turned right for the finish line while we turned left for the second half.
1: 8:36
2-3: 16:25 (8:13)
4-5: 16:32 (8:16)
6-7: 16:34 (8:17)
8: 9:00
9: 8:32
10: 9:11
11: 8:47
12: 9:09
13: 9:29
Halfway: 1:53:14

High 5 from the Mayor

The second half of the race was a pretty scenic run mostly on Kelly Drive and Main St following the Schuylkill River. It was also very familiar to run on Kelly Drive as it was part of the Philadelphia Rock n' Roll Half Marathon course. Shortly after passing mile 17, we turned left crossing the Falls Bridge for a short out and back. The last turnaround was at about mile 19.5 in Manayunk. The right foot was starting to feel quite achy when I reached mile 24, but I managed to convince myself to keep moving and that I only had two more miles to go. As I crossed the finish line, I got a high 5 from the Mayor. I thought it was pretty cool for him to do that.
14: 9:54
15: 10:19
16: 10:46
17: 10:48
18: 10:39
19: 11:06
20: 11:54
21: 10:31
22: 10:53
23: 11:11
24: 10:49
25: 11:14
26: 10:48
26.2: 1:46
Finish: 4:14:53

Finish line

With that I've completed a marathon in 31 States and with all things considered, this was one of the better executed race that I've run. In the first half, I ran hard, but did not overdo it. My right foot had been bothering me lately, so I made sure that the pace always felt "easy" in the second half. After getting my medal and some of the post race goodies, I headed over to the gear truck to pick up my bag. Then I hoofed it back to my hotel room.

Exit

Bib and medal

After getting cleaned up and resting a bit, I walked over to eat my post race meal at Monk's Cafe. They have a good beer selection here and I believe most are served from a bottle. Come on, they even have a beer bible, which you can buy! I had the Centennial IPA, Stoudt's IPA, and Two Hearted Ale. All three beers were excellent. As for the food, believe the hype! Get the Monk's duck salad and their mussels. They were both really good! The salad was one of the best that I've ever had, but it does help that I love duck meat. As for the mussels, I had their Ghent mussels which was flavored with Saison Dupont, fumé, parsley, carmelized leeks, bacon, bleu cheese, and garlic. I was hungry enough that I finished everything on my own with no problem. I would definitely want to come back here if I'm ever again in the area.

Monk's Beer Bible

Centennial IPA

Monk's duck salad

Stoudt's IPA

Ghent mussels

Two Hearted Ale

I started a conversation with the group in the table next to me because they were really enjoying the Firestone Double Jack that they had ordered. They even bought another large bottle to go. It's funny how you take certain good beers for granted because they're so readily available. When I travel, I usually drink regional beers since they're not usually available in Southern California.

11/24 Monday
I woke up pretty early, just couldn't sleep. I ate a small bag of chips from yesterday's post-race goody bag. I then got ready, packed, and checked out of the hotel a little after 9 am. I took the bridge over to the Market Station, went downstairs, and bought a zone 4 train ticket for the airport. I waited for the 9:55 train and got to the airport super early for my almost 1 pm flight. My allergies had just kicked in and I was feeling really horrible, so I decided to get some breakfast and hot coffee while I waited for my flight. Just as it was about time to board, they announced that the plane had struck a bird on the inbound flight, so the maintenance crew would have to examine the plane. It was worse than they had expected, so they pulled the plane out of service. So I got in a pretty long line to get my flight changed. Just let me tell you, some people are just not cut out to work in anything dealing with customer service for the airlines. One of them was super grumpy. Luckily I got a nice lady, one of four helping us get re-booked. She put me in an aisle seat on a direct flight to LAX with US Airways departing at 4 pm. That was much better since my original itinerary had me going into Houston for a connecting flight.

Breakfast

Coffee

I hiked over to my new terminal and departing gate. Since I had a few hours before my new flight, I guess I had to find something to eat. I ended up eating at Cibo Bistro and Wine Bar. I've eaten here a few times so I knew what to expect and what to order. I had a Yards Brawler and the Cibo Burger. That was a good combo. This place is pricey, but I do like their burger.

Yard's Brawler

Cibo Burger

Then it was time to catch my flight home. I was hoping to catch some shuteye, but that was not to be.

One thing that irks me about flying is when passengers fake needing extra time to board so they can board early. This old couple just did that by walking with a cane. I happened to sit next to the small old lady. Don't let her diminutive size fool you! I thought I was going to have a nice flight for once sitting next to a smaller passenger. Boy, was I wrong! I had the aisle seat and she was sitting in the center seat. She must have elbowed me at least 100 times during the flight and I didn't even have my arm on that center arm rest. She was constantly fidgeting or adjusting something, throwing her chicken wing elbow around. She even boozed up and had to keep asking me to move aside for her to go to the restroom. And how do I know that she faked needing more time to board? Well when we finally landed in LAX, I got out into the aisle and got my stuff and waited as with everybody else to deplane. It's packed. Her husband is sitting in the row in front of her and had both of their suitcases. She asked if I could back up and get out of her way to let her through. I turned around to see if I had space... of course not, everybody is waiting to get off the plane. Just as I was telling her that I have no place to go, she just pushes her way through and climbs over me as if she was Marshawn Lynch going in for a touchdown. Somebody with a leg disability definitely wouldn't be able to do what she did! The passengers around me were just as shocked as I was. She still had to wait for the people in the rows in front of us. Where was the fire? What was your freaking emergency? I've flown a lot of miles in my marathon journey and she is by far the worst person to sit next to for a long flight!