It was a very last minute decision for me to go run this marathon. The registration was included in the Rock n' Roll Global Tour Pass, so the only cost that I would have to eat was the non-refundable hotel registration that I had pre-paid if I had decided not to go. So on Monday I finally pulled the trigger and bought the airfare after weeks and months of waiting for the price to drop. It just did not budge.
I left work early to get to the airport. It was a nonstop United flight to London Heathrow airport. We pretty much boarded on time. Score! A lady traded me her window seat for my middle seat so she could sit together with her friend but then the captain announced that there was a problem with the plane. Just when I thought that I was experiencing some good luck. There was apparently a leak in one of the fuel tanks. So they had to drain it, repair it, and reload the fuel. They gave us the choice of staying on the plane or getting off. Most of the passengers elected to get off. I got off to go find something to eat.
I was pretty happy to see The Counter as an available choice but it would turn out that this was a sub-par Counter. I've eaten at The Counter elsewhere but they were never this bad. For the price you pay, you'd expect to get a gourmet burger but you're better off eating at a McDonald's as you know what to expect no matter which McDonald's you eat at, even at an airport. Don't expect your burger to taste the same as it would at a regular Counter location. The taste was just off. Service at this location was not very good. There was clearly a lot of arguing going on among the staff in the open kitchen while there was a backlog of orders to fill. There's not a whole lot of tables to sit at nearby, so I took it to go and ate at the gate.
After about a 5 hr delay, we boarded again and we were finally off for London. The captain told us that the flight was very close to being canceled and praised the maintenance crew.
1/3 lb beef, brioche bun, Tillamock cheddar, horseradish aioli, red onion, pickle chips, sprouts, and pepperoncinis
During the overnight flight, I finally got caught up on some movies that I have yet to see: The Lego Movie, Monuments Men, and Captain America. The Lego Movie was pretty entertaining and awesome! I thought that the Monuments Men was a bit boring. I kept falling asleep. Captain America was pretty good. I couldn't believe that it took me this long to finally see it!
5/23 Friday
I landed in London Heathrow a little before 5 pm local time, about 5 hours behind schedule. After going through customs, I changed some of my USD for UK Pounds. When I was planning this last minute trip, I couldn't find an acceptable train schedule, so I had to plan to rent a car. Boy, it was expensive to drive in the UK! I rented with Enterprise and their service was top notch! The lady at the airport counter tried to sell me every insurance they had. I had to pass on all of it. I assured her that I would drive very slow! After paying for the car, I hopped on their shuttle to pick up the car. After doing a walk around with the car, it was off I go.
I had recently changed my cell service from Verizon to T-Mobile because of their unbeatable international data plan. Thank goodness it worked perfectly in the UK. I had printed out maps just in case. After getting acquainted with sitting on the right side of the car and driving on the left of the road, it was actually pretty easy driving in the UK probably because it's so dang expensive. I liked that they had turnabouts instead of stop signs. Google Maps did keep things interesting by routing me to some 2 lane back roads instead of the major roadway because it calculated it being faster. It was raining pretty good as well, so I had to stay alert even though I was pretty tired. Thank goodness I survived the near 4 hour drive and arrived at The Dolby Hotel. I rolled into my hotel's parking lot at about 11 pm. I bought an outlet adapter in the hotel's vending machine so that I could charge up my tablet and phone.
Hello bed! So tired!
Smallest bathroom that I've ever seen!
5/24 Saturday
I slept in and didn't leave my room until about noon time. I walked over to the JD Sports at Liverpool One to pick up my race packet. The pick-up spot was just a little counter tucked in the corner of the sports store right as you enter. They were interviewing runners just outside. I was their first and served as their guinea pig. There was a wind gust that blew down the sign behind me. They got that fixed for the next runner.
Interviewing runners
I then made the long hike (~3.5 miles) over to the famed Anfield soccer stadium. Two of my friends back home are huge soccer fans and they told me that I definitely should go visit the Shankly Gates. Along the way, I walked through the Everton Park Heritage Trail which felt like it was all uphill but it was very beautiful.
The surrounding buildings just before you get to the stadium was pretty dilapidated. The stadium itself was pretty nice and impressive. After visiting the shop and buying a couple of scarves, I went around to see the Shankly Gates. It was starting to rain a bit, so I didn't stick around very long. I even had to pull out my umbrella for a little bit as I started heading back to my hotel.
After all of the walking, I was pretty tired, thirsty, and hungry. So I stopped in a convenience store and bought some snacks and drinks. Then I went in a Lobster Pot for some fish and chips before heading back to my hotel. It was served with salt and vinegar. It was fast food and nothing fancy, but now I understand why they're known for this combo! I would categorize it as comfort food. The weather was a bit gloomy and rainy, and this was the perfect food for that sort of weather. I was fortunate to find a small table near the back of the place to enjoy the food. I wish that there were places like this back in the States, but all we have that's similar over in the US are Long John Silver's and they're not very good.
Fish and chips
For my usual pre-marathon meal, I walked across the street to the McDonald's. I love that you can walk into any McDonald's anywhere in the world and expect pretty much the same quality and quick service. They were having some sort of USA promotion menu with a different sandwich for each week. This week was the New York Classic. I've visited New York several times and I'm pretty sure that they're not known for their burgers or a type of burger. I was curious, so I ordered it along with my regular Big Mac and took it back to my room to eat. The NY Classic was a strange burger to say the least, but it wasn't horrible. At least the Big Mac was a good constant.
Big Mac and New York Classic
After scarfing down the two burgers, I got my race gear ready. Then I just relaxed while watching the Real Madrid v. Atlético Madrid fútbol match on TV. It was an entertaining game. The heavily favored Real Madrid was trailing pretty much the entire match, but they scored late to tie up the match and eventually won.
Race gear
Real Madrid v. Atlético Madrid
5/25 Sunday
It was pretty convenient to be so close to the starting area. The full marathon started at 9 am. But I walked over to the starting area to watch the start of the half marathon which started a full hour earlier at 8 am. I milled around the Albert Dock area until it was closer to the start of the marathon. I then hit the portapotties one last time and checked my gear bag before heading to the corrals. I bumped into a few Marathon Maniacs there taking pictures. There was only a few of us on this side of the pond for a marathon.
The Beatles
Starting corral
The first half pretty much took us through city streets. This was not a flat course. There was a lot of ups and downs. I could tell that the majority of the runners were serious runners. Everybody was running the tangents. There were no silly costumes or tutus. Everybody was pretty much wearing club singlets. Per the usual strategy I ran harder for the first 10k (52:57), coasted into the halfway point (1:54:50), then run as much as I could to the 20 mile mark (3:07:40) before I was allowed to walk. The second half was really green and beautiful. We ran through several parks: Princes Park, Sefton Park, and Otterspool Park. It actually got a bit sunny and warm as I ran along the River Mersey. It then started sprinkling as I approached the finish. We finished right next to the Echo Arena.
1: 8:32
2: 8:03
3: 8:21
4-5: 16:45 (8:22)
6-9: 35:56 (8:58)
10: 8:17
11: 8:57
12-13 18:59 (9:30)
14-15: 19:52 (9:56)
16: 9:09
17: 12:35
18: 10:17
19: 10:33
20: 11:17
21: 10:48
22: 11:59
23: 11:06
24: 13:27
25: 10:02
26: 10:32
26.2: 1:43
Finish: 4:17:08
After picking up the finisher medal, we went inside the Echo Arena to pick up so snacks, our finisher shirt, and our gear bag. I love races where you get your shirt after the race which makes you earn your shirt. Then exiting the arena, I grabbed a Cobra beer. It was definitely better than the usual Michelob Ultra that I'm used to getting at a Rock n' Roll marathon event. There was a lot of people in the finish area but I was able to find a spot to sit down. I'm glad that I came here for this marathon. I love exploring a new part of the world and experiencing new things like driving on the other side of the road.
Finish with a post race Cobra beer
For dinner, I set out to get some bangers and mash. I checked out The Smugglers Cove over at the nearby Albert Dock. I tried to get a table without a reservation, but they were packed so I had to find a spot at the bar. The restaurant had a nice ambiance. It was dark and sort of felt like the Pirates of the Caribbean at Disneyland. So the restaurant was appropriately named. I also loved the design of their menus. After finding a spot at the bar, I finally ordered a beer (West Coast IPA) that was tapped straight from a cask and their bangers and mash. The bartender put in my order, but about 15 minutes later I was told that they were out. It was a bit weird that they had me pay right away, so they had to credit it back to my credit card. I asked for recommendations on what else was good on the menu. I was told that the Hanging Kebobs were good. So I got the Hanging Beef Kebobs and this time I asked if I could start a tab. They held on to my credit card and gave me a key with a number on it. When the food was brought out, they pour the garlic oil on top, so that it drips down the skewer. He was right, it was very good... nice, and delicious. I finished it off with a Loweswater Gold which was also tapped straight from a cask.
Phoenix Brewery West Coast IPA and their cool looking menu
Hanging beef kebab
Cumbrian Legendary Ales Loweswater Gold
5/26 Monday
I packed up all of my stuff, checked out of my room, and started on my long drive down to London Heathrow Airport. There wasn't many cars out on the roads that early in the morning. After several hours and a few hundred miles behind the wheel, I was starting to get used to sitting on the right side of the car and driving on the left side of the road. Also I was finally accustomed to exiting the freeway on the left side. Before returning the car, I drove to a nearby gas station. Boy it was expensive to fill up the car. I didn't use an entire tank of gas and it was 53.55 Pounds to fill up 38.55 Liters. That's almost 100 USD! Thank goodness I had no car issues and was able to bring the car back to Enterprise in one piece and without a scratch.
I was at the airport pretty early for my flight back home so I figured that I would have an English breakfast before catching my flight. After perusing the area for my options, I ended up at The Harlequin. I ordered their Harlequin Full English Breakfast and it was good! It included some delicious bacon! I received good service even though I was sitting at a table tucked in the corner. The only thing that I could complain about was that they gave me water in a dirty glass. Besides that, it was an excellent breakfast experience which is hard to come by at an airport.
The Harlequin Full English
On my flight back home, I continued to catch up on movies that I've yet to see: Ride Along, We're the Millers, and Elysium. Kevin Hart is one funny actor. We're the Millers was a pretty dang funny movie. That one kept me awake. Elysium was a bit predictable, but not too bad for a sci-fi movie.
No comments:
Post a Comment