Surf City Marathon 2015

01/30/15 Friday
After work, I drove down to Huntington Beach to pick up my race packet at the Surf City Marathon expo. Traffic and parking wasn't too bad. I was able to pretty much get in and get out. I wasn't too impressed with the Longboard Legacy Club. I'm considering ending my current streak at this race. I've run the half marathon in 2007 and 2008, and I've run the marathon every year since 2009. This was my 9th consecutive year at this event. After picking up my race packet and shirts, I zipped through the expo. However I did end up registering for the Long Beach Marathon and the City of Laguna Hills Memorial Day Half Marathon. I also bought some packs of Margarita Clif Shot Bloks before heading home.

01/31/15 Saturday
Well, it turned out that what I had thought were just allergies was a nasty cold that I had caught from my friend. I had been coughing and hacking up a lot of phlegm throughout the week. I thought about bagging the race and taking a DNS. I decided that it would be a race day decision, so I laid out the flat runner and went to sleep.

Flat runner

02/01/15 Sunday
After taking a hot shower and clearing my throat of phlegm, I actually felt pretty good. So I decided to give it a go. I drove out to Huntington Beach and parked for free on Beach Blvd just South of Atlanta Ave. I think it's easier post race to park here versus the parking lot down by the beach. I then grabbed my gear and walked over to the Hyatt Regency where I usually wait. Apparently this year, they've shut the doors along Pacific View Ave. I had to go all the way around to the other side to get inside.

When it got closer to 6 am, I crossed over on the bridge to meet up with the Marathon Maniacs for a pre-race photo. Too bad it was still very dark and only two cameras were used. One camera did not have a working flash and the other was a point and shoot camera. So all we got out of it was one super dark and blurry photo. I then used a nearby portapotty one last time before jumping into the corral to wait for the 6:30 am start.

Starting line

The race started off rather well. I stuck to the usual 8 min per miles through about the first 10k. For some reason, I didn't really back off on the pace. I should've never ignored the little warning sign from last weekend's marathon. I ended up straining my right calf by mile 8. I think I did back off in time to not cause severe damage. There was a little bit of bruising the next day. I jogged to the mile 9 marker and had to start taking extended walk breaks. On the out and back on PCH, I tried to move as fast as I could. I distracted myself by scanning the other side of the road for my faster friends.

Charlie pacing 3:10

1: 7:53
2: 7:49
3: 8:05
4: 8:15
5: 7:40
6: 7:57
7: 8:14
8: 8:23
9: 9:31
10: 10:08
11: 11:24
12: 11:31
13: 10:22
Halfway: 1:58:14

As I got closer to mile 16, I took a right turn onto the beach bike path for a 10 mile out and back section which is my least favorite part of the course. On top of race participants, there's so much foot traffic as well as bike traffic during this stretch which gets narrow at times. However some good folks have set up an unofficial bacon and beer station which is pretty amusing. They've been there for several years. They even have a banner. The turnaround was at about mile 20.5 and it was starting to get pretty warm. I picked up the pace a tad for the last two miles as I wanted to keep the time under 4:40.

Only 3 more miles for crappy beer! :)

14: 11:25
15: 11:01
16: 11:17
17: 11:36
18: 11:40
19: 10:41
20: 13:44
21: 14:53
22: 11:22
23: 12:24
24: 12:34
25: 11:16
26: 11:11
26.2: 1:43
Finish: 4:34:01

After crossing the finish line, I picked up my surfboard finisher medal. I don't usually care about medals, but it's one of my favorites and a big reason why I keep coming back to this race. I grabbed a bag of snacks and went to the expo tent to pick up the extra Double Dog Dare dog tag bottle opener. I I then headed on over to the beer garden to meet up with my friends. It's always fun to enjoy a few beers with friends after running a marathon. We were able to score some extra beers as they were starting to shut down and didn't want to pour out the remaining beers. We shut that beer garden down as we were the last ones to leave. :)

Shutting down the beer garden with my beer buddies!

After making the what seemed like a long walk back to my car, it was time to go consume some recovery protein! I decided to take a break from the usual post race burger and eat some Korean BBQ. I drove up to Korea House Barbecue Buffet in Garden Grove. It was about a quarter to 3pm, so it cost $21.99 for the all-you-can-eat meal. It was so much quicker to fill up when I have the entire grill all to myself. I even threw some shrimp on the barbie for a little surf and turf.

Meat!

Throwing some shrimp on the barbie

Rock n Roll New Orleans Marathon 2015

01/23/15 Friday
After eating dinner, I headed out to LAX to catch a red eye flight from LAX to New Orleans with a stop over at Houston Bush International Airport.

01/24/15 Saturday
This time I flew with United. Thanks to my silver status, I was able to secure an exit row seat and boarded early. We boarded the plane just after midnight.

Exit row

After landing in Louis Armstrong Airport, I waited for the E2 Airport bus headed for the Central Business District. The fare was $2 for the ride, however on Saturdays it only takes you to Carrollton and Tulane. From there I had to wait a while to catch the 39 Tulane bus for another $1.25. It was sunny but it was pretty cold and windy. I should've worn my jeans instead of the shorts. That bus took me down to Saratoga and Tulane.

I then made the long hike down to the New Orleans Ernest N. Morial Convention Center to attend the race expo. Along the way, I stopped in a Walgreens to buy some drinks for the weekend and the race. It was the typical Rock n' Roll Marathon expo where I bought two tubes of Clif Margarita Shot Bloks after picking up my race packet. While buying the Shot Bloks, my credit card was declined. I had to use one of my backup cards. Apparently the credit card company thought my purchase earlier at the Walgreens was potentially fraudulent. They wanted me to check in with them before the credit card was made valid again. I was able to log in on my phone and take care of that issue.

After leaving the expo, it was time to find something to eat. I decided to check out Cochon for some Cajun Southern Cooking. It was only a few blocks from the Convention Center. There's a Cochon Butcher, which was more of a sandwich shop, and the restaurant setting Cochon, down at the corner. You'll know what I'm talking about when you get there. I came across Cochon Butcher first and it was packed, so I got a table at Cochon. I was looking for a light lunch and after looking through the menu, I ended up ordering the pork cheeks, fried alligator, and a Radical Rye IPA. Everything was very good including the beer. Everybody always wants to know what alligator tastes like. Well, it has the texture of chicken but a little taste of fish... so it's a combination of fish and chicken. I kept the meal light and simple as I didn't want to eat too heavy or get too adventurous the day before running a marathon. I would definitely love to come back here to try other items on their menu.

Pork cheeks and fried alligator

After my meal, I made my way over to my hotel, The Prytania Park Hotel over in the Garden District. It was a quaint little hotel. I was pleasantly surprised during my stay here. The room was nice, clean, and quiet. The room came with a mini fridge, microwave oven, and a coffee maker. I picked this place because it was affordable and located very far away from all of the craziness of Bourbon Street. It was conveniently located to a lot of restaurants on St. Charles Avenue. They served a complimentary breakfast each morning. If the wild party scene isn't your thing, you might want to stay here instead of the French Quarter.

After getting settled into my room, I went through the stuff that I got at the expo. The race shirt was the usual green and purple design for New Orleans. It was very plain, more so than usual.
Looks like this one's not a keeper. It's not my color. I relaxed a bit while watching some TV. During that time I also got out my race gear to take care of obligatory Mr. Flat Runner picture.

Flat runner

For an early dinner, I walked across to the other side of St. Charles Avenue to eat at Zea Rotisserie and Grill. After looking through the pretty extensive menu, I ended up ordering their special, the braised provimi veal with natural au jus. For the sides I got the roasted potatoes and the red beans & rice. I hate to admit it, but the veal was really good. My vegetarian and vegan friends always give me a hard time when they find out that I've eaten veal. Anyways I wasn't expecting to eat such good veal in New Orleans. I had to avoid the usual seafood that people eat in NOLA as I wanted to avoid any surprises for the marathon. Along with the meal I had a Pontchartrain Porter. Nice beer.

Pontchartrain Porter

Braised provimi veal with natural au jus, roasted potatoes, red beans and rice

01/25/15 Sunday
My nose had been dripping and running nonstop for most of yesterday. It seemed to have stopped when I woke up. I thought maybe it was just allergies. Oh well, it was time for the legs to do some running instead.

The race started at 7:30 am at Poydras St and Camp St. So I got myself ready and made the walk over to the starting area. It was only about a mile walk, but I came across some shady characters along the way. I just minded my own business and hoped that none of them hassled me. The pre-race staging area was at Lafayette Square. I grabbed a couple of bananas and one of those small water bottles. I hung out at some steps on the east side of the square.

Starting line

Before I headed to the corrals, I checked my gear bag and used a nearby portapotty. I used an old mylar sheet from another race to shield my legs from the wind. While waiting in the starting corral I bumped into a fellow Marathon Maniac from New York. Just as the race was about to start, I saw my friend Sally and her family hop into the corral. I think her son was running his first half marathon. I had first met Sally and her dad here a few years back.

Once the race was under way, I stuck with the usual plan of running the first 10k at a 8 min per mile pace. From then on, I would back off on the pace. The first 8 miles was pretty much an out-and-back on St. Charles Avenue. As I made my way through the French Quarter and headed towards Esplanade Ave, my right calf felt particularly tired. I felt like I was running with one and a half legs. It was a relieve to finally make the left turn and leave the half marathoners at about mile 12.5.
1: 7:51
2: 8:00
3: 7:58
4: 8:03
5: 7:53
6: 8:03
7: 8:20
8: 8:38
9: 9:04
10: 9:48
11: 9:36
12: 10:04
13: 9:24
Half: 1:53:35

After a little out and back on Carrollton Avenue, I started running the perimeter of the City Park heading north for a couple of miles on Marconi Drive. I then headed east towards and past the University of New Orleans. The turnaround was at about mile 20.5. It got a tad warm on Lakeshore Drive as we were exposed and it was also a bit windy. The cramps were creeping in as I slowly made my way through the City Park and towards the finish line.
14: 10:36
15: 10:06
16: 10:09
17: 10:52
18: 12:24
19: 12:12
20: 11:10
21: 11:56
22-23: 27:04 (13:32)
24: 12:27
25: 12:08
26: 12:24
26.2: 1:59
Finish: 4:28:10

After picking up my medal, I got some beads added to the lanyard. The beads were somewhat of a good idea except that the beads were not the same length as the lanyard. I also picked up a finisher's jacket before heading over to the UPS trucks to pick up my gear bag. I then made my way over to the beer garden over at the track and field. It was pretty cool that they were giving out unlimited draft beer after the first can, but I couldn't even finish the can. It's just not a good beer. I then made my way over to the shuttles for a ride back to the CBD. They were located just past the UPS trucks.

Unlimited draft Michelob Ultra!

The bus dropped us off on Poydras just a few blocks beyond the Superdome. I walked a few more blocks and turned right at St. Charles Ave to get back to my hotel. Once I got back to my room, I got cleaned up and proceeded to lounge on the bed watching TV. Once it was dinner time, I walked over to The Avenue Pub for my customary post race burger and beers. This was an awesome beer bar. They definitely had some great beers on tap. I love stouts and it was my luck that they had some good stouts from Evil Twin Brewing on tap. I had the I Love You Stout and the Imperial Biscotti Break Natale Porter at the downstairs bar. I made my way to the upstairs bar just to try the Blueberry Stout. As for food, I ordered the pub burger from the kitchen. It was a pretty dang good burger! It was super juicy and came with fries. It made for a good combo.

Evil Twin I Love You Stout

Pub burger

Evil Twin Imperial Biscotti Break Natale

Evil Twin Blueberry Stout

01/26/15 Monday
I checked out of the hotel and made my way over to the bus stop at Poydras between La Salle and Loyola to catch the E2 bus to the airport.

Before going through TSA and going to my gate, I first ate lunch at Dooky Chase's. Usually I do not look forward to eating at the airport, but this place has good food. I started off with an Abita Turbodog. I then ordered one of my favorite meals, the red beans and rice with smoked sausage.

Abita Turbodog

Red beans and rice with smoked sausage

Thank goodness my flight home was a nonstop flight. I was feeling pretty exhausted. I think all of the traveling and running marathons had been catching up to me. Again I was able to get an exit row seat with enough leg room for me to cross my legs.

Inaugural Star Wars Rebel Challenge 2015

Thursday 1/15
As soon as I got off of work, I headed on over to the expo at Disneyland to pick up my race packet. I figured that I might as well get it over with today rather then going on Friday which is typically busier. Parking wasn't too bad at Downtown Disney. After parking, I made my way down the ramp to pick up my bib and my coast-to-coast bracelet. Then I went back up to the expo to pick up my shirts. I stopped by the Lasting Commemoratives booth and picked up a free bookmark. I had forgotten to register my email online, but he gave one to me anyways when I told him that they already have my email since I've run so many Disney races.

May the course be with you!

Free bookmark

Before leaving the expo, I stopped by the runDisney booth to take a free green screen photo. They required that you follow them on Instagram. So finally I joined Instagram. My username is ilovesteaks88 if you want to follow me. For the photo you get to pick the Alliance or the Dark Side. I picked the Dark Side because it looked cooler. :)

Saturday 1/17
It took me a while to find this R2D2 shirt, a shirt that I got for making a donation to UNICEF. It was pretty much in the last place that I looked. I got ready and drove over to the Mickey and Friends parking structure where I paid $17 to park. They really should factor that into the cost of registration. I mean how many runners actually stay there after the race? But hey, it's Disney... it's not cheap to provide that Disney Magic!

After using the parking structure restroom one last time, I headed over to the pre-race entertainment that was located at the stage. We watched them bring out C3PO and R2D2. A couple of Jedi fought off Darth Vader. Then it was time to head over to the starting corral. In the corral, they kept showing the movie trailer for Star Wars Episode VII: The Force Awakens.

There was a little stage play going on and Darth Vader took Rudy away for a little bit. Luckily, the rebels were able to rescue him. :)

I liked that the entire course was pretty much in Disneyland or Disney California Adventure. After the two hills (freeway overpasses) during the first 2 miles, the rest of the course was pretty flat. I ran the first 5k in 23:45 and the second 5k in 22:58. I'm definitely better at pacing for shorter distances. I was a little surprised that the legs moved pretty well after the Dopey Challenge. It was a little strange for me to see my miles starting to creep below 7 minutes.
1: 7:36
2: 7:41
3: 7:08
4: 7:40
5: 8:03
6: 6:59
6.2: 1:37
Finish: 46:43

10k finish

After getting my medal and a post race goodie box, I drove home to eat my snacks and rest up for tomorrow's half marathon.

Sunday 1/18
For the half marathon, I dug out one of my favorite Star Wars shirts. A lot of my favorite shirts are cotton. Again I parked at the Mickey and Friends parking structure and paid another $17.

Half marathon race shirt

Once again, they played the same movie trailer while we waited in the starting corral. There was no kidnapping of the race announcer today. Just like yesterday, there was a scrolling Star Wars message before we were released. All of the Star Wars geeks were eating this stuff up!

I started out a bit too fast. I eventually settled into around an 8 min per mile pace. The course took us all the way down to Garden Grove Blvd. As you can see, things fell apart at mile 9. Just like the Avengers Half Marathon, they had a line of people dressed up in Star Wars costumes, most of them in Jedi clothes. From the elevation profile, it was a steady slight incline all the way to the finish line. I could not recover and had to cruise in just barely under 1:50. I was definitely feeling the effects of the Dopey Challenge.
1: 7:16
2: 7:32
3: 7:40
4: 8:04
5: 8:18
6: 8:02
7: 8:06
8: 8:14
9: 8:37
10: 8:59
11: 9:11
12: 8:36
13: 9:04
13.1: 0:48
Finish: 1:48:28

It was pretty cool seeing Goofy dressed as Darth Vader and Donald Duck dressed as a Storm Trooper at the finish line. You just can't get this type of finish at another race. I'm glad that I'm now at a point where running a 1:48 was a bad day for a half marathon.

Half Marathon finish

I met up after the race with a couple of my fellow Disney loving friends. We traded race stories before I went back to my car to change out of my wet clothes. We all eventually headed over to the Earl of Sandwich. I ordered a Chipotle Chicken Avocado sandwich and two Stellas. For some reason, they would not let my friend order two beers. I knew for a fact that Disney limits 2 beers per person. Odd!

My Disney friends

Earl of Sandwich

After eating our breakfast, my friend and I went over to Trader Sam's to see if we could get some drinks. We had no luck there, so we decided to go to ESPN Zone. It would turn out that they opened early at 10 am. We went in at about 10:30 am looking for a place to sit where we could catch the NFL playoff game between the Packers and the Seahawks. We couldn't find a spot at the bar on the right side, but we were able to find a couple of spots at the bar on the left side. It seemed like I was the only one rooting for the Packers, but the place was packed with Seahawks fans. The Seahawk fans were nice to me when their team came from behind to win the game. During that game I went through 5 big Firestone DBA's. Again, my friend was cut off. He did switch to smaller sized beers as the game wore on. Oh well, we were going to leave anyways. :)

Trader Sam's

Big Firestone Double Barrel Ale x 5