Asante sana!
3/18 Saturday
I woke up early to go to the race expo at the Los Angeles Convention Center via public transportation. I carried all of my stuff in one of the many run Disney plastic bags that I have since I was staying in a hotel in Little Tokyo. Good thing I always pack light! Once again I made my way over to the Pomona Transit Center and took the Silver Streak bus over to Union Station. It was pretty cool to see that they were having a 10 hour Bach marathon inside Union Station! We need some more culture in this world! From there I took the Metro rail into Downtown LA. I got off at Pico station and walked over to the convention center.
Wrong marathon! :)
The expo was located in the West Hall, the side next to Staples Center. Right before entering the expo, they had greeters handing out event guides. After going through the turnstiles, they had the wall of participants. I tried to locate my name, but it was not there. Apparently some of the names where obscured or covered up entirely by graphics! Unfortunately it looked as if charity runners were not officially registered until early March. I've spoken to a few of my friends that were also running for a charity group and their names were also missing. That's kind of lame.
After picking up my bib, I received a text from my friends. They were also at the expo. I texted back that I would meet up with them after I had finished picking up everything. I then picked up my race shirt and went inside to the vendor booths to find them over at the Fitbit booth. I skipped the official merchandise as I really didn't need any more running gear despite everything being marked 30% off. The only thing that I might have wanted to purchase were gloves and arm sleeves, two items that are rarely ever needed in Southern California. So needless to say, they didn't have any. I stopped by the Team World Vision booth to check in and pick up an orange bracelet for access to the team rally before the race at Dodger Stadium.
After we were done with the expo, we walked over to the nearby Yard House for lunch. We were a tad too early so we had to wait a few minutes for them to open up. Once we were seated, I ordered an Arnold Palmer to go with one of my favorite items, their Cobb salad with salmon.
Cobb salad with salmon
After lunch, we started heading back to the expo pretty much so that I could meet Kara Goucher, again. I've met her 3 times before, but she's my favorite elite runner. I wanted to see her again as she is nearing the end of her professional running career. As we exited the restaurant, I spotted Ryan Hall, a recent retiree, also there sitting at one of the tables outside. I didn't want to bother him and those with him, so it was just a quick head nod and "hey, it's Ryan Hall!"
It's Kara Goucher!
After I got an autograph and a photo with Kara, my friends and I went our separate ways. They were staying in Santa Monica while I was staying at the Miyako Hotel in Little Tokyo. I took the Metro rail from Pico over to Little Tokyo. I had to transfer to two different lines for that short trip. I checked into my room and it was nice to finally put down my bag. The weather got pretty warm and I was working up a sweat just from the walk from the Metro station. The room had a few amenities that I normally don't see in hotels. They had an emergency flashlight hanging by the door. They had a pair of slippers and the restroom had a fancy toilet with a built-in bidet. It must be because they cater mostly to Japanese clientele. Most importantly, the bed was clean and very comfortable!
Flashlight!
I went through my expo haul and laid out my running gear for tomorrow's race. Since I took public transportation, I decided to take a shower to feel a bit cleaner. Then I relaxed a bit while watching some of the NCAA March Madness games.
Race shirt and expo stuff
Flat runner
At almost 5:30 pm, I left my room and walked across the street to eat dinner at Suehiro Cafe. It was actually pretty packed inside. I was able to find a seat at the bar since I was dining alone. I ordered their shumai and sukiyakidon. It wasn't a whole lot of food or my usual meal from McDonald's, but it did hit the spot. After dinner, I went over to the nearby Nijiya Market to pick up a snack and a drink for the evening.
Shumai
Sukiyakidon
Snacks
| Foothill Transit 286: | $1.25 |
| Transfer: | $0.50 |
| Silver Streak: | $1.20 |
| Metro Union Station to Pico: | $1.75 |
| Metro Pico to Little Tokyo: | $1.75 |
| Total cost for Saturday: | $6.45 |
3/19 Sunday
I woke up at about 3 am to get ready and go catch the shuttle at Union Station. One advantage of staying close to Union Station was that I got to sleep a few extra hours! I gathered all of my stuff, headed downstairs, and checked out of my room. The walk over wasn't too bad. The police had already closed off certain streets in that area as the marathon course goes right past my hotel. The buses to Dodger Stadium were located at the Patsaouras Transit Center. They examined the contents of my gear bag and made sure that I had a race bib before I was allowed to board a rather nice luxury motorcoach. Coincidentally a friend of mine bumped into me on the bus. The last time we saw each other was when I gave her a ride after the LA Marathon several years ago. It's always nice to see a familiar face!
After we were dropped off, I made my way to the 3rd base side to join the Team World Vision rally. It was located at the loge level. We got there through the field level and taking the stairs up to loge. You had to have an orange bracelet to get up to loge. I was hoping we would get a suite, but I guess that costs quite a bit of money. It was still pretty spacious up there so the restrooms weren't too crowded. I actually left the rally before it started because I wanted to meet up with my other friends at the corral. Before leaving I looked for an old friend that was also running for Team World Vision, but I was unable to locate her.
I made my way to the UPS trucks to check my bag before heading over to corral E. I swung by the 1st base side field level entrance to see if I could spot any Marathon Maniacs for the pre-race photo, but I didn't see even one! Maybe they were running late.
Ready to roll!
This was a strange marathon for me. I started the race feeling pretty good, but I found myself feeling quite lethargic by mile 3. Usually I'm at about the halfway point when I start feeling that way. I had to throw every goal out of the window. I did feel a little better when I stuff myself with a banana. I eventually ended up "running" with a friend around mile 10 or so. We sure did a lot of walking! I don't believe in chance or coincidence. Everything happens for a reason. It was as if that was what I was supposed to do that day. She was having piriformi pain and I had no energy, so together we ran slow. She could've run faster, but she didn't want to hurt herself further right before the Boston Marathon. We shared a lot of stories about life and the crap we've endured throughout that 5 hr jog-a-thon. We probably would've made it in under 5 if I hadn't insist on stopping in at the McDonald's near mile 19 to buy a couple of hash browns. The volunteers at the aid station got a kick out of seeing me eating a hash brown. The first one was great, but the second one made me want to barf! Either way, I had to walk a lot mostly because of leg cramps.
Finished!
Finish time: 5:08:56
Click here for my Garmin data.
After crossing the finish line, we got our hard earned medals. I liked it. It was very similar to the one that we got last year. It was a simple, clean, and a two sided design. It was also in my favorite color, blue!
We got some bananas, a water bottle, and some bags of snacks as we made our way through the finisher chute. We also grabbed a mylar blanket before heading over to the UPS truck so that I could pick up my gear bag. The awesome volunteers had my bag ready as I walked up to the table! It took me a while to rearrange the contents of my bag since I had so much stuff in it. As we were about to head out, it was pretty cool that I got to see one of my friends from Team RWB!
Post race snacks
Team RWB!
Afterwards, we started walking around trying to find the Ragnar booth for my friend to pick up her bonus medal. None of the signs said where it was, but we asked around and was told that it was at the beer garden. We had walked a ways down Ocean Blvd before turning around and started heading over to the beer garden. Just like last year, getting to the beer garden was a pain in the ass! Friends and families of runners were clogging the entrance/exit point of the finish festival. They seriously need to find a bigger venue to accommodate the number of people or better direct the spectators to give the finishers room to exit the chute!
After getting her Ragnar medal, we headed over to the beer garden. My friend had a beer garden bracelet, so she was able to go inside without waiting in line for ID check. After getting my ID checked, I went inside and said hi to a few friends. Since I don't drink alcohol anymore, after a short while, I said my goodbyes and started heading over to the Santa Monica Metro station over on 4th St and Colorado Ave. There was no line for the Metro rail unless you needed to purchase your fare. Getting out of Santa Monica was headache-free for me this year and it only cost me $1.75! I took the Metro rail over to Union Station where I caught the Silver Streak bus and headed home.
| Metro Santa Monica to Union Station: | $1.75 |
| Silver Streak: | $2.45 |
| Transfer: | $0.50 |
| Foothill Transit 286: | $1.25 |
| Total for Sunday: | $5.95 |
| Total transportation cost for the weekend: | $12.40 |
It would've been a tad cheaper, but I screwed up with the last transfer purchase since it was only good for 2 hrs. The Silver Streak bus that I was on was a bit late getting into the Pomona Transit Center, so I had to wait for the next 286 bus. Public transportation is doable and cheaper than driving in Los Angeles, but it sure takes a lot of time!
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