I had a late start getting to the expo. It opened at 9 am, but I didn't roll into Long Beach until a little after 10 am. I parked at the usual parking structure located on 3rd St between Pine Ave and Long Beach Blvd. The first two hours were free. From there I walked over to the Long Beach Convention & Entertainment Center for the expo. One thing new for this year was that they were checking bags at the entrance. I hate that that has now become the norm. :(
Expo
After I picked up my bib, I picked up my race shirt. I thought that the race shirt was a little bit better this year compared to recent years. At least they didn't have graphics printed all over the place. I like things kept simple.
Race shirt, front
Race shirt, back
After getting my shirt, I made sure to visit the Beach Bum Club area before I forget. There was a person stationed near the entrance checking our status. She verified that it was my 6th year in the club. That meant that I get the long sleeve Beach Bum hoodie!
Beach Bum Club
6th year!
Beach Bum Hoodie
After going through all of the vendor booths, I stopped by the Long Beach Marathon booth to sign up for next year's race for $90 which was the discounted rate for Beach Bum members. With the processing fee, it came out to $98.61 which is still a great price for a marathon. I only need to run this race 4 more years to get my name enshrined on a bench on the Long Beach Run of Fame Bench in Lighthouse Park!
Signing up for next year
Expo haul
After I was done with the expo, I drove over to Disneyland to a hit a few rides before dinner with my friend. I was trying to save my stomach for the dinner buffet, but was getting hungry, so I ended up getting a Dole Whip Float at the Tiki Juice Bar over at Adventureland to tide me over.
- Buzz Lightyear Astro Blasters
- Ghost Galaxy
- Tiki Juice Bar
- Star Tours
Two new flavors!
Nashville Hot Shrimp and Mediterranean Shrimp
We both tapped out a bit early since we both had races tomorrow. When I got home, I decided on my flat runner for tomorrow's race. I went with one of my Dodgers race shirts to show support for my team in the playoffs.
Flat runner
Sunday 10/8
Instead of parking in the lot by the Convention Center, I decided to go back to pre-paying for parking at one of the parking structures for $12. I picked the same one that I parked at for the expo. I rolled into the parking structure a little before 4:30 am and it appeared that I was among the first to park there. As it got closer to 5 am, I got my stuff ready and walked over to the nearby Hyatt Regency just off of Pine Ave to use their restroom. After I was done, I made my way over to the starting line.
Start line
At about 30 minutes before the start of the race, I started bumping into some familiar faces. I took a bunch of photos with my Marathon Maniacs friends. I also said hi to a Marathon Maniac that was pacing the 3:25 group. I see him here every year so it seems.
Pre-race Marathon Maniacs from Robert
3:25 pacer
I didn't go out with reckless abandon like I usually do at the beginning of a race. Everything felt ok, but the left ankle was getting a bit sore from the downhill section at around mile 5. I was able to see my old friend from the Runner's World forum at her usual cheering spot. By the time I reached the 10k mark, I had to pull over and walk. Sure my left ankle was bothering me, but my bigger problem was with my GI. It was starting to revolt. I kept an eye out for a portapotty or beach restroom. The doors were all locked at the first restroom. Then at the second restroom, some of the spectators informed me that the ones in the back were unlocked but they were dirty. I didn't care, things were going to explode if I didn't take care of business! It was indeed filthy inside the stalls, but it was an emergency and I managed. I resumed running, but I tried not to push the pace as the GI distress was worse if I ran too hard. At this point, I just wanted to get off of the beach bike path.
Yum Yum
Once off of the bike path, the roads were wider and I was able to slow down even more and try to let things calm down. I was passed by a firefighter running while wearing his gear. He was running to raise funds for Aidan who was suffering from Astrocytoma. The tumor on the boy's spine led to paralysis and breathing issues. Here's the Go Fund Me page. Life is just not fair. :(
Thankfully I was able to duck into an available portapotty between miles 11 and 12. I think that visit finally cleared everything out of my system. Dude! No more, Endless Shrimp the night before a marathon! I felt pretty empty and exhausted. I spotted one of my trail running friends just as we were running up Nieto Ave. I couldn't quite keep up with her, so I dropped back and eventually bumped into my good friend as we were approaching the halfway point. We ended up running the rest of the race together.
Then on the way out to Cal State Long Beach, we bumped into several of our friends running on the other side of the course heading for the finish line. Then as we were done with our loop of the college, we got to see our friends that were behind us.
Pacer Jen
Sun's out, guns out!
Photo from Dexter
Shortly after reaching mile 20, we saw our friends while headed west on Atherton St at Bellflower Blvd. They had made a pit stop at the AM PM for a soda. Boy, did that sound good!
Where's my soda?
There's the soda!
As we approached mile 23, my friends that were pacing the 5:25 group caught up to us. Both of us were too cramped up to be able to keep up with them.
Pacers Cindy and Laura
Somewhere around mile 25, one of our friends caught up to us and slowed down to say hi. Then as we approached mile 26, we saw our friend Ed the Jester doing his thing. He always sticks around after his race to cheer on every last runner out there!
The Jester Ed!
Finish line
Finish: 5:40:52
Click here for my Garmin data.
After crossing the finish line and getting our hard earned medal, we staggered through the line for the post race drinks and bag of snacks.
Medal
Post race snacks
The volunteers ended up giving me and my friend each a flat of C2O pure coconut water. It was getting a bit heavy having to carry it all the way back to the car! My friend gave me a ride back to my car over at the parking structure.
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