Per the usual for this race, I took the Metro both to go to the expo as well as the race. Downtown traffic normally isn't too bad that early on a Saturday, but the LA Comic Con was taking place there as well. Not only does that mean that traffic will be bad, but that also the nearby parking lots will jack up their prices. So Saturday morning, I drove out to the Sierra Madre Villa Station to catch the Metro into Downtown Los Angeles. I got off the gold line at Union Station and hopped on the red/purple line. I got off at 7th St/Metro Center to then catch the blue/expo line down to the Pico Station. From there, it's just a short walk over to the Convention Center. Not bad for $1.75 one way.
LA Comic Con
The race expo was located on the end closest to Staples Center. The expo was well organized and very streamlined, however it felt much smaller than prior years. Per the usual routine, I picked up my bib, picked up the race shirt, picked up my goodie bag, walked straight through the official merchandise area, visited the vendor booths, and finished things off by stopping at the Rock n' Roll Series area to sign up for next year's race for $59 + $9.99 processing fee. I got the standard free t-shirt for registering at the expo. The contents of the goodie bag was pretty standard for races these days except for the ruler. What an odd item to give to runners! :)
Expo
Race shirt
Expo haul
T-shirt for registering for next year
Slow Down!
Exit
After leaving the expo and getting back to my car, I drove down to Disneyland for a quick visit. I only rode my two regular rides, the Buzz Lightyear Astro Blasters and Star Tours. I then left to go find something to eat. Since the goodie bag had a buy one, get one free coupon for Chipotle, that's where I ended up going. I went to the one in Fullerton where I ordered a barbacoa bowl and a steak bowl. I think the cashier thought I was ordering for someone else as she gave me two cups for water.
Chipotle BOGO
Barbacoa and steak bowl
Since the race occurs around Halloween and is usually a Halloween themed race, I decided to wear my Disneyland's Haunted Mansion Ghost Host t-shirt.
Flat runner
Sunday 10/29
The race was scheduled to start at 6:45 am, so I timed my trip on the Metro to arrive at the start area at about 6 am. It was pretty cool that I bumped into an old Team in Training friend while riding the gold line. It was already pretty crowded and busy when I arrived at the starting area. I got in line for one of the portapotties near the outside of my corral. The lines were pretty short, so I didn't have to wait too long. Eventually I bumped into a couple of friends who were also starting out of corral 2.
Start line
When our corral was released, I shot off with a spring in my step that was missing last weekend. It felt great to be moving at a faster pace. I was running the first mile or so with a guy dressed up as a pharaoh. It was quite impressive for him to run so fast while wearing that robe/costume! Around the second mile or so I came across that Korean racing duo where the older runner would yell at the younger runner nonstop like a drill sergeant! The younger runner pulled over in discomfort as I passed him. I think he had a side stitch. He would eventually recover and overtake me. The course remained relatively unchanged from last year. Some of changes were that instead of running around the perimeter of the Coliseum, we ran an out and back on Exposition Blvd and another short out and back going South on Figueroa St. There was also a short out and back going up to 6th St before turning west on Wilshire Blvd for the final long out and back. That long stretch took us out to Western Ave and it was full of rollers. As the race progressed, the left ankle was again getting sore from the downhill sections. It got sore to the point where I couldn't tolerate any type of hard effort or pace. I just made sure to not give up and start walking outside of my normal scheduled walk breaks. During that final downhill mile, I had nothing left. The spectators were urging me to finish strong, but that was all I had left... sputtering to the finish line.
Finish line
Finish: 1:56:37
Click here for my Garmin data.
After a lackluster race on my part at the Marine Corps Marathon, I wasn't too confident coming into this race that I could pull off a sub 2 hr half marathon. I still stuck to my plan of attacking that first 5k and then running with whatever I had left for the rest of the race. Fortunately I had enough in the tank to reach my goal with a few minutes to spare. This was my 8th consecutive time running this race. I might relinquish my legacy status once I reach the 10th year.
After crossing the finish line, I got my medal and took my time going down the finisher chute. I knew that with my massive fade over the last couple of miles that my friend should be right behind me. He was and it turned out that he beat me by chip time. We traded race stories while grabbing some post race drinks and snacks.
Finisher medal
Finish line with Robert
Post race food and drinks
I was feeling a bit worn out from all of the traveling to the east coast for the past couple of weekends, so I decided to bail and head home without checking out any of the post race festivities. First I gave my friend my beer ticket for him to use or to give away. I then walked up Figueroa St towards 7th St to catch the Metro back to my car. It also gave me the opportunity to cheer on those that were just about finished with their race. Once I got home and got cleaned up, I joined my folks in a cool down walk around a local park. Afterwards we got some lunch at our favorite local restaurant, NOODLEMii. I was pretty wiped out after lunch, so it was time for a much needed nap!
#1 House Bowl
No comments:
Post a Comment