Normally I go to sleep pretty early on Friday nights so I can wake up early to watch English Premier League matches. However this weekend was different. EPL was on international break with the UEFA European Championship matches taking place and Eliud Kipchoge was on a quest to see if it's possible to break the 2 hr barrier in the marathon. They controlled every possible variable to try and help him achieve such a feat. Some of those variables were picking a time in the year to have optimal temperature, a flat course, reducing air drag by having pacesetters run in front of him the entire way, and special shoes made by Nike. Seeing how he has already run a 2:01:39 world record at the 2018 Berlin Marathon, I thought it was pretty doable for him when you stack everything in his favor. However with sports, you still have to go out and perform.
Saturday 10/12
As a person who loves planning and logistics, it was cool to see the precision in how everything was handled especially the rotation of the pacesetters. It was pretty exciting and thrilling to see him break 2 hrs, finishing in 1:59:40. However I thought it was a bit of a stretch to describe it as a Neil Armstrong moment. Still it was pretty inspiring to watch. Here's an interesting article about the event.
Since I was up late, I slept in a bit. I woke up to watch some of the Vega Ironman World Championship that was taking place in Kona. It was pretty cool to recognize some of the roads as I was there earlier in the year for the Revel Kulia Marathon.
After finishing lunch, I finally started heading out to the expo. Per the usual, I parked at the City Place Lot C parking structure on W 3rd St between Pine Ave and Long Beach Blvd. There seemed to be a lot more homeless people hanging out outside this particular structure than prior years. It reeked of urine and smoke. Long Beach was never really a pleasant place to visit, but it has gotten worse. From there, I walked down The Promenade over to the Long Beach Convention & Entertainment Center.
After getting through bag check and the metal detectors, I made my way into the expo. Just inside the entrance, they had boxes for shoe drop-off. I put in two pairs of Nike shoes that were no good for my feet. I put barely any miles on those shoes so I hope they go to people that could actually put them to good use.
Shoe drop-off
I then got in line to be assigned a bib number. It was a pretty quick process if you show your registration QR code to the volunteer. Even if you didn't have the QR code, they were able to search by name which I did when I picked up a couple of bibs for my friends as well. That was followed by picking up a long sleeve race shirt. I kind of wish that all Southern CA races would just give out short sleeve shirts. It's hardly ever cold enough to be wearing long sleeve.
Long sleeve race shirt
Back of race shirt
I timed it so that I would be at the expo at 2 pm. They were having a little ceremony at that time to recognize the runners that have run the Long Beach event for at least 10 consecutive years. In a couple of years, that will be me as this year will be my 8th consecutive year.
10+ years loyalty runners
Group photo
After that, I went over to the nearby participants name wall to find my name. That was then followed by getting in line to prepay for race day parking. Just as with prior years, I opted for parking in one of the City Place lots which costs $12. The other option available for prepay was for parking at the Pike Parking Structure for $15. Besides prepaid parking, they also had convention center parking, but that was on first-come, first-served basis for $15 cash on race morning. There are also many small lots sprinkled through the downtown Long Beach area.
Participants name wall
Found my name
Prepaying for race day parking
On my way out, I signed up for next year's marathon for $80. It was $85 for early registration, but they knocked off $5 for Beach Bum members. The total with registration fees came out to $87.82, not a bad price for a full marathon!
Register for next year
Before leaving, I bumped into a few of my Marathon Maniacs friends. It's always good to bump into them at race expos.
Deo and Coconut Boy!
Dan and Karen!
I also bumped into Carissa Galloway. I spoke with her briefly before she was interrupted by work duties. I normally only see her at Disney races. Apparently the race organizers for Long Beach got her as the race announcer for this year. She was unaware that she was replacing Rudy.
During the walk back to my car, I was pretty thirsty, so I cracked open the bottle of collagen water. Yikes! It tasted horrible! If I weren't so thirsty, I would've spat that right out!
Expo haul
Once I got home, I resumed watching the Ironman World Championship. Two German triathletes, Jan Frodeno and Anne Haug, took first place in both the men and women's race.
Jan Frodeno
Anne Haug
I laid out my flat runner for tomorrow's race. Since October was Breast Cancer Awareness month, I decided to go with the pink Superman shirt.
Flat runner
Sunday 10/13
The marathon was scheduled to start at 6 am, so I time my departure time to get to the parking structure a little before 5 am. As with most years, I was pretty much the first car to park at City Place Lot C located on E 3rd St between Long Beach Blvd and Pine Ave. I didn't go straight to the starting area, as I still needed to give the race packets to my friend. Instead of waiting in my car, I walked over to the Hyatt Regency. My friend ended up parking in the small lot next to The Federal Long Beach at 1st St and Pine Ave, so I walked over to meet up with him. During my short stroll, I noticed that there were quite a few belligerent homeless people, more so than previous years. They were walking around knocking over random stuff.
Truth, justice, and the American way!
Once we got to the start line, we bumped into the usual suspects. We took the obligatory pre-race photos while waiting for the start of the race. I was hoping that my friend would be out there to keep me company, but he was feeling a bit worn out and decided to drop down to the half marathon which started 1.5 hrs later.
Start line
The usual suspects
The beginning of the race course changes a bit here and there from year to year, but overall the course remains relatively unchanged. The one thing I wanted to make sure that I do today was to not run the first mile too hard. I count it a success that I kept that first mile above 8 minutes. My goal for today was to just finish somewhere around 5 hrs. I was still dealing with a couple of nagging niggles that just won't go away. The most annoying being the discomfort in the right arch. Today, the left hamstring joined in on the list of sore body parts. I'm guessing that's just my body telling me that I haven't fully recovered from the half marathon last weekend in Portland. The first 5 miles went okay, but I definitely did not feel fresh.
Per the usual, the atmosphere was quite electric as I hopped onto Shoreline Dr at about mile 6. A lot of the participants in the half marathon as well as spectators were out there cheering on the marathoners. As I ran through the parking lot heading to the dreaded stretch on the concrete beach path, I saw my friend, Marathon Mitch. I know I wasn't moving very fast, but he was moving pretty well for someone who had just had a calf injury. I hope he didn't hurt himself just to take a photo of me!
Photo from Marathon Mitch
Beautiful sunrise while on the dreaded concrete beach path
I got off of the beach path and turned onto Ocean Blvd at about mile 10. As it has become the norm, there were donut holes waiting for the runners. I did not partake as I'm not sure how my stomach would handle it.
Donut holes!
Just prior to the out-and-back on the E Paoli Way, they were passing out coconut water. I like coconut water, but for some reason, not during a marathon! During this section, I got to see my friends that were ahead of me. I reached the halfway point at 2:10:59 not feeling very spry. I was definitely hoping to have gotten to that point closer to 2 hrs flat.
Dan!
Per the usual, I started to fade after reaching mile 14. I tried to hold it together for as long as I could, but my legs cramped up at about mile 17 just as I had gotten onto the Cal State Long Beach campus. Coconutgirl said hi as she passed me. I stopped to use a portapotty and refill my bottle at the aid station near mile 18. This pit stop seemed to be the normal routine for me at this race. I was feeling pretty lousy as I made the turn onto Palo Verde Ave at about mile 19. I definitely hit the wall, so I walked for a good stretch. At about mile 20, I was stopped briefly to say hi to Mark who was playing some soothing Hawaiian music. Loved the music, but it made me a little sad reminding me that I won't be running the Honolulu Marathon this year.
Mark! Aloha!
It took a couple of miles before I started to feel better again, but I was still having to deal with leg cramps whenever I tried to run for extended periods. At about mile 22, Eddie's pace group overtook me. Per the usual people were handing out Otter Pops near mile 23 and they helped get my legs going again! I managed to cover the last 3 miles progressively faster. I rejoined the half marathoners on Ocean Blvd at about mile 24. It might have been a hassle to zigzag through the half marathoners, but I've always found it quite inspirational to see the back-of-the-pack runners.
Eddie!
Finish line
Finish: 5:05:14
Click here for my Garmin data.
One of the best advice that you can give to a runner that's about to run their very first marathon: nothing new on race day! Unfortunately I'm not very good at heeding that sound advice. I wore the Superman shirt for the first time which caused a bloody nipple due to chafing. I noticed my "badge of courage" as I received my finisher medal for completing the marathon. I was hoping to finish in just under 5 hrs, but leg cramps in the last few miles made sure that didn't happen.Relive 'Long Beach Marathon'
Finisher medal
In addition to the finisher medal, I received a bunch of post race goodies and drinks. Good thing I always wear shorts with pockets for marathons as it was more than I could carry with two hands. I swung by the beer garden for a quick look-see to see if I could spot any of my friends. I didn't spot anyone familiar so I kept on walking in the direction back to my car.
Post race goodies and drinks
I was about halfway back to my car when I finally realized that I had forgotten to pick up my California Dreamin medal for running the San Francisco Half Marathon and the Long Beach Marathon. I contemplated just going home without it, but eventually I turned around and went to go pick up my bonus medal. Afterwards, I was glad that I did go back as it was one of the better looking medals that I've received.
California Dreamin medal
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