Let's recap this glorious occasion:
In keeping with my pre-race tradition, I ordered a bowl of tortilla soup and a glass of wine from room service. Usually, I have a bowl of chowder, but finding it in California is a little difficult.
After purchasing a lot of carb-friendly food at Starbucks earlier in the day, my sister and I enjoyed a lovely pre-race breakfast of bananas and granola bars. For some reason, I skipped the half a bagel I normally eat before a race. Big mistake, because I ended up starving halfway through the race.
Like good little runners, we scouted out free parking the night before the race that was less than a mile from the start line. By doing so, we avoided the congestion of the parking structures directly adjacent to the start line and also gave ourselves a cool-down walk post-race.
The temperature was comfortable, which was a little worrisome considering the sun was still coming up and it wasn't yet 7am. We headed for our corral and tried to find our pace bunny. The best we could do was to find the 4:20 full-marathon pacer, so we decided to stick with him. He attached red and white balloons to the top of his pace sign, which made it extremely easy to find him after a stop at a water station! Good job, pace bunny!
I have no idea who sang the Star-Spangled Banner, but she was out-of-this-world amazing. I get weepy every time I hear either the Canadian or American anthems, and this day proved to be no different. The third-wavers like me started at 7:10am. About a mile into the race, the Long Beach Fire Department had hung a massive American flag from their ladder truck. It was a very inspiring sight to see. I don't know what it is about the stars and stripes that I love so much, but I have to admit, I like it better than the maple leaf!
This flag makes me want to apply for American citizenship!
The first half of the course is fantastic. We paced out at a 5:45 pace, sometimes speeding up to 5:30s and slowing to 6:00. The first of two hills hit at the 3K mark. It wasn't actually too bad, just a bridge crossing the bay. The course headed towards the Queen Mary and then turned around and followed the waterfront. One more bridge had us back on the beach side of the bay. That was it for hills, which for me, was disappointing.
The course wound its way along the waterfront boardwalk, around the Aquarium of the Pacific and towards the beach. The sheer number of spectators cheering us on was amazing. One of the highlights of the Long Beach Half Marathon is the Coast Guard ship that sprays water cannons into the harbour. It was absolutely beautiful! The Queen Mary was in the background as we ran past the ship. Naturally, we stopped to take a photo!
This spectacle was much-appreciated! The Queen Mary is visible in the background.
At kilometer 10, the course headed onto the concrete pathway that runs the entire length of the beach. Surf City also has a section like this, but only in the full marathon. The first kilometer was fun and exciting. We were very pleased to get the opportunity to run on the beach. However, the novelty wore off after about 2km. The sun was bright and the sand was radiating heat back onto us. Also, the course is fairly narrow through this section, so there are lots of runners in a very compact space. I hate straight and I hate flat, and the 5km portion that ran along the beach was both.
By the time we hit the turnaround and headed towards the finish line, our goal time was still in play, although we had slowed a little. Then the wheels fell off.
The final 6km weren't good for either of us, so I'll skip over the crummy part. The only highlight of this section was the two women spraying some kind of liquid Lakota onto runners' legs. It was menthol-y, it was cooling and it was nice.
Other than being on a slight downhill, the finish line was a bit of a nightmare. It really bottle-necked as we crossed the timing mats which meant we had to slow down before the finish line (not that I was blazing along at that point). Also crummy, was the finish line photographers had zero visibility of runners actually finishing.
Tons of Jet Blue employees were there to hand us our finishers' medals along with the customary tin foil space blanket, which I tucked into my water belt. It was 80 degress but I knew I would start to get cold at some point! Each runner was also handed a bottle of water, coconut milk, and a bag full of yummy food and cookies! Bags are such a smart idea for post-race snacks as it means you don't have to juggle a bunch of items as you stumble around.
After heading to the Beach Cities Challenge tent, we claimed our medals - my favourite moment of the day! It weighs about 2lbs and could definitely be used as a weapon to commit a murder!
TW1 and TW2 with our well-earned finishers' medals.
After the race, we slowly made our way back to the car. Neither of us were feeling too great at this point. Regardless of our sore feet and tired legs (Leggies so tired!), we were both very proud to have completed the Beach Cities Challenge. Now I can start to focus on a state other than California!
So long, California. I think if I do any more races here, I might stay forever and make this state my permanent home!
The entire collection of Beach Cities finishers' medals:
(From left) Surf City, Orange County, Long Beach and the Challenge medal
(From left) Surf City, Orange County, Long Beach and the Challenge medal
Happy trails, fellow runners!
Well done, friend!!!
ReplyDelete