Back when I was a young man, they called this a half marathon. As in half of a 26.2 mile marathon. Nowadays it's called a "Marathon 13.1." Extending this logic, this morning I did a "Marathon 4.0." As in four yards walk to the coffee maker.
Snarkiness aside, this was a great event. It was my sweetie's first ever half marathon, so I made sure she was ready. I knew she'd trained, but some
home made pasta was in order first. Then we packed and retired early. I made sure to pack a small camera as I wanted to record the day.
We were up at 4 AM the morning of the event to have our coffee, check our packing and get on the road. We were in Santa Monica in the blink of an eye, and after a brief struggle to find parking we were at the start, just in time to freeze our patooties off for an hour.
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| It's cold at 6:30 AM on the beach |
I thought about knocking on the door of this luxury RV to see if they had a warm place to wait:
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| This is upscale living on Venice Beach |
But no, it was time to make our way back towards the start line:
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| Just before the start of the LA Half Marathon |
Finally, we're running!
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| LA Half Marathon 2011 start |
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| LA Half Marathon 2011 start |
A couple of miles in, she feels great! Too great! I had to be tough in making her slow down and walk at least during the water, potty and aid stations. Before we realized it, we were over three miles in and passing under the 405 freeway.
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| LA Half Marathon 2011 three miles in |
About this time we met Nina, a young Dalmation. She was with us until the finish and having fun the whole way. She didn't chase bikes or look for things to sniff. She just loves to run! I think if not held back by the people around her, she could have done a 1:30 half marathon easily.
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| LA Half Marathon - Nina the Dalmation |
We were having fun and joking with each other and everyone around us all the way to the half way point. Our biggest problem was making it to the next porta-potty as we were staying very well hydrated. By now though, it was getting into the high 70s so the next few miles we would need to drink plenty of fluids.
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| LA Half Marathon 2011 5 miles |
At the half way point, I squeezed down a Powerbar Gel. It's an energy gel with the right mix of sugars and carbohydrates, electrolytes and some caffeine. It's gotten me through numerous marathons and Ironman triathlons. Within ten minutes I was like a hyperactive child.
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| My savior - PowerBar Gel |
Here are my favorite fans. They gave up their morning to sit out in front of their house and cheer us on.
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| LA Half Marathon #1 Fans |
And right about now, Crazy Girl lived up to her pet name. She was struggling to run at this point, but every time she did something nutty with a band or spectators she got a burst of energy that took her another half mile.
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| LA Half Marathon - now she's getting crazy |
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| LA Half Marathon 10 miles - shouldn't you be running? |
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| LA Half Marathon 11 miles - again, you should be running |
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| So many bands along the way. Lots of Jimi Hendrix covers! |
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| Yo and my favorite band on the course |
By this time I was getting jealous of all the musicians and cops. But we were in the home stretch! We crossed the line holding hands... everyone shed a tear at the romantic image. I'm sure we'll get a great picture from the official photographer.
I am so proud of my Tigger. She really accomplished something big yesterday, and even when it was tough to keep going she never wavered, and even found the energy to have so much fun.
Here's what's funny... Crazy Girl still keeps saying "I would have done such-and-such a time if only I didn't have to wait in line for the port-a-potties." Look back at how much time she spent flirting with band members!
And of course she had energy to jump on one one last stage before I dragged her away.
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| Crazy girl made this guy's day |
Next stop... Pink's for Chili Dogs and Chicago Polish Dogs. We earned the treat.
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