If you needed another reason to run the Long Beach Marathon (or Half), consider the goody bag! One of the race sponsors is the Aquarium of the Pacific, and our goody bags included a free admission to the Aquarium!
It made for a great cool-down day :) One of the ways that you are supposed to recover from a long race is to keep moving over the following several days. Keeps your muscles from tightening up, works out all the lactic acid build-up - all that good stuff. So, we set out for a scenic wander through the Aquarium and along Shoreline Village.
Seeing as it was the day after the race, my legs were obviously still sore. I was walking alright, just a little slower than usual, but I was REALLY slow on stairs, going up or down. Zach was very amused at my effort on the stairs and had several good chuckles at my expense. The kicker, though, was seeing other runners going through the same thing! We were at one stairway, Zach chuckling at me of course, and heard giggling behind us. A pair of girls about my age were attacking the stairs with the same difficult walk that I had. Asked them, "You guys run yesterday too?" "Yup! We've been laughing at our 'old lady walks' all morning!" At least I'm not alone!
We saw feeding time at the tropical tank, too. The sting rays like to swarm against the glass, since they need the hard surface to vacuum up their snacks. For the fish that like vegetable matter, though, they bring in lettuce and broccoli. I thought is was adorable, watching the divers holding the broccoli like a bunch of flowers, plucking off "petals" for the fish gathering around them :)
We saw feeding time at the tropical tank, too. The sting rays like to swarm against the glass, since they need the hard surface to vacuum up their snacks. For the fish that like vegetable matter, though, they bring in lettuce and broccoli. I thought is was adorable, watching the divers holding the broccoli like a bunch of flowers, plucking off "petals" for the fish gathering around them :)
And here you go, a handful of pictures from the Aquarium, some of my favorite shots - really what this post's about :)
Funniest fish name? The Sexy Shrimp! (Pictured on left) Followed closely by the Humbug (the black and white fish on the right) :)
And anyone else think Dory is a great mascot for a marathoner? "Just keep running, just keep running..."
Oh, and the clouds were still gorgeous near the lighthouse :)
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