Marathon No. 2 in the bag!! And it was a good run too! I am quite satisfied :) One of the nice things about being a slower runner is that you have time to grab a few pics - on water breaks, walk breaks, etc. If you're pushing for a sub-4 or a Boston Qualifying time, it's a little hard to capture on film what you're running past - every second counts. I have bit more time at my disposal and can take the moment to click the shutter :)
Here we are getting ready to go. Funny thing was, a friend was starting in the same wave, and we never found each other! Two short girls in the same crowd of people does make it hard to find one another :)
Here we are getting ready to go. Funny thing was, a friend was starting in the same wave, and we never found each other! Two short girls in the same crowd of people does make it hard to find one another :)
And finally, the starting line! Here we go!
The course was really scenic. Part of what I look for in a race - either lots going on (like a Rock and Roll race, for example) or a really scenic course. The course planners were great for this one. We passed lots of city landmarks, and lots of waterfront, all of which made for a very pretty course. For example, we got a good view of the Queen Mary at one of the early water stops...
...and then again when we got to the other side of the harbor. Not that the view just along the boardwalk isn't beautiful too!
The lighthouse (a bit blurry in the background here - I wasn't totally at a stop) is another of the iconic images around the harbor. It's featured prominently on the medal and shirt too. It's actually featured twice on the medal, if you look - once on the medal, and printed on the ribbon too! They did a nice job on the medal design, in my own little opinion :) The beads I pictured with my medal were passed out by one of the cheering groups further along in the race. I thought it was very appropriate that the ones I was handed were green and gold! :)
I was proud of my pace, too. I actually stayed with the 5:30 pace group up until about mile 18. The pacers for that group were great, too. "The 5:30 Pace Group - the happiest group on Earth." They were full of songs and tips and chatter - definitely helped the miles pass! I wish I'd been able to hang with them through the whole race, but at mile 18 (which seems to be my wall) I needed to be taking longer walk breaks than the group did, so I fell back. At least I didn't literally fall like I did in San Diego! Still, I hung with them the first 2/3 of the race, and considering how erratic my training was in September, I'm pretty proud of that.
One of the really good things our pacers talked about was how to run a long race like this. Deb (one of the pacers - she's in the white top and red shorts in the pictures) described dividing the race into thirds (about 8-9 miles each in a full marathon), each one run with a different part of the body. The first third she said, you have to run with your head. You have to be smart about your pacing, not take it out too fast, and keep a close eye on your time. These are the miles when your legs and your body are fresh, and it's easy to go out too fast. The second third is the section of the race run with your legs. Your body settles into a good pace, and you can let your mind zone out and just run. Sort of the autopilot miles of the race :) The last third of the race are the miles run with your heart. Your legs are tired at this point. These are the miles when you dig in, use your mind, your will power, your gut, your adrenaline, whatever you have left in you to finish out. I really liked this description, because it makes so much sense!!
Oh, and the pictures below are of the view across the harbor to the Aquarium of the Pacific, another Long Beach landmark. It's the kinda wavy-looking rooftop across the water from where I am. Another runner saw me grabbing some water and a couple pics and offered to shoot one with me in it. Thank you, Mr. LA Legger (his club name - didn't get his own)!
Still hanging with the 5:30 group in these pics below (about mile 8). We had a good few miles along the beach itself. Not running on the sand, of course, but on the bike path. And being such a beach person myself, I LOVED it! Funny thing is, I'm not a "beach person" in the always at the oceanfront, surfing, body boarding, sun bunny sort of person. But I am a "big water" person. I love open expanses of water, and at this time of year, I miss the greyness, the cool lighting, the clouds that seem to melt into the water. I got tons of that on this run, and it was wonderful!!
Oh, and the pictures below are of the view across the harbor to the Aquarium of the Pacific, another Long Beach landmark. It's the kinda wavy-looking rooftop across the water from where I am. Another runner saw me grabbing some water and a couple pics and offered to shoot one with me in it. Thank you, Mr. LA Legger (his club name - didn't get his own)!
Still hanging with the 5:30 group in these pics below (about mile 8). We had a good few miles along the beach itself. Not running on the sand, of course, but on the bike path. And being such a beach person myself, I LOVED it! Funny thing is, I'm not a "beach person" in the always at the oceanfront, surfing, body boarding, sun bunny sort of person. But I am a "big water" person. I love open expanses of water, and at this time of year, I miss the greyness, the cool lighting, the clouds that seem to melt into the water. I got tons of that on this run, and it was wonderful!!
This unusual building here is the Pyramid on the CSU-LB campus. Part of the marathon course (once the half marathon split off) wound through the campus. The Pyramid is one of the unique landmarks on the campus - I think it's a stadium, but haven't looked that up. Certainly looks big enough! It was fun running through the campus too. Lots of student groups came out to cheer. Not hundreds of spectators or anything like that, but a sorority there, a fraternity here. I think the track club ran one of the water stations :) The black shirts in the right of the picture are fraternity pledges, for example. One of the sororities was great with cheering. The race number bibs could have your name printed on them if you wanted (mine did). So this sorority was making sure to use everyone's name that they could see. It's one of those little things that really gives you a boost at mile 20 - hearing your own name being cheered!
This is one of the Long Beach-specific things they have done a few times before. They build a giant sand sculpture in the finisher's area. And I mean giant - 13 ft high and about 40 tons of sand! Makes for a good final picture :) It's actually 2-sided, too. The front is the front of the medal, and the back is the ribbon and reverse of the medal. I'd show that picture too, but Zach snapped the shutter as I was talking, and I'm making the most ridiculous face - almost looks like I'm crying! (Oh, I'm not looking at the camera here because I'm looking at the professional photographer next to him)
And I PR-ed too (i.e. new best time!). My time in San Diego was just over 6 hrs (I'm not fast, remember - I just run very far). I took off nearly 12 minutes from my last marathon time in this race - about 30 seconds faster per mile! And now I just need to decide what charm best represents this race to add to my bracelet - a cruise ship like the Queen Mary, or a little white lighthouse :)
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