Race Report: Long Beach Half 2011

I’m alive! I’m alive! My legs are still working! *high five* You all know I was severely undertrained for this race this time around. I just didn’t have any motivation to run since the Disney Princess Half in February. That said, let’s get on with it. [All photos by my HTC EVO.]

Gear: iFitness belt; Nike shoes; Zensah leg sleeves; WrightSock double layer socks

Sheryl from Running in Pigtails and I carpooled together down to the Long Beach Half/Marathon. This was great because we got to catch up. I think the last time I saw her might have been… hmm.. I don’t remember. This is her wedding year, and y’all know how that goes.

I really like this race for two reasons: 1. It was my first half marathon back in 2009. 2. It’s a fairly flat course with a view. However, I’ve noticed that runners face the sun as they run back to the finish line. I guess it makes sense for photographers to get a good shot of you without being backlit. It makes for a grumpy, sunburned me, staring at the sun for 6 miles.

We got to Long Beach early enough to find FREE street parking – score! [go ahead, do the Snoopy dance; I am.] We weren’t the only ones with that idea; we saw plenty of runners parked and walking, avoiding the crazy traffic going into the lots next to the Convention Center.

We dropped off our bags at a new area… sponsored by UPS, my nemesis. It was pretty neat to have trucks lined up. I’m sure it made it a lot easier to find the right bags post-race.

UPS trucks lined up for bag drop

Then we headed to the porta potties. Yeeeeshhh. The photo below doesn’t do it justice. I wish I had a panoramic view option with my EVO’s camera. There were tons of porta potties to the left and right of this photo. Well, you get the gist, right? Thankfully, the lines moved fairly quickly. As we walked toward the Waves, we ran into Running Green Girl (Mary)! She had just come back from her 260-mile (!!!) bike race, and now she was back home.

Porta Potties Hell (just kidding, it was fine)

I swear we didn't dress the same on purpose!

Sheryl is a freaking pro at getting to the front of a wave. We weaved ourselves to the front of Wave 6. I’ve never been at the front of a wave before, so it was quite exciting to see the crazy in person. And then we started.

But wait, there’s more! GRETA the Garmin was dead!! I waited to charge her on the morning of the race- big mistake. Gahhhhhh!! D&#@#kobJU7#$%^&_cw@!ST%!!!!!

The first six miles were great. I got through them fairly well. My longest run was 6 miles, so I think my legs were used to the distance. Sheryl and I split ways at Mile 2 as she blew past me while I took a walk break. We’d meet back up at the finish line. I kept up a good pace and walked when I needed to. I rounded through the crowd and past the party tents toward Mile 7.

Then my body started to quit me. I took longer walk breaks. At Mile 8, I pretty much fast-walked every mile to the finish. I ran a little at each mile but let’s be honest, I walked the rest of the way, pumping my arms. My legs were just not having it. Here’s a bonus: My feet started to numb! And another bonus: My left ring toe was starting to feel like it was getting poked (I was getting a blister). NFE%^*^#@!!!

I ate my Sport Beans at a regular rate and also noshed on a Snickers mini that had melted. I think the Snickers helped out with adding some protein to the carbs. I found some people that seemed to be running at a similar pace, so they became my ad hoc pacing team. Nearing the finish line, I ran the rest of the quarter-mile away. Big finish, right?

As I past the finish line, I still couldn’t figure out my time. I guessed somewhere around 03:15:00. I was close. My official time: 03:11:02!! Just a minute past my B goal! Neat. (The ironic part of it all: 03:11 was my first LB Half time, too.)

Official Time

Sheryl crossed the line minutes before – kick ass! We grabbed our medals, food and took a few ‘after’ pics.

Sheryl and me after the race - still smiles

Dead legs

Final thoughts:

• I believe I did fine. I’m content with my time.
• My legs and body really paid for it that evening, especially the next day. I had to crawl up/down the stairs in our apt. I was in some unbelievable pain; I don’t remember being in so much pain before.
• I’m glad I ran this anyway, despite not being fully prepared.
• I’ve got the RNR Pasadena race in the spring.
• I’m still thinking about the RNR Las Vegas race this December – you get to run the Strip AT NIGHT!