I finally got up to speed with social media and made an FB page for good ol’ That’s G.
Like It if you feel so inclined - https://www.facebook.com/thatsgblog
That’s All For Now
-G
I finally got up to speed with social media and made an FB page for good ol’ That’s G.
Like It if you feel so inclined - https://www.facebook.com/thatsgblog
That’s All For Now
-G
This is one of my favorite races I’ve done. A bunch of different factors converged to make Sunday a great race.
My best friend Whitney had signed up too – and this was her very first 13.1, so it made this weekend that much more exciting. We drove down on Saturday morning and quickly went to the Expo. While I loved this race, I did not love the expo. It was pretty crowded, we didn’t get goody bags of any kind, and the shirts were okay. The standard number of vendors were there, but it just wasn’t awesome. Surf City had a much more fun expo.
We checked in at the Newport Beach Marriott which I loved. We were directly in front of the start line and it just made everything about the weekend easy. The fact that they accidentally booked us in a room on the 15th floor with a panoramic view of the ocean didn’t hurt either. Pro Tip: save the hassle (and money) of parking at the hotel by parking for free across the street at Fashion Island.
We set our alarms for 4:50 for a 6:15 gun time. I had my usual pre-race instant coffee (Starbucks’ VIA packets really aren’t terrible) and 2/3 of a Clif Bar.
We met up with some of Whitney’s colleagues in the lobby and our friend Hannes from HS got dropped off by a cab. Around 6 am we walked across the street for the start. Hannes and I were in Corral 1. On our way there, we saw our former cross country coach, Christina Lightfoot, who crushed the half in a time of 1:29.
The race start was pretty seamless. The race director made some mildly offensive disparaging comment about LA, but redeemed himself by offering a moment of silence for the victims of the Boston Marathon. The horn sounded and we were off.
I immediately had a lot of problems with my SPI-belt. It wouldn’t sit right and my iPhone was in it, and it kept flapping and bugging me. The first 3 miles were pretty much filled with me thinking about how annoyed I was and trying to fix it. The first mile had a little bit of a hill, and then major downhill to get to PCH. The weather and views of the homes and the water were really gorgeous. Finally around mile 3 I took my iPhone out of the belt and held it.
Also in mile 3 or 4, a friend from Loyola, Danielle, caught up to me. We ended up running probably 4-5 miles together, and chatted. It was a great way to pass the time, and since she is from Newport she knew when the hills were coming up. I ended up pulling away from her a little, but she finished just a few seconds behind me.
My race photos are somewhat of a monstrosity. My pronation has never looked worse.
Yeah, no.
I took 3 shot blocks around 40 min and a gel when I passed the gel station (mile 9?). I normally only fuel once but I think having something twice helped me. Whitney’s cheering section were at miles 7 and 11, but unfortunately I didn’t get to see them.
The beautiful views though and relatively mild terrain made the miles go by pretty fast. I wasn’t really focused on my time – I wanted to try and keep all of my miles under 8 minutes, and to maintain a relatively even pace. I knew trying to beat my PR of 1:38:55 would be a long shot, so I just tried to maintain a relatively steady pace.
One of my law school best friends, Blake, was volunteering with the race, and had told me he was stationed between miles 11 and 16 of the full marathon. The half/full split was at mile 12. He said he’d be at Mile 12 unless he had to go pick someone up or attend to something in a different part of the course. As I turned the corner to see the split, Blake was standing in the street directing traffic. It was AWESOME seeing a familiar face that late in the race. I darted to the side to grab a high-five, and headed to the last mile much more energized.
During that last mile, I realized I was pretty close to my PR…but not close enough. I finished in a time of 1:39:56 (7:38 pace).
After the race, I met up with Hannes (1:33 – which was a “bad day” for him…joke), and we cheered on our friends as they came through the finish. Also running on Sunday was our high school friends Sam and Kelsey, as well as Kelsey’s fiancé, Drew. I was so happy for Whitney when she crossed the line – mostly because she wasn’t in pain, had fun, and wants to do another one!
Overall, this is one of my favorite races I’ve done to date. Great course and so awesome to share it with so many long-time friends.
I am now contemplating doing a full marathon ASAP. My goal is to do a long run this weekend and gauge whether or not a June marathon is a possibility. Stay tuned.
Anyone else race this weekend?
My roommate may have created a monster. Jenn gets the Pop Sugar monthly subscription box delivered, and every month she describes how it is like a “surprise present that comes in the mail!” She also exposed me to a blogger who gets dozens of subscription boxes mailed to her every month. I spent some time on her site and realized I needed to see what all of the fuss was about.
I sent Whitney a Kona Kase last month to get her ready for her first half mary, but I wanted to try something other than a food-only box (because…#paleochallenge).
I decided to try Runner Box. For $10 a month, I get a mini shoe box delivered with some running gear and nutritional items. I was impressed with my first shipment!
The inside had a cute T.S. Elliot quote taped inside: “Only those who risk going too far can possibly find out how far they can go.” Loved it.
Everything was wrapped in green tissue paper, and there was a lime green product information card.
Here’s what was inside:
- One pair of injinji socks in kelly green. These are toesocks designed for runners. I can’t get behind the whole vibram craze, but I liked the idea of toe socks helping for blister prevention. I wore them on my run last Saturday and was pleasantly surprised. Suuuuper comfy. These retail for $10.
- A green SiMbi hair-bracelet. This a hair tie that can double as a bracelet. For each one sold, Simbi purifies a gallon of water a day and creates jobs for the people of Haiti. I like the green theme they went with for the box, and the hair-bracelet is cute. It’s not strong enough to tie my thick hair back without another hair tie, but I will use it for sure. Retail: $4.
- A sample of Win detergent, designed for tech fabrics. Haven’t used this yet, but it looks cool.
- Clif Shotblocks Energy Chews in margarita. I LOVE shotblocks and have wanted to try this flavor since I learned it was Monica‘s favorite. It’s like RunnerBox KNEW I have a Cinco day Drinko de Mayo 13.1 coming up…Retail: $2.
- A sample of Energybits. Energybits are “100% natural organic spirulina tablets.” Kinda scary sounding, but I’m interested to try them!
- Honeystinger Waffle. This is billed as an energy source – and former endurance athlete inspiration Lance Armstrong’s favorite thing to eat on the bike in Europe. Now, this seems like a bit of an ironic choice, but I am sure it is delicious. Retail: $1.50
The box also included discounts on Skora shoes, Zensah compression, Win Detergent, and Energybits. I’m not sure I’ll use any of the discounts, but overall the box was over am $18 value for $10. I liked the assortment of items and am excited to see what comes my way next month.
Do any of you have a box subscription? Which one??