Oops I did it again!

2012 Long Beach International City Bank Marathon Recap

First of all, how did I get here?

Last Wednesday night, my friend Tessa "Speedy Gonzales" was presented with the opportunity of running the Long Beach Marathon on behalf of a colleague. Of course, she didn't turn this offer down as she knew that I had signed for the Long Beach Half Marathon. We could run 10 miles together, just like we did in Edinburgh. On Friday, she stopped by my house with a waiver so I could pick up her race packet. We joked about doing the full marathon together but I knew it couldn't be this one.  My longest run since the OC Marathon (May 5th) was 17 miles. Besides, I have the Nike Women's Half Marathon next week, Oct 14th. 

Expo - Saturday, October 6th

The Health and Fitness Expo took place at the Long Beach Convention Center. It was conveniently located with easy access $10 parking. 

As soon as I arrived, my friend texted me "Marathon?". I smiled and replied "Let me check the price difference. I am not sure". She replied "Marathon! Marathon!" My husband laughs and tells me "You can do it! I have no doubt". There was no contemplation in his voice. "Ok this is the deal, if it's less than $50 go for it", he says. We walked to the Solutions Desk and they informed us that I just needed to pay $20 for the upgrade. "What do you think?" I asked my husband. "You can do it!". I closed my eyes and handed my credit card. I am trying to stay calm but it's impossible. I am freaking out. I am exciting more than nervous. I replied back to Tessa "Holy sh*t! I did it!  NO Boston PR for you, slower pace and stick with me until the end :)". OMG, what did I get into? Butterflies all over my body. My legs suddenly felt heavy, just like they did when I signed up for the OC Marathon at the 11th hour. 

I exchanged my bib for the full marathon, picked up the race shirts and did a fast walk through the expo. 

I learned that we were going to have special mile markers. They were created and painted by young patients from Miller Children's Hospital Long Beach (MCHLB) as part of the hospital's "Artful Healing of Our Heroes" campaign. You can see some of the markers in the pictures above and you can learn more about this program here. The other pictures in the  photo collage are from the Artist Village group. They had a crew of musicians, photographers, models and painters onsite putting on a show. Surprisingly, they were not selling products at the expo, but awareness. It was something new. I kind of liked it but my 7-year old daughter thought it was inappropriate. "They are half naked, Mommy!" hahaha

  

Race Day - Sunday, October 7th.

I woke up at 5:30 am feeling great. To my surprise, my 7-year old daughter had left me a good luck note in my running pouch  : D 

Dear Mommy

Running is fun. Keep on running and don't stop.

Remember me during the race.

Love You

She made my day!!

I met Tessa at 6:00am at the hotel lobby. We took a free shuttle which left us very close to the starting line. I was not nervous but excited to run with my friend again. I had never visited Long Beach, and I knew very little about this race course. All the information I got was from other bloggers, race recaps and of course the official race website. I know they mentioned that it's "fast and flat" but  I've read about some crazy hills around mile 17. No problem. I was here to have fun. No PRs. This was just a looooong training run for my Valencia Marathon on November 18th. We took some pictures, visited the crazy-busy porta loos, and before we knew it was time to go. 

The course starts on Shoreline Drive, crosses the Queensway Bridge and runs near the Queen Mary, a retired ocean liner that sailed primarily in the North Atlantic Ocean from 1936-1967. 

I was thinking "What a beautiful view!" and "OMG, it's already hot" and "I am feeling grateful for running this morning". My thoughts got interrupted by a nice encounter with my friend Caro. She was running ahead of me, dressed up like a ladybug. "Hellooooo". I shouted.  Wait a second, she is running with wings. Isn't that an advantage? She could potentially fly :-) Then some guy with funky shoes passed me.  I had to ask "What are you wearing?". "It's called Kangoo Jumps, mam".  

 What do you think? Could you run 26.2 miles with this?

We circled back around the Aquarium of the Pacific, the Lighthouse and before we knew it we were back by the Shore Village. 

                          

                           

Tessa and I were running side-by-side at a 9:20 min/mile. This is a little too fast for me at this point. I tried to slow down but there were so many people around us I kept with the flow. Tessa called her dad back in Switzerland, I shouted "Ciao papa". She also took pictures at mile 5. We were in awe. This was way nicer than the RnR San Diego. It looks way cleaner too. Soon we arrived at the bike path or beach path. I am not sure what it's called.

It was a little too crowded and narrow until mile 10 where the half marathoners and full marathons split. We continued on Ocean Blvd and passed the Belmont Shore. At mile 12-13, I could not longer keep up with Tessa. I slowed down to 10 min/mile pace. We passed the Marine Stadium. I passed Joe Taricani, the  host of The Marathon show. I shouted "I am your friend in Facebook". Later after the race, I sent him a note:

I am the crazy one with the Team Sparkle skirt. The one that told you that Spain will beat Italy at the soccer tournament. OK enough references :-) Hope you had a great race!!

We made a u-turn at the end of Marine Stadium. I saw Tessa on the other side. She wanted to wait for me but I told her to keep going. Then I heard "Ciryyyy!!". It was another friend from West Coast Road Runners. Nice! We passed the Colorado Lagoon and headed towards California State University Long Beach. I looked at my watch and thought "It can't be! We are at mile 17. Where is the crazy hill everyone is talking about?". At the campus we received a nice welcome from the students. We travelled the university grounds for a couple of miles. There are mild hills. Many people were walking. I was smiling thinking of La Jolla. Now, those are hills. "Hell no, I am not walking today", I told myself while thinking of the note my daughter wrote to me. We passed the Pyramid Sports Complex and headed back to Colorado Lagoon which we passed earlier. I was in "familiar territory" again.

Soon, we were back on Ocean Blvd. I could see the Aquarium in the horizon. Big smile on my face. At mile 24, I looked at my watch and realized that I was very close to finishing around 4:30. I decided then not to look at my watch again and see how fast I could go. My legs were happy but the inside of my right foot was hurting a little bit. I ran the last 2 miles at 9:00min/mile pace. My official finishing time was 4:33:30, a minute slower than my PR. I'll take it! Right by the finish line were my husband and kids screaming. It was soooo awesome. Few feet away, my friend Tessa was waiting for me. She finished in 4:20.

Beautiful Finisher Medal

After the race, we picked up our goodie bags and headed to the Team VW (the race sponsor) VIP tent. My friend April who is running the Goofy Challenge with me, hooked me up with some delicious food, fresh fruit, fresh juices, and yogurt. I am the luckiest girl in the world!!

These are my stats:

Not bad at all for a last minute marathon!!! BIG thanks to my husband for encouraging me, for embracing my craziness and always being there!