Bilingual - Valencia Marathon Race Recap

Fair warning! This is going to be a looooooooong post! So sit back, relax and grab some coffee ¡El que avisa no es traidor! Esta entrada es muy larrrrrga. Siéntense, relájense y disfruten :-)

Tuesday, November 14th - 11:40pm

After a 17-hour flight from San Diego to London to Madrid, everyone was tired but happy to be back in Spain. I was suddenly feeling grateful for the opportunity to run my second marathon in my country. Unfortunately, we arrived in Spain at turbulent times. There was a General Strike scheduled on Wednesday and there was little we could do or see before our trip to Valencia. At least we got to have some quality time with family and friends.

Después de un vuelo de 17 horas desde San Diego a Madrid, pasando por Londres, llegamos todos cansados pero muy felices de estar de vuelta en España. Siento mucha alegría y un profundo agradecimiento por la oportunidad de volver a correr  otra maratón en la madre patria. Desafortunadamente, llegamos a España en tiempos turbulentos. Hay Huelga General y apenas podemos salir a la calle con los peques antes de nuestro viaje a Valencia. Por lo menos compartirnos unas tardes maravillosas con la familia y amigos.

Friday, November 16

We left from Atocha Train Station to Valencia Sorolla on the early morning AVE high-speed train. The trip was very short and pleasant. It took approximately 1:30 hr and my kids were asleep all the way. Salimos de la estación de Atocha a Valencia Sorrilla a primera hora, en el tren de alta velocidad AVE. El viaje es corto y placentero. Dura unos 1 hr 38 min y los peques se han quedado dormidos. 

Once we arrived in Valencia, we took a taxi to Hotel Primus, which is located just a few steps from Ciudad de las Artes y las Ciencias. This is where the start and finish line of the race takes place. Our room was nicely decorated with pictures of the city. Una vez en Valencia cogemos el taxi al hotel Primus, localizado a un par de manzanas de la Ciudad de las Artes y las Ciencias en donde se encuentra la feria del corredor, al igual que la salida y la meta de la maratón. El hotel esta decorado con mucho gusto y unas fotos preciosas de la ciudad. 

Soon after, we unpacked and headed to the running Expo. I was excited to see Santiago Calatrava's Masterpiece. I am familiar with his Auditorio de Tenerife (Canary Islands) as well as his Ground Zero in NY but I have never been to Valencia. It was truly breathtaking.

Tras la llegada al hotel, desempaquetamos maletas, nos ponemos cómodos y nos dirigimos a la feria del corredor. Me hace muchísima ilusión ver la obra maestra de Santiago Calatrava. Conozco su Auditorio de Tenerife así como su edificación en la Zona Cero de Nueva York, pero nunca he estado en Valencia. Como todas sus obras me parece realmente impresionante.

This is where we picked up our running bibs

This is where we picked up our running shirts

My husband and I spent 30 minutes at the expo while my grandparents were watching the kids.  Everyone was still experiencing jet lag, including me.  My kids were having serious stomach problems too. Right after the expo, I headed to the pharmacy to get some medication and learned that they were are on strike too. "Nooo, it can't be" I thought. I took a  taxi to the city center where I found a pharmacy opened with a very loooooong line, 32 people in front of me. I told myself "It is what it is and there is nothing you can do about it".

Mi marido y yo estamos en la feria unos 30 minutos mientras mis abuelos cuidan a los niños. La familia entera padece del famoso "jet lag", en definitiva tenemos los horarios trastocados y es que son 9 horas de diferencia entre San Diego y Valencia. Por otra parte, mis hijos empiezan a sentir molestias estomacales. Nada mas salir de la feria me dirijo una farmacia cercana para comprar medicamentos. Una vez allí me entero que las farmacias de la Comunidad Valenciana también están en huelga porque la Generalitat no les pagan. ¡Que fuerte! Cojo un taxi al centro de la ciudad en donde encuentro tan solo una farmacia de guardia abierta. Las colas impresionantes. Cojo turno como en el mercado, el 32. Yo que suelo vivir con positivismo pienso "nada, esto son 10 minutillos" pero que va, ahí estoy mas de una hora esperando la cola. Que se le va a hacer.

Saturday, November 17 - The Day Before The Race

We spent the day visiting the city. We saw the Miguelete, the Lonja de la Seda and las Torres de Serrano. Nos pasamos el día recorriendo el casco antiguo de la ciudad. Visitamos el Miguelete, la Lonja de la Seda y las Torres de Serrano.

Fallera doll

We did some serious carb-loading too. Starting with Valencian horchatas and fartones for breakfast,  delicious paella for lunch and bocadillos for dinner.  Ole!  Hacemos la famosa carga de carbos.  Empezando con unas horchatas valencianas para desayunar, paella para almorzar y bocatas para cenar. Ole!

The new restaurant of well-known chef  Tomas Arias

The BEST paella I've ever had

There was also a FREE paella-party available to all runners at the Expo location or some park nearby but we didn't make it back on time. También hay "paella-party" GRATIS para los participates de la carrera cerca del recinto ferial pero a esa no llegamos a tiempo. 

Late in the afternoon, we met my friend Lynne ( Beginners Run Marathons Too) at the hotel. She had come from Copenhagen to run a few miles with me.  What an honor! We had a blast in Madrid and wanted to repeat the experience. Lynne was familiar with the race course since she ran it last year. She gave me some great tips and told me to look for her after some bridge around km 30. I was overjoyed to see her again. What a friend! A última hora de la tarde nos encontramos con mi amiga Lynne en el hotel. Ha venido desde Copenhague para correr unos cuantos kilómetros conmigo. ¡Que honores! La verdad es que nos los pasamos genial en la maratón de Madrid y queríamos repetir experiencias.  Lynne participó en la Maratón de Valencia el año pasado por lo que se conoce muy bien el recorrido. Me dió un par de consejos y quedamos en vernos al día siguiente después de un puente a la altura del kilómetro 30. ¡Que ilusión!


What I was not too happy about was with the weather outside. It was pouring. You could hear thunderstorms all night long. Between this, my sick family and the worse case of jet lag EVER, I thought "I am in BIG trouble tomorrow!". De lo que no estoy muy contenta es del tiempo. Está lloviendo a cántaros y se pueden oír grandes truenos. Entre las lluvias, mi familia pochita y el peor caso de "jet lag" jamás habido y por haber, no hago mas que pensar: ¡Agüita! como dicen en mi tierra. ¡Lo que me queda!. Yo con tal de que no cancelen la carrera por inundaciones soy feliz.

Sunday, November 18 -  Race Day

I "woke up" at 6:30am after sleeping for only 2 hours. I left the hotel an hour and a half later. I decided not to take my iPhone with me because of the weather.  I regretted this decision. I wish I could have taken pictures at the starting line. The rain had completely stopped and left us with incredible levels of humidity, around 95%.  At least, the temperatures were mild, for now. Me "despierto" a las 6:30am después de dormir tan solo 2 horas. Una hora y media mas tarde salgo del hotel. Decido no llevar mi iPhone por si acaso se me moja.  Cuando llego a la salida me arrepiento de la decisión. La lluvia ha cesado por completo. Eso si, los niveles de humedad entorno al 95%. Hoy no se bate el récord. Por lo menos las temperaturas a la hora de la salida son buenas, ni mucho frío ni mucho calor. 

At almost 9:00am, the famous Valencia "mascletas" or fireworks went on.  Unfortunately, some elite runners confused them with the sound of the official starter's gun and proceeded to run. This resulted in a false start for all of us and consequently some delays. It was all very confusing since we didn't know what was going on at that moment.

A eso de las 9:00am las famosa mascletá valenciana empieza a estallar. Los corredores africanos desconociendo los sonidos falleros los confunden con los pistoletazos de salida y salen embalados. Salida falsa. Tenemos que empezar de nuevo. ¿En serio? ¡Vale! Mientras tantos los corredores de las 10K continúan.  Hay mucha confusión en el aire. Volvemos a nuestros cajones de salida y esperamos instrucciones. Cinco minutos mas tarde salimos. Esta vez de verdad. 

The roads were wet with big water paddles, found especially on the right side of the road. There was hardly any wind. The humidity, again, was sky rocketing and the temps were getting hotter and hotter, reaching 24 degrees by 11:00am.  The course was fast and flat as promised. There were drinking stations every 2.5 which was nice too.  Las calles están mojadas y hay grandes charcos de agua por todos sitios. Apenas hace viento. Eso si, la humedad por las nubes y las temperaturas cada vez mas altas, alcanzando los 24 grados a las 11:00am. La carrera es rápida y plana, como habían prometido. Hay avituallamientos cada 2.5 km. Mucha agua, bebidas isotónicas pero poca fruta.


The first half was interesting.  We ran near Playa de La Malvarrosa y Las Arenas and headed towards the center.  At km 12-13 , we passed the Catedral and the Miguelete, which I visited the day before. I was in familiar territory once again.  At km 14, we ran by the Plaza de Toros and later by the Torres de Quart. La primera mitad de la maratón es interesante. Corremos cerca de la Playa de La Malvarrosa y Las Arenas dirección centro ciudad. En el Km. 12-13, pasamos por la Catedral y el Miguelete los cuales visitamos el día anterior. Estoy en territorio conocido. En el Km. 14, pasamos por la Plaza de Toros y mas adelante por las Torres de Quart.

At km 16,  I joined a group of local runners. We ran side-by-side for about 8 km and then we lost each other. We reunited once again right before the two tunnels (around km 29). By the way, this was the only hilly part of the course. The first tunnel was fun. The music was blasting inside the tunnel. Everyone was singing. The second tunnel was claustrophobic. Thank goodness it was short. Soon after, I met Lynne. We ran together for 10 km. She had fresh legs. She was taking pictures, making police smile and most important helping me out with the last push. En el Km. 16, me incorporo a un grupo de corredores locales. Hacemos juntos unos 8 Km. y nos volvemos a encontrar a la entrada de los túneles, por el Km. 29. Por cierto, esta son las únicas subidas del recorrido. El primer túnel me resulta divertido. Música a toda mecha, todo el mundo cantando. El segundo túnel es mas cerrado y un tanto claustrofóbico. Menos mal que es corto. Acto seguido me encuentro con Lynne. Corremos juntas unos 10 Km. Lynne va fresca. Se acaba de incorporar a la carrera. Saca un montón de fotos, se pone a bromear con los policías y lo mas importante me ayuda a seguir adelante en esa recta final.

I, on the contrary, was dying slowly. Don't believe the picture above ;)  It was too hot and humid, like a Bikram Yoga room. I can't recall being this tired in a race before except in the New York Marathon. Yo por otro lado me siento fatal. No se crean la sonrisa de la foto de arriba ;) Hay tanto calor y humedad como en un estudio de Bikram Yoga. No me acuerdo de sentir tanto cansancio en ninguna maratón anterior, quizás en la de Nueva York.  


At km 31-32, a car almost ran over me. The police was not paying attention and didn't stop traffic. At km 37, I almost hit the wall. If it wasn't for Lynne, I would have walked. Thank you, rubiales! At km 40, we said to each other hasta luego.  I turned the music on and used every single inch of energy left in my body. The last 3 km were the longest EVER. As we entered the last stretch I heard my husband screaming. He was at the 42km sign with my grandparents and kids. I screamed back. "YES, only 195 meters to go!". The finishing line was amazing. We all got to run over water.

En el Km. 31-32 un coche casi me atropella. El policía iba despistado sin prestar atención al trafico. En el Km. 37, flirteo con el señor del mazo. Si no fuese por Lynne acabo caminando. Gracias, rubiales! Pero no, sigo adelante. En el Km. 40, nos decimos adiós. Me enchufo los auriculares, subo el volumen y hago un pacto conmigo misma. A por todas. Hoy corro hasta la meta.  Los últimos 3 kilómetros se me hacen larguísimos. Cuando llego al tramo final oigo a mi marido gritando desde el póster que señala los 42 km, junto a JT se encuentran mis abuelos e hijos. ¡Solo quedan 195 metros! No me lo puedo creer. La llegada fue simplemente espectacular. 

My finishing time was 4:36:09. It's not what I anticipated but I was happy considering all the factors. By the way, this is my 4th marathon in the last 7 months!! My 5th since last November. Mi tiempo final: 4:36:09. Un poco más lento que lo que esperaba, pero no está mal considerando todo los factores. Así concluye mi última maratón del 2012.  4 maratones en 7 meses, 5 maratones desde el noviembre pasado. No está mal, ¿no?

After the race, we received a bag full of oranges, some pastries, a blue towel and a SUPER awesome massage. Después de la carrera recibimos una bolsa de naranjas, unos pasteles, una toalla azul y un SUPER masaje.

Race Summary
Pros
- Beautiful city
- Well organized expo
- Amazing start & finish
- FREE paella-party for all runners
- Lots of water stations
- It's not freezing cold in the month of Nov
- Post-race snack, massages, etc..

Cons
- Not enough food during the race
- It can be hot and humid.
- It would be nice to run next to the beach on the Promenade, instead of the side streets.


Sending a ENORMOUS hug to my friend Lynne! Un abrazo muuuuy fuerte a mi amiga Lynne.

Sending a BIG thank you to my husband for all the support! I love you! Las mil y una gracias a mi esposo por todo el apoyo!

Sending lots of love to the rest of my family and friends for their support

<3 my grandma!

Silver Strand Half Marathon Race Recap

Date: Sunday, November 11th
Starting Time: 7:00am
Starting Location: Coronado
Finishing Location: Imperial Beach

I signed up for this race in the last minute. I just wanted to complete one last long run before the Valencia Marathon ( Nov 18th) and since my friend May was running it I told myself "Why not?". I heard it was flat and fast but a tad boring. Honestly, I didn't care about my finishing time. I was doing it for fun.

At the starting line with my friends

This is a point to point race, from Coronado to Imperial Beach via Silver Strand Beach. I've never been to this part of town and I didn't have any expectations. It was a pretty day. It started cold but soon it was hot and windy. 

The first 8 miles were on the highway. Nothing too spectacular. There was no view of the coast from there but we could see the bay on the left side.  Soon, we arrived at mile 9 and some residential areas.  The next 2 miles felt like an eternity. On the horizon, I could see a small hill. On the other side, I could see the 12-mile sign. Mile 11 was my least favorite part of the race course. The area was fenced and against the highway. It looked like a concentration camp. A thought invaded me "Are we running for our lives here? If that is the case, I better go faster". Soon after, a fast 70-year old passed me. "Whaat? No frigging way" I thought. "I'll keep up with him or I'll die today". And that is what I did. I ran side-by-side with my new running mate and a BIG smile on my face until the finish line. I crossed it at 2:06:23. Not bad for a training run. 

  

Imperial Beach

Minutes later, I met my friend May and learned that she has ran a sub-2. BIG congrats!!

The Color Run (5k) San Diego

Race Info

Race Rules

Rule #1 - All participants are welcome ... fast, slow, runner, walker, old and young.

Rule #2 - White shirt dress code at the official start line and ready to roll.

Rule #3 - Completely colored Willy Wonka goodness at the finish. 

Location:  Qualcomm Stadium ( 2 loops)

How does it work? I think this video explains it all.

This was my 7 year old daughter's first 5k. She was very excited about the event. We even had matching running outfits. 

Like Mother Like Daughter

We arrived at 8:15am to beat the traffic. It was easy to park.  We walked around and took some pictures before heading to the starting line where thousands of people were wearing white tops, per official rules.

The white scenery was about to be changed.

Beautiful explosion of colors

This is how we looked before the race

This is how we look after the race

As for my daughter, she truly enjoyed running this race. She's already asked me to sign her up for another 5K. I think we have a runner in the family!

Awesome 80s Run - 10K

Start: Saturday, October 27, 2012 at 7:00 am

Location: Fiesta Island : ( 

Distances: Radical 5k and Totally Awesome 10K. 

Packet Pickup: Road Runner Sports at Carlsbad. 2 miles from my work, conveniently located.

Race Summary

This was a FUN 10k at the worse possible location, Fiesta Island. The race was scheduled to start at 7:00am. Unfortunately, I was sitting on the highway right across the starting line from 6:25- 6:55 am. I could hear Michael Jackson in the background. I thought "There is no way I am going to make it". I ended up finding parking near Seaworld, 1.5 miles away. It was 7:02 and the race had started already. I tried to stay positive and ran my fastest mile EVER to the starting line where a couple of friends were waiting for me.  Phew, I made it by a hair!

Since I was one of the last ones to cross the starting line, I decided to change my race strategy. My goal was to pass as many people as possible. It was hard since there were dozens of walkers at the back. I felt like I was playing Frogger. 

This was my first 10k. As you probably know, I usually run longer distances. This was also my first time running around Fiesta Island. My husband already told me how much he "liked" running there during the last RnR San Diego Marathon. It's just a BIG loop and you can't really see ahead.  For the Awesome 80s 10k run, we ran Fiesta Island twice. The temperatures were nice, on the cooler side and I was having fun passing people in funky neon costumes. At the end of the second loop, we made a right turn and a quarter of a mile later, the road stopped. What? Yes, we had to wait in line to take some stairs and run back to the finish line. I even had time to snap a picture. If I were the organizers, I would eliminate the stairs.

Awesome 80s 10K Run with stairs

I arrived to the finish line in 59:40, including a mandatory stop and lots of zig-zagging. 

The finisher's medal, a casette tape

The post-race 80s party was the best. Ghostbusters, Blues Brothers, Madonnas, Cindy Laupers, Gumby and Pokey, Hello Kitties, Karate Kids (shower included) were all there. Nice dance performances including the Thriller choreography and some breakdance. Only in the US, I love it!

HH, 'Mua', Tessa,May

80's Roller Skating Disco Diva and Pop Star

Don Johnson, Chip and Hulk Hogan

Posing with 2 human Rubix cubes

80s pop singers with Ghostbuster's Marshmallow Man

Overall, I had a blast. Not bad for an inaugural neither. There is only one thing  I would change: location. As promised by the organizers, these were some of the event highlights:

*Coolest Costume Contest

*Totally Awesome T-shirt

*Custom '80s medal for all finishers

*Live '80s Cover Band, Dance Crews and Entertainment

*Rad '80s photo props including a Back To The Future DeLorean

Back to the '80s, who remembers did movie?

2012 Nike Women's Half Marathon Recap

The Race
To run the Nike Women's Marathon you either need to win the lottery or join a charity group. I didn't do either. I got lucky! On January 8th, I ran the Nike+ Virtual Half Marathon with Team Victorius. A few week later, Nike made this announcement:

"Thousands of women came together as one this past weekend for the Nike+ Women's Half Marathon. Over 75 teams were formed, and one came out ... VICTORIUS. Over 1000 women joined this team, and for that they'll be rewarded! Welcome to NWM SF 2012. That's right. NO lottery"

No lottery! Yahoooo! Fast forward 9 months.

Saturday, October 13th 

We left San Diego at 6:20am and arrived in San Francisco at 8:00am. From the airport, we took the BART train which left us in Powell Street, a few blocks from our hotel. We were also very close to Union Square where the Expotique was held. We left our luggage at the hotel and ran to the expo to pick up our race packets.

My first impression of the Expotique was "wow, it's small". My second impression was "wow, this is totally different".  They had very few vendors but very unique ones including Safeway, Neutrogena, Yurbuds, Paul Mitchell, Luna and Zico. They had a Nike Women's Bra Bar and a Cold Weather Boutique. They offered 15-min free hair styling sessions too. I was surprised to see so many women were waiting in line to get their hair done, especially the day before a BIG race. From a marketing perspective, I understand the concept. Nike wants all women to feel pampered from head to toe. From a running perspective, I am not sure.

Nike Women's Marathon's Beautique

We walked around looking for the official 2012 NWM merchandise, but we couldn't find any. Later on, we realized that this was available across the street at Niketown.

The Niketown wall shows the name of every participating in the race

25,000 runners. We found our names!

Niketown was a big party. They turned the entire store into a nightclub, DJs included.

Tiffany colored Nike shoes, available exclusively at Niketown

After the expo, we headed to my favorite chuch vegan restaurant in the city, Gracias Madre, located on Mission Street.

From there, we took a taxi cab to Ghirardelli's square to continue the pre-race carb-loading at San Francisco's finest ice cream & chocolaterie. Yum!

Sunday, October 14th - Race Day

We woke up at 5:15am and met some friends from the Embrace The Crazy running group in the hotel lobby. We had a small breakfast ( bananas with almond butter and coconut water). We took a couple of group pictures and walked to Union Square, just a few blocks away. We had over an hour to kill before race started. No problem. Time to take more pictures and videos.

From San Francisco with Love.

Here I am practicing Japanese while May is working on her Spanish :)



We headed to our corral around 6:30am. We were a large crowd. 25,000 runners, most of them women.

This is what we call in Spanish "marcha" or "party time".




At 7:00am the gun went off. We were in the second corral, it took us just a minute or less to cross the starting line. It was very crowded and I couldn't pace myself too well. The first mile was a nice downhill sprint. As we were passing the Embarcadero, running along the Piers, I kept thinking that just 24 hours before we walked the same route on reverse (from Ghirardelli's Square to Union Square) but it took us 2 hours. Soon we arrived at the Fisherman's Warf and the first two hills of the course around Ghirardeli's Square.

My friend May and I were running side by side but we lost each other around mile 3.  Then I saw this guy holding a funny poster.  Just in case you haven't heard, the Republican Vice Presidential Nominee, Paul Ryan, claimed in a radio interview to have run a sub-3 marathon when his finishing time was actually 04:01:25. Hmmm, I don't know of any marathon runner that don't know their PR or at least an approximation. Want to know what's your real PR according to PR?  Check this out.

Ok, back to the subject. There were hills at mile 6, 7... I stopped counting after mile 8. My goal this time around was to finish the race without walking the hills. I didn't care about timing. After all, I had ran a full marathon the weekend before. This was just another training run to my road to Valencia Marathon.

Going UP, UP, UP. 

I was looking forward to the amazing views of the Golden Gate Bridge from Chrissy Field, but the bridge was nowhere to be found. It was too foggy. The temperatures were on the cooler side. I thought of my friend Tessa with whom I ran the RnR Edinburgh, a very hilly and cold race.

I spent half of the race thinking "OMG, here it comes another hill" and "Come on, we are in San Francisco. What do you expect?". While my mind was busy with this internal debate, I soon realized that we were at mile 11. This is where the half marathoners and full marathoners split. Only 2 miles to go!  I decided then to not look at the watch again and give it my 100%. The last 2 miles were all downhill. Perfect ending!  I crossed the finished line in 2:12:30 feeling strong. Again, not bad considering I just ran the Long Beach Full Marathon 7 days before.

Few minutes later, I saw my friend May in the crowd. Good timing! We walked around, took some pictures and indulged in post-race snacks. There was a lot to choose from, including the most delicious lavender tea I have ever tried, courtesy of a company called  David's Tea.

All finishers received a Tiffany necklace handed out by a San Francisco firefighter wearing a tux. What else can you ask for?

The finisher's race reward.

After the race, we took the bus shuttle back to Union Square. We had 6 hours to spare until our flight departure. We decided to get foot massages and eat authentic Vietnamese Food. Gotta love San Francisco!

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!