Saturday, January 23, 2016

Long Course and Long in the Tooth; January 23, 2016

I ran the Coastal Run/Walk For Foster Youth 10K that was produced by the Pepperdine University Graduate School of Education and Psychology.

It was no more than about 5 miles from the hotel here in Culver City and you're treated with planes taking off overhead out of LAX as they head out east over the Pacific before making their turns back to the west.

Lots of funny stories to share from today's adventures.

I wouldn't call my recent reduction in running and racing (a relative term for me) burnout, but my "want to" has definitely shifted.

I didn't decide which race I was going to run until the lady at the registration table said, "That's OK.  Take your time to decide.  Both races are $40."

I couldn't mark 10K fast enough!

$40 for a 10K is a good value.  For a $5K, let me just make a donation to the charity.  :-)

The 5K with this race started at 8:30 a.m. and the 10K started at 9:00 a.m.

That's a little odd for us involved in event production in Texas with one exception:  you didn't have the two races really overlapping at all.

Apparently, it also messes up your overall course distance too.

We ran on a road called - for those familiar with the area - Vista Del Mar.

After a second loop between maybe Napoleon and Imperial Highway, we made the right-hand turn off of Vista Del Mar and down into Dockweiler State Beach, where the finish line was.

Somewhere on the way to the finish line, my hamstring started to cramp.  Not enough miles.  I get it, but I overheard a female runner talking to her friend that the course was long.

Like probably more than 7 miles!

If it was seven miles, then I'm OK with my time.  Not that I was counting on a lot after the 31:24 last Saturday at the ABB 5K.

But I definitely confirmed this morning that there was no way that the marathon would have been enjoyable last Sunday.  At one point this morning, I started to think at the end of the second loop on Vista Del Mar that I had been out there too long!

The funniest story though took place no more than 15 minutes into the race.

After making the first turn, I passed a gentleman who had a full head of white hair.  I saw him in the parking lot.  He had a space blanket around him that he got out of his trunk.

It was from the 2002 L.A. Marathon.

As I passed him, I heard him say, "Looking good there old man!"

I was wearing my Liberty University running shirt that Waverly had gotten me her first year on campus.  So I couldn't say what I was thinking.

What I did respond with was, "I'm not as old as you think I am."

And I took off.

I just wanted to make sure that I beat him.

And I did.

I didn't even look at him the two times that we cross paths on the out and back on the four-lane road that served as the majority of our course.

Sheesh.  For the record, I just turned 49 almost three weeks - and I don't feel that old either.

I guess I need to cut my hair down all the time to where the grey and or white - whatever you want to call it - doesn't show ever.

Unbelievable.  California for you, I guess.

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