Race Report: Long Beach Half Marathon

Did you read my race report about the 5K?  This blog will make a whole lot more sense if you do.

When last I blogged, I was ecstatic to finish the Aquarium of the Pacific 5K, and Chris and I were headed to the OC to visit Dad and Risa in their new house.

Chris and I on race morning...

let's see how this goes!

We made it to their new digs in Villa Park without issue and enjoyed seeing how the moving in was going - anyone who has ever moved will understand what I mean when I say that while they've been sleeping in the new place for a month or two now, the unpacking is still very much...in process.  Although there are still some things to do (ah, home ownership), the new spot looks great, and the view is killer:

The view during the day...

...and the same view, but at night

Dad and Risa have lots of bird feeders

hanging off the front porch area,

and they have tons of visitors to them.

After visiting with Dad and Risa for a bit, we all headed out to a local burger spot to grab some lunch, and then to Total Wine for supplies (for us, it was for fun beer we can't access at home).  Before too long, we were back at the house, chilling out for the rest of the day.  Given my current situation, that meant sitting my rear down and propping my legs up, icing the bum ankle every now and then.  While the ankle was a little bit sore, it still felt well enough to attempt the half marathon on Sunday morning, and I was going to do everything in my power to keep it as happy as I could.

I had some helpers in this endeavor:

Eating the Cheetos from the 5K finish line.

Carb loading is so important, you guys.

That's Griffin on the left and Lilly on the right.

It's a shame Lil can't figure out a way to get comfy.

We spent the rest of Saturday hanging out, watching college football, and the like, and around dinnertime, we roasted up some squash and yams and had those with shawarma-style chicken pitas.  Everything was delicious, and Risa even put together some homemade mint chocolate chip ice cream!  It was off to an early bedtime for me, and I went to sleep well fortified for the half marathon.

My alarm went off way too early on Sunday morning (actually, it didn't even go off, as I was awake earlier than I needed to be), and the household got moving out the door and down the road to Long Beach.  After some creative detouring to avoid the road closures, we parked at the Convention Center, and I sprinted for the first port a potty I saw - this happened to be a random leftover from the Grand Prix, which was held just a few weeks prior (the GP is normally held in April - thanks, COVID!), and while it didn't have toilet paper, I always carry tissues in my hydration pack for just such an occasion.  It may not have been officially race sanctioned, but there was no line.  Score!

We wandered to the start line and grabbed some family selfies before I hopped (I mean, carefully strolled) into the start corral.

My amazing support team - 

thank you to each of them for waking up before

the crack of dawn and making sure I got there on time.

Hi, guys!

As you can see, not a ton of folks were masked up in the

start corrals, but every participant of the Sunday

morning races had to be vaccinated or have

a negative test within 72 hours.

We had to show evidence of this in order to pick up

our packets at the expo.

While I tend to fall on the "rather safe than sorry" side of things,

I did end up shedding my mask once the crowd thinned a bit.

Thumbs up!  Ready to run!

At least someone's paying attention...

After just a short wait, the group of people around me were able to cross the start line, and our run was officially underway!  Since I didn't know for sure that I'd be able to finish the entire distance, I vowed to just have fun and enjoy my time on the course; it was a gorgeous day - the high ended up being around 80, but at this point, it was in the low 60s, and there was just the faintest breeze, which is perfect for an event like this.  My past two attempts at this race were very time-motivated, and with that pressure stripped away and my only goal being to finish, I felt free to slow things down, take pictures, and just generally have a good time.

Here, I've just passed mile 2, and we're crossing the Queensway Bridge - it takes you from the harbor area of Long Beach to the Queen Mary and the cruise ship terminal:

The bridge is a decent grade, so I did walk the inclines.

Figured it couldn't hurt to be gentle on the ankle,

and it was a nice break

Here's the old girl herself:

The Queen Mary (left) and the Carnival Cruise Port (right).

The Cruise Port used to be where Howard Hughes

lodged his plane, the Spruce Goose.

We looped around the southern bay area for a bit, and then it was back over the bridge and onto the mainland once more. 

Running back across the Queensway - 

there's the Queen on the right and downtown

LB on the left.

This is facing east, in case you were wondering.

One of the handiest things about this race is that both the half and full marathon courses detour through Shoreline Village and go right past Dad and Risa's yacht club, Shoreline (like, through their parking lot); that's where everyone hung out while I was running, and I kept Chris apprised of my progress, so my support trio could come outside and say hi when I passed by.  

My race crew!

Here's a shot from the opposite angle:

Here I come!

I'm all the way to the left in this shot - 

don't let it be said that I don't know how to

work my camera angles.

Seeing Chris, Dad, and Risa at the Yacht Club was going to be a good test for me on this day - this was about halfway into the half marathon course, and if my ankle was giving me serious signals that failure was imminent, it would be a good place to throw in the towel.  I'd been assessing and re-assessing how things were going on a pretty regular basis for the first half of the race, and while I still had some aching in the joint, I was thinking I could probably finish this thing, if I kept it easy and continued to make smart decisions along the way (other than running a half marathon with a lower body injury - I will not, in any way, claim that doing so was a "smart decision").  I waved goodbye to my team, screamed, "I'LL SEE YOU AT THE FINISH LINE" at Chris, and on I went!

Just before mile 7, the race course detours onto the paved beach biking path, paralleling the shoreline and offering amazing scenery.  This is why you sign up for this race:

Not too shabby, eh?

From here, you can look out on the Pacific Ocean, seeing Catalina Island, as well as the smaller Astronaut Islands in the harbor.  Given the supply chain/shipping issues currently plaguing the world, from here, I could also see tons and tons of container ships, waiting in the open water until a spot was available for them in the Ports of Long Beach or Los Angeles.

A series of photos - the top ones start at the ports (see the cranes?) and move toward the east, along the shoreline:

Looks like there's some cruise ships waiting, too

And there's one of the Astronaut Islands...

This is about 10x what we used to see when we lived here.

Around mile 9.5, the beach path ends, and the race course merges with Ocean Blvd.  As I mentioned previously, in past years, I've been so time focused that I haven't had time to stop and enjoy the many delights along the route, including the free donut holes handed out by locals.  This time, I made sure to take a walk break and indulge, COVID be damned!

NOM!

Sweaty, sugary selfie

The last four miles of the course went by pretty well; normally, this is where things get really hot and gross - Ocean Blvd doesn't have a lot of shade (palm trees = photogenic but useless) - but today, the breeze was kicking up and I enjoyed putting this race to bed.  

Hey, I've been there!

(Click to make the picture bigger,

then read the yellow text on the back of the shirt on the right).

With one last turn and a short downhill jaunt, we were back on Shoreline Blvd and through the finish arch!  Although the official race photogs grabbed some shots (which are all almost 100% obscured by watermarks until you pay for them, which I don't), here's the one finish line photo my crew grabbed:

At least they have other redeeming qualities.

This is obviously my best side.

I grabbed my combo medal (for running both the 5K and the half), found my crew, and then plopped down on a curb underneath a nearby tree.  After resting for a bit, it was back to the Club to use their real bathroom to change into dry clothes (this was a treat - normally, I end up changing in an accessible port a potty).  Masking up once more, we meandered through the parking garage and back to the car; it was time for brunch!

Enjoying some adult beverages at Saint and Second.

Don't worry, there was plenty of good food, too!

Overall, I was happy with my showing at the half marathon.  Before I'd had all of my issues, I was aiming for a finish time of just over 2:10, which would be 10:00 miles the entire way.  As it was, my official time was 2:14:51, good for 98/367 in my age group, 578/2483 in my gender category, and 1687/4870 overall.  Not too bad!  I also got this sweet swag:

The half marathon medal

- and - 

the combo medal!

I absolutely love the little oil "crickets" on it.

All of that exercise, combined with getting up early and having sangria at brunch, was really kicking my butt, so we headed to the house, and after a much-needed shower, it was nap time for me (for everyone, actually)!  Post-nap, I treated myself to some leftover ice cream and enjoyed spending time on the front porch:

Ahhhh, lovely!

Risa and I watched more football (the pros this time - and I continued my ankle icing) while the gentlemen brewed some beer, and once dinnertime rolled around, we headed to a local favorite, Truffle Bistro.  Everything was delicious, and we can easily see why Dad and Risa love this spot so much!

As you might imagine, I crashed pretty hard once we made it back to the house, and the next morning, on our way out of town, we enjoyed one last meal with Dad and Risa - this time, at the Original Pancake House (we've now been there so many times that we just call it the OPH - it's legit).  After giving goodbye hugs and setting up our next adventure together, we were on the road, heading home.  The drive was uneventful - I believe I napped once or twice - and we made it back in time to unload the truck and then scoot on over to JetPet to collect the maniacs before closing time.

Obligatory "crashed out" dogs pictures:

Ah, resting your head on a piece of wood furniture.

So comfy.

Zoe is fighting hard to keep her eyes open

We really enjoyed our trip out west, both to Long Beach and to see Dad and Risa in their new digs.  It was fantastic to get back to our stomping grounds as well as be taken to some new (to us) spots that are also great!  While, as a mostly sane person, I can't endorse running a half marathon on a bum ankle (I certainly didn't do it any favors - three weeks post-race, and it's still not 100% back to normal - I haven't run since then), I felt so lucky to be able to complete the half marathon and the 5K, and I had an amazing time.

Later!

Amy