My Long Beach 1/2 Marathon Experience
I had awaken around 4:3O am, and walked out the house by 5. Walked to the store to buy some powerade for my camelbak. Then I proceeded to the red line and then to the blue line to Long Beach. Once I got there, I called Monica P and Lu to see if they were there and they were. Of course, the morning would not be complete without talking to my running coach for her 6:30 bike tour. I was ready to go -- had my gloves, my paper jacket (for warmth), my camelbak, powerade and the will to survive this monumental feat.
I had seen Lu and her friend Cindy first, then I caught up with Monica in Corral C. We took pictures, I filled my camelbak and we were ready to go. The Star Spangled Banner was sung by a lady with a pretty voice. The horn went off at 7:30 am. I felt like we were a herd of buffalo because we were moving so slowly. LOL. It did not help that I had ankle soreness within a quarter of a mile into the race. For the first 3 miles, we only had on side of the street to run on, so things were kind of congested. We had a cut-off time at mile 4 at 8:30 am. Just as I was passing, the cones to block traffic were being taken up. Whew, that was close. I know I was doing 15 min miles. There was a slight incline around miles 2 and 3 but it did not affect me much. The route was beautiful-- nice neighborhoods, the bike path, several miles of the beach. The weather was awesome, sunny but not too warm with the ocean breeze. I was running when I was supposed to (most of the time), I have to talk to someone (maybe my dr or someone in sports medicine ) regarding increasing my lung capacity. Sometimes I would be out of breath and I would have to walk during part of my run intervals. At some point during the race, we had to loop around. At that point, you could see other participants running and walking behind you. That made me feel good to know that I was not the slowest person (especially running) in the race. Other than that, things did not start to go south for me until mile 10. That is when my right leg started cramping. All I could do is walk, no matter what interval I was on, until the pain subsided. I cannot remember at what mile, but I had seen Kevin , Kirsten and Liz. I was walking and I heard these people yelling my name. I waved and then I started to run again. I was pumped for a few minutes. Seeing them made me smile. Around mile 11, I had seen an older lady moving at a steady pace and I was giving her some encouragement. Little did I know that she was a lady that goes to my brother's church (Patsy). I was pleasantly surprised. We talked for a minute, then she told me to continue (she was going much slower than me). As the miles passed, I became happier and happier because I was getting closer to the finish line. I finished in 3 hours, 14 minutes and 43 seconds.
Would I do it again? In a heartbeat. As a matter of fact, I plan on signing up for the Ist Annual Pasadena Half Marathon on November 16th.
I will always do Long Beach. Lots of sweat, lots of fun and lots of work, but it was all worth it in the end.
This is the end of Long Beach Half Marathon Race Report.
I hope you enjoyed it.
Kimmie
Thank you for being out there. I wish I could have had a chance to talk to you in person, but maybe another time. When I had seen you guys I thought to myself, "Oh shoot, I better start running. Gotta look good for my people."
I hope your arm heals quickly.
Kim
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