Boston 2010 baby...so friggin' proud of ya!
On to the other happenings from this weekend...
Pre-Race Pasta Dinner:
After a late run down to Huntington Beach for the expo and packet pickup, Sara and I drove to a nearby restaurant for a pasta dinner with our good running friends from the California Runner's World forums, as well as our favorite blogger Miss Danica. This was quite frankly, a blast. I wished halfway through that it was the night after the race and not the preceding night (primarily because I wanted a beer). Still, we got to see familiar faces as well as meet some new ones while carbing up and sharing war stories.
A grand time, BUT - we had a super-early wake up time so...back up to LA and to bed we went.
The Race:
Here's the skinny from this morning's race:
Got up at the ungodly hour of 3:15am. Picked up Sara and made the 40 minute drive down to Huntington Beach. Had about an hour and a half to kill so we basically just hung out in the car and took turns using the loo. It was cold out at the start, with some ocean gusts and a cloud cover from the gun til about mile 8.
It was a horrendous race for yours truly. I was clearly out-of-shape or operating with dead legs and in no condition to try to run a PR for a marathon. But I wanted to get my girl her BQ time so I started out with her and the 3:40 pace group. It was more strenous than it should have been but I can now concede that I was not in good shape.
Dropped back around mile 14.5, started walking sections between mile 15-22, and picked things up for the last remaining miles til the finish. My spirits were out of this world when I saw my friend Charlie between miles 25-26 and he yelled out to me that Sara got her BQ!
Anyway, I crossed the line at 3:55:51. Considering how much I walked and how crummy I was feeling, I guess I'll take it. Leg muscles, while on the verge in the latter miles, never fully cramped and spasmed.
Other personal accomplishments: completed the California Dreamin' Race Series (got a special medal + jacket) AND am now a member of the Marathon Maniacs!
17 comments:
Burger that's still an excellent time! Especially given the circumstances AND you go some special bling and are one of those OMFG crazy MMs! ;D ;D
CONGRATS my friend ;D ;D
A big Congrats to Sara, how awesome. You did really well too! Very cool about the martahon maniacs. Rest up and relax.
So you kind of split the difference between best case and worse case, not bad.
It was cool to see familiar scenery in the background of the video. I knew exactly where you where. Training there a lot is one reason I can never quite commit to paying to race there.
On to the next challenge.
You've been putting your body through a lot of challenges lately without being 100% physically and without the appropriate training. Certainly not the conditions needed for a quick time. Congratulations on finishing the Dreamin' serious and the Maniac status! Very cool stuff - the fast marathons will come later. As long as you're not such a maniac in the future.
Congratulations on completing the California Dreamin' Race Series! Great video! I'm hopin' one day I'll get to the point where sub 4 is achievable on a sub-par day.
How in the world do you make these crazy videos while running. Thank God for charlie, without him I would have failed horribly but with him I only part failed. Not my day either. Loved the pictures and glad I got to see you this weekend! Hooray for Sara, I'm so happy for her.
welcome to the Maniacs! I hadn't heard about the California Dreamin' series. That's pretty cool
Dude! Loved the video, great writeup - congrats to you and Sara! I hope I can run a sub 4 someday! Good job! Cool medals! :)
Hey, loved the video. You looked beat, but very impressed that you came in under four hours. And as I said on the comments log of Sara, you are a pretty cool dude to do that.
a maniac and completing the series!! thats awesome and CONGRATS! you have been putting a lot of racing miles on those legs this year already, i am sure they are just tired. that being said you still ran a sub 4 marathon!! thats awesome!
HUGE congrats to sara, how exciting!!!! :)
Aw, I loved the video. I got all emotional for you. ::hugs:: I hope you give your body a bit of a break.
Congratulations again, to Sara. I am so happy for her.
And wow, Marathon Maniacs? Congraulations.
I'm off to the doctor to get some therapy on my ankle. It's pretty sore and it keeps cramping up.
Congats to Sara!!!! She nailed it!!
Great job on yet another marathon you are truly a maniac!!! Give your legs some rest this week :)
Congrats Billy!! I loved the video montage - great preview of the course. You really did great, that's a very respectable finish time.. especially considering you have run so much (including marathons) lately!
Congrats on the Cal. Dreaming Series and the Marathon Maniacs... you are an inspiration. Great job!!!
Rock on Billy! Another marathon in the bag - and the maniacs to boot! Say congrats to Sara for me on her amazing time!
congrats on your official maniac status, completing the dreaming series, and on running another marathon! sub-4 is nothing to snub, especially since you just ran a marathon a couple weeks ago and all...
i'm glad you were/are supportive of sara. i know how helpful that can be! i'm sure it gave her an extra boost on her way to an awesome bq.
You may not be happy with your race, but running a sub 4 while not having your A game, and throwing some walking in is an amazaing feat/time in my book.
Congrats to Sara!
Just catching up with blog land. Great work...sub-4 is still an excellent time. Maybe in my dreams I'll get there (doubtful).
Glad your girl BQ'd what an accomplishment!
Looks like a beautiful day for a race. Might need to look into that course!
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