Beautiful LA Sunday (Pt. 2 of 2)

So after Danica and I got our cheer on at the inaugural 13.1 Marathon on Sunday, the 2nd part of our day involved running the last 6.2 miles of the LA Marathon. Our tentative plan is to run segments of the route backwards in the future working our way east (we're dyslexic that way) while enjoying some of the finer parts of LA that comes with the course this year.



Thanks to Danica's friend Chris, a local television anchor and an inspiring athlete in his own right, we were dropped off after the race at the 20 mile mark of the course. From there, we would proceed west towards the beach to run the final 10K. In this spirit, I decided to don last year's LA Marathon bib to mark the occasion. I'm sure people were looking at me going where is the race??


Don't hate

Not to rub it in to our friends out in chilly temps, but by this point - almost noon - the day had warmed up sufficiently and we were already both a little tired from riding our bikes around all morning and cheering our butts off. It was probably somewhere in the mid-to-upper 70's with the sun nearing its apex in the sky.


After entering the VA Grounds


Danica abiding by the rules of the road

We started off near the entrance of the Veteran's Memorial Hospital and the first segments of this part of the course involved running through the grounds. It was quiet on this Sunday and this is also where we would encounter the only significant uphill of the course (coming down and up an underpass). After about a mile plus of the windy roads within the hospital, we were let out of the VA grounds and into the affluent and beautiful neighborhood of Brentwood.



For the next 4+ miles, we would run exclusively on the famous San Vicente Blvd where many runners and cyclist enjoy the large road consisting of bike lanes and grassy median that runs the length of the street. LA Marathoners will also enjoy a gradual downhill along this section while running next to beautiful mansions that will make you sigh at their grandeur and if you're honest, major twinges of envy.



We kept our paces modest due to the weather and because we were already a bit worn out from the morning but took the time to take pictures and videos and try to enjoy the day. After running on the median for awhile, we opted to run the rest of the way on the shady sidewalk to our left while pounding back the fluids. Here are some of the pictures we took along the way at the approximate mile marks:











A little after the 25 mile mark (our 5 mile mark) we hit the famous Palisades Park on Ocean Avenue. It is truly a runner's paradise with finely groomed dirt paths cutting through grassy patches as it sits cliffside atop Pacific Coast Highway and a breath-taking view of the Pacific Ocean.

..OR, you can choose to describe it this way as Danica had (what??):



Um...ok. Anyway, as beautiful as the running path was, we were both starving and sapped of energy. So we picked things up a bit and decided to haul ass a bit. My fat and out-of-shape butt could barely keep up with that girl, especially in the last mile when she decided to book it towards the finish at the intersection of Ocean Ave and Santa Monica Blvd:



Awww..





Anyway, we took a quick minute or two to capture the last photograph or two before getting back to my car and booking it to a delicious BBQ courtesy of Nina. We were ravenous and loaded up on delicious brisket, chicken, beer and anything else we could get our hands on.

A perfect cap to a perfect day! Thanks for reading.



(Danica and I are talking about going east of the course so stay tuned for future runs of us running segments of the new and vastly improved LA Marathon route!)