13.1 Los Angeles Half-Marathon... with The Bean!

On Saturday afternoon (15 January), I drove with Carolyn 2.5 hours down south to Santa Monica. Of course, being LA, the traffic was unbearable (but I must say, I love the gas mileage of my hybrid!). We picked up our bibs at Top to Top, a sports apparel shop. Then we headed off to our neat art deco hotel called the Cadillac Hotel. Trying to get parked, on the other hand, was an irritation. Our hotel was RIGHT on the boardwalk, so we walked along it and stopped at the FigTree Cafe to have dinner. What did I have? AN OMELETTE. I swear, this pregnancy is making me crave breakfast foods!

On Sunday morning (16 January), we woke up at 545 AM. Amazingly, the starting line was just downstairs and one block over, so we got packed and checked out with plenty of time to spare! The start was at 713 AM, so we started a very slow run with 5 min run/1 min walk intervals. That didn't last long because Carolyn mistakenly ate an entire package of Clif Blocks right before we started, and she ended up very nauseous within a mile. So we walked this, pretty much.

Let me tell you, this was the SLOWEST event I've ever done, but I am glad I took my time- especially since I will be at 7 weeks pregnant on Tuesday. :D Where else can you walk in the middle of the road in Santa Monica and Venice Beach? Where else can you hear random comments yelled at you from crazy homeless people? ("Would you be running faster if I was chasing you with a chainsaw?!") Where else can you find medical marijuana shops on the sidelines? Where else do you see fire-dancing bellydancers shaking it for you? Where else can you get a sunburned face by 8 AM in January? :D

After the event, we immediately walked another mile or so to my car, and we immediately drove the 2.5 hours home. On the way home, we stopped for lunch at Denny's and we both got... what else? OMELETTES! :D

Now, I'm home, and just exhausted. And even though my last half-marathon was a full 1 hour and 4 minutes faster (3:17:02 in comparison to 2:13 last time), I needed to take my time (especially since I'm in the first trimester) and I enjoyed the company, the sun, and the people-watching. I don't feel so bad, either, because Deena Kastor ran a half-marathon in her first trimester and clocked a 3:09... and she's an Olympic marathon record holder!

My photos from the weekend located here.