Ridiculously Out of Shape Surf City Marathon

Expo
I left work early on Friday to attend the expo. I got there a little before 3pm where I stood in a rather long line in the rain waiting for them to let us in. While in line I met maniac#376. Interesting fellow. We were the 2 best dressed in that line for sure. We were both wearing our shirt and tie. Once inside, I saw my RWOL friend Ray while picking up my bib. The Longboard Legacy Club and California Dreamin' Series booths were a zoo situated right next to the other zoo, the race shirt pickup. I said a quick hi to super-volunteer Kathy while picking up my 2nd California Dreamin' jacket. It was definitely better looking than the 1st one that I got last year. The only thing I don't like about it is the armpit mesh thingie. I decided to come back later for my legacy stuff because they looked overwhelmed. I had to go back through the expo to get around the half marathon shirt pickup. There was just too many half marathoners. They need more room. The race has outgrown their current expo site. When I came back for my legacy stuff, there was still a line. But it was less chaotic.

FE - Operation Jack Pasta Dinner
The next day I drove back out to Huntington Beach to eat pasta at a charity dinner for Operation Jack/Train4Autism. It was great seeing a bunch of the RWOL folks and meeting a few new people. There was more than enough pasta for everyone there. Definitely a marathon pasta party done right. I think I ate something that did not agree with me because the next day, I had to keep dealing with extra bowel movement. It could have been nerves as well. Even though it was my 39th marathon, I still get pretty nervous and super excited.

Pre-race Stuff
I parked in the usual Beach lot around 5:30am. As I was eating my usual Powerbar, I saw my friend Louis walk by my car. I chased him down to say hi. It was pretty windy. I got back into my car, but didn't stay inside too long since nature was calling again. So I jogged to the Hyatt to take care of business. I had the 5 star restroom all to myself. I hardly ever use the portapotties at this race. I jogged back to my car to take off my layers. I then hit the portapotties just to complete my marathon experience. I saw Sam getting into position to pace the 3:30 group. Then I saw Rachel. She said she was going to stick with me since it was a training run for her. I told her, "yeah, right... I'm planning to be out there for about 5 hrs!" The plan was to get to the half at around 2 hrs and then slog my way in for the 2nd half. I knew my endurance was barely ready for a 10k let alone a full marathon. But no matter how much I'll struggle out there... this year I've vowed to no longer disrespect any charities by doing the gun-to-the-head poses while I'm wearing their shirts. I kind of regret doing that so often in my Worldvision and Team in Training outfits.

1st Half
Rachel and I started off in wave 4. She takes off like a rocket. I didn't catch her until somewhere after mile 2. Eventually I caught and hung around the 3:50 pace group. She did the same thing. But at around mile 8 we hit a decent hill. I took one step on my "bad" ankle and it did not feel right. This happened right after I told her how it was easier for me to run up hills. How ironic. I immediately slowed down and Rachel kept going. I saw her looking around for me, but she was already beyond shouting distance. The hill and the ankle completely drained my spirit. My energy level felt ridiculously low. I told myself, "good job bonking at mile 9!" But I knew I had to take it easy for the ankle to recover for the 2nd half "cooldown". Howard catches me just as we're coming to the halfway mark. I got to the halfway mark around 2 hrs even so I set myself up to finish around 5 hrs.
1: 8:27
2: 8:25
3: 8:23
4: 8:51
5: 8:26
6: 8:53
7: 8:43
8: 9:16
9: 9:06
10: 9:08
11: 10:10
12: 10:33
13: 10:01

2nd Half - the death march
Roccco passed me during my walk break. I decided to run up to him and hang with him for a few miles. But eventually I had to let him go since I was going to burn myself out trying to keep up with him. My plan was to try and keep every mile under 15 minutes. When I walked, I walked slow. I didn't even bother power walking. The last 10k reminded me of Frodo slogging his way up to Mt. Doom with the ring of power weighing him down psychologically... except I didn't have a Samwise Gamgee to carry me. I tried to run at a faster pace at mile 22 and almost immediately every muscle began to cramp... so I resorted back to shuffling the rest of the way. During mile 23, I felt like I had been run over by a truck. Since I was hurting pretty badly, I decided to visit the restroom. I'm glad we didn't have to run down to the pier and back this year. Both of my calves were cramping up as I tried to run with a decent stride coming up on the finishing chute. I out hobbled a lady to the finish line. Death march over.
14: 10:36
15: 10:59
16: 12:30
17: 12:26
18: 13:50
19: 13:57
20: 13:43
21: 13:34
22: 14:02
23: 17:50
24: 16:18
25: 13:32
26: 13:11
26.2: 2:12
Finish: 4:57:12

Post-race
I talked to a couple of my marathon maniac friends in the finish area for awhile. Then I made my way over to the California Dreamin' booth to pick up my extra medal. Boy I had to work hard for this one... beer-handicapped San Francisco, sore Achilles Long Beach, and ridiculously out of shape Surf City. I tried to get a beer at the beer garden, but they announced that the next shipment was going to take another 20 minutes. I wasn't dying to have a Michelob Ultra, so I walked back to my car and drove myself to Garden Grove to eat some Korean BBQ with my church friend. The drive was horrible... where are all of these Vietnamese people going on a Superbowl Sunday? I didn't eat very much. It was still a lot of beef, but not the usual amount that I normally consume. I was just too tired.

The Future
I think there was more "damage" to the right ankle than just the Achilles. Thankfully that doesn't hurt anymore. I was feeling some discomfort on the medial side of the ankle during the race starting at mile 8ish. I told myself before the race that I would have to at least finish Surf City under 5 hrs to consider signing up for Chicago. As of right now it is about half filled, so I still have time to decide. I might wait until after Pasadena to make my final decision. But seeing how this is my last year as a full fledged marathon maniac, I'll probably sign up for it by this Sunday.

Well... it's not much, but at least I'm headed in the right direction:
Malibu 11/15 - 5:22:44
Las Vegas 12/6 - 5:15:05
Carlsbad 1/24 - 5:11:57
Surf City 2/7 - 4:57:12