First up, the LA Big 5K!
When I heard about the Big 5K, I thought it would be the perfect opportunity for a shakeout run before the marathon, and also something that Derek could enjoy with me, so we both signed up. We opted for day-of packet pickup so we wouldn't have to go downtown to the LA Marathon Expo Friday night, since we planned on being around the Convention Center most of the day on Saturday for the Olympic Trials and #WeRunSocial meetup.
The drive from our apartment at 7am on Saturday morning only took about 20 minutes, so we were there with plenty of time to grab our bibs, toss our shirts in the car, stretch out, and head to the start line. We snapped a pre-race selfie and off we went!
The race is a pretty big deal for charities that participate in the marathon weekend, so it was pretty crowded with groups of walkers and first time racers. It took some weaving to get out of the crowd, but we were able to do it and get into a groove. The race was pretty, running out Dodger Stadium, through Elysian Park, and back into the stadium to finish. Overall we had a pretty good time and felt good throughout the whole run (even if it was really warm!). On another note, the swag bags were pretty good. We got a nice tech shirt, medal, and a full size Cliff Bar, a packet of 2 strips of KT tape, and a Big 5 hat. Not bad for the $40 registration.
Originally we had planned on going straight over to the marathon Expo and Olympic Trials, but after how warm it had been during the race and how clear traffic was, we opted to drive home for a quick shower and clean clothes, then head back to downtown. *Side note* Usually we would take the Metro Expo line downtown, rather than drive, but we had to pick my best friend up from LAX immediately following a meetup at the expo and wouldn't have time to go home and get the car.
US Olympic Marathon Trials and LA Marathon Health and Fitness Expo
As someone who is still fairly new to running, the Olympic Marathon Trials were my first foray into following elite runners. And since the trials were right here in LA, I knew I couldn't miss them. Since Derek and I went home to shower after the 5k, we didn't make it to the trials in time to watch the start, but we still got to see the runners a few times. We staked out a spot near the start/finish area so we had prime views for each lap (for those of you who don't know, the race was comprised of 4 large loops that ran from the convention center to USC, around the Coliseum, and back to the convention center.
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| Meb in the middle of the leaders, repping his (and my) alma mater, UCLA |
I was absolutely amazed at how easy the frontrunners make a marathon look. Their form is amazing and it looks like they're exerting almost no energy.
In between laps during the middle of the trials race, Derek and I moseyed into the Health and Fitness Expo to pick up my bib and swag bag for the race the next day and wandered around the vendor area, where I treated myself to a fun LA Marathon shirt, a new Sparkly Soul headband for the race, and some yummy samples. We made sure not to stay too long, since we really wanted to watched the end of the race to see in person who made the Olympic team (although when we got back outside we couldn't see much of the finish line due to the cameras and officials). We stuck around to see both the top men and women finish (and Meb Keflezighi qualify for his 4th Olympic Games at age 40! Wow!).
After the trials, it was time for what I had been looking forward to the most all day! The #WeRunSocial meetup!
I've been a lurker on the #WeRunSocial hashtag for awhile. I wasn't totally sure if you could just pop in and become part of them, or how it worked. Turned out they are the most fantastically supportive and inclusive group! It's a wonderful movement that started a year ago at the Phoenix Marathon and is described as "A circle of runners that mostly interacted through social media (and many meeting for the first time) coming together around an event, high-fiving, becoming besties, and wanting to keep that feeling alive".
I finally got to experience this wonderful community in person at the meetup and it was everything I had hoped for and more. I met some super awesome people, took a ton of pictures, and received a lot of well-wishes on my first marathon. I even got to chat with Andrea Barber (aka Full House's own Kimmy Gibbler). She was running the marathon the next day then walking the red carpet for Fuller House two days later. She's not only super sweet, but also a total rockstar!
We finished out our busy day with a trip to the airport to pick up the bestie, then dinner with my parents, who had also come down to cheer me on the next day!
Next up, raceday...
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