T Minus 13 for L.A. Marathon
It's the FINAL COUNTDOWN!
With only 13 hours to go until the L.A. Marathon, things are beginning to feel a lot more official! What started out back in September with whimsical thoughts of:
“Hey guys, wouldn’t it be fun if we all did a Marathon?”
. . . progressed throughout the months with casual talks of:
“What kind of running plan are YOU doing?”
. . . and culminated this past week with sitting around the lunch table at work, giving each other nervous looks that stated:
“26.2 MILES IS A LONG DISTANCE! WHAT DID WE DO?”
This morning my 17-year-old-son and I left the house at 8am for the L.A. Convention Center, where the pre-race Expo was being held. Typically I do these road races alone, but I was glad for the company on this one! Since he joined me for his first ever Spartan TriFecta last year it’s been a real joy for me to watch him transform himself from a kid who was a bit hesitant and unsure of himself, to blossoming into a man who isn’t afraid to push his physical boundaries. He takes after me in that he seems to prefer to do training runs on his own, but the few that we have been able to do together have become memories for me that I’ll cherish for a long time! The fact that he wasn’t afraid to step up from doing his first Spartan Beast last year to doing his first ever Marathon this year makes me very proud!
The Expo was very much the same as any other runners Expo I’ve been too, except the Bib and Shirt pickup lines were WAY more organized! I’ve been to one recently that made you walk CLEAR THRU the ENTIRE EXPO to get to the Shirt Pickup tables where you could finally get your Expo Bag to put any samples or merchandise in. CLEAR THRU! What’s the point of making you pass all the exhibitors before you can even visit them? ANYWAY, the L.A. Marathon Expo had BOTH Bib AND Shirt tables BEFORE you enter the vendor sections! MUCH nicer!
Finding your names on the official Name Wall is always fun in a ‘weird’ way. What is it about seeing that your name was printed on a wall that makes you feel special? I have no idea, but it does! It also makes
the event seem so much more real! I mean, if someone took the time to print your name on a WALL, then you HAVE to run in the race, right? Your NAME is on a WALL!
We both found our names and took the obligatory ‘finger-point’ picture. It’s like going to the State Fair and going to see the cows. They are COWS. Why do you feel the need to see them just because you are at
the State Fair? If you saw a COW by the side of the road, would you pull over and go look at it? I guess that analogy breaks down a little when I realize that if I found my name randomly printed on a wall I’d want to find out WHY it was there, but still.
I was glad to see that Tailwind had a booth at this Expo. I don’t remember seeing them at others recently, but I started using their product while training for the Marathon and will be using their Green Tea Buzz powder in my hydration pack tomorrow. I only picked up one new product that I plan on trying out. It’s called Skin Slick and it’s a silicone based anti-chafing spray. I’ve been getting heat rashes on my stomach recently and am hoping that this can protect me from that.
After we returned home, we both made our final gear selections and decided to rest. We will be leaving at 3:15am to drive down to Santa Monica where we have pre-paid for parking near the Finish Line. There we will catch a Shuttle Bus at 5am to take us up to the Starting Line at Dodger Stadium, and we will wait anxiously until sometime after 7am when our heat will be released onto the course. That’s when we will begin our 26.2 mile adventure. That’s where we will earn the right to be called, Marathoners!
Average Jbob
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