Glad I Wasn’t the Wicked Witch of the West!

Los Angeles Marathon XXVI. In sunny Southern California. Sun. Beaches. Convertibles. Well – anything but this year!

The forecast was for rain. Well – let me tell you – it RAINED!! To put things in perspective, a normal rain year for us in Los Angeles would be around 13 to 14 inches of the wet stuff. On Sunday it rained 4 1/2 inches in Beverly Hills – miles 15 through 17 on the route. Add to that 30 mile per hour winds (thankfully to our backs) and it was a cold, sloppy, miserable day.

The day started out great. I hopped in my car for the drive out to Beverly Hills. The streets were dry. I met up with my twitter pal @ridgeley at Lulu’s Café for a scrumptious banana walnut filled pancake (oops! Forgot the picture!). It was blustery out, but it was dry. Then about halfway through breakfast the sky opened. Dang. All of a sudden I was glad I brought my tights along!

The next part of the adventure was finding parking in West Los Angeles. If you don’t live in West L.A., parking can sometimes be a challenge. Certain streets are permit parking only for residents. Other streets have no parking. Add to that the fact that major East-West thoroughfares were closed for the marathon. I was anticipating grid lock and parking hell. Instead, I pulled up at the corner of Overland and Santa Monica Blvd (right at Mile 19) and found a parking spot. For free. Street parking. With no restrictions. Winning!

From there I braved the elements to make my way back two miles to Mile 17 at the corner of Rodeo and Wilshire (even Paris Hilton wouldn’t have been out in these conditions). But I’ll let the video tell that story:

L.A. Marathon 2011

Huge props to all who finished this marathon! It was cold, wet and ugly out there. You deserve to hold your head high!

P.S. – Yes. I know I misspelled “Zeppelin” in the credits. But it YouTube is the *slowest* upload in the world. I’ll live with the legacy.

Ready, Set, Go!

I'm about to head out for an easy six miler this morning. This will be my first run since Monday. I wanted to thank everyone who has sent their prayers and wishes for my father in law and my family. We're still on pins and needles, but each day delivers a little more good news.

I'm here for a quick running update - I'll be switching to a morning runner next week. It took me while to figure out that with everything else going on, the only way that I will get my training in is to do it in the morning. And getting back on the track is important since my next goal marathon is 18 weeks away.

I also wanted to thank everyone for the *very* sound advice about tackling my next marathon - making sure I'm over my last one first. Well, I think I am. I have been looking at pictures and video from Long Beach, and I get excited reminiscing. I'm also *super* excited about the new course that was announced for my next marathon. In case you hadn't heard, the organizers of the old Los Angeles Marathon sold the race to Frank McCourt last year. Yes - that Frank McCourt. The one who tried to buy the Red Sox and ended up buying the Dodgers. This is a race that needed a fresh shot in the arm. McCourt may just be providing that. This year's marathon route is completely new. They are marketing it as "a landmark every mile." From the start line at Dodger Stadium, the route makes it past El Pueblo de Los Angeles, where the city started, City Hall, Hollywood and Vine, the Kodak Theater (where the Academy Awards take place), down the Sunset Strip, through the uniquness of West Hollywood (WeHo), down Rodeo Drive (wonder if Paris Hilton will be there), through Beverly Hills, past UCLA, through Brentwood, to it's finish on the Santa Monica pier. Here's the promo video for the marathon:



All I've got to say is as a native Los Angeleno, I will be proud to run this race. It is high time we have a race that boasts about our city.

Yup! Los Angeles Marathon here I come!