Monday, May 2, 2011

Big Sur 10.6 Miler Recap!

On Sunday I ran walked the 10.6 miler part of the Big Sur International Marathon in Big Sur, California, along with Barbara, her friend Lynda, and my friend Matt.  What a fun weekend!  Barbara and I drove down to Monterey late Saturday morning, where we checked into the Portola Hotel (a really gorgeous hotel - pretty luxe for this La Quinta frequenter), and then went to the race expo to pick up our bibs.  I was delighted to discover that our names were printed on our bibs!!!  This is the first time my name has been printed on my racing bib, and I was a total dork in how excited I got about it.
I seriously could not stop smiling when I saw MY NAME printed on my bib!

I knew that Bart Yasso, Chief Running Officer of Runner's World magazine, and author of one of the most entertaining and inspiring running books I've read, would be giving a seminar at 1:30, and Barbara was indulging my running geekiness by attending it with me.  Imagine my glee when I SAW Bart at the Runner's World booth - just standing there and chatting like a normal person!  Of course I had to go over and say hello, and then I had to buy another copy of his book so he could autograph it for me (I lent my copy to a friend, but I wouldn't have thought to bring it with me anyway).  Here's me and Bart:
 
 Perhaps some of Bart's running expertise will transfer over to me now that I've touched him???

We wandered around the expo - this was my first one, so it was an interesting experience.  I wasn't too tempted to buy many things there (other than the book), but when I came upon the Thorlo Experia booth and saw that they had purple socks, I had to get a pair - after all, our outfits were featuring purple and this was the final touch - yay Thorlo for finally adding purple to your color line!  We went to Bart's seminar, which was even more interesting than I had anticipated.  What a neat guy - he really loves running, and he really appreciates all kinds of runners.

Then we had a lovely dinner at the Chart House restaurant - the weather was gorgeous and the sea views were so pretty from the restaurant.
Barbara and Dave treated us for dinner - it was wonderful, thank you!

After dinner it was slumber party time - we bunked together and had a fun evening sharing stories.  Lots of laughter - the only hard part was ending it at a reasonable time so we could wake up at the insane hour of 3:30 a.m.
Seriously, we were laughing so hard that it's amazing we settled down for any sleep!
So the 3:30 a.m. alarms went off - we all somehow managed to get dressed and checked out of the hotel, and in our cars for the drive to the shopping center where we were to park and board the buses that would take us out to our race start.  The logistics of this race are incredibly complicated, considering it's on Highway 1, which is a two-lane (at best) coastal road.  We just rolled with everything - Barbara and I were in her car and somehow got separated from Matt and Lynda, who were in his car.  We jumped onto a bus (thank goodness for the heater - it was cold!) and figured that they would catch the next bus, which they did.  Quick picture of bleary-eyed Barbara and I on the bus for posterity:
Have mercy.  This was a rough morning!

About a 30 minute ride later, we were at the race start.  Matt and Lynda caught up to us - and the fun began.  I have so many pictures that I'll split this recap into two parts, with most of the scenic shots coming on Wednesday.  Barbara and Lynda walked at a faster pace so they were ahead of Matt and I for most of the race.  I was really grateful that Matt was fine with walking - we originally planned on running this race together, but then my ankle happened, and my plan got changed.  Lucky for me, he changed his plan, too. :)  OK, here goes part one - the race:
 At the start - it was cold!  We were trying to show our bibs with our names but some of us were more successful than others, lol.
 Matt and I decided to take a picture every time Ricky Bobby chimed a mile.  This was mile one - we were looking good, right?
 Mile two - still feeling good, plus the sun was finally starting to come up.
Mile three - these fun markers were for the marathon, which was an out-and-back this year due to part of the highway falling into the sea.  You can see the marathoners running in the opposite direction in the background of this picture.
 Mile four - and I believe we saw the actual Henry Gong, sponsor of the mile 18 marker, running back and forth in this area - and yes, he WAS wearing a bow tie!
 Mile five - we heard the sounds of the piano for at least a mile leading up to it.  What other race has a grand piano with a tuxedoed player on the course?  This was quite amazing!
 Mile six - more than halfway there.  We were beginning to get tired.  Legs were aching, feet were sore, my ankle was talking to me.  But the beauty of the course and our constant joking around kept us moving forward in good spirits.
 It finally warmed up enough for a photo op with Barbara in our coordinating outfits! 
 Mile seven - can you tell we were tired by the fact that we sat down for this photo?
 Mile eight - it was in a not-so-pretty area, plus we were tired of posing. 
 Mile nine - we realized we were nearing the end and got our posing mojo back!
 Mile ten!  Only .6 left to go!!!
 We finished!!!  With our medals, although we called them our "ceramics" since that's what they were made out of.  Woohoo, I finally have another medal to put on my medal hanger!
 Barbara and I - happy, tired, done.  What a crazyfun thing for her to choose to commemorate turning 50 - I'm so glad I was able to join her for the festivities!

28 comments:

  1. OMG there are few word for how I love my post, err, your post on this monday.
    celebrating funny real honest BEAUTIFUL.

    LOVE THIS SHELLEY.

    I need to get to planning my 50th and who Im gonna drag into my schemes :)

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  2. What a fun, fun, fun day that has been. It's been such a pleasure reading it!

    About names on bibs that's pretty common here in Holland. In my first 5K I had my name on it and wasn't that fast and it helped people screaming my name to keep me running :)

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  3. Loving this post! So glad you posted pics. I am so glad you were able to participate even with your ankle! Look at you not backing down! Good for you. I cant wait to get back into my running and do a big race like that! Soon I hope...

    Jennifer
    http://wecanlosethepounds.blogspot.com/

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  4. Oh...and I totally would be loving if my name was on the bib too!!! Its the little things :)

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  5. Looks like so much fun and gorgeous scenery!! Thanks for sharing Shelley. So proud of you!

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  6. Oh I'm glad to see you're still standing at the end of the race! I was thinking about you all day yesterday.

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  7. Such a fun post Shelley! I love all the photo ops at each mile marker - way to go!

    So glad you are having such a great time!

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  8. YAY Shelley!! So proud of you. It looks gorgeous there! And the Cali weather is definitely agreeing with your hair. It looks great.

    Can't wait for part 2!

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  9. LOVE this post Shelley!!! Looks like an amazing time!!! Thanks for sharing all the pictures with us!!!!

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  10. HOW FUN!!! I told Jeff yesterday that I was looking forward to your recap! Were your ears burning? We were certainly missing ya at Luke's Locker! :-) And Dale got some Vibram Five Fingers!! Not exactly sure when/where he's going to use them!

    Can't wait for part 2 of your recap!

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  11. What an awesome time, Shelley! Glad you had Matt to keep you company! Hope your foot is doing okay!

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  12. Awesome you! I'm so glad you got to do this, and share it with us!

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  13. Glad you had fun! It looks like an amazing spot. I have been to Big Sur but never explored.

    Happy 50 Barbara!

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  14. Haha! At first I thought the Mile 8 photo was to show us that your fingers were swollen - which is what always happens to me on long runs.

    I think it's just great that all of you did your modifications and went with the flow. Looks like it was a marvelous day and a memory you will cherish forever!

    Welcome to 50 Barbara, you'll find it's pretty good over here!

    P.S. NOW rest that ankle!!!

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  15. I would love my name on a bib! So jealous!

    Great job Shelley - you have so much fortitude to do that with your ankle. Bravo!

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  16. Such a wonderful recap!!! I love the pictures at every mile the best.

    Great times with great friends ...priceless!!

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  17. Yay for you!! Did you tell Bart to ditch those shorts? lol

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  18. Looks like a really great time! How wonderful!

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  19. Great job!!!!! Good for you!!!!

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  20. Really enjoyed your last 2 posts. I was excited for you and your 10 plus miles. Ankle must be feeling much better!

    way to go!

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  21. Great photos. Beautiful scenery. "Slumber party"? With men?

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  22. Goooo you for walking 10.6! I would have made it, oh...5? :D You rock!

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  23. Awesome job! Thanks for sharing all the pics. I usually think of taking photos after I do something, doh!

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  24. Looks like a fun time! Kudos to you for a great race ... and I LOVE my name on my bib, too!

    Winks & Smiles,
    Wifey

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  25. Love the dorkiness re: the name on the bib.
    Need to read that book.
    Maybe your "fashion" sense will rub off on Bob like his running rubs off on you (plaid shorts and running shirt isn't working for me)
    And most of all WE WERE WALKING TOGETHER (I was in the midst of the Avon Walk), just on different sides of the country!!!

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  26. oops, I called him Bob, but his name is Bart. My bad.

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  27. Man, I love all the races you find! You are so great for doing this one with your friends. You guys make them look so fun, even at 3:30 in the morning! :)

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