Picking up from yesterday –
Mile one was crowded! I wondered, “Is this race much bigger than I thought, and are we gonna be packed in here for another few miles still? But as soon as we got to the 5k turnaround, the field thinned immediately.
As far as the idea that maybe I’d even out my pace a bit in mile two… I kept up a somewhat quick (for me) and consistent with the first mile pace. I was feeling good. So, let’s just see what happens. As we went on, we started going uphill. I tried speed-walking the uphills and jogging everything else.
There were SO very many inclines. I’d think, “this has to be the last hill for a while.” But then we’d turn a corner, and wouldn’t you know it? There’s another one.
I probably looked like a crazy person to the people running in the opposite direction in every turnaround because I just put on my best popstar face and tried to act like I was in very dramatic music videos to keep me going up those hills as fast as possible.
People think L.A. is flat. (Mainly it does seem that way.) But boy oh boy, go to the right areas of downtown and it feels like I’m prepping for Kilimanjaro!
So, we get to Dodger Stadium. I’m slowing down a bit on that uphill on the way in, but a 3 hour half still seems in my grasp.
Side note to the planners of the New Year’s Race if they ever read this post: I saw a bunch of people stop on the way into the parking lot of Dodger Stadium turn around right underneath that sign that says, “Welcome to Dodger Stadium” – to be clear again, the one welcoming you to the parking lot (and you can see the stadium uphill in the background) as opposed to the stadium itself – practically everyone by me turned around under that sign and stopped to get a picture of her or himself underneath it…
But here’s the thing. We run around and come out underneath the same sign. So, if you had a photographer right there, no one would stop on the way into the parking lot, knowing the photographer was gonna capture their moment under that sign on the way out…
Also, while I’m talking about perhaps possible improvements from a runner’s perspective (sorry, not to be too judge-y about it) – there were multiple water stops in which the tables were set up on the opposite side of the road than the one you’d be on if you were correctly running all your tangents. So, I’d recommend thinking about the placement of those tables – or it might work out nicely to have them on both sides of the street instead of just one. So, that’s my two cents.
Getting back to my race, somewhere around the Dodger Stadium secret behind-the-parking-lot place, I saw the 3:00 pacer. He was still far enough behind me that I felt comfortable-ish (’cause I saw him coming the other way on the turnaround…) But nonetheless, I saw him. So, I sped up.
I ran through the stadium, which was cool. Everyone was stopping to take pictures in there. But people were good about getting as close to the sides as possible so those who wanted to run through could continue doing so.
All I was doing was focusing, “don’t slow down!” I wanted to catch the 2:50 pacer and I wanted to exit that stadium before 3:00 entered it. (Thankfully, I got out of there before he got in. And I caught up with 2:50 in the parking lot.) I was so intent, I didn’t even notice they had professional photographers in the stadium. So, good positioning there! Thanks for getting those photos (and staying out of runners’ ways in such a tight space!).
I’ll pick up here tomorrow.