inaugural hollywood half marathon

It’s been two weeks since I ran the Inaugural Hollywood Half Marathon and it’s taken that
long for me to get over it. Let’s just say it was a great race up until the
point when my PR got taken away from me. Granted I didn’t really train for this thing, I was still on mark to have a PR.

The day started out pretty good. I felt physically good even though I was tired from the week. Scratch that. I was exhausted! Race morning weather was cool and with a 6AM start it should’ve been cool. However, it was difficult getting up so early on a Saturday morning to run a half marathon. What was I thinking signing up for it only a few weeks before? I obviously didn’t think this one through enough.

Once I got to the start at Universal Studios, it was jam packed with eager participants – tired, blurry, eager participants. I don’t think I was even fully awake until about mile 2. I wish I was kidding. I was asleep during the start.

Zzzzzz

The course was to take us through Universal City Walk into Hollywood and back again. Easy breezy as I saw it, but not so quite. Okay the first part was easy breezy. Wait, it was the first 11 miles that were fairly easy breezy.

Weee! We’re running downhill! This is going to be fun and get me a PR!!

Once we got into Hollywood, the course was fairly flat with some small rolling hills thrown into the mix. I don’t mind those so much because I figure what goes up must come down…eventually. I was clipping about 11:00 pace, and then I saw a 9:54 pace. Yeowzaa! I’m really on my way to a PR.

Participants were scarce along the course with a few people making their way to cheer people on during a Saturday morning at 6AM. Thank you few people!

Who wants to brag about chafing?

There wasn’t much entertainment either but these drums were awesome!

One thing I did see a lot of were bunny ears! This race did take place during Easter weekend so the bunny ears were out in full force. One guy didn’t stop at just the ears. He went full-on bunny costume! Good thing it wasn’t very hot at this time. Did I mention this race started at 6AM?

I loved passing by the Intelligentsia coffee shop. I haven’t been here since last year and I really just wanted to stop and get some coffee, but I couldn’t because I was on my way to a PR!

I haven’t entirely been a huge fan of out-and-back courses where there is that U-Turn and you’re faced with seeing people on the other side where they’re at mile 9 and you’re barely at mile 3. It’s even worse when you’re ahead of people and you just found out the race has run out of water cups and so many people were about to soon find this out too. The temperature started to warm up, and it was going to get very ugly, very fast. Good thing I had a small water bottle with me, but some people weren’t that lucky.

The last of the water cups. Bye, water cups.

I didn’t feel like running with my Fuel Belt so I decided to carry a small water bottle. The funny thing was, I intended on tossing it once I finished with the water and then just rely on the water stations for the duration of the race, but just as I was about to toss it, I heard “no more water cups!” What?!

I understand inaugural races have their fair share of kinks to work through, but yeah, those cups should’ve been distributed a little better. I know this isn’t the first race to ever run out of water cups, but I suppose it could’ve been worse – there could have been no water.

Water Station manned by ghosts.

Oh I almost forgot to mention, there was a little excitement along the course. I saw this LAPD officer in hot pursuit!

Until I saw him pull out his camera…

…and snap a photo of the guy balancing a watermelon on his head for the whole race. Okay I don’t know if he balanced it during the entire race, or if he had to catch it several times to prevent it from smashing to smithereens.

Whoa…whoa…whoaaaa.

Now onto the part I get very bitter about. Seeing I was on a pretty good pace for a PR, I got mighty excited. I didn’t want to get too excited, but yeah I did get excited. This was my 22nd half marathon afterall and how perfect would it be for me to get a PR with my favorite number?! It wasn’t until I got past mile 11 and was faced with “the hill” – the neverending hill that went on for 2 miles, getting steeper and steeper, and with headwinds – when I realized I may have to go for the PR with half marathon #23.

Oh hill, aren’t you ever going to end?

Warmer temps, headwinds, having a neverending hill getting steeper by the second, and then having no water cups was just pouring gobs of salt on the already wounded.

Just make a cup with your hands, it’s the same thing as an actual cup.

I knew my PR was slipping further and further away. I was disappointed. When it was all said and done, I was happy to be done with the race, and with that hill. Next year, if I decide to do this race again, I will train with more hills. Ha ha! That’s funny. Maybe I should just train.

My “happy to be done with half marathon #22”, and “ooh, I’m so upset I didn’t get a PR” smile.

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