Hello! I just ran the Long Beach Marathon and am checking in with the results, recap and all the major life decisions I made while covering 26.2 miles…
First let’s talk about what I ate before the race – I went to a fancy pizza place in Rancho Santa Margarita. I wanted to show you the back of my dress, but it was a fail. Oh well. E for effort.
We started with the bone marrow appetizer. It was good, but not really my jam. It seemed super “Top Chef” so I appreciated the experience though.
What to eat before a race:
Carbs. My carb of choice last night was pizza. But, I wish I would have stuck with my usual = rice. My stomach felt off during the race. Boo.
Note to self: Pizza –> Post Race Victory Dance.
What not to eat before a race:
(But I had to.)
Do as I say not as I do….
(That should basically be understood and applied to everything on RunEatRepeat…)
Long Beach Marathon
I talked StuftMama into driving me to the race. She is the best! We stopped at a gas station for a quick bathroom stop/selfie action.
At the start!
The Long Beach Marathon race weekend includes a marathon, half marathon, 5k and bike tour. Fun fact: I actually did the bike race the longest time ago! It was another life. For a more modern twist, you could try the foldable electric bikes by DYU, offering a convenient and fun way to join the race or explore the area.
I wasn’t sure what to expect at the race. I knew I wasn’t going into it properly rested or trained. But, I just have to do Long Beach every year! Like, I will be banned from the whole city for a year if I don’t do it. Or something.
Luckily, I caught up with my friend Russ on the bike path and we ran together for a long time. He’s one of the Sole Runners. He helped keep me at a slow, even pace since I didn’t have a watch. Plus it really helped the miles go by!
My stomach felt a little off and I felt nauseous after the race. Not sure what that’s about. But, I survived which I’m pretty happy about.
LB Marathon Results: 3:58:11
And my Mom ran the 5K!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
My little brother came out to cheer for us too!
I think I did well considering my legs were tired all week (and really since Ventura). I do need some extra rest to get stronger.
The best thing about this race was it gave me time to make some major life decisions:
– Decided my Halloween costume!
– Thought about my to do list for cleaning the condo.
– Realized I need to fix my Garmin asap. I can’t believe I just ran a marathon without a watch at all. Busted Monican.
Okay, so the only thing I really decided was the Halloween costume, but I’m pretty excited about that.
Question: What was the BEST thing you did or ate this weekend?
I’m hoping the fro-yo I get later will take the top spot…
Great job on the marathon!
I ran my first 10K this weekend…the Riverside Hometown Heroes Honor Run. Did it in 1:15:11, which is a long distance PR for me. My knee started giving me a little bit of an issue towards the end, probably b/c there are a million hills on this route. This run is 1/3 of a series of races in Riverside. I have another 10K November 9th. Back to training to work on getting that time down even more. 🙂
Super cool that your mom ran the 5k – I was so happy for/proud of my mom when I ran the SF Marathon and she ran the 5k!
How awesome your mom ran the 5k!
I can’t wait to see your Halloween costume.
You never came by the Sole Runner post race party area! Boo!
Great race! That medal is gorgeous. I might have to find a way down there next year just so I can have one.
Running without Garmin…what is that? How was that? Liberating or crippling? 😛
Best thing I did this weekend was the Ragnar Trail Relay at Vail Lake: three teams, lots of new friends, loads of dirty miles, camping and a huge check-off the bucket list! 🙂
PS: I LOOOOOVE Matt’s shirt. #want
congrats on another great marathon! hope you enjoyed your post-race fro yo! =)
Congrats on the marathon finish! A marathon at Long Beach sounds pretty amazing… definitely a different view than the Pittsburgh marathon a ran a few years ago haha.
The best thing I ate this weekend was a piece of my mom’s homemade lasagna, and some Jewish apple cake topped with whipped cream. So many carbs, so damn good.
I’m Canadian so the best thing I ate this weekend was our Thanksgiving dinner – delicious turkey and all the sides!
awww yay for your mom doing the 5k!!!
Awesome job on the race! I’d imagine that is a good time to do some thinking. I get a lot figured out while walking around the city too. This weekend was Fleet Week in San Francisco, so I enjoyed some champagne at a rooftop part overlooking the Bay. That was a high-point. But y favorite thing of the weekend was carrot cake, two nights in a row. 🙂
Congrats on the race! I saw your photos on IG! LOVE the pizza– oh gosh I ate too much this weekend… it was crazy, but probably cheesecake or mac and cheese balls!
Congratulations to you and your momma!
You did an awesome job!! Woo!
Best thing I ate this weekend? Tonight we had pork tacos with a chile sauce and pineapple sauce. They were sooooo yummy! Congrats on the marathon!
Hanging out with you of course!!!!
Wow great job on the LB marathon! I ran my very first marathon today! 4:42 with very minimal training (life got in the way) but I’m pretty stoked on it!
Congrats on the race and glad that the stomach ache wasn’t as bad as it could’ve been : / That was me this weekend.
Best thing about the weekend: shooting with an online magazine…after running 22 miles. Woop woop!
My eating was a lot of yummy junk food! 4 different kinds of homemade cookies, homemade apple pie, and ice cream cake. Had family in town visiting and it was my sister birthday so we baked up a storm. Good thing we rarely eat sweets or I would need to run a LOT more. Fun to do once in a blue moon!
It was such a beautiful day for the LB (1/2 here) and the ice cold beer at the end is free. Not to mention a gorgeous 30th anniversary medal! Great reading about your blog. Gives me motivation to get back to writing on mine! (My Bad) Congrates!
LOVE that your Mom did the 5k! That is great.
And I really like the medal. That’s a keeper.
Congrats on finishing the marathon — and in under 4 hours — even when you were thinking about doing the half instead. You are a running machine!
congrats on the race!
I really wanted to run this…I think I may sign up next year. I got crafty this weekend and did some center pieces for a baby shower I am cohosting next month. No runs for me…I was super tired so I listened to my body. I get back at it tomorrow.
It was Canadian Thanksgiving for me so I basically ate all weekend and it was all amazing. I especially enjoyed going out for breakfast this morning (because this weekend needed more food) 🙂
I love Thanksgiving!!!!!!
The Gobbler is back at Wawa and it was DEFINITELY the best thing I ate all weekend 😛
The best thing I ate this weekend was the wild mushroom appetizer at an Italian place. It’s got, like, four kinds of mushrooms, figs, artichokes, fried capers and goat cheese in some kind of saucy goodness over a hunk of bread. It’s ridiculous. Definitely the best part of my weekends, didn’t do much else other than a 14 mile training run this morning. Everybody I’m training with is doing marathons like a month before mine and I’m getting bitter and cranky every time I hear the word “taper” since I’m nowhere near that point yet.
Omg,your brother is so tall! It’s so crazy how little brothers do that! Lol oh,puberty!
Seriously!!!!!! It still gets me every time I see him.
Congrats on another 26.2! Love the champagne- the one drink I can never say no to!!
Love love love champagne 🙂
Congrats! I ran my first 20 miler of the year in preparation for the RnR Vegas! I rewarded myself with my first burger in 10 months and it was so worth the wait! 🙂
Yah! Awesome run!!
I had an amazing weekend! My mom is here to visit AND I broke 2 hours and got a new half marathon PR today by almost 10 minutes – 1:58:05!
Congratulations!!!
Congrats!
I had such an amazing weekend. I ran the Staten Island half marathon today. I wasn’t trained and my knee was wonky but I managed to pull out a 2:15 which is about 10 min faster than what I expected. Not a pr but at least I felt strong and my injuries didn’t cause me an issue.
I had amazing post run eats.
A steak and provolone wrap sandwich and chocolate chip gelato with whipped cream.
But really the best part of the weekend was my boyfriend coming to see me run and then strolling around ikea together. We are new lovebirds so it’s like the honeymoon phase still. Lol.
I’m so glad I picked LB as my first marathon, it was awesome and such a beautiful course! I saw you and said hi, and realized after that it may have been creepy. My bad 🙂 great time though!!
Not at all – I love meeting my fellow running peeps! Congratulations on your first marathon!!!!
Congrats on the marathon!
Can’t wait to see what the Halloween costume is!