Friday as soon as I landed I headed to Newport Beach. Great low key beach (except for all the annoying HS kids that should have been in school). After I had a good base sunburn going it was time to head back inland to Mt. SAC and cheer on some great Colorado runners. LA can be described with one word: Traffic! I lived in NYC for 6 years and consider LA worse namely because its never ending. Least in NYC you know that rush hour will be doubled but will eventually end.
I got to the track around 7pm just in time to see some of the final laps of the elite women's 5k which included big names such as: Sara Hall, Jenny (B) Simpson, Molly Huddle. Numerous heats of the 5k then followed for the rest of the night with an intermission of a very exciting 4x1mile relay of high schoolers. In the girls heat one of the lead off runners from Saugus fell at the 800m mark but got up and went on to not only hand off first but also in a speedy time of 5:04! That team went on to win with its three other legs of 5:02, 5:04, 5:02, and 5:01.
Emma didn't run until the final heat of the 5K, the moment I was waiting for all night. Due to restarts and delays this didn't happen until midnight and the temps were dropping quickly. This was her first time on the track since HS and her first time running this distance at sea level. She went out conservatively and pretty much ran it like a road race in CO where you sit and draft, waiting until after you've passed the large hilly sections of the course. After the 2 mile mark she started picking off runners one by one and kicked it into gear with @800 to go and ended with a 16:52 which was good enough for about a min PR. I didn't get to bed till @1.
Next morning the plan was to run to a near by track and get in a mile repeat workout and some hurdle drills. The track was Rowland Heights HS about 1.5 miles away. So I warmed up with that, but when I got there the track was closed! Again, why do we have to lock up our tracks and protect them with 8' fences?
So I ran to another track, Nogales HS in West Covina about 3 miles away, but by this time the temps were on the rise, it was humid and I was running out of water. I made it to the track and found one gate open. Stretched out and converted the workout into a "tired mile trial." I managed a 6:10 which could have easily been sub 6 but I saved some energy for the 1 mile run back to the hotel.
Run: 6.5
I got back, showered to cool my body temp down and get ready to hit up Venice beach for the first time. This place I can only describe as being between a prison yard and the places in Mexico where tourists done travel to. It was raw!
The water was @55* so I didn't really go in. We stayed until I was good and lobstered up (even though I was religious with the sunblock). Stuck in LA traffic for 3 hours I had time to further increase my worked up appetite. Finally enough was enough, we pulled off to find a quaint Mexican restaurant with the added bonus of Karaoke and some dancing. The sure cure for tight legs.
Sunday was a planned adventure day to include sight seeing and hiking in and around LA to see what the fuss was about on TV shows and movies. We visited Hollywood and even hiked 4 miles on and off trail in Griffin Park to the summit of Mt. Lee to the Hollywood sign. I think I just might be a natural for some trail running races.
We drove around in Beverly Hills and saw Diane Keaton driving in her Range Rover. We took shelter from the heat in the Westwood Shopping Center for lunch and finished out the day at the Marina Del Rey. Just before heading to LAX for our flight back to Denver we had to make a impromptu stop at Trader Joe's for supplies. I highly recommend the trail mix.
It was a great trip to get in some sea level training, support my athletic friends and explore new areas in great company. Bonds were certainly formed, and the memories wont soon be forgotten.
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