this run was, like, totally gnarly, dude

the folks who organized the hollywood half marathon i ran earlier this year added a really fun race to their lineup - the awesome 80s 5K/10K.  the inaugural run actually took place last month at the rose bowl, which would've been really cool for me...except that it was on the same day as the bean's race at disneyland.  i was so sad to miss it, so when i heard that they were doing it again in san diego, i roped my friend kelley into signing up with me.  thank god she's always willing to be my racing buddy.

the bean was super excited to be staying in a hotel for the night.  before we left, she sat down and drew a picture "to give to the lady at the hotel desk."  i love how she was so sure the front desk clerk would be a female.

but when we got there, she and i stayed in the car while the hub hopped out to check us in.  so we brought our stuff upstairs first:

and then the two of them went back down so she could present the clerk with her picture.

meanwhile, i checked out our room, which was pretty nice.

and the goodies in the bathroom earned my seal of approval, too.

a few minutes after they returned, the phone rang.  and from the hub's end of the conversation, i could tell that the bean's hand-drawn offering had worked its magic once again.  last time, it earned her a sweet little snack pack.  this time?  our $25 overnight parking fee was waived.  she's like our very own little traveling coupon.  sweet.

the bean and i crashed early while the hub ventured downstairs to grab a drink.  and then my alarm went off what seemed like five minutes later.  it actually wasn't all that early, i suppose - just before 6 - but when it's still super dark, it sure is hard to get out of that nice, warm bed.  nevertheless, i dragged my ass up and got myself all gussied up in my 80s gear.  kelley texted me just as i was putting my hair into that horrid scrunchied side ponytail that was so cool back in the day, and i headed out to meet up with her.

how convenient to find a full-length mirror right in front of the elevator.  heh.

man, it was chilly out there.  i did a couple of jumping jacks before kelley found me, and we marveled at the long line of cars snaking down the street looking for a parking spot.  these runs always snarl up traffic, despite the super early hour.

we were walking behind these chicks, and i wondered how hard it would be to run three or six miles in a jean skirt.

there were lots of people at the expo, all decked out in neon colors and side ponytails galore.  the dj was playing a fantastic mix of 80s music, and some folks were already out on the floor partying like it was 1999.

some folks really went all out with their costumes.  we saw a group of run DMC chicks in the classic black tee and giant gold chains, quite a few "physical"-esque leotard getups, even the sta-puft marshmallow man from "ghostbusters."

this chick showed up in a giant tutu and OG roller skates.

and we cracked up at the sight of officer poncharello from "c.h.i.p.s."

the start line.

it was just after 7 when the race started.  we were near the front of the crowd, and as i started running i felt the rush of adrenaline i always get when stepping on the timing mats at the beginning of a run.  doesn't mean i was particularly fast, mind you.  but i had a good feeling about this one, and pretty soon i passed this:

and not much later, this:

i was so sad that i'd forgotten my headphones, charging on the desk back at the hotel.  so i was happy when i could hear music blaring from several different spots along the course.

kelley and i had both debated stopping at the 5K mark.  she decided to leave it up to me, and i told her that if she didn't hear from me, i'd be doing the whole 6.2 miles.  so when i found myself still running happily at this point, without a single walk break, i just kept on running.  like forrest.

i was feeling so good that i didn't even need to stop for water.

and yeah, i had to take this.  yo, she wasn't wearing tights!  blech.

pretty soon, i was here:

this was somewhere between miles four and five, i think.

my mojo didn't last the whole way, though.  i slowed to a walk for a bit, but picked it back up fairly quickly.  and i kept pace with a couple of others who i remembered running with back at the beginning.  so it wasn't too terribly long before i finally got here:

i wandered around a bit and was happy to run into ken, the race director.  he's a really cool guy, and recognized me from the facebook group that's dedicated to the hollywood half.

kelley found me not long after that, and we snagged someone to take a sweaty post-race shot.

back at the hotel!

i used the panorama setting on my phone to take this shot.  the hub said he could see the hordes of runners clad in brightly colored attire from the balcony.

my finish time, 1:05, was two full minutes faster than the last 10K i did a few months ago.  yay for setting a new personal record!