TBA
Long Beach Half Marathon
Long Beach Half Marathon complete, 2:03:03 chip (9:23/mile), 2:02:17 GPS (9:19/mile). I can't remember for sure, but both parking this morning and the crowd at the finish line were way more crowded than I can remember. This is the first year the lines for parking structures downtown (not just on the waterfront) were crazy, and the finish line was so crowded that the exit chute into the expo backed up quite badly. I think I heard over the start line PA that it was 25,000 runners, and I want to say previous years were 11,000 or 15,000 or 18,000? However I don't actually have anything hard to back that up.
Gave up on catching Mike and Allison at the finish line, finally got cell signal back by the convention center (on the downtown/north side), finally heard from Mike a good 20 or 30 minutes later, after they'd made it out of the immediate Marina Green/finish line area-- went to the next phase of the plan, which was meeting up with them at Omelette and Waffle Shop in San Pedro for post-race breakfast. I'd been before, but the menu is extensive so wanted to go back. They were unfortunately out of Portugese sausage, but the hot link omelette (Leslie's Favorite) was pretty good, and the breakfast potatoes were solid. Waffle is plain looking but also very good-- honestly, everything is very tasty aside from the biscuits and gravy, which were large in size but decidedly meh otherwise.
Throw in a few more photos of the race bib, medal, and 16 year Beach Bum pin (has it been that many years?), then eventually off to dinner at Zui Xiang Yuan, which was apparently a popular Sichuan place not too long ago. Their neighbor one door over, Sichuan Spicy Bay, is apparently now the hot spot, as Zui Xiang Yuan was less than a quarter full. The Chongqing spicy noodles were a generously sized bowl with quality ground meat, and the cucumbers with garlic were tasty. Dessert was not really necessary, but Xing Fu Tang's location down the street was hard to resist. The space felt a bit inappropriate for a milk tea shop, as it was overly large and with zero seating. However, Xing Fu Tang's drinks are still good, with boba on softer and modestly chewy side, rather than more firm of some places-- actually a reasonable fascimilie of just about right. Oreo boba milk sweetness was not overwhelming, which was a pleasant surprise, considering it's non-adjustable.
Final stop of the night was the Fairfield Inn San Bernardino. Quite ordinary, at least the last renovation wasn't bad, although the king suite upgrade they gave me (thank you!) was slightly oddly shaped inside, with a narrow/angled living area.