Rock n Roll Los Angeles Recap

Last year after running Rock n Roll Los Angeles, I quickly signed up again to get the great price promotion they had going on.  Then I forgot about it.  But alas, this past weekend, it was that time again to head up to Los Angeles for another Rock n Roll event. I went up with Michelle and we left Saturday morning—there is no remix challenge for this race, so going up Saturday gave us plenty of time to hit up the expo and be ready for Sunday’s race.  

After checking into our hotel, we headed over to the Los Angeles Convention Center for the expo—so many people!! Not only was the race expo happening here, so was the Stan Lee Comicon.  The costumes were fun, but it was a little overwhelming to be surrounded by so many people.  After making our ways through the crowd, we found the expo.  Getting our bibs and shirts was easy and we headed into the main area to meet up with Stephanie.  We had fun at the expo catching up with other runner friends we saw, but overall I was disappointed in the what the expo had.  It seemed small which is not what I’m used to from other RnR events.  After our expo shenanigans, we headed back to our hotel to rest for a bit.  Later, we met Stephanie at the Yard House for dinner, followed by a trip to Sprinkles Cupcakes.  If was the perfect way to carb load before heading back to the hotel and get race ready.

We woke up Sunday and headed down to the start line area for a quick We Run Social meet-up/picture opportunity and then it was off to the corrals.  On Saturday, I had talked to Megan and she was going to pace me on Sunday in an attempt to get a PR so we headed to the corrals with Charlotte.  After a quick National Anthem, the rolling starts began and we were off. 

I found Waldo! Megan & Charlotte 

Photo Credit: WeRunSocial

The race didn’t go as I had hoped.  I felt good for the first ten miles but then I hit a wall.  I still had contusions from a fall earlier in the month and my leg was in a lot of pain.  I also started cramping and while I could run most of them out, I did have to stop a couple times to stretch.  I am so grateful for Megan who stayed with me the entire time.  I am disappointed in my time, but I also know that I ran what I could.  I also know that I had a great time!  I loved seeing the costumes and although some people don’t like an out-and-back course, I enjoy seeing my friends in passing and cheering them on.  

Ice, ice baby!

Of all the RnR events I’ve run, Los Angeles is my least favorite.  All the other RnR events are on point and Los Angeles seems to need some fine tuning.  I didn’t like this year’s course change—I know that is in part due to city regulations, but I was not a fan of all the rolling hills and I feel like we saw more LA sites last year.   Will I run it again? Probably. (Although I did notice that there was not a post-race email sent out to sign up like in other cities, which makes me think that something might be changing).

So grateful for Megan!

Although I didn’t love the race, I did have an awesome weekend.  I love being able to see so many of my running friends and this seemed like a mini-reunion for runDisney Superheroes weekend coming up.  The people were the best part about this weekend and I can’t wait to see them again!

Have you ever run a race that you didn’t love? Would you run it again?

Until next time, happy running.
Jenn13.1  

Rock N Roll Los Angeles Half Marathon

When deciding my race schedule for 2015, I knew that I wanted to get the Rock N Roll Cali Combo medal for running three races in California.  I ran San Diego, San Jose and finished up the medal with Los Angeles this past weekend.

We left Saturday morning to head up to Los Angeles for the expo.  This race didn't have the Remix Challenge option (running two races in one weekend) and I was a little disappointed with that.  This is my fifth Rock N Roll race this year and I'd done the Remix Challenge at the other four I've run.  After fighting our way through traffic (a two hour drive turned into almost four hours-- now I know why people say LA traffic is bad.)

The race Expo was at the Los Angeles convention center.  Bib pick-up was relatively easy-- there were several volunteers and not a lot of people picking up at the time we were there.  This was the first time at a RNR race expo that I did not have to wait in line for my bib.  The expo itself was a typical race expo-- I didn't need anything so I looked at the booths, but didn't see anything I couldn't live without.  I did stop at the LA Marathon booth and had a great conversation with one of the people working the booth-- when she learned that the LA Marathon in 2016 would be my first marathon, she gave me some great, honest advice.  She definitely made me feel better about the journey.  My only issue with the expo was that it felt very crowded-- there were a lot of booths crammed into a little space, which at times made it hard to navigate through the booths.

I woke up race morning looking forward to the race.  My past two races had mentally gotten to me and I decided to run this one with no Garmin, hoping that without seeing my pace or time, I might do better.  Since this was was also labeled as a Halloween race, I was looking forward to seeing all the costumes.  As we made our way to the corrals, I noticed a lot of people weren't dressed up.  The costumes I saw were fun, but I definitely expected to see more.  The corrals were organized and the race started on time.  

Flat Jenn ready to race! With all of my favorites!

I knew there had been a course change, but I didn't look at the original course map, so I went into the race unsure of what to expect.   I knew that it was a city run and it was just that.  The course is a little boring-- there wasn't a lot of crowd support, but the crowd support that was out there rocked it.  My biggest concern with this race was making sure I didn't fall-- it was a street race and I'm always nervous about pot holes and street markers.  Around mile 7, I fell into pace with two other runners-- I had been using them as my pacers for most of the race and it turns out, they had been using me as their pacer.  We began talking and found our run groove-- we ran together for about 5 miles and they definitely pushed me, which I loved.  Sometimes when you run by yourself, it's easy to become complacent and not push yourself.  I know I am capable of more and love when other runners push me to do more.

And then we hit mile 11.5.  Where did that hill come from?!?!  I pushed myself to the top, reminding myself to look at the race elevation chart next time.  After the hill, I found my groove and made my way to the finish. I went through the finish corrals and was excited that they had more than enough chocolate milk this time (they had run out at RNR San Jose by the time I finished) and I also enjoyed the iced coffee from Dunkin' Donuts. 

The Bling

This was the first time I stayed for any of the after show at a Rock N Roll race-- it was fun to see a little bit of Sir Mix-A-Lot's performance.  There was definitely a fun vibe in the crowd.  

Sir Mix-A-Lot

Overall I had a fun race experience, but I think that was more from the people than the race itself.  Nothing stands out as being overly bad or overly good about this race.  I'm definitely glad that I did it and I'd probably do it again. 

The Cali Combo Medal for running three CA races and the Roadie medal for running 5 Rock N Roll Races.

Did anyone else run this race? What are your thoughts.

Until next time, happy running!

Jenn13.1