Last weekend I took a little break from my "official" marathon training and flew to LA! I was sick of shoveling, missed my friends and needed some LA love. It worked! I feel more loved!

I saw a ton of friends and while I didn't have to shovel, the weather sadly wasn't in the 80's as it apparently had been for the previous 11 months. But, hey. I wasn't wearing mittens or earmuffs. Things were good.

Me, Nancy, Mary and some other TNT friends met up to do the Chinatown Firecracker race, which we'd been warned was pretty hilly. Nancy and I did the 10K and were all "what hills?" after the first half mile. And then the climb began. And kept on going. It was like a big hill training run - about 3 miles uphill.

There were millions of "Kids Run LA" kids which usually make LA runners a little bit nervous, if not irritated. It's a great cause - don't get me wrong. And we love the kids! But there are millions of the little critters all over the roads, and as Mary so aptly said, co-erced running isn't necessarily as much fun as the kind you choose to do yourself.

Kids Run LA is a program in the LA public schools where they get kids to run the LA Marathon. Little kids - junior high, even, training to run 26.2 miles. Adult Angelenos who enjoy running see them out at any and every community race from about October til the marathon in March (or this year, May!)

And while they're cute, certain aspects of them are not cute. Like when they're running right in front of you up a hill, and you're both exerting a certain amount of concerted effort (ie, strain) to put one foot in front of the other, and they just stop. Suddenly. Right in front of you, without looking behind or to the side.

So... aside from the little road obstacles, it was really really fun. The weather was perfect for running - overcast and in the high 50's. The views were amazing.. all though Echo Park near Dodger's Stadium. And not to brag, but because of my 6am hill runs in Charlestown, I didn't find the hills that bad at all. It was also just a 6 mile run, which isn't much compared to some of the runs I've been doing.

Afterwards, we feasted on delicious dim sum at a spot recommended by our very own Yelp expert Shawna. She actually is some head honcho at the LA Yelp, so we were in good hands. Mary and I took a blurry cameraphone snap post-meal. There are other pics and once they're available to me, I'l post them!

This weekend is a lovely 10.5 miler. I thought it was 16, but happily not. I do believe though, that from now till the end of March, every weekend run will be pretty long. With the exception of one weekend when I'll be in Atlanta and won't be able to do more than 10.

So... from now til April 20th, it's all about hunkering down and really training.
I think I hear "Eye of the Tiger" in the background, pumping me up...
Until next time!
J
xoxo