This is where it all went down- Huntington Beach, Ca. Last fall Will's three sisters and I decided to do the Surf City Half Marathon together and make a girl's trip out of it. For Mel, Steph, and I, this was our first transition from casual yoggers to distance runners. Becky's a seasoned pro, so she helped coach us from afar. There's no better motivation to keep running through the freezing winter than knowing there is a sunny wonderful vacation waiting for you at the end of it!
If anyone out there is looking for a fantastic race, Surf City is it. We ran on the Pacific Coast Highway with 20,000 other runners. At one point you loop around up a hill and you can't see where the mass of racers ends or begins. It was amazing! It was so well organized with that many people, too. This picture was the way in to the expo the day before the race:
We got some serious swag. The expo was enormous! Free massages, refuel samples everywhere, smoothies, and tons of vendors. An extra plus for me: through a mishap with my lost bib, I somehow ended up with a free $60 technical running jacket, a giant medal, and a VIP pass to the front of the beer line. I tried to tell them it was a mistake. They didn't care. Yay for me.
The race was for sure the highlight of the trip, but the rest of the time was spent relaxing, eating, shopping, shopping, and relaxing. Our hotel was beautiful, the food was great (and cheap! Tequlia Jack's!), and the weather was perfect.
This was the view from our hotel room.
We may or may not have spent 3 hours in H&M.
