running 4.01K for retirement

i'd been hearing radio commercials for an upcoming free 4.01K run at the rose bowl sponsored by prudential.  as you can imagine, they're promoting saving for retirement and this was a pretty ingenious way to spread the word.  in their words, we're living longer but saving less.  very true.

i hadn't really thought about doing it mostly because it was scheduled during birthday weekend and i wasn't sure what the weather would be like, especially since the itinerary showed the run not starting until 10am.  that's super late, and can be really hot if the day is forecasted with high temperatures.  but when i saw a facebook post from my friend kirkette that said she was attending, i decided to go for it.  i mean, why not, right?

the hub happened to be available to go with me to pick up my bib at dick's sporting goods the day before the run.  after a lovely lunch together at a local pub, we headed over and found that my bib entitled us to a 20% discount off of anything in the store.  sweet.  and so we both picked up some new nikes, which i decided to bust out for the run:

and i found the most perfect sparkle athletic skirt in my closet that matched my new kicks very nicely.

as i'd expected, it was super hot that day.  in fact, it was forecast to be one of the hottest weekends of the summer.  awesome.  but it made for a pretty picture of the rose bowl!

there were lots of people there already, walking around and checking out the various activity booths.

this wall listed the names of all 11,000 (!!) people who were registered for the race.

i decided to head over to the main stage to see if there was anything interesting over there.  a local radio personality was there doing the announcing thing, telling everyone about the activities and challenges in the tents and updating us on what to expect for the day.

i managed to find a spot right in front, next to a group of other folks from KIIS-FM, the local top-40 station.  i miiiiiight have stayed there figuring i might make it into some of the photos that event photographers were taking of them and the crowd.  heh.

this guy is "manny on the streets," whose promos on the radio i always laugh at because he usually manages to insert references to his filipino family complete with accents that sound so familiar.  super nice guy.

even better than that was hanging out with kirkette, who found me as i hung out there like a loser all by myself.  her husband was the one running the race that day, while she cheered him on with their two adorable daughters.

i don't usually participate in the warm-ups and stretches that they do at these things, but since i was right in front of the stage i figured i'd better play along.  plus, it was fun watching the mini kirkettes, who enchanted everyone around us (including the photographers).  the laker girls led the warm-up:

and part of the reason why i decided to come to this thing was the promise of a special surprise guest performer who was slated to do a free concert after the run was over.  curiosity killed the cat, you know?  and just before we headed to the corral, they announced who it was:

the old lady and i saw jason derulo in concert at the fair a couple of years ago, so at least i knew i was good to do the run and then head home right after.  heh.

the start was already super crowded.  i guess 11,000 people will do that.

i spied my friend rudy novotny doing his race announcing thing.  i would've loved to say hello, but i didn't want to bother him while he was working, so i settled for taking a picture of him instead.

and then we were off.  it was hot and insanely crowded, and it was damn near impossible to do any running.

luckily, those kilometer markers came up fairly quickly.  since it wasn't quite a 5K, i knew we weren't going to make a full loop around the rose bowl.

there was a golf cart with medics ready to help anyone who might need it, and a water station about halfway through the course.

and then we made a left turn into lot 5A, and the end was near.

done!

i did a circle around those activity tents before deciding that it was just too hot to do any of them.  looks like i missed a photo booth, temporary tattoos, and caricature artists along with photo ops with the laker girls and one of the championship trophies.  no biggie.  and i spotted the kirkette family on my way out, treating the girls to some ice cream:

after chatting with them a bit, we parted ways and i caught one last selfie before getting into the car and turning the AC on full blast.

despite the heat and the crowds, it was a fun experience.  and free is always a good thing!  i'm glad i went, and i hope they do another one.  and hey - start saving for retirement!

hey, look, i'm a helpful honda guy!

my co-leader started a nonprofit organization a few years ago that took her couponing habit and turned it into helping mothers and families by providing basic daily necessities.  you know, stuff like toiletries, household goods, etc.  they just finished a back-to-school drive where they provided backpacks stuffed with school supplies for 500 kids, and they're gearing up for the holidays, where they'll hand out gifts for families who may not be able to afford them otherwise.  the old lady has been working as her assistant for the last few months, and i think she's learned a lot of valuable skills she'll be able to use in whatever career she chooses in the future.

i've helped them out before with local fundraisers that they participate in that funnel donations that help purchase their supplies and fund their events.  they hooked up recently with a company that provides staffers for concession stands at the rose bowl for their various events.  so basically, you get people to volunteer to work with you at a beer stand or a churro cart or something and your organization receives a percentage of the sales during that event.  one of those opportunities came up while the bean was at grandma camp, so i decided to join them and help out for the evening.  the event?  a soccer game, pitting manchester vs. chelsea.  i know zip about soccer, by the way, other than what the bean does with a bunch of other 8-year-olds.  heh.

the old lady and i arrived early and parked with the rest of the vendors on a stretch of the golf course that surrounds the rose bowl.  it was a typically hot southern california summer day, but we were required to wear long black pants and closed-toe shoes.  because we were fairly early, we managed to score a pretty decent parking spot not too far from where we had to check in.

honda is the major sponsor for the rose bowl, and all of the concession stand staffers are handed a blue polo shirt and cap to wear during their shift.  check us out:

yup.  i got to dress up as a "helpful honda guy."  i found this hilarious, although as the night wore on and i kept having to field stupid comments like "hey, since you're the helpful honda guy, can i have my beer for free?"  pfffft.

we were assigned to beer trailer number 5.

this is what we were serving:

i know nothing about craft beer, guys.  and neither did any of my cohorts.  we totally looked up that beer online so that we'd know exactly what it was we were serving.  heh.

perks of volunteering - two free food items from the permanent concession stands and all the soda you can drink.  thank goodness they're a coke venue, because pepsi is the nastiest shit on the planet.

we even scored one of the free t-shirts they were handing out at the gate.  i didn't want to take one at first, because those are supposed to be for paying attendees, but they insisted that they had more shirts than ticket holders.  so, yeah, okay.

this was our view for the night:

and then at 6:30, the doors opened and people started flooding in.

it got busy really fast.  soccer fans are pretty rabid, and they sure love to drink.  half of them didn't even know what we were serving, but as long as it had some sort of alcoholic content they didn't really care.  the old lady and two other volunteers worked at the taps, pouring the beer as fast as they could, while i cashiered and served those cups of beer along with three others.  i splashed beer all over my hands and a little by my feet and was sticky for most of the night, and we ran out of beer out of all three taps at least twice during the 3.5 hours we served it.  and those soccer fans were generous with their tips, by the way.  we were tossing dollar bills into a cardboard box that we counted out and split at the end of the night.

it was quite the process to shut down.  we had to count every remaining cup, water bottle and bag of peanuts to make sure our inventory matched our money.  it took a while to get the money all counted and turned in with the all clear, and we managed to come out even (which apparently isn't always the case).  we turned in our hats and shirts and got the hell outta dodge.

all in all, i think we took in almost $12K in sales.  i'm not sure how much the nonprofit receives from that, but hopefully enough to make a difference.

not too bad for an evening's work, eh?

my running season has officially begun

so back when registration opened for the star wars half marathon at disneyland, i was still in the mindset of doing the l.a. (full) marathon.  i figured i'd be doing some seriously long training runs in preparation for tackling that 26.2-mile course and thought, why not just add extra miles after the half and earn a medal along the way?

and then i came to the realization that the idea of me running a full marathon is stupid.  haha!  seriously though...what was i thinking?  i was all pumped up from watching so many of my friends running l.a. last year and thought the "stadium to the sea" course looked so badass (which it totally is) and thought, well, i have a whole year to get ready for it.  i can do that shit!

except that i can't.  WOMP WOMP.

oh well.  this just means i get to participate in a fun half, in a theme i love anyway.  and check it out - i managed to get my hands on a kick ass costume!

although i have to admit - as much as i'm untrained for that full, i'm also horribly undertrained for this half.  which is in three days.  oops.  i threw in a quickie 3-mile training run in the rain last week:

and then as i planned out activities for this week, i realized that i had time to squeeze in at least one good long run before the big day.  this is definitely not how i typically get ready for a half marathon!  usually i start about six weeks before with a weekly long run, beginning at 5 miles and increasing by a mile until i get in a 10-miler.  i always figure that i'll be good to get through a half as long as i can get that ten in there beforehand.

so yesterday, the old lady and i dropped the bean off at school, fought traffic to pasadena, and tackled the rose bowl loop.  i like going there for my long runs because it's so easy - each loop is exactly 3.1 miles (or a 5K).  i do three loops, double back a little at the end of the last one and squeeze in that last mile to get up to 10.  no measuring, no mapping out, easy peasy.

okay, not exactly "easy peasy" because it's still ten fucking miles of running.  and in my case, it's more of a run/walk.  i'm sticking to that 30 second walk/30 second run interval-ing thing i've been doing for a while now.  not only is it better for me physically, but mentally it's easier for me to tackle long runs if i know i can break it up like that.

but it's done.  the ten mile run is done, and now i can rest a little and get myself ready for that half.  it's the first of the year, with hollywood next and then tinkerbell after that.  let's do this shit.