It was a sleepless night that had me constantly fretting I was covered in Poison Oak from my trail run. I’m 75% sure I’m not… but there is a 25% chance I know absolutely nothing about nature’s poisoning capabilities… actually I’m 100% sure I know almost nothing about the true signs of nature’s killing capabilities. I do know almost everything in Australia is deadly. What’s the rule on eating berries? Or mushrooms? If they have striations, don’t? If that don’t have striations, don’t?
A quick google search turned up Ex-Green Beret Myke Hawke on Good Morning America offering this charming little rhyme for berries:
White and yellow, kill a fellow.
Purple and blue, good for you.
Red… could be good, could be dead.
As for poison oak, there’s apparently a 12 step process on a wikipedia page. That’s the same as if I was trying to be a recovering alcoholic.
So to sum up: I don’t know if it’s poison oak or a psychological post-traumatic stress thing that has me paranoid and only thinking every little itch is the warning sign of an attack by nature. But I do know I slept poorly.
Complicating the sleep arrhythmias was the knowledge that my alarm was set for 4:30 AM. I needed to get down to the Grove outdoor mall for this morning’s Run to Remember Half Marathon, honoring Los Angeles and other first responders who gave their lives to protect us all. It’s an incredibly worthy cause and one I was glad I could fit into the schedule. I previously noted how I had asked for special consideration to pick up my bib on race day. Turns out I wasn’t the only one — they had a lot of folks picking up their packets on race day. A lot. So many that I have to wonder if there wasn’t buried somewhere in the Frequently Asked Questions of the registration website a disclaimer that yes, indeed, you could do packet pickup on race day. But because I thought they were going out of their way to help me, I wanted to get there early and ensure they didn’t have to wait for me.
When I arrived at the Grove, itself an adjunct to the original Farmers Market at 3rd and Fairfax, it was a ghost town. That quickly changed as we got closer to the start time but still it was odd wandering the empty streets of this amalgamation of Las Vegas and Shopping Mall-dom.
Considering this was an inaugural event for Los Angeles (though they’ve done Runs to Remember in Boston for years), the organizers did a great job, with staggered corrals clearly marked, the course affording a unique and at times humbling tour of the area, and overall offering a smooth “flow” for runners.
The humbling aspect is the cause for the run — running for fallen heroes and our first responders in general made for that paradoxical moment wherein police or firefighters were thanking me for running. It was akin to Marines thanking me for running the Marine Corps Marathon in DC. No, no — I’m just out for a run. Thank you, brave men and women, for what you do.
Here’s a shot of the mobile “End of Watch” memorial for fallen LAPD officers.
Far more emotional for me was during the mile inside Paramount Studios. They had lined parts of the streets of New York backlot with memorial photos of some of the fallen men and women who gave their lives in the line duty, including those we lost during the September 11th terrorist attacks. I didn’t take any photos there; I actually got a little choked up while running.
I rallied though as we passed Star Wagon Winnebagoes and soundstages. I didn’t get a great selfie shot but I did what I could.
All in all, it was a fine way to start my Sunday. Plus, as a promised extra, television superstar Mario “AC Slater” Lopez was there to start the race. While walking the streets of the Grove in the early morning hours, I overheard on some race official’s walkie talkie this bit of chatter, “No, no. We’re using that as a green room for Mr. Lopez.” I like to imagine that whereever this green room might be, it’ll be used next weekend for the Mutti Gras show.
Here then are a final few other photos from along the way. And I should note this is my inaugural race wearing my Team Pizza Racers PEP shirt.
