Last Days of Summer in LA: Day 3

Our third day in beautiful sunny LA brought me three of my favorite things: running, sun, and beer.

During the few days leading up to Saturday, I had been battling a really weird ache on the side of my ankle (that weird nubbin on the side of the foot). It had been a bit swollen, painful, and I attribute it to the new, really cute Sam Edelman ballet flats I had worn to work recently. They will be going back to Nordstrom. Painful feet, odd aches? Not good, especially for a runner. And a runner tapering for a full marathon.

So back to Saturday morning… I woke up, assessed my foot situation, and decided that I’d go ahead with the 12 mile long run. Week one of my three week taper period was nearly over and I figured I needed to get it done. It’s go time. There’s no skipping runs here and there.

Luckily, the reality was that the weather was wonderful, it’d be my first time running at the Cali beaches, and it was my last double-digit long run of marathon training. Hooray!!

Since we were staying at our friends’ house, I wasn’t planning on my normal PB, honey, and chia on a bagel of toast. Instead, I had an amazingly delicious Picky Bar — Smooth Caffeinator, Hazelnut Mocha Madness. Seriously, this bar was delicious. It really does taste freaking amazing. Apparently it is the newest flavor. I picked this up from my recent visit back home and will definitely be ordering more.

Picky Bars is the brainchild of running star Lauren Fleshman and hails from my hometown of Eugene, Oregon. Track Town USA, baby! From the Picky Bars site:

allergy sensitive, athlete designed, and scientifically scrumptious snack bars. Always gluten & dairy free, and always made with real food by real people.

Once my tummy settled a bit, Lindsay drove me a short distance from her house and dropped me off at the beach path.

The most amazing view ever made me extremely happy to get the run started. The sun was out, lots of people biking (there may have been a bike race as I saw some bibs), and lots of fellow runners to nod at.

Once I got going, I was pretty good to go. I must say, though, during the course of my run I had a tough time getting used to the beating sun and the heat radiating off the sand. The sand itself on the concrete path was also surprisingly difficult to run on purely due to the shoe-to-ground traction factor. In addition, the hills along the beach path. They were brutal! Same path we biked on the day prior, but of course running up it is much more difficult than pedaling.

My running path led me from the beach at Playa del Rey 6 miles over to Manhattan Beach past the pier on the Marvin Braude Bike Path and “The Strand.” Once I got to the halfway point, I simply turned back around. What I love about the path is how organized it was. The scenery was amazing too. I was so in awe of all the multi-million dollar beachfront homes. I obviously wouldn’t be opposed to living there. 🙂

Towards the end of the run I was definitely feeling the heat. Bad. In my mind I wanted to stop at mile 9, then pushed myself to mile 10. But mentally, I needed to do my last double-digit run so of course got the 12 miles done.

At the end of the run, I GroupMe’ed Lindsay and she picked me up where she dropped me off.

Me in my Oiselle Simplicity Tank and Roga Shorts, and my trusty SpiBelt. So in love. A lady actually stopped me on my water break and asked me about my belt and apparel. Told her about Oiselle and SpiBelt. I was a running advertisement, she said. Heh, it’s true.

When I got back to the house, I discovered that Tank the puggle had decided that she wanted to be optimally hydrated as well, so she decided to devour my bottle of Nuun Strawberry Lemonade tablets. Dogs love the tabs too.

For a post-run lunch, we hit up In-N-Out for the required burger visit. I absolutely am a fan. Always so delicious.

I went with a cheeseburger and fries. Did you know that you can request their special sauce for dipping fries? They give you packets. Do it. Yum.

With our bellies full of delicious food, we made our way over to the Santa Monica Pier area to take part in the Septemberfest beer fest event.

Me and beer go really well together. Lindsay and Jay had picked up tickets for the four of us to attend this amazing beer fest. In addition to beer, there were plenty of LA food trucks to feed the masses.

Unlike other beer festivals that hand out a limited number of beer tickets, this event provided small plastic mugs for unlimited beer for a period of 3 hours.

Drink, Eat, Play is right. There were so many beer vendors in attendance, many whom I had never heard of. I’m an IPA girl, and there were definitely plenty of IPA galore.

A lot of the vendors had swag such as beer bottle opener keychains from Sierra Nevada Brewing Co., etc. A lot of people were loving the funny stickers that Bier Bitzch were sticking to attendees mugs. They had a pretty good pilsner, if I recall correctly.

Joe and I always have a blast with Jay and Lindsay. Hearts Party of 4!

After several tastings, my tummy was rumbling so I went and checked out the food trucks. Komodo Food Truck caught my eye with their unique menu. I wasn’t starving but needed a good snack so went with their truffle fries with cheese. Holy yum!! So delicious.

The rest of the time at the beer fest was spent trying a few more beers and hanging out.

Post-beer fest, we wandered through the Santa Monica Pier and my dream of riding the ferris wheel came true!! I was such a happy girl. I know it’s super touristy, but I have always wanted to ride that iconic ferris wheel.

Fun scenery: