OK!
It was time for the Great Los Angeles Walk, (technically the 3rd annual Great LA Walk) organized by Franklin Ave's MIke & Maria. The first time it was Wilshire, which we had company so I left them beyond Good Samaritan, then last year, was Pico.. which I managed to get about 12.5 miles of the 16 before giving up and taking the bus to the sea. This year would be different. I've been walking, and despite the recent weight gain, I had started getting in better shape. I figured if nothing else, I could at least beat my old record.. and know when to quit. I would pay attention & listen. I would have fun (I had fun with Pico but towards the end I just didn't have the right mindset).
So what happened?
I got the shoes..
I ordered these for my upcoming trip to WDW, but yeah, the Great LA Walk was perfect timing to test them out. =P
I got on the RedLine..
I got to Union Station & some 150 people were all there!
so many folks they don't all fit in my lens! =)
Eric Lynxweiler of MoNA & neon cruise fame (or "ShainLa's friend" as I like to say) was there to give us some tips & wish us well.
We all headed out.. walking from Union Station, through Olvera Street's El Pueblo, to Cesar Chavez,
passed Chinatown and on toward Sunset,
around Sunset Junction
onto Santa Monica Blvd.
We reached Mile 9 & Barney's Beanery around 1230pm & we all found lunch.
I ended up going along with Will Campbell & folks to Champagne Bakery for sandwiches & salads.
not to mention the yummy pumpkin cookie!
and then met up around 2pm at mile 10, which was the "Beverly Hills" sign where we waited in the park to regroup.
and then onward to the Sea..
er, to Brittania.. =)
there were toasts all around.. (and someone ordered fish & chips).
Then it was time for me to sit, so I wished everyone well, said my thanks & goodbyes and headed to the 704..
Here I had to wait a bit more for the sitting and then finally when I got back home to Main Street.. I treated myself. 18.3 miles??
I can haz cookie now! Thanks everyone for the good time!!! It was great seeing all the friendly faces both familiar & new.. I love meeting new people & a big shout out to everyone on twitter who kept me going, especially "MelanieO" and Will Campbell who was encouraging me all the way! =)
Sometime late Saturday, my legs finally cramped up and I spent most of Sunday trying to rest and recover. Late afternoon had me hobbling around Hawthorne doing some pre-Thanksgiving shopping and treated myself to some L&L (now that's my kind of food!) I'm doing better now.. so.. We ready for the next Great LA Walk?? =) Thanks again Maria & Mike!
HERE is the rest of my flickr photos, as well:
**this post dedicated to BIG CITY ("Eureka") POZ .. =) I know you would have joined me for the walk if you were still here. RIGHT?? *grin*
8 comments:
Congrats on finishing the walk, Pamela. That's helluv cool!
It turns out you posted a picture of my office building! It's the red building on Santa Monica Blvd. behind the Mobil station. How about that?
thanks bunches!! I'm almost just fully recovered too! =)
re office: wow really?? (was thinking you worked on campus or something)
It was a fun walk. Sean was at Big Game so I think that took a lot of the pressure to finish off me, so I just did it at my own speed. I wish I'd gotten there 20min earlier (but then I would have had to skip the bathroom & coffee break.. not a good idea!)
There's going to be one next year too (probably the same weekend as BIG GAME) Since BIG GAME is at Stanford maybe you & Sara would be up for trying next year??? huh?? *grin*
I'm so bummed I missed out on this. I was planning on doing it for weeks but I had to work instead =( Looks like so much fun!
18.3 miles? I really am impressed. I know you do a lot of walking on a regular basis, though, and I guess that has served as training for this marathon session.
I couldn't have handled lunch, though. Food would have made me feel sleepy and sluggish and I would have given up. I don't think I could have passed on the fish and chips at the end, though, but I know why you didn't have any. You won't even eat a McFish!
It appears that those new shoes as functional as well as good looking. They sure look snazzy on you.
.....oh, and that was a nice thing for the group to meet up at the fountain. That took away the competitive nature these things often have.
Would I have done it with you? In a heartbeat! It would have been great fun walking all that way with you.
The pictures ware wonderful. Thanks for sharing your great adventure.
ATL it was fun! I wish you had both made it the more the merrier you know?? Well, there's always next year!
Hey do you go to the downtown dog walk? They just celebrated their 1yr anniversary (and they have a blog too!)
check out dodger & the gang at:
http://www.dogwalkdowntownla.blogspot.com/
Joe: *hugs* the shoes worked out great and Sean was saying they should be properly broke in now. *grin*
Yeah you know why I didn't have the fish! =) The funny thing is I think someone ordered the chicken but it too looked like the fish & chips and once the first order of fish & chips came up I couldn't smell anything else. (not that it smelled or anything..) The serving portion looked huge though.
Regarding lunch I was worried about that too.. I didn't eat at Barney's I ended up eating at "Champagne French Bakery" where I had a turkey and cheese sandwich on french bread and a side salad. Very refreshing!
I *did* have one of those HUGE Starbucks doubleshot things w/ guarana (sp?) for the first time.. it wasn't as sweet as their bottled frappachino which helped a lot.. and not sure if it gave me energy but I was busy drinking on not thinking about how much my toes hurt. ;)
Hey! Today it's raining.. I'll drink some hot tea and think of you and that lovely Eureka weather you're getting now.
Okay - we are so doing this next year!
congrats on finishing!!! what's up with those shoes? are they super lightweight?
Ginny: you should!!! It's fun!
Sha: shoes were great! They *are* light and didn't seem to need any breaking in at all. I realize wearing them on a 18mi walk may have been a mistake (I brought a spare pair in case they gave me issue but I didn't need to change).
I had to order them online from the Teva website though, which isn't too bad but they ran about $60 and I'm pretty cheap when it comes to shoes. I'm not a shoe girl so I kind of winced when I ordered them, but comfortable shoes are worth it!
Sorry I took s long to reply you guys!
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