The Green Girl's Downtown Long Beach Run

After a grueling kickboxing class last night that included sets of alternating squats and push-ups, the Green Girl decided to hit Downtown Long Beach for a short run.

When compared to the surrounding area, Long Beach has a fairly extensive public transportation system. I find the Long Beach Transit very convenient for navigating the city. Connections to the LA Metro can be made at the Downtown transit station.

I also love that the City of Long Beach has launched Car-Free Fridays this summer to encourage community members to ride a bicycle or use another form of alternative transportation.

It was relatively quiet Downtown so I pretty much had the sidewalks to myself.

I ran past the AMC Pine Square 16 theatres. Businesses have come and gone but a few remain and the AMC is one of them.

I went by one of Long Beach's historical landmarks, the Farmers & Merchants Bank (F&M) tower.

In 1907, the Farmers & Merchants Bank was established by C.J. Walker and his wife. The bank remained in the Walker family for three generations.

The expansion of the bank with the construction of the Farmers and Merchants office tower took place in 1923.

Architecturally, the building is an example of Italian Renaissance Revival classicism with detailed terra cotta cladding.

The first floor features the teller station counters with the original metal wickets. The bank entrance features red Italian marble entrance with brass-plated double doors. Inside, the floor is made of pink marble and there are marble benches for customers.

After pausing to admire the F&M building, I continued south on Pine St.

On my way back, I went by Gold's Gym.

I was a little bit discouraged when I measured my acidity last night and it was 5.0 pH. I allowed myself to sleep in this morning and I'll take it easy today since I'll be running tomorrow.

The Green Girl's Long Beach Half Marathon Race Report

The Green Girl's Race Preparation List

My coaches, Steve Mackel and Gary Smith put together this 'Coach Steve & Gary's Race Day CheckList'.

The most important thing to remember is not to try anything new right before a race. This includes eating new foods; wearing new clothing, socks or shoes; taking new medications or vitamins; applying new creams or lotions; or doing anything else you've never done before. I believe this rule would be a lot easier to follow if the race expo was after the race. At the expo, they offer samples of all sorts of "super" bars, drinks, foods and other snacks.

No matter how many times seasoned marathoners warn other runners not to wear clothing or shoes they bought at the expo the day before, we all get tempted to sport new purchases on the big day. Do not, under any circumstances, make this mistake.

I highly recommend attaching the timing chip to your shoes and pinning the bib on your race shirt the night before. As easy as it may seem, this can sometimes be a little more complicated than expected.

I also make sure I have everything I need in one place before I go to bed. I don't want to be looking for things in the morning.

The Green Girl's Race Checklist:

Shoes
Timing Chip
Socks
Spare Socks
Hat
Race Shirt
Bib
Race Pants/Shorts
Watch
Sunscreen
Lip Balm
Hand Sanitizer
BodyGlide
Cash
Road ID
Hydration Belt
Hydration
Gels
Pretzels
Mobile Phone
Digital Camera
MP3 Player
Warm-up Clothes
Bus Pass

The Green Girl's "Night Before" Checklist:

Attach timing chip to shoes
Put socks near shoes
Pin bib to race shirt
Put out all clothing
Freeze hydration bottles
Prepare hydration belt

I like to take public transportation to races. This way I don't have to deal with traffic and I don't have to worry about parking my car.