Run Your Butt Off: Hollywood Style

As I said before in a previous post, my husband and I are avid runners. Before moving to California, we had countless discussions about how we wanted to become more involved with the running community and participate in more races. We wanted our first half-marathon in California to be a run experience so we chose to participate in the Inaugural Hollywood Half-Marathon on Saturday, April 7. To make the race and recovery easier, we decided to make a weekend trip out of it. We had our hotel room booked before we left the Keystone State.  

The race started at Universal Studios City Walk. At 6 a.m., we were running underneath the bright lights of the shops and restaurants. We ran downhill for about three miles before hitting the pavement of Hollywood Boulevard. The road had been closed down for the race and it was so neat to see some of Hollywood's tourist traps in such an awesome way. We ran past Hollywood Bowl and even Ripley's Odditorium.

It was so neat to have the city to ourselves. Just before mile six, we turned down Sunset Boulevard. The turn-around point was at the corner of Sunset and Maltman. This is where it got tricky; the last half the race was uphill. The hill became trickier and steeper at mile 11. We kept pushing despite our legs feeling cramped and sore. Never have I been happier to see a finish line. We sprinted the last quarter mile and finished strong, hand in hand. We were able to shave off 15 minutes from our last half-marathon personal best. 

To our surprise, we felt strong after the race. We ate some snacks, showered and decided to spend the afternoon seeing the sights of Los Angeles. The early afternoon was spent walking around City Walk, going in and out of the shops and enjoying the tourism atmosphere. For the rest of the afternoon, we knew we wanted to leave Universal City and experience more of Hollywood and Los Angeles.

My husband and I aren't big into tourist traps and attractions, but we knew we wanted to see the Hollywood Sign, the Rock Walk, the shops on Sunset Boulevard and the Walk of Fame. Both him and I had geek-out moments when we saw the star for Kermit the Frog, the hand prints from The Ramones and Kurt Cobain's guitar. It was an awesome afternoon.

Dinnertime rolled around and we were starving, which should be expected. We wanted burgers and beers to celebrate a job well ran. We left the tourism world behind us in our rear-view mirror and entered downtown LA. After dodging the excessive traffic caused by the Clippers' game, we dined at The Yardhouse. Our craving for beers and fried food was satisfied.  

The weekend was relaxing, despite running 13.1 miles and the pains that come with it. It was also a great way of spending the holiday-packed weekend. We don't have any family out here, so it was nice to spend the weekend together, doing what we love; running and having fun.