190 Min Run (push) --156.5--

PASADENA -- The final piece of the stadium runs is now secured. Got over to the Rose Bowl and back. Considering the storylines around MSU, I figured I'd wear my Sparty shirt and take the poor boy to see the place, seeing as he by most logical measures should be playing there Jan. 1.

But whatever. Los Feliz Blvd to Glendale Blvd to Colorado to Linda Vista to Seco, loop the stadium and back. Some real characters hanging around Glendale in the early morning. It was a fairly uneventful run considering the distance. But a few highlights:

--Story at the adult foster care I was running past: "So he tried to stab me and cut my finger. Another guy got stabbed in the back. Other guy in the back, too. It was crazy."

--7-11 in Eagle Rock. Dude has a Tecate 'fan can' on counter. Sees me come up with my running kit and obvious sweat and only buying a water. He looks, thinks and reaches over to a nearby rack for a pack of peanuts. This is at 9a, mind you. Maybe I helped someone today. Important to eat something.

--USC/UCLA was already getting its tailgate on at 8:15a. Pretty cool. Some students throwing balls around, DirecTV dishes set up, lotsa RVs. I loved it. Unfortch, two folks were stabbed during a near riot later in the day at 4:30p when something like 50 fans got into a brawl. Attempted murder charges for three people. Yikes. That is certainly not the stereotype of these fans.



--The course is a challenge. It's hilly as all heck. Long grades up and down. Some steep stuff. So I'm really pretty proud of this pace. It would have been a 4:08 marathon had I kept going around the old loop and done 26.2. That's by far my best time. Feet were pretty chopped up. Some wear and tear on the hip muscles and almost had a calf cramp. But the only real challenging part was the last hill up Los Feliz Blvd. after the park. I'm not sure I've ever run up that thing, only down. And certainly not in the 19th mile of a run. Had to dig a little deeper than I thought I might...and deeper than I've dug in a while. Ha!

--Maggs and Beck followed me on Endomondo and met me when I got back, cheering me on from the front porch. That was awesome. Maggs was really excited about the whole thing.

--Brought along some raw almonds to eat along the way. Ate them while onboarding my room-temp liter of water from 7-11. So good. Really a good snack for along the way. Should consider soaking them in saltwater in the future. Had salt crystals cakes on my face and hat after this one.

--Weather was absolutely ideal. 50s pretty much the whole time and patches of sunshine. Loved it. Great run. That 3 miles around the Rose Bowl hood was kind of electric because of the pregame stuff. And it's a beautiful location anyway.

Endomondo