The Malibu Half Marathon (and Mammoth Mountain's opening weekend)

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This past weekend Drew and I decided to embark on our own adventures - I would be running in the Malibu International Half-Marathon, while Drew was riding the opening weekend slopes on Mammoth Mountain, (check out our post on Mammoth Mountain spring skiing with my dad). We'd be blazing trails of our own on the same coast, mine along the sand and Drew's in the snow.

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For the past 4 years I have made it an annual traditional to run in at least 1 half- marathon. The first one I ever did was the Disney Princess Half Marathon, which was way more fun than I ever thought running could be, from there I did the Hollywood Half and the Super Spartan. This time I was craving more of a scenic run and what could be more beautiful than running along one of the most incredible coasts in America, oh Malibu.

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The morning of the race I awoke at the not so familiar hour of 5am, grabbed a cup of joe, a bagel, a banana and my iPod. I was super pumped to listed to my new marathon mix and even more pumped to watch the sunrise over the Pacific.

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After finding a sweet parking spot across from Zuma Beach along the PCH (where the finish line was located), I then followed the herd of fellow runners to the big yellow buses that would be transporting us to the start line. It was a 15 minute bus ride along the trail that would take the majority of us over 2 hours to run. By 6:45am I found myself at the front of the start line with that golden Malibu sunrise beckoning my name.

With thousands gathered, waiting for the "ready, set…," 7:30 finally came and we were off! The first song on my iPod, a 90's classic, "You get what you give," paired with the cool, California ocean breeze and the rhythmic pounding of the hundreds of feet surrounding me, I was in the zone.

I ran by our most favorite places along the coast, El Matador, Neptune's Net, friendly campers at Point Dume State Beachand some of the most incredible real estate in the Nation. It's hard to tell what it was exactly, but something kept me smiling mile after mile.

2 hours and 12 minutes later, I heard my name called over the loud speakers as they hung the Malibu Half Marathon medallion around my neck and draped a victory beach towel over my arm. In silent thanks for the accomplishment, I grabbed a chocolate coconut water and b-lined for the beach.

While soaking my tired toes in the Pacific, I called Drew to share in my victory and hear all about the slopes he was bombing in the Sierra's just a few hours away.