
Monday: We touched down in LA. TG went for a short run and found 90F hot. She forgot about releasing me from the hot stuffy suitcase.
Tuesday: Was finally out of the stuffy bag. TG took me out at 6pm as she did not want to stress out in the 90s. She said 80s was cooler. Was good to see the blue skies and skid along sidewalks! Sidewalks! Must be a little more posh here as West Virginia had a lack of sidewalks.
Friday: TG did a weigh-in and after 5 days in LA, had managed to gain 7 lbs on an American diet of meat and carbs and sleeping lots!
Saturday 27th August: Santa Rosa Health Expo
At 11am, we arrived in Santa Rosa, Marriott Hotel and were quickly sorted out by a couple of the organisers; Orhan and his wife Kenya. TG was given a very cool clothe bag with an awesome technical t-shirt and some goodies. Soon we were directed to a table next door to an energy drink and a massage table that was just outside of the hotel. Opposite was a stall selling shoes and another advertising another local marathon in March.
*****Flashback to a day in July, TG had agreed with Orhan to talk about her cause and why she was dragging tyres.*****
So here we were now with our own table out in the sun. TG kind of laid out some flyers that the Earthwatch charity had created for her to give away. I, Rec, sat in front of the table with Chamey (the Chameleon who was first introduced in the London marathon) on top of me to keep the glaring sun off me. Just so that you understand that TG is rather slack in this area, the energy drinks gals would later politely tell TG that next time they would be happy to make her stall look better! TG had a dirty t-shirt on top of the table and all kinds of other rubbish that should have been hidden away.

TG didn't really want to talk about herself: "Ahhh, this is Rec. He teaches running form would you like to try him out? He's a great teacher and everyone loves him!"
Marcella boldly came forward and volunteered herself. She was rough with me! She bounced along and so I bounced along with dissatisfaction.
TG translated: "Rec ain't happy with what you are doing to him. He says you're wasting energy moving up and down instead of putting it in your forward motion."
And so TG went thru some basic Pose drills with Marcella and soon Marcella was running with less bounce. Lindsey soon became the next customer and begun to understand why she has a hamstring injury. The massage guys were next, with the Modesto marathon guys checking it all out. The shoes guys probably wanted to put their thumbs in their ears as TG told various people how the chunky thick soles on running shoes were screwing with their running form.
TG and I were soon training runners who completed marathons from anywhere between 3 hrs - 4 hrs and had niggles on their legs. Within a short time, most people understood about the significance of their running form in relation to their injury. The key drills to understand were "the pull" and "staying in the box". Some got it sooner than others. Some folks still did not quite get the perception and it's a good thing I'm made out of rubber. So TG gave them some drills to do.
For those runners who want to know more about the concepts on running form go to http://www.posetech.com/pose_method/pose-method.html
It is the technique TG uses to ensure she no longer has niggles when running, or injury after a marathon. Am sure that next time we come back, running with one of my tyre buddies will be a normal everyday occurrence! So many people said so many nice things about me. I loooove Santa Rosa!
Late to Bed
17:00 everyone packed and TG and the energy gals promised to meet up the next day. After running with various people and getting my rubber hot on the tarmac, TG gave me a rest and volunteered herself to help the organisers break down in the hotel and set up in their new location in a church in Julliard Park that was next to the start point. Foolishly TG decided to have Mexican at 10pm for dinner.....saving a vegetarian burrito for breakfast as the hotel said that no food would be available until 7am, the time when the marathon would start. After watching a little American TV, TG went to bed at 1am.
Summary of the Santa Rosa Health Expo
Fun and friendly little expo that was organised by the Santa Rosa marathon organisers. It involved a number of local companies based in Santa Rosa and San Francisco who were giving away things free or for an excellent discount. There were protein shake samples, a little wine tasting (after all this is the Sonoma county), free energy drinks that cost $2.49 a bottle. People were taking stashes of these little bottles! Free massages and of course Rec was offering free running form classes! :-)
Part 2 will be written up on Friday 9th Sept