2012 LA Marathon!

4:29:38!

I am so thrilled to be able to check the LA Marathon off my list! The race itself lived up to all my expectations - the course was fantastic, the supporters and volunteers were amazing, and even mother nature played nice and we had a beautiful day of cool temps, no rain (which was strongly predicted), and a fair amount of sunshine! The whole experience of the day itself, our 12 weeks of training, and fundraising for ThinkCure is something that will stick with me forever.

Our day started at 5am, when Chad and I dragged ourselves out of bed to some pretty chilly (OK, "LA chilly") temps. I didn't sleep very well Saturday night - woke up at 1:30 and could not get back to sleep until at least 3:45, and then had bad dreams about  missing the start of the race. But thankfully I had made sure to hit the hay early during the week, so I wasn't very tired from missing one night's rest.

Let's hit the road!

After a quick breakfast and a cup of coffee, our friend (and total angel) Tyler picked us up at 6am to drive us to the start line at Dodger's Stadium, about 5 miles away. We hopped out and followed the throngs of runners in garbage bags and ponchos to the start line.

  If you ever wondered what 23,000 people looks like, it looks like this:

I'm one of those white dots at the back.

We squeezed our way in at the first opening we saw - unknowingly right behind the "corrals", where the faster and/or more experienced runners are seeded to get a jump on the crowd. That was a good move on our part, since we got off the starting line a mere 3 minutes after the first runners (runners at the back of the pack can cross up to a half hour after the start of the race!)

The first 6 or so miles of the race are through downtown LA, which was one of my favorite parts of the course. Mostly because I was still feeling great and I told myself to savor those first miles before things started hurting,  but also because you just don't get much opportunity to experience downtown like that! It was surprisingly neat, and I had actually thought it would the most boring part. At Our Lady of Angels Cathedral they were ringing the church bells, and nearby a line of Taiko drummers were keeping the runners apace at the top of the steep hill by Disney Concert Hall.

From there they course takes the runners through Echo Park - not the most interesting part of the course, but at one point there was a group handing out "FREE SLOPPY GREASY CHILI DOGS", tongue firmly in cheek. :)

Next up was Sunset Junction, in Silverlake. This was another favorite segment of mine. I was not expecting so many course supporters! I swear I was smiling the biggest, goofiest grin for about a mile - it was impossible not to smile & say thank you with so much positive energy. I couldn't even hear my music, the cheers were so loud. A girl was holding a big purple sign that said "Ur training lasted longer than Kim Kardashian's wedding", which gave me a good giggle.


And then there was Hollywood and West Hollywood - when things started hurting a little. Around mile 13 I had that familiar, terrifying thought: "Oh no... I'm only halfway done."  But WeHo really brought it with the course support - drag queen cheerleaders, go-go dancers, just one big party, basically - and my fears were banished... for the moment. Also in this area I saw one of my favorite signs, a famous quote in a store window: "If you are losing faith in human nature, go out and watch a marathon". :) Then right after that someone had a sign that said "Worst Parade Ever" and I pretty much bust a gut laughing.

What am I doing with my hands, and why did it seem appropriate at the time?

This is when things get a little hazy for me. I sort of remember running through Beverly Hills, Rodeo Drive, Century City (Route 66), but I was pretty focused on ignoring the pain developing in my left knee/IT Band area. When I hit mile 18 ("Cheer Alley", with hundreds of area cheerleaders showing their support), I really thought I was already at mile 20. That's not a good feeling.

I do not remember this.

Miles 17-22 proved to be the worst I'd ever experienced, or would during the race. I kept telling myself not to stop, that it wouldn't help to walk for a bit (it just feels worse when I try to run again). The course through the Veterans Administration was pure torture & I really had to push to keep an even pace. But once I passed the 22 mile marker, my fuzzy runner's brain did some quick math (26.2 minus 22 iiiiis.... uhhhhh) and eventually calculated that I only had 4.2 miles left! I could do that!

Looks like the finish line! But it's not.

So I dug deep and pushed on. Each subsequent mile honestly felt like 2 miles. The Brentwood residents came out en masse, and apparently I ran right by Henry Winkler & had no idea. When I passed under the 25 mile marker, and saw the course veering left with the Pacific Ocean in view, I really did start to cry. But doing so actually made me kind of wheeze like a weird asthmatic, so I buckled down and put on my brave face & hoped there were no race photographers around to catch me and my oddly contorted facial expressions.

Coming down Ocean Boulevard towards the finish felt so good. I don't think I felt the pain, but I can't remember because I was so focused on just getting to that dern finish line. The crowd was packed in like sardines on either side of the course, everyone screaming, people cheering & clapping - dang that feels good! Who cares that they've been doing that for the last 5000 runners!

DONE! BIG SMILE!!!

And then I was an official LA Marathon finisher. I got my medal (it's heavy!), and a myler blanket, and a banana and some Cinnamon Teddy Grahams. And the satisfaction of not having to run anymore. And a sunburn. Official time: 4:29:38; 5478th runner; 1307th woman; 247th in my age category!

Chad came in around 4:22:00, which he wasn't super happy with but is still a huge accomplishment, and not far off from our previous PR of 4:16:00. Chad is pretty sure his best race is the half marathon, not the full. I'm still pretty in love with 26.2. :)

Booyah.

Marathoners!

I would definitely run the LA Marathon again - hopefully next March! I'm already feeling the itch to train for another 26.2 (glutton for punishment much?), and am toying with the idea of doing one sooner rather than later... But for now we are focusing on some shorter races, including a couple half marathon and 5k races.

Thanks to everyone for your support as we've trained & raised money for cancer research!