But I digress. Let's get to the real point here. This past Sunday, I completed the LA Marathon, which is my 35th, 36th, or 37th marathon. (I really need to go back and count.) My training went as well as it could have in the six weeks or so that I prepared. I hadn't really planned on this being my 'A' race for a number of reasons: 1) Traveling cross country for a race is never easy. Actually, it can be mighty stressful. 2) Hotel sleep is never that great. 3)It was probably going to be hot. To the latter, I actually received an email a couple of days before I was set to head out warning me of a heat advisory. I felt okay about this--if things didn't go as planned, I had other options.
The week leading up to the race was incredibly stressful...I had so many responsibilities to take care of at home (planning to be gone at work, making sure the boys' Valentine's were mailed to friends/family and ready for Philip to take to daycare, packing, and getting myself from Omaha to LA). Even after I was sitting on the plane, my anxiety did not lessen. Plus, I am rarely away from Philip and my boys so that felt weird. (I was planning on meeting a couple of friends once I got to LA).
Everything went smoothly on my trip into California and was able to spend the next day sightseeing with Mike and Ryan. We volunteered at the Olympic Marathon Trials the next day which had to be one of the coolest things that I have ever witnessed. That being said, after standing and working there all morning and part of the afternoon, my legs felt tired...so tired that I felt a little worried about how they'd react the next day. We ended up going back to the hotel to rest after our shift and then went out to find dinner. I just grabbed a sandwich at an organic grocery store and went back to the hotel while Ryan and Mike went out. I didn't have much of an appetite but knew I needed to eat.
My alarm went off the next morning at 4:45am. Now, given the two hour time difference, this was totally sleeping in for me. I slept okay. Ryan dropped Mike and I off at the start of the race and then headed to the finish line to meet us when we got done. Mike and I made our way to our starting corral. Luckily, we'd been assigned the same one! After the gun went off, we stayed together for the first five miles or so. I felt really good for these first few miles. I didn't have a watch going at all, but found out later I was going mid-eight's. I had been concerned going into this race that I was going to have knee issues...I was concerned enough that I decided to pack three ibuprofen (as well as five gels and several salt tabs). My knee hadn't bothered me terribly during my training, but I had come to conclusion that it gets aggravated while running hills. The LA Marathon's course was all hills. (I'd say much more downhill than up.) But my knee doesn't discriminate. By mile 6 it was killing me!!!! And this really messed with my head. There was NO WAY that I could walk TWENTY MILES!!!! I slowed down, but didn't walk. Around mile 10, I took all three ibuprofen (which you aren't supposed to do while running), but I was pretty desperate. Especially after what happened in Florida, I could NOT have a DNF. Around mile 14, it finally kicked in and I was able to run again!
At this point, the temperature had started to rise, but it didn't feel as high as initially projected. Plus, some of the tall buildings offered a bit of shade. I gradually got myself back to a positive state of mind and decided that I would, in fact, run again. (Thoughts such as, "I hate this! I'm never running another marathon! I'm never running again!" had passed through my head when my knee was hurting so early into the race.)
As I got into the 20's, I started feeling really great. I started picking up my pace quite a bit. I remembered from looking at the course profile that the last three miles were downhill. And they were! Amazing! Miles 21-24 were at 8:44 pace, and I dropped down to 7:14 pace for the last two miles. I caught back up to Mike right before the finish and we were able to finish together in a time of 3:53. I ended up getting pretty sick to my stomach after I finished. Because of the projected high temperatures, I drank much more gatorade than I normally would have and also took quite a few salt tabs, so my stomach was a sloshy bile-y mess. Yuck.
I met my goal of running a sub-4. After researching a bit, I am pretty sure that this is an IT band issue. A day or so after the race, it wasn't hurting at all anymore. I am really thinking that that thing just really hates hills. I would love another shot at running a "fast" marathon...though, it's going to take a little planning. The course cannot be a hilly one. We'll see.
I planned to take an easy week post-marathon and get back to business this coming Monday. I do not like downtime but know that my body needs a little rest before I start hammering it again.
Happy running! I hope you were able to get out and enjoy the beautiful day! :)
Complete results can be found here
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