I Love LA! (LA Marathon Recap)

I've always wanted to run the LA Marathon. I've got a soft spot in my heart for Los Angeles. I lived in LA for 5 years and went to UCLA while I was there. Sure, LA is crowded, expensive, has lots of traffic, and some superficial people, but there are also lots of great people, lots of fun things to do, and I just have so many great memories of living there! So, yes, I actually dug up this video. It's really funny! It's so 80's! They played this song at the starting line and it got me all pumped!

Randy Newman- I Love L.A

Usually the LA Marathon is the first Sunday in March, but too many churches along the route have complained that it hurts church attendance when the race is on Sunday, so they moved it to Memorial Day. The risky part in that is the weather could be a little unpredictable--either it could be blazing hot, since it's almost summertime, or, it could overcast with the marine layer and cooler temperatures.
I had a lot of friends who were running the race, but I went to LA the day before with my friends, Lindsay and Kyle, and we stayed at my friend, Leslie's house. Both Lindsay and Kyle were participating in their first marathon! Welcome to the asylum, girls!

Here we are the morning of the race!

Thankfully, the weather worked in our favor. It was overcast with temp's in the 60's for the entire race!

And three weeks after I slashed 18 minutes off my marathon PR. . .
I did it again! (Another 18 minutes!)

3:58:18 !!!

For the longest time, my marathon PR stood at 4:34, which I did at the San Diego Rock N' Roll Marathon in 2005. That was my first marathon. Then I somehow got slower. Three weeks ago, I ran the OC Marathon and got a 4:16. Of course, that was the day after I ran the Palos Verdes Half Marathon. I didn't even run much the last few weeks. I've been doing lots of Crossfit. But then yesterday I went out and ran the LA Marathon in 3:58! I still can't believe I did that!

My goal for the LA Marathon was to beat 4:16. My "lofty" goal was to break the 4-hour mark, which would require me to stay below a 9-minute mile for 26.2 miles. Lately, since I've incorporated Crossfit into my training, I've found my speed has really picked up without any extra effort. I've been running faster, but still at what felt like a comfortable pace. It's been exciting to see my speed finally improve, but I wasn't sure I could maintain that speed for 26.2 miles.

When the race started, I found that within the first few miles, I had settled into an 8:38 pace. I stayed there for the first 11 miles, when I slowed to an 8:42. At the half-way point, I was on pace for a 3:50 marathon which sounded unbelievable to me! At that point, I knew a PR was definitely within my reach, assuming I didn't get hurt or anything.

By mile 16, I was definitely feeling the fatigue. I kept looking at my Garmin 305 and watching my pace continue to slow down. But I could tell that a sub-4:00 finishing time was still within my reach. I kept debating in my mind whether I should go for the sub-4:00 or should I just relax and be satisfied with getting another PR. I have the Holcomb Valley 33-miler in 3 weeks and didn't want to regret pushing myself so hard.

When I reached mile 20, I was just under 3 hours into the race. That meant that as long as I kept my pace below a 10 minute mile, I would get my sub-4:00 finish. That's when I decided I had to do it! I don't have any more marathons planned for a while, since I want to get back to running on trails, so I decided, THE TIME IS NOW!!!

Staying below the 10-minute pace was tough! I had my music playing loudly on my iPod shuffle. I even passed a girl I knew out on the course, but I didn't even say, "Hi," because I totally had my "game face" on! (I don't think she saw me.) With the exception of a giant blister on the arch of my foot, I wasn't in any pain--just fatigued! My focus was entirely on finishing under 4 hours.

Crossing that finish line with a time of 3:58:18 was such a proud moment in running for me! It was kind of hard to process right away, though. I was actually in a total daze from accomplishing my goal, and also because as soon as I stopped running, my legs suddenly felt very weak from pushing myself so hard! My legs kinda felt like Jell-O! I got my medal and some guy wrapped a space blanket around me. But I was completely "out of it" for a minute. Then my eyes suddenly started to burn! Either my sunscreen or sweat started running into my eyes. I tried to get some water from one of the volunteers, and she thought I was crying! Actually, several people asked me if I was okay. I took a few bottles of water and washed my face and then drank as much as I could. I sat down and stretched for a little bit, and then went to go find my some friends who came to watch us finish.

Here I am finding my friends, Leslie and Maren. I look really happy!

So, I thought I would dig up something from January's blog post. . .

RUNNING GOALS FOR 2009:

• Run my first 50 miler
• PR in the marathon
• Get faster!
  
• Stay injury-free
• Gain my running confidence back
• Do at least 3 other 50K's

So far, it looks like I'm right on track! I've PR'ed in the marathon twice, improved my speed, stayed injury-free (knock on wood), and am definitely getting some confidence back in my running.
What's next? I am doing the Camp Pendleton Mud Run in two weeks, and then my first ultra of the year, Holcomb Valley 33 Mile a week after that. Yes, I think I'm on track for my 2009 running goals!