If you saw my post on Friday, and recent posts, you may know two things about this weekend’s Los Angeles Marathon. One, the weather forecast was hot, hot, hot. Two, I was coming back from a hamstring injury and I was not even sure I could make the distance. With that in mind, I had LOW expectations. I knew I had a good base from NYC training last year, but I had a terrible run in Carlsbad Half in January. I also was worried about the heat. Last year, I went into Phoenix with a mantra and solid training and ran my best race since 2006. This year, I wanted to have fun, finish healthy and keep a positive attitude. I am proud to say that I did all three!Â
The last time I ran LA was in 1999 before they changed it to the “stadium to sea” course that they have now. It was not scenic and it was really hilly. The new course is totally awesome. There are hills – many of them down. I LOVE to run downhill.
The day started off a bit rocky as we were stuck in quite a traffic jam – ah, LA! We lucked out and made it in plenty of time to go to the bathroom, stow our gear and get in the corral. We I may have asked a gentleman to have his heat shield when he was finished with it to use as a “bathroom stall” or pee screen. He found us a huge one that had been discarded and it worked great.
Wendy and Kristin were starting at the front of our corral and going for personal bests (spoiler alert – they got them!!) I went back to a slower pace group as my plan was to shoot for 3:45 – 3:50 based on the injury and heat. The start was really slow as it is self seeded and the “legacy” runners (who have run all 31 LA Marathon races) were ahead of me. Oy. I wound up starting a bit too fast to get out of the crowd. I felt good and there is a lot of downhill at the start, but I ratcheted it back after seeing my first 5K split. I loved running through Chinatown’s gate and the first 5K was up and down and really enjoyable. I felt so happy and elated. I was grateful to be there and felt determined to enjoy it. There were tons of volunteers and much more crowd support than in 1999. I thanked as many people as possible!
We had amazing support from the start! Well, it was before the start! Lynn and Stacy dropped us off and then picked up Ken. They headed to Mile 5 to cheer for us. I saw Kelly in Echo Park at Mile 6. Then, I tucked in and ran for mile 13 where Neal, Jason and Michael would join Lynn, Stacy and Ken. I ran a pretty consistent pace and felt strong an happy. I got to half way in almost the same time as Carlsbad with a total attitude adjustment. I felt relieved.
Stacy and Ken jumped in and ran with my through Mile 20!! We caught up and I told them how much I loved the course and how I would be back when I was 100%. My kind of course! They filled me in on how awesome Wendy and Kristin were doing, as well. So much fun! My face hurt from smiling.
We ran through Hollywood and saw Erin, Miles and Eli. Erin snapped these awesome pics which I think sum up how much fun I had. I stopped for hugs, too! Then we ran through Beverly Hills and on to our next support crew.
Libbie and Guy and Deb and Alyssa were at Mile 18 in Century City. We got some more cheers and headed for the original crew at Mile 20. Stacy and Ken jumped out to cheer on the others at the finish and I knew I could manage the last 10K. Right after I left them, I got an additional boost from seeing Ali on the course! I was not sure she’d be there. I was really feeling the love and support.
I had slowed down some. I started to feel the heat, but I was confident that I could keep moving and was hopeful that I could come in at my 3:45 – 3:50 goal. I helped a few of the Students Run LA kids with encouragement and shared my SaltStick electrolyte chews with one boy who was cramping up. I continued to smile and remind myself how lucky I was to be there.
Before I knew it, I had 5K to go. The race is supposed to be totally downhill from Mile 22. I’m not sure who drew that chart! It was not really down hill until 24. That said, I needed to use the bathroom. I decided if I stopped and lost one minute or so, I could put the hammer down in the last 2 miles or so in the downhill. I was right! The last 2K were my fastest except for the first 5K. I was really pushing as I knew I might miss my goal window (and I was right.) The fog rolled in and the temps cooled down and it was pretty amazing.
I finished in 3:49.36 (8:46 pace). And just like that, marathon #42 was in the books. This was my slowest marathon in several years and nowhere near my recent times. That said, it was not close to my slowest (and due to my advancing age – even a 2017 BQ as I will be 45). More importantly, it was a personal best for fun. I smiled my face off, loved the course and had AMAZING support from family and friends. I will be back again, but I can’t imagine I could have such a great experience. My hamstring held up amazingly well and I got some of my confidence back that I will be able to have a good racing year after all. Sometimes, low expectations are the best ones to have. This day exceeded all of my expectations tenfold. I am a lucky woman to have so many amazing people in my life and to have my health. I was reminded of how much I love running, runners and my life. This was one of my best Valentine’s Days ever.
Have you ever had a great race that had nothing to do with your finish time? Tell me about it in the comments!