Race Recap: The 2012 LA Marathon

I survived…but man oh man I am definitely feeling the pain of undertraining.

The course was great. It was the best foot tour of LA I’ve ever taken. What got me most excited about this race was that I’ve been to every part of the city, but I’ve yet to actually go through it in one trip. Well, yesterday I did!

Race weekend started with a 2-hour massage and grabbing a ton of last minute supplies. I decided to put together an LA Marathon survival kit for my teammates. It included some baggies, Biofreeze, cough drops, Emergen-C, a rain poncho, gel blasts, anti-cramping gel, and blister bandages. After the races I’ve ran, I figured that it was time to aggregate all of my hard-earned lessons into one small resealable bag. The forecast predicted rain and I wanted my runners and walkers to stay happy and healthy!

We carbo-loaded at the charity director of operations house. Lots of pasta and food was there for the taking and everyone looked really nervous and excited. We all got our goody bags, which included our fundraising incentives. I’ve never been more excited to earn an iPod shuffle! I also got a running water bottle, a team t-shirt, and a few other goodies. So excited to put all of it to good use. It was great to finally see the entire team under one roof. Most of the time, when I hosted group runs, only a few would turn out…and the few would always shuffle around, so I never did get a chance to see everyone at the same time. It was nice to see their personal transformations and to share this experience with them. It was only last summer when they handed me their registrations rather reluctantly. Now they were all ready to tackle the big 26.2!! I’ve never been more proud to say that the team raised almost $6,000 as of today.

As for the race…I can remember a few important parts — like the hill between mile 4-5 at the Walt Disney Concert Hall (which also took a grand stance during the LA Triathlon last year), running through Thai Town (memories of all my childhood grocery shopping), Hollywood + Vine (right outside the Dress for Success offices), West Hollywood (loved the cheerleaders!), and then the never ending road of San Vicente. And the ripples in the Pacific Ocean. Oh, the ripples! The course support was fantastic. Every aid station was well stocked. All of the volunteers were incredibly helpful. Every inch of the LA Marathon was covered with supporters cheering their hearts out. It was definitely one of the best races I have ever ran….nothing like the Rock n Roll Las Vegas. I would definitely consider running this again next year!

What I can remember feeling is the heaviness in my legs setting in around mile 20 or so. I definitely hit the proverbial wall by mile 22. Mile 22, 23, 24, 25 seemed to drag on forever and ever and ever. It was never ending until I hit 26, got a glimpse of the beach and the Santa Monica Pier, and made it across the finish line!

It was a great experience running with a charity. Not only do I finally get to cross something off my bucket list but now I’d like to put together a plan so that next year we are even more successful. Hey, maybe this time I can stick to my own training plan!