It has been an interesting week for me. I ran the LA marathon exactly one week ago today, and I finally feel ready to reflect upon it. I had a pretty good experience (unfortunately, some of my teammates on the USC marathon team did not…check out evan’s blog https://viterbivoices.usc.edu/evans/2010/03/23/the-race-that-went-wrong-la-marathon-2010/) =(. I’ll take you through mile by mile:
Mile 1:
7:24 AM: After leaving the house that I was staying in with some friends at 5:45 AM to make a six mile commute to Dodger Stadium, I get out of the car to walk the 400 yards to the start line…The race was suppose to start at 7:25 AM, but due to the massive amount of traffic due to 25,000 runners attempting to get into Dodger Stadium, the race starts late. I start 10 minutes after the gun time because there are so many people. Mile one takes us around the stadium. I am really excited at this point, but I know I have a long journey ahead of me! I finally feel that this “race” is the culmination of all of my months of hard effort, and I am considering this run a ‘party.’
Mile 4: I’m finally warmed up and in the zone. My legs feel ok. Not my best day ever, but definitely not my worst. Stomach good. Mind great. The little party that was going on in my head is no longer as I realize it’s still 22 miles to the beach, and 15 miles until I spot anyone I know on the course. Run by Disney Concert Hall and I realize I’m about 3 miles from my apartment at ‘SC. (At this point that sounds a LOT better than running to the Santa Monica Pier!!!)
Miles 5-14: Hmmmm. Honestly don’t really remember much besides pain, hills, drinking a lot of water. Nothing too exciting to report. Okay, so maybe a lot did happen! Things I saw:
City Hall (Mile 4), Echo Park Lake (Mile 7), The Pantages (Mile 9), Hollywood and Vine (Mile 10), The Walk of Fame, Grauman’s Chinese Theater (MIle 14)…So I saw a lot, but nothing really important happened.
Mile 8: Saw a sign reading: “You are at mile 8. The Kenyans are at mile 18.” I laughed.
Now, it should be noted that I was running at a decent pace for the first 19 or so miles. I blame mile 17-21 for my downfall. It was all downhill after mile 17…not literally…figuratively…literally it was all uphill!
Mile 19: At mile 17 I was ready to be done, and I knew it wasn’t going to get any easier from there. When I run, I play mind games with myself. At mile 10 I told myself I was half way to seeing people that I actually knew. So at mile 17, I told myself I was two miles from seeing my friends (which is the same distance as running once around USC’s campus). If I break it down in my head, it is easier to do. Running 26 miles was just the same as checking off 26 items from my to-do list for the day! So at mile 19 three of my best friends from my sorority were there with posters. It was the sweetest thing ever and they could not have been at a better spot in the marathon. I was hurting at 19 and I started balling as soon as I saw them (running a marathon is very emotional…for me at least). Also, the main theme to the movie Rudy came on at mile 19, which is my favorite sports movie, so it was also emotional and a perfect mile 19!
Mile 20: THE BEST MILE EVER!!! Why was this the best mile, you are asking yourselves? Well, friends, mile 20 ran me down Rodeo Drive. Let me tell you, it was sparkling in the morning sun, and honestly I have never been down Rodeo Drive, and I don’t plan on going back anytime soon unless someone wants to take me on a shopping spree. It was beautiful, and at mile 20 I knew I was going to finish. I mean once you get to mile 20, if I had to crawl to the finish, I was going to crawl.
Mile 22-Mile 23: AWFUL. Through the VA hospital in westwood. The only thing that kept me going was knowing I was in westwood in a USC shirt. I couldn’t walk in UCLA territory. Anyway it was all uphill, but I knew my sister, roommates, and their families and friends would be at mile 24, so it was all about getting there!
Mile 24: My roommates Jillian and Caroline, Jillian’s family and family friends, and my twin sister Alexa were waiting at the corner of San Vicente and 16th street. Best part of the marathon ever! I of course started crying again, hugged them all, and knew I had the motivation to finish the race.
Mile 24-26: I finished the last couple of miles with another girl from the marathon. Once we got to ocean avenue, I was golden.
that darn .2: The funniest/worst/(insert any word) part of the marathon is the .2. I hate seeing the big “26 mile” sign and then realizing well, already ran 26 miles why not run another lap around a track just for fun?! Anyways, I finished (Shia LaBeouf finished 12 second behind me!!!) I got my medal and than took the long walk down the Santa Monica pier and met my friends and family in the recovery zone. I was extremely happy!
Post Marathon: Long bath and yummy brunch! =) (lots of sleep!!!)
Things I learned from the LA marathon:
1. I don’t need someone to drive me to the beach (although it would be a lot easier than running)
2. San Vicente may be my favorite street in Los Angeles due to it’s downhill nature.
3. Shia LaBeouf is slower than me (10 minutes and 12 seconds slower than me). And while we’re at, Sean Astin is a whole lot slower than me!
4. LA traffic never fails to suck.
5. Finally, I am crazy.
The week after has been interesting. After the marathon I’m always depressed about not having a big goal to look forward to, but I’m thinking about Chicago or San Francisco in the fall! Perhaps D.C. in the spring! The week was also a lot less stressful. I didn’t worry about what I was eating in preparation for my long run, and I didn’t have to worry about getting enough sleep on Saturday night. The best part of all was sleeping in until 11:30 this morning. I haven’t slept in that long on a Sunday since September! I couldn’t move Monday or Tuesday, but I ran Wednesday, Thursday, Friday, Saturday, and Sunday, and I also went for a run today! Already getting ready for the next one!
Watching: The Proposal with the roomies tonight =)
Listening to: I need some good new music! any suggestions?
Reading: Shutter Island
☮♥ =) arianna
Arianna, I’m so glad you had a good race! Always waiting for the next one of course. I usually start thinking about it midrace. =) If we could both do the Nike Women’s in SF in the fall, that would be awesome. Chicago’s full already I think. NWM is a lottery and entries open april 5th.
Music: Morning After Dark by Timbaland