Oh! So much to say! To sum it up - IT WAS AMAZING! Races are a gamble. There are so many things that need to go right on race day, it's like the stars aligning. Well, you do the math, the odds of that happening are pretty slim. Something usually goes wrong and in running, even if it is the smallest thing, it can be disaster for 26.2 miles. This was not the case on Sunday. The stars aligned and it was perfect. And when you have these kinds of rare races, this is when you realize how amazing racing and running is and doing it for 4+ hours is a ball!
Let's start with the Expo on Saturday morning. I didn't sleep well Friday night so I was a bit grumpy. Shawna and I headed out to Dodger Stadium at 8:15AM to get there by the 9AM opening. I didn't think it would be too crowded considering it was just starting, but it was a zoo! The 5K was held on Saturday morning and those folks were just getting done so the parking lot was crazy and people were everywhere. We finally got a spot and wandered into the Expo. It was packed! I was freaked out. This was just the Expo, could you imagine what 25,000 people running would be like? Yikes! AND IT WAS HOT! I was sweating just walking around this place and it was 10AM! It all made me very nervous, but it was a great Expo. Shawna picked up some Kayanos for $50 (!?!?!) and we both got iFitness belts. We took some pics and got out of there before we melted. I think we were both sufficiently nervous on Saturday - the heat!? the traffic?!? were we trained for this?!?
Needless to say, when we met at 5:30AM on Sunday morning, neither of us had gotten a great night of sleep. If it wasn't so dark I think you would have been able to see the fear and doubt all over our faces! We made it to LA with minimal traffic and dropped off Mike around Olvera Street. Mike is a running buddy of Shawna's Dad, Dave, and he was going to run about ten miles with us. (Mike is also the real deal, his PR is 2:36!!! Yeah, we were totally outta his league!) We got as close to Dodger Stadium as we could and walked our way into the Stadium. As soon as we got out of the car and started walking up the hill a car full of guys asked if we needed a ride and starting hitting on us - nothing makes you forget your nerves like being hit on before a race!
We avoided the porta-potty lines and found some good brush to take care of business. Don't worry, I packed Kleenex. We made our way to the corrals as the sun was starting to come out. We found a good spot to wait...and we waited...and waited...the race was pushed back 27 minutes and didn't start until 7:47. This only increased my absolute fear of running a marathon in LA heat in late March (did I mention they sent out an email the night before freaking people out about being hydrated and not dying on the course??). As we stood around, we got to see some characters. Really folks, ANYONE can run a marathon, trust me! They finally played I love LA for the last time and the gun went off! It took about 3 minutes, 30 seconds to get to the start line and we were starting the LA Marathon!
One last photo as the sun was rising at the start line...
Mile 1: The first mile loops around the stadium. We were going fast, but you can't really help it when you're starting out and excited. The best part was seeing men lined up peeing on the flower beds surrounding the whole stadium. It was hilarious, I wish I had a picture of this.
Mile 2: The inflatable mile marker was having issues and deflating as we ran through it! It was pretty dangerous, but eventually it came down and the runners right behind us carried it off the course. Shawna and I both had to pee at the starting line but for fear of never making it back into the corral held off and we were looking for places to pull of and pee. TMI?? There are porta-potties all along the route, but you can imagine with 25,000 runners the lines are long. I spotted a little office building with no cops around so we hunkered down behind some planters and took care of business. Ahhh...much better....
Mile 3: We headed onto Olvera Street and were looking for Mike. He was easy to spot and we spent some time telling him about all the crazy things that had already happened by this point in the race.
Mile 4: I knew that this was the biggest hill of the race and it was no joke. It wasn't a very long hill, but it was steep and I really wanted to walk. We were looking for Shawna's Dad and cousin, Matt, so I was trying to focus on that. At the top of the hill was a group playing some sort of ethnic drums (I know, not very PC, but they weren't normal drums). It was some sort of tribal beat, very repetitive, but very appropriate for a big, ugly hill.
Mile 5-8: I was panicking at this point in the race. Our pace had been all over the place from all the ups and downs, from 8 minutes to 11 minutes, and I was winded. The first hour of the race usually flies by and it did, but I was scared that we wouldn't find a groove and I'd be hanging on the whole time. I remember telling Shawna that we just had to get to mile 8 and then it would be flat. I think I was saying this outloud more for myself.
Mile 8-9: We finally turned onto Hollywood Boulevard and I was happy to be done with all the twists/turns/hills. There was tons to look at and I just kept staring at all the different store fronts and their funky names. I was still panicking a bit, but knew that the best parts of the course were coming up. The first big landmark we hit was the Pantages Theater.
Mile 10-11: This was the good stuff. We saw Capital Records, Hollywood & Vine, Graumman's Chinese Theater. Our heads were bouncing all over the place taking in the sights. Even though we both grew up in LA and have been in Hollywood plenty of times, you see it all very differently when running down the middle of Hollywood Boulevard! It was infinitely cooler this way!
Mile 12-14: Sunset Boulevard looked beautiful in the morning light. I remember passing one street that dropped off and had an incredible view of the whole city below. It was hot, but I was doussing myself with water because I was determined to see the end of this course. We passed some more landmarks- Chateau Marmont, House of Blues, Whiskey A Go-Go, Saddleback Ranch, and of course, all the swanky hotels. I was also window shopping, beautiful dresses I could never afford...a girl can dream!
Somewhere along Sunset we ran into Dave and Matt again. There was a huge sign on the building behind them that said Nude Nude Nude, it cracked me up. We dropped Mike off and were on our own. I was really glad Mike was with us in the beginning. I think it calmed our nerves since the first half of the course was pretty rough. We were both really pumped at this point, laughing and texting, and it felt like we were setting off on a wonderful, little adventure! It was a great feeling. We were past the halfway point, feeling good, the hills were behind us, and the sights were awesome - it really felt like our race.
Mile 15: We headed down a nice hill and tried to slow down to avoid injury. We were beeming at this point. It really felt great. We also saw the nicest fire station ever and made some jokes about hot firemen.
Mile 16-17: Beverly Hills, that's were I want to be! Yeah... Of course, it was gorgeous here. All the lawns were manicured and there were no drag queens cheering on the side of the road. We headed down Rodeo Drive and pretty much felt like rockstars. When we turned onto Santa Monica Boulevard, I saw a lady pull over and give her spouse/spectator a big kiss. I swear, I almost cried. Races make you so emotional and it was just too cute. We then saw Nike Town employees dressed in lime-green full-body onesies and were thoroughly confused. It was weird.
Smiling down Rodeo...my sister would be proud!
Mile 17-19: I knew this would be the hardest part of the course. It was a long stretch of straight road, I'd be starving, and there's nothing significant about the "teens." You're past the halfway, but still far from the end and it just gets dreary. There were no tall buildings to block the sun and the wide street made it even more daunting. We stopped at mile 18 for a food break. We shared a pack of Clif Bloks and it was just what my tummy needed. We hopped back on pace and headed through Cheerleader Alley. We were getting into it and having fun with these girls, but I did notice the last team (BHI?? What school is that?) was just standing there, not cheering, bored outta their minds! So dramatic!
Mile 20: We passed right by my old work to my surprise. We were again on the lookout for Dave, Matt, and Mike - another needed distraction! We headed into the Veterans' Administration and climbed some tiny hills. The heat and the hills had sucked a little bit of life out of us, but you can't tell by the picture because we looked thrilled!
Mile 21-25: Finally in the home stretch! We turned onto San Vicente Boulevard and caught up with Dave, Matt and Mike around mile 22. We gave them big smiles and we're pumped again knowing it was almost over. I used to run San Vicente when I lived in the area so I knew it well and was happy to be back. I kept telling Shawna it was downhill (trust me, if you run East you will feel the incline), but you didn't feel that until mile 24.
Even with 20+ miles behind us, you need mental toughness to get through those last miles. Everything kind of goes out the window and you hang on for dear life. I turned up my iPod and just tried to lose myself in the music. Apparently, Shawna was calling me out at mile 23 for a walking break, but I didn't hear her. I was rocking out that hard! She caught up to me and instead of smacking me in the head she just held on with me. As we neared the ocean, it got cooler and you could see the overcast. I kept saying we had to get to mile 25, where San Vicente Boulevard meets Ocean Avenue.
Mile 25-Finish: We hit the corner and turned South, the road ahead was downhill. Everyone around us started picking up the pace - it was way too early to sprint, but that downhill was taking everyone, including us! Our average pace dropped to 9:37 and down to 9:08 at the finish! I was screaming on the inside and wanted to walk desperately, but Shawna pumped me up and we crossed the finish line together at 4:30:09. We did it!
Pain immediately set in and we both thought we'd collapse, but we still hammed it up for the cameras! Maybe this recap sounds misleading. You're going to hurt, you're going to want to quit, you're going to be tired - it is 26.2 miles, but all in all, it was a blast! Aside from the expected pain and torture, everything went well for us on race day and we pulled it out. It was a perfect race.
I'll leave it at that for now. There's more to be said about LA and this race experience, but I'm having a contact high just writing this so I'll go enjoy it for awhile and be back later with more pictures and thoughts.
Let's start with the Expo on Saturday morning. I didn't sleep well Friday night so I was a bit grumpy. Shawna and I headed out to Dodger Stadium at 8:15AM to get there by the 9AM opening. I didn't think it would be too crowded considering it was just starting, but it was a zoo! The 5K was held on Saturday morning and those folks were just getting done so the parking lot was crazy and people were everywhere. We finally got a spot and wandered into the Expo. It was packed! I was freaked out. This was just the Expo, could you imagine what 25,000 people running would be like? Yikes! AND IT WAS HOT! I was sweating just walking around this place and it was 10AM! It all made me very nervous, but it was a great Expo. Shawna picked up some Kayanos for $50 (!?!?!) and we both got iFitness belts. We took some pics and got out of there before we melted. I think we were both sufficiently nervous on Saturday - the heat!? the traffic?!? were we trained for this?!?
Needless to say, when we met at 5:30AM on Sunday morning, neither of us had gotten a great night of sleep. If it wasn't so dark I think you would have been able to see the fear and doubt all over our faces! We made it to LA with minimal traffic and dropped off Mike around Olvera Street. Mike is a running buddy of Shawna's Dad, Dave, and he was going to run about ten miles with us. (Mike is also the real deal, his PR is 2:36!!! Yeah, we were totally outta his league!) We got as close to Dodger Stadium as we could and walked our way into the Stadium. As soon as we got out of the car and started walking up the hill a car full of guys asked if we needed a ride and starting hitting on us - nothing makes you forget your nerves like being hit on before a race!
We avoided the porta-potty lines and found some good brush to take care of business. Don't worry, I packed Kleenex. We made our way to the corrals as the sun was starting to come out. We found a good spot to wait...and we waited...and waited...the race was pushed back 27 minutes and didn't start until 7:47. This only increased my absolute fear of running a marathon in LA heat in late March (did I mention they sent out an email the night before freaking people out about being hydrated and not dying on the course??). As we stood around, we got to see some characters. Really folks, ANYONE can run a marathon, trust me! They finally played I love LA for the last time and the gun went off! It took about 3 minutes, 30 seconds to get to the start line and we were starting the LA Marathon!
One last photo as the sun was rising at the start line...
Mile 1: The first mile loops around the stadium. We were going fast, but you can't really help it when you're starting out and excited. The best part was seeing men lined up peeing on the flower beds surrounding the whole stadium. It was hilarious, I wish I had a picture of this.
Mile 2: The inflatable mile marker was having issues and deflating as we ran through it! It was pretty dangerous, but eventually it came down and the runners right behind us carried it off the course. Shawna and I both had to pee at the starting line but for fear of never making it back into the corral held off and we were looking for places to pull of and pee. TMI?? There are porta-potties all along the route, but you can imagine with 25,000 runners the lines are long. I spotted a little office building with no cops around so we hunkered down behind some planters and took care of business. Ahhh...much better....
Mile 3: We headed onto Olvera Street and were looking for Mike. He was easy to spot and we spent some time telling him about all the crazy things that had already happened by this point in the race.
Mile 4: I knew that this was the biggest hill of the race and it was no joke. It wasn't a very long hill, but it was steep and I really wanted to walk. We were looking for Shawna's Dad and cousin, Matt, so I was trying to focus on that. At the top of the hill was a group playing some sort of ethnic drums (I know, not very PC, but they weren't normal drums). It was some sort of tribal beat, very repetitive, but very appropriate for a big, ugly hill.
Mile 5-8: I was panicking at this point in the race. Our pace had been all over the place from all the ups and downs, from 8 minutes to 11 minutes, and I was winded. The first hour of the race usually flies by and it did, but I was scared that we wouldn't find a groove and I'd be hanging on the whole time. I remember telling Shawna that we just had to get to mile 8 and then it would be flat. I think I was saying this outloud more for myself.
Mile 8-9: We finally turned onto Hollywood Boulevard and I was happy to be done with all the twists/turns/hills. There was tons to look at and I just kept staring at all the different store fronts and their funky names. I was still panicking a bit, but knew that the best parts of the course were coming up. The first big landmark we hit was the Pantages Theater.
Mile 10-11: This was the good stuff. We saw Capital Records, Hollywood & Vine, Graumman's Chinese Theater. Our heads were bouncing all over the place taking in the sights. Even though we both grew up in LA and have been in Hollywood plenty of times, you see it all very differently when running down the middle of Hollywood Boulevard! It was infinitely cooler this way!
Mile 12-14: Sunset Boulevard looked beautiful in the morning light. I remember passing one street that dropped off and had an incredible view of the whole city below. It was hot, but I was doussing myself with water because I was determined to see the end of this course. We passed some more landmarks- Chateau Marmont, House of Blues, Whiskey A Go-Go, Saddleback Ranch, and of course, all the swanky hotels. I was also window shopping, beautiful dresses I could never afford...a girl can dream!
Somewhere along Sunset we ran into Dave and Matt again. There was a huge sign on the building behind them that said Nude Nude Nude, it cracked me up. We dropped Mike off and were on our own. I was really glad Mike was with us in the beginning. I think it calmed our nerves since the first half of the course was pretty rough. We were both really pumped at this point, laughing and texting, and it felt like we were setting off on a wonderful, little adventure! It was a great feeling. We were past the halfway point, feeling good, the hills were behind us, and the sights were awesome - it really felt like our race.
Mile 15: We headed down a nice hill and tried to slow down to avoid injury. We were beeming at this point. It really felt great. We also saw the nicest fire station ever and made some jokes about hot firemen.
Mile 16-17: Beverly Hills, that's were I want to be! Yeah... Of course, it was gorgeous here. All the lawns were manicured and there were no drag queens cheering on the side of the road. We headed down Rodeo Drive and pretty much felt like rockstars. When we turned onto Santa Monica Boulevard, I saw a lady pull over and give her spouse/spectator a big kiss. I swear, I almost cried. Races make you so emotional and it was just too cute. We then saw Nike Town employees dressed in lime-green full-body onesies and were thoroughly confused. It was weird.
Smiling down Rodeo...my sister would be proud!
Mile 17-19: I knew this would be the hardest part of the course. It was a long stretch of straight road, I'd be starving, and there's nothing significant about the "teens." You're past the halfway, but still far from the end and it just gets dreary. There were no tall buildings to block the sun and the wide street made it even more daunting. We stopped at mile 18 for a food break. We shared a pack of Clif Bloks and it was just what my tummy needed. We hopped back on pace and headed through Cheerleader Alley. We were getting into it and having fun with these girls, but I did notice the last team (BHI?? What school is that?) was just standing there, not cheering, bored outta their minds! So dramatic!
Mile 20: We passed right by my old work to my surprise. We were again on the lookout for Dave, Matt, and Mike - another needed distraction! We headed into the Veterans' Administration and climbed some tiny hills. The heat and the hills had sucked a little bit of life out of us, but you can't tell by the picture because we looked thrilled!
Mile 21-25: Finally in the home stretch! We turned onto San Vicente Boulevard and caught up with Dave, Matt and Mike around mile 22. We gave them big smiles and we're pumped again knowing it was almost over. I used to run San Vicente when I lived in the area so I knew it well and was happy to be back. I kept telling Shawna it was downhill (trust me, if you run East you will feel the incline), but you didn't feel that until mile 24.Even with 20+ miles behind us, you need mental toughness to get through those last miles. Everything kind of goes out the window and you hang on for dear life. I turned up my iPod and just tried to lose myself in the music. Apparently, Shawna was calling me out at mile 23 for a walking break, but I didn't hear her. I was rocking out that hard! She caught up to me and instead of smacking me in the head she just held on with me. As we neared the ocean, it got cooler and you could see the overcast. I kept saying we had to get to mile 25, where San Vicente Boulevard meets Ocean Avenue.
Mile 25-Finish: We hit the corner and turned South, the road ahead was downhill. Everyone around us started picking up the pace - it was way too early to sprint, but that downhill was taking everyone, including us! Our average pace dropped to 9:37 and down to 9:08 at the finish! I was screaming on the inside and wanted to walk desperately, but Shawna pumped me up and we crossed the finish line together at 4:30:09. We did it!
Pain immediately set in and we both thought we'd collapse, but we still hammed it up for the cameras! Maybe this recap sounds misleading. You're going to hurt, you're going to want to quit, you're going to be tired - it is 26.2 miles, but all in all, it was a blast! Aside from the expected pain and torture, everything went well for us on race day and we pulled it out. It was a perfect race.I'll leave it at that for now. There's more to be said about LA and this race experience, but I'm having a contact high just writing this so I'll go enjoy it for awhile and be back later with more pictures and thoughts.
