I really enjoyed the marathon experience. Looking at my photos, I'm glad I recorded as much as I did. On a sunny day, all the colors and the whole experience was so vibrant.
Yes, it sucked knowing I had already crossed the finish line and having to go back. Yes, those miles after mile 18 were hard. Yes, my smile faded a bit. But after the turnaround, each mile I got progressively more excited for the finish line.
I reached mile 18 right around noon. And that's when I noticed that I was feeling nauseous. I realized that I was almost out of electrolyte tablets. I realized that I wasn't going to make my time goal.
I must have given "big mom" or "big teacher" energy because some of the SRLA students asked me for help pacing and getting in touch with their parents.
I'm so glad I brought the two fuel rods. When my phone got from 100% down to below 70%, I put a fuel rod on it until it was back up to 100%. I finished the race with my phone having >60% battery left. And I think my watch was about the same. I did have a moment with my phone where it was saying there was water or some debris stuck in the charging port, but I just turned it upside down so the charging port was down and ran for a mile or two with it like that and then it was fine.
I got to sit with my former student Parker Smith and his aunt and uncle before the race. She is a high-school chemistry teacher who has run the LA Marathon many times. She didn't run this year because she's having a knee replacement in a few weeks. But she kept me entertained with stories from the front lines of teaching chemistry at a school in Malibu that burned down in the wildfires. I didn't get nervous at all.
According to my Samsung Watch5, I was in Zone 2 for 1 hour, 18 minutes and in Zone 3 for 1 hour. This was the first 9 miles from 7am - 9:23am. I was waiting until then to change my tampon because someone told me the port-a-potties at mile 9 were the best ones because they're on a side street that you can't see unless you know they're gonna be there. So I was holding out for them, and it was one short line for about 9 bathrooms, and the line went quick. Other people told me the lines at other bathroom stops were 10-15 minutes long. My pace for the first 9 miles ranged from 11'13" to 16'01". It was my intention to walk almost all of the first 6 miles.
The next 5 miles from 9:29am - 10:51am were until I found Mikey waiting for me across from The Comedy Store. I was definitely running this part using my interval timer. I was doing 3 minute run and 1 minute walk. Mostly. My watch says I spent 10 minutes in Zone 2, 47 minutes in Zone 3, and 23 minutes in Zone 4. My pace ranged from 11'13" to 15'56".
The next 5.5 miles from 10:55am to 12:25pm were mainly in the aerobic zone (56 minutes), with some time in the anaerobic zone (27 minutes). I don't really remember what intervals I was doing. Probably still 3 minute run and 1 minute walk. At some point I changed it to 2 minute run, 1 minute walk. Maybe around mile 18. I believe I stopped here to change my tampon again. There was a row of restrooms hiding behind the run clubs and there was no line there. I also refilled my hydration bladder.
It was at some point here where I started dumping water on my body from the water stops. The first tables had electrolytes and the second tables had just water. Well around mile 15 I forgot this and dumped blue electrolytes on my head. I love the running hat and it's great but it doesn't really absorb water like my hair does. So I started raising up my hat and dumping the water on my hair, which is where the electrolytes went. I also dumped it on my shoulders and arms, down my chest and my back. It really helped.
My watch bundled the remaining 7.5 miles together from 12:27 - 2:48 pm, even though I did stop briefly around mile 22 to pee. There was no line for the toilets there. It was right at the turnaround to come back towards the finish line. I was feeling overheated, there was very little shade during this part of the course. There was good crowd support. Lots of people offering lots of different things. Fruit, water, pretzels, coca-cola, gatorade, etc.
At this point, I was feeling nauseous and I could feel the liquid sloshing around in my belly so I took an electrolyte chew and that helped. But I stopped being able to take Gu and Bloks. I was just so sick of all the sugar in my mouth. Luckily, I had packed Biscoff cookies so I ate those and felt much better. Next 20 minutes I ate as much of a Clif bar as I could and that sat okay. Next 20 minutes, I ate another set of 4 cookies and that settled my tummy.
As much as it sucked to do an out-and-back for the last 8 miles, the saving grace was that we were close enough to the ocean to feel a cool breeze. Even though the sun was out, it was like being near the beach where you don't feel cold but you can get a nasty sunburn. It was like once we got up and over the hill at avenue of the stars, it was a cool breeze for the remainder of the race. Nothing like finishing right at the ocean in Santa Monica, but it was still nice.
According to my watch, I barely ran any of this. But most of my pace was in the aerobic zone (zone 3) for 1 hour and 17 minutes. I was also in Zone 2 for almost 1 hour. I kept telling myself that that's where you want to be for burning fat, so there's no need to rush. Also, I was hot and I didn't want to cramp. I ran a few downhills when that felt easier than walking.
I brought back two unopened Gu's and one unopened Honey Stinger that I got at the start line hospitality suite. I never ate my Rx bar either. I ended up carrying a huge pack of wipes and only using one. I didn't want to throw my tampon applicator in the porta-potty so I ended up carrying one back with me (gross I know). They had Terracycle for Gu wrappers but I ended up throwing most of mine in the trash. Right before the race one of the Gu's exploded in my pocket and my hands got all sticky. I didn't freak out though, but it was something I hadn't planned on. I did use the sunscreen and chapstick with SPF. I had forgot to put sunscreen on my neck so I put that on when we turned around and had the sun at our back.
I unpacked the car this morning and washed all my race clothes. I'm happy with how my outfit performed. I got lots of compliments on it. I was surprised that only my hands were sunburned. Somehow I forgot to put sunscreen on my hands, but my arms and shoulders were covered. Minimal chafing. Taking a shower right after the race felt REALLY good. It also felt great to lay down on a soft bed and recover a bit before driving back to the valley. It was nice to be able to chill until around 6pm before leaving the hotel. The traffic was mellow and we got home in about 30 minutes.
I got a strange alert on my watch that I was out of my circadian rhythm. I went to bed the night before the race at 5pm. I woke up at 12:30am on race morning. I ate a power banana (banana, yogurt, granola, nutella, and sour cherry syrup) and drank chamomile tea. I listened to some music, I made a sparkly shamrock by gem painting. It was relaxing to do that for 90 minutes and then start getting dressed at 2am. I ate a bagel with cream cheese at the start line hospitality around 5am. I used the VIP toilets twice and the private gear check
Budget
Ramada Plaza by Wyndham West Hollywood Hotel & Suites $153.07
Parking in West Hollywood $50.00
Residence Inn Chatsworth $311
Residence Inn Chatsworth $311
Throwaway Clothes from Goodwill $14
El Pollo Loco $65.03
Uber $20
Chevron Gas $62.49
Feetures Elite Light / Ultra Light (4 pairs) $54
New Goodr sunglasses $25
New Balance $140
Custom Tank Etsy $31.74
Race Registration $186.40
Gym Boss $20.95
Gu / Bloks / Stroopwaffels / Salt Tabs $232.78
TOTAL $1,366.46
I was just 3 minutes in front of the sweepers. In fact, when I was doing mile 24, I could see the garbage truck on the other side of the street cleaning up after the Run Club Row. The water tables were being broken down and carried off the course. I am grateful that I was able to finish in the allowed time. I took my time. I got my money's worth!
I got my medal, and my gear bag was returned to me at the bag check. I got to see Coach David, and I started crying. I felt such a mix of emotions. Relief. Gratitude. Pride. I thanked him for all the excellent coaching and told him to thank Julie for the children's book, which helped Albert understand the journey to becoming a Marathon Goddess.
I'm not really gung-ho on signing up for the LA Marathon again. My training group is all over the map: some say it's their last one, and some have already signed up for 2026. If I were considering another marathon, it would have to be a really special course, AND/OR I would have to have a very special person to train with. It's such a long journey and a big time commitment.
I did pay the annual fee for Planet Fitness Black Membership $45.02 billed on 3/03. The next payment of $25.02 will be billed on the 17th of the month. So I guess I could have included that gym membership in the cost of training for this marathon. If there hadn't have been wildfires, I wouldn't have needed that. But since I have it now, I could train for a fall race and just run indoors on the treadmill.
The only marathons I'm considering are the Every Woman's Marathon in Scottsdale, AZ and the Disney World Marathon, which is now a bucket list race. It doesn't need to be soon, but it could happen eventually. Every Woman's Marathon was inaugural last year, so this would be the 2nd annual. But it's appealing because I know the area. It might be fun to do a San Diego marathon as well. That's first weekend of June.
My MIL warned me that I would have restless legs the night after the marathon. I know what she meant now. I felt like I needed to massage them and just keep moving. When I laid down in bed, it felt like I was still wearing my hat, sunglasses, and headphones. It felt like I was still running. Like when you go on a long road trip and stop for the night and dream that you're still driving and fall asleep at the wheel. But really, you're in bed just dreaming that you're still driving. Just me? Well okay.
I laid down between 7:30pm and 8pm and got my son to sleep and then snuck out of bed for some stretching and to eat a giant bowl of macaroni & cheese from El Pollo Loco. I slept through the night after that and woke up feeling pretty good. I took two naproxen sodium, even though my MIL recommended 4 Advil. Our coach says the maximum of soreness (DOMS) is 48-72 hours after the event, so I guess the worst is yet to come. I would have been okay walking Albert to school today but we kind of ran out of time since I had to clean out the car and do laundry and pack his lunch and walk the dog and all the things and it's St. Patty's Day today.
My MIL said that when she ran the LA Marathon it didn't start at Dodger Stadium and it didn't finish in Santa Monica. It just went around the city. She did the second annual. Albert did surprisingly well spending the day with his grandma and grandpa. Surely he wore them out, but neither one had any complaints about the other(s). I'm so grateful that I have family nearby that is willing to support me in this marathon journey. It does make me feel like I belong in the family, where all of them had completed a marathon except me. Not anymore.
No comments:
Post a Comment