I attended a workshop on end-of-semester reflections for both teachers and students on Tuesday, December 9, 2025. The facilitator gave us some great reflection questions, which I have applied to my marathon training.
To what extent have you met your RunClub goals?
How it started: Keep up with kiddo. Slim down. Balance mood.How its going: My kid is fast. I will have to get a lot faster to keep up with him. Also, I didn't appreciate how long it would take to slim down. If you had told me this would be a 5-year process, I'm not sure I would have had the courage to start. Balanced mood is 💯 working. I don't think I could have survived the past few years without running. I chill hard. So hard. My marriage has improved. Menopause symptoms are muted. Healthy eating and self-care increased.
What helped you learn? What do you wish you'd known on day one? What did you learn that actually mattered? What surprised you?
The hamstring pain after the 2025 marathon was likely due to a tight pelvic floor, not a hamstring injury. Summer beach miles are the best, shoutout to Goodr and Valley Runners LA. The Bimbo Global race was super fun and free. Damsel in Defense saved me from a rapist. Katie and Brianna RIP. The LA Road Runners Dodger Stadium meetup and Asics shoe demo was awesome.Foot pain was caused by running downhill in bad shoes, not by laces being too tight. It was actually from a tight muscle in the shin (tibialis anterior). Lock laces are convenient, but didn’t solve the issue. Stretching is what you do after the run. Mobility is what you do between runs.
I was able to keep up with the TK boys at the LA Zoo while all the other parents and teachers were lagging behind. They said I was in amazing shape. Thanks to marathon training! Yesterday I was mistaken for a student. I'm 20-25 years older than the students. So I guess that's a compliment.
Aha moment?
An Aha moment I had was that I am not running much faster or slower than friends, so why am I running alone? Why not just do the race(s) together? Is the pace more important than the camaraderie?
Now I'm trying to decide whether I would want to do the LA Marathon again in 2027. Obviously, you don't have to run a marathon every year. You can enjoy shorter distances and still be considered a real runner. Is RunClub+ with Fit4Mom West SFV working out, or would I actually enjoy running with the LA Road Runners at Balboa Park (if they continue to offer that location)? Or do I actually enjoy running alone and creating my own program?
Major Setbacks this Training Cycle
A sexual assault was reported on campus on Sept 26, 2025, at 5:30am, and I'm convinced I saw the guy. I believe he saw me running, sized me up, and decided to keep looking. He assaulted a female running near CSUN. It shook me up and I didn't know what to do. Luckily, we attended a street fair in Simi Valley and I saw a booth selling Pepper Spray. I've been carrying it ever since.
My cousin died while out on a training run for a half-marathon on Nov 7, 2025. It has not made me want to stop running, but it has made me wear even brighter colors (if that's even possible) and keep my head on a swivel at all times. Her sister also died 25 years ago while jogging on March 19, 2001, and re-reading this article makes me so angry that they victim-shamed her, and the driver was not held responsible. The article also mentions that she was running without her ID and wasn't immediately identified. This is why I'm so adamant about running with an ID and emergency contacts.
- https://www.bmlfh.com/obituary/katherine-kate-gogela
- mother of Henry (11), Maxwell (8), Julia (6), and Jacob (4).
Subclade K, even though I got a flu shot. Albert was vomiting on Superbowl Sunday, Feb 8, 2026. We had a horrible virus that is still hanging on more than 3 weeks later. It was GI-related, then sinus, and finally a cough.
But hey, at least we got so much rain that we didn't have a horrible wildfire season like last year.
