LA Marathon

Consistent with prior years I was in the A corral. This spot is awesome. I'm not sure I'd want to start anywhere else. I made television again as I am literally right behind the Elite athletes to start. A group of air force male and females lock arms to keep everyone back until we are about to cross the start line and they unlock and we all go.

I love LA. Just something about this course is just amazing. There are so many people out to cheer you on. The chaos of running around Dodger stadium and then up Vin Scully Blvd down to Sunset is just a joy to start your race. Sunset is about a 2 mile easy downhill stretch before turning into Chinatown. You are greeted by the amazing Dragon gate entering into Chinatown. All of the small businesses are out and about already cheering you on as you go through the quiet streets. You approach the Bunker Hill around mile 5. You can hear the beating of the drums. I remember my first year making it up that hill. Well, I didn't make it up and had to walk. Ever since then its what I consider my first triumph on the day. Reaching the top and still being in full gear. Sunset, Hollywood, West Hollywood, Rodeo drive, its just so much to visually take in and enjoy while running. Santa Monica is not as exciting as its a long exposed stretch and then up Sepulveda (your last real challenge) before hitting San Vicente with some shade and then final 2.5 miles downhill along Ocean Blvd to the final stretch of the finish line.

My goal was to run about a 7:10 pace for most of the race and then perhaps the final 5-6 miles try to run a 6:55 pace. I started out at 7:00. It felt good. I just held onto it. I never moved from it much. Execution went well, no cramps this time. I remember around mile 9 a guy was running side by side with me and offered me some of his gels. Haha. No thanks. Not the time to try something new. I had my race plan already. I took in all my sites, and obviously eyed In N Out along the way. Around mile 13 I could feel my recurring groin discomfort sort of telling me that I was going to pay for this later. Discomfort went away a mile later.

Around Wilshire at about mile 18 was when I started to realize energy was starting to deplete me. I also noticed I had to pee really bad. However, my time was on the verge of braeking the 3:05 Boston qualifying time. Now I realize coming in at 3:05 would not re-qualify me, but I thought it would be cool to hit the time on what I would consider a difficult course to qualify. I held on to my pace.

As I finished the brutal Santa Monica Blvd stretch, the full bladder was just begging me. At the end of Sepulveda I just did it. I always wonder if other runners notice the "excess" water coming from me, but I tried to do it discretely and well away from anyone. What a relief. Only challenge was the now squish squish of my feet. It was warming up and my shoes are designed to drain. I knew I only had about 5 minutes of squish to worry about.

I don't remember when or where it happened, but my success in this race the last few years has been volunteers. Somewhere in the last 5-7 miles the last two years I received either an amazingly cold water bottle or an amazingly cold bottle of gatorade from a spectator. Just enough to get me the mileage I need to then power through the finish. Again, it happened. I also made use of my favorite spectators, the group that always hands out cold beer around mile 21. Amazing to taste super cold Coors Light to give you the boost to finish and get to that beer garden.

Hi Five to my youngest daughter Jordan at around mile 23. It helped produce a little more adrenaline to get up the last of the little climb. As I rounded the corner to get to Ocean Ave, I could sense the 3:05 wasn't going to happen. I was going to be at least 2-3 minutes over it. That was ok, it was still time to push for the final mile as fast as I could go. 3:07.

Very pound of this performance, whereas the last two years I had been within seconds of each other at a 3:18 time. The thought of running a 3:18 at LA and then I ran a 3:02 in a future race for Boston, just made me think if I could post a 3:07 at LA, what would I be capable if I ran Revel Big Bear again? Could I possibly pull off a 2:55, or 2:50? Hmmm.... Intriguing.