My Marathon: Part III

As we had trudged towards the starting line of the Los Angeles Marathon, I had rapidly recalled some of the old Servite skills, sprinter days or not. These included soccer (moving obstacles such as water bottles and clothing from my way) and the rugby attitude (people in the way ... how do we go around or through them ... red rover the adult version).

Now, I was basically running alone despite the hordes around me and I was feeling a tad desperate. I realized suddenly that LA Roadrunners Group 7 had always been that security blanket for me and now the big one was upon me and the security blanket was long gone. I also remembered the senior pace leader saying the first nine miles were the hardest due to the hills and there were definitely some nice, challenging ones.

I had decided to basically use every water station as it was getting warm. So, I had the encouraging sign of each water station as well as the mile markers.

My knee was sore at this point and I was starting to wonder if 26.2 was doable.

Still, I did feel I was making progress. I passed Echo Lake for example. Also, the Powerade at alternating stops was a nice boost physically and mentally.

Nutritionally, I was being far more careful than on the 20-Miler. That was a key lesson! I was taking a Gu Chomp every 30 minutes and an Aleve tablet every hour, besides the water and Powerade. This schedule really helped me keep focused and the energy boost was great.

I was definitely happy to see each mile marker, knowing that it should be getting better after #9 in terms of difficulty.

For some reason I also reverted to sprinter form and often zoned out everything on the sides of the course. I remember a few things ... one sign early on with an encouraging, "The Kenyans are already finished." Seeing some Salvadoran groups on the sidewalks and thinking no pupusas today.

I did reach Mile 9 marker and felt a bit of a mental boost even as I struggled with my knee. Over a third done and still functioning.

Then it was into Hollywood and seeing the Capitol Records Tower. I almost had a collision as one runner abruptly stopped in front of me to take a picture of the Hollywood sign. Seeing the sign for La Brea was also a bit of a boost as I pictured the 10 West heading for Santa Monica! On the other hand there was a strip club offering photos with some of the "performers" for free; I refused the offer for multiple reasons.

Next was West Hollywood. Here I faced a new obstacle ... the sight of men wearing extremely little clothing gyrating on stage above the sidewalk. Some thing is just do not need to see! Full speed ahead!

I also had a few near misses at water stops as the senior pace leader warned. Many were wet and slippery and filled with paper cups flung all over and runners cutting in and out. As he suggested, I tried to go to the far end; but, sometimes, the first table would be empty. Luckily, with some hockey knowledge, I knew how to avoid checks from collisions ... better to give than receive! I also sometimes felt guilty about just throwing the cup off to the side and would try to make it into the garbage can with decent rate of success or at least close to it. I felt sorry for the wonderful volunteers who would have to play cleanup crew (having done enough post-event cleaning myself).

In my head, I began thinking about Mile 13 ... my lucky number.