My Marathon: Part IV

Reaching Mile 13 was a big moment for me. It meant I was basically at the half-way point yes, I know 13.1 IS midway). It also meant I was beyond the part identified as the hardest by the senior pace leader (up to Mile 9). Personally, it was big as 13 is my lucky number.

I had hoped to avoid a restroom stop the entire race; but, around Mile 10 that seemed unlikely and I mentally promised myself a "reward" of a pitstop at Mile 13. The portable toilets were a short distance beyond the mile marker and I broke right and unfortunately chose the slower moving of the two lines at the two clusters. Still, exiting the plastic cell, I felt a lot more comfortable and also got a big shout from a just arriving fellow LA Roadrunner Group 7er. We exchanged smiles and hand signs and I was off again.

I was also catching some clusters of Group 8 runners and paceleaders. I felt slow; but, seeing some familiar faces and the grey Roadrunners shirts helped.

My knee was feeling better and the little stop seemed to help as well. I just felt better overall. The miles began to come a bit easier. I was able to keep a fairly consistent pace and was still running, even if a tad slower than I wanted.

I also noticed an increase in the quantity of runners off to the side with injuries or pain or exhaustion. (Gordon Ramsay who had been so promoted at the start was done at Mile 15 ... need some Lancashire-type toughness in you, Gordo?) I was thankfully feeling relatively good. No mad dashes for Salon Pas stands. No sudden stops in the road. I was moving.

Soon, I was entering Beverly Hills. It is far from home territory; but, I was familiar with it from driving through and attending a few work events there. I began to recognize some buildings.

One highlight was going down Rodeo Drive. All the really luxurious shops were closed! It was such an odd feeling.

I also passed by a townhouse having an open house. Next to a marathon? I guess with this market you need a break.

It was about now I felt like I could finish. I was not fearing the 20 Mile Marker. I felt reasonably good. I was still moving. I was not in severe pain or discomfort. I was surprised I had survived this intact, even if I was slow as could be. There was still a good distance to go; but, I felt like the mental struggle was being won. The goal seemed plausible.

Plus, I had my fun for Mile 17 coming ...

My Marathon : Part I

Well, at last, March 21 came. It was THE DAY I had been waiting for and preparing for over two years (well, technically 2009 and 2010 ... so two years!).

I got up dark and even earlier than normal at a crisp 01:40. I was stunned as I actually got some sleep; I had expected to be awake and the paceleaders said expect to be nervous.

I got up, rubbed my eyes, and ate some cereal. Then I started to get my gear on; I used my Canadian heritage and did not take a lot of clothing to keep warm in the pre-dawn "cold."

I had on pretty close to my gear for a normal Saturday training run. I did put on the red and white LA Roadrunners Group 7 hat. I also had a water bottle with me and more energy gels and such than usual; so, my running belt was heavier than I am used to and prefer.

Next it was how to get to Dodger Stadium. fearing traffic after the race and not wanting to pay $17 anyways to park, I opted to park at St. Anne's. (Being a parishioner and volunteer helps at times!). I then walked from 20th and Colorado to Main and Olympic, by Santa Monica City Hall.
It was kind of eerily quiet at first; but, warm enough and my idea of staying in the shirt only proved correct.

I had my first little glitch when the draw string on my checked kit bag separated from the bag. Things like this are why I like to leave early!

I started seeing signs mentioning the marathon, mostly about street closures and parking. I also saw activity! 3 a.m. on a Sunday? What could be happening? What kind of idiot is out at that time of morning?

I turned the corner onto main and saw a group of buses, nice buses! No banana buses for this one. The volunteers were very friendly and encouraging and wished me good luck and even said, "Sir." Wow! All you have to do is sign up for this thing and you get treated well!

I got on a bus and took a seat. There were may be 10-15 others when we left right on schedule at 03:30. Soon enough, it was on the familiar 10 East. Some talked a lot; some were laughing. I was just kind of reflecting and taking it in as an experience.

Soon enough, the bus arrived at Dodger Stadium. It was still very early; so, not many people were there. I just followed some other people. I headed off to the long row of portable toilets I had seen Saturday initially. I then began some preparations ... BodyGlide, sun tan oil, etc.

I then wandered a bit, unsure what to do. I found center field was open. So, I went in and stood on the grass again. having done it at Roadrunners, it was not quite as new; but, it was still fun. I also got to go on the infield this time!

The gear check was still closed; so, I was a bit confused as to what to do. The Roadrunners had said come to the meeting point after checking the gear.

So, I sat outside the stadium and ate my bananas for breakfast II as suggested by the paceleaders. I also noticed quite a few Santa Monica Police Department vehicles. Ah, home!

I also saw some people in Roadrunners' shirts. It was nice seeing the familiar colors.

I wandered around some more and noticed more people were arriving. Eventually, the gear check opened and I handed in my bag.

Next, I went into the stadium. The Roadrunners had been told we would have a special section as well as restrooms. Well, we got the special section and I found Group 7. The restrooms ... well, not quite. My power orange LARR wristband suddenly seemed unimportant.

I took a seat and began relaxing. It was good to see a few familiar faces.

A little while later one of the crew, Pete, came. We started talking and joking. Not exactly game face, I guess. He had missed hill training day I; so, missed they playing around on the outfield. So, he asked how to get down there ... and we both went again. Hey, I am a Dodgers fan and I will take the opportunity to get out there, race or not.

Then James came. The crew was filling in. I went to search for a restroom for a short line ... still searching! Where was the Roadrunners' special?

Then Danny came. Hey, it is just like Saturday.

We noticed the faster groups were starting to stir and get gathered and some even leaving.

Then my original partner, Alex, came by. It was great to see him. He was running despite being told he risked permanent damage from his injuries. Good guy.

Right after that group 7 moved out and headed down the concourse to leave the stadium. We were following a big blue and a big gold 7 balloons.

But, then again .... WE ARE GROUP 7. So, the group got mixed up amidst Roadrunners groups as well as non-Roadrunners and those in the back, including me, took a wrong turn. Fortunately, one of the Roadrunners administrators caught sight of us and steered us back in the right direction and we then saw the balloons.

Our little group joined up with the rest of Group 7 in the huge standard runner corral. It was incredible.

Our group was loose. We were joking ... a lot. We made jokes about everything. When they announced Chef Gordon Ramsay was running ... jokes. When they named the official starters as Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa and Frank McCourt ... well, loads of jokes. (Along the lines of hide the female reporters from the mayor ...).

We also noticed the massive lines for portable toilets. Incredible! Then, we saw the large number of people climbing the hills of Dodger Stadium to go take care of business in the bushes. The L.A. P.D. could have solved the city's deficit by ticketing people!'

It got serious a bit more when the wheelchair races began. Those competitors are amazing.

Then came the fun ... an announcement about the start being delayed due to people parking their cars ... ON THE FREEWAY! Apparently, traffic had been so heavy and people so desperate to get going that they were just parking on the freeway and climbing over the fence of the stadium! Unbelievable. So, it added like 25 minutes to the start and we were told 7:47 a.m. target (the jokes about Boeing being a sponsor began).

The elite women's race began. They get an 18 minute head start over the elite men in a race for a bonus $100,000.

We then prepared ourselves ... Finally, the race for the elite men began, The loudspeakers also played "I Love L.A.,"a song I like normally. We were then told we would slowly head to the actual start (and slow it was). By the time we got to the starting line, it was like 15 minutes later ... after hearing that song eight times in a row, I was beginning to go crazy!

Then we began ....