L.A. Marathon and March Madness Half

I fell into the trap…I know better, but thought I could do it. I felt great going into LA. Because I signed up in January, I was not able to secure a preferred starting corral even though I qualified for it (deadline was 12/31). I thought I could talk to someone at the Expo to let me in, but no such luck. So I wound up starting in the general starting corral with thousands of others. I tried getting as close to the front as possible until I hit wall-to-wall people and couldn’t move forward any more.

Talk about being packed. Nothing like touching the people around you with your arms and shoulders…it was that packed. I looked around me and thought that well, maybe these people won’t be that slow. You can usually tell who the slow people are by looking at them. The marathon was supposed to start at 8:15 (I thought it was originally 8), but the announcer said that it wouldn’t start until 8:25 (a lot of moans around me). It was a cool and cloudy morning and forecasted to go up into the 70s. I was worried about the heat and wished it would start already.

Wayne and I initially went to California to watch our daughter Kimberly play in a tennis tournament on Saturday. Of course I had to run in the marathon on Sunday while I’m there anyway. My brother and his girlfriend were also at the marathon cheering for me.

The starting gun finally went off. My initial goal was a 3:40 finish, but I felt so great that I decided to try for a 3:30. My first mile was weaving back and forth around walkers – yes walkers! I can’t believe there were so many bunches of walkers the first mile of the race. My watch after mile 1 said 9 minutes. OMG, how frustrating! Well stupid me, I felt so great that I did 7:20s and 7:25s to catch up. I thought I could do it. Someone also told me that after the first few miles, it is pretty flat the rest of the race. I was fine up until mile 21 or so when the steady incline started and lasted for more than one mile. What a killer! My legs died after that. Someone in a long robe passed me. Oh well, so much for that 3:30. I finished with a 3:44 time which wasn’t too bad, but it was a wake up call. The port-a-potty break didn’t help either. Ever have one of those marathons where your stomach is turned upside down and you need to go to the bathroom a lot? Well that was after mile 23. I managed only one pit stop, but after the marathon, I was in and out of the port-a-potties.

Two weeks later is the March Madness half marathon in Cary, IL. It is a very popular race and signifies spring time. It’s popular because it is a very challenging, hilly course and great for Boston training. After learning the hard way at LA, I vowed I would not start off too fast and save myself for the series of hills that come around from miles 10 to 12. I felt absolutely fantastic going into this race, and I wanted to continue feeling this way at the end.

At the starting line, who do I see, but my rival Melissa looking great as usual. I thought, well, I guess I won’t win my age group this year. I will turn 55 this June and into a new age category (that’s the only good thing about getting older!). She is one year younger than me, so for the next 3 months, we will be competing against each other. I kept a pretty even pace throughout the race. The last time she ran this race was 3 years ago with a 1:38 time. I knew I had my work cut out for me!

The first really big hill comes at mile 5. I took each hill slow and easy without expending a lot of energy. Around mile 7 Melissa passes me. I was surprised because I thought she was well ahead of me at that point. I vowed to keep her in sight and not let her get too far ahead. I was then planning on surging ahead of her just at the end, hoping I had enough left to do so.

At the next aide station, I grabbed water and kept running. Melissa slowed down and did not grab any drinks at all. As I passed her I heard her breathing heavily. You can just tell from a person’s breathing how they feel. I had this feeling that she was struggling. That was all I needed to hear to energize me as I passed. Talk about getting second wind…that was it! I started passing so many people. Then I remembered LA. Mile 8 is still too early especially with the hard hills I knew were coming up from mile 10 on. Then came that infamous mile 10 hill which brought me back down to earth. So many people started passing me going up that hill, and each time I would look to see if that person passing me was Melissa. Each time I would feel relieved that it wasn’t her. Again I thought about the LA Marathon and how stupid I ran that race. Again I started getting mad at myself for that mid-race surge. That hill seemed to be forever. Finally I made the top and started the downhill. Two girls passed me, one wearing the same pink jacket like Melissa. That scared me thinking it was her and somehow I got another second wind.

The next hill comes immediately afterwards. I took that hill very easy and ran on cruise control. I kept worrying that I would run out of energy. At mile 11 it was mathematically possible for me to break 1:40! I would have to run 7:30s to do it, however. At mile 12 I knew I couldn’t break 1:40, but I was still not feeling that bad. My finish was strong with a time of 1:40:50. Melissa never did pass me. She finished with a time of 1:42. I won my age group. What a great way to start the 2008 racing season!