some photos from the expo
course map
Deena Kastor
Andy Potts
Outside view of the Staples center in downtown Los Angeles
I found Quark at Whole Foods! I loved the taste of quark in the Netherlands. I ran to Whole Foods on Friday night - then ran 2 miles home with my groceries. This cupcake made it all the way home without ruining the frosting! :)
My favorite thing from Whole Foods - TOFU!!! I know - seems kind of strange that I would go to a big city and be so excited about TOFU. but I LOVE Whole Foods tofu --- I also tried a cranberry quinoa dish - YUM!!!
Saturday morning, I biked along the beach and thoroughly ENJOYED the SUN and warmth! This was a park with graffiti on the trees - cool!
Santa Monica Pier
A work out area @ the beach
the handlebars of my beachcomber bike :)
some people dancing along the beachfront
rode my bike over the canals
Ryan Hall running on a treadmill outside the expo - it was set to the world record marathon pace - he was running for about 45 minutes at that pace --- he makes it look effortless. I think they said it was set to 12.4 on the treadmill.
Ryan Hall signing some posters
downtown LA
I have some more pictures on my phone that I took during the race, but I'll have to add them later.
I must admit - I really enjoyed this race. I was pacing a friend of my who wanted to run a 3:45 marathon and I'll admit I was really nervous about pacing her. Although my fastest marathon is a 3:19 (New York Marathon, baby!!! still can't believe that time -- I smile from ear to ear every time I say the number 3:19 - I even told Andy Potts that I ran a 3:19 marathon!)
Prior to the race - I kept thinking -what if I get tired? what if I cramp up? what if I hit the wall? what if I can't keep pace? We started out in the back of the pack because we registered later for the marathon so we didn't get into a seeded corral. We started out weaving through the crowd at about a 10 minute pace and I was really freaking out! But by the end of the first mile, we finally settled into our pace. Weaving around the crowds for about 5 miles - feeling good - but I started to panic as we passed the 5 mile marker ... thinking about the fact that I had 21.2 more miles to go! Could I do this? What if I started to get tired? the temperature was quickly rising --- eventually it would reach 85 degrees at the finish line. It was at that 5 mile mark that I started my mantra "Believe Believe Believe" " you can do this!" I chanted this over and over in my head and started feeling better. I was in my groove now - feeling good! My friend and I made it to the halfway point and we were EXACTLY on pace! yay!!
At about mile 15, I looked back to locate my friend and I couldn't find her :( she had dropped back a little bit. I circled back to find her - she told me that she wasn't feeling good - her legs were tired. I told her "that's your mind talking - you can do this! keep moving!" She followed me for another mile and then told me that was it - she needed to slow down a little bit - I said "are you sure?" "you can do this!" - she wanted to back off a little bit on the pace, so I did. Then I looked back after about a mile and I had lost her again. So at that point, I decided to follow her. (We had agreed before the race that she would follow me and we would both listen to our own music during the race and that she would let me know how she was feeling). It was at that point that I began to relax and truly ENJOY the race --- something that I don't normally do in races. I took a few photos and just ran.....soaking it ALL in. We finished in 3:54 - a personal best for my friend on the LA marathon course.
During the later miles of the marathon, I switched my mind over to thoughts of how I might handle the marathon at the end of my Ironman races this summer - how would I be feeling? how would I keep myself going? and then as we ran through the water stations - the memories and feelings of my Ironman race came flooding back to me ---- specifically the damp pavement in the water stations on the 95 degree day last August in Kentucky --- that feeling and smell of the sun beating down on the damp pavement....humidity rising out of the black pavement.
Overall, I felt really strong during the marathon. I didn't hit "the wall" and my legs felt really strong. Due to the heat, there were a lot of people cramping up from about mile 18 - the finish. I remembered to keep my arms down to the side for the most part and relax my shoulders.
I saw a saying on the back of a guy's shirt that I really loved - it said "It's YOU vs. YOU" I really like this phrase. I thought about it for several miles - I know I will be able to use this phrase in my training.
