I’m officially a marathoner!!!
I ran the 2021 Los Angeles Marathon this weekend. It’s been a goal of mine to run a marathon for years and I can’t believe I finally checked it off the list.
My roommate Faith talked me into signing up the day before the race, which I know goes against everything you would ever hear about running a marathon…I figured that if for some reason I couldn’t run anymore that I could just walk and finish it.
I thought of three goals before the race, just so I had something to base my run on:
The first was to finish. The time limit for the race was 6:30 which is a 14:53 per mile pace. I know I can do about that walking. Since I had never done a marathon before I had no idea what to expect, and I would have been completely okay with just finishing.
Next, I thought about trying to finish under six hours. That ends up being a 13:44 pace, which seemed reasonable if I did a good mix of walking and running.
What I didn’t think was possible but considered a huge goal was finishing under five hours. That’s an 11:27 average mile which seemed really daunting, especially if I ended up having to walk a lot. It was a steep goal and I didn’t expect to hit it anyway.
Well…I ended up running a 4:30:45 which is a 10:20 average mile pace!
I couldn’t believe it and I could not have been happier.
Here’s a more detailed breakdown of the race!
Miles 1-5
The race started bright and early at Dodgers Stadium in downtown LA!
I didn’t feel great, my legs felt sluggish, but there were so many people that I was distracted enough to keep up with the crowd. The biggest uphill of the race was around mile 3 and I was happy to get it out of the way.
Miles 6-13
I put in my headphones and found a rhythm. This part of the course took us on the Walk of Fame and through Hollywood. There was a gel station at mile 12 and I took one. I also alternating taking a water or electrolyte drink at every station.
My split at the half was 2:10, which I was really happy with! I knew that even if I ended up having to walk the rest of the race I’d be able to finish on time.
Miles 13-17
As soon as I hit mile 13 I started to not feel great. I definitely hit a wall here but it wasn’t bad enough that I had to stop. I walked when I got tired (a lot) but had a decent running pace because it felt better than a slow jog did when I wasn’t walking. This was by far the worst part of the race.
Miles 17-22
At this point I had less than ten miles left and knew I was going to be able to finish. I even started feeling better as we ran down Rodeo Drive onto Santa Monica Boulevard and there were more spectators cheering us on.
At mile 18 the course began going alongside the the last few miles of the race going the other way. It was so cool to see the people who were close to finishing! I had another energy shot around mile 20 and took some snacks that people were handing out before making the turnaround back to the finish line.
Miles 22-26.2
I had the biggest smile on my face for the last ten miles of the race and it got even bigger here. My legs were tired but somehow still felt pretty good. I knew I could do it, and I knew that my time was going to be better than I could have hoped for.
Faith called me as I passed 25 asking where I was, and she was waiting for me at the 26 mark so we could cross the finish line together! And get our free beer of course π
Overall, the course was great and the race was extremely well organized. I’d definitely consider doing it again, maybe with more training…
Marathon: check!!!
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