LA Marathon: Pain is temporary, quitting is forever (Part 1)

I have survived one of the worst races EVER to eat my own words, and in every each way – I am humbled. Going into the LA Marathon, my mentality was “How worse can it get? I’ve ran 26.2 miles through SF hills and in the cold rain, I can do anything!” Haha! … The LA Marathon proved to be the race where anything and everything can happen!

In a nutshell (if you don’t feel like reading my story): the rain started at Mile 2 and didn’t stop, my iPod shuffle got water logged at Mile 6 forcing me to run/walk 20 miles w/o music flowing through my veins, my calves cramped up at Mile 15 causing me to come to a halt and walk most of the remaining 11 miles in the pouring rain, my hip flexor muscle cramped up at Mile 21 giving me an extra limp, and I hobbled across the finish line at Mile 26.2 ...

So here's MY Story:

The day started out w/ a 4:45 am alarm going off. Something just didn’t feel right from the get go; I just couldn't pinpoint it. My normal race adrenaline was missing and the anxiety of a late winter rain storm hitting LA during the race was looming. First thing first, I got out of bed and looked outside the window. The streets were still dry and it was cloudy. Some weather reports were saying the rain would hold out till the afternoon but others said it would start as early as 7am.

As I got dressed and went through my normal race day routine, something felt a little off but I brushed it aside hoping it was just nerves. By 5:45 am I was out the hotel room door and hopping on the shuttle to the start line. It was cold and windy outside – the kinda chill we feel before the storm. Runners were chattering away on the shuttle bus about the forecasted rain – this did not help my nerves! When it comes to cold – I’m a little sissy! Can you blame me?! I fear the wind blowing me away! haha! … We pulled up to Dodger Stadium and thousands of runners were crowding the parking lot. Ponchos and make shift windbreakers out of trash bags were everywhere. This made me even MORE nervous b/c I felt unprepared to run in the rain. Sure I’ve done it before and I’m dressed for a colder run – but this was a prelude to something different.

Lining up for the race in the Corral C, I met a really nice girl named Cynthia. We talked for a few minutes before discovering we had at one point been in the same optometry school program. What a small world! Our conversation drew my attention away from being cold and eased my nerves a little bit. It seemed like the pre-race ceremonies dragged on w/ one speaker after another followed by one too many songs, and then finally came the National Anthem. By the time the pomp and circumstance was done, I was ready to run … and off I went …