LA Marathon- 3/21/2010

The 25th LA marathon was great. (only my 2nd). I had a fun time and the weather was perfect. My time however, not so much, in fact I finished 8 seconds slower than my first marathon. Despite the time, I enjoyed the race greatly. Volunteers and public were great. I ate much more than ever before on a race & drank a good amount of water. For most of the course it was slightly foggy, which means there wasn't that direct sun, or heat that I was expecting.

As far as time, I am a bit surprised I didn't improve significantly, especially given the different type of training. I will look in to all the specifics in regard to numbers but here are the raw figures- To a degree, I considered one difference from training to racing is the style in which you run. Either focused and in a straight line, or as is the case with the race scenerio, dodging people, running from side to side to find a gap, and expending small bursts of energy running through gaps of runners. Whatever the factors are, I need to find a way to do better for the next full, which I am thinking I will do in Santa Barbara, my hometown. It'll be cheap and hopefully I will be able to train even better.


*Looking at the numbers now, I realized I hit 30k a little less (2k) than 20 miles at 3:55- at that point I only had a 10 k left (6.2) miles. If I would've run that 10k like the first 10k -which happened to be average of my two race 10ks-I would've come in at 5:10, 5:15ish...but it just got worse from there.-- more numbers to come.

And here were some of the highlights:

The Starting Line! This is what it's all about
The excitement is palpable.
(of course once the bus got there a little past the original start time for the masses)

Making your way past mile 1.
No problem piece of cake (repeat 25 more times)

Some good entertainment here and there...run, run, run...

Legacy Runners
These individuals with marked bibs, have run each of the 25 LA Marathons
wow
Capitol Record
A recognizable landmark

Temptation at Mile 12
Yes, In & Out! Can't stop...bummer

Two more landmarks The Kodak Theater and El Capitan
While the movie at El Cap seems irrelevant, yrs from now, it will stand as a mark in time.

Beverly Hills, they even made their own sign before the mile mark
Running on Rodeo drive was beautiful!

And there it is, in the distance that makes 26.2- finally
and if I hurry back to the hotel, I might make the check out time at 2:00pm