2003 LA Marathon

I went into the 2003 LA Marathon with a good attitude and high expectations. It was to be my fifth marathon so I knew I could finish and I didn't have anything to prove but my friend Mark and I had set a goal of finishing in 5:00. We felt that this was reasonable because we had run 3 half marathons and finished in the 2:15 ballpark.

Optimal weather conditions for a marathon are 45-55°, cloudy, and no wind. We ended up one-for-three since the forecast was for temperatures in the 70s and clear skies. Of course it was the only day this week with warm temperatures and clear skies.

The first 3 miles going down Figueroa were spent dodging other runners in the pack and trash. I saw the fabulous Linda from the AIDS Marathon office strutting her stuff down Figueroa. She was going to walk the entire course and did it in about 8 hours. Once we started down Arlington, around mile 5 in the Leimert Park area I could feel the temperature start to warm up. We were supposed to meet my mom on Crenshaw at mile 8 but we never did see each other.

As we turned from Crenshaw onto Venice at mile 10 we saw our friends Dale and Seth cheering us on. Within a few seconds we passed our other friend Christian, who was running the marathon. When I told him that we had just passed Dale and Seth he went back to say hi and we didn't see him again. He had just gotten over a nasty cold the day before. The three of us were hoping to start the race together but the logistics didn't work out.

By mile 12 Mark was starting to speed up and I was trying to hold us back with a slower pace. (This tends to be how it works when we run a race together.) We reached halfway with a pace that would give us a 5:12 finish. We headed up Robertson to Pico and I was getting ready to tell Mark to go off on his own when I saw my friend Jen. I told Mark I would meet him at the finish and stayed with Jen. By this point I figured I wasn't going to break 5:00 because I would have to speed up over a minute/mile until the finish so I might as well stay strong and just finish. I slowed my pace to match Jen's and we ran for about 2 miles until I broke away. Around that time my boss Peter was out at mile 18 with his digital camera and we ran together for about a block and he took a couple of pictures.

I remembered from last year that the stretch on 6th Street was the longest part of the course, not only in distance but mentally challenging. I kept to my slower pace, still figuring I could finish in 5:15. I kept pace with runners dressed as Spiderman, Batman, Robin, and Superman for a couple of miles. (There were a few crazy costumes but not nearly as many as in Honolulu.) It's a beautiful area and there is a lot of shade, which was very welcome.

Last year the course went down Western but they moved it to Wilton, a few blocks west, which is good because it's flatter than Western. My partner Shaun, Mark's partner Chris, and our friends Kenny and Dave were waiting there for me. They gave me an update on Mark (he was about 10 minutes ahead) gave me stuff from my goodie bag, and some much needed encouragement.

When I got onto Olympic for the last 4 miles my body started to rebel. The heat had been taking a toll and my hamstrings were starting to cramp. At several points I wanted to give up but instead I just walked most of the way from about 22.5 miles to 25. I could run for about 2 minutes at a time but then take about a 5 minute walk break for my legs to recover. I started to feel dehydrated and the water stations seemed to be very far apart, probably because I was walking so it was taking me longer to get there. According to Jen the last water station ran out of water around the time she got there.

This year they printed first names on everyone's running bibs so that people could cheer for you by name. That can be cool until you hear yelling your name and you get distracted because you think it's someone who knows you. There was a small cheering group on Olympic that would chant the names of random people and I was one of the lucky people chosen. They were chanting "Chad! Chad! Chad!" which made me smile, probably one of the few times I smiled in Olympic...

So now I'm thinking that I can set a personal best time, beating my time from last year of 5:26. A pacing group came by and the leader said "we're going to finish in 5:28 if you want to follow us" so I knew that I wasn't going to make 5:26, either.

Mile 25 was on Olympic just as it goes under the 110 freeway and I figured I would push myself (and my legs) to finish. Once we turned onto Flower I could see the finish line 5 blocks away at 5th Street. I walked the first two blocks and then ran out the last three to finish with a time of 5:33:08.

In the finish line area I grabbed as much water as I could so I wouldn't get dehydrated like last year. I found Jen again (she finished a few minutes behind me) and her boyfriend Derek, who finished in the ungodly time of 3:20 for his first marathon. We had all parked at the North Hollywood Metro station so we got on the Metro at Pershing Square. As we were on the train I asked Jen and Derek if I looked OK because I was starting to sweat and feel very warm. Just like last year. I decided to get off the train at Hollywood/Vine, rest, and take the next train. When the next train arrived I didn't get up to board it. Just as it was boarding, I threw up on the floor of the station. I used my mylar space blanket to cover my mess (it was mostly water) and waited for the next train, which I boarded and eventually made it home. Hopefully this won't turn into a post-marathon ritual.

Mark managed to beat the 5:00 goal by 44 seconds, finishing in 4:59:16. I didn't meet my goal or set a personal best time, though it was my second best out of five marathons. I thought I could do it and, had the weather been cooler, I probably could have done it. The warm weather and me just don't mix.

Next on the marathon dance card is San Diego's Rock 'n' Roll Marathon in June. Hopefully San Diego in June will be cooler than Los Angeles in March...