100 Days to My Marathon

So today was the Honda LA Marathon! There were lots of concerns about the weather, because for days the forecast was for rain, maybe even thunderstorms. Luckily, the rain came early, making Saturday at the expo a pain. However, we had great weather for today’s event - cold, but dry, starting in the high 40s, staying in the mid-50s. I wish I had been able to run - would have been a great day to go for a PR!

I walked a pretty good race today. I finished I 5:43:09, an average pace of about 13:05 minutes per mile. I ran about 3.5 miles, including the last mile. I crossed the line feeling pretty good.

I am sore now, but not too bad. I’ve done some stretches, relaxed, showered, and have made the traditional post-marathon trek to Ben & Jerry’s. Right now I am watching the marathon on TIvo.

To anyone who has been following my updates - Thank you! I appreciate your support and interest! Maybe this will morph into a future blog on training for the Disney half or the Long Beach marathon!

At Dodger Stadium. Fingers crossed the rain gods will leave us alone. Pace group ready to go! Both excited and disappointed about today! Next year I am kicking this race’s butt!

So, twelve hours from now I will be at Dodger Stadium, in the Roadrunner reserved area - best benefit is the private access to extra bathrooms!  I’ll post some pictures  of the stuff I will be bringing and wearing.  We hit the 99 Cent store for supplies (gloves, umbrella, etc.), as well as CVS and the supermarket.

The Expo was pretty fun, but completely soaked!  There was a small brook running through the official merchandise tent!  I bought a hat, t-shirt, and waterproof running vest I will try tomorrow.  One of the cool things was that I could get my name and number printed on my t-shirt - I’ll post that as well.

Currently trying to relax and try some yoga stretches.  Hopefully I’ll actually be able to sleep when I go to bed at an extremely early hour.  Then I get up at stupid o’clock to catch a bus from the Santa Monica Civic Center.

I am thinking I need to keep myself from getting too excited and running more than I should.  I think I am going to start walking with the pace group I’ve been going with, and then maybe run the last two miles.  Will be a different, and more difficult experience.

Did another two mile run today, about a 9:30 pace, felt a little stiff, but overall doing well.  Thinking of walking most of the marathon until near the end.  We’ll see!

Better weather forecast right now!  Keep your fingers crossed!

Yesterday I went to the local high school and ran 2 miles on the rubber-based track. I felt good overall, and ran about a 9 minutes per mile pace. The knee felt fine.

Today I went to see the doctor again. He seemed a little surprised that my knee wasn’t hurting or swollen or anything. He recommended that I run 2 miles every other day for a month, and then do 3 miles every other day for another month. Seems kind of excessively cautious to me. Definitely leads me to think that I should walk more for the marathon on Sunday, and maybe only run a mile or two. Meh. Means a long walk in the cold and rain!

I’ll do another two miles tomorrow and see how I feel. Then on Saturday I get to go to the marathon expo and get my stuff. Going to be an interesting experience!

So I took a break from walking/running today by going back to the pool.  Did my 40 minute “speed workout,” and it felt pretty good.  I hadn’t been to the pool in maybe two weeks.  Despite some bureaucratic nonsense when I tried to renew my card (apparently the ID card they gave me doesn’t count as an ID card), it was a good experience.  There was some trouble with tiger sharks swimming in my lane, but we adjusted to each other and mostly stayed out of each other’s way.

I say I should get used to this, meaning being wet.  Apparently, the forecast for the marathon on Sunday call for rain - AGAIN!!!  Last year it felt like Noah’s Ark was going to float down the street past all of us runners, and we are supposedly going to get another winter storm this Sunday.  ARGH!  I was already worried about the extra time and effort walking would take.  Now I could be soaked and freezing (well, below 50 F) for all that extra time.  Last year the walkers and other at the back of the pack had real medical issues because of the cold and wet.  Come on, Southern California - get your weather act together!

Only six day to go until the marathon.  I reported that I did 5 miles walking on Saturday, then ran the final mile of practice.  Yesterday I did the PT exercises that I haven’t done for too long.  It was a good workout, but I felt the fact that I missed a few workouts.  Tonight I walked 4 miles, including the CA Incline, then ran 1.25 miles.  I was a little bit under a ten minute per mile pace.  It feels like I am just getting warmed up when I have to stop!  The knee feels pretty good, a little stiff, but I think that’s due to not running at all for so long.  It feels better than it did last summer when all these problems started!

I’m getting nervous about the race!  I am way better prepared than I was when I tried to walk the marathon 7 (?) years ago, but not as prepared as I was last year.  I’ll have to figure out how much I can run and how much I want to walk.  Whatever I do, I now I’ll have lots of support out there!

Today was the final day of practice for the LA Roadrunners. We did 6 miles. I walked the first five with the walking group I’ve been with the past few weeks, but then I ran the last mile. Again, the body felt a little stiff at first, but I loosened up as I went along. I definitely feel like I could go farther. A couple more one-mile runs, and then I see the surgeon again for a check on the knee. Keeping my fingers crossed that things keep going well!

The walkers in my group asked what I was planning on doing for the marathon itself. I haven’t decided yet. I am thinking of alternating running and walking. I qualified last year to start in corral B, the sub-4 hour corral, but there is no way I could do that this year. I did get the sticker for my bib so I can pretty much start in any corral besides the elite corral. The walkers start in corral D. We do get to start in the first wave - one of the benefits of being in the Roadrunners.

The best benefit is that we get access to one of the levels inside Dodger Stadium, so we have access to a couple extra sets of bathrooms. That is a HUGE advantage!

Wll do either PT exercises tomorrow, or hit the pool again. Then I will walk and run again on Monday. Hard to believe the marathon is a week from tomorrow!

So today is the six monthiversary of my knee surgery, meaning it’s been over seven months since the last time I ran.  The doc said I could gradually start running again, so after I did a 4 mile walk, I ran just over a mile, and it felt GREAT!  I was a little stiff, and my body was in a little bit of shock, but I felt like I was flying.  I did a nice easy 9:30 or so pace.  Waiting to see how I feel tomorrow, then I will try anothr mile on Saturday after Roadrunner practice (a six mile walk).

Hoody hoo!  I’m back, baby!