Los Angeles Marathon XXII

It's done and I'm alive. Well, kind of. I ran my second marathon today and finished in 4 hours and 34 minutes. I ran the San Francisco Marathon in 2000 and finished in 4 hours and 20 minutes. I wanted to beat my first race time but that didn't happen :( It started off VERY crowded so we had to weave in and out of the slower runners. Jess started the race with me and we were trying to find the clearest path to any sort of clearance. That didn't happen until mile 11 or 12! Jess stopped at mile 4 and my dad jumped in and ran mile 4-7 with me. It was nice to have some company. My mom, Ryan and Jeremy met me at mile 4, attempted 9 (I got there before they could), mile 18 and the finish line! It was SO nice to see familiar faces and encouraging cheers! I was cruising until mile 18 and then hit a wall. Not just "a wall", the great wall that I truly thought I wouldn't be able to get over. I told Jess to never let me run another marathon again and to remind me of this feeling when I even think about it! I guess the shorter training period was taking its toll. Jess kept me going until I got a second wind at mile 22! I hit up every water station along the path and didn't stop running until mile 18~then walked the water stations until mile 24 when I cruised without stopping to the finish line! Jess ran 11 miles with me...she's crazy and was feeling the affect of NO training! The cool thing about Los Angeles...we passed Native Americans dancing in a circle, the Korean community playing music, South Americans performing with drums, rap, "I Love LA", beautiful homes in Hancock Park to lower income areas to the skyscrapers of downtown. It was great to look around and see what our melting pot city is ALL about. People from every walk of life living in one city! Besides the running, it was a great experience :) Seriously though, it was an amazing day! One last thing, if I ever bring up the idea of running another marathon....SAY NO! Well, at least until next year :) The reason this has not been posted was because I am waiting for photos but those may never come!