LA Marathon Race Report

I'm not thrilled with the fact that I was about 7 minutes slower than my PR in LA, but I'm definitely grateful for the learning experience that the race provided. To sum up:
1. Drink early, drink often, and it's warmer than you think
2. Do more than 1 20+ mile run when training. And run more than 35 miles a week.
3. Don't let negative thoughts take over. You're stronger than you think.

Now for the details:

I was abnormally nervous for this race, and I slept horribly the night before. The alarm went off at 4:15, I ate my usual breakfast, and tried to drink some water, but I felt pretty sick to my stomach because of my crazy nerves.

We left the hotel at about 5:40 and got stuck in horrible traffic on the 110. Even the race shuttles were clearly going to be late for the 7:30 start. The longer we sat in traffic, the more nervous I got.

I got out of the car right as the gun went off, which meant I started behind EVERYONE. The whole first mile I wasted tons of energy trying to weave around people. Once we were out of the stadium I got into a rhythm and was feeling great. The first 10 miles flew by, and I went through the half at about 1:49, which was right where I wanted to be.

Then everything basically went to crap.

There was a dull ache in my quads and I could feel myself slowing slightly, but I kept pushing. Mike took my picture around mile 16, and within half a mile of this, I was falling of pace fast. My legs were getting heavier and I was starting to feel like I was going to faint. I started to walk. Miles 18 and 19 felt like they were never going to end. 20 and 21 were worse. I drank as much water as I could get my hands on, and then switched to PowerAde. While I was walking, I was basically just writing off the whole race, assuming I'd finish somewhere around 4:15. My legs were so heavy and dead I didn't see how I was going to run another step.

I don't know what happened once I saw the 23 mile marker in the distance, but somehow I forced myself to start running again, and actually began to feel a little better.  Chugging 2 cups of water per aid station probably had something to do with it, but I was happy with how fast I seemed to get to the 25 mile marker.  I told myself I just had 10 minutes to go, and tried to focus on anything but my legs, which were incredibly tired.  My IT band was also starting to hurt at this point.

I crossed the finish line at 3:54:00.  After being sure I would finish well past 4 hours, I was pleasantly surprised and  just SO happy to be done!

I definitely didn't train enough for this race.  I let myself get way too nervous, and I didn't drink enough in the early miles (it was a lot warmer than I was expecting).  I know San Francisco is a really tough course, but I'm just excited to run another marathon.  I'm going to take it easy this week and next, then start training to have a great race in SF!