Just a little hiccup in the plan was that I was not marathon trained after 7 months of dealing with a back ailment and recently having a back procedure done which gave me a pain free life again I thought why not its only 1 mile 26 times with change!
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| After my slowest long beach marathon all smiles with a 4th place out of 79 Women 50-54 |
So my pre race taper never really happened I coach HS swim and also teach scuba diving and had a full schedule even the day before the race I was scuba diving at Lake Perris!!
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| up at 5am to get ready for a scuba dive at a local lake... |
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| Renate from Kool n Fit |
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| All these men have run every Long Beach event!!! |
I was very stressed out I would not make the race never mind get home from the expo, but I had recently met a remarkable group called the So Cal Pacers who gracefully allowed me to car pool from the expo and then to and from the race which let my stress level drop very much!
RACE DAY
Oh my were do I start I helped my two friends with their bikes and ran to the start line of the marathon. Once the gun went off I began to run I thought just keep a steady pace no expectations of time just to finish to find were I am at in my recovery ...then KABOOM every thing went wrong in the first 6 miles....
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| Spraying my shoes. |
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| Sun Care by Ocean Potion |
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| In our corral all smiles... |
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| Lots of smiles... |
1. My fuel belt would not keep around my waist... I was devastated as I tried to hold one hand over the velcro I could not make tighter and it would just come apart at Mile 6 I saw a friend of mine Mark and asked him to take my belt I stopped and took my Id and Hammergel... I took off again but needed the bathroom... then I ran into the expo area to give my phone to Renate..I ran back on the course....
2. As we snaked along the bike path with the Ocean on our right hand side... I had forgotten to add water to my Hammer gel and had to undo the top of my bottle to get my fuel... I remembered 8 years ago doing an aquathon on the same path... I kept a smile and kept a nice pace....
3. At mile 10 I saw Ralph from Kool n Fit and was sprayed. I kept taking my endurolytes every hour as the sun was very hot . At mile 11 I stopped to help a cyclist whose chain had come off it helped me mentally get my mojo together..
4. At the mile 13 mark the marathon makes an out and back course I was grateful to be half way I just hoped I could keep moving forward as I was feeling fatigued... I made it to mile 16 were I had to use the Porta potty AGAIN!!! I composed my self I only had 10 more miles I got this I thought.
5. I ran through the University of Long Beach always love this part I had to walk a few sections but I knew I had to keep going forward.... it was hot and I did not want to be out in the sun ALL day! My back was not hurting but my feet were!!!
6. The last 6 miles were interesting, I did take a few walk breaks and talked to other marathoners...although I felt tired I was glad I only had 6 miles to go and not 12 miles like the runners on the opposite sire of the road had! I handed out a few high fives and stopped at each mile to drink water.
The last 2 miles were LONG!!! and only a mile left I helped a runner who had severe cramp medics were there pretty quickly and then gave motivation to a much younger marathoner.... then I was turning left and heading towards the finish line I was SO DARN HAPPY!! My slowest Long Beach Marathon ever a 4 hours and 3 mins BUT with very little problems other than a belt that would not stay on and 3 bathroom breaks....No cramps, No dizziness and no back pain...yes tired but Happy!!!
I finished 4th our of 79 women in my division not bad for my lack of conditioning and sleep!
I truly love Long Beach Marathon my 8th time running the event. And my eighth time representing Kool n Fit.
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| Thanks for getting me to and from the race! |
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| Happy its over with my bling. |
Kept fueled my Hammer Nutrition ; Loved my Launch shoes by Brooks; grateful for the sun care by Ocean Potion; and my eye care by Rudy Project!
Here is my relive by my Polar V800
https://flow.polar.com/training/relive/243265699
