My last post was on February 27th. I was really in a different space and time because I was feeling the pressure and anxiety as the LA Marathon was approaching. How fast time flies! Seven days after the race, I get a chance to sit and reflect on the race. I guess being sick helps because I have a lot of time to sit here and just do nothing. Can I say my 12th LA Marathon was filled with tons of just anxiety? I think because I knew that my longest run was a miserable 12.5 mile run that left me stuck in my tracks. I was so discouraged after that run that I pondered whether or not I would need to withdraw from the race but I took a few days off and just reloaded and went out for some shorter runs and felt pretty good. I focused so much on what I had not done in terms of miles that it began to dominate my mind along with all these people who were telling me what I could and could not do in the race. I decided to say “wait a minute”. I am the one who has run this race eleven years in a row and I decided to just go into this race with the mindset of one step and one mile at a time.
Any week leading up to a marathon is difficult. You try your best to relax and rest but that is easier said than done. For me, it just happened to be the busiest weeks at work and the fact that you are running a marathon is lost on pretty much everyone at work. It is generally, “Oh, you are running a marathon, that is cool, now keep breaking your back with work”. All I could do is focus on my hydration which is something that gets me each marathon and knowing we were expecting 90 degree weather, I really upped my fluid intake. Walking to the expo from the metro train on Friday I knew the heat would be a problem. I was sweating and I had barely walked about ten minutes. I didn’t linger much at the expo. I grabbed my race packet and got my ass back home. I tried to chill as much as possible on Saturday. You pretty much cut yourself off from the world to try and focus and before you know it, your alarm is going off at 3:00am.
I made so many rookie mistakes for this race that I needed to be slapped. I wore a brand new pair of shoes then tried to park in my usual parking spot in SM without checking the day before so did not know the meters changed and I was forced to park about a half a mile away and walk to the shuttle where I had to stand in line for forty-five minutes. It just seemed like the morning was a disaster. When I finally got to Dodger Stadium, it was 6:15 and they were calling for people to get prepared to line up. I hadn’t got my mind right nor anything else but before I knew it we were off and running and I am not sure I had more than a five minute stretch period. It was insane. When the race started and we began to run, I felt calm and relaxed. I hit the miles and didn’t think about much except taking it easy and hydrating as best as I could. I always have indicators of what kind of day it is going to be and when I hit mile 6, I felt like I was gliding and started to say to myself “stay in the flow and find your zone”. We all worried about the heat but it was nowhere to be found and I knew we were being blessed because had the heat shined down the way it did on Saturday this race would’ve have had a different feel and outcome.
My best time in the marathon was 4:28 back in 2010. I surpassed that performance this year. I did not surpass the performance in time but just the way I felt and the way I executed the race plan I had set out to execute. I had told myself that 12-14 miles would be all that I had in the tank but I blew through those miles feeling like a million bucks. When I ran into my buddy Tendo around mile 16, I was feeling great and in a zone that I did not expect but when that happens, you just ride the wave. There were moments when I felt doubt and fatigue but that really didn’t come until mile 21. Just before mile 21, I saw a little Latino man give someone a can of coke. I needed a can of coke bad. I ran up to him and said to him “senor, tienes uno mas para mi?” and the little man responded si! He ran and got a can of coke for me, then gave me a hug. I thanked him and that moment not only carried me the rest of the race but it just added to why this race and day was special. It was as if everything aligned just right on this one day and my faith in who I am and what I can do rang true. When I crossed the finish line, I gleamed with joy and content that I had just run a perfect race. People will look at my 4:57 time and wonder what I am talking about but you have to be a runner to appreciate what I did.
My longest training run as I mentioned before was 12.5 miles but I realize that how I train where I train is what gave me the strength to go further than the miles that most kill themselves trying to do all year. When I go out for my training runs, I go around noon when it is already warm. I always run with a hydration pack that contains about 2-pounds of water on my back so I voluntarily made my training runs harder and harder. Why? I know that running just to run doesn’t prepare you for the rigors of 26 miles. You have to train in miserable conditions so when the race comes you are not surprised about weather, terrain or anything else. I also knew that the past year I just beat up my legs so I went back to weight training and smashing killer lunges and squat workouts. So when it all comes together on race day, you are blown away and ecstatic! You get one chance to do to this and do this right.
Most important thing in life is to believe in yourself and surround yourself with people who support and love you because that is all that matters!!!
Life is one day and one mile at a time!
