ASICS LA Marathon - RunMarathon


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Los Angeles, California
United States
Los Angeles Marathon, LLC
75F / 24C
Overcast
Total Time = 3h 27m 55s
Overall Rank = 648/21940
Age Group = M 50-54
Age Group Rank = 28/1028
Pre-race routine:

Lots of angsting over temps predicted to be in the mid-to-upper 80s. Ultimately, I went with the clothes and gear I'd planned on originally. However, I changed shoes--back to a pair of retired Saucony Omni 12's that I last wore for my 50K in late October...I've just been having too many issues with crowding in the toe box of my Omni 13's. Turned out to be a good decision.
Event warmup:

Short warmup in Dodger Stadium parking lot. Was able to sit while waiting in my seeded corral by using someone's discarded sweatshirt as a pad on the top of a concrete stanchion.
Run
  • 3h 27m 55s
  • 26.2 miles
  • 07m 56s  min/mile
Comments:

Lost some training to injury in December, so wasn't sure I was fit for a sub 3:30 attempt, but decided to go for it. Tried to keep pace moderate (went out too fast last year) and form balanced. A little concerned that I might not be able to hold the 7:51-7:52 pace I was seeing on my Garmin, but I felt comfortable, so I just carried on.

Starting around mile 12, I was afraid I might need to make a portapotty stop. I started moderating my fluid intake based on how much I felt I needed to urinate...I think that worked out in the end...made it to the finish without a stop, which made the difference in getting under 3:30 comfortably.

Felt good up until mile 24, which was downhill, fortunately. I knew I couldn't slack on my pace if I wanted to hang onto the sub-3:30, so I pushed through a lot of tightness in both calves and right ITB. Managed to legitimately kick the last two miles.
What would you do differently?:

Nothing...this was a minute faster than I thought I was capable of. First ever sub-3:30 marathon, a PR by 3:50, and beat my 2016 Boston qualifying standard (55-59) by 12:05.
Post race
Warm down:

Had to make a beeline for the portapotty...which wasn't great for my ITB. Hobbled around until I met up with Liz.

What limited your ability to perform faster:

Surprisingly, nothing. I say that given that I lost three weeks of training in November and December to an arch injury and then had to rest instead of taper the last two weeks to rehab a minor left calf strain (along with a mystery rib/back muscle injury from 7 weeks ago).

Biggest factors, really were 1) the base of training I got from deciding to do my first 50K back in October and 2) taking off 12 more lbs of useless body fat after last year's marathon. Went out today at 155.9 vs ~167 last year.

Event comments:

I try to do this race every year. I really think the switch to the "Stadium to the Sea" course in 2010 was inspired...LA is starting to catch on as a legit destination race (and having the Olympic Trials here next year will only help).




Last updated: 2015-01-18 12:00 AM
Running
03:27:55 | 26.2 miles | 07m 56s  min/mile
Age Group: 28/1028
Overall: 648/21940
Performance: Good
Official splits: 5K - 24:37 (7:54), 10K - 48:56 (7:52), 15K - 1:13:10 (7:50), 20K - 1:37:31 (7:50), 25K - 2:02:05 (7:51), 30K - 2:27:03 (7:53), 35K - 2:52:39 (7:56), 40K - 3:17:38 (7:57).
Course: Rolling point-to-point from Dodger Stadium to the beach at Santa Monica
Keeping cool Good Drinking Just right
Post race
Weight change: %
Overall: Good
Mental exertion [1-5] 5
Physical exertion [1-5] 5
Good race? Yes
Evaluation
Course challenge
Organized? Yes
Events on-time? Yes
Lots of volunteers? Yes
Plenty of drinks? Yes
Post race activities: Good
Race evaluation [1-5] 5