LA Marathon - RunMarathon

Kind of a boring race, frankly. Not the course as much as how it went for me. Having blown up on the course before, I was determined to manage my effort in the hilly first 8 miles...but I was also determined to keep open a shot at sub-3:30. Felt good through downtown and actually hung closer to the 3:25 pace group than I really wanted to. Eventually, though, I fell off their pace.

After an 8:10 split fighting the pack through mile 1, I settled into a pace that was generally in the vicinity of 7:50 and was hanging under 3:30 pace through mile 16. After that, though, my left hamstring started to tighten and I had to monitor that...as a result, my pace range went from 7:50-8:00 down to 8:00-8:10.

And then something happened for the first time in a marathon for me and not something welcome. I realized, coming up on mile 18, that I was going to have to stop at a portapotty...and not to take a leak. Had to stop to pee at Boston (which was a first at the time), which cost me 1:16, and this was gonna be a little longer. Dove into the first open john I found and got 2:20 worth of rest and relief.

Back on the course, I started doing the math and reckoned that I might still squeak in under 3:30 if I could do the last 8 miles at a 7:50 pace. Managed it for the first mile fresh from the privy, but that was it...after that I was back to the 8:00-8:20 range. (Which was much better, I have to say, than what I went through last time on the course, when I eventually fell off all the way from 8:15 at mile 17 to 10:10 for miles 23 and 24.)

Noticed that the 3:35 pace group had evidently passed me while I was in the portapotty and figured I could chase them down (since I was on track for a faster pace than them)...didn't quite get them by the end, but definitely got closer.

Did eventually hit the wall a bit after mile 21 (the last big uphill). Pace sank as low as 8:29 in mile 24 as I was fighting cramps in both feet. At 23.4, a massive cramp hit my left PF and Achilles and I had no choice but to stop for a moment to stretch it out. Fortunately it never hit again.

In the home stretch, I knew I was safely below 3:35, but had no shot at a PR, so I didn't risk injury with a big kick...finished fast (close to an 8-flat mile 26) but comfortably.

Probably hang back closer to an 8:00 pace early...hard to do with several screaming downhills in the first couple miles. Not sure what I could have done to avoid the pitstop...ate basically what I always do pre-marathon.

This was the most sore I'd been since probably my first marathon. Between the GI activity and the crampy feet, I wasn't able to relax a lot and I paid for that tension. No injuries, but achy and stiff and a bit dehydrated.

Liz texted me from the charity runner's breakfast tent and we were able to meet up quickly and went to the car to nap while waiting for her relay partner to finish (which took awhile--Liz ran a 2:16, her partner only a 3:45 half).


Not much, really. Temps in the 40s were a drag when the sun wasn't out, but the real issue was a headwind that picked up when I was at about mile 12 and got stiffer as you got closer to the ocean. You can see the impact of it in the elites' times: The men were a full 6 minutes slower than last year (which was run in the pouring rain).

If you take out the 2:20 I clocked for my portapotty stop, I ran a net 3:32:17, which is just 4 sec's off my PR of 3:32:13 at Long Beach, which is a much flatter course than LA. Even with the stop, it was my second fastest marathon.


Course is notably hilly, especially in the first 8 miles. Drink stations were at very unpredictable intervals...which was a bit of an issue since they had switched to a no-calorie sports drink on the course this year (meaning calories had to come from either self-supported drinking or gels...since I used gels, it was tough to stay on routine, not knowing exactly when to expect the next water). Lots of iconic LA sights along the route and better crowd support than the first two years for this course.