thoughts on a Marathon

Okay, so after three LA Marathons ('06, '07, '08), I figure it'd be fun to actually write down some of my thoughts post-race, for posterity's sake...

- Best iPod moment of the race: "Where Were You?" by the Mekons - The first mile of the new LA Marathon course is all uphill, everyone walks, going through the narrow Cahuenga pass. But then, when you hit the top, everyone starts screaming down the hill towards Los Angeles, the Hollywood Bowl on your right. The Mekons song starts out slow, and builds for the first minute. As I hit the hill, the song picked up, the drums kicked in, and I started running down the hill, the wind in my face.

The LA Marathon is lined with community folks, giving you everything you can think of, cheering you on, hitting you with gardening hoses...

- Best thing in my mouth during the race: 2 sticks of Red Vine licorice near Little Tokyo, so GOOD! A nice lady gave them to me.

- Worst thing I put in my mouth during the race: Pretzels near the Fashion District, made me want to vomit, I promptly throw the rest of the handful on the ground to be trampled by the runners behind me.

- Best running performance stuff of the race: Power Bar Gel, Double Latte flavor (with 2x the caffeine! This was my coffee for the morning mid-race).

- Probably not a good thing: Natalia, one of my fellow SRLA running coaches, gave me a handful of 600mg Ibuprofen pills for the race, to prevent swelling and leg/knee/ankle/shin splint pain from holding me back during the race. Ummm, yeah, I took 3 or 4, I think. Didn't feel a thing! (The next morning, I felt a sharp pain in the top of my right foot. I now think those painkillers might have been masking a stress fracture).

- I got scolded for this: Texting my family and friends on my cell phone around mile 17. My fellow running coach and running idol, Goetz, chastised me for using an iPod in the first place (not running a "natural" race), but the cell phone seemed to be a bigger no-no...

- Best moment of the race? Seeing my roommate, Daniel, around mile 24.5! He ran out on the street, grabbed my hand and started punching the air, running with me for about a half mile. "DOIN' AWESOME, MAN!!! KEEP IT UP!!!" Something like that, by that point in the race, it was all a haze.

- Memorable sights of the race: 44 people in the race dressed up like Slash (from G&R). There was also a woman that looked like Scary Spice in a red bikini. Two kids, one boy, one girl, about 4 feet tall that beat me.

- Highlights? Beautiful weather, all of the students and teachers from my school finished, no one got hurt, all proudly received medals and SRLA Marathon Finisher sweatshirts; Horace Mann teachers and students came out to support at mile 13; Nadra, Jason, Mina and Dino at the finish line!

- Is this my last marathon? Not sure. I've got people pressuring me to do this in June: San Diego Rock and Roll Marathon (Maybe you should too?)