Sunday, 11 October 2009 - Long Beach 1/2 Marathon

[LeAnn Zunich]

So, you can take piano lessons, and be able to play (more that you can now) when you're 50, or you can do nothing and you'll still eventually be 50.

Hard to believe that it's been nearly 21 weeks since I started running with Sole Runners...and here's the Long Beach Marathon day. Impossible to believe, if you know me at all, that I've been getting up at 5:45 AM on Saturdays EVERY WEEK the whole 21 weekends for the pleasure of running with a group. (OK, mostly walking for me, but the fact remains...)

And, whether you train or not, the event arrives on schedule and you're ready or not.

I had a medium day. My plan was to walk to mile 8, 9, or 10 and then run the rest of the way in. I would have liked to do better than 2:55; although when I actually did the math (don't get me started), that wasn't realistic.

Astonishing things that happened over last 5 months:
Found a coach
Found out I like (or hate less than anticipated) running with a group
Made acquintances with some really, really nice people

Good things that happened today:
running was easy and pain free - really easy, even the last mile
the miles I did run were at pace -- 59 triplets on the metronome
no after-run pain in my knees (this is HUGE)
I finished

Bad things that happened:
I ran out of juice (not enough calories in) about mile 8

Things to investigate:
I either need different shoes or diffrent sox

The Run
I started out running because why not. And then I ran down to the first mile marker. The running was easy. The foot felt good. The quick turn-over of the feet was ok. It was all ok. As this is where I got injured last year, I was careful and thoughtful throughout the mile. At the 1 mile marker I changed to a walk. I walked to the "Mile 4" marker, running over all the hills (which were bridges).

In this "back" section I was walking along and Paiwai Wai ran by me..."Pai" I called out as he ran past. He slowed down and we chatted for a minute or two...he was running 1/2 of the 1/2 because he had a client meeting at nine. The guy is an Animal! I love this chance meeting amongs 20,000 people.

The bathroom situation was not good on the Queen Mary half of the course; I had to stop and pee behind a bush at the Raddison.

The Mile 4 marker was the start of a bridge, so I ran over the bridge, and the running was so easy that I ran another mile, to the Mile 5 marker. I walked a mile through Shoreline Village, which is a part of the run that I really don't like. However, there is a great view of the Queen Mary through this section -- a Long Beach icon that I don't very often really see. At the Mike 6 marker it was clear that the mile would stretch past the Sole Runner's meeting place, so I ran that mile. Again, easy and without stress.

At Mile 7 I dropped to a walk and over the next mile, the threat of cramping started. I started drinking more Gatorade (on my belt), Power Aide (at the water stations), and chewing Luna Moons (which I like more than Cliff Blocks). The threat of cramping was pretty strong, but I worked on mental images of relaxation and thought about the strong trainers I have on my side.

Going over the pier, just on the other side, was the first medical station. I stopped just for a few seconds and got my legs sprayed with "liquid aspirin". Turning off of the beach path is about mile 9.8. Somewhere between that point and the full/half split (mile 10.8) there was guy with a bigger sprayer, so I got my legs sprayed again. And in the final two miles there was a third medical station where I got sprayed again.

At Mile Marker 12 I started running and ran into the finish.

Last year, the steps down the hill to the finish line may have been the most painful of my life. This year, I was hurting, but not in a deadly way. I had a big, big grin on my face coming across the finish. And I stopped and had my photo taken with my medal the sand sculpture. Last year I was in such pain I was in a fog at this point. The path out of the raceway was full of stuff to eat and drink that I didn't really want.

Last year's time 2:57. This year's time 3:24. That's about 2 minutes per mile slower -- which is about the difference in my walking and running.

Went to the Sole Runner's meeting point. Had a burrito. Stayed about an hour. Hobbled back to the car and to a bath. Literally slept all afternoon. Ran a couple of errands.

And I'm thinking about my training schedule for the coming months....to (apparently) quote Allen Arnette, we as human beans don't spend enough time enjoying our accomplishment before we move onto the next challenge.