After the race...


After crossing the finish line, there were bananas, water and bagels for the runners, as well as heat sheets. And of course, how could I forget the medal...

A heat sheet- boy do they keep you warm!!

A picture of both the t-shirt and the medal everyone received

Needless to say, after finishing the Marathon I was very sore. After running/walking for such a long time (my finishing time was just after 7 hours) my legs were very stiff and I was waddling like a penguin. I wasn't very tired during the drive home (I ate some lasagna and Nutella afterwards a well) but when I got home, my tiredness hit me like a ton of bricks and I knocked out for about 4 hours. 

During the week following the race, it took me a while to get my legs back to normal and heal my blisters. I could walk normally after about 3 days,but my blisters took about 2 weeks to heal. I started running/ power walking again after about 2 or so weeks because of my blisters, and much to my dismay, a pulled hamstring. 

It was a lot different running after the Marathon, the 3 miles didn't seem as long and I found that I had a little more endurance than usual. However, it took me a little while to get over the pain of my blisters before I started running at the same pace and time as before the Marathon. Currently, I am still running 3 miles around 3 or 4 times a week- and things are going very smoothly. 

Originally I had planned to do the Pasadena Marathon as well, but I quickly discovered that it was the morning after my Senior Prom and it was a little too soon after the LA Marathon to be running that same distance again. However, I would gladly run a Marathon again in the future and hope to complete some races while in college in Washington D.C. next year!!  



 I just downloaded all my Marathon pictures from MarathonFoto! Finally! I just though I'd do a blog post with mainly pictures this time around.

This is a picture of me right before the race started, as you can tell, it was pretty early in the morning! My pockets/ embarassing fanny pack are stuffed with GU, 2 clif bars, an extra pair of socks, my phone and my parents' health insurance card. Looking pack on it, I overdressed (I thought it was going to rain) and overpacked (people gave us plenty to drink and eat along the Marathon route).

Me walking- I ran about 10 out of the 26.2 miles (5 consecutive miles at two different times)

Me running! Out of 25 pictures, this is one of the best ones- some didn't turn out so well...

Although none of my pictures turned out so well as this...



After my mom told me that my cheeks were swollen...I still don't know why they were- because it was cold??

After the race :)

Continuation of my race day post....


7:24- The race started!! However, the crowd of people was so dense that I didnt cross the start line until 10 or so minutes after the race had started. I started off jogging lightly for about 3 miles and then finally came to a fast power walk.

Here is a view of the race- this was probably the steepest hill there was in the whole course



I really loved running/walking through the different parts of LA and seeing everyone come together. I passed mariachi bands, cheerleaders, chinese dragon performances, and much more. I loved how at each of the 26 miles, there was an LA landmark.

Here is a picture of the marathon course.

Some parts of the Marathon were easier than others, I would have to say that the first 10 miles went by pretty fast and were relatively easy. It wasn't until I hit mile 20 that "complications" arose... I stopped on the side of the street to tie my shoes and that is when I discovered that I had blisters on my heels. I will spare you the gory details, but let me just say that it was pretty painful.

The last 6.2 miles seemed to drag on and on- mainly because I was painfully aware that my blisters were slowing me down and my legs and back were getting a little sore. Although I was in pain, I promised myself that I would finish the Marathon running, not walking. So, at mile 23 I began running- or whatever you call half limping/half jogging- towards the finish line.

After what felt like forever, I finally rounded the corner onto Santa Monica Boulevard and saw the finish line, and next to it a crowd of people cheering, my mom and dad amongst the crowd. I'm not gonna lie, a tear rolled down my cheek as I crossed the finish line. Whether it was out of pain or pride, I'll never know- but crossing that finish line was one of if not the top five moments in my life and always will be.

A picture of me crossing the finish line!!