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!!

I DID IT!!!!!! So this Sunday was the La Marathon, and I finished all 26.2 miles of it! :) I'm going to go through race day with you guys:


Saturday, day before the race:


I went to the LA Expo where I had to pick up my race number, my chip and the bag they gave me. In the bag there were several fliers and handouts advertising future races (some of which I might complete!) and some snacky things like granola clusters, peanut butter (it was all natural, so it was particularly sticky and thick). Unfortunately it was raining during the Expo so I did not have time to look at all of the booths. However, the booths ranged from selling shoes, clothes, food, plaques, etc...

The LA Expo... As you can see, it was raining quite heavily!

Me with my packet :)

100% chance of rain. That was all everyone was saying on the TV and radio. So, my mom and I went to Sport Chalet and got some gear for me, including a poncho and extra socks. When I got home, I frantically googled "What to wear to a marathon when it is raining" and "how to run a marathon in the rain." I was extremely nervous because all I could think about was getting soaked and getting hypothermia.


The night before I had a very carb-y dinner including chicken pesto pasta, potatoes and TONS of water. It went to bed very early, hoping that it wouldn't rain.


Day of the Marathon:


I woke up at 4 o'clock in the morning. Let's just say I'm definitely not a morning person. I thought that getting up at 5:30 for club volleyball tournaments was murder- but this! Anyway, it took me a good hour and half to officially wake up- after getting dressed and eating. Everything I wore was water wicking- aside from my headband and baseball hat.

My parents dropped me off at around 6:00 and I felt so lost. I followed the masses and ended up sitting in one of the stadium seats waiting for the race line up to start. Everyone there looked so athletic and professional that I couldn't help feeling a little bad about myself. After about an hour or so of sitting in the cold, trying to warm myself up (especially after I stupidly dropped my gloves and lost them...) I started to make my way towards the starting line. For those of you who are unfamiliar with marathons, they have sections for mile times, ranging from 5 minutes to 15 minutes. I bonded with the people around me and made 3 new friends! YAY!

View from where I was- the sun is just about to rise

To be continued....

This is an old post, sorry.

It's less than a week until the marathon! AAHHHH!!!!! Time goes by so fast! So far I have jogged about 4 to 6 miles every day this week. It's been a lot easier to run for long distances- I've kind of gotten used to it. I can definitely tell the days when I can only run 4 miles, they usually begin with me not getting enough sleep or not eating a good breakfast. I just need to find the perfect balance of not eating too much or too little before I run. Recently I tried Gatorade's "G-Series Prime" and found that it increased my energy a little- but it was a little too salty/ sickly sweet for my taste.

I have also been keeping up my lent fast (avoiding desserts) and this has made me feel a little less sluggish- although I've had an EXTREME craving for Nutella. I've also continued my spin classes every Thursday- a very good workout! 

Here is one of my friend and my favorite songs to spin to- it kind of has an 80s-ish sound to it. 

My oh my it's been a long time! Unfortunately my second semester of senior year is not going exactly how I had pictured it (no homework, plenty of time to sleep and run) but I have been super busy lately!!! Anyway, I'm not going to bore you with listing out each day and how many miles I have run so I am just going to say the general statement of: "I have been running." Haha


Last time I posted I had not run 6 miles yet and slowly but surely I did run 6 miles and have started to run 6 miles more often!! The first time I ran twice around the 3mile loop at the Rose Bowl, I was struggling (understandably). However, it must have been my lucky day because as I was running the last stretch of my first lap (or 3rd mile) a nice gentleman said: "Don't give up! You can do it!" Needless to say, this helped motivate me more. On my 5th mile, I passed him again- except this time he responded with a "You go girl!" and a high five. That made my year. I felt like Forrest Gump.

Speaking of Forrest Gump, I thought I'd share a funny (and semi-inspirational) clip from the movie Forrest Gump, so here you go!

"I just felt like running" ~Forrest Gump

Hey! So here is a belated recap of last Wednesday through Saturday.

On Wednesday I did my regular 3 miles around the Rose Bowl. On Thursday I didn't go running, but I did a little of cross training. I went to a spin class! It was a bit weird at first, mostly because I was the youngest person there by about 10 years I would say, and also because the only times I have ridden a bicycle were for leisure and not for exercise. I had a really tough instructor who put a huge emphasis on the "climbs", or times when you have to get up off the seat and pedal...it was pretty tough. However, the class was very engaging because of the motivational music and constant need to add or remove resistance. Needless to say, my legs were pretty numb and sore afterwards, so I didn't go running on Friday.

On Saturday I went running 3 miles around the Rose Bowl again and would have gone running this (Sunday) morning if it had not been for the countless signs for the Pasadena Marathon today that reminded me to steer clear. Instead, I went walking/ jogging around my neighborhood! This week I hope to increase my running to two laps (6 miles) around the Rose Bowl. Wish me luck!