rematch - la marathon

number 4 is in the books.  i had a rematch with 26.2 in the streets of los angeles on sunday and based on how my legs feel today i might say the streets won.  based on my time i'll call it a tie.

i sat down to write the race report yesterday, started typing and stopped.  i hit delete and went to bed.

i hit delete because the entire post was negative.  the entire post.

the race report on the marathon is short.  the weather was supposed to be rainy, cold, and windy.  in fact, i sat at lunch the day prior talking myself out of even participating.  for those that know me they realize this was never ACTUALLY going to happen but i wanted a buffer in case i crashed and burned.   so i complained, got myself a handicap and prayed to the holy heavens that the wind and rain would not screw up my hopes of doing well.   my coach, said to me before the race "you are not a runner, you are a triathlete"  not a runner?  that is all i've ever known was to be a runner.  in addition, to this new conversation with my coach, i had another conversation with my friend jonathan who mentioned something about boston marathon and qualifying and just like i downplay everything else i think my response was "oh i have no desire to qualify for boston"

so here is what was supposed to happen...

i wasn't supposed to go out like a competitive freak and start the first 6 miles wondering if my garmin was off because there was no way in hell i was running 7:30 miles in a MARATHON! then it wasn't supposed to be perfect running conditions with blue skies and minimal wind.   i wasn't supposed to look up in a sea of 25,000 at the start line and happen to be standing literally right next to jonathan who i left 20 minutes prior.  for the record, i also wasn't supposed to catch up to him running through echo park.  it was a bitter sweet moment because as much as my competitive drive was excited to be up there with the 3:25 pace group i knew i had no business being there that early in the game.  for the life of me i couldn't slow down, i knew i had to, i knew it was going to break me later in the course but i couldn't do it. so i kept moving and then we hit beverly hills.  i knew only one persons exact location on the course and it was that of my awesome friend, jackie glenn.  she is an athlete herself and always a support system for me while running.  she mentioned she would be outside of neimann.  i looked for her with as much excitement as i search for joe joe's at Christmas time in Trader Joes.  i needed something to keep me going.  i saw her i think before she even saw me and i screamed "jackie!"  i got the push i needed for another few miles.

and then it hit me.  oddly enough right outside of my old office.  that sure as hell wasn't supposed to happen either.

there comes a time when you are out there on the course that you start to question everything.  you question your ability.  your reason for being  there. you have a mind set of what is supposed to happen.

but as with anything in life, we need to learn to adapt.  so i beat myself up yesterday for being on track for a 3:30 or even a 3:40 and dropping to a finish of 3:55.  and i'll take it. it's still a PR (new york was 3:58)  and like many things these past few years.  nothing was SUPPOSED to happen, but it did.  and that is why i'm now a triathlete.

oh and my boston qualifier?  its 3:40 which i googled just as soon as i got home that night.  i'm thinking i'll see beantown in 2013.