Marathon #2- Los Angeles Marathon
Los Angeles, CA
March 17, 2024
Background: Back in high school, I had an interest in the longer distances but was really restricted for 5K at the most or 10 miles at the Blessing of the Fleet. I felt I generally ran better the longer I went and enjoyed it more. I had decent speed, but my real strength was just grinding over a longer distance. I always knew one day I wanted to do a marathon and hopefully would be pretty good at it.
My marathon goals would have to wait until after college. I graduated and finished out my career as an NCAA/attached athlete in May 2022. It made sense to get comfortable with the half distance first so I spent a year to try to run well in the half marathon. My major race of the fall went well at Philadelphia, running a low 1:11. I wasn't as successful in the spring at Pittsburgh as I faded to a 1:13 but knew my fitness was in a good spot.
After moving to Southern California in August 2023, I knew I'd want to run Los Angeles as it would be a local race. I ended up doing my debut marathon at Honolulu in December. When I signed up for this, it was really with the goal of getting adjusted to the marathon distance and then go after it at Los Angeles with one under my belt. But my training went fantastic in the fall as I ran 1:10 in the half marathon twice. I decided to go after it in Honolulu, which didn't so great as I never felt that great and faded quite a bit in the second half.
I felt a little disappointed as I wanted to be great at the marathon, but chalked most of it up to inexperience and heat. But there were no excuses in round two- I wanted to be much better in Los Angeles.
Training: I thought part of the reason my fall block had been great training-wise was I had a lot of time to prepare. I essentially started hard work with the Blessing of the Fleet 10 Mile in late July, giving myself a full 4.5 months or so to get ready for Honolulu. This allowed me to space out my training and I had plenty of time to race, get in long runs and still have down weeks where I only did a medium long runs or even went on trails instead.
Coming off Honolulu, I had a much shorter amount of time to train for Los Angeles. I called it a 12 week block, starting after I allowed myself to properly recover but this was really 10-11 weeks of training as the first few weeks were just getting used to running again. I knew I was not ready to go 10-11 weeks into the Honolulu block, so I was a little nervous this wouldn't be enough time to get in shape.
I was much stronger for having done all that work in the fall and my hope was that while I'd have less time to train, maybe I could get in similar shape to Honolulu as I'd be stronger the second time around. I never expected to exceed my Honolulu fitness on the shorter block, but be in similar shape and just race smarter in better weather.
I was completely wrong about this- I ended up being going into Los Angeles in much better shape than Honolulu. The training block almost went perfectly. I hit every single workout and long run either I where I wanted to be or faster. Running 100% of workouts well has been a fantasy for me in the past, I've never come close to that and typically will have a bad workout every 2-3 weeks where I'm just not myself. Not this time around. I finished every single workout of this block, and nearly all of them in really great times. The major two long runs were in February, and I was very far ahead and feeling better than those same long runs in October/November. Fitness would be not be a concern going into this marathon.
The single chip in the block was my half marathon. I had crushed both in the fall and while I did have some bad workout/LRs then, I was confident that my races had gone well. Here I had big goals at Rock n Roll Las Vegas- I thought could break 1:10 and maybe even 1:09. I was in phenomenal shape. Instead I was totally overcooked and my legs had no response in the second half, completely bombing the race.
Suddenly I wasn't so confident. I had overtrained and there was no guarantee I'd be fresh going into the marathon. I still felt great about my fitness and training, but there were high stakes going into this one. I didn't run well in my first marathon and didn't have any races this block that I'd be satisfied with alone (I needed my fitness to shine in this last race, or I'd feel I left it in training). I got myself to the starting line healthy. I'd see over the next 26.2 miles if I was ready to go.
Expo/Pre-Race:
Two days before, I drove into Los Angeles and picked up my packet at Dodger Stadium. The expo was absolutely massive, definitely bigger than any I've been to. There was a lot of confusion as to whether I was in the pro corral or elite. I ended up being put in the elites, but after the race I realized I should have been in the pro section. This would have made a significant difference as the pro tent was huge, had their own bathrooms and gear check while the elite tent was tiny and you'd still have to wait in the regular bathrooms/wait in line for gear check. Fortunately I was able to talk to one of the lead organizers who my Dad had met, and he gave me access to the better tent. I guess I should have had this regardless, but these people were very nice to me and made sure all my questions got answered.
The expo took most of the day and I sat in a lot of traffic, so I'm glad I was able to do that two days out.
The day before was empty. Felt a little weird staying in my own apartment for a major race as every half/full I've done I was in a hotel the day before. Got in my pre-race feeling good but still worried about overtraining.
Day of the race. Alarm went off 2:55AM. Slept horribly, but that rarely ever matters. Normally I'd get up 3 hours before the race- so this would be 4AM but I had to drive to the finish line and then take a shuttle to the start. I did this and it was fairly easy. The guy next to me on the bus was fairly chatty, a little more so than I'd like. Got over to the pro/VIP tent just after 5AM and just waited there.
As for the tent, this is the best treatment I've gotten for a major race. For big races, sometimes I got preferential treatment for my times (Philly, RocknRoll) and sometimes I didn't (Pittsburgh, Honolulu). But while it was nice to have a separate corral at the front and easier access to those corrals, that was the end of special treatment. Otherwise you had to wait in line for bathrooms, security check, gear check like everyone else. Not here. The VIP tent was filled with chairs, tables, and was heated. They had their own gear check in the tent so you didn't have to wait in line and go away from the start line to check your stuff. There was free water and snacks. There was a big area with rollers where you could stretch/roll out. And they had separate port-a-potties within the tent that there was never a line for. There was security at the entrance so no one unauthorized could get in. So I was able to leave my stuff there and go warm-up which was really nice. The guy I sat next to on the bus was also in the tent which was a funny coincidence and he sat next to me.
I sat around and relaxed until 6am and went for a one mile warmup shuffle. My calf had been tight all week and was still tight. I felt pretty good otherwise. Used the bathroom a bit more, rolled out and changed into race gear/checked it. The organizers I had met at the expo were super nice and helped me out with a bunch of this stuff. I actually lost my wristband that I needed to get into the tent around this time and that was the only stress I had during the morning. But once I was in race gear I stopped worrying about it as I wouldn't need to get back into the tent. I spent a lot of time on the toilet beforehand, always an annoying race day thing. Did a few strides and then had very easy access to the elite corral as they just opened up the fence and you didn't have to weave through anyone. The weather for this one would be pretty much perfect- 49 and no wind. Quite a change from the original forecast a week out predicting 64 at the start. The course challenge would be that it's quite hilly.
The Race: I stood around sipping my water bottle and felt relaxed at the line. They allowed us to start directly behind the pros. There were only 5 or so actual pro runners and then 15 or so other guys which made me feel like I should have been in the top corral. They had Rai Benjamin in the booth next to us speak which was cool. At 6:55, I was prepared to relax for 5 more minutes at the 7am start and then they just counted us down from 5 suddenly and we were off. Really glad I wasn't tying my shoes and I had my watch ready as we were supposed to start at 7. I ended up starting with my water bottle and throwing it to the side as I wasn't going to put it away until a few minutes before.
It wasn't quite light out as we started running across the parking lots of dodger stadium. While the first few miles would have quite a bit of downhill, we actually had a 50' uphill before leaving the stadium. I was breathing a little hard on a this and was momentarily concerned but just forgot about it. Course is somewhat similar to Boston with an overall net downhill but still lots of uphill (1,000' uphill, 1,200' downhill). I heard a few guys ahead of me talk about being from Ventura and wanting to go out in 1:15. I wanted to be conservative and smart and hit 1:16 through half, then hold it together for at least 1:18 return (2:34). So I had no problem letting these guys go. Left Dodger stadium and took the right onto Sunset Boulevard, which much of the race would go on. This was mile one, which my GPS had me in 5:30. Definitely a touch aggressive. It felt super easy but I had to be patient. I felt I eased off the effort a bit in the second mile, but there was a lot of downhill. Despite being so early in the race, I pretty much was already in no man's land. I latched onto another guy for a brief period but decided he was going too fast. It would be light out for the rest of the race but not sunny until much later. The part through was enjoyable- felt great and lots of crowd support. Hit Mile 2 in 5:35, although effort was probably appropriate given this was the biggest downhill mile of the race. Felt truly easy here although I kept telling myself to slow down and try to lock in on a 1:16 first half before doing any racing. Lots of turns in this section of Downtown L.A. Not the most appealing either, as there were tents on the sidewalks, homeless guys drinking and stumbling around in the streets, and plenty of trash. Also multiple people on megaphones talking about jesus. Probably one of the uglier sections I've raced in on roads. Kept the pace pretty much right in the mid-5:30s range for a flat mile and hit the 5K in 17:36. Ahead of schedule as I was looking for 18:00, maybe 17:45 at the fastest. I thought maybe I felt amazing the first 5K and I'd settle into 5:45s now.
Mile 4 was another flat mile and I didn't slow down as I thought I would. This was the only mile of the day that would get anywhere near tall buildings, but we never ran through the skyscrapers. There was a short steep hill just after the 4 mile, and this felt hard, plus my legs got heavy. I was worried things were already coming part but I kept a good pace up the hills and after cresting it, I felt relaxed/easy once again. I maintained that pace for the most part despite 5 and 6 being quite a bit hillier. Went past a nice park at the 10K mark in 35:12. Now I was way ahead of schedule, about a full minute. I clearly wasn't able to get to goal pace as it felt so easy so at this point, I decided to just stay on the same effort and whatever happens, happens.
For the next 8 miles, the course went on long straightways in the general hollywood area. There were few turns, and also few steep ups and downs. That said, there weren't a lot of flat sections either, just constant slight inclines/declines. Never enough of a decline to provide a big boost but not enough of an incline to throw off the rhythm either. This was the part of the race where I just tried to relax, keep an even effort and get myself to the halfway point. After seeing pretty much only mid-5:30s up to this point, I would now have the occasional 5:40s in there, which was totally fine as I was ahead of pace. The electrolyte drink tasted really sweet so I didn't have much of it until later in the race. I can't describe much about the course changes as it was just a long stretch of generic hollywood that wasn't very interesting to me. Around Mile 8, which is where things started to get significantly harder for me at Honolulu, I was thinking about how great I felt and the potential to have a really good day. At the very least, my fears of being overtraining and feeling terrible early were unfounded. Then I started to have to another concern- some stomach discomfort and the feeling I had to poop. It wasn't urgent so I just continued running and tried not to worry about it. I'd pass gas and feel better. 15K in 53:03 and got through mile 10 on my watch just over 56 (probably around 57 officially) which seemed crazy to me as I was probably around 59 at Honolulu. I knew I had botched the pacing for this one, but if I could hold on, I could run 2:32-2:34 which was my goal range. But there was definitely the question of when/if things would get really ugly from running so quick early on.
I was also feeling good about how quickly and easy 10 miles went by, especially ahead of pace. I remember miles 9 and 10 really dragged in honolulu and I couldn't comprehend having so much left when things already felt tough. I caught my first straggler of the race who was slightly slowing. There were groups doing rides and runs, but would stay off the side and weren't in the way, also got some cheers. Generally, there were groups cheering here or there but so far no super loud sections. After running solo and too fast for the majority of the race so far, I decided to tuck in behind this guy. I'd benefit from a slight slowdown and not setting the pace myself, plus there was a slight headwind. That lasted only a minute as the guy was running much slower, around 6:00 pace and this was too slow to stay with. Passing him was the right decision given how quickly I dropped him. Switched from hollywood boulevard back to sunset when I started having stomach issues again. This time, I definitely had to go. I ran for another half mile or so and saw zero port-a-potties which was concerning. I was starting to think I was going to have a complete meltdown and have to go in pants/the street or just drop out to avoid the humiliation. This was a really disappointing development going from feeling amazing and thinking I had at least 3-4 miles of that to now having to deal with this. Even if I made to the port-a-potty, surely stopping and going again would not feel good on the legs. At the next aid station I yelled out asking where the next bathroom was, and they gave me good info (two blocks up on the right) when I was half expecting them to have no idea. Unfortunately the bathrooms were on the sidewalk. I went in and out as quick as possible and took the 5 seconds to wipe as chafing could cost me a lot more than 5 seconds later on. It felt like 5 seconds to me but strava has the elapsed/moving time difference at 14 seconds. Still, not bad. I made the mistake of unintentionally surging out of the bathroom to get back on track and found myself running low 5:20s for a little bit. I definitely felt heavier, but the effort still felt mostly relaxed running ahead of pace. Glad to get that out of the way. 20K in 1:10:37 and while there was no half marathon marker, I believe I was around 1:14:30.
I had never thought about a sub-2:30 going into this race with the hills and now I was on pace. I thought about how amazing that would be, but it was very unlikely that I'd run the second half under 16 and still a long way to go. I'd be really happy to hold it together enough for 2:32-2:34. I had my GUs at mile 7, 14, and 21. Not sure what the best strategy is for that, or whether it's worth it to take a 4th one. I remember really struggling to take these when I started with half marathons in 2022 and now it's really no problem at all as I don't even slow down. I tried a little harder to get in my electrolytes. Really only 2-3 ounces per cup so I can see how the pros having bottles could be a big boost. But I never felt dehydrated or thirsty. I continued to feel great through 16 for the most part, definitely some quad heaviness at this point but still felt very relaxed. This was a great sign after only making it through 8 with good legs at Honolulu. I'm not really into Hollywood and downtown was just gross, so this part through Beverly hills was the only part of the course I actually thought looked pretty nice. There were some tight turns and it was nice to catch a guy who went out just ahead of me and then was out of sight- means I at least paced better than him. After being in no man's land from mile 1 to 17, I now would see runners ahead every mile or two for the rest of the race. Somewhere around 16-17, my legs just went and I suddenly was feeling a lot heavier. Really heavy strained quads and the race was no longer enjoyable. Very likely related to going out too quick. But despite the effort feeling much more forced, my pace remained the same. I made through 30K in 1:45:51, 5:41 average. Still well under my 2:32 goal. The last 8 miles would be an OAB from the finish in century city to brentwood and return. I knew that would be really depressing doing a long OAB at this stage of the race, and it was mentally tough passing the finish still having 8 to go. I got myself through 19 and 20 still on a great pace and even passed a few more people. While pushing through the muscular fatigue was difficult, it was really comforting that I was still running 5:40 pace or faster despite feeling like I was running a lot slower. I told myself to get to 35K and the turnaround, that was the next step. I certainly didn't feel like thinking about the return portion right now.
I had long wondered when this great run of energy and fast pace would end, and mile 20 was my answer. The marathon has always been said to have two halves: the first 20 miles and the last 10K. That's exactly how I experienced this one. As if on cue, right around the 20 mile mark, I suddenly felt a lot weaker and a lot slower. My pace dropped to 6:00 flat as it felt like I was jogging. I knew I only had two miles to the turnaround and at least some of the uphills now would be downhills on the way back. I ran right around 6 flat for the next few miles, getting myself through the crucial 35K mark in 2:04:00, 5:42 pace and the turnaround. I was able to have a slight distractions watching faster running come the other way, but there was a lot of pain at this point and I was giving up time now. Sub-2:30 was well gone, but would I run 2:31? 2:32? 2:35? Made the turnaround and while it wasn't a cone turnaround (divided road), this was tough and it took me a minute or so to get back to 6:00 pace. I passed a guy who looked like he was pretty much limping. Went through 23 miles. Just over 5K to go, but mentally and physically such a struggle at this point. I had felt very weak at mile 21 when taking the gel, and while I marginally better after, there was definitely was no second wind as I've had in previous races. I still felt horrible. It was hard to fathom running another 3 miles without having a complete breakdown.
I knew all I had to do was get to the finish in my current effort/form and the great race was complete. Made one of the major turns and despite not being uphill, I just totally crashed. Went from feeling weak running 6:00 pace to feeling like complete death. Suddenly nothing in the tank, now running close to 6:40 pace feeling like I was jogging. I didn't know how I would get another 3 miles done. And even if I did, I was about to run 8 minute miles and end up running close to 2:40, or even over. Running over 10 minute miles or walking seemed like a possibility at this point. All this hard work and a great race undone because I went too fast too early. Probably the darkest moment in my race history for me. This was the wall.
I made it over that hill and even though it felt like 12 minute pace, I was still running 6:40 or faster. The good news for me was the next mile was 75 foot downhill. I don't remember the mile but I managed to run a sub-6 with the downhill despite feeling absolutely atrocious. Now just a mile to go. Unfortunately uphill. That last mile was pure agony. No more turns, just an endless straightaway with lots of uphill. I'd tell myself to get to the next traffic light. When I got to the next one, the finish wasn't in sight. So get to the next traffic light. Don't check your watch because it'll just be disappointment. I tried to do calculations and I thought I could break 2:33. That was always the A goal and I really wanted to get to the finish line before it hit 2:33. The crowd support was amazing the entire last OAB 8 miles, but I was too delirious for it to really help. I crested another hill and could see the finish. It felt like an eternity to get there, but the numbers read 2:32 when I crossed.
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| Screenshot/proof of my 2:32:35 (rounded to 36 elsewhere) |
Post Race: Results. I was a mess after finishing, but managed to not fall over. It was really rough walking through the finish chute, as it was quite long as I had to carry a bunch of stuff. I wasn't even that happy because I was so depleted. There was a bunch of a snacks there but pretty much no "real" food. Wasn't super impressed with the finisher's medal, Honolulu's was much nicer. Got myself to the parking garage only for the elevators to be out of service. But surprisingly I made it up the stairs without too much pain. Walking around the rest of the day, I noticed I was definitely less trashed than Honolulu.
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Lots of 17:40-17:50s, then 19:03 between 35K and 40K. 6:58 pace for the last 2K which seems a little off (probably closer to 6:30)?
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Reflections: Ended up 24th place of 20,000+. The biggest race I've done. I expected to finish probably around 30th or so. Very, very pleased with both place and time. This was a big goal race for a long time and it was great to get redemption from Honolulu as I knew I was a lot better than 2:39. Definitely slayed a mental demon coming off disappointments at Honolulu and Las Vegas. Both I had concerns that I wasn't doing the right things, maybe needed to get a coach, wasn't built for the marathon, etc. But to come out here and hit my A goal, which I rarely hit due to high standards meant a lot. I had signed up San Francisco (July) a month earlier and I was expecting to wait for 2:32 there. I thought most likely I'd probably run 2:34 here, leave happy but not fully satisfied and then try to really crush SF. But now I was leaving with the 2:32, and clearly I can do well on a hilly course. I felt like I don't even need to run SF. The hills on this course were definitely a challenge, but not as much of a challenge as the heat at Honolulu.
On the whole, this was an A+ race. Tactically, I absolutely made some mistakes but had the fitness to hold on. It's nice for low 2:30s to be a reality and not a fantasy anymore. Also given that I can improve my pacing and the similarities of the course to Boston, I feel much more confident about achieving my goal of sub-2:30 at Boston 2025.
Room for Improvement: The major mistake I made here was a repeat of Honolulu's- too fast too early. Patience is key in the marathon and banking time is never the way to go. My goal was 2:32 and while I achieved that, I shouldn't have been running 2:29-2:30 pace for the majority of the race. This wasn't intentional, I was in fantastic shape and fresh so the pace felt too easy to go any slower. But I need to practice that more in the future, locking in on goal pace and not chopping off 5-10s/mile. This was a little different from Honolulu, where I felt I made unnecessary surges past people rather than keeping the effort even. Probably could have run 2:31 and not gone through hell the last 10K with even pacing.
I think there's room for the improvement in the training block- obviously I shouldn't be bombing my tune up and then feeling heavy until race day, but I knew this was a risk of the shorter training block and it all worked out in the end. I don't expect those issues again as I can space things out with a full block.
I also thought I did fueling better at Honolulu. Not a huge issue as it wasn't hot here, but I should have tried to take more electrolytes early.
Future Marathons:
The next two marathons will be San Francisco July 28th and Boston April 21st 2025. I don't really need to run SF and it will probably won't be fun training in the summer heat. But the timing of it means I should do well coming off this and have plenty of time to prepare. It's also really hilly and doing a third marathon/block will likely only increase my odds of a great race at Boston. Plus I'd like to race it while I'm out in California and drive up to it. Then Boston 2025 is the big goal race. Probably one of the biggest races of the me of the entire decade, at least so far. If I can run under 2:30, I'll feel good about that and L.A. makes me feel like I have a good chance.
As for the event, I thought the marathon was just okay. I don't really care for much of L.A. or hollywood, so I feel like this is a gimmick course for people who want to run past that stuff. I also despised the long OAB at the end. That being said, the elite treatment I received plus free entry was fantastic. Really made the start easy and stress free, especially given 20,000 people. It's interesting how these starts are sometimes a complete free for all and other times like this one, it's really well managed for the faster athletes. I'd definitely place this above Honolulu given that race's organization issue. The two things I liked more at Honolulu were the finish area and finish medal.
That's a wrap on Los Angeles. Great to get in a "local" marathon and do well at it. Really satisfied with the jump forward, especially coming off overtraining and a bad race. Onto San Francisco.
