Badass Women Run Marathons - My LA Marathon 2021

Here I am, in LA, it's been 4 whole days since I finished my 2nd marathon in 4 weeks. This is already a hard post for me to write, it was a hard marathon for me.

I signed up for LA marathon 2021 almost a year ago, in hopes to run it as a trial marathon before Chicago 2021. Covid had other plans, and the marathon ended up being rescheduled for November, a month after Chicago, the same day as New York.

Not going to lie, mentally, this was a very tough marathon for me. It shouldn't have been, but it was. Going into the race I already had a Boston Qualifying time, what more could I want/need? There was a voice in the back of my head telling me I need a 3:15:00 to qualify for NYC, realistically I knew I wasn't going to pull it off, not in the hills of LA.

I did one last Chicago run Wednesday morning, looking for any and all hills I could find in South Loop (ended up running up and down the hill in front of Shedd Aquarium 5 times and running the bike path behind Soldier Field) and headed for O'Hare.

Sam and I arrived in LA on Wednesday afternoon. I wanted to get used to the weather and get one or two runs in locally before the race. I did a 10 miler on Thursday along Ballona Creek, ran all the way to the beach to see the ocean. That was my only pre-race run.

Friday we headed to the Dodger Stadium to the Expo, and I absolutely loved it! Outdoors, smaller than Chicago, amazing vendors, and so many goodies. I am definitely turning into the expo junkie. A few pleasant discoveries at the expo:

• Tone It Up (also were at the Chicago Expo) - amazing protein bars and shakes, and don't skip the cookies!

• Mega Food vitamins and supplements - these guys have turmeric gummies! I cannot emphasize this enough! I will definitely be ordering more of those.

• Nudge coffee bombs! These are my perfect dessert! I have been snacking on those all week post marathon.

• Repreve recycled socks! Each sock is made with plastic from 1 water bottle.

• Electrolit - great drink before the race. Anything with electrolytes - highly recommend. I start drinking electrolyte water a week before the race, especially if I know the weather is going to be hot.

• Qure water - electrolyte infused water! Amazing thirst quencher. I ended up filling one of the bottles with Liquid IV and carrying it on the course through mile 19! It is a skinnier bottle, which makes it easy to hold.

• Your Super - mixes to fulfill any runner's need, I am yet to try the kinds I picked up at the expo, I liked what I tasted, so I will definitely report back via IG.

• Air Relax recovery boots - thank you for 15 minutes of bliss! I am on the market for air compression boots, and definitely liked these ones. I will report back once I end up with a pair of my own.

Saturday flew by and before I knew it, it was 3:45 am on a Sunday morning. Time to head over to Century City and catch the shuttle to Dodger Stadium. I was tired after a sleepless night, way less hype than I was before Chicago, but I had my outfit laid out from the night before. I checked my marathon list, ate a bowl of Cheerios and was on my way.

According to LA Times there were about 13000 runners this year. The number one benefit of running a smaller marathon are shorter bathroom lines. I got off the shuttle, used the restroom and found my way to my corral. I had about an hour before the start. Luckily, my running group was actively messaging and chatting (thank goodness for 2 hour difference). The hour flew by and soon I was on my way.

I started the race without a strategy or purpose. I felt a bit lost, I knew there weren't going to be as many spectators along the route, especially the first few miles, so I turned on my liked songs playlist on Spotify and started my running tour of LA.

My friend Sarah was going to be around mile 7 in Echo Park/Silver Lake area, I had plenty of time before I had to start keeping an eye out for her.

I was pleasantly surprised by the crowd and the cheering! There were drums, singers, bands, Elvis! So many fun signs (My favorite of all and the title of this post - Badass women run marathons). My second favorite sign - Run! Nobody walks in LA!

If you know me, and run with me, you are well aware that I don't look at my watch/pace when I run. Around mile 13 was when I started thinking - I can slow down, heck I can walk for a little, it's not going to hurt me. And then another thought - No, walking is not an option. That became my mantra for the next half of the race - Walking is not an option.

Sam met me at mile 18, he had a few bottles with Liquid IV and asked if I needed any. I waved him off, I still had some left in my bottle and by then I was grabbing water from the aid stations and pouring it on my head to cool off.

Mile 19 was exceptionally hard, because I could see the finish line. You see, the course was brand new this year, and instead of going all the way to Santa Monica, the organizers created a turn around. As much as everyone seemed to hate on that, it actually helped me better understand the hills, slopes and basically coming up with a strategy to finish strong.

Mile 20 or so I grabbed a Kirkland water bottle from a boy along the course, that water saved me! I have a hard time drinking from paper cups, I was out of Liquid IV, and this water bottle was everything (drinking and cooling off!!!)! I hope he heard me thanking him.

Around mile 22 I took my Ibuprofen and Katsuo Stamina supplement (also took 30 minutes before the race), tried and failed at applying my own Biofreeze and kept going.

The last mile I broke my no looking at my watch rule, I wasn't looking at my pace though. I was looking at the mileage and telling myself to keep going. I crossed the finish line, heard my name announced and broke down crying. I couldn't believe I did it, I couldn't believe I finished. The mental battle was unreal!

I immediately dropped my water bottle in front of a volunteer who was asking for my name. Got my medal, my foil blanket and called Sam. Based on the time I finished, I knew I did well. That was Sam's first words to me - You beat your Chicago time! How? I have no idea.

After the race Sam was showing me pictures he was able to take of me at the finish line (one more benefit of LA Marathon - spectators are allowed at the finish line and the finisher festival), he said there was a girl in the crowd cheering for me. It melted my heart. Thank you, stranger, and thank you all badass women running, cheering and inspiring me to get going!

3:21:45. 3rd in my age group! Thanks for a good time, LA!