This past weekend was the culmination of months of training and work: I ran the Los Angeles Marathon! I’m officially a marathoner. It was a tremendous amount of work, and one of the hardest things I have ever done. It’s also hard to believe that I would have ever attempted this.

I need to give a huge amount of thanks to my run crew, A Tribe Called Run, and our partners at Asics. It was through our partnership with Asics that I, along with 14 others in the crew, were able to run the race. It was an amazing opportunity, and I’m supremely grateful to Will, the Tribe captains, Chris and all the folks at Asics, and everyone in this amazing community.

The Gear

Speaking of Asics, they hooked it up for us. We each received, in addition to entry into the race, three pairs of shoes, and some sick gear. I got the Superblast 3, Gel-Nimbus 28, and Sonicblast. The Superblast were my choice for race day shoes, and man oh man, they are sweet. I absolutely love the feel of these shoes. Light, bouncy, and so much fun to run in.

As for the other two shoes, the Nimbus are the latest version of a model I’m well acquainted with. The Nimbus was the first Asics shoe I fell in love with, and while I think the 28 is a little firmer than previous models, it’s still a solid shoe to run in. Maybe not the most exciting shoe in the world, but I can throw all kinds of miles and training workloads on these.

The Sonicblast, my first experience with a plated shoe, are the ones I have the most mixed feelings on. I only got to get a single run in them before we had to leave, so they probably need some more attention, but that first run was tough. For the first mile, I felt wobbly in one ankle in a way I hadn’t really ever experienced before. As I settled into the shoe it felt more stable, but it definitely threw me off at first. I’m going to work with them more, see how things go.

The Training

I started the training cycle back in late November, after several discussions with Von about the amount of time that the training would involve, and the sacrifice this would be for both of us. The training was always the thing that scared me off of the marathon. Half marathons also take a whole lot of work, but I at least have found that I can train for that distance and not have it disrupt my entire life. From the people I knew who have run 26.2, so much time was devoted to training. Long weekend hours, recovery, cross-training, etc. It’s intimidating! But I, like many runners, wanted to know if I could meet the challenge of that iconic distance. So when we got word that Asics would be providing bibs, I got the itch that this was my chance (having missed out on Tokyo, anyway).

I went with Runna for my training plan, largely thanks to a trial I got through a Strava challenge. For a first timer, I think the plan was fine. I appreciated the structure of the plan; if there’s one thing I love, it’s a structured schedule. The mix of long runs, easy runs, speedwork, and cross-training was always challenging but never pushed me beyond my limits, and if I’m being honest, at times showed me I could go further and faster than I would have thought.

Where I think Runna fell down is being adaptable to Life. Even their “not feeling 100%” function didn’t seem to really meet the mark. Toward the end of the cycle, I started experiencing pain in my upper calf at the end of a long run. I told Runna to dial it back for the week, and in turn it said “sure chief” and had me do 7:00/mi intervals. An actual human coach, I suspect, would have done a bit more to adjust to prevent a more serious injury.

I’m not sure if there’s an ideal time to train for a marathon, but winter sure doesn’t seem to be it. The frigid temps we experienced throughout the months leading up to the race were tough. I learned so much about properly fueling, and how those below-freezing temperatures can impact my running. I managed to complete all but two workouts outdoors, despite everything. It turns out, I hate the treadmill more than just about anything Mother Nature can dish out.

The City

Los Angeles is cool. I know, this is a remarkable and groundbreaking observation. This was only my third time in the city, but I dig it. My previous times were to see AFI perform Sing the Sorrow, and then to Anaheim to run the Disneyland Half Marathon. We stayed with our friend Christine while in town, and she rules. In general, but especially for putting us up, and driving us around the city. She even gave me a ride to the race at 4 in the morning. An ungodly time to be up, for sure. We hit up Disneyland and took our little guy to Cars Land, which was a massive hit.

There was a whole lot of stuff to do leading up to the race. The race expo at Dodger Stadium was well-organized and everything went smoothly, at least while I was there. Got my bib, managed to not spend too much on merch, grabbed as many freebies as I possibly could, and bopped on out of there to meet back up with the family.

The morning before the race, a bunch of us met up with the Silver Lake Track Club, our sister Asics-partner crew out in Los Angeles, for their marathon shakeout run. It was a gorgeous morning for a casual two and a half miles around the lake. We were joined by Olympian Deena Kastor, who was extremely nice to chat with, and generously kept her paces light for us non-medal winners. The folks at SLTC were all really cool and welcoming, and it was nice to get to meet another club.

The Race

Leading up to race day, it became very apparent that the weather would not be on our side. Sunday was going to be a hot one, with highs jumping into the upper 80s, despite the rest of the week being comfortable and low 70s. Not ideal for a race, especially one that was mostly in direct sun. To this end, The McCourt Foundation made the decision that runners would have the option of stopping their race after mile 18, and they would still get the finisher medal. A lot of arguments have happened online about this, but for me, anyone who went out there that morning, got to 18, and decided to stop there made the right decision for them.

So bearing that in mind, I had spent the days leading up to the race adjusting my expectations. Originally I had hoped to finish around 4:10, maybe pushing sub-4 if I was really feeling it. But with the heat, I knew I had to dial it back, pay attention to my body, and run smart. And that helped with the mental game of the race. Being on your feet for that long, just endlessly moving, can be both physically and mentally hard, and I didn’t need the added pressure of an unachievable time goal on top of that. So I reset myself, and planned to just enjoy the experience as much as I could. Take this guided tour of Los Angeles, try and be present as I rolled through the city.

And so loaded up with gels, salt chews, and my trusty hydration pack, I hit the road with thousands of other runners to brave the streets of Los Angeles.

I had some stomach issues early on, which did not help me establish a strong pace before it got too hot, but I was attempting to be mindful of my pace anyway, and not burn out too quickly. I did pass the famed chili dog stand at mile 5-and-a-halfish, but did not partake. I somewhat regret this, ‘cause really, how much worse could adding “vomiting up a hot dog” to my day have been?

The crowds were consistently amazing. All those people standing out in the increasingly hot day to cheer on the thousands of runners out there were so fun and energizing. I loved it. And so much support, handing out water and oranges and all kinds of snacks to help us get through the day. I didn’t really take anything (aside from the Pop-Tarts at mile 10) but the support on display from the city of Los Angeles was beautiful and overwhelming.

For the first ten or so miles, things were good! The heat stayed tolerable, the infamous hills early in the race were certainly present, but nothing I couldn’t handle having trained all over Baltimore; sure that mile 4 hill is something, but have you ever run up Union Ave? C’mon son.

Towards the half marathon mark, the heat started to be an issue. I tried to keep in as much of the shade as I could, but the course is pretty drenched in that California sunshine. I made sure to hit every water stop on the course, loading up on electrolytes and water. Which definitely kept me moving along at a decent pace, all things considered.

Until mile 21, that is.

At mile 21 is when the wheels came off. As much as I had drank, from both my pack and the on-course offerings, dehydration set in, and no matter how much water or electrolytes I took in, I could not feel hydrated. Soreness in my legs was growing, and after mile 23, after kicking it back into gear for a bit, I felt a sharp cramp in my calf. At this point, I knew my marathon was going to finish as my own tribute to the late Jeff Galloway’s run-walk method. I walked, hydrated, and recovered enough to summon one last burst of energy to run down to the finish line in the last point-two.

And so, I finished my first marathon at a respectable 5 hours, 5 minutes, and 9 seconds. I feel good about this. Honestly, I feel really good about this. At mile 21, even as the wall grew near, I got emotional, and if I’d had any spare moisture I might have cried on the course. Not because of the pain, but because at that point, the enormity of what I was doing crashed into me

like a wave. I was running farther than I ever had before. I was mere miles away from completing my first marathon. I hurt, but I knew, without a doubt, that my legs would carry me over that finish line.

I am so thankful to everyone in Tribe, to the people who encouraged me on the long training runs and gave me advice and support. I’m thankful to all the friends who encouraged me. And most importantly, to my family. Von was amazing throughout. As the weeks pushed on, my training runs got longer and longer, and she was such a trooper, handling solo parenting, as well as being unfailingly supportive, even when I was having doubts and concerns. I truly could not have done this without her.

The Jams

You know I was rocking out the whole way, and here’s what played through my 5 hour journey.

Thanks for reading all this, and see you out on the streets.