I completed the Los Angeles Marathon on Sunday! YAY! This was my second LA marathon and my fifth marathon since I started my running endeavors in 2005. Although every marathon is different and each brings unique and special memories, I must say that this one is a race I won’t soon forget!

Los Angeles may have its share of earthquakes and high-speed car chases but the last thing people would expect from this city is a bad weather. Unfortunately, against all odds, the 23-plus thousand people who participated in the Sunday’s race were met with the severe rain and winds, making this race very, very ugly. Just image someone carrying a showerhead and pouring cold water on you for hours while you run! By Mile 4, my clothes and shoes were drenched in cold water, and forget about trying to look cute in front of photographers! All I wanted to do was just put one foot in front of the other and finish the run / walk as quickly as possible, while trying not to slip and fall flat on my face. We should have gotten a medal for finishing a bi-athlon because there was definitely some swimming involved!

Although my latest LA Marathon experience was miserable, that does not mean that I didn’t love the race itself. The course took runners from the Dodger’s Stadium to the Santa Monica Pier with famous landmarks at virtually every mile! My favorite parts were running through Silverlake and checking out restaurants, and hi-fiving cross-dressing cheerleaders in West Hollywood. I am amazed and thankful for the volunteers who came out to provide us water, Gatorade and cheered us on, despite the weather!

This year, I participated in the run with the LA Road Runners, an official LA Marathon running group that helps beginner, intermediate, and advance runners train for the race. My sister also ran with them with the faster group.  There are numerous running groups (from serious runners to recreational walkers) and experienced Pace Leaders lead each group every Saturday for six months. I ran with one of the run / walk groups (Run / Walk 3) and I had an absolute blast. I missed lots of the Saturday long runs but my team members were all wonderful and they truly made this experience the most memorable one! It was truly an amazing experience meeting them and training with them. I will definitely be back next season! Meeting them alone made all the water puddles and muscle cramping during the race all worth it.

I’m not sure what the shelf life is for an excuse “I just ran a marathon” before I have to walk away from junk food but I’m going to use it as long as I can. So far, I’ve had three pieces of Domino’s pizza, Buffalo wings, two cream puffs, and a handful of Nilla Wafers. I will start eating healthy again, but I’m going to milk this for just a little longer.