Finishing the LA Marathon yesterday was the hardest thing I've ever done in my life. When the race began so did the rain. For 26.2 miles it rained. It was cold... my fingers were numb and they could hardly move. My right leg kept cramping due to the chill, so running for long segments was out of the question...
At mile 10 I was able to meet up with my three friends (Blake, Amy, and my Fiance) who offered me love, gloves, and some snacks to keep me and my partner moving along. We walked through 2 inches of standing water at times, and tried to avoid puddles to no avail. There wasn't a dry spot on anyone and the wind chilled us all to the bone. We thanked the countless volunteers along the way who stood out with us to give us water and oranges... I remember seeing a sign along the way that said, "If your loosing faith in mankind, watch a Marathon" and I couldn't have agreed more...
At mile 15, I got to see my friends again, and I got to meet up with the folks from Child Share. My partner needed to drop out of the race so i hooked up my i-pod for the first time and hit the pavement solo... but after 15 miles of cold, I just couldn't stop knowing there were others from the charity still going, wanting to finish... and besides being wet and cold, I felt okay...their warm smiling faces just propelled me to continue.
Along mile 18 I met a lady named Denise who lives near Riverside... it was her 46th marathon and she claimed it was her worse one to date. I remember telling her that if it wasn't for child share and my poncho, I would have dropped out... we talked for a few blocks about Child Share and what they do, and she's hoping to look up the organization after the race to see how she can help. As I was about to leave Denise and jog a bit to warm my legs, a runner came up to me and asked if I knew I was bleeding...
I was shocked when i looked at the back of my ankle and just saw blood soaking my socks. It looked worse than it was. Because of the rain, the back of my ankles had lost a layer or so of skin right at my sock line... blisters, yes I expected those, but this??? I flagged down a bike medic for a band-aid or something, but he told me it wouldn't stick in the rain and I would have to make it to mile 19 for a quick patch up at the medical station... so i walked and jogged on. At the medical station they taped up my ankle with some gauze, but the medic told me the rain would make it come off eventually, and as i approached mile 20 it was soaked and in shambles, the tape unraveled around my legs.
At mile 20, my friends were there and Blake met me with his fully stocked medical kit (he's a paramedic after all!), and he properly taped up both my feet and we swapped out my socks for dry ones (since i thought to bring an extra pair), I grabbed some food, and emotionally I told them that I had endured to much to stop. I would finish at all costs and I even took an umbrella from my fiance and started walking again with it while I ate my sandwich.
Along mile 23 the umbrella broke from the wind... I got a medical blanket from the station and with tears in my eyes I walked through 3 inches of rain. They closed the roads along some of the course and made us walk 2 by 2 on the sidewalk, but even then it was flooded...
I kept telling myself I was walking for the kids out there that didn't have homes... that didn't have families.... that needed to be loved... I made it to mile 24...
my music resonated loudly in my ears, inspirational upbeat songs i had loaded the night before that i focused on with all I had as I kept pace and passed people by... tearfully I rounded down the final stretch. I saw the finish line and my legs started jogging.... then i had to walk because my leg cramped up.... the wind blew away my emergency blanket.... and with tears in my eyes i crossed the finish line.... I cried as the lady put the medal around my neck and i turned around and looked at the clock.... I knew I had not only finished, but I had beat my previous time despite all odds and injuries.
Only 19,740 people finished the race. Many dropped out due to hypothermia, and they even ran out of ambulances at one point and were putting people in cars to wait for ambulances to return... at times we were even asked to stop so medical personnel could cross through to get to dropped out racers.
I finished in 7 hours, 23 mins, and 28 seconds. I passed 187 people during the last 4.5 miles, while only 16 people passed me. It was the hardest race I've ever run... but it was worth it. I came home and found out that more people had donated to Child Share the day of the race...
Personally, I've raised $1,283.08 for Child Share and you can still help and donate too!
Thanks for all the encouragement, love, and support!
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