Iron News Man - LA Marathon Edition
Iron News Man
"It's not so important who starts the game but who finishes it." John Wooden
I would run the new LA Marathon course again in a heartbeat! I love it! Based on my years of covering the race for KNBC-TV and now running it, I’m convinced the new LA Marathon is going to be a big hit for years to come!
My finish time was 3:51:42. That’s one of my slowest marathon times (I’ve done five of them). Still, I competed in the 40-44 age group (I’m 40) and finished 240th out of 1490 men. Not bad. I could have done better, and I think I have an idea of two areas where I can improve. The first is the most obvious; I weighed 10 pounds less when I set my personal marathon record time of 3:43. Also, fueling became an issue and I didn’t realize it until I ate orange slices late in the race and felt my body come alive again. Lesson learned. I’m not the least bit disappointed; again I love this new racecourse!
Pacing the Students Run LA group for the first half of the race went well too. Coach Craig Moss of the Mount Gleason Runners entrusted me with helping to lead the 3:40 pace group for the first half of the marathon. I thought I had done a poor job until he met me almost exactly at the 13-mile mark. I breathed a sigh of relief because I didn’t want to let him, or the kids down. A few were slightly ahead of me, and a few were slightly behind me. Perfect!
Okay, now for the whining. More Porta Potties at the race start next year please. Watching men and women scramble to the hills surrounding Dodger Stadium because the lines were too long was not a pretty sight! Also, much, much too congested at the race start. The sub-4 hour race corral was not policed well enough and it over-filled with slower runners who made the race start and first mile tougher. Just a few of my thoughts.
You can check out my race stats and see where the first half of the marathon I did well and was actually on pace to beat my personal record time. Those same stats show that in the last 10 miles I faded. So taking the lessons of this race (mentioned above) and applying them to my next marathon will be key to my continued growth.
The Wildflower Triathlon (Long Course) becomes my new focus. It’s one of the most challenging and rewarding races in America according to those who have been-there-done-that. I’ve continually preached about having a goal beyond the goal. Wildflower is one heck of a goal!
Today there will be no training. I get a day off. Tomorrow I hit the pool to assist in my LA Marathon recovery and to start preparing for Wildflower.
Remember Monkey Bars? Well they’re not just for kids! Be sure to click on today’s Wakeup Workout Video to see Certified Trainer Jeff Bomberger demonstrate how to get a great upper body workout from the Monkey Bars!
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-Chris
My race schedule (so far) for 2010:
13.1 Los Angeles (Half) Marathon
Students Run LA Friendship Run
Wildflower Triathlon (long course)
Ironman World Championships????
Why blog? To inspire others.
Simply put, three years ago I was overweight! At 6’1” I weighed 252, and wore size 40 pants. Few people really noticed, but I did. In pictures, on TV, I was not happy with my appearance. Covering the 2007 LA Marathon for NBC4 was the last straw. Every picture I was in highlighted just how out of shape I had become.
No more! Since that time, the guy who could barely run around the block has slowly built-up his endurance and completed numerous events. Among the big ones: the 2008 Long Beach International Marathon , 2009 & 2010 Surf City Marathons in Huntington Beach, 2009 & 2010 LA Marathons, 2009 Vineman Ironman 70.3, and 2009 Ironman Arizona!
I invite you to share this journey with me.
