A Case of the Runs

EVENT:  Los Angeles Marathon  XXVIII DATE: Sunday, March 17, 2013 LOCATION: Los Angeles, CA RACE BEGAN: 7:30 AM FINISH TIME: 04:49:45 Since I've done this race six times now (this entry, 2012 , 2011 , 2010 , 2008 , and 2007 ... whew!!), I am going to reflect rather than talk about course details, which you can catch... maybe... in my past recaps. Compared to last year's solid finish in this race, I am pretty disappointed with my performance in the LA Marathon this year -- particularly because I had actually been putting in some legitimate training.  I can't really pinpoint what happened -- recent illnesses , new routines, etc.? -- but when it comes to races, it sometimes just comes down to random little things that can negate weeks of training. Or, I guess it was an unlucky 13(th marathon) for me. First of all, I guess I was out of it.  Even after having this photo snapped of me at the expo, I failed to notice that I was not in a seeded corral, like I ...

This post is dedicated to the LA Marathon , which is less than a week away tomorrow (took too long to get this post live, so hmmm)!  Having skipped my last long run last weekend, I definitely have some anxiety. I don't know how tomorrow will go.  I feel like I've been on a "how to fail" marathon regimen, going something like this: 1) Get sick for 50% of the month before the race. The first was a cold that I caught on the subway... the second from "The Ukrainian" two weeks later.  Awful, awful.  Although I'm mostly well now, I don't know if my lungs sustained any "permanent damage."  In addition, and maybe unrelated, my skin has been incredibly dry lately... even with lotion. Same with my lips, but there's these cute cake-flavored Chapstick s for that.  I have to be careful with new lip products due to random allergic reactions I can get, but this one seems to be fine (as well as calorie-free, ha ha).  I was sent this party kit ...