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Running and RL
So it's been a pretty epic week for me. Last Sunday I ran the Los Angeles Marathon and it was pretty amazing even if I was hit by a heavy dose of bad luck.
While I hadn't prepared as much as I'd like, mostly in that I didn't get in a couple of the longest long runs, I was still pretty confident that I could run the whole marathon. Sunday morning at around 3 I left for the race taking the earliest subway I could. I started out with good luck by making the bus taking runners to Dodger Stadium by a couple minutes and getting one of the last seats on the bus. It was fun hearing people talk about the race and being with a community of people all taking the crazy risk to run it. We got there and I walked around the stadium looking for food and finally found a banana and bagel outside. I left about a half hour before the race to get in line and first went to find where to put my gear. At the last minute I decided to forgo my sweater so I didn't have to carry it around once I got warm. In the end, that turned out to be a good decision. I put myself in the 12 mile minute section and found a pace marker person who finishing the race with a 5:30 time. I thought that was well within what I had been practicing and could realistically do as I just wanted to finish the marathon preferably with a decent time (for me, under 6 hours).
We finally crossed the finish line to the music of Randy Newman's, I Love LA which I looove as a celebration of Los Angeles. It was great to be around people from the city and who were excited to be there. At this point, it had just started to rain. Now I heard that it might rain but I expected it to be a drizzle on and off once in awhile. Boy was I wrong. At first it wasn't too bad and I felt energized and excited from starting the race so it didn't bother me. Deb, our pace leader was talking to us and the other people in my group all introduced each other so it started off good to feel a part of the group and not have to worry about starting too fast as I could just follow her lead. The first few miles were fun and I took some pictures of Downtown LA and Chinatown which I love. Of course then I started to really have to go the bathroom probably because I hasn't experimented well with long runs and water and had only stopped drinking water an hour before the race. Finally around mile 4 I found a portapotty station but there were huge lines so it took me 13 minutes or so.
So I lost my group and was really motivated to catch up. I went from a slow jog to a run and I do prefer sprints so at first running fast was fun especially running downhill. I made it to Echo Park and the lake there is sooooo pretty. There were also a long row of cheerers at one point and when I saw that they were disappointed the people in front of me weren't slapping their hands, I went ahead and slapped all of their hands and it was really fun. At this point it had been raining pretty regularly and medium hard from mile 3 to where I was and it started to get annoying. I kept running down Sunset and had fun seeing a little Thaitown (I need to find good Pad Thai in that area obviously) and made it to Hollywood and Vine where I remember starting to have trouble and wanting to go to the movie theater there and just rest. One of my problems was that I tried eating an orange because I was hungry and it gave me cramps, same with the hard candy I tried. So that was frustrating. The rain was going hard now and my shoes were soaked and although they had given out little makeshift ponchos (it didn't cover much), it hadn't helped with keeping rain out. Add to that that I hadn't seen mile signs and still hadn't found my race group so I was convinced I was behind and it led to me feeling very disheartened. I was walking and feeling discouraged about finishing under 6 hours when all of a sudden my pace group runs up behind me!
I was sooo excited at my chance of good luck of finding them right when I needed them. Thank you, universe. So I kept on running and following their lead and it was nice not having to think about how fast or slow to go. I thanked Deb and used her to motivate me to keep running and not walk which I reeeally wanted to do. I finally saw the mile 14 marker and took it one mile at a time, looking forward to the time when I could put that medal around my neck as well as get to mile 20 and see the light at the end of the tunnel. I don't know I would have gotten through the next 8 miles without my pace team's help as it was really hard with the rain and my legs feeling completely unmotivated to run anywhere. But I did it and we finished running through Hollywood, West Hollywood, Beverly Hills (with Rodeo Drive) and then moved on to Brentwood and Westwood. I also had to go the bathroom AGAIN but was determined to not go so I wouldn't lose my group again. However around mile 21, I saw only two people in line so I decided to go for it and catch up with them especially when the course when downhill which I was told it would. Of course a mile after that my legs started to be in intense pain and it wasn't as downhill as I thought so that didn't work.
This then became the hardest part of just getting my legs to move when they and my feet were in intense pain and felt like they were full of lead in trying to lift them up. It was still raining hard and that was really hard to keep putting up with. I took it mile by mile and took some walking breaks when I could while drinking Gatorade which was about the only thing I could get down without cramping (that had calories in it). It also really helped to see all the supporters who had came out with signs and cheers and helped a ton during the entire course. Finally, FINALLY I reach mile 25 and could finally see that I was almost there. I started to speed up and when I saw the finish line, I started RUNNING and once I was almost there I sprinted across the line. I DID IT \o/ Total Paul Gross arms moment right there at the end. I was overcome with emotion as I couldn't believe I had done it. I almost started to cry and was smiling so much and it was one of the most emotionally happy and satisfying moments of my life. So surreal and I felt so accomplished to have really done it. I went to get my medal and got a new makeshift poncho although after I stopped running, it didn't help with the cold. I also had a great symmetry moment with my music as I started off with Lady GaGa's Born This Way at the start and ended (coincidentally) with Bad Romance. I was just happy my iPod had survived all the rain, that was pretty amazing.
So then I started looking for food, water and to get my stuff. Unfortunately after I got food, I learned I had to walk THREE blocks to get my stuff including my cozy, warm sweatshirt. I was so pissed because that's an eternity when your legs feel like they're going to fall off and you're cold as hell. But yeah I made it somehow again in the freezing rain and finally got my sweatshirt which was heaven. I stopped quickly to grab a bite to eat and then headed to catch the bus which as it turns out was 8 blocks from where it was supposed to be because of a stop change. So I got even more soaked and was still cold. It was pretty frustrating at this point to have done something so great and not be able to enjoy it because of the stupid rain, cold and buses. But I made it on the bus where some idiot had the window opening. When the bus announced my stop, I pulled the lever thing and got off...only to discover they had let me off at the stop BEFORE. I was so pissed. So I walked to the next street which of course took 20 minutes. There I ate at a buffet that I could finally justify eating at. While there I noticed that my fingers were turning blue so yeah, started to get hypothermia there, good times. My sweatshirt was soaked at this point so I took that off and just ate and listened to podfic. It was nice to rest at least.
I decided to take a cab on the way back as there was no way I was going to wait for two more buses and walk home. Definitely a good idea there. I FINALLY made it home (that felt like an accomplishment in itself!) and was able to change into warm clothes and take a looong hot shower. Heaven that right there. I checked my race time and found out it was 5:32:38 which I was really happy with. I still can't believe of all the years it had to rain, it had to be my first marathon but at least that made it even more of an accomplishment. I felt like Rocky there sometimes! I was just glad I did it and had a true test of physical and mental discipline to complete the marathon no matter what. I happily wore my medal and enjoyed the feeling of actually finishing the LA marathon before falling fast asleep.
And that it is how I completed the LA Marathon 2011.
I also just created a new community,![[community profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/community.png)
socalvids for vid fans in the Southern California area who want to get together to watch and discuss vids. I really hope if you're in the area that you'll consider joining as I'd love to help create more of a community of people who love vids in socal. I know we're out there, we're just spread out and it'd be so fun to watch vids in a group again!
I'm also really excited about Vividcon this August! I'm sure it's going to be super fun and I'm excited about the vids I want to premiere there.
I saw Sucker Punch last night and I'd definitely recommend it if you like to see girls kicking ass with guns, swords and other weaponery as well as super, AMAZING visuals and a great soundtrack. Story might not be the best but it worked enough for me. Also glad to see more people joining The Social Network fandom! It really is a great fandom. I really need to hurry up and finish my vid for it (or one of them).
Mostly I am SUPER excited about finally getting a car on April 1st. It is almost too good to be true after dying for one since October. I can get around anywhere! I don't have to take buses anymore! I can meet more people and go to events and have FUN! This is the best present I could ever get. Also work is going really well as I GOT THE SCHEDULING JOB! I was the only one to get the chance so I am ecstatic. And I'm getting along and becoming more friends with people at work which is really great in making me feel like I belong. I just feel I'm really developing as a person there and carying those lessons in leadership, initiative and social skills to the rest of my life. So yeah, haven't got as much done in my life as I hoped in the beginning of the year but I'm getting things done slowly and I'm positive about the changes in my life so I'll take it. Now I just need to find a way to make more money and I'll be really good...(suggestions appreciated).
While I hadn't prepared as much as I'd like, mostly in that I didn't get in a couple of the longest long runs, I was still pretty confident that I could run the whole marathon. Sunday morning at around 3 I left for the race taking the earliest subway I could. I started out with good luck by making the bus taking runners to Dodger Stadium by a couple minutes and getting one of the last seats on the bus. It was fun hearing people talk about the race and being with a community of people all taking the crazy risk to run it. We got there and I walked around the stadium looking for food and finally found a banana and bagel outside. I left about a half hour before the race to get in line and first went to find where to put my gear. At the last minute I decided to forgo my sweater so I didn't have to carry it around once I got warm. In the end, that turned out to be a good decision. I put myself in the 12 mile minute section and found a pace marker person who finishing the race with a 5:30 time. I thought that was well within what I had been practicing and could realistically do as I just wanted to finish the marathon preferably with a decent time (for me, under 6 hours).
We finally crossed the finish line to the music of Randy Newman's, I Love LA which I looove as a celebration of Los Angeles. It was great to be around people from the city and who were excited to be there. At this point, it had just started to rain. Now I heard that it might rain but I expected it to be a drizzle on and off once in awhile. Boy was I wrong. At first it wasn't too bad and I felt energized and excited from starting the race so it didn't bother me. Deb, our pace leader was talking to us and the other people in my group all introduced each other so it started off good to feel a part of the group and not have to worry about starting too fast as I could just follow her lead. The first few miles were fun and I took some pictures of Downtown LA and Chinatown which I love. Of course then I started to really have to go the bathroom probably because I hasn't experimented well with long runs and water and had only stopped drinking water an hour before the race. Finally around mile 4 I found a portapotty station but there were huge lines so it took me 13 minutes or so.
So I lost my group and was really motivated to catch up. I went from a slow jog to a run and I do prefer sprints so at first running fast was fun especially running downhill. I made it to Echo Park and the lake there is sooooo pretty. There were also a long row of cheerers at one point and when I saw that they were disappointed the people in front of me weren't slapping their hands, I went ahead and slapped all of their hands and it was really fun. At this point it had been raining pretty regularly and medium hard from mile 3 to where I was and it started to get annoying. I kept running down Sunset and had fun seeing a little Thaitown (I need to find good Pad Thai in that area obviously) and made it to Hollywood and Vine where I remember starting to have trouble and wanting to go to the movie theater there and just rest. One of my problems was that I tried eating an orange because I was hungry and it gave me cramps, same with the hard candy I tried. So that was frustrating. The rain was going hard now and my shoes were soaked and although they had given out little makeshift ponchos (it didn't cover much), it hadn't helped with keeping rain out. Add to that that I hadn't seen mile signs and still hadn't found my race group so I was convinced I was behind and it led to me feeling very disheartened. I was walking and feeling discouraged about finishing under 6 hours when all of a sudden my pace group runs up behind me!
I was sooo excited at my chance of good luck of finding them right when I needed them. Thank you, universe. So I kept on running and following their lead and it was nice not having to think about how fast or slow to go. I thanked Deb and used her to motivate me to keep running and not walk which I reeeally wanted to do. I finally saw the mile 14 marker and took it one mile at a time, looking forward to the time when I could put that medal around my neck as well as get to mile 20 and see the light at the end of the tunnel. I don't know I would have gotten through the next 8 miles without my pace team's help as it was really hard with the rain and my legs feeling completely unmotivated to run anywhere. But I did it and we finished running through Hollywood, West Hollywood, Beverly Hills (with Rodeo Drive) and then moved on to Brentwood and Westwood. I also had to go the bathroom AGAIN but was determined to not go so I wouldn't lose my group again. However around mile 21, I saw only two people in line so I decided to go for it and catch up with them especially when the course when downhill which I was told it would. Of course a mile after that my legs started to be in intense pain and it wasn't as downhill as I thought so that didn't work.
This then became the hardest part of just getting my legs to move when they and my feet were in intense pain and felt like they were full of lead in trying to lift them up. It was still raining hard and that was really hard to keep putting up with. I took it mile by mile and took some walking breaks when I could while drinking Gatorade which was about the only thing I could get down without cramping (that had calories in it). It also really helped to see all the supporters who had came out with signs and cheers and helped a ton during the entire course. Finally, FINALLY I reach mile 25 and could finally see that I was almost there. I started to speed up and when I saw the finish line, I started RUNNING and once I was almost there I sprinted across the line. I DID IT \o/ Total Paul Gross arms moment right there at the end. I was overcome with emotion as I couldn't believe I had done it. I almost started to cry and was smiling so much and it was one of the most emotionally happy and satisfying moments of my life. So surreal and I felt so accomplished to have really done it. I went to get my medal and got a new makeshift poncho although after I stopped running, it didn't help with the cold. I also had a great symmetry moment with my music as I started off with Lady GaGa's Born This Way at the start and ended (coincidentally) with Bad Romance. I was just happy my iPod had survived all the rain, that was pretty amazing.
So then I started looking for food, water and to get my stuff. Unfortunately after I got food, I learned I had to walk THREE blocks to get my stuff including my cozy, warm sweatshirt. I was so pissed because that's an eternity when your legs feel like they're going to fall off and you're cold as hell. But yeah I made it somehow again in the freezing rain and finally got my sweatshirt which was heaven. I stopped quickly to grab a bite to eat and then headed to catch the bus which as it turns out was 8 blocks from where it was supposed to be because of a stop change. So I got even more soaked and was still cold. It was pretty frustrating at this point to have done something so great and not be able to enjoy it because of the stupid rain, cold and buses. But I made it on the bus where some idiot had the window opening. When the bus announced my stop, I pulled the lever thing and got off...only to discover they had let me off at the stop BEFORE. I was so pissed. So I walked to the next street which of course took 20 minutes. There I ate at a buffet that I could finally justify eating at. While there I noticed that my fingers were turning blue so yeah, started to get hypothermia there, good times. My sweatshirt was soaked at this point so I took that off and just ate and listened to podfic. It was nice to rest at least.
I decided to take a cab on the way back as there was no way I was going to wait for two more buses and walk home. Definitely a good idea there. I FINALLY made it home (that felt like an accomplishment in itself!) and was able to change into warm clothes and take a looong hot shower. Heaven that right there. I checked my race time and found out it was 5:32:38 which I was really happy with. I still can't believe of all the years it had to rain, it had to be my first marathon but at least that made it even more of an accomplishment. I felt like Rocky there sometimes! I was just glad I did it and had a true test of physical and mental discipline to complete the marathon no matter what. I happily wore my medal and enjoyed the feeling of actually finishing the LA marathon before falling fast asleep.
And that it is how I completed the LA Marathon 2011.
I also just created a new community,
socalvids for vid fans in the Southern California area who want to get together to watch and discuss vids. I really hope if you're in the area that you'll consider joining as I'd love to help create more of a community of people who love vids in socal. I know we're out there, we're just spread out and it'd be so fun to watch vids in a group again!I'm also really excited about Vividcon this August! I'm sure it's going to be super fun and I'm excited about the vids I want to premiere there.
I saw Sucker Punch last night and I'd definitely recommend it if you like to see girls kicking ass with guns, swords and other weaponery as well as super, AMAZING visuals and a great soundtrack. Story might not be the best but it worked enough for me. Also glad to see more people joining The Social Network fandom! It really is a great fandom. I really need to hurry up and finish my vid for it (or one of them).
Mostly I am SUPER excited about finally getting a car on April 1st. It is almost too good to be true after dying for one since October. I can get around anywhere! I don't have to take buses anymore! I can meet more people and go to events and have FUN! This is the best present I could ever get. Also work is going really well as I GOT THE SCHEDULING JOB! I was the only one to get the chance so I am ecstatic. And I'm getting along and becoming more friends with people at work which is really great in making me feel like I belong. I just feel I'm really developing as a person there and carying those lessons in leadership, initiative and social skills to the rest of my life. So yeah, haven't got as much done in my life as I hoped in the beginning of the year but I'm getting things done slowly and I'm positive about the changes in my life so I'll take it. Now I just need to find a way to make more money and I'll be really good...(suggestions appreciated).
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