USC Marathon Team
Now that I've had the night to rest, I wanted to update everyone on how the marathon went. Sorry if you don't want to read a novel, but you are going to get one.
It was the first time in history that a female won. She ran it in approximately 2 hrs and 30 minutes. That lady was not me, however. I did finish in 5 hrs 34 min and 16 seconds, which is an average pace of 12min and 44seconds per mile. And I was 8,417th overall out of approx 24,000 runners/walkers. I know there are some of you (I won't name any names) who understand splits better than words. Here they are:
10k (roughly 1/4 done) - 1:14:50
half - 2:46:42
30k(roughly 3/4 done) - 3:59:10
end - 5:34:16
I pretty much kept a constant speed the whole time. Although I spent
a little more than a minute per mile than expected, I was pretty happy
with my results considering it was 93 degrees at one point and I never
ran in such hot weather before. I am lucky the race wasn't today
since there were record temperatures down here today. In a way I was
happy it was so hot during the marathon because it made the experience
that much more memorable and challenging. When I ran the 22 miles (my
last long run), I would not have said that that run was the hardest
thing I have ever done. But I would definitely say that the marathon
was the most hardest thing I have ever done.
The experience overall was sureal, like a dream. Maybe it was partly due to the fact that I slept less than two hours the night before (don't ask why). It was a chaotic weekend (you gotta love a big family) and in my sister's words 'The marathon was the quiet in the storm'. To me, the marathon was the most beautiful thing I have ever experienced. A big part of it was the city and the people cheering us on. The course was so long I figured there would be parts of the race where people wouldn't be cheering, but this was not the case. The streets were lined up throughout the whole course with spectators. Sometimes I would run on the side and high five all the spectators as I ran by. This was the coolest feeling to do this for such a long time. There were also plenty of USC fans that were always quick to yell 'S-C! Go Trojans! Fight On!' as my running buddies and I ran by in our USC gear. One of my running buddies said at mile six 'I'm more tired from smiling than running.' The atmosphere was so positive. People were calling us their heroes, LA's finest, etc. People were holding signs like "We're already proud of you, keep going!" There were so many different ethnicities, ages, body types, all running together and supporting each other I was overwhelmed with the love.
At the starting line, before the start of the race was called, the starter announced Mohammed Ali and Olympian Jackie Joyner Kersey were there. At that point I got kinda choked up and in shock that they were there for us. Because of this, a brief period of nervousness took over which soon turned into excitement. I was pumped. This continued throughout the whole race. I was so determined that there was never a doubt in my mind that I would not finish. Another thing that kept me motivated was all my friends and family that I told (yes you!) and supported me throughout my training. This was constantly on my mind; so thanks for being you!
I completed all requests from those of you who asked and added a couple of my own:
i.e. I ran a mile for someone who is an inspiration to me (mile 13).
I ran a mile for someone who is my hero (mile 21).
I "shook it like a polaroid picture" (at mile 22).
I ran a mile for someone who if they were not in my life, I would have never done anything like this (mile 23).
I ran a Yippie Kayaye Mother F@#$%r" mile (mile 25).
and I had a "Thass what I'm talkin bout!" finish.
I was so in the zone that my music (I listened to an mp3 player while i ran) had turned off and I didnt even notice that it had turned off for almost two miles. I started the run with five others who i normally ran with when we were training. I wanted to get them as pumped as me so told them I didn't want to hear anyone complaining until we got to mile 22 because we had done that much before. Also when running, there are so many runners and walkers that you are constantly passing up people left and right and this pumped me up too. I think it was from all those years of doing crew and that feeling rowers get when passing up boats (my crew friends know what I'm talking about). This was especially the case towards the end of the race. My training paid off that I ran at a constant pace the whole time when by mile 18 most were walking. By mile 22 you could only see a couple of people running, the rest walking. There was even many walking the last mile. I was so shocked by this that I started yelling at everyone. I couldn't believe that people could get this far to walk. I had hoped to give some of my energy to others in some phrases such as:
'Come on man, lets run!'
'Why are you walking...I dont want to see no walking!!'
'Are we here to walk or run?'
'Whos ready to run?'
'Lets go, lets go, lets go, lets go!!!'
At mile 23/24 there was an overpass that gave some lovely shade, but right after it there was a long stretch of hot sun. By then I was yelling "bring on the sun!!!! oh I love the sun!" I had no idea I had this in me (ha!). I definitely credit my endurance to the training. I know there are people that run the marathon without training. It was also very important to pace yourself. An example: My brother while waiting for me at mile 22 saw a guy come 30 minutes ahead of me, and just decided he lay on the side of the road in the shade and he was still lying there when I showed up. In fact, by mile 18 and onwards I saw an increasing number of runners sitting or lying down by the side of the road exhausted. My cousin witnessed a guy at mile 24 running real fast in a dilusional crooked manner that passed out and fell to the ground and paramedics had to take him. I did not realize how hot it was until I ran by a building that displayed the time and temperature on a screen. It read 93 degrees! I was amazed. Forunately there were water stations at every mile and volunteers passing out cups of water and gatorade. Starting from mile one I dumped at least four cups of water on my head at each station. Many residents brought out their sprinklers and waterhoses (including a couple fire departments). Others offered oranges, bananas, popcorn, licorice, gum, candy and gu (energy gel).
I have to give a special thanks to my family members who were there at
mile 22 and 24 and friends who made the finish line. Thank you very
much for being there and running the marathon vicariously through me.
It was so nice to see you guys there when I had a feeling you might
not be able to make it. But you did. Thanks. A special thanks to my
brother Denton who ran the last four miles with me. For those of you
who do not know him, this boy is a 300 pound freshman in high school
that probably has never run four miles at one time in his life before.
Thanks Denton, you showed alot of heart that day.
It was surreal even crossing the finish line with so many spectators
cheering at the end (it could've also been because I was light-headed
from the heat). I was so elated to be so near the finish I decided to
pass up a girl right by the finish but at that point I noticed a guy
trying to pass me, so I kicked in the back burners and was in an
all-out sprint and passed that guy before he could finish before me.
At the end I remember telling my running partner, 'I cant believe we
just did that'. She agreed.
After the race I couldn't really walk without help. Fortunately, I
got a massage shortly after right at the finish line. Soon after I
was freezing, hungry, weak, tired like i could fall asleep anywhere;
there were shooting pains in my leg (especially if i moved them), It
was the worst I've ever felt without being sick. I was definitely not
as pumped as I was during the race. Today I was fine though... just a
little sore in the legs but nowhere near as bad as yesterday. The
news said that because of the heat there were four times as many
people at the medical stations on the racecourse than in previous
years. Praise the Lord that I was able to complete the marathon with
no injuries. Thank you all once again for your support. I could not
have done it without you! I hope to have inspired you guys to run a
marathon in the future. God Bless and take care.
Love,
Marlayna