2013 Los Angeles Marathon

2013 LA Marathon Finish - 3:16:05 *PR

What motivates me? I have a strong desire to learn, improve, and grow. Training and aiming for a goal race helps me live this journey. Running helps me cope, brings me peace, teaches me, and tests me. What can I be capable of if I tried? 

Race Day:
Nestled into my warm bed without one noticeable movement all night, my eyes abruptly opened wide into the darkness. Slowly I reached for my phone afraid to see if only an hour had passed. With a sigh of relief, it was five minutes before my alarm was set to go off at 4am. Like clockwork, unfortunately, my body has learned to wake up every 1-2hrs the night before the race forcing me to grab my phone: Is it time yet? Needless to say, it becomes a very restless night. Surprisingly, I slept straight through. I laid there in bed for awhile thinking about what was about to come. I repeated to myself over and over: you will reach your goal, you will reach your goal because you know pain. With a deep exhale, I tip toed to the bathroom with my race gear that had been neatly piled next to my bed. Of course, I couldn’t sneak by my pups. Max and Bruno excitedly said their good mornings with a kiss and tail wag then back to bed they went. My phone rings: “Mija, we’re here. Come outside.” My parents had arrived at 5am to pick me up.

A Runner's Circle

With the last hugs and kisses, my mom wished my dad and I well as she dropped us off at the Dodger Stadium shortly after 6am. We were fortunate enough to be directed to a section of the stadium lot where  fresh porta potties stood alone. No lines so we are sticking around here for a while. Secret wasn’t kept too long though as the runners trickled in. 6:30am: “I need to pee again, Dad.” Back to the porta potties. Ran into Jon, "Rock it today, Nadia." I smiled nervously. Tick tock 6:50am. The time just seemed to fly as race start neared. Quick stop by the NurtiBullet stage and we ran into ARC friends, Deo, Sheryl, and Choy. 6:55am: “Papi, they’re going to close the corrals!” We zigzagged quickly to the entrance into corral B. Over our shoulder, we saw Mitch and Casey also trying to get in.  Big waves and smiles. Once inside, my dad and I found a little comfortable spot on the side, sat, then waited. I nestled my head into my bent legs and reminded myself what I came here to do. Make it hurt. You know how to. 7:20am: get up. 7:28: love you Daddy and I will see you at the finish!!! With one last look and nod from him, it was all I needed. My eyes glossed over and we exhaled. Today, regardless of challenges, you will PR. “Ruuuuuunners, seeeet, GO!!” 

         Shake the arms, open your stride, time to get into your rhythm. I glanced at my watch and knew what every mile needed to be. Reminding myself: don’t go out too fast. Relax, focus on your form, and breathe. Goals aren’t determined at the beginning of the marathon; they are determined at the end. Mile 1 7:53, right on holding back. Mile 2 7:03, hello downhill. Mile 3, there you are 3:15 pacer. Now was I going to leave it all to the official pacer to get me to my goal? No. Pacers are there as guidance but I needed to remind myself, I ran Catalina the weekend before. I battled food poisoning in Phoenix the weekend prior to Catalina. Then I lost some speed from not running any speed work all of February right after Surf City, because I needed to listen to my body. I had tweaked something in my foot so instead of running through that bad pain, I needed to heal and stop. Any competitive runner knows, a whole month of no speed work or tempo runs will hurt your speed; what’s worse it can hurt your racing confidence. I knew this so I knew not to go out on a 3:15, 3:10, or 3:05 pace. Last year, I ran a 3:18 being 7 pounds heavier and was nowhere near as healthy and strong as I was this year so I knew what my potential could have been to open up my spring season. Was I going to allow this to rob me of a PR? No. Race day, I needed to adjust so I listened to my body and ran conservatively. “Hey girl, how you feeling?!” Shannon, the 3:15 pacer said with a smile. “I’m good just going easy for now. Great seeing you!” I’m not much of a talker during a race but there is A LOT going on in my head. Mile 5, up the hill next to Disney Hall. The drummers are the absolute best here. The 3:15 pacer went ahead. Don’t panic. You're fine. Keep your effort consistent and you got this. Mile 7, there’s the pacer again. “Looking strong girl!” “I lost you guys on the uphill so might as well have some fun coming down them.” Mile 10, my ‘warm-up’ miles were done maintaining most miles between 7:10-7:30s. 5K to go, then the race begins. Mile 12, now what is that burning sensation at the bottom of my sports bra!? Oh no. Today the sports bra decided to cause an issue. What’s a little chaffing.

Feeling relatively fresh, I picked up my cadence. Zipping passed the 3:15 pacer, Mile 14 7:16, pace for a 3:11 finish. Did I notice? Yea. Did I correct it? Nope, my mistake which I would pay for later. Mile 15 7:02, now I really will pay for it. But then I saw the red clan: A Runner’s Circle!! Seeing the swarm of the red army on both sides of the street jumping and cheering. I couldn’t help it, my eyes glossed over with tears. Mile 17, now the burning spread to all around the bottom of my sports bra. It was on fire. I pushed on. Mile 19, 7:50s where the late portion of the hills began. Then the 3:15 pacer zoomed pass me on the hills. Stay focused, Nadia. Push, push, push. The muscular burn swam in my legs but I couldn’t give in now. This is where it matters. How bad do you want it? Approaching Mile 20, in the distance, I could see a petite woman holding a sign high up in the air: “GO, Chanchito!! We believe in you!” It was my Mamita. Nothing can explain the joy I saw in her eyes. She shouted, jumping up and down, “Go, Mijita, GO!! I love you!” Tears rolled down my cheeks as I blew her a kiss. I love you so much, Mamita! That was it. I wasn’t going to play it safe here. I was running alone. No group pacer, no personal pacer. Just me and my willingness to push forward or not. Mile 21, my pace slowed and the legs begged to walk. I will not give in. Mile 22, pace picked up just a little but I could feel my form suffering, and I didn’t know how far ahead the 3:15 pacer was. I cannot give in now. I need to make this hurt! Make it burn. Mile 23, runners one by one stepped off to the side slowing from fatigue or slowing from cramps. I wanted to give in so bad. Happily, I found Anton running along ahead. “Hey, Anton!” I shouted in between breaths. “Is that you, Nadia? Hey!” Exchanging the same smile of painful fatigue, we ran a bit together. “Stay strong, Anton. I’ll see you at the finish!” Mile 24, hallelluyah the downhill finally arrived. Let’s open that stride like you know how. But wait a minute, my legs refused. See those middle miles where I dropped down too much from pace, here is where I paid for it. Normally, I am a very good downhill runner. Normally, I can push very hard at the end of the marathon to make them my fastest miles. From the fire burning underneath my sports bra to the fire scorching in my quads, I could only push 7:20s. Last year, I ran the last two miles in 7:11 and 7:06 feeling like I cruised in. This year, a 7:22 at Mile 25 hurt. On Ocean, there it is: the finish line. RUN!! Glancing at my pace, glancing at my overall time, yes, it was going to happen! I was going to PR. The crowds roared on the sidelines for the runners. With one last push across the finish line, I raised my arms high in the air and crossed at 3:16:05, a new marathon PR. I did it. I did what I said I came here to do. Today, I believed and today I made it into a reality.

3:15 Pace Group (Photo: LA Times)

Mile Splits:

- 2012: Started too fast first 5mi costing me slower target splits in middle so didn't meet 3:15 target.
- 2013: Mile 5-8 slight too fast and didn't mentally hold it together at Mile 23 costing 3:15 target.
- Goal Met: Paced effectively overall to run close to 3:15 target.
- Tip: Graph your mile splits. It should match pretty close to the course elevation profile if you run the race smart. 
- Tip: If the race is not flat, your splits should not be even instead aim for even effort to meet time goal.

Weekly Mileage:

- Goal Met: Periodization and tapering for key races DOES make a difference, especially if racing frequently.
- Goal Met: Demonstrated to myself that what is done the two months before DOES help a particular race performance.
- Goal Met: Demonstrated 35-45 mpw CAN produce 3:16 result when combined with healthy eating and cross training.
- Tip: Build a strong cardiovascular base 2-4 months prior to a target race.
- Tip: Adapt and listen to your body when building mileage. You don't need to run 80-100 mpw to improve. You can however you have options. Find a coach to help you develop a training plan that fits right for you and your lifestyle. 

Race Start w/my #1 Fan: My Dad

Race Nutrition:

Pre-race dinner: (13hrs before race start)

1 serving of cesar salad
1 focaccia bread

Grilled Lou de mer trout

2 servings of walnut barley grain salad

2 servings of coleslaw

½ serving of chocolate vanilla ice-cream sundae w/pecans

Late Night Snack: (1hr before bedtime)

1 whole wheat bread slice

1 packet of almond butter

1 serving of trail mix

Pre-race breakfast: (1.5hrs before race start)

1 whole wheat bread slice

1 packet of almond butter

During Race:

Alternate water & electrolyte every aid station

Mile 7

Orange slices

Immediate Post-race: (within 30min)

2 servings of mixed fruit salad

Protein recovery drink

Results Summary: 

3:16:05 (7:29 average pace)

Slowest: 8:07 - Mile 23

Fastest: 7:00 - Mile 26

Half splits 1:37/1:39

7^th in Division (F25-29)

32^nd Female Overall

408^th Overall of +23,000

Marathon Stats:

6^th 2013 marathon

15^th consecutive LAM

50^th Boston Qualifier

69th sub-4 marathon

Lessons Learned:
- Could I have gone faster had I not ran Phoenix and Catalina the weekend before? Maybe.
- Could I have gone faster had I run all my planned speed work sessions in Feb? Maybe.
- Could I have gone faster had not the entire section under my sports bra bled all in the 2nd half? Possibly.
- Despite above, did improving my nutrition for the past four months help my performance? Definitely.
- Despite above, did dropping a net 7lbs from 2012 LAM to 2013 LAM help my performance? Definitely.
- What is my secret? Eat healthy, train smart, and believe in yourself. If you believe it, you will achieve it.

2013 LA Marathon Finishers - Our 15th consecutive together

Special THANK YOU to all my sponsors, friends, and family

Mile 13 
Till the next race.