Charles and I still moving at mile 25.

It’s been almost exactly a week since the race and I can say that other than three purple and green dead toenails I have completely recovered. Preparing for a marathon has this strange way of marking time. When you begin training the race is far enough away to make you feel as if it really doesn’t exist, the time barrier numbs the reality of the 26.2 enough to fool you into committal. It is only once you have reached the point of no return (around mile 17 in training) that reality sets in. Umm..can I get a pre-nup on this one?

Kidding. Except for on that one day in Bakersfield, when in the middle of oil derricks and abandoned couches I opted for laying on the ground instead of running the rest of my “training miles.” Yep, on that day I could’ve quit, right then and there next to the 4 month old rotting diapers. I wanted out. By the way, in my defense that “laying on the ground” quitting episode happened only after being surrounded by more brown and dead grass then I can remember, EVER. Then being stuck behind a cattle drive. Yes, a cattle drive. And then while Jen and I tried to avoid said cattle drive, being chased off of private property by an angry rancher for trespassing. But thee did not quit. No ma’am.

These are the things that flash before your eyes before you cross the finish line. Actually, not at all. ALL that is flashing before your eyes is ..”finish line..finish line…dear God get me to the finish line.. because honestly who would ever do such a ridiculous thing to themselves”

But, then when it is all over you have that fuzzy moment. You realize that you made it, and in some small way you did something big today. Defining even. Which is why us crazies keep doing these dang things. While I have been busy training these past 5 months I have moved to LA, become the student I have always wanted to be, found a church that I adore and made a whole batch of wonderful friends. A whole batch that even bothered to show up at the finish line for a girl they’ve only known for a few short months. You think of these things because you remember where you started- when you got back on the training wagon about three pairs of running shoes ago, back when four miles was pushing it. Thank God that when you finish you get this wonderful tangible accomplishment to wear around your neck, marking your hard work, your dedication, your progress over the past few months- not just on the pavement, but personally too.

Plus, c’mon it’s just really fun. Here is a little taste of the starting line. Madness.

A sea of runners stretching out for miles. It takes almost a good hour before everyone has even crossed the starting line. You are just one of almost 30,000 other runners, super-heroes, movie stars, barefooters, students, dog walkers, or torch bearers. Speakers are cracking and blaring ” I Love LA!..We Love it!” on repeat. This is La after all, we don’t do dull. One day out of the year when the city stops, cars clear the streets, businesses shut down and everyone takes to the streets. People complain that the new course doesn’t highlight the “beauty” of Los Angeles, that it winds through the “unsightly and unkempt” areas of town. Which, in my opinion, is such a “predictable”comment- Made by people who must have totally missed the miles that were filled by the locals of those areas, little kids handing out pretzels and donuts from their apartments, shop owners totally willing to let a desperate runner or two use their facilities, makeshift aid stations set up by people just excited to watch you run through their neighborhood and hi- five their kids.

Wicked fun.

Next stop (join us!): Pasadena Marathon