Race Recap – 34th Skechers Performance LA Marathon (3.24.2019)

Having my Dad over for a week at the end of March was a plus for so many reasons, but it definitely provided a boost of good mood feelings knowing he would be around—coincidentally—during my 7th marathon!

This race’s training cycle had its ups and downs, and I had my doubts about PRing, even though I have been desperately trying to find my rhythm with running again. I tried not to think too much about it on the eve of race day, since that’s when Dad was arriving.

My sis had to take the car for a check-up that morning, and planned to pick up my Dad from Santa Ana after. This meant I had to arrive at my Italian class a little early, and stay a little while longer after class ended. To kill time/kill hunger, I remembered that I could have brunch at the newly-opened Urth Caffe in downtown Orange.

As expected, there was a line out the door, and I got in with a menu in hand. Despite visiting Urth on numerous occasions at many different locations over the years, I still took my time perusing the menu. And like the Californian I am, I thought a savory avocado toast sounded like a delicious meal to have on that fine Saturday morning.

Though I must admit that while I was waiting in line, there was this eye-catching flaky Nutella bun. I mean, whattttt…

At least the seating area was designed keeping in mind of the crowds, I found a spot at the large marble bar:

I set up shop with my laptop, working on updating my CV. Others around me were catching up with friends or sharing a pastry with a significant other, lol.

When my toast came out though, my attention went straight to that:

It looks like it was a small lil thing, but I had to tap at it with a fork and knife. Especially when it came to the yolk polkin’, lol.

My Dad came with my sis around 1pm, and I decided to head home after brunch and meet them there since I was in dire need of a nap.
We spent the rest of the afternoon chillin’, and before we went out for dinner, we stopped to get my sister’s car. For dinner, it was no contest—Native Foods was on everyone’s minds!

I was trepidatious about how my stomach would handle things at the race if I ate nachos, but my Dad and sis convinced me otherwise (I mean, nachos minus the fake taco meat would be mostly carbs and some fat, right?).

So, my sis and I split a platter of Native Nachos and cauliflower poppers—yum!

The rest of the evening was spent relaxing at the apartment, and I turned in close to 8pm. I wasn’t very excited about the race, but I tried not to think about it too much. It did take me a while to fall asleep since a pool party was happening right outside my window :/

The next morning, I woke up around 3:30am and my Dad did the same (trooper!), I drank some warm water to get the bowels awake well before the race and snacked on a Larabar to get some energy in me. My Dad dropped me off at the meeting spot of my running group, since we would all carpool to the race start.

We ended up splitting up into groups of two, and were slightly panicking since the expected drop-off times for our Ubers were close to the race start times…despite that fear, we all made it with enough time to spare to use the bathrooms, check in bags, hydrate, and find our place in the corrals. 

I ended up in the open corral this year which was a slight mess, since the corral itself was overcrowded, and many of us were waiting outside the fencing just to get in. As the earlier corrals were released, we were eventually able to find a spot within the line. It took forever to get going, but eventually, after what seemed like a century of footsteps, we were off.

I’m going to be frank and say this marathon wasn’t my best, my favorite, or something I felt excited about doing at all. I didn’t have absolutely loathing feelings like I did about the half marathon I ran last fall and didn’t bother to blog about, but let’s just say that after what I thought was a good first 4 miles, things felt so incredibly draining. 

My calves developed a mild burning sensation (I want to say lactic acid build-up) which was weird since I haven’t experienced that in years. As the course continued, I found myself taking walking breaks earlier that I planned to, but I had already given up mentally. I just felt like I’d rather get through the race and move on with my day than focus on a time goal. That seemed to slip past me as I saw pacing groups run by, and I was being held back on tired legs…

Now I don’t remember much as I finish typing up this recap a month later (!!), but I do recall the energy from the crowds and being able to channel that in to drive my way to the finish line. It was definitely one of my more “miserable” races, unfortunately. I did feel comfortable knowing that another runner in my group (who has many races under his belt, and has an amazing pace!), didn’t fare so well either. At least I wasn’t the only one who felt like they had a bad race . 

I felt relieved when the finish line neared and I crossed the timing pad. I was so “out of it” that I didn’t have the desire to stop and take a race picture…I just wanted to find my Dad and go home. When I did find him, he greeted me with a bear hug, and we took our own collection of pics. I smiled in the pictures, despite feeling like the race wasn’t worthy of a celebration. My Dad did remind me that it was 26.2 miles that I just ran, and that these past months haven’t been the easiest for me. The fact that I didn’t just quit mid-race despite all this, speaks volumes. And this is why I  my Dad. 

I didn’t feel super sore when I walked to the train stop with my Dad. I felt some tightness in my upper legs after sitting up for a long time and then getting up, but DOMS didn’t kill me so strongly this time! We did have to stop by in lab so I could change out cell culture medium, but we were on the road by 2:30pm.

Once at the apartment, I showered and freshened up so we could meet my sis and her BF for dinner at the Spectrum. My Dad was all for a fancy dinner, but convenience and our growing appetites led to a more casual (but still tasty!) choice: Urban Seoul 2.0.

My sis and her BF were already at a table inside, and pretty much decided on what they were going to get. My sis was ready to chow down on some Tofu Sliders, and my Dad ended up getting the bibibibamp bowl I got last time (except he didn’t get the purple rice…).

This time around, I decided to treat myself to some Nacho Fries…I just ran a marathon, and my appetite was now coming back in full FORCE.

Despite being packed with toppings, the fries were not soggy. They had a firm texture, a crisp crunch, and carried the cheese well. They were certainly filling, although I was able to help others at the table with their plates

We walked around for a bit at the Spectrum after finishing dinner, got froyo at Yogurtland, and then crashed at home. I was more than excited to sleep that night, considering that my Dad and I had plans at the zoo the next day! I was planning my encounter with my true love, the capybara <3.