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February 6, 2012

Training for the Honda LA Marathon: Runner learns walking now and then can be good

C.J. Lin, staff writer at the L.A. Daily News is training for her first marathon, the Honda LA Marathon.  You can follow C.J.’s day-to-day progress on her twitter page and watch for her stories in the Los Angeles Daily News.

By C.J. Lin,
Staff Writer Posted: 02/04/2012 06:13:27 PM PST
Updated: 02/04/2012 06:16:18 PM PST

“I don’t want to discourage you, but…” are not the words you want to hear from a marathon coach.

Still, that’s what the coach of a Pasadena marathon training group said to me when I told her that with 10 weeks left until the Honda LA Marathon, the farthest that I had run was eight miles. The group had already done 18.

I’d been out injured with plantar fasciitis since November, and the holidays hadn’t helped with my training.

But with a bit of time to heal, and with my resolve steeled by a new year, I was ready to get back into the game.

Still, I wasn’t feeling 100 percent. So that’s when, at the suggestion of some readers, I decided to go with the run-walk method. (Please don’t judge me.)

Being new to this whole running thing, I hadn’t known that there was such a “method.” I always thought that you either ran the whole thing, or walked whenever you got tired.

With this approach, you take short walk breaks after running for a set amount of time, before you get so tired that you’re forced to walk. The technique actually helps runners record faster times because they don’t slow down at the end of a long run, according to Jeff Galloway, a member of the 1972 Olympic marathon team.

The method uses different sets of muscles, keeping the legs fresh and helping conserve energy, according to Galloway’s website.

“When a muscle group, such as your calf, is used continuously step by step, it fatigues relatively soon,” according to Galloway. “The weak areas get overused and force you to slow down later or scream at you in pain afterward. By shifting back and forth between walking and running muscles, you distribute the workload among a variety of muscles, increasing your overall performance capacity.”

Louie Lopez, a Porter Ranch resident who, at 56, will be running his first marathon, is using the technique to cross the race off his bucket list.

Like me and most new runners, Lopez was facing a litany of aches and pains in his knees and hamstrings. And after a long run, it would take most of the week for him to recover, only for it to be time for another long run.

“I was to the point where I was really wondering if I could finish the marathon,” said Lopez, who slowed down to a pace of running for three minutes, and walking for one.

It’s done wonders for him. He ran 10 miles on his own on Thursday, came away with some light soreness, and will do a 13-miler this weekend.

“I’m able to complete the mileage for the day and not have any borderline injury,” Lopez said. “I recover much, much quicker.”

And for Bynette Hebert, who leads the fastest run-walk group – six minutes running, one minute walking – at L.A. Roadrunners in Westlake Village, the method also offers a mental break.

Instead of counting down to the 26th mile, it’s just a matter of looking forward to the next walk break.

“People don’t think they’re running straight through the entire thing,” said Hebert, of Agoura. “It’s not as stressful. It’s only six more minutes.

“It’s not like, `Oh my gosh, I have to keep this up for four more hours.”‘ And the group only finishes about five to 10 minutes after an 11:45 mile run group.

So for my first long run since my injury, I did 10 miles using a ratio of running for six minutes, and walking for one in January.

And I felt great.

I finished the 10 miles in a little more than two hours, and I think I surprised some of my companions that I was able to keep up. I definitely surprised myself. Hopefully, I surprised that coach.

But then last week, I tried the method during a 13-mile run with the L.A. Roadrunners – and I wanted to die.

That run was by far the worst of all the runs I had done. For the last five miles, all I wanted to do was walk the rest of the way. My soles hurt, my calf was cramping, I was cursing the sun, and every time I saw a pine cone, I would contemplate stepping on it and maybe breaking a leg so I wouldn’t have to run the damn marathon.

But I persisted. I had to walk mile 11, and part of 12 and 13, but I did it.

Afterwards, I found that my Achilles heel was bleeding because my shoe had been chafing, and my legs felt like they were imploding.

Maybe that coach wasn’t so far off. Still, I’m chalking it up to a stomach bug and working late during the week, stopping me from eating and training as well as I would have liked.

Discouraging? Definitely. Discouraged? Not yet.

January 24, 2012

Musings on Winter Marathon Training

I’m not though. At least, I don’t feel crazy. I suppose most crazy people don’t feel crazy, however.

Whatever, I just think of myself as motivated, and with good reason. First off, this is me walking the talk. In terms of talk, I have this article to live up to. Another part is the Theory of Planned Behaviour. I wrote this article for my Los Angeles Times column that explains how registering for a race can motivate you to train for it. Well, I’ve registered for the Honda LA Marathon this March 18^th, so even if it’s hideously below zero, I need to get out there and train for it.

There is also the fact that I’ve gone public. This is called “extrinsic motivation.” What it means is: I’ve told you, my LA Times readers, and a bunch of friends that I’m running this marathon. My race time and story is going to be public knowledge for a few hundred thousand readers. Tell me that wouldn’t motivate you to train for a good time.

I’ll add a caveat here. I’m still experiencing some odd foot issues after torquing it on the pedal while riding my bike a few weeks ago. It has been somewhat interfering with my training, but fingers and other body parts are crossed that I’ll be able to recover soon. I’m taking rehabilitative steps.

Now, about this hideously cold run. It wasn’t bad at all for a couple of reasons. I’ve done this before, so I’m confident in my abilities, and I’ve got the gear. I know exactly what I need to wear to stay comfortable at that temperature.

It had been a while since I’d run in weather that cold and I forgot that you don’t want to wear sunglasses in such temperatures. One reason is that the metal frame conducts cold and will freeze the bridge of your nose, and the other is that within two minutes they fog up and you can’t see a damn thing. As a result, I whacked my head on a low-hanging branch and said, “To hell with the sunglasses!” I jammed them in a pocket next to my mylar space blanket that I take in case I fall and break something to prevent freezing to death before help arrives. And yes, I had my iPhone too. That’s how I took the picture.

Speaking of that photo, notice the frosty eyelashes? That was actually a good thing. I couldn’t wear sunglasses, but the frost coating did an amazing job of cutting out the sun’s glare. Excuse me if I think that’s cool.

January 23, 2012

Finally finding relief to knee injury, even without MRI

Follow Rachel’s day-to-day training on her twitter and facebook pages and read more of Rachel’s marathon experience every other Sunday in the San Gabriel Valley Tribune.

By Rachel Luna, Staff Writer
Posted: 01/21/2012 06:13:54 AM PST

I wasn’t thrilled with the fact that I pretty much got brushed off by my insurance company when I wanted an MRI to diagnosis my knee.

The alternative (and by alternative, I mean cheapskate) plan was to throw me into physical therapy for a few weeks before reevaluating my injury to decide whether it was worth putting out the money for the MRI test.

If I were a professional athlete, the scenario would be a different story.

For one, I would have gotten an MRI on the same day I tweaked my knee – more than a month ago.

And who knows, maybe the scenario might have come along with some new groundbreaking medical treatment I could have been the first to try successfully.

But I’m obviously not a pro athlete, just a regular person.

And the last time I checked I didn’t see a medical express lane, so I’ve taken a service number and I’m waiting to be called.

Despite the runaround, I’ve managed to stay positive about my situation, and I’m definitely not out of the Honda L.A. Marathon yet.

I’m not a quitter – I’ve never been. I never will be.

And with my determination to remain optimistic, I’ve traded my training schedule for physical therapy sessions.

For nearly three weeks I’ve been going to therapy sessions twice a week. The hour treatment starts off with muscle stimulation therapy on my knee for 20 minutes, followed by ultrasound heat therapy and ending with several stretching and muscle strengthening exercises.

The therapy sessions are working so far. I have my good days and bad days with my left knee, but overall the recovery process is moving along steadily.

And finally, Jan. 18, I got an accurate diagnosis – without an MRI. According to my physical therapist, Patellar Tendonitis is the likely problem.

The discovery came after he examined my knee and realized I have a stiff knee.

Apparently, if you shift your knee cap towards the outside of your leg, it should be able to be flexible enough to move it over. Turns out that isn’t the case with my knee. My tendons are tight around the outside of my left knee, and they aren’t allowing it to budge much at all in that direction.

The discovery makes sense to me since I was twisting to my left when I got injured.

So now the specialized treatment begins. And oh man does it hurt!

I’ve really had to resist my natural instinct to slug my physical therapist – in a good way – as he’s doing treatment to loosen those stubborn tendons.

During last Friday’s treatment, I experienced the worst therapy pain I’ve had since I started going to physical therapy, but it’s been the most relief I’ve felt in my knee to date.

I appreciate all the treatment my physical therapist is doing since it’s now getting me closer to lacing up my running shoes again.

Another six to eight treatment sessions should do the trick, hopefully.

So I’ll be tough and endure all the pain.

January 12, 2012

Marathons and marriage

I’m finally going to do it. I’ve registered to run my first ever marathon in Los Angeles this coming March 18. Of course, I needed to discuss this with my wife first.

To begin, this trip is going to cost about a thousand bucks, and I never spend more than a hundred without talking to my wife about it first. (Good thing that for me the whole trip is tax deductible.) But there is also the time issue.

When it comes to physical activity coupled with family life, tag-team parenting is essential. Two years ago, the six months leading up to my wife getting her black belt in karate were brutal for her. She was going hardcore all the time and it ate up a lot of her free time. She had this whole eye of the tiger thing going on where she was intensely focused on achieving her goal. She also had bruises over the rippling muscles. It was…kind of sexy.

I was a workout widow during this time. A lot of extra family duties fell on me because she was doing so much training. It also cost quite a bit of money to pay for the extra training. I didn’t mind at all because I knew this was something really important to her.

I’m not saying it’s payback time. Good marriages are about give and take, it just happens to be my turn to take, and for the next couple of months I’ll be dedicating extra time to longer runs and my wife is going to have to pick up the family slack. She’ll also be single parenting for the three days I’m down in LA for the race.

She’s okay with this because she knows how important it is for me, and because we talked about it beforehand. I didn’t just make the decision to do this on my own. She was a part of the whole decision-making process like I was for her when she was working so hard for her black belt.

So, the simple message is: when you’re married running a marathon is a team effort. There is someone who is going to need to pick up your slack, so make sure they’re on board. You need to communicate desires clearly and make sure your significant other has your back.

There is a limit, however.

I’ve got quite a few items on my exercise bucket list and running a marathon is only one of them. In the next few years I want to finish an Ironman triathlon, which is a 3.86K swim, followed by a 180K cycle, THEN followed by running a marathon. It makes marathon training seem like 5K training. Also, I’m going to need to spend a couple thousand on a new bike and I’ll need swimming lessons. Right now I suck at swimming.

I know this is going to be a major imposition on my wife, which is why I’ll only ever do it once (so long as I finish the race within the required 17 hours). I was talking to someone whose best friend’s husband was training for his eighth Ironman, and her friend was getting mighty sick of it. She felt like she was barely married to this guy anymore because he was always out training.

Yes, for six months when I do that Ironman training my wife is going to have to do a lot of extra work to cover for me. But I will make her this promise: As long as I finish in 16:59:59 or better, I’ll never do another.

And I’ll pay you back when you go for that second-degree black belt.

January 11, 2012

Injury Setback Causes Dismay

Follow Rachel’s day-to-day training on her twitter and facebook pages and read more of Rachel’s marathon experience every other Sunday in the San Gabriel Valley Tribune.

Three weeks ago I injured my knee, which consequently brought my marathon training to a halt. A simple twisting movement temporarily landed me on the disabled list.

I thought the most frustrating part about the mishap was the fact it occurred while doing an every-day thing and not while running.

But the frustration of the injury is small potatoes – and something I’m OK with now – compared to dealing with the annoyance of trying to get an MRI and medical answers about what the heck I did to my knee.

It’s killin’ me.

I went to see a doctor four days after I hurt my knee on Dec. 10, and it wasn’t until this past Thursday when I saw a physical therapist.

Phone calls and visits to the medical office didn’t seem to speed up the paperwork. And neither did letting them know I’m in the middle of training for a marathon.

I guess I’ll have to deal with the system until I’ve jumped through enough hoops.

And I’m still currently waiting to get an MRI so I can get the actual results of my injury.

An initial examination during my first visit led the doctor to suspect a torn meniscus or torn ligament. I got some Ace bandage and crutches out of that visit. The crutches didn’t last more than a week before they got tossed aside. I didn’t expect much out of my first appointment other than to get the process going for an MRI. What a disappointment.

But after getting evaluated by a physical therapist, the extent of my injury got downgraded to possible ligament or meniscus strain.

That was good news and I thought, “Good, I got the evaluation out of the way. Now I can get scheduled for an MRI.”

Nope.

Even after all the wait, there’s still more hoops ahead in the form of six pre-prescribed physical therapy treatments that came along with the visit to the specialist.

Gee. I should at least get a sticker or, better yet, a lollipop for all of the hoop hoppin’ I’m doing … with one good leg, might I add.

It’s been a letdown, but I really appreciate my physical therapist’s attempt to improve the situation, starting with having me do only three therapy sessions before putting in an urgent request for an MRI instead of waiting to see how my knee reacts after all six treatments.

I got one treatment out of the way during my physical therapy evaluation and I have two treatment appointments scheduled for this week.

At that point, I’ll have to rely on the paperwork processing. Again. Hopefully I won’t have too many more obstacles to face.

I might have to buy some Air Jordans just in case ’cause Lord knows I’ll need all the height I can get if I gotta jump through anymore hoops.

January 3, 2012

New year a chance to make good on your goals in life

C.J. Lin, staff writer at the L.A. Daily News is training for her first marathon, the Honda LA Marathon.  You can follow C.J.’s day-to-day progress on her twitter page and watch for her stories in the Los Angeles Daily News.

By C.J. Lin, Staff Writer
Posted: 01/01/2012 01:00:00 AM PST

Part of an occasional series about a novice runner training for the 2012 L.A. Marathon.

A year ago, Zia Hotaki was smoking a pack a week. The farthest he had ever run was a mile, and that was in high school.

A year ago, Danielle Hummel ran a 5K on New Year’s Eve and hated every minute of it. She just couldn’t understand why people liked running. She had signed up for several races and always quit.

Fast forward to today, the first of the new year, and Hotaki has quit smoking and is on his way toward becoming a world-class runner and a triathlete. Hummel already has three races – that she actually enjoyed – under her belt just since October.

The two are training for the L.A. Marathon, and on top of that, are about to tackle pretty serious undertakings: their 2012 New Year’s resolutions.

Starting today, Hummel, 27, is going to work on becoming a United States Running Streak Association member. Which means that for every single day of 2012 she’ll have to run at least one mile, even if she’s sick, injured or feeling lazy. Otherwise, she’ll have to start the streak all over again, and make sure she keeps it up for 365 consecutive days. (She can actually stop on Dec. 30, because it’s a leap year.)

Becoming a member is based on the honor system. Runners don’t get anything but bragging rights upon becoming a member. But even so, Hummel is pretty determined not to cheat.

“I feel like if you cheat, you’re only cheating yourself,” said Hummel, 27, of Burbank. “So I plan to stick with it.”

And then there’s her other resolution – doing a race every single month, including the L.A. Marathon in March.

I’m getting tired just thinking about it.

But Hummel, an art director for an automotive design firm, has been pretty tireless in keeping her 2011 resolution, which was to live the healthiest year of her life.

She did, and this year’s resolution is an expansion of that.

And like Hummel, Hotaki is the healthiest he’s ever been.

The 27-year-old computer security engineer had been weightlifting and felt like he had peaked. At the same time, he quit smoking after about four years for his wife, and needed another stress reliever.

So he began running, and for the first three months, it was hell.

But he kept pushing, and something clicked. And now he’s in the fastest pace group with the L.A. Roadrunners training group in Westlake Village, hoping to finish the L.A. Marathon in less than 3 hours and 30 minutes.

His resolution?

To run the Boston Marathon in April 2013.

It’s not as easy as it sounds. It’s not something that anyone can sign up for, like here in L.A. Boston is the world’s oldest marathon, one of the best-known racing events and a hallowed course for serious runners, who must first qualify at other marathons before being allowed to sign up.

“It’s pretty much like if there was a world championship of running, Boston would be it,” said Hotaki of Woodland Hills.

For Hotaki, he’ll have to run a marathon in less than 3 hours and 5 minutes, which means finishing each mile at a 7:05 minute pace or better. And so he’s going to train for and then hope to beat that time during the Long Beach Marathon in October.

“It’s a good motivating factor to keep on not smoking,” Hotaki said. “It would make all my efforts right now all for naught if I started smoking again. Running is definitely a much bigger passion in my life now rather than smoking.”

And he’s also hoping to get into good enough shape to compete in the Ironman World Championship triathlon in Hawaii in 2013, where he’ll have to first qualify. If he does, he’ll have to swim 2.4 miles in the ocean, bike 115 miles and run 26 miles.

In comparison, my resolution seems measly. But I’m OK with that.

With the injury, the holidays, working overtime and it being colder and getting dark earlier, I had all but given up on training for the last of 2011.

So starting today, I’m going to get serious about training and wake up early if I have to. I just want to finish the L.A. Marathon, even if I’m whining and crawling to the finish line.

I should run with Morgan Lieberman, a 16-year-old soccer player from Calabasas High School also training for the marathon.

“My New Year’s resolution is to be able to find strength and motivation with the people around me,” Morgan said. “When I run, I feel invincible being part of a pack, and hopefully when I run the marathon I can give off positive energy to other people, and they can help me along the way, too.”

I’ll need all the help I can get with my resolution.

But I’m looking on the bright side – this is one resolution that I’ll only have to keep for another 78 days.

December 22, 2011

ASICS Signs Multi-Year Partnership with Honda LA Marathon

ASICS America Corporation is proud to announce its partnership with the Honda LA Marathon as the official apparel and footwear sponsor. This will be ASICS’ first sponsorship of the iconic “Stadium to the Sea” race that will take place Sunday, March 18, 2012. This marks yet another ASICS’ sponsorship of a major marathon worldwide, including the ING New York City Marathon, Tokyo Marathon and Paris Marathon.

The Honda LA Marathon is one of the four largest marathons in the U.S. and one of the ten largest worldwide. The “Stadium to the Sea” course runs through four cities – Los Angeles, West Hollywood, Beverly Hills and Santa Monica – and the federal VA property, taking runners past a highlight reel of sites starting at Dodger Stadium and including landmarks such as Grauman’s Chinese Theater (mile 11.5), Sunset Strip (mile 14), Rodeo Drive (mile 17) and finishing at the Santa Monica Pier.

“We are extremely proud that ASICS has added the Honda LA Marathon to its world-class stable of races around the globe, including Tokyo, Paris and New York,” says Nick Curl, Chief Operating Officer of the LA MARATHON LLC. “ASICS is a premier company with a tremendous track record in the running community. We look forward to working in partnership with ASICS in the coming years to take the Honda LA Marathon to even greater heights.”

As the official apparel and footwear sponsor, ASICS has the opportunity to promote the partnership nationally and locally with media, as well as manufacture and sell co-branded licensed marathon merchandise. In addition, ASICS will integrate its activation marketing campaign into race week festivities.

“We are excited to be part of this growing race,” says ASICS Vice President of Marketing, Erik Forsell. “The landscape of a city like Los Angeles will allow us to expand and demonstrate our marketing efforts like we do in New York and enable us to partner with the biggest marathons on the east and west coasts.”

The “Stadium to the Sea” course debuted in 2010 with a record total of more than 26,000 participants. In 2011, Ethiopia’s Markos Geneti shattered the course record by nearly two minutes, with a worldclass time of 2:06:35.

For more information on the Honda LA Marathon visit www.lamarathon.com.

ABOUT LA MARATHON LLC
We inspire athletes and connect communities. With thousands of volunteers, tens of thousands of participants, and hundreds of thousands of spectators, the Honda LA Marathon is one of the largest organized road races in the country. www.lamarathon.com

December 21, 2011

Sometimes a journey can have a bump in the road

Follow Rachel’s day-to-day training on her twitter and facebook pages and read more of Rachel’s marathon experience every other Sunday in the San Gabriel Valley Tribune.

By Rachel Luna, Staff Writer
Posted: 12/17/2011 06:15:29 AM PST

I’m running the distance, 14 miles and counting now. But the distance will have to be put on hold.

I hit a speed bump in my marathon journey and it’s slowing me down – at least for the moment.

I tweaked my knee. Here’s the inside scoop: it wasn’t while running. In fact, it had nothing to do with running. I got injured doing nothing out of the ordinary.

Last Saturday I was clearing out my bookshelf. As I had a few books in my hands, I twisted to my left to set the books down, and bam! Pain hit my left knee instantly. The pain put me down for the count by the time the evening rolled around. I hobbled around for the rest of the weekend and unfortunately had to miss my first half-marathon race.

I was tempted to still try to make it to the race, figured that wouldn’t be the smartest thing to do.

A few days passed, I gave in and finally went to the doctor to get my knee examined. The doctor suspects I may have torn a ligament or the meniscus in my knee after an initial examination.

I’ll have to see a specialist and get an MRI to know the actual results of the injury.

So for now, crutches are my ticket to getting around until I see the doctor again this week. I can’t stand the crutches. Thanks to them, now I have to deal with pain in my palms, arms and shoulders… and my original knee pain.

It’s not all bad though. I’ve turned my work chair into my daily wheelchair while I’m in the newsroom. It’s way better than the crutches, and a lot more fun. I’m just this little blur rolling by.

Also, I’ve always wanted to ride around in one of those motorized scooters at the store. Now I have a legitimate excuse.

Despite the injury, I’m hoping it won’t keep me out of my training for too long.

No running is allowed, but I hope to eventually get some training done in a swimming pool just to get me going.

But before I do that, I gotta go out and buy a wetsuit. I have a pool at my house, but there’s no way I’m going to train at 6 a.m. in a freezing pool without being bundled up.

Until I find out more about my knee, I’m going keep a positive attitude. There’s still plenty of time before the Honda L.A. Marathon – 91 days to be exact.

After all I have to remember: Life’s not a sprint, it’s a marathon.

December 14, 2011

Runner’s body rebels, but there’s still hope for a strong finish

You can follow C.J.’s day-to-day training on her twitter page and watch for her stories in the Los Angeles Daily News.

By C.J. Lin, Daily News Staff Writer
Posted: 12/11/2011 01:00:00 AM PST

One step forward, two steps back.

Unfortunately, that’s not very helpful when you’re trying to run a marathon.

For the last few weeks, my training has been at a literal standstill.

I did eight miles one freezing morning about a month after I started running, and I guess I pushed too much too soon. What I thought was a lingering soreness in the arches of my feet was actually plantar fasciitis, where the tissue connecting the heel to toes becomes inflamed.

Oh, and somehow I blew out my knees, too.

Unfortunately, (again) these types of injuries are inevitable for runners, whether they be newbies or veterans, said Rayna Drago, coach of the L.A. Roadrunners marathon training group in Westlake Village.

“Marathon running is a real shock to your body,” Drago said. “Even if you’ve been athletic, it’s just something different for your body to take in all those miles. Your body is just waking up and saying, `Hello, what are we doing here?”‘

The most common injuries are shin splints, runner’s knee, plantar fasciitis, Achilles tendonitis, and some type of foot fracture, according to Dr. John Pagliano, a Long Beach sports medicine podiatrist.

And there’s more bad news – they’ll probably keep popping up for the first year for new runners.

“Your body’s just kind of got to learn what’s coming,” Drago said. “But it does subside after the first year.”

I don’t have a year. I only have three more months until the L.A. Marathon.

Suffice it to say, I’m getting pretty nervous. The finish line always seemed just a bit out of my reach, but even more so now.

But, I (and you) shouldn’t be discouraged, Drago said.

“It’s more frustrating than anything,” Drago said. “But it’s good when it happens at the beginning of training rather than at the end.”

For these types of overuse injuries, it doesn’t take too long to heal and get back up to speed, Drago said.

Be sure to ice anything that hurts and rest. But the key is to keep moving, just not in high-impact exercises.

“It’s also for your mental balance, that if you’re not running, at least I’m doing something,” she said.

Take a break by hopping on a bike, getting on the elliptical, going for a walk, swimming laps or even jogging in the pool, Drago said.

Take ibuprofen for the pain, and make sure you stretch sufficiently.

You’ll want to build up the muscles around the knee by doing strength training such as squats and lunges to help support you on those long miles, according to experts.

Pagliano recommends strength workouts three times a week on alternate days, which should include upper body strengthening.

And if the pain lingers for more than two weeks, that’s when you should go see someone.

Some tips to avoid running injuries include: shortening your stride, running on even surfaces, cross-training, and getting shoes fitted to your gait at a specialty running store, according to Runners’ World magazine.

So, there’s hope yet. I just have to take it easy for a couple of weeks.

“It’s possible to get right back out there and get back on it,” Drago said.

“And your body will just come along for the ride.”

December 7, 2011

A support system can go a long way

Follow Rachel’s day-to-day training on her twitter and facebook pages and read more of Rachel’s marathon experience every other Sunday in the San Gabriel Valley Tribune.

By Rachel Luna, Staff Writer
Posted: 12/04/2011 06:37:06 PM PST

It’s official. I ran a half marathon. Well, a half marathon length (13.1miles) in my training, not a race.

But it still counts. It’s definitely a major breakthrough.

My training group even rewarded me with a chocolate medal of excellence for my accomplishment, which I ate shortly after showing it off.

Hunger and a desire for a chocolate treat are to blame. It was my first running award … darn!

My photo instincts managed to kick in just in time to snap a memorable photo before it was too late.

It’s the little things keeping me running. I’ve gotten so used to having a support group behind me through this experience.

And there’s nothing better than training with a group to top it all off.

Each Saturday, 200 of my closest running buddies from the Inland Empire L.A. Roadrunners and I run together, encouraging one another to keep up the training and stay focused on our marathon goal.

The program has become an automatic reliance to keep my training consistent. The extra bonuses with being a part of a running group are all the water stations that keep me hydrated along the routes and the complimentary treats table to enjoy after a long run with everybody.

I don’t have to worry about a thing when I stick with the group.

However, I faced a big hurdle when I had to complete the 13-mile-training. I had to do it alone and had no idea what to expect. Without my accustomed “safety net,” I prepared myself for a lonely half marathon in the Northern California countryside in the middle of nowhere.

It was a thrill knowing I’d reach the half marathon point, but nerve-wracking to face the reality I wouldn’t have anyone talk to or train with during the run.

It was a long run – a two hour and 52 minute run/walk to be exact (it took a little longer because I kept slowing down to take photos). But it flew by.

And the best part was I still had my support group interacting with me via social media. I got the pleasure of sharing my experience of running in the boonies with others.

It helps that I’ve somewhat learned how to tweet while running … when it’s safe.

My first half marathon experience was an unusual accomplishment in my training process. It never felt like the lonely 13.1 miles I expected.

So to all my running mates, followers and readers out there, thanks for your continued support in my endeavor.

I’m nearly halfway through it and at the rate I’m going, I think it’s safe to say I’m going to stick around to see how my adventure ends.

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