Trung, Grace, Lydia, & Sophie's Blog: LA Marathon

After 8 weeks of training, the big day finally arrived. I barely slept, getting only three hours of straight sleep and waking up every hour until 3:3o AM. After a quick breakfast of a bagel with almond butter, Trung dropped me off at the Santa Monica City Hall where a shuttle took me and hundreds of runners to Dodger Stadium. When I arrived, I grabbed a banana and found a spot in a heated tent to keep warm for the next couple of hours. Everyone I talked to was very nice and it made the time go by faster. About thirty minutes before race time, I joined the masses at the porter potty lines. I didn't think the lines would be so crazy long and I had to go pretty badly, so I had to cut in front of about a dozen people, so that I could pee next.

Afterwards, I made my way to the 12.5 minutes per mile section and waited until start time and for everyone to start moving. I couldn't feel my feet for the first two miles, but once they warmed up, I felt more comfortable. I just told myself to keep running and not to stop; starting up again is harder anyways. I drank something every other mile at most unless I was eating something and needed help getting it down, and ate Clif bloks every 5 miles. When I needed some motivation, I would high five supporters and fish for cheers by pumping my arms. Someone recommended putting my name on my bib, so every now and then, I would hear someone shout out my name, which was very cool. The last 6 miles were rough; each mile took forever. By the time I hit Santa Monica and saw Patti and Cady, my first fans, holding a "Go Grace Go" sign at San Vicente and 26th St., I was nauseous, but oh so glad to see some familiar faces. They even ran with me for a few feet.

When I finally reached Ocean Ave, the wind kicked in and I had to fight it to the finish line. On the way, I saw Tom, Isabelle, and Ryan. Tom kept snapping pictures and even left his kids to run with me; I had to keep telling to go back to his kids...I seriously almost cried from the support. Just before reaching the finish line, I saw Trung, who ran behind the crowds screaming "go Grace, go Grace...whooo!" He stopped when he reached Snow and gang, and Sophie & Lydia. Everyone was cheering and I was overjoyed. After finishing, I slowly walked over to grab some snacks, take a finisher picture, and meet Trung at the reuniting area about five blocks down. Once I sat down, I couldn't get back up, so everyone knelt down next to me, taking pictures and chatting away. Then we walked over to Santa Monica Place, where Snow and I left our families for some much deserved spa time at Tikkun. I got a massage, which hurt like crazy, but I'm sure it did me some good. After relaxing for another hour, we went to Elizabeth's house for a delicious corned beef hash dinner. We got home around 8 and I conked out at 9, only to be woken up by soreness, but a great sense of pride. I did it!

Trying to stay warm with a trash bag over my legs