A Race As a Long Run?

As of a few weeks ago I decided not to run the LA Marathon. Last weekend I dropped down to the half marathon at Surf City. I’m just not in great shape right now and definitely not in full marathon shape (no, I’m not pregnant I’m just outta shape and heavier than usual). When a few runner friends asked me if I was doing the LA Marathon I said no.

Then, I got an email this week inviting me to run a race on the other side of the world in March (more on this soon!). It is the opportunity of a lifetime and I can’t pass it up. So I accepted the opportunity and realized I needed to ‘get it together’ (<- a phrase I say all the time for different reasons).

To make a long story short… I decided to run the Los Angeles marathon as a training run. Since November the longest I’ve run in one go is 15 miles. I was thinking about just doing a solo long run tomorrow. But a long run alone, in the heat, when there is a HUGE race nearby that I have a bib for… just didn’t make sense.

While I don’t think you need to run 26 or even 23 miles in training for a marathon, I’m using the race as a long run. If I am really dying I’ll stop and call 9-1-1 or an Uber. Or I’ll hang out at the Sole Runner’s aid station until I feel better. I’ll probably walk a good amount. I night fill my water bottle with vodka to numb the pain. But I’m going to try my best and stay positive and do what I can out there.

Today I dragged my sad carcass to the LA Marathon expo to get my bib, psyche myself up and get my head in the game.

Plus, I get to carb load so I have that going for me…

Every seasoned runner knows the #1 rule of racing is “Never try anything new on race day”. So I keep going back and forth on what to wear tomorrow. I want to wear a sparkle skirt in the spirit of Valentine’s Day but even though I throw every other rule out the window I usually keep true to that #1 rule. We’ll see.

Back to carb loading…

Have a great Valentine’s Day!!!

Question: What is your favorite carb today?

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