In the infographics and tables below, you can definitely tell when things went really wrong, when the pain in my feet got to the point where every footfall felt like I was mashing my toes into the pavement and breaking the tarsals, metatarsals, and phalanges over and over and over and over again.
It was a tough day for me. I started with a nagging, dull pain in both my hip and leg. I assume that partly contributed to a stride that had me on my toes more than I should’ve been. But I think more than anything today illustrated just how quickly fitness levels evaporate, recede, and cease to exist when one cuts out the training runs. People have often asked me why I run so many marathons in a year and the answer is that I often use the races as my “long run” on weekends, such that volunteers hand me water and snacks along the way. But the truth is, I’ve long feared that if I cut back, I’d slide back down the fitness chart to depressingly worst returns. The running was a means to an end, that end being maintaining my level of fitness and hopefully addressing the mental, physical, and emotional needs of a middle-aged dude like me.
And now it seems the prophesy has been fulfilled. Was it self-fulfilling? Or was it inevitable? Either way, it was a disheartening realization that my body lacks the stamina and endurance it had even a month ago thanks to slothful lethargy. I tell myself it’s temporary, that it’s a means to healing to ensure continued success down the road… but that road seems so very far off on the horizon.
On the plus side, I got to ride out to the start line with my brother who was undertaking his first race in a while. He was dealing with his own injuries and we both made plans for ducking out at the halfway point if we couldn’t manage it. We both powered through our Rubicons; and we both hit a point later in the race when we might have dropped if we could’ve figured out HOW to drop out at that point. Both of us were in the late teens or early 20s when we hit that point and by then the med tents were few and far between. Unless we asked a local resident out cheering racers on outside their houses to give us a lift, I’m not sure if we could have dropped. And as the various signs of encouragement said along the route at this point: “You’ve come this far; might as well finish.”
One quick side note – I saw a sign today I’d never seen before at a race. I wish I’d gotten a photo of it but I’ve tried to recreate it here. This isn’t it exactly, but it’s a tribute to a top notch sign in the 20s miles:
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I didn’t take a lot of photos – I’ve done this course a few times… and honestly, my feet were hurting so much that I was just trying not to cry. Maybe taking photos would’ve helped take my mind off of things… but I doubt it.
I will though post the Before and After – from Dodgers Stadium to the Sea at Santa Monica.
And for funsies, here’s what Steve and I looked like running the 20th Annual Los Angeles Marathon 14 years ago.
