Long Beach Marathon

I did it!!! Back in January, about a week before my birthday, I decided that I would sign up for a marathon. At the time I had only been running 5-6 months and the idea of running a marathon (26.2 miles) seemed crazy to me.

I decided that since this would be my first marathon, I should start my training in June so that I would have at least four months to train. I followed my plan as much as I could, though I did have to stop training for the first three weeks in July. The reason for this was that I hurt my foot and had trouble walking. Despite the break i took, I feel like my training really helped me prepare for my first marathon.

Before the Long Beach Marathon, I had done three half marathons. The longest run i did in training was a 20 mile run. The day of the marathon, I woke up really early because I was so nervous. In fact, the whole week before the marathon, I kept thinking to myself, what did I get into?? I really did not think in would be able to finish the 26.2 miles. I felt so unprepared.

It took me 5 hours and 17 minutes to finish the marathon. There were a few moments during the race when I wanted to quit. I felt a little dizzy at miles 13-15, but eventually felt a little better. At the end I felt really sore. Was in so much pain all over my body! But I’m already looking forward to doing this again at the LA Marathon in March 2018. I’ve learned a few things that I will do differently next time.

I’m happy to be able to call myself a marathoner!