Marathon #20

About two weeks ago I accomplished a huge personal goal - I completed my 20th full marathon! I had planned to run marathon #19 and #20 in the fall of last year, but cancer had other plans. Fortunately I was able to run the LA Marathon as #19 this year, and just last weekend I ran the Long Beach Marathon as #20. 

Last Long Run By The Coast

I had run this race years ago and liked it for its flat course, scenic route by the beach, and easy access to/from the start line from the surrounding hotels. I was originally training to run this race with Tara who ran the LA Marathon with me, but unfortunately she got injured and had to drop back to the half. My friend Barb who had been training with us but was signed up for the half (because she had the NY Marathon three weeks later) heard that Tara couldn't run with me anymore, and took my plea seriously when I joked that she should upgrade to the full instead. Well, as my mom taught me as a kid - you never know what you're going to get until you ask! And I'm so glad I asked, because Barb ended up running with me! Thank you Barb!

Here are some pictures that tell the story of the race better than words.

Pre-Race Pedicure Tradition

Long Beach Marathon Theme: PINK!

Crafting Time With Iron-Ons

Outfit Complete!

Tara's Long Beach Shirt

Race Morning Breakfast of Champions

30 Minutes Till Race Time!

Best Husband EVER

Bumped Into Blogger Friend Ciry At The Start

Sun Coming Up At Mile 6

No Turning Back Now

We're Halfway Done!

Still Feeling Good 

We've Spotted David!

Best Banana EVER Apparently

20 Miles! Piece of Cake From Here

Who's Got The Spirit? Barb Does! :)

One Mile To Go!

"One More Mile" Sign With Signatures

Found Our Names!

Flying Towards The Finish Line

Marathon 20 - CHECK!

 

20th Marathon, 2nd During Chemo

Me & Barb (Aka Bad Ass Running Buddy)

Blowing My Fitbit's Mind!

Long Beach Marathon Medal

We finished the race at exactly 5:01:00. I wish we could have shaved a minute off! Oh well. This was my 2nd slowest marathon ever, but a 23 minute improvement over my "powered by chemo" LA Marathon, so I was happy.  I've been feeling stronger each month and hopefully I'll be running like I used to at some point in the future.

After the race David and I had a quick lunch in Long Beach before heading back to San Diego to relax and enjoy the rest of our Sunday. As it turned out, the annual neighborhood street festival was going on that afternoon just a few blocks from our house so we went down to check it out and listen to some bands.

Golden Hill Street Fair

Representing My Hood

It's hard now to believe that the marathon wasn't even two weeks ago. It seems like it was so long ago! I have a couple other shorter races planned for the rest of the year and I am already thinking about what marathons I want to run next year. So far I'm signed up for the Maui Marathon in September since the registration fee was only $26 (who could resist?!) and we were already planning on going back to Maui next summer for our one year wedding anniversary. I'm also eying the Napa Valley Marathon in March and have a couple friends who seem interested in that as well. We'll see! For now I will try to revel a bit longer in this accomplishment and try not to dismiss it too quickly before moving onto my next goal. I can't believe I made it to 20! HUGE thanks goes out to Barb for switching to the full marathon at the last minute and running with me the whole way. You are truly a Bad Ass Running Buddy!