Not L.A. Marathon

I am back from Maui just in time to do the L.A. Marathon, but there's only one problem: I ran last year's Palos Verdes Half Marathon in May. Despite featuring a course overlooking the coast, PV's event fell on an unusually hot day...and I suffered a near total meltdown! A Memorial Day Weekend 26.2 mile race ending in downtown sounds like a recipe for disaster. Plus there are concerns over the recent change of ownership. Would the event run smoothly? Would there be enough water / cooling stations?

Instead, I decide to run an easy 10km orbit...including the first mile I have run on PenHi's track. The morning marine layer is keeping temperatures close to ideal. Heck, I am averaging sub-8 per mile without pushing myself.

As I return home in time to watch (on TV) Wesley Korir shatter the course record, I realize I very well could have run this year's event. Heck, I put up with humid temperatures rising into the 80's for the Maui Marathon. I cannot let anticipated weather dictate which races I should and should not enter. I should have run this year's Palos Verdes Half Marathon as well!

Next year, L.A. Marathon celebrates its 25th Anniversary and promises to not only return to early March, but also feature a course that starts at Dodger Stadium and reaches the sea. If I do not get injured while running the Long Beach Marathon this October, I will run in next year's event!