Walt's Story

Walt's Story - It's a long one.   

It's been amazing reading all the great stories, and the thing that keeps coming to my mind is, what did we all get out of this. 

Each time I've done this Marathon, it's been completely different.  I do remember another year when it started hot, and got hotter, and I knew I was in trouble from the start.  I hate the hot weather, I sweat when I do my training in the cold early morning hours, I rarely wear a jacket when I run.  I was an assistant PL during that other hot marathon, and I felt really bad mainly because I couldn't keep up with the group, and I ended up walking the last 6 miles, it was not a Run/Walk group...it was a full Run group. I felt bad for quite a long time after that, like I had failed in some important way...but I did come back and I returned to the program.

So I knew this one was going to be bad, I really was full of anticipation, I knew my weakness.  I didn't want to be negative and over think it, I didn't want to start and submit to a predetermined sense of failure.  I didn't want to let my fears to overshadow all the great first timers that have trained so hard. So I had this speech in my head as to what I was going to say to the group at Dodger stadium before we started. I wanted to let them know that no matter what happens out there, we already were champions because we had made it to the start.  I had this clear idea of a rousing motivating pep talk....but when I gathered everyone together before we went out....I looked at all your faces, and I almost lost it...I didn't want to breakdown into tears in front of everyone, but that's what I felt inside, I was so overwhelmed with pride at how well everyone had done, and now I was sending them out to the wolves. I can't remember what I said, the words didn't come out like I had envisioned....but I just tried to get everyone pumped up some how.

I don't know why I came up with that stupid idea to carry a "W" balloon....John...I miss you because you always came with a simple white baseball design balloon and that always worked in the past.  So on Saturday, I'm driving around crazy to find a large helium filled W....I did find one downtown eventually...and then it wouldn't float up normally, so I had to hold the damn thing and keep my arm up.  But if you saw the start on TV, there we were...a big W crossing the start line. I taped it, and can show everyone at the BBQ.  Finally I tied it off in Chinatown, and left it behind, but then a few miles later....we saw it sailing away up into the sky.  That made it all worthwhile.

My memories of the marathon were erratic....some great moments, and some not so great. We started off at a fast clip...the first three miles we did a 14min/mile pace (target 15min/mile) but since we did have the cloud cover, the energy of the crowd and the downhill sections...I figured this was good to bank these fast miles. I knew we would slow down later....and of course walk that giant hill up to the Disney Hall.  Speaking of hills....yes our first wave leaving Dodger Stadium was great...we got so many people doing it, too bad the TV cams weren't there.  When we did it again around mile 14 leaving Sunset Blvd. heading down to Bev Hills, that was another great group one too.

Going through Little Tokyo...I saw a giant Pikachu..it was this guy Louis I know, taking pictures wearing this full length yellow outfit.  We ended up seeing him like 4 times throughout the run...I have no idea how he did that.  Louis himself is an amazing guy...did a few Ironman Triathlons...think his next race will be 50miler.  

I know we all got hit hard in Hollywood...that sun just came blazing down on our backs...I remember saying at least it's not in our faces.  This kinds of reminds me of that torrential ran one....it hit us hard around the same area too...and wouldn't let up either.  Now that some of us have done both....extreme heat or extreme cold rain....I'll pick the rain any day. 

It was after that, that I started to notice certain folks were quietly disappearing, and I was just so focused on keeping the group moving forward, that I was trying not to worry too much. Somehow I honestly believed that they would be okay and make it to the finish. 

Along the way, we picked up a few folks, and it was great to have them along for the ride.  We also had Shino, who had trained with my old RW5 group a few years ago, and she stuck with us through the entire distance.  Then there were a few folks, who I didn't know, but they hung in with us for most of the way.  Andrew was the tall guy who helped me by just being there.  Gary, of course was our former RW coach, and I ran several marathons with him, and his wife Barbara was also my PL for a few marathons.  So it was great having him checking in on me and helping me through some tough sections.

I guess we were just a bit ahead of schedule, so my sister Ed and Wayne missed us at mile 17...then it became a scramble to come up with an alternate intersection to get to us our little snack bags and bananas.  They eventually did find us around mile 19, and boy what a relief that was.  We had bagged peanut butter filled pretzels, gummy bears, pretzels, a peppermint hard candy, and some jelly beans.

Not sure how much everyone ate, but it was just great to see family and Jessie, my oldest helping out.

I knew Bill had fallen back a bit, and so did Jamie....and Daanee was pretty funny about needing to use the bathroom, but didn't want to wait in line....so she finally phoned a friend along the route, and asked if she could just run in and use the bathroom. We saw her run off and disappear into an apartment building...hope it was a good stop. 

The heat was really bad, and I had my own doubts about whether I could actually handle it.  Every water station now become a ritual...drink at least one cup, another on my neck, another in my hat...and maybe drink and rinse out another.  It must of worked because I just kept going.  Every now and then...a slight hill or a nice chunk of shade, I would make sure we walked a bit more. 

I kept fighting within myself of trying to maintain a reasonable pace...we were still slightly ahead of schedule...we had surprisingly banked enough time, but I knew we were going to use that up going up the VA and into Brentwood, since I would be calling 1/1s through there.

But I couldn't tell if I was hitting the wall....or I was just plain numb and nauseous, but it was cloudy in my head pretty much for the entire last 6 miles.  I didn't have the energy to tell stories, or be entertaining...I had a weak attempt of leading a cheer through that tunnel in the VA...but boy I felt pretty useless and pathetic.  So all I could focus on was to keep moving, run/walk...call it out...try to keep people moving.  I just wanted to finish and be done.

I remember telling Patricia....who was solid as a rock, to get Nancy to come up front and call the intervals....Nancy, who is always so helpful....just bounced up there and with her usual pleasant self...and just took over.  I was so dead at that point....we went back to our 2/1s just as we started down San Vicente after 26th St.  It seem to take forever....those mile markers were so far a part....and I know Ocean would be even longer....but deep down inside....I knew I had kicked the monkey off my back, and that I was going to finish on a blistering hot day...and still make our target.  My garmin watch had us completing 26.5 miles...avg. pace at 14:51....in 6:33.

A group of us gathered and did our finish cheer.....Kick Ass it was.  I got my medal, and went back to the finish line hoping that I could wait for the rest of the folks to finish.  Both Gary and Barbara were there too.  I know Patricia and Nancy wanted to wait too, but then Nancy really wasn't feeling well, so they went to search for water.  I knew I had this problem last year...and sure enough it started to happen again...as I couldn't focus my eyes....or control the dilation, as everything would get really bright and overexposed.

I saw just a handful of people, and I finally after only 30 min. had to call it a day, and go find my sister and the ride home.

What I got out of all this, was that I think I had trained well this year....luckily no injuries, no major illness...and even though I was a bit more serious about this run, and maybe was guilty of pushing the group too hard on this unforgiving day. I had this over consuming fear that I might fail the group and not be there to lead them to the finish.  I wish I could have not been so concerned about this, since as it turned out, little pods of RW6 was scattered throughout the course, and some folks were able to support and help each other. 

I hope that everyone did finish, knowing that if it weren't for the heat, they would have been right there with the front group....even with a few bathroom stops...on a more normal day...they would have caught back up.

So did we all accomplish out goal...yes...we started the marathon, and we finished it....and given the weather...the time is not that relevant...everyone got the same medal.  On a more technical note....I was doubtful whether the change in the training schedule was going to be good enough.  In the old days we would work in three 20 milers...including one of them being a 22 miler.  Things have changed drastically, and the science of endurance training has really been more thought out.  I would say on the surface it did work well, but will have to try this all over again and hope to have cooler temperatures to really tell if this new training sched. is actually better.

I hope everyone got something special out of this culmination of our training.  It was tough, brutal, unfair how hot it got, but we survived.  If we can survive this, then all of life's other challenges may seem more manageable.  Like Jo's situation with her mom, Teon's struggle in spite of all his race training, Ann and Brent's comeback after cancer treatment, and of course Steve's most memorable year of physical hardship.....we too can join this elite survivors club. Nothing but pride...we left it all out there on the course...nobody held back.

We came, we ran, we kicked ass....we are RW6.

Walt