L.A. Marathon: I Did It

Oh my gosh, I DIT IT! I still can't believe I indeed crossed the finishing line after running 42 km/ 26.2 mi

At mile 20 I was dying and had my doubts ever reaching the destination although I was almost done: "only" 10 more kilometers to go. I was ready to just walk the rest but quickly realized that the pain was even worse (my calve and hip muscles were very much exhausted). So I continued running. At mile 25 I asked another runner whether we already completed the 25th mile or whether we still have to run it. The guy ensured me that we only had to go 1.2 miles. And that gave me a whiff of energy and I started to sprint. That's a least what I thought I was doing; it didn't look like a sprint for anybody else though. Eventually, I crossed the finishing line after 04:11:12 (chip time) ~ which I think is a wonderful result for a first marathon run.

Results
Overall place: 2286 of 20221
All female: 397 of 7830
Division place (35-39): 67 of 1007
[ place results may still change slightly ]
- - - - Pace: 9:35 - - - -
3 blisters
A huge amount of muscle pain in my calves.
Zero knee problems (remember: my knees where my biggest concern)

Mara (experienced marathon runner) and Jan (first time marathon) accompanied me that day. They finished in astonishing times:
Mara: 03:40:24 | overall: 764 | all female: 101
Jan: 03:46:35 | overall: 970 | all male: 839

Gallery [ pw required ]
Check results [ official marathon site ]
Course [ animated map ]

L.A. Marathon: Runner's Log

November 2006
After missing the Valencia Half-Marathon, I make the huge decision to participate in the LA Marathon in March 2007. I always said I would never run this distance, for in my eyes a 42 km run just doesn't seem to be a healthy distance at all. Nevertheless, I registered for it.

January 2007
My trainings volume has increased. The more I train the less I think I will reach the finishing line. This distance just seems to be too long. But the idea of being in the middle of the crowd makes me then stronger.

December 2007
For Christmas I get a membership in a sports club. My training can continue despite the weather changes. Wonderful.

February 2007
The date comes closer and I feel I am not ready for the big race yet. I am not feeling too good at all. For two weeks I have had the feeling I am getting sick - a cold or so... I need to cut my training in order to avoid any longer interruptions.

February 25, 2007
The last week of training has started. The training runs are shorter. I try to relax and still recover. I have already started a list with all the things I need to do and get for the race day.

Thursday, March 1, 2007
Today is my last day of training. I am going to run 3 miles and focus on stretching.

Friday, March 2, 2007 @ 11.14 pm
I have already picked up my runner's package including chip and bib for the race on Sunday. I am really getting more and more nervous. Only one more day before the huge challenge is awaiting me.

Saturday, March 3, 2007 @ 10.35 pm
Gosh, I am really nervous although there is not need to be nervous about anything.

Family Tree - Geni

For quite some time now I have been looking for a good program that helps me create a family tree. And the other day I stumbled across this cool server based program which lets me build my personal family tree - FOR FREE.

Geni - everyone's related
No need to download a program. All the information sits right on a server. You only need to create an account by clicking on the provided link above. Or get invited from a family member; then, sign-in by using the link above.

One of the wonderful things is I can invite my family to participate in collecting all the information. Each person has his or her own profile page including images and IM contacts. Every family member can add people and information. This way it is a lot easier to get all the information together, for everybody remembers and knows different facts. The program has different view options that make it easy to see the realationships between people. The tree can grow forever - which makes me think "everyone's related".

It is really one of my biggest wishes to get as much family history together as possible. We never think about the fact that at one point important sources may not be available any more... Thus, I really needed to get started; I just wasn't sure how I should start getting all facts in one pot. That problem seems to be solved... Lets hope my family will be as excited as I am right now!!!