Marathon #32: This one is for the kids!

       LA Marathon has always been a beautiful show, especially after the new course was designed, covering the most prominent LA's landmarks. All ages, all shapes, all fitness levels. Due to work, I came to race day without proper training, but with a full heart as I was running for St. Baldrick's Foundation and all kids battling cancer. I could not avoid to think that kids with cancer always come to the challenge frightened and unprepared. 

       I knew I was not alone in my hopes and questionable fitness, as I met my friends from Marathon Maniacs for a group picture (some of them ran a marathon on the day before, some came running to the start).

       And this was lesson number one: YOU ARE NEVER ALONE, IT DOES NOT MATTER WHO YOU ARE.

       As all the runners crossed the start line at Dodgers' Stadium, the first drops of rain started to fall, announcing a challenging race. Winds started to pick up as well, making a chilly endurance statement. Seasoned runners like my friends and I started to worry about risk of hypothermia, but that all added to the race thrill, especially considering we all woke up about three hours before, and now our homes were very far away. The pretty sightseeing kept coming by, coloured by the racers and their jerseys and jackets, but the cold started to pick up. At mile 14 I was soaked, and the cold wind in my chest woke up my asthma, bringing fears of shortness of breath and race quitting. I knew if I was able to continue running I would warm up, get dryer, and breath better, so I kept going.

       And this was lesson number two:

WE ALL HAVE FEARS, WHAT MATTERS IS WHAT YOU DO WITH THEM.

       One of the nice surprises of this new course was to have the race coming to my  neighborhood, running just few blocks from home. It was a blessing from Heaven to see my beloved wife on the corner, and a kiss was the medicine I needed to cross mile 16 running light with a smooth pace. That made me sure I was going to conquer this challenge without any horrible happenings.

       Lesson number three: YOUR FAMILY WILL ALWAYS BE THERE, AND YOU SHOULD COUNT WITH THEM. 

        I came across a lot of concerns during this race, and the worsening weather did not help at all. Having passed the middle point at about 2 hours and fifteen minutes, I knew my finish time would most likely be above four hours and fifty minutes. The rain rushed my stride, and running along my friends reinvigorated my legs. In an attempt to improve my time, and also to avoid the rain, I resorted to my secret weapon: to close my eyes... I always use this in order to avoid looking at the watch or the mile markers, staring the uphills, or getting afraid of the long distances in front of me. I simply look inside my brain and rekindle my courage.

        Lesson number four:

BELIEVE IN YOURSELF: YOU CAN DO MORE THAN YOU THINK.  

        After a sprint over the last two miles, I finished the race in 4:42:42, with few tears hidden by the rain, at least eight minutes faster than my expectations. 

        This is the report of my marathon #32, not my fastest, but my best marathon, because this one was for the kids!  

Asthma Attack!

Just after posting about healthy thoughts and smoke, I come back reporting my first asthma attack in Los Angeles. The smoke created by the multiple wildfires over Southern California turned the air quality unhealthy, causing cancellation of the Pasadena Marathon, the cycling rides of most of the cycling clubs, and even the swimming workouts at the Southern California Aquatics (SCAQ), the Masters swimming program I attend. Unaware of everything happening around me, I woke up late and arrived 15 minutes before the start of the Run for Her 5K race (this one did not get cancelled), and just after running the first mile in 6:15min I felt something was wrong.

My lungs did not follow my legs during the second mile, and soon my legs did not follow my will. Still managed to complete mile 2 in 13:50, and then my race was against my body, trying to beat my PR of 22:36 achieved last year at the same race. Finished strong, and marked 22:42, six seconds above my PR! I soon started to blame the course change this year, the weak pre-race warm-up, bad nutrition, when I noticed my burning nostrils and the cough coming frequent over my fast breathing.
It was an old familiar feeling, and everything came together when someone told me the Pasadena Marathon got cancelled due to unhealthy air quality. I had taken my usual two puffs of Albuterol before the race, but those were not enough. And of course the pump was at home. After meeting my wife, I spent about fifteen minutes controlling my respiration and considering if I should go to the medical tent. Little by little, the cough became less frequent, and all the phlegm came out, assuring the beginning of recovery.

This was the first time California has failed me, and this was painful. In New York I needed daily use of long-acting beta-agonists to treat my asthma, most likely because of allergies to tree pollen during Spring, but since I came to Los Angeles, I never needed medications again. I was happy and free. Suddenly, I could not get outside my apartment, and came across limitations to my training. This was scary and sad. All the radio reports and images on the TV were describing people losing their homes, and wildfires devastated in hours, with firefighters not able to contain most of the fire. This has shortened my breath more than any asthma attack, with no fast-relieve medicines. Imagine Saturday night I thought the Moon looked beautiful bearing a dark orange brightness.


Today, the strong smell of smoke still in the air and all the newspapers remind me the same feeling I had during the race, when it did not matter how hard I tried, I could not move my body to my will.