Last weekend my dear friend Edith and I ran the Long Beach Marathon! When we became early morning running buddies last December, and trained for a half-marathon in March, she told me she didn’t think she’d ever run a full marathon. Then we got lost in the trails of Chesebro Canyon and turned a 2 hour run into 4.5 hours of running and hiking the steep hills… making it through that experience helped convince her to train for a marathon with me!
Look at those beautiful gray skies… 60 degrees and overcast is PERFECT running weather! Do you see us in our pink jackets?
My mom came along to be our driver/photographer/cheerleader and we are so glad she did! She even took the bus across town to meet us at the 11 mile marker. We might not be able to run any more marathons unless mom comes along!  I told Edith that mom would be sure to come up with a cute and catchy sign, she always does:
In the picture on the left, we are at mile 6, feeling great and very excited.  At mile 24, the smiles are mostly fake… we’re nauseous and just wanted to be done!
The race was quite enjoyable… is that weird to say? The course’s constantly changing scenery kept things interesting. I got a cramp in my side at mile 11 after I scarfed down a banana and a donut hole (someone was handing them out!) but it was gone within a mile. Running didn’t even start to feel difficult until mile 17 so that’s when we turned on our iPods. Sure we were feeling a little sick at the end, but it was worth it! We came in at a great time: 4:42! We were thrilled with the time, as well as the the fact that we got to stay together the whole time, and never stopped to walk.
Our husbands, kids and my mom met us at the finish line for some snacks and the trek back to the cars. That walk always seems to take forever!  I just wanted to go to bed.
We’re already planning our next run… a half marathon in December!
