Sunday, January 27, 2008 - Give Me Drugs!!!
Nineteen ninety-five was a very good year. I ran the Los Angeles Marathon for the very first time, and later on that year, I went skydiving out of a plane. All in the same year! To some people, these might be something you can add to your “bucket list”, the list of things to do before you “kick the bucket”. But at that time, at least for my friends and I who just turned or were about to turn thirty, it was more of a “pre-midlife crisis” mission. We all felt like we needed to accomplish something bigger in our lives. At least that was the consensus. Maybe we were just bored?
On my very first marathon, my training consisted of, are you ready for this? Two weeks of running!
And what sparked the wacky idea? It was a wacky conversation, during an even wackier situation.
For some strange and unknown reason, some friends and I were playing touch football in the middle of a very wide and busy thoroughfare somewhere in Pasadena. We were playing on the grassy island, which was probably at least sixty feet wide. Come to think of it, there is a park nearby called Victory Park. Anyway, one of our friends, Sandra had run the marathon before. She is one of those serious-athlete types, running marathons, playing in soccer and softball leagues well into her forties. She convinced another friend, Pablo and I to try it, because “she knew other friends who’d had the same amount of training, and finished with no problems.” With that vital bit of knowledge, we went into training!
I should add that during that time, I was a gym rat. I worked out, ran and swam for at least an hour-and-a-half at least five times a week. So I was already in shape, and so was my friend Pablo, who trained with me. Sandra gave us a few pointers. One was to run at least ten miles a week before the event, and make sure we don’t do any running twenty-four hours before the run. Her best advise? Don’t finish for time. The goal is to finish, period. (She was right!)
In the course of the two weeks, I read as many magazines about running marathons as much as I possibly can. Having done a “mini-triathlon” three years prior, I read quite a few articles about running, swimming, bicycling, and triathlons, even dreaming of someday doing the Ironman Triathlon in Hawaii! (There’s still time!)
In my readings, I came across an article called “How To Run The Marathon And Still Have Time For Sex”. It was in one of those throwaway running/health magazines. The article was so good, that I made several copies and gave them away to anyone who might want to run the marathon, with or without us! The article stressed the fact that when training for a marathon, how much you can “comfortably run” was the key to good training. For amateurs like Pablo and I, that was a great thing to keep in mind. All other details, like a great pair of shoes, the Vaseline all over the feet and between the legs and arms, what to wear, carbo- loading, etc., we found out by the time the “pre-run expo” came to town. This was held at the LA Convention Center with all the corporate sponsors selling their stuff and where we got to pick-up our number tag, along with our t-shirt and goody bags.
So from the conversation that day on the island, Pablo and I ran five miles every day. A week before the Marathon, we ran ten miles, an incredible feat for me, since I had never ran for more than six miles at one time. Prior to the race, Pablo and I had made a personal goal of averaging about eleven minutes a mile. That would be in the five-hour area. Just imagine, jogging for five hours!
On the day of the marathon, we were nervous and excited. It was a dismal day, having rained the night before. The forecast for the day was even more “cloudy and rainy”. Knowing this, we still didn’t bring plastic rain parkas, which were being sold at the expo. Real men don’t wear parkas!
The start was an incredible experience! You can feel the adrenaline throughout downtown Los Angeles! Runners were coming out of the woodwork, meeting at Seventh Street and Figueroa, where it starts. That year, there were sixteen thousand runners who participated. An amazing sea of people! Wet people!
When the gun sounded, the excitement was intense! You can hear Randy Newman’s “I Love LA” blasting once you reach the starting line area. I was never prouder to be an Angelino! Muhammad Ali and the mayor at the time, Richard Riordan, were waving everyone hello and goodbye! Seeing Ali even made it more inspiring, and I happen to like Richard Riordan, who also owns one of my favorite restaurants in Los Angeles, The Pantry. All this excitement and pride, hearts pumping, adrenaline going, by the time Pablo and I reached the mile one mark, we had never looked at our watches. It read eight minutes, fifty seconds. Less than nine minutes for the first mile, we were already breaking our first rule: don’t run too fast! So we slowed down, and kept a slower pace. By about mile four, Pablo had to go to the restroom! We saw lines upon lines of people waiting for the temporary restrooms. I wasn’t going to stop, especially since it was slightly raining and all I was wearing was a tank top and shorts. Most runners actually wore light plastic parkas and some even had Glad Bags draped on them like t-shirts. Experience always helps!
So the idea of running alone suddenly became a possibility. Around mile seven, we separated. I could tell Pablo was also running slower than the pace we had when we trained. I decided to go for it and started running a little faster than I planned. Even if I ran faster, as long as I am not going faster than a ten-minute mile, I’ll be ok. By about mile twelve, I see my friends who were videotaping us and cheering us on! It was a proud moment. The next mile, I hear a loud radio coming from a house announce that the winner had just crossed the finish line! Pride and humility, all within one mile!
By around mile sixteen, I was feeling great! I was enjoying all the live bands every other mile or so, and all the different cultural communities that cheer on the runners. Many Elvis sightings, and many interesting characters along the way. I strike small conversations with various runners. Make eye contacts with some inspired spectators, inspiring runners with lines like “keep going”, or the ever corny “you’re already winners!”
It was still slightly raining by mile nineteen, and I could tell that the amount of runners at this point was getting sparse by the minute. As you look at the other runners around you, you can see the pain in most of their faces. Around this time was when I met a beautiful, blonde, USC-going pharmacist!
We struck a conversation because there was no one around us by at least one hundred feet. She was ahead of me, but I was on a faster pace. By mile twenty-one, we were just trying to keep each other positive. I was actually going to go faster and maybe leave her, but I thought it was better to run with someone and stay positive than run alone. Plus she made me look good!
Just before we reached mile twenty-two, she broke out with her half-filled Ziploc bag of Tylenol. She offered me some, and I told her no, that I had planned on taking a couple after the marathon when I got home. She said, “That’s it? You’re crazy!”
My response was: “Did I miss something?”
She proceeded to explain that: “if you were sick, you’d be taking two of these babies every four hours. So for the marathon, you should take two just before the start, two four hours later, then another two four hours after that. Actually, during and after running 26.2 miles, your body is pretty much in sick mode anyway. Plus, pro runners take blood thinners so they aren’t so sore the next day!”
I didn’t hesitate. I thought it made much more sense than this whole marathon idea! She offered them to me and we ended up taking not two, but three pills each!
By mile twenty-four, I got a second wind and just ran as fast as I could. I was really starting to get cold and all I could think of was finishing. We said good luck and goodbye and I thanked her for the Tylenols. The finish line came quickly enough but it was very anti-climactic. It ended by the Los Angeles Sports Arena, and by this time, the sky was darker and the rain was falling harder. I finished with an official time of four hours and forty seven minutes! I received my medal with pride and waited for Pablo in the LA Sports Arena for more than an hour. I was cold, proud, relieved, hungry, and blood full of Tylenol!
I was sore for the next three days!
By next year, I followed her instructions about the Tylenols and she was right! I wasn’t as sore the next day, and by the second day, I was able to run again!
It just goes to show, sometimes saying yes to drugs actually helps!
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