It has been a tradition for the past 4 years to run this marathon on the day after Christmas. This year made it 5 years in row. If you don't already know, Operation Jack was created by a guy named Sam for his son, Jack. 5 years ago, Sam ran 61 marathons in a year to raise awareness and money for autism research. The Operation Jack Marathon was created out of necessity to complete the the 2010 Operation Jack schedule and was intended to be a one-time event. Due to overwhelmingly positive feedback, it has become an annual race benefiting the Operation Jack Autism Foundation.
So early Friday morning, I made the drive out to Dockweiler State Beach. It was a very familiar drive for me as it was pretty much driving to LAX. I got there at about 6 am to pick up my race bib and shirt. The price to park in the beach lot was $6 again this year. I took a little nap in the car and got back out to cheer on those taking the early start at 6:45 am.
Race shirt
The race started at 7:30 am after some last minute instructions. The race course started with us heading up North on the bike path to Ballona Creek. My first mile was a little bit faster than I had planned to run, so I dialed it back a bit. We then ran up the Ballona Creek Bike Path. From the starting line, it was about 4 miles to the turnaround point. After getting to mile 6, I had to slow down quite a bit. I normally run hard on the first 10k, but boy I felt spent. At around mile 8 we run past the starting/finish area. It would be about another 2.5 miles going South on the bike path to the second turnaround point. My entire right leg did not feel right at all coming back up to the halfway point. The IT band was getting tight and I was getting discomfort in the knee.
Rest, set, go! (Photo from Jake Rome)
1: 7:34
2: 8:06
3: 8:23
4-5: 16:41 (8:21)
6: 8:20
7: 9:23
8: 9:19
9: 9:09
10: 9:35
11: 9:22
12: 10:02
13.1: 10:38 (9:39)
Halfway: 1:56:31
It was quite a struggle plodding along on the bike path as the day got warmer and warmer. The miles of concrete was wearing me out! While going back North on the Ballona Creek Bike Path, I saw Nadia heading back to the finish. I tried to stay on the dirt during this section, anything to get away from the hard concrete or asphalt. It was good to see one of my friends on a bike. Him and a couple others had placed the mile markers earlier in the morning. After the turnaround, I bumped into a friend that lives nearby. She was just out putting in a few easy miles as she was running a 100 miler at Across The Years at the end of the month. She ran with me back to the starting area. Those 3 miles went by a lot easier. The last 5 miles were a bit painful as the right knee was hurting quite a bit. I had to keep taking walk breaks to alleviate the pain.
Nadia, defending female marathon champ
Running along the Ballona Creek Bike Path (Photo from Bodie)
Nice view while heading to the finish line
14: 9:17 (10:18)
15: 10:36
16: 11:50
17: 12:04
18: 12:07
19: 11:41
20: 11:58
21: 11:50
22: 13:28
23: 15:21
24: 14:18
25: 13:28
26.2: 14:07 (11:45)
Finish: 4:38:36
"It doesn't get any easier, you just get faster."
2013 - 5:03:46
2012 - 4:52:59
2011 DNF
2010 DNF
After I crossed the finish line. I felt like I had just run a horrible race for my last marathon of 2014, but for me anything around 4:30 is a good race. I felt a little bit better when I realized that that was my fastest finish for this race. I also had to remind myself that I had dropped out during the first two years. So it's really true what they say... that it doesn't get easier, you just get faster.
After talking to a few of my friends and trading race stories, it was time for me to go find some food. I changed out of my running clothes and put on the cotton race shirt. It felt very tight for a medium. I thought it was pretty dark during packet pickup so maybe they gave me a small instead.
Medal and bib
As I headed home, I drove to my favorite ramen shop in Fullerton, but it really packed from the outside. So I kept driving and stopped by The Habit on Nutwood Ave instead. I've driven by this location many times, but I've never eaten here before. I guess it was a good thing that the ramen shop was packed as I was really craving a burger instead. I could've easily eaten another one.
Double Char!
When I got home, I finally checked the t-shirt tag and found out that it was women's medium. Phew, I thought I was getting fat from all of the holiday eating! :)
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