May 28, 2009

Doug: LA Marathon

My husband is crazy.

When I first met him he didn't run.
At all.
Like running down the block was not an option.

Then he met me. :)

I don't run.
At all.
But we'll just ignore that fact for right now ;)

Anyways...

So 2 years ago he had the bright idea to start running. Not only start running, but to run the LA Marathon before he was 30. He had less then a year to make that happen. He started running one black, and then the next day two. Before I knew it he could run from his house to mine, 20 miles! And he lost a ton of weight(right in time for the wedding!).

Then when March came rolling around he ran his first marathon. I was so stinking proud of him!

And no, this did not convince me to run.
I don't run.

So you would think that one marathon would be enough right? Umm, no. Now he wanted to be the guy who "runs marathons". Like marathons. With an S.

So he kept running.

This past Monday he ran his second marathon and I couldn't be more proud.
Hell and Back 26.2 Miles

Of course, that meant waking up at 4:30am, driving over to my parents house, then driving downtown, dropping him off, and then finding a spot to cheer him on at the 2 mile mark.

LA Marathon: No Stopping

Marathon Toilets
From what I'm told... these are extremely important 2 minutes after the race starts and everyone realizes they have to go to the bathroom.

Figueroa street entrance

The wheelchair racers went first. This guy won. He did the whole thing in 1 hour and 31 minutes.

Wheelchair Racing

Then it was the elite woman's turn. To be an elite runner you have to get a qualifying time from another marathon. These chicks are fast!

Pace Car

The woman out in front with the red shirt and gray shorts won. Her time was around 2 hours.

Elite Women

The elite men were the last to start. They start at the same time as everyone else who runs the marathon, but they are a whole lot faster and can get ahead a whole lot quicker.

None of these guys won. The winner was in the middle of the pack during this shot.

Elite Men

This guy ran barefoot. OUCH!

Barefoot runner

Watching Marathon 1

There's my hubby!
Don't worry hun.. it's only 24 more miles to go!

Doug running 5

Then we hopped over to mile 4.
The pack of people was so big that some people ran on the sidewalk to get away from everyone else!

Side Runners

There is a wonderful organization that teaches students to run the LA marathon called Students Run LA.

These students smiled for my camera without me asking :)

Students Run LA

After Doug passe us at mile 4, we walked as quickly as possible back to our car (I still don't know why it took us twice as long to get back to the car as it did to get to mile 4!) and we drove over to mile 9.

Mob

My mom had saved our sign from last year. She would scream so loud every time she saw him coming down the street!

Run Doug Run!

Then it was off to mile 12.

I felt so bad for this guy. He's not even halfway there and he's totally bleeding!
(If you know anything about men and running you'll know how much pain he must be in!)

Bloody Runner

People wear the weirdest outfits when they run the marathon.

Strange dresses people

This lady thought her dog might be entertained by watching the masses of people.
I don't think he was.

Watching Marathon 2

Some of the spectators are crazy too. This guy saw the runner they were cheering for and started running down the street screaming and waving his poster.

Cheering runners on

So how is the 12th mile treating you?

Doug running 4

I guess not so bad since you're still smiling!

Doug running 3

Then it was over to 15.

Doug running 2

Then 17.
Here are my crazy parents waiting for Doug to come.

Parents 1

There was a band performing.
The poor neighbors.
They had to listen to this guy talk between songs.
He wasn't very nice to Mickey Mouse.

LA Marathon Band

We got Doug to stop long enough to get a cute photo. Thanks Dad!

Doug & me

At 19 they had oranges.
And what do runners do with orange peels they don't want?

Orange Peel

21 had a water station. Did they really think that the runners would get the cups into the trash?

LA Marathon Trash

23. Only 3.2 more miles!

Doug running

At 24 there was a group of cheerleaders cheering the runners on.

Cheerleaders

And there was a cool motel.

Oasis Motel Sign

After seeing Doug at mile 24, we headed to the finish line. The really stupid part about the LA Marathon is that they don't let you anywhere near the finish line. Family and friends can meet up at the "Family Reunion Area". It took Doug a good 5 minutes to get from the finish line to the "Family Reunion Area".

Did I mention there were TONS of people?

Family Reunion Area

There he is! All smiles too!

I wouldn't be smiling after 26.2 miles...

Doug @ Finish Line

Congrats Doug! We're so proud of you!

Finisher

And of course, if you decide to do this crazy thing again next year we'll follow you around and cheer like crazy people. If I can't run, I can cheer... right?

6 comments:

Jenna said...

You make me want to get out and see a little bit more! Love the wheelchair and barefoot shots in particular. Fantastic job choosing your shutter speed, I would have really struggled with that.

Laura said...

It was so difficult to get the shutter speed right! The elite ran one speed, the barefoot guy another, then my husband! And of course, who came out blurry more times then not? My husband!

Thanks so much for the comments Jenna, it means alot!

Korey O said...

Okay my comment didn't work the last time. I wanted to say that I still struggle with the shutter speed, and you did really great wtih that! Also, my crazy husband starting biking since we have been together (no, I don't bike either) and a few weeks ago rode from our house in Tustin up to the top of Big Bear Mountain! It was 117 miles and 12,000 feet of climbing. His parents and I served as his pit crew and it was quite an adventure!!

Aileen said...

Wow! Yay for your husband!

MaddyChristine Hope-Brokopp said...

This was so fun to read and watch!

Anonymous said...

It is funny that you write this. When I first met my fiance he was a bulky hockey player. On a whim he was invited to run the Race to Robie Creek in Boise Idaho. From there he was hooked. Did his first marathon last year and is doing an Ironman this year.

Now he's a skinny little triathlon man instead of a bulky hockey player. These photos are great and remind me of the stuff that I do when I am traveling with him for his races.