We’d Run Twenty-six Point Two!

The alarm went off at 4:15 AM, but I was already awake. Before I could even turn off the alarm, Jeremy was also awake and getting up, setting a new personal record (PR) for the shortest amount of time it has ever taken him to get out of bed. So with one PR already in the books, I was optimistic about the race.

Since the race was a point to point course, we decided to park at the Finish Line, which meant taking a shuttle to the Start Line. The last shuttle leaving the Finish Line lots departed at 5:30 AM, so we were on the road and heading to Santa Monica by 4:45 AM. And by 6:00 AM, we had arrived safely at Dodger’s Stadium. Two hours to go until the race would begin…

It was cold. And dark. And the forecast called for rain. So we grabbed a seat under a tent and ate breakfast. Drank coconut water – lots of electrolytes and potassium. And stood in the line for the port-o-potties. I think we each went three times before the race started. (The third time was a charm for Jeremy!) We did a little warming up and stretching, and by 7:24 AM, when the elite women and wheelchair racers started, we were ready to go. We huddled in the corral and cheered with the 26,998 other runners as we counted down to our start.

Mile 1: Departing from LA Dodger’s Stadium, we enjoyed the typical hurry up and wait marathon start. We’d start running only to have to walk again because of the crowds. Did I mention this first part of the first mile was uphill? Well, that didn’t help thin the crowd. We finished Mile 1 in 11 minutes. But things picked up from there…

Miles 2-3: Downhill and fast! We entered Chinatown and then the rain started, a light drizzle. Winding through the streets of LA, we passed through Little Tokyo as well. Lots of fans holding posters for Japan. It turns out that approximately 100 Japanese runners flew to LA to run in the marathon, as a race they had planned to run in Japan had been cancelled because of the earthquake.

Miles 4-6: Passing through downtown LA, we conquered the only decent hill of the race. And even that hill would have been considered a flat in San Francisco. An impressive band of steel drummers played as we climbed, and before we knew it, we were crossing the 10K mark in under an hour.

Miles 7-10: The miles between Downtown LA and Hollywood through Silver Lake were rather forgettable, except for the two times we ran across The 101 and all of the cars on the highway were honking their horns at us. I have to admit, that was pretty sweet! The closer we got to Hollywood, the larger the crowds grew. That amazed us, because by now, the light drizzle had turned into a gusty downpour. Not going to lie, it was the most miserable running weather of my life. But the race prints everyone’s names on their race bibs, so we heard fans yell, GO JEREMY! GO NICOLE! And that really helps when you’re running past bars and cafes and could go for a warm coffee. Or a cold Bloody Mary…

Miles 11-13: Hooray for Hollywood! We could barely see the Hollywood sign through the downpour of rain. However, we did catch quite a few landmarks throughout this stretch of the course, including Capitol Records Tower, the intersection of Hollywood & Vine, the Hollywood Walk of Fame, the Chinese Theater, and the Kodak Theater. We also saw my very dear friend from UVA, CLM and her husband cheering us. Thanks, CLM and WM!

Miles 14-16: Out of Hollywood, through West Hollywood, and onto Beverly Hills… That’s where we want to be! Too bad with all the rain we didn't wear our iPods, as I had Weezer queued up for this part of the race!

Miles 17-19: The rain was pretty bad in Beverly Hills. But we still enjoyed the few short blocks of Rodeo Drive, where we hit Mile 17. Turning right back onto Wilshire Boulevard after this point of the race is where I started struggling. Physically, my legs felt good and I was breathing well; however, my stomach was aching for some reason. I felt really full although I probably should have eaten a Gu or two, I couldn’t get it down. Jeremy, who was looking and feeling really strong, tried to force feed me a Cliff Mojo bar, but I couldn’t do it. I started to slow down, and Jeremy, who I was supposed to coach across the Finish Line of his first marathon, became the coach! For the next few miles, Jeremy stayed by my side convincing me that I was strong enough to keep going.

Miles 20-23: Westwood and Brentwood were essentially two large puddles. Seriously. The water at some points hit our shins. Jumping over or around puddles was not an option. Mentally, I had hit the wall. I was cold, wet, and wishing the race would just end. Jeremy was doing so well, though, and I definitely feel horrible for holding him back. I told him to go ahead without me, but he said that wasn’t the point of this race – we were doing it together. So I kept going, walking from time to time, mostly through the water stations. Throughout the end of this stretch, everyone kept saying, “Two more miles! You can do it!” This was incredibly irritating, though, as I knew we had not yet passed the 24 mile marker. False advertising!

Miles 24-26.2: A lady on the sidelines cheered, “Welcome to Santa Monica! You made it! You are going to finish!” Upon hearing this woman cheer, something inside me kicked in. I gathered all of the strength I had left in me as I walked through this last water station, and then I started running. It was pouring! I was freezing! I have never been so miserable! But then someone else cheered that it was sunny at the beach, so I pushed a little harder. We rounded the corner onto Ocean Blvd / Pacific Coast Highway, and the beach was in sight - sort of. The rain was coming at us from all angles, and the wind was blowing so hard we almost lost our hats. It was NOT sunny at the beach! But Jeremy looked over at me and said, "Nicole, Let’s finish strong!” 

And that we did. We hauled ass those last two miles! Jeremy screamed, “This is CRAZY! I can’t feel my legs!” But he was smiling. And I have never seen Jeremy smile and run at the same time. So then I started smiling, because I have never felt so proud of him. And then I sucked it up and sprinted with him down the final stretch to the finish line. 

We made it! After only four hours, twenty-seven minutes, and a million drops of rain. 

2011 LA Marathon

It's almost 9pm the night before my first marathon ever - the 2011 LA Marathon! I didn't realize that I was nervous until Nicole caught me checking my phone every 10 minutes for the weather in LA tomorrow. The forecast: 100% chance of heavy rain with wind. I am not putting too much faith in the forecast since I lived in LA for a few years and have seen the pitiful meteorologist track record - but it's enough to keep me worried and awake. I really hope that it doesn't dump on us, but we'll take it in stride (and without an ipod) if it does.

Despite the nerves, I am very excited to get out to Dodgers Stadium in the morning to start this adventure. I have a pace in mind, a pair of badass knee-high socks, body glide for my nipples, and an amazing partner to run with. Nicole has done a great job of keeping me moving and motivated, and I'm so happy that she's here to help me through this.

Having only gotten a few hours of sleep last night, we're trying to crash early so we're fresh in the morning (at 4:30am...). Wish us luck!

Hola, Los Angeles!

Well, we've had another incredible week. Lucky for me, UCLA Anderson decided to admit a few Round 2 applicants ahead of schedule! Yes, that's right. Not only was I accepted into the UCLA Anderson School of Management, the good news was delivered two weeks early. Hell yes! I was dying from all this waiting!

But the good news continues. Along with my offer for admission, I was offered a fellowship which would cover 75% of my tuition. Holy hell yes! I'm incredibly shocked and honored. Amazed and honestly, *almost* speechless.

So, with LA on our mind, it's with great pleasure that we traveled to town this weekend to run the LA Marathon -- Jeremy's FIRST marathon. We've trained hard, and I'm so proud of how hard Jeremy has worked these past four months. Sure, the weather says we're sure to run the 26.2 mile course during a monsoon, but we'll survive. And we may even have fun exploring the city that could become our new home.

Check out the course here - http://www.lamarathon.com/event/course-video!

Dartmouth: Accepted!

It is fair to say that I have been on edge for the past few weeks/months. Patience is a virtue I really struggle to exhibit, and applying to graduate school has been a long process full of waiting. However, on Tuesday, I received an email from Dartmouth's Tuck School of Business that they were moving up the decision date from March 18 to March 11. I was thrilled to cut 7 days off of my waiting period, but at the same time, I was so nervous to actually here the decision.

Jeremy spent Wednesday and Thursday morning scouring the Admissions wikis and chat rooms in an effort to figure out if the admission committee had begun making any calls to students to inform them of the decisions. (I was too anxious to follow these websites, so I was very appreciative of Jeremy's reconnaissance efforts.)

No news on Wednesday, but on Thursday morning, Jeremy reported that someone in London had posted a note on one of the message boards that he had been accepted. So the calls had started! I tried to not think about it too much, and I actually succeeded. I had plans to eat lunch with a few co-workers on Thursday, so a little before noon, we left the office for burritos. And since I felt so guilty eating a burrito without Jeremy, I asked him to join us for the meal.

We sat down to eat just before noon, and before I managed to take a bite of my lunch, the cell phone rang. Caller ID told me that a 603 area code number was calling. I jumped out of my seat and ran outside of the noisy burrito bar to take the call. It was Dartmouth! And they were calling to invite me to join the Class of 2013. Amazing! It was one of the best calls I have ever received. They said loved my application and thought I would be a great fit for their MBA/MPH program, and they even wanted to offer me scholarship. What a huge surprise!

And what a huge relief! I am thrilled not just because I can relax a little bit, now that I have been accepted somewhere. But who am I kidding? Dartmouth isn't just somewhere. It  is pretty amazing. Hugely amazing.  I think a part of me never wanted to get excited about Dartmouth and Tuck because I didn't really expect to be admitted. However now that I have gained acceptance, I'm really excited to visit Hanover, NH and see what life would be like there for three years. We're booked to visit for the Admitted Students Weekend in April, so we'll definitely report back on our trip in a few more weeks...

And how happy am I that I invited Jeremy to join us for burritos? He has been so supportive of me the past few months, and I'm so grateful for him. Of course, he was able to snap a few pics of me taking the call on his iPhone. You can't really tell, but I'm kind of shaking in these photos. And I couldn't eat my burrito when I went back inside, but I did manage to swallow a few glasses of wine with friends later that night for Happy Hour. Here I am at Mexico au Parc in South Park, San Francisco - my new favorite burrito place in the world!