As promised, Evan and I have not yet stopped traveling. Last week we traveled to Los Angeles for me to run my second marathon. Although the trip was solely for the marathon, we were hoping to get some time to explore and check out the city while we were there. We did get a bit of time, but boy is LA crowded!

Friday after work, we drove to Dallas, TX to stay in an Air BNB because we were flying out of the DFW airport the next day. The Air BNB was a tiny home on a farm called Mars Hill Farms a bit outside of the Dallas metro. It was adorable, and I think we both would have loved to stay a few extra days on that laid back farm! Saturday morning we got up early and after a quick stop at La La Land cafe to grab coffee and chia seed pudding, we headed to the airport.

The flight was three hours and it went super smoothly. Luckily, I was able to sleep almost the entire time, which gave me so much peace of mind knowing how much effort I’d be exerting the next day! When I woke up we were at LAX, where we had to take a shuttle to the Uber/Taxi area and grab a taxi.

We called a taxi thinking it would be much cheaper than an Uber, but we ended up paying $85 to get to Dodger Stadium. NOT the move! The expo was at Dodger stadium, though, so we had to end up there one way or another to get my packet! The expo was awesome and they were giving out all kinds of freebies like kombucha, Gu gels and gummies, cashewmilk yogurt, mini protein waffles, and so much more! I grabbed my race bib and purchased a pair of socks as a souvenir then we were on our way.

We got some strange looks when we checked into our hotel and the front desk people discovered that my mom had booked a 4 bunk bed room for her, my dad, Evan, and I (LA is expensive, and so crowded on marathon weekend)! We dropped our bags in what was essentially a hostel and walked down the road to get SWEETGREEN. I had been waiting for this for so long!

The rest of that day was pretty uneventful, we just hung out at the hotel and got pasta dinner with my parents, little brother, and his girlfriend. I ended up falling asleep around 11 p.m.- which, compared to my last marathon when I couldn’t sleep at all- was such a blessing!

RACE DAY

5:30 a.m.- my alarm went off and I remember immediately having a smile on my face, knowing it was about to be an amazing day. Evan hopped up (thank goodness) and got ready to take me to the stadium. I visited my rice cakes and small plastic bag of mini chocolate chips and pepitas that had traveled with me from the wonderful state of Arkansas.

6:30 a.m.- we realize the road we’ve taken to get to the stadium is blocked. No big deal.

6:48 a.m.- I hop out of the car and walk to what I believe to be the start line.

I was right, it was the start line, but with 22,000 people running the race, not everyone gets to start at the official start line. Although the race started at 7, I didn’t cross the start line until around 7:15.

I’ll spare you all the details of the race (I may start a separate running blog tab), but running through LA was awesome. We ran through Chinatown, Koreatown, Thai Town, Downtown, West Hollywood, Beverly Hills, and so many more places that I’d know if I was from there. 26.2 miles later I joined my family at Century City to celebrate my finish!

We went back to the hotel to shower, and then they granted my one request of sweet potato fries. We then had to go back to the hotel to take a nap because everyone had to wake up early, not just me!

That night, we went to the Griffith Observatory and saw a show in the planetarium. We quickly grabbed dinner at In n Out and headed back to the hotel to get some sleep.

Monday was kind of a blur. My legs hurt so badly that I couldn’t successfully stand, so that proved to be a bit of a problem getting around. We did get to go to Erewhon, the boujee grocery store in Beverly Hills that all the celebrities shop at. I spent at least 15 minutes just looking at all the expensive, non-water beverages in colorful cans. I then got a $17 smoothie and relished every sip. I spent that day working, and the fam grabbed coffee and food before my parents headed off to the airport. The next day, we had to leave early too! Having been to LA before, I definitely want to take Evan back and do all the essentials like the Santa Monica Pier and hiking to the Hollywood sign and going into the cute coffee shops and vintage stores and everything else. We were a bit limited by my mobility.

But, the purpose of this trip was to run a marathon, and I did just that! I was incredibly proud of my time and I decided to chase after a goal I’ve kind of had under wraps for a long time. Maybe I WILLLL start a separate “running” tab.

Thanks as always for reading!