The St. George Marathon was awesome... and insanely tough.
I trained, and doing so solo was a mentally draining endevour. However, the beauty, trails and amazing weather was very uplifting. I had the specific goal of qualifying for Boston in mind. 3 hours and 35 minutes- about a 8 min/mile pace. Coming off of doing 3 Ultra-marathons my entire mode of thinking and pushing myself changed from endurance to speed. Honestly, I hated the pressure for speed. I much rather prefer ultras. I was constantly mentally tormenting myself over picking up the pace, pushing myself faster and harder. It took some of the joy out of running for me, but I wanted to see if I could do it.
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| So true about this race. I literally couldn't have given more. |
I planned meticulously for the race. Set out my food, drinks, had my bib attached to my shirt, shorts and outfits laid out. Only to set my alarm to the wrong time. Thank goodness for Jenny, she knocked on my door, waking me up and saving me from missing the race. What a disappointment that would have been!!!
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| The night before, they held a fun run for kids. Gavin did the 200 meters and Jaylen did the 1 mile. It was cute to watch them proudly run it in! I was thinking about all the races Jaylen has done already. 1 mile runs, 5ks, Run for the Hills race, a triathlon. He has a pretty impressive resume already! |
We made it on one of the last shuttles to the race. We immediately got into mile long line for the porta potties. I was getting real nervous as the time crept closer to starting and I was still in line. As I'm sitting on the porta potty, the countdown and start occurs. I've got my pants around my ankles, searching for toilet paper since there is NONE left on the roll. "Do I really need both my socks?" Luckily I found a few squares that made due. Not a good position to be in, at all. Jenny again, saved my bacon by taking care of my drop bag.
I took off looking for the pacer for the 3:35 time. For the first 6 miles or so, I was tracking a 7:15 mi/mile pace. I was feeling good. Then Veyo hill hit. 4 miles of an uncomfortable incline. I felt like I was chasing the pacer down, mustering every possible strength and reason to keep running fast and not stop. TORTURE. I would not let that dang pacer out of my sight. If I lost him, I feared I wouldn't make it. I continued feeling like I was chasing him for what felt like forever longer. I have to keep trying to keep up with this guy for 2 more hours?!?! Mentally, I was exhausted. I started seeing signs out for me- (still no idea from who), but it gave me a mental perk. On the downhill after this torturous climb, I passed the pacer and refused to let him get in front of me again.
I ran beside a man pushing his son in a wheelchair and also a man carrying a full size pole with an American flag on the end. I was in awe. These guys are amazing!! I can do this, I'm not carrying or pushing anything!! It was definitely inspirational. I kept looking at my watch- oh man. I need to keep up this pace for 1 1/2 more hours!! 1 more hour! Oh, it mentally and physically hurt to realize how far I had left to go. Finally I hit St.George. My brother and his kids were there with signs and Jared ran beside me for a minute. I was on track- I hadn't seen the pacer for over 10 miles. A couple LONG miles later, I saw Aaron and the boys. I was SO happy to see them. 2 miles left. The last mile felt like 10 miles long. It wouldn't END! I was exhausted. I have given it everything, I was running as fast as I could in- giving it all I had.
3:34:19- I made it! Not even a minute to spare to qualify for Boston. I was happy, excited, exhausted, fulfilled. Hours of running, missed sleep, mental anguish, DONE. I had proven that I could push myself and train myself to do something I had once thought was unattainable all on my own. Very happy girl.
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| The best fan group I could ask for! |
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| Right after the finish. As soon as I finished, my legs were wobbly and I couldn't walk straight. It was quite the weird feeling. I had given it my all. |
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| When I saw Aaron calling to me right after the finish. Oh, he makes me happy! |
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| Jared and the kids made this sign for Jenny. I felt like I needed a sign for Aaron. He's supported me so much, playing and watching the kids while I went on training runs, listening to me and telling me I could do it, rubbing out my constant soreness.. he's just amazing at helping me do whatever crazy thing I'm excited to do. |
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| My sister in law Jenny and her cute girls. So fun to do this with Jenny. She was the first one I saw run a marathon years ago! She did great too! She made it in about 4 hours 15 minutes. Her 6th St George Marathon! |
After the race, my legs hurt. Painful to sit down. Aaron helped me sit down and it was quite the production. Then the boys were all over me, jumping on my lap. Ouch, ouch, ouch. They were so cute and proud of me though, I couldn't help but smile. The soreness lasted for a few days to a week. I'm still mentally fried with running and have been taking a much needed break and been doing more biking and elliptical. I'm starting to get the itch again and have been out there running more in the past week.
Now on to the Snow Canyon Half Marathon on November 2! Rated one of the best half marathon's in the country!! Excited for a good, fun run with NO time goal.
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| This made me laugh! |
After talking to some guys at the end about Boston, they told me what an amazing experience it was, and that no matter what my circumstance was, I HAD to go. It could be my only chance. So, until next September I wait to see if I can get in. I may need to run another race to get a better qualifying time to ensure I can make it (UGH!) but I will be anxiously awaiting to see if it'll happen!
