St. George Marathon 2011

As marathon weekend got closer and closer I got more and more sad that I wasn't running it this year. I hadn't registered because the plan was to maybe be expecting by this time, but since that wasn't working out I kept wishing I would have registered. Turns out a lady in my ward couldn't run because she had an injury and when she asked two weeks ago if I wanted her spot I said YES! Which made me both excited and nervous. I was slightly nervous that I hadn't trained for the marathon, but also a little hopeful because I had a pretty decent running base and I just did Redrock, which was tough and a lot of miles.

I slept at my aunt and uncle's house in Central, which is half a mile from the starting line. Sweet. But I didn't sleep well. My alarm went off way before I was ready to get up. So I got ready and had half a cinnamon raisin bagel and half a yogurt. I wanted to eat more but it was all I could do to even get that much down. I was so so nervous at that point. I headed out the door and, just like last year, didn't need a jacket or gloves. Yikes. Another hot one. But because of last year's experience I felt I could deal with that. When I got to the starting line I was just wandering around by my lonesome trying to find a familiar face among the 7,000+ people. Then Dynamite came on and I found the flash mob dancers and we did our dance:) It was way fun, but only about 20 people did it. After that I found my friends Camee and Jamie and stayed with them until the start.

I ran the first two miles with Camee and her friend Nicole. Camee took off after that and Nicole and I stayed together and chatted and I was thinking, hey I'll just stay with this girl, she was my same pace and so fun to talk to. So, we get to Veyo and she has to use the bathroom before we head up the hill. So I wait with her. (This will matter later.) We head up the hill, which I don't mind at all. I know it's the dreaded "Veyo Hill" but I'd take that over the two mile incline afterwards any day. So I make it up and Nicole is not with me. I jog backwards for a minute looking for her and trying to decide if I should wait or take off. Keep in mind I had not yet decided what I was going for in this race. I hadn't trained for it so I didn't know if I should give it my all and see what happened, if I would die halfway through if I did that, how much to conserve, etc. I spot Nicole and am running with her again. Somewhere on top of Veyo Hill I look over and see this sign:

And I yell out, "Hey! That's me!" I've never had a sign for me during a race before:) I highly recommend it, it was so much fun to see "my" signs and I felt so special.

So Nicole and I run together for another two miles and I can tell she's holding me back so I tell her, "I'm gonna go for it!" and I pull away. By this point we're at mile 10. I know my friend Jessica and my cousin Travis are working the mile 15 aid station so I set my sights on making it there. I told Travis to expect me around 9:00 and I got there at 9:06. I'm feeling way good at this point. I had decided to hit up every aid station, which is every odd mile. I knew that last year I didn't refuel or drink enough and I didn't want to make that same mistake. I had also left my handheld water bottle and Hammer gel behind at the last minute. It was just too heavy to carry. So I wanted to make sure I got enough fluid in me.

After I left mile 15 I set my sights on 17, where I would be looking for my friend Haley. I never did spot her, but it was nice to have that as my next check point. This is where I started to wonder what was going to happen. Last year was going great up until this point, then I started to fall apart. But this year I had played it safe and had stopped at every aid station and drank Gatorade and water, then dumped four or five cups of water on my head. I wanted to make sure I stayed on top of the heat getting to me. I never did have any Gu or gel of any kind. I just never felt like I needed it. I had some orange slices, half a banana at one stop, and three anti-fatigue pills during the race. Mile 20 comes and I'm happy to see that someone had taken down the wall that was there last year:) This is the final push up the incline by the Ledges and I was still okay and able to run it. My next check point is Tabernacle, where I know my friend Ali will be. As I dropped into St. George I started to feel like I was going to be able to finish strong. I was not having the urge to stop and walk and was not feeling the heat too much. So I kept on pushing.

At mile 24, where we turn onto Diagonal, I glance at my watch and realize I have a shot at breaking four hours, but I'm gonna have to push it. So I dig deep and I push. I start "sprinting". (I'm pretty sure it didn't look like I was sprinting, but it sure felt like it.) I get on Tabernacle and am almost to the roundabout when I spot Ali. She comes out to give me a high five and I yell, "I'm not gonna make it under four hours!" She says, "Yes you are!" So with that bit of encouragement I keep going as strong as I can. I make the final turn onto the final stretch and I'm looking for my family and then out of nowhere Kaelee's running next to me in her frayed cut off jeans and tennis shoes and she's yelling into her phone, "She's coming! She's coming!" And I keep going hard and I see Casey in his red/pink shirt standing in the road with the camera and I look at my watch and I know I'm not gonna make it. But I keep pushing, and I can feel the urge to throw up, and I pray, Heavenly Father, please don't let me throw up in front of all these people. And all the way to the finish line I'm praying and swallowing throw up and checking my watch and I finally get there with a finish time of:

4:00:05

That's right, FIVE SECONDS over four hours!!!! I get my finishers medal and I walk around in a daze for a minute, then I bend over and grab my knees and I keep looking at that number on my watch. Five seconds. So close. On the one hand I PR'd by eight minutes. Yay! That's huge, and so unexpected for this one that I hadn't trained for. On the other hand, come on! I start thinking back on all the stops I made and the decision I made to wait for Nicole at the bathrooms. After a race is when you're really hard on yourself and start thinking all the what if's. Anyway, I grab two cups of Dr. Pepper and I make my way out to where my family is waiting and I laid on the grass and kept thinking how all I wanted was a chocolate milk and I couldn't find one. Then Melissa asks my time and I show her my watch and she says, "Oh, no!" and I start to cry. It's just so dang close! I mean, technically, I ran it in four hours. But, my time is not under four hours. It's hard to understand why it matters, but it does.

Anyway, I'm HAPPY! I'm so happy and so proud of myself and so glad I had an awesome day and my recovery has been easy and my body is healthy and I ran the St. George Marathon!!!

This sign made me laugh out loud:

And I missed this one, which makes me sad:

This picture makes me so sad. This is when I looked at my watch and realized I wasn't going to make it.

I'm sprinting!

After showing Melissa my watch. :(

Beckham was there to keep me hydrated. He mostly just drank all my stuff.

My people.

My fam. Jada and Caleb were fishing with Grandpa.

My ice bath. I'm a firm believer, but that doesn't mean it's fun.