Last weekend I ran the St. George marathon. This is a beautiful race and a beautiful course. I can see why people run it again and again.
We flew in Friday to Vegas and drove to St. George to stay with Aaron's cousin, which worked our perfect. We had lunch at Paradise bakery and spent some time at their house before the expo.
Expo:
The expo was great, flawlessly run and everything about getting my shirt, bib, etc. was very organized. I enjoyed the booths and bought too much stuff.
After the expo we went to Kneaders for dinner, our favorite.
The day started early and it was cold at the starting line. We waited in a long line to use the bathroom and then finally stripped off our clothes. We joined in with the huge group of people waiting to get to the starting line.
I could tell before the race started and as soon as we started running that I was thirsty. I did not drink enough the day before but thought that if I drank at every aid station I would be fine.
Unfortunately my Garmin has died post race so I have no splits :( It did work the whole race and I was spot on with the mile markers so I can remember my times up to a certain point.
The first 7 miles fly by, you are going mostly down and I felt good. I was worried that I was hitting those first 7 miles too fast but Jeana said we were fine and that things were about to slow way down. (Our 10 k pace was 7:47)
She was right. I saw Aaron at mile 7 and gave him my arm warmers and then we hit the hills.
Miles 7-9 are big hills and they really keep going until mile 12. The pace slowed way down but I didn't let it bother me. I just kept going up and up.
We passed the half way mark at 1:46, perfect. I still felt great and like I knew that this was going to be my day. This is a negative split marathon so I planned to pick it up for the second half. Around mile 15 (the most downhill and fastest mile) I started to feel a little dizzy and noticed I hadn't sweat at all but thought I could just pull through it. Jeana had to use the bathroom so we separated and I picked up the pace for the next few miles. I flew by Aaron at mile 15ish too with a wave, I was in the zone.
I have my 20 K time and know that my pace was 7:57 and I was feeling great still. The miles were getting tougher and my legs were feeling it but I still felt like I had it in me to keep my pace up. I noticed again at mile 21 that I still hadn't sweat a drop but I was all salty. Not good. I know I passed mile 22 at 3:12 ish so still right under that 8 min. pace. I was drinking at every aid station and guing every 6 miles but at this point it was too late to do anything. It got very warm and there is not an ounce of shade. I wished I had a hat or something.
Mile 23 is where the wheels came off. My legs just cramped up on me, I got dizzy and I know I was dehydrated. Completely my fault and I could just kick myself.
These miles are all run in town and the streets are just lined with people cheering. This race is wonderful I tell you. Its completely packed until you cross the finish line. Its pretty flat here too which is pretty much the only time in the whole race. I wanted to go faster but I just couldn't. I don't know my times but I know I ran at least one 9 min. mile. I think the last 3.2 took me about 30 minutes... so very, very slow (for me). BUT I didn't give up, I didn't walk (except at aid stations), I pushed through but I was so weak at the finish line. I like to be strong at the end. Jeana passed me around mile 25 and went on to finish a whole minute ahead of me. She looked fierce, focused, and determined. Her final 5K was amazing. I so wanted to be with her and finish with her but I just couldn't. Its a tough way to finish a race. I saw Aaron right at the end and I don't even think I could smile. That was my race, it was my day and I just didn't keep it together.
But I did finish in 3:32:47!
That is a great time, a BQ, and a PR.
I found Aaron who was amazing this whole trip and told him I was a crazy for running marathons. :) He took care of me the whole rest of the day and while I missed my kiddos like crazy I was so happy I didn't have to take care of them.
Don't mind my very blue lips.
I did a lot of stretching, eating, drinking and drinking and magic creaming. I started to feel much better. I went 7 hours without using the bathroom so definitely dehydrated but once I got hydrated I had a fabulous recovery and felt good the rest of the day.
Jeana was awesome and go me through a hot summer of training and I loved running a lot of the race with her. Some day maybe I'll be fast enough to finish with her.
We went to eat in Vegas and hit up Cafe Rio and Zupas. Yum.
Aaron worked so hard and deserves a lot of praise. I wear the medal around my neck but he works so hard all through training and on race day.
I love him.
And he's very handsome.
This is what waiting for an 8 (10 Texas time) PM flight that gets delayed looks like the day you ran a marathon.
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