St. George 26.2

Friday afternoon Jared and I took off for St. George about 1 pm. Jill was once again willing to take our kids, and provide her never-ending service by picking them up from the bus and having them sleep over Friday night. Mom also came to the rescue by entertaining them on Saturday, then they got to have another sleepover at my parent's house that night. I'm so glad they had a great time while we were gone. Thank you both so much!

We got down there around 5 pm and headed right to the convention center to the Marathon Expo. It was fun to be there, surrounded by other runners and the hype of the event and excitement of what was to come the following day. I think Jared was more excited than I was. He kept talking about how exhilarating it was and how good it felt to be there. I think it was because he wasn't feeling the nervous jitters like I was!

Here I am wearing the cute running skirt my friend Lindy gave me for good luck. It's got "I don't walk" on the back and a cool graphic with a girl running on the front. Thanks Lindy! I really love it. So nice of you to bring that to me and wish me luck!

I picked up my number, chip, shirt, etc. Then we went to Brick Oven for dinner. Our friends the Bradshaws (Jeff's dad, Bob, and sister Linda) were there for the race too, along with Bob's running partner and his family. After waiting an eternity, we finally got a table and some food. It was packed due to the race, and everyone wanted the pasta bar like us.

It was fun to hear all of Bob and Dave's stories about training and about their previous runs in St. George. They are both part of the 10-Year Club so they are true veterans. Both are 60+ and I am amazed at their good health, their stamina, their resilience, and their drive. I hope that I am that motivated when I am 60 years old! Not that I plan to be running marathons at that age... but you know what I mean.

We went back to the hotel and tried to relax and get ready for an early start the next day. Jared, as you can see, was feeling pretty good- watching the BYU game and hanging out. However, I was feeling all nervous and worried that I had forgotten something or that my alarm wouldn't go off or that I wouldn't be able to get to sleep. I climbed in bed before 9 pm, trying to calm down and think positive thoughts. Alarm set for 4 am.

Everything set out at the end of my bed.

The next morning between 3- 3:30 am, we were awakened by a party going on above us. It sounded like a herd of elephants was up there, closing doors, cheering and chattering, making all kinds of racket. I guess it was racers getting ready for the early buses or something. I was not happy that I had been woken up before my alarm. I had another 30 minutes of sleep planned, but what could I do? I got up and got ready, then we headed out to pick up Bob and Linda at their hotel. We all got on the buses at 5 am, were up to the start by 5:45 am, and sat there for another hour trying to keep warm. It was freezing! There were bonfires going, but with approximately 7000 people surrounding them, there was little warmth to go around. The race began around 7 am and we were off.

I ran with Bob and Linda the whole way. It was great to have them there. The miles seemed to pass so quickly. We were half done before I knew it. We hit the infamous Veyo hill and I couldn't believe it went on forever. Up, up, up... Bob kept us going- how could I let a 65 yr old beat me!? Sadly, I lost them at the 20-mile water station, so I was on my own after that. Just me and my iPod. I didn't have a watch or Garmin so I just ran, going with how I felt, trying to do my best. All I knew was that the sign at the 20-mile mark said 3:08. I actually thought I MIGHT finish in 4 hours. I would be completely ecstatic if I finished under 4 hours, but I didn't want to get too ambitious. I had trained for a 4 hour marathon and I would be happy to get that.

Well guess what? I finished in 4:01! Or 3 hours and 61 minutes as Bob would say. It's tough to know that I was that close and if I had been watching the clock a little closer I could have easily shaved ONE single minute off my time... but that's ok. I am happy with what I got. By the way, you'll notice the clock says 4:05 but that is the gun time- not the actual time based on the chip which was attached to my shoe (for those of you who don't run races). Anyway, it was a very tough race. If I had driven the course I don't know if I would have been as confident going in as I was. I run a lot of hills around my house and I ran up and down the canyon quite a bit this summer, but still... there were some BIG hills... going UP and DOWN. By the end I could hardly handle another downhill. My quads, my feet, my right knee... let's just say I used a lot of Icy-Hot at those aid stations.

Here I am with my medal. Man, I earned that medal. It felt good to have finished the race, to have succeeded at what I set out to do that day, and in the time I wanted to do it. After last year's disappointment at TOU Marathon, I was trying to enjoy this victory. Unfortunately, at the time this shot was taken, I wanted to puke my guts out... so my smile is a little less than enthusiastic. But I did have a nice massage and I went back to the hotel for an ice bath, which I swear does absolute wonders for recovery. After a nice shower and clean up, we went to lunch at Chili's and totally gorged ourselves. I was stuffed to the rim, but when you burn a few thousand calories in one run, you gotta take advantage of it, right?

After lunch we met our friends at the pool and soaked our legs in the cool (unheated) water, which felt really good. We chatted a while and finally said goodbye. Then, to Jared's dismay, we stopped at the outlets for a little while (Jared is protesting the phrase "little") b/c I wanted to look at some things. We finally took off around 5:30 pm and headed home.

Goodbye St. George... until next time. Hmmm, don't know if there will be a next time, but we'll see.