Deseret News Marathon Review...

The race started at the butt crack of dawn, 5:30 am.  So, I was up at 2 and got to the bus by 3:05.  Thank you Joe!  I was feeling really good about my training and I had great sleep two nights before the race.  I felt prepared.  I sat by one of the sports writers for the Deseret News, Amy Donaldson, who wrote an article about the race in today's paper.  I sat with her and a few other runners at the start.  There was one big tent set up that was basically standing room only for the 500+ runners.  We were on the first bus, so we had a spot to sit down..on rocks and gravel, of course.  I think I had indents on my bum by the time the race started.  I was really surprised that there was NO music playing or fires at the start line.   Luckily, it wasn't too cold.  Another thing I was really surprised by was there wasn't a mat on the ground to start the timing chips.  Interesting. I guess we all started at the same time?  What about those who were at the back of the pack?  I was totally bugged by by that!  How accurate is their timing???

As I was talking to the other runners, they were saying that this marathon is one of the toughest courses in the nation.  Hmm, I have never heard that before.  The first ten miles was downhill.  I like hills.  Then there was a pretty good uphill.  Again, I like hills, so it wasn't a problem.  I didn't think it was as bad as they made it sound.  I was totally enjoying the scenery and the early morning.  It is a beautiful course!  I was plugging away at my training pace and feeling fabulous.  At the turn around point I saw Sharon, the lady I ran with in Ogden.  There is always a friendly, familiar face in the crowd, whether you know them or just saw them at the last race.  I love the camaraderie that running creates!

The miles were flying by it seemed.  I was at mile 20 before I knew it.  I called Erick to give him the heads up and they had only been awake for a few minutes. I was right on schedule for a 4:30 marathon.  I didn't have any nausea, I was feeling great!  There was a slight downhill on 5th South as it meets 13th East, my right IT band started acting up and was not going to take any more hills. And then my left calf started cramping.  Dehydration?  Couldn't possibly be.  I had done everything by the book.  I was drinking gatorade, accellerade, and water at regular intervals.  But I had to walk for a bit.  The course goes on the Days of 47 Parade route for about a block.  Apparently, the Days of 47 Parade is the 3rd largest parade in the USA, and the largest heritage parade.  Who knew?  People were actually camped out in tents on for the parade the morning before.  It is a huge deal to some people.  Amazing.

So, as I turned the corner onto the parade route there were hundreds of people cheering, calling out my number and I was already in pain and feeling emotional, that I had a hard time holding back the tears.  I turned the corner with only a few blocks left.  I finished with a time of 4:55:59.  I did beat my Ogden time though.

I am a little disappointed because I know I could have done better.  I guess I just have to look at it as a good training run for St. George!