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Friday, September 26, 2008

Top of Utah ~ Race Report Part 2

I had never been to Logan, Ut before last Friday night.  What a cute little town, it had a nice quiet, small town feel to it, and the temple is beautiful!

I rode up with my friend Lyndi~this was her first marathon and she did awesome! We picked up our race packets, signed up for the text messaging updates and then ate pasta. I normally don't do the race's pasta dinner, but since neither of us know Logan, we decided to stay.

I stayed with a friend and after chatting for a bit and checking the alarm for the third and fourth time, I was able to go to bed relatively early.  Does anyone really sleep very well the night before a race? I kept waking up: 11:30, 12:45, 1:15, 2:50 and at 3:19 I woke myself up from a dream that I had forgotten a vital piece of clothing and I couldn't find Lyndi to get my things out of her car...and the last bus was leaving...When my alarm finally went off, I got up and as soon as my feet hit the floor I heard a loud crash  of thunder and then the downpour of rain. The neighborhood had to hear my heart hit the ground. I am a fair weather runner, my friends. So, I geared myself up for the rainy conditions ahead.  On the bus ride up the canyon I could see the lightening and was getting rather anxious since we were heading straight for it. My worries were for naught, by the time we got to the top of the canyon the sky was clear. 

I made a final potty break then lined up at the starting line, the gun went off and away I went. I hadn't even run 3/4ths of a mile when I saw a group of people up ahead standing in the middle of the road. As I passed there was a guy who had totally turfed it, his face was bloody and he needed help getting up.  I felt bad, but I was grateful it wasn't me.

The miles seemed to be flying by, I even wondered if they had mapped them properly.  I was just enjoying the beauty of Blacksmith Fork Canyon.  The leaves were already changing, I love this time of year! 
At mile 7 I started to feel the beginnings of nausea, which normally doesn't happen until the later miles.  I ignored it and thought about how well I was doing, then to my dismay I realized my Imodium wasn't kicking in...UGH! No need to say anymore. I made the necessary stops and was still right on schedule for my 4:30 marathon.  

At mile 20 I was really needing to talk to someone, and I looked over and my friend George was there.  We ran together for a couple of miles and then the port a potty was calling my name.  By this time the nausea was in full force, but of course I kept going. It just took me longer than I had hoped.  I was so glad to finally reach the finish line and started getting weepy before I even got to the chute. George was there at the finish line and got all my tears. 

The post race venue was great. There was live music lots of water, "Gator juice" (as my Girly calls it), fruit, goldfish, ice cream sandwiches and chocolate milk. A bit too much sugar for my sensitive tummy, but it was well organized. It was a perfect day to run 26.2 miles. The weather was great, it was a bit warmer than I had expected, so the random rain sprinkles were very welcomed! 

My Race Intervals:
13 Miles 2:13:59  2:13:59
20 Miles 1:23:12  3:37:04
26.2 Miles 1:24:55  5:02:00
So you can see I slowed WAY down that last 6.2 miles.  Definitely, not my PR, but I did the best I could on that day! 

Just a few side notes:
*The guy who turfed it...I saw him at the finish line, his face had dried blood on it, his head was all bandaged up, AND he had his medal around his neck!  He finished his race too!   
*Someone had a quote on their shirt that said, "Pain is weakness leaving the body."
*I wasn't sore at all on Sunday! : )
*Official race pics aren't available yet, I will post them later.

9 down 1 more to go to meet my goal of 10 marathons completed before 2009! I will run St. George next weekend!  I am so excited. I saved the best marathon for last! 


Monday, September 22, 2008

Top of Utah~Race Report Part 1

I FINISHED!  Race report to be posted soon! (:

Thursday, September 18, 2008

Pre Race Jitters??

                                                 
I ran my last run before the marathon this morning.  I feel ready, just need good sleep tonight! I am not nervous about running the miles on Saturday, I pretty much know what to expect from my body. However, I am nervous about the drive to Logan and getting to the busses on time and then driving myself home.  I know, it seems silly. I guess I can chalk it up to the pre race jitters. 

Thursday, September 11, 2008

The Madness Has Begun...

The TIART topic at Runner's Lounge this week is "Taper Madness". 

Even these guys are affected by the crazy feeling of not being able to concentrate on ANYTHING, having nightmares that you got lost and didn't make it to your race on time, worrying that you will forget a crucial part of you racing gear, feeling like a hypochondriac, cleaning out every cupboard in your house because you have so much more time on your hands that you don't know what else to do...the list goes on and on.

I started my taper this week and I have enjoyed the lower mileage. I have been training hard since January and I am on the final leg of my racing for this year with my last two marathons coming up in the next 23 days. (My goal was to have ten marathons completed by the end of the year). So, I guess I am essentially tapering for both right now, since there is only two weeks in between the two.  I have never run back to back marathons before, so I am excited for the challenge!

I have learned, that for me the first step in dealing with taper madness is accepting and understanding that I do in fact have a problem.  I actually know when I am suffering from it because I feel like I am going a bit crazy.  My husband asked me last night why I was acting so weird, I told him I was in the tapering phase of my training, and being the non runner that he is, he just looked at me like I was a freak and said, "What are you talking about?"  

I have learned that I just need to relax.  There is nothing more I can do at this point to improve my race performance.  Just getting to the starting line rested, fully recovered and ready to run is the objective!

I have to remind myself not to worry about every ailment, pain, or sniffle I experience during this time. But to increase my chances of staying healthy, I make sure I wash my hands and try to avoid anyone who is sick. 

The more positive reinforcement and distractions I can create for myself really help in keeping the taper madness at bay.  Telling myself that I am ready to run and BELIEVING it is the key.

Thursday, September 4, 2008

My Favorite Run in Pictures

The topic for this week's Take It And Run Thursday is "your favorite run in pictures." Anyone who knows me knows that St. George is my  favorite place to run/race. I grew up in St. George and I always  loved to watch the marathon runners come through the finish line.  And even as a little girl, I knew I would run a marathon and that St. George would be my first, and that was the beginning of my life as a runner!
  
I love this picture of all the runners leaving the big Metropolis of Veyo, 
gearing up for that mile long hill.  It really is an awesome sight on race 
morning.  You know that you are part of something special!

Then there is the volcano.  The Diamond Cinder Cone.  I have always been fascinated by volcanoes, and you can almost see into this one! 

Snow's Canyon is so beautiful in the early morning.  
The sun hits it just right.  It is simply spectacular!

When you can see the city, you know you are "almost there.
Just a few more miles!"

St. George is such a cute little town. Although it has grown a lot since 
I lived there, it is still my favorite place to run! 

View Interactive Map on MapMyRun.com