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Monday, May 10, 2010

Grand Valley Marathon Recap

There was a learning curve at this race for me. I have never run back to back marathons this close together before. (6 days apart).

A few things I learned:
*Don't eat like crap the week in between races
*Get more sleep
*Relax
*Don't see the 8 PM showing of Iron Man II the night before
*Did I mention don't eat like crap?

The race was put on by Mammoth Marathons. They sponsor five different races, and they do a good job. They don't do timing chips, just nice small races. There were probably only 250 people total combined for the marathon/half/10K/5K. I met a lot of nice people and I had a great time, for the most part.




The race started in the small town of Palisade, CO, which is just outside of Grand Junction. Grand Valley is absolutely gorgeous. We ran through the wine country, I didn't realize Colorado had a wine country, along the Colorado River.  It was a pretty run. The hills were killer, which didn't bother me. The wind, on the other hand, I could have done without.



I started feeling fatigued at about 14.5 miles. I ate a GU at the aid station and as I approached 15.5 miles I saw a lady on the side of the road talking on the phone bending over...those of you tender hearted dog lovers feel free to skip down to the next paragraph...the lady had just hit a dog and it killed it. I won't go into the details but just know that I lost it, started crying, couldn't run or breath. It completely wiped me out! I had to keep pushing the sad images out of my head the rest of the race.

Emotionally I was spent, my bowels were acting up (even after two Immodium) and I was feeling sick. The stars were not aligned for me at this race. But I finished! Not my best time ever, but definitely not my worst! 

#18 Done! Keep running.

18 comments:

Felice Devine said...

That is horrible about the dog. It had to be so hard to pull it together after seeing that!

Anton said...

Congrats on pushing through. Sounds like it was a tough run for a few reasons but well done on getting through.

Bring on #19 huh??

Mike Russell said...

You are doing Utah Valley? One of the organizers is a friend of mine and it should be a great one this year!

Sam Felsenfeld said...

That's so sad about the dog! Good lesson learned on Iron Man II. I disagree with you about the hill, though. That was a killer! I'm with you on the wind. It was totally unnecessary.

ShutUpandRun said...

You are a star. I don't know how you do it. That would have killed me too about the dog. Funny but I had my own dog issues combined with my marathon this weekend that wiped me out too.

Jill said...

You did it...you pushed through and finished. way to go!

Unknown said...

Kind of a hard race but you stuck it out and finished, well done.

Marlene said...

Congrats on # 18!

Denise said...

congrats on another one!!

and yea, i should have listened and scrolled down. i'm so upset about the dog. i would have died if i passed that.

Janice {Run Far} said...

you're my favorite. :)

Guess what? 2 months and I will be in Utah... then we get to run together when I am in STG.. the week before DES NEWS. Unless you will be running a marathon that weekend. You should plan on playing with me and my sisters that weekend. July 15-18... Zions baby.

Katie A. said...

Wow, I'm so sorry you had to come across that! I'm a big dog lover too, and could actually see myself droping out!
I'm glad you were able to finish - you are a strong runner! And yes, running two marathons in 6 days is tough! Congrats!

Mel-2nd Chances said...

You are so awesome!! Congrats on #18.. .but sad about the dog :(

Jen said...

Wow, back-to-back marathons?! That's impressive! Nice job. Looks like a beautiful place to run a race!

NY Wolve said...

Whoa, that is hard core -- two in 6 days! How badly could you have eaten?

Jameson said...

Just checking out your blog, AWESOME photos!

Glenn Jones said...

Wow! Back to backs! Are you trying to copy Sam?

Beautiful pictures! Thanks for sharing and thanks for the race report.

Sarah said...

Congrats on another finish!!!!

Steel Springs said...

Congratulations on number 18! Beautiful scenery! I didn't realize that Colorado had wine country, either. That is so sad about the dog.