At the race expo, there was a license plate bracket that read, "I run like a girl." I would put that on my car. Too bad Matt and I trade cars so often. I don't think either one is labeled his or hers and he probably wouldn't appreciate it when driving.
The long awaited marathon was yesterday and I almost didn't go. Thursday morning I woke up in the pre-dawn hours to start a horrid bout with a flu bug. Makenna and I both got hit hard and we spent all day either in bed or the bathroom. Being sick is always bad enough, but it was even more miserable because I was seeing months of training, race fees, and airline tickets going down the drain. Isaac said it best as I tried to walk to the kitchen to take another airborne/Advil cocktail, "How do you expect to run 26 miles if you can't even walk 26 feet?" I sure didn't know. Matt did. He was sure it was a 24 hours bug and I would be fine after a restful night and extra food the next day. He was right and I am so so so glad.
I woke up Friday feeling weak and with a slight headache, but that's it. No more dizziness, no more nausea, no more aches. I tried to eat a sensible breakfast and pack in time to leave for the airport, but of course I forgot a few things I meant to bring. Luckily Jen and her wonderful friends took care of me. I got to the airport feeling hungry again; a good sign except for the insane prices. It amazed me that the lady who gave me my little sandwich and juice could say, "$10.25 please," with a straight face. Oh well.
I got on an airplane by myself for the first time in 14 years. It is such an easy short flight to SLC that I didn't get much reading done. After landing and playing phone games with Jen several times, "I'm by the security." "So am I, but I don't see you." "I'll go down by the baggage claim." "I still don't see you." We realized that we were in two different terminals. Ah hah! I walked over and met Ruth. She is a lovely person and it was nice to put a face with the name and say thanks in person for the training schedules from years past. She's been helping me out for quite awhile now. As soon as we went outside, it started POURING rain. Hmmm. Didn't plan on that. On the way to Ogden, it even hailed for a bit. We all watched the sky feeling a little anxious. Dark clouds would come, dump and move on. But more kept coming.
The only disappointment at the expo were the shirt sizes. They are huge. My medium might actually fit Matt, but they wouldn't let me switch till the next day. Like anyone wants to worry about a trading a shirt on race day. We met up with the rest of the Colorado girls at an Olive Garden. I think 8 of them used to be in the same ward, but have moved around a bit since. Jen and one other girl brought along sister-in-laws, and there was another Colorado friend. They are a jolly bunch and they happily welcomed me into the ranks. But the long, slow carb filled dinner wasn't quite enough. After we got back to Bountiful, Jen, Ruth and I joined Kelly and Rylie for do it yourself frozen yogurt. yum.
Friday night, Ruth and Jen inducted me into their tattoo, nickname and mantra tradition. Everyone picks a temporary tattoo, and then they jazz them up with sharpies. I had a jolly roger with "I run like a girl" written around it on one arm and the traditional kokopelli on the other. I think they each have lots of nicknames, but Jen went with "Pleh" and Ruth had "Grace". As the newbie, I'll have to earn a nickname before next time. As we discussed weather possibilities, I was given a gift from Ruth. I learned the higher order of sock tricks. I have been using mismatched lost socks on my hands for years. The CO girls cut the toes off longer men's dress socks and cover their whole arms with them. You can chuck them when you get warm, and no loss. So we laid out the final choices of clothes to wear and pack in the race bags and tried to go to sleep. Morning came early. We quickly threw on clothes, ate a few bites of food and left the house at 4:00 MST.
In Ogden we parked and waited on the corner for their other marathon friends. (Half of the Olive Garden crowd were doing the 1/2.) They didn't show up by the time some buses started pulling away, so we went to get in line. Angela did find us before we boarded, but not Paige. I'm really glad Angela found us, because she and I ended up running the first half together and the chatting made it go by fast. But first we had an hour to kill at the start. There were long potty lines and groups huddled around fire pits. 10 minutes before start time, people started peeling off layers and throwing their bags into a truck. It turned out to be a lovely morning, though still chilly, in the 40's. I took off my pants and one long sleeved tech shirt, but kept my old sweatshirt and put the socks on my hands and arms. I wish I had been brave enough to try starting without the sweatshirt. I didn't know the socks would work so well, and I ended up throwing the sweatshirt before the second mile marker.
Jen and Ruth were up ahead. (Jen tried to get a head start, and Ruth had to hustle to catch up. :-) Angela and I had plenty of time to get acquainted and enjoy the pastural scenery. She has done some triathlons too, so we had plenty to talk about. It was a downhill start and despite the crowd, I kept finding that we were going much faster than my goal pace; much faster than was advisable. But then the terrain leveled out and even had slight ups and downs and we maintained a better mid-nine pace for several miles. Angela made me laugh when every few minutes she would say "relatively flat?!" complaining that the race description was skating over the bumps. We made it to the halfway point, the starting point for the half-marathon, before having a potty break. It was a good place because there were dozens of them and no lines, unlike all the previous spots. We separated there, and I became very grateful for all the work I put into iPod song selection earlier in the week.
The aid stations were frequent, well staffed and well stocked. I made sure I slowed to a walk long enough to gulp 1/2 cup of Powerade until mile 25. (I skipped the last one right before the end.) I was also brave and tried GU for the first time. Three different times I grabbed one and a cup of water. I squeezed a small swallow into my mouth and flushed it down with water. I honestly can't say how it tasted because I didn't give it a chance. And I was wasteful and chucked the rest of each one because I was scared they might mess with my stomach if the whole glob was in there. I just wanted a few extra calories to keep me going. Between those few swallows and the juice, I made it okay.
The route went more than halfway around Pine View Lake and up a hill before crossing the dam and going down into the canyon. Somewhere around mile 12 I threw away the socks. The sun was shining and it was a beautiful day. A light breeze even picked up at times blowing up the canyon. Lovely. Running by the river was nice. There was a beautiful waterfall somewhere around 22 or so. That's also where my watch lost the GPS signal for a few minutes. Canyon walls too high, I guess. This race was so very different than the previous two that were mostly city scenes. The spectators were almost non-existant, but there were plenty of runners around the whole time, so you weren't alone. Plus people had come up the night before and staked signs and well wishes all along the course. Some were funny, some were cute, some were just special. But it helped pass the miles. So thanks to the sign makers.
I realized at mile 20 that I could seriously blow my old time out of the water. Unless I totally bonked, I could be under 4:15. My Venice time was 4:49, I think. I remember just being really glad it wasn't 4:50, and safely under 5 hours. It wasn't great, but it was a huge accomplishment for me, the running hater. Paris, I don't want to talk about. The time was much worse, but it was a great trip, and given the chance, I would totally do again. But my point is that under 4:15 would be like cutting 30 minutes off my time. I just had to keep up the pace. If I really kept it up, no stops and stepped it up at the end, I could be close to 4:10. It was hard. My quads were already complaining. My feet were sore, but not shot. And I was still breathing. I dug deep and tried to think about the people who run the ultras. Tried to imagine that running was just second nature, not a colossal effort. I did still walk to drink and have to admit I sipped a little slower before chucking away the cup. But to make an already too long story a little shorter, I did it. When I crossed the finish line and stopped my watch, it said 4:10:21. I gulped some air, gratefully accepted a medal, then stood in the misting showers and cried for a minute as it all sunk in. Then I started hobbling to find the massage tent--our meeting place. I quickly drank one bottle of water on the way and started a creamy popsicle. I didn't see them around the tent and thought they probably were getting some food, not thinking anyone would show up for another 15 -20 minutes. I got a lovely massage. I felt a little guilty allowing anyone to touch my nasty sweaty/salty skin, but it felt amazing until I started shaking. I thought it was just from cooling down and eating the popsicle. But it just got worse, even in the sun and several people started yelling at me. Well no, not yelling but being very bossy. One lady pushed more water and a banana into my hands and said if I don't eat and drink these right now, she's going to march me over to the medical tent. I did eat and 10 minutes later the shaking had stopped. I guess that was a bad sign, but it's my little badge of honor that tells me that I really did give it my all; my body was spent. Then a little bit of great news. My official time knocked a few more seconds off. 4:10:04!
Jen also beat her time and can say she is fastest at 40! 4:02. Ruth not only beat her PR, but went sub 4 hours. 3:58. It was a good race. We met Angela later and she beat her old time too. Ruth was sweet to say I was the good luck charm, and should run more races with them. I must say it's tempting. They made it lots of fun. After we stopped for lunch, we headed back to Kelly's to shower, then drive to the airport. Whew.
Kelly was a wonderful chauffer and hostess. I honestly had my best pre-race sleep ever. I think I got a solid 4 hours! She had a crazy busy schedule, but provided all we needed. It was good to see them, even if it wasn't for very long. I guess we ran by Andy and Jake in the early morning Saturday. We didn't realize their fathers and sons campout was at Pine View.
Today I feel really good except for my quads. They really don't like stairs or the transition from sit to stand or visa versa. It feels like I did a thousand squats. Was that from the downhill part? And that's my story. This has been way too long, so congrats to anyone who actually read through till now! And it's too late now to update about the kids. That news will have to wait till tomorrow.
good night
Hooray! Wahoo! And I'm glad it was so much fun in the mean time!
ReplyDeleteLoved reading about it! Makes me want to do one with some friends- I've only done them alone. Sounds like so much fun.
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