Finish Line in sight...
Mom & Dad...they both got 2nd place in their age group at the 5k that morning!!!
My running buddy, Joni!
Natalie came from California to see me! Ok, maybe she came to get her drivers license renewed, but she still came!
The TOP OF UTAH MARATHON is held in Logan, Utah. About 3 months ago I asked my friend, neighbor, and running buddy, Joni if she wanted to train for a marathon with me and she said yes!
We made our own training schedule using the Runners World Break 4 hours plan as a guide, but we included two days a week of strength training, and a little less total miles.
A marathon runner in our ward talked to us about running nutrition, so we trained using a water bottle running belt and I went through a lot of Shot Blocks! In previous years I would run a half marathon and only drink a little bit at one water station, but I got used to drinking a lot of water and electrolytes. Marathon day I ate a banana about an hour before the race, and during the race I ate a shot block about every 20 minutes. I drank 48 oz. of liquid during the race.
About a week before the race I made a vision board that I put in my bathroom. I put up pictures of past races, my kids, my family, quotes I love, anything that inspires me. It was a great way to focus on positive things.
THE WEATHER:
Interestingly, and gratefully, I was never rained on the entire summer during any training run! The day of the marathon was a completely different story, however. We woke up to a very light rain. As we rode the bus up the canyon it was just sprinkling, and then we got in the very long porta potty line and it became a drizzle. About 6:45, 15 minutes before the race started, it got a little worse and we broke out the ponchos. 6:55, only 2 people in line in front of me, and continuously hearing the guy with the megaphone giving us the countdown of 5 minutes til the race, it started DOWNPOURING!! We quickly made our way to the bathroom (I literally think I chose the longest line), we ran down the hill towards the start line, we screamed as the bag drop bus started to drive away and we chucked our bags up to bus window, then ran to our starting spot. With all of about 5 seconds to spare, the starting gun went off and we were on our way, running in our ponchos in the rain!
Interestingly, and gratefully, I was never rained on the entire summer during any training run! The day of the marathon was a completely different story, however. We woke up to a very light rain. As we rode the bus up the canyon it was just sprinkling, and then we got in the very long porta potty line and it became a drizzle. About 6:45, 15 minutes before the race started, it got a little worse and we broke out the ponchos. 6:55, only 2 people in line in front of me, and continuously hearing the guy with the megaphone giving us the countdown of 5 minutes til the race, it started DOWNPOURING!! We quickly made our way to the bathroom (I literally think I chose the longest line), we ran down the hill towards the start line, we screamed as the bag drop bus started to drive away and we chucked our bags up to bus window, then ran to our starting spot. With all of about 5 seconds to spare, the starting gun went off and we were on our way, running in our ponchos in the rain!
By mile 2 I turned to Joni and said, "There are puddles of water in the toes of my shoes." I think as we were waiting in line for the bathrooms most likely the water was running off my hat and poncho, right onto the toes of my shoes. I could already feel one of my toenails rubbing weird. I had already lost 2 toenails in the last few months!
The rain let up for a mile or two, then it was just sprinkling again. About mile 10 I felt like I had to go to the bathroom so I told Joni to keep going, and if she saw Steve to tell him I needed a new pair of socks! I could still see Joni in the distance for a few miles, and I could also see that there was a line for the bathroom, and it wasn't an emergency yet so I decided to keep going and hope that it would go away. This was about the same time that the 3:50:00 pacer passed me.
The bathroom need DID go away, the rain did not! Not too long after I had decided that I would stop to put new socks on, the "real" rain began. You don't see rain like that too often in Utah, but it was a downpour! The low clouds in the canyon were beautiful! Every once in a while I would turn my IPOD off to hear the rumbling of thunder through the canyon walls. My favorite part of the race, though, was when the song "I'm Walkin On Sunshine" came on and it was raining SO hard. I just stretched out my arms and enjoyed the irony of it all and gave a big "Wehoo" shout out! The rain turned into hail for a while. The pelting, stinging feeling on my arms didn't feel too good, but I just had to literally laugh out loud at the crazy weather! The worst of the weather was from about mile 11-14.
The first half of the race was down Blacksmith Fork Canyon. It was just slightly downhill, a 1-2% downhill grade. There were no spectators in the canyon, but there were aid stations at every other mile where there were volunteers cheering. At Mile 14 we came out of the canyon and that's where the spectators started. I was impressed to still see many people outside, even with the rain. I saw Steve at Mile 14 and he ran alongside with me for a minute to give me more water and a pop tart. Natalie, Kaitlyn, Michael, and Logan were in the car. I stopped for just a second to poke my head in the car to say hi. Steve asked me how my ankle was doing. I told him if I started thinking about it too much I'd probably start crying--not because it hurt, but because I knew my prayers were being answered in that it hadn't hurt really at all for the first half of the race! I really had to hold back the tears because I knew I was being blessed!
I had been to Dr. Toronto, a sports injury doctor at the Olympic Oval twice in the 10 days before the race because my right ankle was bothering me. He came to the conclusion I had tendonitis in two of the muscles that wrap around my ankle and under my foot. It had caused swelling and just didn't feel right to be running on it. He gave me a very small insert to put in the outer right side of my heel. It took a lot of the pressure off my ankle. I had also been on Prednisone, a steroid to reduce swelling. When I went in 3 days before the race he gave me a cortisone shot in my ankle. Even when I ran one mile Friday morning, the day before the marathon, it was still bothering me. I know that a lot of people were praying for me and my dad told me Friday night that he even put my name on the prayer roll at the temple. I knew then that I would be fine, and that I'd be able to run the race.
My ankle did hurt some from mile 17-20. I knew that I would probably see my friend Sarah Parkin around mile 19 and I kept telling myself that I would keep running until I saw her, and then I'd try and stretch it out a little. I did see her at mile 19 holding a great big poster and cheering! I crossed the street and gave her a hug...it was "her" mile! I rotated my ankle around for about 30 seconds again when the 4:00:00 pacer came and gave Sarah a big hug too! I knew I had to be off so I continued running. I caught up to the pacer and asked how he knew Sarah. He looked at me a little weird and I said, "You know, the girl that you just hugged?" He told me he didn't know her, he just wanted to give her a hug too! :)
I have to say that the 4:00:00 pacers gave me some stress! I kept turning around the last few miles and seeing that yellow balloon getting closer and closer made me realize I needed to keep up the pace.
I saw Steve, Natalie, the kids, and Brent & Sharna a few times during the last few miles. It was so nice to see someone I knew cheering me on. Back in May we went to see our friend Brent in the IRONMAN in St. George. It was then that I decided I really wanted to run a marathon! I figured if all those people could run a marathon after swimming 2 miles and biking 112 miles, then I could run 26.2 miles!!
About Mile 24 I saw my mom and dad. My mom even ran a little bit with me. I was so tired at that point that I couldn't even verbally answer her questions, but just nodded my head. It was great to have them there!
At about mile 25 I saw my good friend, Kami Wood! I had no idea she was coming to the race, but she surprised me! She brought me over the cutest poster the day before the race, too. It was so great to see her there.
I turned the corner, saw the last stretch, and saw the race clock which read 4:00:00. I knew that I had crossed the starting line about a minute after the gun, so I knew I only had a minute to break that 4:00:00 mark. I gave it all I had, which wasn't a lot, but tried to run as fast as I could to the finish line. I ended up crossing the finish line with the clock reading 4:00:59, my chip time ended up being 4:00:15. I was really happy with that! Never having run a marathon before, I had three goals before the race...1) If everything went well and I felt really good I wanted to break 4 hours, 2) I'd be happy with anything faster than 4:15:00, and 3)I'd be mad if I finished slower than 4:30:00. So I really couldn't complain about my time with the weather conditions, my ankle problems, and being able to say hi to everyone who came to support me on the way.
I actually really thought I would break 4 hours because my Garmin watch said I was averaged a 9:05/mile, and I knew 4:00:00 would mean an average of 9:09/mile. When I finished the race, though, my watch said I had run 26.44 miles instead of 26.2 so I guess that’s where the average got off.
I actually really thought I would break 4 hours because my Garmin watch said I was averaged a 9:05/mile, and I knew 4:00:00 would mean an average of 9:09/mile. When I finished the race, though, my watch said I had run 26.44 miles instead of 26.2 so I guess that’s where the average got off.
Joni finished in 3:53:?? She was amazing! I’m glad I could stay with her for the first 10 miles, and it actually ended up being fine that I ran the rest by myself. It was a lot of fun to train with her, and we enjoyed talking a lot on all our training runs together. She’s a great friend!
Would I do it again? I don’t have any plans to in the near future, but maybe someday. The training schedule seemed pretty overwhelming at first, but taking it day by day it became something that was achievable. My longest training run was a 22 miler three weeks before the marathon, and I also ran a 19, 18, 16, 15, 14 all on Saturday long runs. Steve was great to put up with my training this summer.
It's been a summer of running...
April was Salt Lake Half Marathon (2:11:03) DISASTER RACE! Major stomach problems...without all the bathroom stops I would've run it in just under 2 hours).
May was the Ogden Half Marathon (1:53:45).
June was Ragnar (Runner #10)
July was Bountiful 5K (23:47-2nd place in age group)
August was Hobble Creek Half Marathon (1:48:29)
September Top of Utah Marathon (4:00:15)
May was the Ogden Half Marathon (1:53:45).
June was Ragnar (Runner #10)
July was Bountiful 5K (23:47-2nd place in age group)
August was Hobble Creek Half Marathon (1:48:29)
September Top of Utah Marathon (4:00:15)
I decided to dedicate my marathon Miles 8-26 which I had written down on a post it note covered in clear packing tape:
Mile 8 Steve—8 years together!!
Mile 9 Sherry & Verlan
Mile 10 Jon & Emilee
Mile 11 Mike & Chloe
Mile 12 Ragnar Team-Angels Running Wild
Mile 13 Kami
Mile 14 Lori & Todd
Mile 15 Paula
Mile 16 Kaitlyn
Mile 17 Michael
Mile 18 Logan
Mile 19 Sarah
Mile 20 Natalie
Mile 21 Mom
Mile 22 Dad
Mile 23 Joni
Mile 24 Heavenly Father
Mile 25 Steve
Mile 26 I am blessed!!!
Mile 9 Sherry & Verlan
Mile 10 Jon & Emilee
Mile 11 Mike & Chloe
Mile 12 Ragnar Team-Angels Running Wild
Mile 13 Kami
Mile 14 Lori & Todd
Mile 15 Paula
Mile 16 Kaitlyn
Mile 17 Michael
Mile 18 Logan
Mile 19 Sarah
Mile 20 Natalie
Mile 21 Mom
Mile 22 Dad
Mile 23 Joni
Mile 24 Heavenly Father
Mile 25 Steve
Mile 26 I am blessed!!!
WARNING! The rest of this will sound like a commercial, but I wanted to list some of the items I found to make running a better experience for me.
THE GEAR:
I thought I'd list some of my favorite running items!
Garmin Forerunner 405CX GPS Sport Watch with Heart Rate Monitor
This is one thing I just can't run without! My running watch--love it!!! It keeps track of your pace, heart rate, distance, time, calories burned, and more. You can download your run to your computer and it gives you all sorts of cool information that you'll enjoy if you're a chart lover like me! I only used the heart rate monitor a couple of times, but it was interesting to do a couple of training runs based on keeping my heart rate at a certain point.
CW-X Stabilyx Running Tights:I did a lot of research to find the perfect running tights. These seemed to have amazing reviews across the board. Joni & I liked to call them the "muffin top pants" because well...they're pretty tight and end up squishing the extra out the top! But really we did a long training run in regular shorts, then we wore these on our next long run and it there really was a difference in the way our legs felt. They were significantly less sore, and we seemed to be able to run longer. Coincidence? Maybe, but I really think these help with circulation.
Nathan Water Bottle Belt:
These water bottles hold 10 oz. EACH. I would usually end up stashing some water somewhere along one of my long runs to refill or stop at a gas station. I put water in one, Elete CitriLyte in the the other. I would take a few swigs of water alternating with Elete every few minutes. I like the big pocket as well that I could put my cell phone in if I was running alone, kleenex, and Shot Blocks.
Elete CitriLyte:
Elete CitriLyte Add-In™ is a liquid, electrolyte concentrate comprising four essential electrolytes—sodium, potassium, magnesium, and chloride—plus zinc and citric acid. elete CitriLyte is formulated to support hydration, muscle function, energy conversion and heat tolerance and be used before, during, and after physical exertion and/or heat stress.
I bought the 4 oz. bottle and put about 35 drops in my 10-oz. water bottle. It doesn't taste "great", but to me it tastes like lemon water. I like it because it's clear and it's not sticky like Gatorade.
- Elete CitriLyte Add-In contains original elete Electrolyte Add-In with the added benefits of zinc and citric acid, which participates in the Krebs energy cycle, a.k.a. the citric acid cycle, for energy conversion and energy usage.
- Electrolyte water made with elete contains sports-drink levels of electrolytes. Pure electrolyte water with elete CitriLyte has a hint of tart flavor, similar to a slice or wedge of lemon that makes tap water more palatable. When more CitriLyte, is added, the tart flavor increases to compensate for stronger mineral flavor.
SHOT BLOKS
I like these SO much better than GU! GU tends to give me side aches and I don't like that they're so hard to swallow. Shot Bloks taste like giant fruit snacks. Any of the fruit/berry flavors are good. They have them with or without caffeine.
As far as food goes, I always eat a banana before I run. Then if I'm going on a long run (over 9 miles) I eat 1-2 Shot Bloks every 20 minutes. The key to eating and drinking during a race is to practice while you're training. Don't try anything new on race day! You should already know how your body responds to any amount of water, drinks, food, etc. I also did this with my Friday night meals. I always did my long runs on Saturdays, so I played around a little with what I ate Friday nights. I ended up liking chicken or salmon with white rice and a veggie. I also tried to drink at least 12 cups of water on Fridays and eat some salty foods. I love hummus with "Stacy's Simply Naked Pita Chips" for a salty snack.
For Friday breakfast I usually eat 4 scrambled eggs (3 egg whites, 1 whole) and a piece of whole grain bread and a banana. For lunch I usually eat a turkey sandwich or a salad with turkey on top.
PREV: A Natural Solution for Athlete's G.I. Stress
Okay, this might be a little embarrassing, but I don't really care. No one's probably reading this anyway, and if you are, maybe you need it too! :)
I dealt with some stomach problems that I think may have come from visiting the Cook Islands. I went to doctors, and no one ever knew what was wrong, but long runs made me feel really sick. Who knows, but this stuff really seemed to help me feel good while I was running. I still didn't feel good later in the day, but quitting wasn't an option for me.
PREV is a liquid, all natural solution to combat runner’s diarrhea. It
also works great for the pre-race/competition anxiety, nausea, and upset
stomach. The flavor is a refreshing smooth mint. It’s not thick or
gooey and goes down as easily as a tablespoon of water.
PREV is a tested and extensively researched formulation that will help you take control of your next run. PREV is a liberation from the stomach cramping and bathroom breaks that have been dictating your running schedule, route, and performance.
Each of the ingredients in PREV plays an important role in stamping out runner’s diarrhea. These herbs have been carefully selected for their soothing properties. Together, and in the right proportions, they work to eliminate your symptoms and help you enjoy your long runs.: Black Walnut, Star Anise, Ginger, Peppermint Oil, Chamomile, & Bilberry.
PREV is a tested and extensively researched formulation that will help you take control of your next run. PREV is a liberation from the stomach cramping and bathroom breaks that have been dictating your running schedule, route, and performance.
Each of the ingredients in PREV plays an important role in stamping out runner’s diarrhea. These herbs have been carefully selected for their soothing properties. Together, and in the right proportions, they work to eliminate your symptoms and help you enjoy your long runs.: Black Walnut, Star Anise, Ginger, Peppermint Oil, Chamomile, & Bilberry.
IPOD SHUFFLE: MUSIC!!!
This is another thing I CAN'T run without! I need music to keep me going!! I love the shuffle because it's so small. I'd say it's only about an inch tall. There are no playlists, but I just hit the "next" button if I'm not in the mood for that song. The white circle is a little bit raised so you can change the song without looking at the ipod. It also clips to your clothes which I love. No arm bands needed! I love lots of different kinds of music. I have everything from David Guetta to Glee to Disney's Tangled to Michael Jackson.
