STG Marathon Racing Report

It’s a long one!!!

Mile 1- I felt okay. I tried to tell myself that I was going for a long run. Just keep that pace.  I started out about 10 sec. faster than I wanted.  It was dark. It was the fastest mile mentally. I can see the 4:30 pacer ahead of me so I’m good.

2- I was going slower than I was supposed to. 

3-1^st aid station. A little Gatorade and water I can still see the 4:30 pacer.

4-A blur.  I’m about on pace.

5-I’m in a rhythm. Time to take a GU with 2 waters. I catch up to the 4:30 pacer. There are about 20 people around her.  She is chatting away with some of the runners. I’m used to running a quiet race. I pull back away from them.  Somewhere around here I look at my total running time. I’m 3 min ahead of schedule. That is good because I know I won’t be able to keep up an 11:26 pace up Veyo.

6-The sun is starting to come up. I can see the Veyo Volcano

7-The sun comes up just in time for me to run the hill. Mentally, I tell myself, “I have this!”  I run the whole thing. I won’t let myself walk it.  I won’t give in this early in the race.  It actually is not has hard as people make it to be. It’s the 5 miles, uphill, after that which suck!  I lose sight of the 4:30 pacer at this point. 

8-A blur. I don’t remember much about this mile.

9- GU time. People are getting rubbed down with Icy-Hot. I think I need it more for my back. I have a tight spot on the right upper shoulder bone. The legs are feeling okay.  Even the Achilles is feeling good with the hills.

10& 11- A blur

There are signs along the way. I get teary-eyed when I see one that says, “Today you are someone’s hero.” I believe it. 

12.5 It’s getting a little hard. I need a distraction.  I stick my gum in my mouth and thank Timette

13-I pass the mile marker and check my time.  The time is about the same as my first half marathon.  I’m okay with that because they say you can run negative splits on this course.  Key word being CAN.

14 –I’ve never raced this far before. 

Each time I pass a mile marker, it’s like hitting a checklist on the way to the finish line.  They are just numbers.  I’m drinking lots of water because it’s so hot.  There is a slight headwind almost the entire time. 

15 - I get a rub down of icy-hot on my legs. They don’t ache but it seems like a good idea. (It probably was a bad idea. I don’t know.)  This is a good downhill. I book it and it feels good. I love this mile.  I will pay for it in mile 18.

16 - Coming into Snow Canyon-it’s beautiful and I want to take a picture. I take out my phone and see that the battery is almost dead. I should have called Mike to tell him but I don’t. It dies around mile16:55, so my family can no longer track me on the internet.

We are entering Snow Canyon. This is where I think Mike, Heidi, and the boys might be. There are a lot of people here. It’s fun seeing the crowds. I see a car that looks like there’s.  Then I see a kid that looks like Jake with his family walking towards that car.  I am sad because I am afraid that I won’t see any of my family along the course. They will not realize how far behind I am.

17 - A good mile according to time. A blur.

18 – Hello wall!  It was hard. I tell myself that if I see Mike and Heidi I will ask them if I can stop. I try to dig deep and think of all those mantras I thought of earlier that week in the Temple.  I get passed it a little but still it’s a wall. The mile is full of up and downs mentally. 

Looking at the data, I had no idea I was going downhill. I can’t explain how my legs felt. Like mild achy and Jell-O combined. 

19.5 - I see Mike’s family. They are wearing bright yellow shirts with my bib number and standing all by themselves on some huge rocks.  They have hiked 4 miles into the canyon to see me.  They cheer me on.  Mike is yelling like no other.  He’s yelling, “That’s my little sister!”  It makes me very proud to be his sister.  The other runners cheer me on too.  He runs with me and gives me encouragement. I REALLY want to walk. It’s hard to breath. It’s hot and my legs are just done. When I do walk it makes it harder to start running. I don’t know which is better, stopping or not stopping. 

They said that at mile 20 it should feel like you ran 20, not 26. I feel that I have run 20.

Mike is on the trail next to me. I don’t even like running downhill now.  It all just sucks.  I see that he has to run an uphill while I get to run downhill. I figure if he can run up, I can run down. I want to ask him where they parked but I don’t have the energy to carry on a conversation.  He tells me Debbie’s at mile 25. He tells her to have my asthma medicine ready and some water. I decide later that it’s useless to take medicine with one mile left. Plus I don’t want to elevate my heart rate more than it probably already was.

Mike runs with me for a couple miles, until mile 22. 

As soon as he leaves there is a hill. I wait until I think he is out of sight and I have to walk. 

22- A small hill. At this point, everyone around me is walking that hill. I don’t see one person running it. No one passes me.  It’s hot!! It seems like morale sucks for everyone.  It’s kind of sad. 

23 - Downhill, into the city.  Yes, it is downhill but I’m going so slow. I’m so tired. I have been dumping water on my head and chewing ice cubes.  I’m thinking that this is the most awful thing in the whole world.

The crowds are out now. They are encouraging but at the same time, I want to sit down on the curb with the kids and be done. I don’t think I stopped walking from here on out.  I’m afraid that if I walk, I might not start again. 

24 - I grab ice at mile 24. There are kids passing out popsicles. I don’t take any because I’m afraid what they will do to my system.  But there is a lady with a Diet Coke bottle. She is a little piece of heaven. I let her pour me some. It is refreshing.

I see Shana along Diagonal Street. I point to her but I don’t even think I said anything to her.  She sees me and gives me a very encouraging shout out. I feel so special that she is out there watching me.  It gives me encouragement to keep going.  Her husband Ryan shows up next to me. He’s running with a jogging stroller.  He is an angel I needed that last part. Like the others he gives encouraging words about me looking good. The first time clinic said to never believe when people to you that.  I believe none of it. I feel horrible, it hurts like hell and I’m hating every step of it. It’s miserably hot. He’s telling me how much further to go. Three more blocks here, a turn, 3 more blocks, turn, then the home stretch.  It means nothing to me.  In my head he’s telling me I have forever more miles to run.  He grabs me more water. He pours water on my head. He has Cooper, their 5 year old, say hi to me.  That cute little boy said hi to me. I see his cute smile. I keep running. 

Mile 25-Ryan is still running with me. I tell him my family should be up here. I feel bad that he is running with me. He doesn’t know me that well and here he is running with me. 

I see Deb, Ash, and Cole. All that I remember is seeing the bright shirts and Cole’s hair. I wonder if he has a wig on.  In a second he is running next to me. I realize it’s not a wig.  He dyed his hair black to match my outfit.  He’s running with the backpack on him, bouncing around.  I tell him I don’t need anything. He keeps running and Ashlyn shows up on the other side of me. They don’t talk to me, just support me. Ryan is still running with me too. I have the crew! Ryan hands water to Cole to dump on my head. It’s cold water and my head is too cold. 

We turn a corner and I’m worried about the kids being in people’s way. Three more blocks, one last turn and the home stretch.  I also think that this would be an awesome picture with me in the middle, all black, bib #7615. On each side of me are the kids with their bright colored shirts with bib #7615 on them.  They are my bodyguards. They are my protectors.  I love them!

25.2 – I heard they have wet washcloths here but I don’t see them. I’m disappointed. 

25.4 Washcloths! I put it on my neck. 

25.xx We turn the last corner. Ryan yells, “See those balloons?!  Look at those balloons!”  He is yelling it more than asking. I don’t see them. He yells it again.  I see one little balloon. A little hope, but I don’t know what those balloons mean. It’s like a mirage. I don’t believe that I get to stop when I pass those. There have been Mylar balloons at every mile marker. I keep looking down.  I tell the kids they can’t cross the finish line with me.

I don’t notice any of the spectators around me. Ryan yells it again, “Look up!” It’s more of a command.  He is forcing me to do something I don’t want to do.  I really don’t want too.  I look up, see the words “Finish” and I see lots of red balloons.

Somewhere around here I see the sign 26. For the first time today I realize how far I have ran.  I realize that I have just run twenty-six miles.  I think about how exhausted I am but I also think I have not run hard enough. As soon as I saw that 26 miles sign, I kicked ass!  I sprinted for 0.2 miles to the finish line. I was looking for mom and dad. I think I see mom. I see dad with his bright shirt and fishing hat.  I see the clock. 5:01. I know I’m 8 minutes behind gun time. I want to be under 5 hours. I keep sprinting.  (I would have thought I was doing a 9 min. not a 10 min. pace)

I cross the finish line. I don’t know if I stop after the first line or second.  I make it!  My watch says 4:48.  I start walking. I feel disoriented. Two different people ask if I’m okay.  I think I am. I can walk on my own.  There are misters to rinse off or cool off. It feels so good.  Then they put the medal around me.  

I look for mom and dad before I enter the runner’s cool down area.  I can’t see them.  I grab an ice cream. Take two bites and want to spit it out.  The water tastes good.  I’m looking for ice.  I find a place where they are doing an ice rub down.  It feels so good. I realize I should have stretched before doing all this. 

I get the official results 4:52.  I don’t like that it’s in the 50’s.  I realize that it’s under 5 so I’m okay with it. It was nice when it was in the 40’s. I didn’t feel as bad. I thought I had nailed this training but I couldn’t keep on pace. It was still an AMAZING experience. 

The data according to my trusty watch. The difference in moving time and actual time is the time spent in the john and getting rubbed down with icy hot. I think time stopped too when I hit that wall.