I finally did a Full Marathon….AND SICKLY…I LOVED IT!!!
I just might be addicted…and I just might have to do one every year!
Well let me be more clear….I loved the first 22 miles…but I lost my love for the race the last 4 miles. But I think that’s expected!
(I don’t have any pictures of the race yet….I’m waiting for the professional pictures to be offered and my sister-in-law took some pics at the finish line, which I need to get from her….but I’ll post these ones in the meantime).
I woke up at 4:00 a.m. to get to the shuttle to take me up Ogden Canyon. Somehow I lucked out and got on the first shuttle up there so I had free rein on all the goodies waiting for us….LOT’S OF FOOD, and burning barrels of fire to keep us warm. I found a comfy spot to sit next to the fire and chatted with other runners for 1 1/2 hours before the race began. I even ran into two old friends…it was fun to catch up.
The race began and I was on cloud nine….taking in all the energy (it’s amazing how fun it is to be apart of something like that….you can just feel the energy in the air). The scenery was BREATHTAKING! After training on the busy streets of Salt Lake so early in the morning when you can’t even see your surroundings….running in a canyon at sunrise was wonderful.
I had to laugh when we were not even 3 miles into the race and people were already running to the side of the road to relieve themselves (What made it so funny was how there were 5 empty porta-potties just 20 feet away). I witnessed too many public potty breaks and vomiting to last me a lifetime!
Marathons also bring every walks of life together. I ran next to this man for about a mile….
k…not really! But a man just as hairy was running with like a snow suit on… and I was feeling just fine in my tank and shorts….I don’t know how he was doing it. I figured if he can run under all that hair and clothes and survive…I can too!
My goal was to RUN the whole thing…..WHICH I DID…whoot,whoot! And even though we were running down a canyon there were A LOT OF HILLS. At mile 14 there was a doozy. But somehow I survived and kept trekkin along.
I trained at a 10 minute mile pace…but of course my competitiveness got the best of me and I reduced my time to a 9 minute mile. I was excited about the lead I had given myself (in comparison to training) and even during the LONG HARD miles I would not let myself slow down because I wanted to finish as quick as I could.
Unfortunately, because I finished 20-30 minutes faster than I told my family some of them missed me coming in. Rich barely caught me and sent Sadie running into the race so she could run over the finish line with me. (Can’t wait to see those pics…she was so excited!) And the rest of my supporters did not see me until after I had crossed. Which explains why I have no pictures of me running. But I’ll just buy some of the race pictures.
So I was able to finish in just over 4 hours!!! I’m waiting on the results because I think my time is somewhere between 4:02-4:05. Because the time I ran in was 4:11 BUT I WAS DELAYED IN CROSSING THE STARTING LINE because all of the fast racers line up first. So we’ll see when the results are posted. Either way I was really happy with my time….BUT I’M PAYING FOR IT NOW….I can’t walk!!!!
They did offer free massages after the race. The first professional massage I’ve ever received!!! IT’S PRETTY SAD THAT I HAVE TO RUN 26.2 MILES TO GET ONE OF THOSE!!!
The kids made me a poster and my sis gave me candy and a flower….SO SWEET!
You can tell I’ve been running too much and lifting too little….my arms are feeling jealous that my legs have been getting all the work-out!
What a great experience. It’s taught me a lot about commitment and sticking to my goals. I’m so glad I did this!!!
Here’s a picture of my family (aka….Super Supporters..minus my sis who had to return to Logan)
The kids had their own little fun-filled day:
During the race they got to go see the trains at the train station…
BEST COUSINS!!! (KENDYL AND KATE)
After the race we went back to my brother’s house for a BBQ.
We had a lot of fun….SOME OF US HAD A LITTLE TOO MUCH FUN!!!
THAT BOY HAS NO SHAME!
9 comments:
That's AWESOME!!! I am not surprised that you did so well...you have always been Wonder Woman! I wish I could have been there to support you also...I would have loved to run the last 4 miles with you..that would be the closest I ever get to running a marathon. I'm glad you survived and that you did so awesome! You rock!
Wow you did so awesome. 4 Hours thats great. What an accomplishment. I am just glad it was you and not me. Good Job!
Yeah! We will have to chat that is all that I can say!
Congrats! You are so awesome! (And I think your arms look great too!) Maybe one day I'll be a marathon mom. But for now, I'll settle to be a 5K mom. :)
Congratulations!!! You are amazing! And it's so great you had so many supporters, how fun! It looks like it was such a fun day!
Wow! You're crazy! Congratulations!
Congrats! That is a huge accomplishment! I had a bunch of family running in that race too and I was sad we couldn't be there to support them.
I think my limit will always be about a nice little 10K or so. That is about all the patience I have for training. I'm not enough of a morning person to wake up and run before my kids get up.
You are so amazing! And I want to thank you for helping me love aerobics!! Remember that? :o) That last picture made me LOL!
Way to go Nik. I think you are awesome and can't believe you have never done a marathon until now. I love your devotion to staying fit much like myself....BUT I have no desire to put my body through 26 grueling miles of pain. But I bet you feel amazing. I think you have conquered greater feats of strength and endurance in my opinion though. Marathons are a breeze for someone like you. As long as your digestive tract is working for you. LOL.
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