St. George Marathon: the good, the bad, and the aftermath

When I ran the St. George Marathon 2 years ago, I wasn't sure I would ever run another one.  It was my first marathon, and my time was 5:24.  It was hard.  It was hot.  It was painful.  Yes, it was satisfying to finish and receive a medal for my efforts, but I didn't think I wanted to put body through that again.  As time went on, though, I started to change my mind.  Running a marathon is a lot like child-birth.  You forget how painful it was, and you're willing to do it again.  In my case, my attitude changed a few weeks later as I watched the New York City marathon on television.  As I watched people cross the finish line, I told myself I would do it again...only next time I would do it better.

I began running again and signed up for my next marathon.  A short time after signing up, I discovered I was pregnant with child #3.  I was still determined to run another marathon, but I knew it wouldn't happen this time around.  So, I contacted the marathon people and transferred my registration to the following year.  I continued to run about half way through my pregnancy.  After my little bundle arrived, I began training again.

In April 2012, I ran the North Shore Hawaii Marathon (4:42).  In May, I ran the Ogden Marathon (4:24).  Then in June, I ran the Utah Valley Marathon (4:43).  For fun, I also ran the Layton Half Marathon (1:58) where I placed second in my division!  Somewhere inbetween all this running, I signed up for the St. George Marathon again...very determined to smash my first time.

This past weekend I returned to the scene of the crime:  St. George, Utah.  Here I am with Cory before the race...

Several weeks ago, we made an agreement that the winner out of the two of us, would receive $1 for every second they beat the other person.  Believing in my heart that Cory would win by at least 10 minutes, I made the deal to motivate him to do his best and get some money for his airplane fund.  I figured it would also motivate me to do my best so he wouldn't beat me too badly.

When the starting gun went off, we jumped in line and started running.  Cory took off like a little bunny rabbit, and I didn't think I would see him again until the finish line.  The first few miles flew by.  I even made a friend along the way and chatted for a few miles.  Before I knew it, Veyo hill was in sight.  Just before I started up the hill near mile 7, I heard someone calling to me.  Imagine my surprise when I looked over my shoulder and saw Cory coming up behind me.  When did I pass him????  We chatted for a minute, then I slowed down to conserve my energy up the hill and he took off like a bunny rabbit once again.

Three quarters of the way up Veyo hill, I could feel a little nausea coming on.  So, I slowed to a walk, pulled out a chunk of Clif Bar to eat, washed it down with some water, and started jogging again.  The nausea went away, but the next few miles were really hard.  After 4 miles of incline, I was worn out.  By mile 13, I felt like I was back on track, but the 4-hour-pace runner passed me.  At that point, I knew I wouldn't finish under 4 hours, but I was still determined to do my best.  At mile 16, a big crowd of supporters were cheering the runners on.  It gave me quite a boost.  My speed picked up, and I began to enjoy myself again.  At mile 20, I got the surprise of my life.  I looked ahead and saw....Cory.  I knew he had to be hurting if I was about to pass him again.  We chatted briefly, and this time it was me who took off like a bunny rabbit.  A few minutes later, I felt guilty about leaving him, and I stopped to wait for him to see if he wanted to finish the race together.  When he caught up to me, his answer was: Do your best.

With Cory's green light, I took off and finished the race in 4:16, my best yet.  About 10 minutes later, he crossed the finish line.

Now, it's two days post marathon.  My body is sore, but I'll be back to normal in another day or two.  The question is:  Where do I go from here?  Will I run another marathon?  The answer:  most definitely.  You may wonder why I put myself through this.  I have a hard time putting it into words, but here is why...

#1.  Because I can.   Running marathons has taught me that I can do hard things. It brings me a lot of satisfaction to accomplish something I never pictured myself doing.

#2.  To inspire my kids to lead an active life.  Too many kids today are overweight and not active.  By setting a good example, I hope my kids will want to be active too.

 

#3.  I enjoy it.  Crazy as it sounds, it's true.