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| Just hit 26 miles. I still had .2 miles to go. |
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I got up at 3:30am. (I didn't really sleep much anyways, too anxious and nervous for today.) I got dressed, and Zac joined me in the kitchen. I was starting to put my gear on, when Zac noticed I still had my pepper spray attached to my water belt. He told me I should put that away. I didn't even realize it was on there. I had bought some sweats and gloves for the start line. It was supposed to be in the low 40s at the start line. Zac dropped me off at the buses, and I got on the 4:10am bus.
I have heard that the bus ride is one of the longest rides. It went by so fast for me though. I think I was dreading getting to the top. On the bus, I drank my 2nd dose of Ultra Fuel mixed with Winrgy. At that time, I realized I left my gloves in the car. I was so disappointed. My hands were going to be frozen. People on the bus were either really talkative or not saying one word. Once we got to the start line, I found out I was one of the first 1000 runners there, so they gave out FREE GLOVES. I couldn't believe my luck!
The start line was great. They had the music blaring, breakfast (I did not eat though, I didn't want to do anything different than I normally do), and bonfires as far as you could see. I quickly sat around a bonfire to get warm. I got to meet some really nice people. About 10 minutes before the gun went off, I took off my sweats and put them in my bag. I headed towards the corral to find the pace time I wanted. Right then, Zac's cousin Bryan found me. We talked until the gun went off. He took my clothing bag to the drop-off for me. It took me a little over 7 minutes to actually get to the start line. The energy was amazing.
I hit miles 1, 2 and 3 quickly. I didn't even realize I was at mile 3 until I saw the water station. I took my first GU, even though I didn't feel like I needed it. I wanted to stay on top of it. I saw my first sign that Amy put up around 4 1/2 miles. I hit the 10k mark and ran over the strip. The had the strips out at 10k, 13.1 miles and 20k, so it would notify the people I signed up where I was in the race. Once I hit the 10k, I was almost to Veyo...the dreaded hill. This is also the first place you could cheer someone on. I looked around the crowds, and couldn't find my family. They got there right after I ran by. They took pictures as proof that they were there. It was still cold. I still had my gloves on.
As I saw Veyo, I felt relieved. I have been training all 6 months on a hill just like that. I could do it. I felt great. I was passing a lot of people. I was trying to be conservative though, so I wouldn't overdo it. Once you reached the top of Veyo, the runners were cheering. Everyone was glad to be over it. Somehow, a pebble got into my left shoe about mile 8. I never got it out. I could feel it moving around inside the rest of the marathon. We started running downhill, and turned a corner. There was this LONG hill that seemed never ending. About mile 10 I finally chucked my gloves. I didn't reach the top of this hill until mile 12. I hit the half way point and still felt great. I was going downhill now, and starting to approach Snow Canyon. I was flying as I was running down the hill. Runners were even telling me I was going too fast. I kept my breathing the same, whether I was running uphill or downhill. I let the downhill work with me though. I had my legs go fast, but made sure I wasn't breathing any differently. It worked for me. I never felt like I overdid it. As I was approaching Snow Canyon it was BEAUTIFUL. Around mile 16 I see another huge crowd...the second spot the family was going to try to cheer me on. I looked all over trying to see anyone I recognized. I didn't see them. There were so many people at this point, that I was worried that either I passed them, and I didn't see them, or we missed each other again. Again, they got there right after I ran past. My Dad said they would park the car, and Zac and Amy would sprint to the course while Dad and Diane brought the kids. We just had bad luck.
This is why the posters were so helpful. I didn't see the family along the course, but I knew they were trying and were supporting me. It was so fun and motivating everytime I would see "Heather." I would run over to the side of the road so I could read what it said. About mile 17 1/2, my MP3 player battery died. When I was charging it with the laptop, it was plugged into one of those lights that you have to turn the light switch to "on" for it to work. Neither Zac or I realized that until after the race. I put my MP3 player in my pocket and continued running. I was surprised at how much the music kept me on pace. I could see people struggling, but it didn't affect my running. NOW, I could HEAR them struggling too. That was hard to not listen too. I'm also feeling tired at this point, but I don't want to hear about someone being tired. I want to get through this. I don't want to hit the dreaded "wall." I could see people throwing up on the sides (probably the ones that thought the free breakfast was a good idea), but now I could hear them throwing up too, even after I passed them. It was hard to stay focused.
Once I hit 20 miles, I was feeling pretty tired. I thought, only 6 more miles. That's an hour. I had to change my thought to, hit mile 23 and I can take my last GU. It worked. I kept on plugging along and hit mile 23. I still felt okay. However, mile 23-24 seemed like FOREVER. In fact, the last 3.2 miles went on and on. The crowds were on both sides of the course at this point though, and you don't want to walk in front of anyone. So I kept on running. Once into town I would look ahead to the corner and think, just make it there!" After every corner I would think, "Seriously! Where is that finish line!"
Finally I rounded the last corner. The finish line might as well have been 5 miles it way. It seemed far. Right when I hit mile 26, I finally saw Amy and Diane. Then about 20 feet later, I saw Dad, Zac and the kids all cheering for me. I broke out into a full sprint until I crossed the finish line. I crossed it at 4:04:31. I beat my goal. All I've wanted to do was beat Oprah's time of 4:29. Keep in mind that she had personal trainers, nutritionists, and her audience to cheer her on.
I found out in the last 7.5 miles, I passed 256 runners, while only 56 passed me. I was surprised I was still running so strong. I just wanted it to be over. I ran a negative split, meaning I ran the 2nd 1/2 of the marathon faster than the first. According to my garmin, here is what pace I ran each mile:
Mile 1: 9:18; Mile 2: 9:40; Mile 3: 9:49; Mile 4: 9:28; Mile 5: 9:13; Mile 6: 8:26; Mile 7: 8:40; Mile 8: 11:11; Mile 9: 9:16; Mile 10: 9:33; Mile 11: 9:28; Mile 12: 9:04; Mile 13: 9:07; Mile 14: 8:45; Mile 15: 8:14; Mile 16: 8:19; Mile 17: 8:45; Mile 18: 9:59; Mile 19: 9:35; Mile 20: 9:02; Mile 21: 9:07; Mile 22: 9:47; Mile 23: 9:46; Mile 24: 9:29; Mile 25: 9:48; Mile 26: 9:33.
There were so many people. I had the hardest time even finding the exit out of the runners area. It took a little bit of time to find each other. I made the horrible mistake of drinking a chocolate milk right after I crossed the finish line. I was so nauseous. Why would I do that? Stupidest decision.
I didn't realize until I was looking through the pictures that I left my sunglasses on. Lily was cute and put her arm around my shoulder during pictures.
I still can't believe I did it. This time last year, I was barely running for 10 minutes straight. I ran the full marathon, and only walked during the water stations. I never hit the "wall" that everyone talks about.
I love the finishers medal. It is made out of sandstone. I had them put a plaque on the back with my name, division and time engraved.
Amy was a huge supporter the entire time I trained and raced. Thank you Amy for coming down to cheer me on and put up the posters!
It was so nice to have Dad and Diane come down too. My Dad gave me a Father's blessing the night before. I don't remember the last time I had a "Father's" blessing.
Bugger! We retook the group shot because we were all in shadows. Now, I'm the only one in a shadow.
After I showered and got dressed, Zac, Amy and I all headed to Nielsen's custard to celebrate. It was delicious. Later that night, I wanted to walk around and see the marathon course. Zac drove me and the kids up and back the marathon course. Lily took a nice nap. After we got back, we stopped at the St. George Temple to walk around. We went inside the visitor's center and the kids got stones that were used to make the temple white. They were very excited. We walked around the temple grounds for awhile, then headed for dinner.
I wanted a cheeseburger, so we headed to Red Robin. Yum. I got a cheeseburger with a fried egg and bacon on top. I felt great while eating it...it tasted so good. I did not feel great the rest of the night. Too much greasy food.
It was a wonderful vacation/race/memories. I'm so glad that my name was selected this year. I still can't believe I actually finished it. I am SO SORE right now. Going downstairs is a joke. But I will recoup and start running again soon.
