Top of Utah Marathon

Janae, me, Kelly, Jenny, Heather, Janelle
6 AWESOME WOMEN!!!
So I finally did a marathon, and now I can say I did it and now I can be done! :) It has been quite the journey to say the least. Luckily I had some awesome friends to take the journey with. I feel soooo blessed to have had this experience. I would almost say it has been a spiritual one. We signed up for it forever ago, and have devoted countless hours and mornings. Waking up at 4:30 am, 5 am, and 6 am is something I am not built for, many of my friends would not call me a morning person (namely Katie, she would sleep over at my house and wait for me to eventually wake up at 10 am even later.) But now I DO call myself a morning person! I have transitioned over, it hasn't been easy but I can't imagine ever going back!!! I have simply loved our early morning runs, even in the dead of winter running through the snow. I have loved talking with everyone and starting my day with good friends. I love knowing at the end of the day that I already got my workout in, and that at night I can just rest. I never thought I would run a marathon, but somehow we all got on board, and the dream became real. It was fun to make a plan, and stick to it. I loved the determination everyone had, they stuck to the plan, and Saturday September 18th, 6 of us ran and finished the Top of Utah Marathon in Logan. We all have had our struggles a long the way with injuries here and there. I had a surgery in the middle of training and had to take 5 weeks off. I was devastated to think I might not be able to do it, because of all the time I had already put it, and because I wasn't sure when I would have the opportunity to do it with friends again.
The week of the marathon we all were so nervous, we had the jitters, none of us could sleep. Kelly even took unisom so on some of our tapering runs she could hardly stand up! Friday we all met up for pasta at Jenny's which was fun. We ate at around 4 and then headed up to Logan. Janelle hooked us up with her families fifth wheel (which was BRAND SPANKIN NEW) so we could park and sleep right by the starting line. This was such a blessing, since we were originally going to stay in Tremonton, have to drive a half hour and catch a bus at 4:30 in the morning. We were able to get up in the morning, walk right out to the starting line and not be freezing cold. We picked up our packets on friday night, and then headed up and went to bed pretty early. I really didn't sleep at all because of nerves. Heather was so giddy and excited it was hilarious. The morning of we all gathered for a prayer, and Jenny said the best prayer. You could feel the spirit so strong, and by the end of the prayer we were all in tears. We headed over to the starting line, and huddled in my emergency blanket (those things are super warm by the way!). The gun went off and we all started screaming, so much adrenalin. Then the running began. We headed down 14 miles of beautiful Blacksmith Fork Canyon. My plan of attack was to run the first 13 fast, so I could buy myself time for later. I think it worked out well, I know that is not always what people do. A lot of people do negative splits, where they run the first slower, and then save their speed for the end. That might have been smarter, but for this one I just felt like I needed to use the downhill to my advantage. At the 13 mile mark my average pace was 7:53. I had planned on 8 average, so this was a little shocking to me. I think I went faster because this guy named James was talking to me from about mile 10-14. He was super helpful, was motivating me and giving me tips for the end. He told me he dedicates the last 6 miles to people in his family to help him get through it. By mile 18 I was still feeling great, and I was shocked. I didn't put my IPOD in and didn't even want to, I wanted to listen to the wind and the people cheering. James had told me to just make my goal to get to each aid station every 2 miles. By mile 22 I was still feeling decent, but then I hit a wall. In town there are all these turns and I was realizing that I was off by .3 at every mile marker, so my calculations to qualify for Boston were not going to be right. At mile 18 my watch said 18.3. I was so frustrated. This either meant that the race course was not marked right, or I really didn't cut the corners as much as I needed to. Mile 23 was brutal, but then I saw Chloe and Jed and Zac and Ella, with a poster for me. That boosted my spirits, but I could hardly keep my pace under 9 minutes at this point. It seemed like there were so mainy annoying little uphills. Mile 24 my heart sank, because my quads were ACHING and I knew I was going to miss qualifying for Boston by 1 minute. I was so bummed. I gave it my all the last 2 miles, but I ended up coming in at 3:41. My watch said 26.6 miles, average pace of 8:19. I knew I needed 8:23 to qualify, but with those extra .4 miles that was just cutting it too close. So in my mind, I feel like I did it, I ran faster than the pace I planned, but the stars weren't aligned. All in all, I feel really good about my race, and my time. I gave it EVERYTHING I had. That night I paid for it though. I had to go to the ER for Bowel ischemia, when your intestines don't get enough oxygen and everything just shuts down. I was as sick as I have ever been. I will spare you all the details. My mom met me at the ER, they filled me up with fluids. My stomach was just in knots, I was just laying there sobbing. I cannot figure out why this happens to me. I hydrated, I ate, I felt like I did everything right, but my body just revolted. I puked the whole way home, my poor mother!!! I was so glad to have her with me though. I talked to a doctor in our neighborhood who said this is super common for marathoners. So if I ever do one again, I have got to figure this out. If I can't, then maybe I will just stick to the halfs. Im calling a GI doc tomorrow. Today I feel a lot better, but I definitely put my body through it. What an experience. The racing part was AMAZING. Absolutely thrilling. The aftermath, not so much.
Everyone did awesome. I can't believe we all finished!!! I am sad though in a way too, because I don't want it all to end, it has been such an adventure with everyone. Janae even did the whole dang thing after all of her injury issues, and fast too!!! Amazing girls!!!! I love them all!!!