St. George marathon Oct 4, 2008

So I drove to St. George Friday afternoon with my sister Mandy her 2 kids, my mom and Kate. We all squished in Mandy's car and went on our adventure. We got to St. George at about 3:00 and went straight to the starting line so I could see the course for the marathon before I ran it. Afterwards we went to the vacation rental condo to set up camp. Ryan Kate and I stayed in the bedroom while Mandy and My mom shared a mattress on the floor, Elle and Owen were spread out in the dining room and the kitchen, it was a good time. I left a lot of stuff for Ryan to bring like Kate's bedding, toiletries, and some of my running gear. Unfortunately he was caught up in traffic and didn't get into St. George till 9:30 or so. Once I realized He wouldn't be there with our stuff for a while the emotions of everything flooded me and i shed a few tears. I was tired, emotional, nervous, and felt like I couldn't get prepared for such a big day the next day. Luckily my cute sister and mom helped me get it back together, and I got Kate to sleep in a make-shift bed. Ryan came and we were able to get some sleep. I woke up every hour that night worrying that I would sleep in and miss the race, by about 3:30 I was sick of the clock watching game so I got up and started the process of getting ready for the big run. The bathroom was really big so i was able to stretch, eat, get organized and geared up without waking anyone else up. Fortunately Mandy woke up just about the time i had to leave and she was able to take me to the bus. It was warm outside and sprinkling a little bit but I didn't think much of it. Before I got on the bus I was able to get to a bathroom that wasn't a port-o- potty and then we drove all 26 miles up to the starting line.

Once we got up there, It was windy, cold, and started to rain. I sat by the fire for a while but decided to get a garbage bag to not get more wet. I was lucky enough to get the very last garbage sack they had, it helped a ton. Then I kept toasty by the warm fire. Time came and we lined up to start the race, and it took me about 10 min. till I got to start running and we were off.

By then it was pouring and I was getting pretty cold, but I still had 25 miles to go so I tried not to think about it. The first 7 miles were kind of a blur, but we got to Veyo and my mom, Ryan and Kate, my nephew Mitchell, and my dad were there to cheer me on, that totally gave me a boost and I journeyed up the Veyo hill. After another mile or 2 I started to get really cold and it wasn't that fun anymore, I hit THE WALL! So for a few miles up until about the half way mark 13 miles or so I was a little grumpy and not necessarily enjoying myself, but once I hit snow canyon the second wind kicked in and IT WAS AWESOME! I was totally re-energized and really enjoyed the scenery, my hands seemed to thaw out and I was able to actually use them. I got ahead of the group I had been running with the whole time and that gave me an extra boost to push on. Anyway the whole second half was amazing, once I got about 2 miles to the finish I felt the endurance being pushed but I just kept going and once I saw the 26 mile marker I got choked up, I only had .2 miles to go and I could see the finish line, and all the people cheering me on. Needless to say it was a pretty emotional time. I crossed the finish line and had a total sense of joy and accomplishment, I know it sounds cheesy but it was really neat. I met up with my family, ate some snacks and started to shiver, I was soaking wet and cold, but my body was also probably going into a little shock. So we headed out, and the rest is history. But I can say that was one of a few of the neatest experiences of my life, I did my best, and have no regrets. 5:20:49 was my time.