2:40:30. 3rd place. Happy but not satisfied. Race report tomorrow.
So, I am proud to officially call myself a marathoner! I feel such a huge sense of accomplishment in fulfilling this goal. It has been a long journey to make this happen. I'm glad that I have stuck with it, and FINALLY got that first marathon under my belt. In addition, it was such a good experience that it won't be my LAST marathon. That's a good thing.
I've really enjoyed training for this race. I went in just wanting to get in shape after having Myles, and have some fun. As my fitness improved, I found myself getting more competitive, but I tried to keep the mindset of enjoying my training. I think that kept me from getting injured or burned out.
Race day: I was so nervous, but it was a good nervous energy. I just wanted to get to it. I vowed to take it out conservatively. There were 3 other girls I knew would be strong: Amber Greene, Sariah Long, and Rosy Lee. Amber and Rosie have run St. George multiple times, which is a huge advantage.
Amber went out hard at the start, which I expected. I chose to hang back with Sariah and Rosy. We went through the first two miles in 6:15-20 pace. (I didn't even keep my splits.) Then we got rolling. I knew the real challenge for me would be the hills in miles 7-12. Sariah and Rosy gapped me. I chose to stay comfortable, since I was still hitting under pace. I was hoping to finish strong the second half. Miles 10-12 were probably the biggest mental challege of the race. It was uphill, and I was by myself. I just concentrated on getting through the half.
I went through the half in 1;20:30. I told myself that it was time to get after it. I started making up some time and distance on the other girls. At mile 15 Sariah pulled off into a port-a-potty, and I found myself in third. I could see Rosy through mile 18, then she started to really move and put on more distance.
Mile 20 I was definitely feeling it, but knew I could use the last downhills to maintain. I was keeping a sub-six average, and at this point was just concentrating on breaking 2:40. All was good until miles 24-26. My legs were shot, and I knew I was slowing. At mile 25 I felt a blister on my toe tear open. Ow! I tried to ignore/embrace the pain as much as possible. I was elated to know I was actually going to finish this sucker, but I was not loving how I was feeling. I was surprised to see a blond ponytail not to far ahead. I didn't realize that I was that close to second place. Too late to do anything about it, though. I crossed in 2:40:30. I felt so happy to have accomplished my goal, and in a pretty decent time. Then, I watched Jenny finish in an amazing 2:52. I was so proud of her!
I realized that a couple of things really hurt me. My downhills were fantastic. But, I really lost the race on the climbs. I have good leg speed, but I need to get stronger. Something to work on for next time. Secondly, I knew I could negative split, but to finish as strongly as I would have needed to win, I needed more endurance. I topped out at 80 miles a week, the girls ahead of me were in the 95 mpw range. Still, I did what I could with the time that I had. I can build more mileage the next time around. Finally, I did train downhills, but probably not quite as much as was necessary. To really be successful at St. George you definitely need to train to the course.
Still, despite the improvements I can make, this was overall a hugely positive experience. It feels amazing to break physical and mental barriers. I enjoyed the camraderie of the experience. My competitors were so tough, and gracious, and just really awesome women. I met some of the ladies from the blog, and was happy to hear that they met their goals. I realized, that when it comes to a marathon "we're all in this together" (cue the disney music!)
A big thanks to all the bloggers who encourage me with their input. The blog really kept me positive and confident. It was fun "virtually training" with everybody. I'm also really lucky to have a supportive husband. Teren really put his running aside this summer to play Mr. Mom while I ran. And, I couldn't have done it all without Jenny to train with. She made it so much fun! I look forward to incorporating more fast ladies into my training. We can only make each other better!
I'm so excited for a little break, but even more excited to do this again!
| 