Believe to Achieve

Ragnar revisited.   Drove up to Pocatello with Rachelle, Rachel, Jonathan and Blaine.  Little sleep last night and NO sleep tonight.  Met my roommate at the hotel.  Her name is Chelsea.  First time pacer along with me (for a marathon.  I guess you can count TOU last year for one friend).  We chatted the night hours  away and then did nothing but toss and turn.  I wasn't even nervous.  I think I just wanted sleep so badly I couldn't sleep.  The expo was small.  The pasta dinner was fine except I had very bad stomach cramps and ended up heading to the bathroom three times during my Pacer Shift at the expo.  I figure I ran SGM in 3:08 last year with no sleep for several nights in a row-- what's a measly 26.2 mile pacing job?  NOTHING. The weather was overcast and muggy and perfect for a marathon. 

I had about 15 members in my pace group.  Very sad to lose them when we met up to the slow half marathoners and the course flattened out with some rollers.   I slowed as much as I could when I started to lose them but I couldn't keep that up as our Pace Director wanted us to run an even split the entire course without a garmin.  Just a stopwatch.  I completely am all for the NO garmin so it was liberating to me.  In fact the people in my groups garmins ALWAYS went off before the WELL marked (accurate) course markers.  Everyone knows that can mess with your head at the end of a marathon as it only adds on distance.  I tried to tell my group to not look at their garmins.  I was their garmin.  Several were thankful to "lose" their garmins for a while.  I took a potty stop at mile 13 that put me about 30 seconds UNDER the 3:40 pace (8:24).  After that everyone in my group slowed and all I had left were stragglers from earlier pace groups to encourage and get to run the last miles again.  IT WAS VERY SAD to see my group fade in the distance as I probably appeared to be galloping into the distance.  I was really only running on the pace after slowing to encourage my group.  I walked thu all the aid stations.  The group was thankful for that.  I got one guy at the end to run the last 5 miles with me and he finished just under 3:39!! :D.  He started with the 3:05 group so I was glad to get him back on course!!  There were several guys in this situation.  Three girls in my group wanted BQs.  Only one came out with the BQ.   Quite the bummer.  One missed it by 36 seconds.   She was passed by the 3:45 pacer.  So wish my roommate had grabbed her arm and pushed her with her but her watch had technical difficulties and she was running faster than goal pace.  This aches me!!  So sorry for this woman with her last chance BQ.    Splits for the record per stopwatch:  8:24 (drum roll please :D), 8:04 (oops too fast), 8:28, 8:17, 8:12, 8:21, 8:25, 8:20, 8:12, 8:12, 8:19, 8:03, 8:44 (slower walk thru aid station to not be too under time), 8:29 (potty stop just before the 13.1 mile mat-- crossed 30 seconds before expected time-- EXACTLY where our pace group leader wants us-- ABSOLUTELY NO GOING OVER the goal and only 30 seconds faster-- I was 37 seconds faster, but hey it was my first day on the job!!), 8:48 (perception talk with my group as now we are running with 11 min/mile half marathoners), 8:40, (same problem but congestion thinning), 8:24, 8:25, 8:13, 8:27, 8:21, 8:26, 8:17, 8:27, 8:21, 8:28,  and 8:30 for the last 0.2 miles=  3:39:23 (8:22AP).  All of it felt easy.  HOWEVER symphysis pubis burning again.  My body doesn't like too long of runs.  No other soreness except nerve pain in ankle and lower back. 

PM-  BYU women's soccer game with family that included a brief thunder/lightning storm.  Fun night.   They won 2-0.  :D.