I ran the inaugural Layton Marathon today and I owe my finish to the many angels who helped me along the way... It was supposed to be a training run, but I decided just a week before to go all out and try to qualify for the Boston with it. This new level of commitment really made me nervous. I started in the dark (it was pitch black) 5 minutes after the bell went off because I decided to take a bathroom break after the crowds left. It was a great strategy for me and really calmed my nerves to not start out in a rush of people. When I came out of the bathroom there was only a handful of straglgers and it felt just like any other Saturday run. So far, so good. Because it was so dark, I couldn't see my garmin, so I didn't actually take a look at it until mile 6 when I was headed up the only hill on the course. I was going 8:45 or 8:50. This felt pretty good and I knew I was on track for an 8:30 pace overall as I would compensate for this slightly slower pace on my down hill (which I did). Those first 10 miles or so, I gaged my nutrition on the conference talks I was listening to. I've decided to take a little nutrition every 30 minutes and it worked really well for me--except that I need something a little more solid (and salty) than Gu and Gel next time. Around mile 12 I started to fade. At that point we were half way across the 7 mile cause-way to Antelope Island. I jumped in the wake of a guy I'd been leap-frogging with and decided to just keep pace with him. It worked beautifully. After about a mile, we went through a rest station and he came out behind me as I didn't stop (I was carrying my own food and water). I waited briefly to see if he was coming and he did--so we ran together for the next 3 or 4 miles. We talked a bit, but mostly, we were content to run side by side with a good stride at about 8:45 pace. He was like an angel to me at that time At this point, I was seriously beginning to doubt I had it in me to make up the time to an 8:20 or 8:30 pace. Of course, as soon as I thought that, I began to wonder if there was any point to finishing when I wasn't going to qualify for Boston and I really only needed 20 miles for the day. That was the beginning of the end for me as I really died mentally at mile 16 and by 17 had almost completely given up. Unfortunately, I haven't figured out the end game yet. So at 17, I knew Emily and Tara were waiting just around the corner and suddenly I felt like I couldn't go another step. I threw in the towel not only for this race, but for any future marathon. My mind was spiraling to negative thoughts and I couldn't think of a single reason to keep going--quite the opposite of how I'd been feeling an hour earlier. I stopped to stretch for about 2 minutes. Then with shoulders slumped, began to trudge towards where I would meet Emily. At this point, I'd driven the course and I knew exactly where she would be. There were a lot of concerned people passing, and one even offered me Exedrin. I didn't know what that would do for me, but I for some reason I accepted. (Of course, it took me the next 5 minutes to gag it down, because I don't know how to swallow). Just 1/4 mile from where Emily and Tara a gal passed me whom I'd met that morning. She must have felt compassion for me since I had shared my "tinfoil" blanket with her in the dark as we waited for the race to start. She just kept saying she was going to get me to my friends. I was really doing badly. But she wouldn't let me stop. And even when I finally pointed them out, she wouldn't leave me until they were right by my side. She is another angel I owe my finish too. Emily and Tara were the biggest angels of all! I don't know what I would have done without them. At one point shortly after we met, I was so spent mentally that I sat down. I just wanted a break for a minute. But they were on me in 2 seconds and pulled me up and informed me I was not stopping now and they had trained too hard this week to let me stop now. They did concede that I wasn't going to qualify for the Boston (because of mile 16 and 17), but insisted that I make this my best long run. I hardly responded to them the next 8 miles, but I absorbed every word they said. They related advice, humorous stories, spiritual insights, reviews of conference, jokes,--have Emily tell you about the family that moved into her shoe-- etc. I don't think I ever cracked a smile, but I was so grateful for their company and their optimism. They new just what to say and when I needed another reminder that I could do this. About 5 miles from the end Tara suggested we guess how many people we could pass before the finish. Emily guessed 15. Tara guessed 20. I thought a LONG time about it wondering if I'd be able to catch that person in front of us and then wondering if it would be subtracted back when they passed me again. Finally, I gave an answer of "8" just so it wouldn't be totally pessimistic. To my surprise, Tara pointed out one person after another and would say, "that's who we're going after, the pink skirt" or "That group of walkers" or "The guy with the blue shoes" and before I knew it we had passed them. Sometimes they were 20 feet, sometimes 20 yards or more ahead of us. I couldn't believe it when they got to 50! people. At mile 23.5 another angel met us: Heather Langeland. She too had come just to help me finish. She had asked me before hand what she should talk about. I told her: "anything that you'd say to a laboring woman!" She said all the right things. She told me about her trip to Park City, she told me about other things in her family. She told me I could do it and how amazing I was. She counted down the time and the miles for me. When we came within sight of the finish I really wanted to just sit down and think about it (Why do I do that?!!!!) But she just walked me through it. She counted the curves to the end, and the steps to the end, she pointed out my family, she reminded me that I was strong and that I wanted to show my family how strong I was. And then, right at the last minute, she told me to sprint it. I would never have thought of that on my own. I had stopped thinking so many miles before. But she said it and I saw the finish line and I did it. All three of them ran in with me in the lead sprinting --I am good at that at least. Then I stopped and threw up--I felt so much better after getting all that gel out of my stomach. I had finished! I just couldn't believe it! I can't take the credit even though I made the steps myself because I never would have done it without those angels! What a day! What a mix of emotion. I'm still not sure what to think. I'm definitely humbled by it. I'm frustrated that I'm so mentally weak as to give up so easily. I'm so grateful for so many people willing to reach out and help. I'm encouraged and discouraged for the next race--not sure if I'll do better because I know better, I know what I'm up against and I have the experience or if I'll do worse because I won't have all those people in place to help me. I do feel really good about my time. It was a completely flat course except the one hill that goes up and comes right back down. That means, I didn't have any advantage that people get from hills. This makes me think that my time would have been better on a hilly course. I'm also grateful to have gotten in such a good long run before the race that I've been training for all this time: Mesquite marathon. If anyone wants to leave me advice, I'd love to hear it.
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