Hard. Left it all out there. Didn't give up when I really wanted to bail. More later.
When Huntsville didn't work out due to the "great gamboo" that I got the day before, I knew that trying to get a 3:15 on this course was next to impossible. So I readjusted my goal to PR (under 3:21:5X). I felt like the week before I did really well at hydrating, resting, and fueling. I was optimistic because the weather was going to be great (minimal wind! Woohoo!) and overall, I felt that I was in shape. Plus I had three extra weeks of training I didn't anticipate so I was so ready to just do this thing.
Here are the splits:
7:56, 7:19, 7:45, 7:53, 8:14, 9:10, 7:51, 7:16, 7:15, 7:15, 7:35, 7:36, 7:34, 7:47, 7:41, 7:16, 8:14, 7:38, 7:48, 8:15, 7:52, 7:40, 7:48, 8:09, 8:09, 8:25, and I don't know what the last 0.2 was because I forgot to turn my garmin off.
During the early miles, I felt good but I did feel like I was breathing pretty heavy. It didn't feel hard but I think my nerves were just working themselves out. Me and skinny blond girl (who ended up coming in shortly after I did) kept leap frogging. After the hills on miles 4-6, I knew this wasn't going to come easy. I turned on my music and tried to drown out my mind. By about mile eight, I left all the people I was running by. It was a lonely race. There were a few people I would pass here and there.
At about mile 15 I started picking off half marathoners to catch up to "Pass red shirt guy. Just get to him." "Okay now pass tutu lady, you can do that." At one point I was saying things to myself like, "Just disconnect your brain from your legs. Your legs can run all day. ALL. DAY. at this pace. Easy." Funny the things we come up with.
Mile 17 was demoralizing. My legs were ready to stop. I was wanting it to be over and then came another hill by the Oquirrh Mountain Temple. My sister and brother in law live in the neighborhoods right by there and I remember thinking, "I could just run to the Kings house, that'd only take like 2 minutes, that'd be okay right?" Thank goodness for the downhill after the temple, I used it and tried hard not to fight against the downhill. The hardest part of this course in my opinion are the last two miles along the Jordan River Parkway. The wind was blowing slightly against you (very slightly, but at this point, I felt every bit of resistance) and it is ever so slightly uphill. Longest two miles ever. My calves were cramping and balling up. I finally heard and saw the finish line, saw the husband and boys, and went as fast as my bambi legs would take me to the finish.
Although I got my PR at Utah Valley in 2012, I really felt like I did a better job at keeping it together in this race. I totally broke down and gave up mentally at my last marathon and ended up walking a mile before I pulled it together. I am proud to say I didn't quit when I really wanted to quit. When negative thoughts came, I immediately pushed them out. Sometimes this works and sometimes it doesn't. Today, it did. I am proud of the race I ran. It wasn't a PR but I did give it everything I had. My gait shows it. Going down stairs proves that every bit of my quads was left out on that course. I'll take it. And I won't be doing laundry downstairs for a few days.
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