I ran the marathon!!! It was the best one EVER! Okay, yes, I
only ran 13 miles, so I didn't run A marathon, but I did run THE
marathon - at least some of it. My SIL Annette was running her 2nd
marathon (SoJo) today and asked me to help her up the hills, and despite
knowing my epic failure just 2 weeks ago she still trusted me to pace
her for a 3:45 finish. I had my husband drop me off at 7AM at
the corner of 11800S and Bacchus Hwy (mile 4.5ish). Anybody who has been
there, knows - there is NOTHING there...everything is at least a couple
miles away. So I meandered down to a point on the Hwy where I could see
a good stretch of road as the racers were coming and sat down. Still had 20 min until the first runners would be coming by. I was SO excited to see Kurt
lead his first marathon! Plugged my ipod into my ears and watched a
beautiful sunrise. Cops started coming to the intersection to set up
traffic control and got worried about some crazy lady sitting on the
side of the road in the dark out in the middle of no where! They kept
stopping and asking if I was okay "yup, just waiting for the race" I'd
then get a weird look and they'd continue on. Good times :) The
race started late, but it was fun to see the lead pack come down! I
didn't expect Walter at the front since he'd just run SGM, but there he
was. With a solid lead and Kurt next, with Steve drafting off his R
shoulder. Awesome! The 4th place guy was a little behind them and he
looked young, so I said "hey, don't let those old guys beat you!" He
looked at me and said: "they ARE old, aren't they?!?" :) hehehe, got a
good laugh off that one. Annette came by soon after with probably
only 20ish women ahead of her. She was doing great and looking good. I
jumped in with her and the cops again gave me a look and said "hey, you
can't start here!" (with a good humor tone) I told them not to worry.
I'd only run to the lake, then catch the bus from there. The
hills came fast, that run up to Kennecott isn't as nice as it looks on
paper, but I tried to stay just ahead of Annette to help 'pull' her up
the hill and not let her stop. She responded well, even though I was
dying and couldn't talk much on the uphill. Before we knew it, the tough
part was over and we coasted down past my house and to the lake. I was
only going to run 10, but she had told me her son was going to pick up
at mile 18 to run the last 8 with her (he's only 11, but ran TOU half in
1:48, his first!) so, in the back of my mind I thought if I was feeling
good I'd take her there. Maybe, if I was feeling okay then I'd catch a
ride with her hubby to the finish and watch the finish line activities. Well,
I was just groovin'! I was enjoying the pace and although I could feel
some fatigue around mile 10, I was still doing okay and the company was
good and the race support was fun too! No, I didn't use aid stations.
Didn't feel right not paying, so I lugged my own water bottle, but
tossed it at mile 15 aid station. I just kept thinking I'd get her up
temple hill, then let her son carry her to the finish. Excellent plan! She
did stop to stretch a couple times, her ITB was buggin' but each time
she said it really helped and she never complained about it. Had one pop
stop at mile 17 aid station and I didn't stop or stopped then started
my watch without knowing it. I don't know for sure. All I know is that I
have about 3 min of standing around time and then nothing for about 1/2
mile. We reached her family and I noticed my garmin still said the same
mileage as at the pop stop. Dang. So, I started the watch and finished
until my mileage said 13, so I was probably more like 13.5, but gotta go
with the garmin - right? :) I took the family ride to the finish
line and got there just in time to see Walter finish. I could tell he
wasn't feeling it, but still in a time I would envy! Especially after
SGM just 2 weeks prior - man that man is an animal!! Found Kurt, and
well, I'll let him tell his story. Spotted Rossy across the way, he had an awesome half and got to chat for a bit. Then, Annette came through in 3:53, but I
totally missed her. I was chatting with Steve Ashbaker, but had my eye
on the finish knowing it was around the time she was expected. Finally
at 3:57 I went to stand at the finish chute, but I didn't see her or her
family...what?!? At 4:07 after congratulating Nancy and Leslie on a
great half I called her. Yup, she was finished - I'd totally missed her
:( I was NOT happy. Felt like scum for missing her awesome PR finish.
But, I went and hung out with her in the massage line and gave her the
good news about taking 2nd in her AG. Awards weren't until 2:15 (what
the heck people?!? really?!? who stays around that long?!?) so we took
off to her house and she ice bathed, showered and we went back. She and
the other stars of the marathon (Walter, Steve and Kurt) got their
awards and it was a perfect morning - oh wait, it was afternoon by then
:) It really was great. I've never finished a marathon feeling
this good :) I've decided cutting out half of the race is definitely the
way to go. Next time - I'm taking the bus! Hubby picked me up at
the park and we went rock climbing and then to Leatherbys for dinner.
Yes, I fed my kids ice cream for dinner. I'm a good mom :) I finally got
home at 8:00 PM. It has been a long day, but a GREAT one. Congrats to
all!! I had a great time running with y'all and getting to be part of
the racing fun, for free - and with less tax on the legs :) AP: 8:27 splits: 9:10, 9:23, 7:54, 8:03, 7:57, 8:13, 8:59 (stretch break), 8:09, 8:55 (gu walk break), 8:38, 8:49,
8:58, 7:56 (some catching up here on my part. I chatted with her hubby
at the car about picking me up .4 down the road so I could finish 13 on
the garmin...had to run fast to catch back up to her! Also, I'm guessing
here, because the 'stop' lasts for 3 min of time so I took 2:30 off
garmin time - dumb user errors!). Now, if I could have run even
my first half of SGM like that and felt that good, I'd have been happy.
blah, whatever. over and done with. onward and upward. Happy to have 13
miles at a good pace. | 
