What a wonderful morning! I know doing 2 fulls back to back certainly isn't the smartest thing to do, but I've tried to keep my weekly miles minimal so that I wouldn't kill/injure myself doing this one. I was only 'officially' registered this week anyway. I knew that Smooth and Lowell were running this one, and I just wanted to relax and have fun with them! Mission accomplished! Smooth came to my house and since the start is closer to my house than the buses I made my hubby get up and take us to the start line. It was nice to sleep in, even with a 7:30 start and just feel like I was out for a nice little Saturday run. We met Lowell and Marci there and I also got to see all the Newtons who were using this as their fall race. I was SO excited for everyone! It is always fun to share in the pre-race fun before a big race. With a couple pop stops (in the 25 min we had -lines were short!) we had the National Anthem and then lined up. Go time. We were treated with a beautiful sunrise and great company as we started out. It is nice running West and being able to see great views of the entire valley in the early morning. There was much too much singing going on to not feel like you were having a good time! :) The big hill come at mile 6ish, and we just slowed down and took it in stride. Other than the stinky compost from the dump, the air was clear and nice...and the wind was blowing like crazy!!! That was fun, especially since the wind always seems to come from every direction out here. No matter which way you run, you end up with a headwind. Larry played paparazzi for us along the way and at the half we not only got to see Smooth's beautiful newest grandbaby, but we picked up Karen as well! Just a bit later Kelli passed us in her car and we got a good honk and wave. We also met up with another lady that remembered us from Park City and Nanette Palmer who was running with her. Turns out Karen and Nanette know each other from when they lived in Minnesota and Nanette just had her Pony Express 100 record beat yesterday. It was great conversation!! The miles just flew by and with a popsicle stop at the bottom of temple hill (thank you spectators!) we actually walked and ate our popsicles up some of the hill. HA! Awesome, I'm tellin' ya. By mile 19ish I was getting tired. My legs were done and I could feel the fatigue. Luckily, the crowd would stop and walk through the aid stations and I had a bunch of TTT peeps at mile 20ish that I got to stop and say hello to, then the next aid station I saw the Dr that casted Lauren's arm when she broke it and he is a big runner and ran with me when I paced Riverton half, so I chatted with him. Every time I'd start getting tired we'd find a new friend or get to the aid station to walk/talk through. Smooth was doing great and besides having fatigue as well, she kept me happy and chatting and I was just enjoying every minute! Between Smooth's positive vibes and Lowell's crazy singing and stories you couldn't get bored or feel bad. With a 5K to go, we thought that it might be possible for Lowell to get his 4:25 BQ. So, Karen and Smooth send Lowell and I off to chase down the clock. I worked all the magic I could...even getting Lowell to run after the water cup I'd gotten for him from the aid station, but it just got thrown back at me :) But, it was the end of a marathon and we just missed it. But, I know that the last 5K Lowell gave all he had and that we did what we could, which is all you can ask for, right? The last .1 of a mile, Ronnie was waiting on the side for me and as I ran Lowell in I got the run down on all of the Newtons and how they'd done. 4th overall for Chad - awesome sauce!!! Ronnie finished 3:33, which for that course today was a GREAT time! George running his first full had hit the wall at mile 22, but still was able to pull out a 4:02 finish time. He is a great runner and will do nothing but knock time off that PR! Smooth and Karen finished just 90ish seconds behind Lowell and me and we were quickly reunited at the finish line! SOJO certainly has the best finish line food! I'm glad I didn't race it, because I know I couldn't eat like this after a 'race' - but just a fun run? oh yeah baby! Chick-fil-a sandwiches and biscuits, fat boys, snow cones, apples, bananas...almost anything you desire! Totally worth the entry :) Lowell, Smooth and Marci all placed in their AGs so they will get a free entry to next years race. So, I guess I'll take another fun run next year. My legs were sore and tired yesterday, but after a good meal last night and a good nights sleep they are feeling much better. I'll still need some recovery time, so I won't be jumping right back into miles, but taking a marathon slower (despite the time on your feet) sure doesn't hurt as bad as racing one! After at least :) It was a perfectly wonderful day with amazing friends and I'm SO glad I had the opportunity to do this race today.
The Newtons that ran the marathon. Ronny, George, Me, Chad. One of these things is not like the other... :)
I don't have any pics with Smooth yet, have to wait for her to post what Larry took. Stay tuned - there are going to be some good ones!
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