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St. George Marathon

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Location:

UT,

Member Since:

Oct 14, 2008

Gender:

Female

Goal Type:

Age Division Winner

Running Accomplishments:

85 marathons, 5 times Utah Grand Slam finisher (division winner twice).

7 Bostons (2008, 2009, 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2016).

Two 50Ks, one 50 miler (Pony Express).

A handful of AG wins in all distance races.

Marathon PR: 3:57:09 (Boston'08)

Half Marathon PR: 1:48:41 (Bryce Canyon '11)

10K PR: 47:50 (Spectrum 10K '09)

5K PR: 22:31 (Nestle 5K '08)
 

Short-Term Running Goals:

2017 Races:

June 10 - Utah Valley Marathon (5:13:43)

June 24 - Morgan Valley Marathon (5:49:01)

July 8 - Hobbler Half (2:19:37, 2nd AG)

July 24 - Temple to Temple 5K (27:43)

July 29 - Timp Half (2:08:01, 3rd AG)

Aug 26 - Mt. Nebo Marathon (5:16:16, 3rd AG)

Sep 16 - Huntsville Marathon (4:48:53)

Oct 7 - St. Geroge Marathon (4:57:11)

Nov 4 - Canyon City Marathon (5:30:07)

2018 Races:

Jan 13 - St. George Half (2:19:45, 3rd AG)

Mar 3 - The Woodlands Marathon (5:01:35)

Apr 6-7 - Ragnar So. California

June 1-2 - Ragnar Wasatch Back

June 9 - Utah Valley Marathon (5:19:22)

June 30 - Morgan Valley Half

Sep 1 - Pocatello Marathon (6:00:43)

Sep 15 - Huntsville Marathon (5:37:08)

Oct 6 - St. George Marathon (5:25:43)

Oct 20 - SoJo Marathon (5:29:23)

2019 Races:

June 1 - Utah Valley Marathon (5:44:24)

June 22 - Morgan Valley Marathon (6:15:13)

Aug 31 - Pocatello Marathon (5:38:47)

Sep 14 - Big Cottonwood Marathon (6:03:51)

Oct 5 - St. George Marathon (5:57:46)

Oct 12 - SoJo Marathon (5:55:45)

2020 Races:

Jan 18 - St. George Half (2:38:28)

Feb 15 - Sun Marathon (5:51:54)

May 5 - Conquer Covid-19 Virtual Marathon (5:49:07)

May 16 - Clear Creek Canyon Half Marathon (2:32:15)

May 25 - Utah Valley Virtual Marathon (5:33:110

June 9 - Independence Run Virtual Marathon (5:55:22)

 

Long-Term Running Goals:

Run happy and healthy all the days of my life. Be an example and inspiration to my family.

 

Personal:

I'm 64, retired RN, happily married, nana to 14 beautiful grandchildren, mother to 6 children (1 daughter, 5 sons) who are kind, hardworking, caring, wonderful people! Wish they live closer!!!  :)  :)  :)

Picked up running in 2005 at age 50, to stay healthy so I can take care of my husband who had endocarditis resulting in AVR and MVR in 2004, end stage renal failure in 2014, kidney transplant on Dec 30, 2015.  Six months after the kidney transplant, we discovered that he has a rare auto-immune disease that was probably triggered in 2004 with then the undiagnosed infective endocarditis.  The doctors had to make up a name for this rare disease, Monoclono Gammopathy with Renal Significance (MGRS).  It is not curable.  After desperately trying different chemotherapies, the doctor finally found one immuno-therapy, Daratumamab, that works to treat the MGRS.  It is a miracle!!! 

Grateful for the gift of life, blessings, dear friends and loved ones!!! Thankful for the ability to move, walk, jog, and yes run!!!!

 

Favorite Blogs:

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Miles:This week: 0.00 Month: 0.00 Year: 0.00
Saucony Guide ISO Wide Lifetime Miles: 311.91
Saucony Guide ISO Lifetime Miles: 313.31
Sacony Guide ISO (2) Lifetime Miles: 225.26
Altra Torin (sz 7) Lifetime Miles: 44.49
Saucony Guide 10 (2020) Lifetime Miles: 60.91
Race: St. George Marathon (26.2 Miles) 04:09:03, Place overall: 1000, Place in age division: 24
Easy MilesMarathon Pace MilesThreshold MilesVO2 Max MilesTotal Distance
26.300.000.000.0026.30

Got up at 3:30.  We picked up Karen at her parent's.  Ate a banana, yogurt, EmergenC and gatorade.  Hubby dropped us off south of the finish arch.  Got to the tennis court at 4:30 to meet those who wanted to ride the bus with us.  It was a pleasant surprise to see Lark there along with Marcie.  Called RAD who was still waiting for the hotel shuttle.  We (Karen, Wendy, John, Marcie and Lark) were anxious to get going so we got on the bus without her. :( While on the bus ride, got a text from Kelli that RAD got on the bus with Bart Yassoo, HOW COOL is that! :) :) :) 

The bus ride always seemed to take forever so it was nice to have friends to visit with.  There was no line at the POP when we got off the bus.  Marcie and Lark went to the 5th fire pit which was not yet lit, since Karen was freezing so we went further back to the ones that were lit.  A crowd quickly gathered.  I had my pink glow stick on my visor hoping RAD and Teena/Annie would spot me.  Ate a package of PowerBar chews and drank water.  We made two more pop stops then it was time to shed our clothes.  John took our bags to the truck.  Just as we turned away from the fire-pit, Leslie Petersen and Maurine spotted me.  We walked to the road together and lined up in front of the 7 hr pace group.  It was so fun to see Leslie and Maurine, two great friends who got us off to a happy start.  :) :) :) 

My training has been dismal, simply surviving each marathon, starting with Park City (9 weeks after the stress fracture at Ogden), Pocatello (11 weeks), TOU (13 weeks); recovered with minimal running, supplemented with learning to swim.   I did zero speedwork because of the tachycardia episode and recovery from each marathon.  Now 16 weeks post stress fracture, I hope to finish without any injury or heart issue.  Based on my 4:18 finish at TOU, figured I'm capable of 4:15 today.  It would be sweet to get a BQ (4:10) for 2014.  The weather gods were generous with us this morning, start temp in the mid 40s, cloudy sky and a TAILWIND!!! 

I printed out a 4:09 pace chart from S. Zimmerman's course tool (pace in parenthesis).  But the font was too small for my old feeble eyes so I never looked at it.  I'd look at my Garmin occasionally when it beeped at the mile/lap alert. 

1.  9:52. (9:49)  I believe this is the slowest 1st SGM mile I've ever run, just going with the flow of traffic.  It was dark, crowded and simply having too much fun running with my best friends! :)

2.  9:37.  (9:38) About half way thru this mile, I found some openings to weave out of the crowd.  Spotted Karen's cousin Donna.  The four of us stayed together thru the next few miles.  I think it's around here that Annie spotted us.

3.  9:13.  (9:15)  Got a side-ache. 

4.  9:12.  (9:04)  Felt twitches of tightness in the vastus medialis. 

5.  9:13.  (9:27)

6.  8:47.  (9:27)  This mile has more downgrade.

7.  8:40.   (9:27)  Same steep downgrade.  Lost Wendy at the crowded aid station.  Took the one and only Gu I brought with me.  Not sure if the station had any Gu as promised.

8.  10:31. (10:35)  Karen pulled away.  Donna and I sputtered along.  I noticed the people with long legs were walking just as fast as I was running.  Darn my silly short legs!!! :)

9.  9:36.  (10:06)  Kept Karen within sight after the aid station.

10.  9:24. (9:49)  Donna and I stayed together and talked about our children's similar career paths.

11.  10:09.  (10:12)  Karen has now disappeared.  She was running strong through this chain of rollers.  At the aid station, I asked for GU, but there was none to be found.  Donna gave me one of her chocolate GU. 

12.  10:22.  (9:44)  Donna was slowing here as she was telling me about her emotional finish at Boston. 

13.  9:02.  (9:27)  Donna was running watchless which was a good thing.  She asked what our half split was.  I looked at my watch for the first time which read 2:05:xx, right where I wanted to be.  She said it was the slowest half she's ever run.  I assured her that it's perfect.  We can now run the second half the same, telling ourselves that we just erased all the previous miles!  :)

14.  9:20.  (9:15)  The mile alert starts to come just ahead of the aid station where we'd walk and drink so it reflects the slower pace at the even miles.

15.  8:42.  (8:58) Asked for Gu again none to be found.  A nice runner, Shauna, gave me one of hers.

16.  9:05.  (9:15)

17.  8:52.  (9:15)  Finally the aid station has Gu.  Grabbed a couple.

18.  9:29.  (9:15)  I think we saw Kathie and Kimmy somewhere around here.  Got a quick hug from Kimmy.  I missed the sisters terribly.  It was so wonderful to see them! :)

19.  9:54.  (9:44)  First sign of cramps showed up in the shins creeping snake like up and down my lower legs.  Took 2 salt caps and iB with a GU at the aid station.

20.  9:24.  (9:15)  Ran into Lark and his friend Hawkeye who picked up a whip on the road and was being a "task master" to keep Lark going.  We ran together for the next few miles.  Somewhere along Snow Canyon, I saw/heard a cheer from a biker who turned out to be JonA.  Saw Kelly who was having tummy issue and encouraged her to stay strong.  She ended up running a PR!!!  AWESOME JOB Kelly! :)

21.  8:40.  (8:53)  These downhill miles are really beating up my quads.  Kept my strides short and quick.  Tried to relax with each threatening cramps.

22.  9:55.  (9:15)  Wheels fell off miserably.  Lark said I was going too fast so he announced he was going to walk a bit. 

23.  10:16.  (9:21)  Lark caught back up.  Hawkeye told us that we would walk and drink at the next aid station.  After walking, I dared not pick up the pace like I normally did because Charlie Horse was threatening to seize me; so I got into jog mode.

24.  9:22.  (9:21)  The cheering crowds were awesome.  But each time I tried to extend my arms to high five them, one of my calf muscles would tense up.  So I just held out my hand and let it catch some fives along the way! 

25.  9:37.  (9:27)  Somewhere in the middle of this mile, the two guys in front of me came to a complete sudden stop,  I collided with them while both my calves nearly went into a vice-grip.  I pushed thru between them stomping my feet to chase away the charlie horse.  It was very frightening because if both my calves seized up I would collapse and not be able to run the rest of the way! :(

26.  9:50.  (9:27)  All I could do was focus on not letting the muscle cramps seize up my legs.  Kept my arms pumping, singing hymns in my head (We Thank Thee O God for a Prophet, Call to Serve) and praying really hard.  At the last turn, charlie horse bite my right calf.  I stomped my right foot, stumbled and tried not to cry.  Someone said it's just two blocks to the finish, but I seriously could not see the finish arch and wish marathon was only 26 miles!  :)

0.3  9:42.  (9:27)  I did not dare pick up the pace nor turn my head to look at hubby when I heard his cheer...just focus on putting one foot in front of the other and keep charlie at bay.  I was so happy to cross the finish and saw my Garmin reading 2:09:xx.  It was the hardest BQ I've ever run. 

Karen was right there to give me a hug and apologize for leaving me and Donna.  She finished in 3:56:20,  a 4 min PR, albeit shy of a BQ (3:55).  I was so proud of her!!!  Donna came in within a min. after me followed by Lark and Hawkeye.  I walked back and forth between the mist tent and drink tables until my muscles calm down.  Seriously even my feet and toes were ready to cramp up.  Teena came over and told us the good news of her awesome PR, RAD's amazing PR, Amber Green and Fritz won the whole thing, and Kelli's 2:58.  WOW!!!  I was SO SO SO SO HAPPY for my friends and so proud of each of their accomplishments.  We stayed there until Lowell, TJ, Annie and Wendy came thru.  Then Karen and I went to get our bags and called our families. 

Well, marathon #40, 7th of the year, my 8th SGM is in the book!!!  I am so so so grateful for the support of all my friends and sweet hubby.  I love running!!!  I love the challenge and demand of a marathon.  What a blessing it is to be able to run...indeed each run is a gift to me.

Jared, my nephew ran his first ever SGM in 2:48:43.  Steven's mission president, a SGM veteran, who came home this July, ran it in 4:46:07.  :)


Elixir 6 (black/pink) Sz 7 Miles: 26.30
Night Sleep Time: 5.00Nap Time: 0.00Total Sleep Time: 5.00Weight: 0.00
Comments
From Kelli on Tue, Oct 09, 2012 at 16:30:37 from 67.172.235.55

6 minutes faster than you thought you were capable of, hmmm....LOOK AT YOU GO! Glad that you had a good weekend!

Tell Karen congrats for me!!!!

From Carina on Tue, Oct 09, 2012 at 17:34:08 from 204.15.86.83

Great work!! I can't believe you have run 40 marathons, well, I can, but what an accomplishment!! Way to go!

From Teena Marie on Tue, Oct 09, 2012 at 17:52:55 from 65.130.4.171

Another BQ on the books!!!! You did AWESOME!!!! :) :) :)

Hope you are enjoying a bit of downtime now. When is your next scheduled marathon??

(And since when does dismal training include 3 marathons in the 6 weeks prior to this one??? YOU are AMAZING!!) :) :) :)

From Smooth on Tue, Oct 09, 2012 at 18:10:05 from 65.130.14.36

Kelli ~ thanks! I will tell her!!! :)

Carina ~ thanks, I'm addicted to marathons, what can I say! Hey, I am still extremely impressed with your huge PR and fast time with a 4 month old baby! I don't think Kara Gaucher even comes close to what you accomplished! :)

SSF ~ am happy that I squeezed a BQ in, albeit the slowest one I've ever run! My next scheduled marathon is in 11 days! I have to "make up" for the ones I missed in May, June and July this year! Hehe! Love you! :)

From timp on Tue, Oct 09, 2012 at 18:51:59 from 99.110.188.230

awesome job Smooth!! Another BQ - Great run, especially with all the sf issues this year. Well done --

From Smooth on Tue, Oct 09, 2012 at 18:58:11 from 65.130.14.36

Tim ~ thanks! :) Since PRs are out of my reach now, I'm very happy for eeking out a BQ! :)

From timp on Tue, Oct 09, 2012 at 19:12:25 from 99.110.188.230

you never know about the PR - :)

From Smooth on Tue, Oct 09, 2012 at 19:17:12 from 65.130.14.36

yah, may be in my dreams or in shorter distances! seriously, I'm getting older, am happy to just run healthy!!! :)

From marion on Tue, Oct 09, 2012 at 19:59:35 from 67.2.96.43

You are such a fighter :) Way to kick some tail and live to tell the story :) Congratulations on another amazing marathon!!! xoxo

From Toby on Tue, Oct 09, 2012 at 20:24:21 from 199.101.229.6

Yahoooooo......I was thinking about you guys all Saturday morning! Way to stick through a hard race! Your persistence and motivation are amazing! Give Karen a big hug for me!!!! Hopefully 2013 will be all our year for BIG success :)

From flatlander on Wed, Oct 10, 2012 at 09:26:11 from 76.31.26.153

Congratulations on the BQ and great time, can't believe you can keep hitting these times every few weeks all year long. I really admire your courage at the end of the race, I think that is what defines running for me, not knowing what is going to happen in that last 10K. Otherwise I would just run halfs.

From Chad on Wed, Oct 10, 2012 at 09:56:29 from 168.177.153.60

#40? Nice job Smooth. You're relentless.

From Markir on Thu, Oct 11, 2012 at 11:11:06 from 64.72.223.206

I think that is definitely one to be proud of. Way to go!!

From Tom Slick on Thu, Oct 11, 2012 at 12:34:42 from 168.179.156.177

Way to getter done on all counts....#8 SGM, PR, BQ, etc, etc....

From RAD on Thu, Oct 11, 2012 at 14:29:52 from 98.202.23.178

No way! #1000?!? That is cool beans!

I am still SO bummed I missed everyone at the start and finish :( it was a little lonely instead of the party I'd envisioned. But, I'm glad you had lots of good peeps around to keep you company and keep Charlie away! It was great to see Larry at the finish too. I hope you are recovering well...SOJO here we come!

From Smooth on Fri, Oct 12, 2012 at 12:46:58 from 65.130.14.36

Hi there SWEET Marion ~ HOW ARE YOU???!!!! So so so so good to hear from you!!! :) :) :) How are your family? How's that mad quilting skill of yours?

Toby ~ Oh, we missed you terribly!!! I knew you'd be thinking about us running SGM and wishing so badly you were with us!!! OK, it's a deal. We need to get together for some late fall and winter runs. 2013 will be a GREAT year for us! No doubt. You will bounce back stronger, faster and healthier!!! :)

Flat ~ I'm with ya...those last 10K of a marathon is what we call "sacred ground". If marathon distance is only 20 miles, we'd be able to run them in our sleep. The "race" really doesn't start until mile 21. That is why I love the challenge of marathon. With your impressive mega mileage and speed, you can totally dominate the half-marathon races. You are a great runner, I believe you will get the marathon PRs you desire and deserve. When/what is your next goal race? Hope to see you in Dec at Humble, TX! :)

Chad ~ thanks! Can't wait for you to get the ok to run so we can do a few runs on the JRP together.

Kirsten ~ thank you! This SGM is not my best or fastest but I definitely feel very lucky to survive it with a decent result.

Slick ~ thanks, it's not a PR...am super happy for a BQ. I'm afraid my days of marathon PRs are over!!! Just trying to eeek out a few more marathons from this tired old body.

Rachel ~ Hey, you didn't miss everyone at the start and finish. You got to hang out with the COOL, the FAST, the ELITES in the most popular marathon in Utah. AND you are now one of them!!! :) :) :) I'm just a humble slow poke whom you can hang with any other day if you wish to. I hope to heal well enough for SoJo. Good luck with your race tomorrow. Hope to see you next week.:)

From Bec on Fri, Oct 12, 2012 at 13:27:38 from 70.115.203.100

What a race Smooth! You have had a really difficult year with your SF. You had an awesome SG despite the difficulties. Way to push through the mental and physical challenges of the race and the training. I wanted to cry when I read that Karen was just barely shy of her goal. She is an awesome runner as well.

Keep up your zeal.

From Nancy on Mon, Oct 15, 2012 at 18:51:54 from 76.23.21.118

Nice race. For not being able to train as much as you would have liked, you did and awesome job.

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