Carb-load party Had an incredible morning Fri. with Teena and Kelli. Teena wrapped my knee good. Had lots of things going on in the afternoon. Got to packet pick up around 5:30pm. O'mgosh, the line was LONG!!! (an hour waiting). Good thing Maurine saw me and let me cut in. Got to Brick Ovens after 6:00 with more waiting. Was good to see AmberG, her sister and mom. That place was crawling with marathoners. What a party we had with Marion, David, Maurine, AnnaLisa (another 26.2 virgin) and her hushand, Josse and her sister, LuzyLew and my hubby. I felt sorry for the hubs who had to listen to our chatting about porta-potties and running jokes.
Sleepless in Lehi
Lots of tossing and turning with exhausted body. The Brick Oven's dinner was rumbling through my tummy. Last look at the clock was 1:50 am listening to the rain storm. Must have slept because I dreamed of being in an earthquake. Got up at 3:00 am with sleepy eyes and tired body. Forced fed myself some yogurt, EmgenC, gatorade. I wanted so bad to crawl back in bed. Debated whether to bag this "training run". Hubby gave me a priesthood blessing. Off we went to the Mall. Ate an energy bar and more gatorade on the way.
Bus ride
Marion called as soon as we pulled up. Went to the p-o-p and saw two ladies in my AG. Saw AmberG who immediately brightened my day. Maurine, Marion, Luzy, Dale (DonGardinero) and I rode up together. We had fun chatting. Ate a banana and more gatorade. Our bus had no zip. We could have run faster. As soon as we got off the bus, (30 min before gun time) I made a beeline to the p-o-p where I saw Canyon (Marcie N) and Geneyne M. from Vegas (Pron8r's friend). The start
The weather gods were with us with overcast sky, mild temp (high 40's). The excitement was high. We saw many bloggers, Sasha, Davy Crocket, Alan, Eric, Mary Ann, Scott. We lined up towards the back of the pack. 5 min. after the National Anthems, we were off. I was glad that it was not pitch-dark like DesNews or SGM. The concrete hwy wasn't that bad. Just needed to stay away from the divets. Dale and I ran together, chatting away (I did most of the talking). We practiced our downhill running. The first mile came in at 11:00. The fun began
Somewhere before mile 2 I saw John Bozung. I congratulated him on the successful Squaw Peak 50 which he was director of. He gave me all the stats and percentage. I asked what his goal for UVM. Turned out this was the 2nd of his 3 back-to-back marathons this weekend. Said he's never done 3 in a roll before. It was fun picking his brain. He was running these at 5 hours. He walked at the 2 mile marker while I turned and could not see Dale. Thought he was running right behind me the whole time. I called and only got his voicemail. I felt horrible. I asked runners passing me if they saw Dale. Nope. I looked ahead and didn't see him either. Marcie (from PG wearing purple) said: "I'm sure he'll find you or you'll see him at the next aid station). The game plan
Well, without any particular running partner I devised my plan for this "long training run". I divided the course in 4 portions, Provo Canyon, Orem, Riverparkway and SW Provo, and tackle each as it comes. Plan was to run Provo Canyon at 10:00 AP, Orem at 10:10, Riverparkway at 10:15 and hopefully 10:20 for SW Provo with a 4:30's finish. At the half marathon mark, the timing clock said 2:16:xx. My Garmin was 2:14:xx. The mile markers were off by 0.15 mile most of the ways. Mile marker 18 was placed totally off. I decided to gu every 4 miles (inspired by Marion) at mile 5, 9, 13, 17, 21. I pinned 3 gu on my shorts and used 2 from the aid stations. I did not gu at mile 25 but ate oranges at a couple aid stations. I would drink gatorade every 2 miles, and water with Gu, NO electrolyte supplements. I would walk thru every aid station.
Provo Canyon (~ mile 1-9) The elevation profile shows a severe downhill but there were a couple of good uphills in the canyon. Kept my strides short paying attention to the ITB. Saw buses taking runners up for the other race (Provo 10Miler). The Bridal Veil Falls was stunning. I saw one lone car parked on the other side of the road. Could it be? Yes, it was my hubby and MIL. I waved and shouted over 3 lanes of moving traffic. He made a U turn, my MIL gave me a thumbs-up and off they went down the canyon. Tried running tangent and wherever possible on the narrow dirt shoulder. Saw MichelleL with her FRB sign cheering. She's so AWESOME to come cheer us while injured with SI pain. I really admire her and am grateful for her support. I kept an eye on a 70ish guy wearing a fisherman hat with very smooth strides for several miles. Lost him when he made a pit stop at the mouth of the canyon. Splits: 11:00, 9:57, 9:32, 10:29, 10:24, 10:36, 9:47, 10:05, 9:46.
Orem (~ mile 10-14) Picked out another "pacer" who was also running on the narrow shoulder dirt. Passed her just before we turned into the Riverwoods development. Saw my MIL jogging and hubby cheering around Center St. I was impressed with the traffic control and volunteers. Just wish there was more than ONE pop at each station. Ran the entire first half with a full bladder. The bike path behind the beautiful Riverwoods homes and on Carterville Rd could be distracting. I was leap frogging with a guy (Mike with red shirt) as he was doing the Galloway 4/1. We compared notes about Ogden. Both of our Garmins showed that the mile markers were off by 0.15. Saw hubby again before leaving the Movie8 complex getting onto the Riverparkway. Splits: 10:27, 9:48, 10:29, 9:52, 10:48.
Riverparkway (~ mile 15-19) I had run portion of this parkway in 2005 for my first (and only) 20 miler training run for SGM'05. I remembered how pleasant it was to run w/o traffic. I love running under the canopy of cottonwoods, Russian olives along the rushing river. Finally saw a public bathroom in a park just before mile 16. Ran across the grassy field as Mike yelled: "You're going the wrong way." I ran and did walk breaks with Mike for about 3 miles. He was slowing and I wanted to keep an even pace so dropped him for good around mile 17. There were lots of flying knets. Wish I had my sunglasses. I passed a lot of runners along the parkway. Passed Cynthia Dye who I "paced" at Ogden and Annalisa who had stopped to stretch. Hubby called and said he was waiting at the Lake and was eaten alive by mosqitos. The light breeze was welcomed as we made the last turn going east and spilled out of the parkway. I found the Run Red Rock advertisement signs annoying. Splits: 10:05, 10:57 (pit stop), 10:26, 10:26, 10:26.
SW Provo (~ mile 20 to 23) Running on Center St. going east was hot and lonely. I passed a guy with a nice blue tech shirt. There were 5 'skittos hitch-hiking on his left shoulder. I patted him on the shoulder to kill the blood suckers and told him he was feeding the mosqitos. I looked over my shoulders and saw none. He said it must be my neon yellow shirt keeping them away. Just as my legs were feeling the effects of 20 miles, Teena called. It was so good to hear her voice while I huffed along the narrow shoulder. Her magic has saved my knee. I feared that I would have to walk if charlie horse ever hitched a ride. It was disheartening to think that I still had another hour to run. At mile 21, I saw the most welcoming sight, AlisaK with open arms. We hugged, she gave me two cold thin square sponges. I put one inside my cap and drizzled cold water all over with the other. It brought immediate relief. Alisa ran with me for a little bit telling me that Lowell was about 30 min ahead. She asked about Dale, that's when I realized he must have been behind. My ITB started to complain running on the left side slanted roads up and down SW Provo. I would run on the sidewalks when it got bad. Time to put on the mental game. I told myself I would only walk at the remaining aid station and kept putting one foot in front of the other. When the quads screamed to stop, I would sing Primary songs and recalled the Priesthood blessing earlier that morning. I passed a lot of people walking. I would grab their arms and made them jog with me. I focused on keeping my back straight and not slouched. Splits: 9:49, 10:20, 10:27, 10:20.
The final 5Ks can be torturous in any marathons. UVM was more so with its endless turns going south, east, north, south, east, under I-15, near I-15... It was a mental drain. I fought hard to not walk picking off road kills. Around mile 24.5, I was revived and OVERJOYED when I heard Kelli calling me, running towards me. We embraced. Her presence gave me renewed energy. She ran with me and gave me updates of the morning's events, the Bluffdale 10/5K, holding Sarah Pachev's baby, watching the fast runners come in, running with Walter, Scott to the finish. It was so so so WONDERFUL of her to run me to the finish. I was delirious, asking her where to turn, how much longer. Her reassurance kept me going. I wanted so bad to cut across that vast parking lot void. But Kelli said no. It's a good thing or I would have been disqualified...with just 0.2 mile to go. Whew. She pointed where the finish arch was and left me while she went back for Marion. Heard my neighbor calling me, side fived his hand and crossed the finish. Splits: 10:56, 10:45, 10:44; last 0.45 mi @ 10:20. Unofficial time: 4:33:15 (a 2 min PR from Ogden). At the finish LuzyLew got me some cold drinks, banana and orange; offered me her ice packs and patch of shady grass where her family has taken camp. She sure has darling children and Jorge is half of the reason for their beauty and handsomeness. We milled around talking to RivertonPaul, Tom Lee and I also saw Maynard (Brad J.) We also saw Annalisa came in. Finally I spotted Marion with her pink visor, her wonderful sherpa Maurine and the ever energizer bunny great "run-everyone-in" friend Kelli. Hubby got the camera out and captured their joyous finish. We gathered around Marion as David presented her with dozen of red roses. The other 26.2 virgin, Annalisa got balloon bouqet from her 8 children. What a great time!!!!  L to R: AnnaLisa, LuzyLew, Marion, Smooth and Miles (aka Maurine) all smiles!!!
Sorry this is so long; but it's my running journal. I shall always treasure these marathon moments with friends and hope to pass it on to my posterity when they wondered how each of these dusty medals were "won" by Nana. P. S. No cramping issues this time, HALLELUJAH!!!! The ITB only bugs when I extend my leg after bending the knee for awhile. I'm sure the soreness and stiffness will show up tomorrow; but I will manage them as they come. Next is WBR on Fri. and Sat. THANKS everyone for your wonderful support!!! If you're still reading this report, you are as insane as me. :)
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