So excited to share my race report with you all!! My husband and I left San Diego on Thursday afternoon. We arrived that evening in Utah after a ways drive from Salt Lake to Ogden. We were staying at the Marriot there because we just could not find a hotel any closer to Logan. We had a great dinner that night at a local pasta place. Quaint little town. The next day, we went to Denny's for a big breakfast and then drove into Logan. We decided to drive the marathon course up the canyon. It was a bit misleading as it felt almost like we were driving down hill!! I was real nervous!! But when we drove down the course from the top, we realized that the course turned before all the rolling steep hills that we drove in on!! Phew!!! Thank goodness!! We stopped and had a few beers to pass the time before we went over to the hotel there to pick up the race packet. I gotta say, the beer in Utah is not as strong as in California. Hardly even felt the effects of it!! LOL!! I did drink plenty of fluids to be sure I was well hydrated. We picked up the race packet and headed back to Ogden for dinner and rest. I fueled well for 3 days before this race with lots of carbs, ;-) and slept well the night before!! Woke up at 3:30 am to get ready and to be at Merlin Olsen Park in Logan before the last bus departed for the start up the canyon. It was FREEZING!!! I am so glad that I had picked up a cheap pair of gloves in a convenience store the day before. I also was glad that I brought my superman logo fleece PJ pants to wear and I had a sweatshirt on over my athletic sports bras. The bus was comfortable and warm. There was this lady that kept talking behind me. I thought to myself... how the heck is she able to be that awake to be yackin' that much at this time of the day?!! LOL!! I just zoned out and rested my head on my knees in the seat. It was even colder once we arrived at the top of the canyon!! It was bone chilling up there!! I went straight for the porta potty... froze my #$%^ off while waiting and then after, ventured down the hill to find warmth in the heated tents below. Took about 10 minutes to wrestle my way in... but once there, I was really warm. I rested as I sat on the ground for a bit. Ate one of my gels because I didn't eat enough for breakfast. Took off the bottoms and placed them in the plastic drop bag as I defrosted. Before I knew it, it was 6:45 am.... Oh no!! GI upset!! I ran up the hill and was waiting for a porta potty praying that I wouldn't miss the action down below at the start. Major lines still at the porta pottys!! It is a good thing that I went though... major GI issues!! Thankfully, I made the start. It was tight quarters for the first 2 miles and frankly I was irritated. Probably should have started a little further up in the group. The road was narrow though. Not much I could do but dodge people and avoid being tripped. My plan was to walk through water stations so that I would be sure to drink enough fluids (this was probably a big issue during my first marathon and why I crashed and burned so hard in that one). Here is an area where I lost time, but mentally it helped me deal with the length of the race. I dropped my sweatshirt at mile 3 since I was feeling comfortably warm! The miles flew by... the sites of the canyon gorgeous... and then, ugh!! GI issues again. Amazingly, I held it from mile 6 to mile 13. Every time I ran by a bathroom, there were people waiting for it. I stopped at mile 12 to go and still... whoever was in there was taking forever!! I was losing time so I decided to head down another mile for the next porta potty grouping. Finally, I only had to wait 2 minutes and got to use the toilet! I am lucky that I didn't have an accident. I could have been one of those "girl craps pants in marathon" pictures on youtube... Phew!! Mile 13.1 time on my watch 1:56 and a few seconds. Not bad. The downhill part of the race was hitting me in my knee caps. But after a while.... I couldn't feel the pain. Saw my husband at mile 14.... :-). I was still wearing my gloves at this point... I then took them off and bunched them in my hand. It became a game for me. I would switch hands with them at every mile marker. I then saw a deer run across the road and up the hill.... wow!! Then before I knew it... it was mile 15... then mile 18. Then mile 19 and ouchie. Was really starting to feel the fatigue. I started to remind myself that I could only walk through the water stations. So I pressed onward. I could feel myself slowing down but managed to push through that bad feeling. Mile 22 :-(... not happy... a couple of cramps in my upper back had me stop and stretch. There was this lady running in front of me and she twisted her ankle. Poor gal. She limped off to the side. At around mile 23... I saw a dude puking his guts out. Poor dude. Kept pushing along and started talking to myself out loud.... "Just a little further...." Mile 25... "one more mile or so.... only a few more minutes..." Suddenly I saw the finish and ran a nice strong fast pace to it!! When I crossed, I buried my face in my hands and cried. I felt like I had broken through something huge... whether it was a physical thing or a mental thing.... I did it. It was overwhelming. I finally believe that I am capable of doing more. It's funny, but I think this race could be a turning point for me. Utah was beautiful. I am very sore from the marathon.... but very happy. I didn't qualify for Boston... but I knocked off 32 minutes from my previous marathon... and I do think that I would have been sub 4 hour if I didn't have to wait for a bathroom. With each marathon, I get stronger... and I learn more about myself. It is very rewarding!! Somehow, I missed getting my offical times throughout certain points in the race. The only other time I have is the one at the 20 mile marker....3:03:29.
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