I ran the Top of Utah Marathon Saturday. This was my 13th marathon. 1/3 of my marathon's have been total desasters, 1/3 have been only ok, and 1/3 have been really good. This was one of the really good ones, 3:03 is a new PR for me. My previous PR was 3:07 at St. George. I'm hoping for more really good ones as I've learned from the desasters and only ok's.
My goal was to be in the 3:03's or under. The mistake I usually make in the "only ok's" is going out too fast and crashing the last 6 miles. I planned to run between 6:50 and 7:00 min/mile pace the first half in hopes I would be able to keep my pace around 7:00's, not slower than 7:30's at the end, and I did just that.
I felt a little discouraged the first few miles as there were so many women in front of me I couldn't even count them all, 10+. I decided to just focus on my plan and how I felt and not worry about everyone else. Around mile 6 I passed a woman and continued to pass someone about every 2 miles, but for more than 1/2 the race I really thought I had no chance of placing. (I was 1:29 something at the 1/2.)
At mile 16 I passed Marryann and asked her what place she was in. I found out I was in 5th. I flet good and kept my even pace, passed another at mile 19 and another at mile 22. I think it was around mile 23 I passed Ali. She was struggling, a bad race for her is a great race for me. That put me in 2nd place which was where I wanted to stay. The first place girl was way out there, no hope of passing her.
I was uncomfortable for a long time, but didn't get the "shutting down" can't take another step feeling until into the last mile. Going up the hill on the little road between Main St. and 100 E. about 3/4 mile from the end (yes it is uphill but you would probably only notice it if you were running the end of a marathon) I really struggled, whole body shut down, felt like everything was cramping up. However after I turned the corner and headed back downhill things got a little better.
I had my watch set on the mile split average and just focused on each mile. I didn't even look at my cumulative time so I was really excited when I saw the race clock at 3:03 and could tell I was going to finish before it hit 3:04.
I called my boys and told them I had my fastest race ever, took 2nd place and won $1,000. My 8 year old said, "Can we have $400?" He wanted to buy the Lego Deth Star. I said no to the Deth Star, but said he and his brother could each get any $30 Lego ship they wanted. My 6 year old asked for the Lego Deth Star too when I talked to him and said, "But you have the money!" Again the $30 ship was all I was willing to do. So we made a trip to Toys 'R Us that night.
I can't end this entry without saying something about my dad. He was the one who got me into running. We used to run together and he's the first person I always want to call when I finish a race. He died 4 years ago of cancer. He would be really excited for me. I also feel like being able to run without experiencing any injury pains or problems was an answer to prayer and for that I'm really grateful. | 