Top of Utah

I'm a little sad. Not that I didn't make my goal time of 3:45. But that the Top of Utah Marathon is already over and in the books. I really liked this race. I liked the route and loved the crowd participation. I can see myself running this one again and again. And it's close to home, which is nice, too.

Here are a few highlights of the race:

• Race start was at 7 a.m. Bus loading took place from 5:15-5:45. I caught the bus at about 5:30 and headed to Hardware Ranch in Blacksmith Fork Canyon. I'm glad I layered because it was FREEZING at the start. I stood in line for the porta-potties then headed to the start line where I took off my warm clothes and put them in my drop bag. It was six minutes to start time. Those six minutes went fast. The race started.
• The first 14 miles is running down a canyon. Then the route levels out. But towards the end, it seemed like there were lots of little neighborhood hills.
• About five minutes into the race, a girl came from behind me and said, "I've been following you for five minutes. I think we're the same pace." We ran together for the next 13 miles. Christina is from Providence {right next to Logan} and her goal was 3:40 - her bq time. But it was her first marathon and she said she would be happy just to finish. We talked and talked and it made those first 13 miles go by a little faster. I wish she lived in Salt Lake so I could adopt her as a running partner.
• At fourteen miles, the canyon ends and now we're running through neighborhoods. From this point on, it seemed like there were always spectators cheering.
• At mile 20, I was at 2:47:40. On track for a 3:45 finish. But around mile 22, I was slowing down and my right quad and left calf were threatening cramps. I would walk through the aid stations while downing some gatorade and then run to the next aid station. From that point on the aid stations were one mile apart. That seemed to keep my legs from full-on cramping. As I got to mile 24, I knew I would have to keep up a wicked fast pace to make my goal time and I knew my legs probably weren't up for it. But I kept running.
• Finish time: 3:51:18. Not a BQ but a PR by 22 minutes and 10 seconds.
• I took gu at 6, 11, 14, 19 and 22 miles. I was planning to take it every six miles but decided to take it when I felt like I needed it.
• I carried water until mile 15, then I dropped the bottle at an aid station.

After the race, I headed back to where we were staying and even before I showered, I sat down and called Lindy. I told her that this was an overall pretty good race for me and I didn't think I could get a faster time. This was it. The fastest time I'll get. And she immediately said, "No." And I love her for it! After I thought about it more, I think I have it in me to shave off those six minutes. With a little tweaking to my overall training, I think I can do it. Time will tell. And as long as my body allows, I'll keep trying.

My sweet husband and sister came to cheer me on. So happy to have them there!

Inspiration for Marcie!

Alright, Marcie is running this weekend, and its all I can think about! So I have been thinking of inspiring mantras for Marcie, and then for the Long Beach Marathoners in a few weeks. Ill share a few quotes, and invite any of you to share your favorite quote for Marcie!

Here is the one that Cynthia gave me the night before I got my PR at PF Chang's 2009. I thought of this quote ALLOT while running!

"The body does not want you to do this. As you run, it tells you to stop but the mind must be strong. You always go too far for your body. You must handle the pain with strategy...It is not age; it is not diet. It is the will to succeed."
Jacqueline Gareau

And then my newest favorite quote, that I might need to call on during my next race-
"A lot of people run a race to see who is fastest. I run to see who has the most guts, who can punish himself into exhausting pace, and then at the end, punish himself even more."
Steve Prefontaine

"Run like the Wind!!!"
Marcie Clark

"Better make this good, its what youll be thinking about for the rest of the day, week, month, year..."
Lindy Manwaring

So lets hear what youve got!

More Guts Please!

Last year I ran a nice hilly 8 mile race in Tucson. It takes place on Labor Day, so a perfect weekend to get away while Kids and Hubby have a day off. Ive been itching to go back and do that 8 miler again.

Now, I seemed to forget allot about this race. As I ran yesterday, it all started coming back to me. Hills the whole way. Brutally steep downhills, but mostly uphills. At mile 3.5 there is a huge uphill. When I climb that hill, it is really really difficult, but I keep thinking that Ill get over the top and then get to go down hill. What goes up must come down, right? This is how it goes in Las Sendas where I do my hill training. But after this big hill, there is another hill and another hill and another hill...on and on...you get the picture.

I had a challenging pace goal in mind. I wanted to finish in one hour. I thought finishing in one hour would be so super cool. But as I did the math, I realized that I would not pull it off in an hour. No way. So I decided to make 61 minutes my goal. This seemed properly challenging, but perceivable. Possibly attainable. This would mean having a 7:37:30 avergage.

I went out fast and went into the hill at 3.5 with a 7:25 average. At the top of the big hill my average had slowed to 7:50. I had less than 3 miles to bring it back to speed.

I recently saw the movie about Steve Prefontaine. So I kept thinking about how he said that "most people run a race to see who is the fastest, I run to see who has the most guts." I kept reminding myself to have allot of guts. To go for it. To fight for my goal. To work hard and accept the pain. I was wearing a headband that said "dig deep", and oh how I tried. But I did not have it in me to get my average back to 7:37. I dont know if I dug a little deeper if I had those kind of guts. Im not sure I had 7:37 guts for that course. Toward the end I was feeling a little tingly and wondered if this would be the race where I passed out. Maybe there were more guts in me, because I didnt hit the pavement after I crossed the finish line. Maybe I didnt leave it all out there.

Anyhow, I did beat my watch time from last year. Last year's garmin time was 1:05:48. This year my garmin said 1:03:05. Which was a 7:43 pace. I am happy with achieving my 2nd case scenario goal. And it leaves me thirsting for better. I want to go back and dig deeper.

I did pull a strategy move! Ive been reading books about milers- The Perfect Mile, and Once a Runner. I never used to think of strategy, but these books have put it in my head a little. There was a girl in front of me on the course- most of the race she was way ahead of me. I slowly gained on her, but ran behind her until the final stretch, and then turned on the speed. I didnt know if she was in my age group, but I thought she might be. And I was really hoping for an age group prize. As I passed her I kind of felt like apologizing- this is the part of me that was never good at sports!

It was a fun race and I did win my prize. This year a white wicking cap by New Balance. Yay for prizes! I love the schwag!!!

Southern Arizona Road Racers (SARR) are a fun bunch. You can tell there are allot of neat running locals there. I feel that they have a running community- that allot of these same people do all the races over there. They even have a point system- I think they call it the Grand Prix or something....I enjoyed their race very much.

Proof that I run

Sorry for the quality of the picture, how do you take a good picture of your own foot?  However, if it were more in focus maybe it would be too repulsive to post.

Note the following:

1. Blister on big toe (every time I run hills I tend to blister, suggestions? I already use body glide...)

2. Missing toenail on second toe. I actually think it looks better than the blackened thing that fell off recently.

3. Tip of second toe callous. Developed over months of blistering, healing, blistering, healing. Now it is just a nasty thick slab of scaly skin.

4. Black third toe. Will look like second toe soon.

5. Blister on TOP of fourth toe. That's a new one.

6. My pinkie toe seems fairly normal.  Maybe after my next 20 miler it will catch up with my other ugly toes.

40 days to the Long Beach Marathon, will my feet make it?

Happy running!