So this is going to be a MARATHON long entry, but I want to remember as much as I can about my first marathon experience and I figure this is as good a place as any to record it.
The first thing that comes to mind is that the marathon turned out so much better than I expected. I was truly amazed by how much I enjoyed it and the time just seemed to fly by. It was a very rewarding experience and I'd consider running another one someday.
The play by play goes like this. Last Thursday, May 19 we returned from San Diego at 10pm. I woke up on Friday morning, unpacked most of our bags, got 3 loads of laundry done, loaded the dishwasher, and repacked my overnight running bag. The marathon was the "Huff to Bluff" from Blanding to Bluff, UT run on the side of Highway 191. It is a 6 hour drive from where we are, so once Jake came home from work we headed out the door and were on the road by 2:30. My brother Dave and sister-in-law Courtney were kind enough to agree to tend our girls for the day/night/day and so we took off without children in tow.
The drive to Blanding was nice. Jake and I talked for the whole trip and got caught up from the week. We had never been through Tuba City, Kayenta, and Bluff and enjoyed the twilight sights of monument valley. As we neared Bluff my heartbeat increased and as we drove the marathon route I was kind of in a frenzy. I was trying to feel where the uphills/downhills/slopes were as we drove and wrap my mind around the whole thing. Jake was great to point out the realities of the road and not let me get too anxious.
We checked in at 10:30 pm, got my number and t-shirt and headed to our hotel. We checked in, got settled, and I tried to sleep. I am not a good sleeper when I'm anticipating something and it took me a good hour to turn off my mind and fall alseep. Unfortuantely, only an hour later our noisy neighbors to the right pulled in and started unpacking at grumping at each other. I heard "leave that here Cleave" and "what are you DOING" and other such comments for over an hour through the paper thin walls as they got settled in and finally went to sleep. I worked myself down again, and slept for another hour or two, but then woke up at 4:15 am with a knot in my stomach. I stayed in bed until 5, and then got up and started getting dressed. I layered up, with my running shirt and shorts, sweats, a long sleeve, a hat, and gloves, since the starting temp was 41 degrees. I ate my usual pre-running breakfast of cold cereal with a bowl and spoon I brought from home. I got my iphone and arm band and felt as ready as I could be. Jake pepped me up, talked me down from the wall, and accompanied me to the starting line.
We got to the line at 5:30 and there was no one there. Turns out most people were waiting in the warmth of their cars. About 5:45 my friend Eryka and her husband Drew came over and we all talked about actually running a marathon. Luckily, there was no other option, so at 5:59 we lined up at the back of the pack and took off to cannon fire at 6:00 am.
We started out the race together. We ran a nice 10+ minute pace and enjoyed talking. Drew is from Blanding and filled us in on the origins of the town and stories of the different parts of the landscape. It was interesting to learn more about Blanding and know what the mountains/hills were that I'd be looking at for the next 4 hours.
I did not train properly for the marathon. My longest run was 15 miles, and I only ran 3-5 miles two or three times a week in between. My goal was to finish the marathon in 5 hours. I stayed with Eryka for the first 6 miles or so and then felt pretty good and started to pick up my pace. I shed my sweats, gloves, and hat, but kept the long sleeve as there was still a chill in the air. At mile 7 we got to leave ourselves a snack, and I picked up a powerade bottle and a banana. The banana tasted awesome, but I only ate 1/2 because I didn't want to get cramps. I put my headphones in and turned on the awesome playlist Jake made for me. It was composed of pretty random songs, but each one had a great memory and made me smile. I started out with "The Final Countdown" (a GREAT running song) and then moved on to "Eye of the Tiger" and "Smokin." I could not have run without music as my mind would have told my body to stop at mile 3.
The aid stations were one of the best parts of the marathon. Usually, when I ran around town I'd just take some dollars with me and stop for a water bottle at a gas station when I was thirsty. Having the aid stations was like magic because there was water, gatorate, restrooms, vaseline, GU and friendly helpful people cheering you on. The aid stations were about 2-3 miles apart so broke up the 26 miles into shorter mental segments that you could just run one at a time.
I got to the half way-point in 2 hours and 15 minutes. I called Jake to let him know of my progress and to give him an estimation of 4:40 for my finish time. I also called my dad, my marathon inspiration, and had a good chat about how the race was going. It is kind of funny to think that I called people while running, but I loved having that option. Mentally, once I passed the 13.1 marker, I felt like it was a downhill battle from there. Instead of thinking I had to make it to 26 miles, I concentrated on the fact that from 13 each mile was a countdown to 1.
It was the first ever Huff to Bluff marathon and there were only 85 runners. At first I was terrified of having so few people out on the couse because I thought I'd be alone on long stretches of road. But since we started out at the back of the pack I was able to just focus on passing the people in front of me. That definitely broke up the miles and made it a competition. I would just look at the person in front of me and concentrate on catching up and then passing them. The competitive aspect of a marathon really makes the miles not seem so long because you are racing people along them. All of the people in the race were so nice and we all tried to encourage each other.
I'd had it in my mind that it was downhill from mile 20 on. But it turns out that it was more like miles 23-26 were downhill. I struggled when I got to mile 21 and saw a long sloping hill in front of me. I think that must have been when I hit my wall because I wondered how I was going to make it up. Luckily, there was a nice lady who was charging up the hill just in front of me and so I caught up with her and asked her if I could stick by her side for a little while. She was so gracious and let me run by her for a few miles. It turns out that she'd run 6 marathons, lives in CO, and was going to beat her best time of 4:20. This was as we approached mile 25. I realized that I was going to be ahead of the time I told Jake and so I pulled out my phone and tried to get a signal. (Note to self: ATT service sucks in rural areas) I finally got a call through after the 25 mile marker, and told Jake that I'd finish closer to 4:15. I only heard him moan and say "I hope i make it" before my phone cut out. I have to admit that I was disappointed thinking that he wouldn't be there to see me cross the line.
Mile 25-26 was a steep downhill section into Bluff, and at the bottom of the hill you crossed the highway to turn onto a city road. After I had crossed a car pulled up right next to me and Jake yelled out the window. I was so happy and shocked that he'd made it! I told him to hurry to the finish and get a picture. It did feel like the last .2 miles took FOREVER but once I saw the finish line I knew it was almost over. I crossed at 4:14:54 and was shocked that I'd made it. They pulled my paper tag, snipped my clip, game me a medal, and I walked through a makeshift shower. It felt wonderful. I was wobbly and we headed over to the snack table to get a drink. I ate a million oranges and had a chocolate milk. I hobbled around a bit and then tried to stretch out. Jake moved me over to the massage area, and I got to lay down and have a 15 minute massage. It was heavenly! After the massage I got a few more snacks and then started rehashing the whole thing with Jake. He was SOOOOOO supportive, proud of me, and thoughtful and I loved having him there to see me through it. He said he was almost in tears when he thought he'd miss my finish and I'm grateful that it worked out for both of us.
After wandering a while we went to look at the results. I just wanted to see what the average times were. As I was looking at the truly fast people Jake says "You won your age group Jord." I just started laughing. I guess that is the benefit of being in a small marathon. We stayed for the awards after the race and I walked home with this cute little guy.
After the race we piled back in our car and made the 6 hour drive home. Jake was a fabulous chauffeur as I just lay down and slept. He listened to everything I had to say about the race and more and was so helpful as I stiffened up in the car. We stopped a few times to get a shack, eat, get gas, and walk around and ended up home at 7:00. It was so good to see our girls and with the help of their awesome aunt and uncle they made me this beautiful sign. I appreciate D&C so much for taking such good care of our kids so we didn't have to worry about them a bit.
I slept like a rock that night, but woke up as stiff and sore as I've ever been. Thanks to a cool pool, advil, naps, warm showers, heating pads, and ice I've recovered pretty well and as I write my only pain is a little ache in my left knee from the slope of the highway.
Eryka proposed the marathon to me in January and I said yes on a whim. I was about to back out then, but Jake told me that a commitment was a commitment and I should just do it. I am so glad that I did. It is something I've always wanted to do and now I can officially check a marathon off of my bucket list!
