Hmmm. Thoughts are very scattered tonight as I read others' race entries and sit on my couch with a boot on. UVM was a good race. Restored some confidence and allowed me to finally hit the big #10. Started out feeling good. Heard the gun shot go off while in the POP. Good times. Ran first few with Luz and was feeling optimistic about both of us finally running a race together where neither one of us was stopping at every POP or throwing up on the sidelines. Enjoying the beautiful, beautiful scenery. Thinking how glad I am to be back in Utah and loving the mountains and snow and loving the race. Start to feel stomach pains around mile 4 or 5 so I pop another Immodium and a mile or so later I feel better. Feeling great and feeling no pain, but a little worried about Luz when we stopped at mile 9 for a POP and she tried to get me to head off without here. Averaging around 9s and thinking we are heading for a 4 hour marathon if we keep on pace. A few miles after 9 Luz starts feeling not so good. Around 11 or 12 we catch up with Smooth and Lowell who starts telling me all kinds of fun law stories from his early days. At 13 Luz stops to use the POP, I say I will wait, she says no, go, go, go and I can tell she is serious. I debate, then decide to head off. Hang with Smooth and Lowell for a few miles, then start to lag at around 15. By 16 the leg pain hits. I should have known it was coming. The leg ached all the days leading up to the race and even ached the morning of. By mile 17 I am pretty worried. Leg is hurting pretty bad and I am worried that if I press on it just might break or cause some long term damage so I do what I always do and start praying that it will subside. Sure enough a mile or so later, the leg feels better, then of course, everything else starts to hurt. By mile 18 or 19 I am really feeling it in my knees and legs. Turns out NOT training for a marathon, despite how many you have done before, always catches up for you. From 20 on I could tell that I hadn't put in the mileage and hadn't done the work to prepare my legs for it. Not really my fault given that I couldn't with the dang "Summer of the Stress Fracture" but still a good reminder that you can't fool a marathon. Or at least you can't fool miles 20-26 of a marathon. By mile 20 I am thinking I just need to get to the mouth of the canyon because my friend, Wendy, said she will be there at around Riverwoods to meet me and run with me till close to the end, then Madeline (my 7 year old) is meeting me at 25 to run me in. Things are starting to hurt and as I get to 21 I am looking and looking and can't remember where exactly she said she would be. I get to 22 and start wondering if she forgot. I get to 23 and am really hurting and figure by now she isn't coming. Good thing I didn't know she wasn't going to be there because 20-23 would have been even worse. At 23 I lean over an orange cone and stretch the pain out. I feel slightly better and start up again slowly. Then I see Scott, Madeline, and Isabelle honking at me and driving by. This cheers me up and gets me running again, even if slowly. At 24 I lean over another orange cone. At 25 I lean over another orange cone and can see the finish line. I keep hoping to see Madeline and, as with Wendy, keep running waiting to find her. Turns out they couldn't get parked and to the finish in line, which I figured out by the time I am at 25.75 or so and can see the finish. My brother and his wife and kids are there. I bite my lip and speed it up. I finally cross at 4:25 and figure I did a 4:20 with the chip time factored in. I lean on a nice volunteer as I breath asthmatically and try to regain my balance. Never ceased to be amazed by these volunteers and all they do for us crazy runners. I grab a creamy and head back to the finish to watch people come in. Wish I had it in me to run back for them but figure I would only slow them down. I get to watch my brother and sister in law finish their first, then Scott's sister finish her first. I watch for Luz and watch and watch. I see RAD strolling through the running area in the distance. I don't see Smooth and wonder if I somehow missed Luz. I call her as soon as I get in the car and hear about her race. Funny that we are always so worried about each other. Nice to know I have one of the bestest, dearest friends in the universe.
All in all, not my finest race. Was neither trained, mentally prepared, nor physically fit due to stress fracture, but happy to have finished the big number 10. Did not expect to run half the race by myself without music and without mental preparation, but figure it was a good experience. Had, of course, several of my usual, "This is the dumbest thing I have ever done" and "I will never do this again" moments, which I have to wonder if I will ever NOT have, but figure that since the time between those thoughts and thoughts of repeating the race shortens each time (about 5 minutes after finishing I was already thinking about St. George) that I am getting tougher.
Happy to have finished. Happy to see so many first timers. Happy that my leg worked enough to run. Happy to be in a boot now and headed towards what will hopefully be permanent healing this go around in the boot. Happy that I have my stationary bike to keep me sane in the meantime. SO happy to be now living again in the running mecca and to have chatted with so many awesomely great people and have met new runners on the road. So here is to the next 90! |