Mile 17.....feeling pretty good still! 
Janae, Heather, Kelly, Jenny, me, JanelleI wanted to write up my marathon experience. It was amazing, and when all is said and done, I'm kind of sad that it's over because it really was so great to run and train with these girls!
This marathon has been quite the experience. I started really running after I had Addie 2 summers ago, and did my first 1/2 marathon 2 years ago. I was thinking about the marathon, but got injured and knew there was no way to train in time. After having McKenna I was so excited and ready to get running again. I started running with a few of us, and slowly our group got bigger and bigger! There were 6 of us total that trained and ran the race together. What a huge blessing! I felt so lucky to have such tough, amazing friends to take this journey with.
We signed up for it months ago and started training. So many early mornings and long Saturday runs. It was interesting to see how differently the long runs affected each of us, with different injuries coming here and there.
Friday night we all met up for pasta at Jenny's which was fun. We ate at around 4 and then headed up to Logan. Janelle hooked us up with her families fifth wheel (which was BRAND SPANKIN NEW) so we could park and sleep right by the starting line. This was such a blessing, since we were originally going to stay in Tremonton, have to drive a half hour and catch a bus at 4:30 in the morning. We were able to get up in the morning, walk right out to the starting line and not be freezing cold. We picked up our packets on friday night, and then headed up and went to bed pretty early. I really didn't sleep at all because of nerves, everyone else was so quiet I kept thinking everyone was sleeping but it turns out we all were just laying there waiting for someone else to wake up! The morning of we all gathered for a prayer, and Jenny said the best prayer. You could feel the spirit so strong, and by the end of the prayer we were all in tears. We headed over to the starting line and huddled together to stay warm. The gun went off and we all started screaming, so much adrenalin. Then the running began. We headed down 14 miles of beautiful Blacksmith Fork Canyon. I started out great, tried really hard not to get too excited and go too fast at the beginning. For some reason, I had side ache's and cramps the ENTIRE run! It was probably just nerves, but I never felt like I was able to relax and just run. I ran with Jenny and a friend from high school, Lindsay for a while at the beginning.
I was so excited to see Matthew, my Dad, my sister Rachel, and Jenny's husband Scott at the mouth of the canyon! It helped so much! They were so great! They ran from stop to stop and I saw them probably 4 times before the finish line!
Besides the crampy stomach I felt great until about mile 18, then my stomach started giving me problems. I stopped at 18 to see if using the great old port-a-pottie would help, and it helped a little. From mile 20 on, it was seriously mental. I would just convince myself that I could make it to each aid station, then allow myself to walk while I drank water then keep going to the next one! It felt so great to finish and to see everyone there. My finish time was 4:22:52. It wasn't quite as fast as I'd have liked, but for my first one, I'm happy with it! My only complaint is that my 2 middle toes are a little numb? Weird?
What a great experience! This is one I'll never forget, and I'm so grateful for Matt and my girls for supporting me! I spent many hours out on long runs he was so great and supportive!
On another note....Matt did his first sprint-triathelon 2 weeks prior to this. I don't have any pictures but hopefully I'll get them soon. He did it with Rachel, my sister and my dad! I ran for my dad which was so much fun. It really made me want to do one. Maybe next year! But I've been so proud of him and his training...he's lost almost 30 pounds this past summer from all of his hard work! It's been a fun, active summer for us!
Friday night we all met up for pasta at Jenny's which was fun. We ate at around 4 and then headed up to Logan. Janelle hooked us up with her families fifth wheel (which was BRAND SPANKIN NEW) so we could park and sleep right by the starting line. This was such a blessing, since we were originally going to stay in Tremonton, have to drive a half hour and catch a bus at 4:30 in the morning. We were able to get up in the morning, walk right out to the starting line and not be freezing cold. We picked up our packets on friday night, and then headed up and went to bed pretty early. I really didn't sleep at all because of nerves, everyone else was so quiet I kept thinking everyone was sleeping but it turns out we all were just laying there waiting for someone else to wake up! The morning of we all gathered for a prayer, and Jenny said the best prayer. You could feel the spirit so strong, and by the end of the prayer we were all in tears. We headed over to the starting line and huddled together to stay warm. The gun went off and we all started screaming, so much adrenalin. Then the running began. We headed down 14 miles of beautiful Blacksmith Fork Canyon. I started out great, tried really hard not to get too excited and go too fast at the beginning. For some reason, I had side ache's and cramps the ENTIRE run! It was probably just nerves, but I never felt like I was able to relax and just run. I ran with Jenny and a friend from high school, Lindsay for a while at the beginning.
I was so excited to see Matthew, my Dad, my sister Rachel, and Jenny's husband Scott at the mouth of the canyon! It helped so much! They were so great! They ran from stop to stop and I saw them probably 4 times before the finish line!
Besides the crampy stomach I felt great until about mile 18, then my stomach started giving me problems. I stopped at 18 to see if using the great old port-a-pottie would help, and it helped a little. From mile 20 on, it was seriously mental. I would just convince myself that I could make it to each aid station, then allow myself to walk while I drank water then keep going to the next one! It felt so great to finish and to see everyone there. My finish time was 4:22:52. It wasn't quite as fast as I'd have liked, but for my first one, I'm happy with it! My only complaint is that my 2 middle toes are a little numb? Weird?
What a great experience! This is one I'll never forget, and I'm so grateful for Matt and my girls for supporting me! I spent many hours out on long runs he was so great and supportive!
On another note....Matt did his first sprint-triathelon 2 weeks prior to this. I don't have any pictures but hopefully I'll get them soon. He did it with Rachel, my sister and my dad! I ran for my dad which was so much fun. It really made me want to do one. Maybe next year! But I've been so proud of him and his training...he's lost almost 30 pounds this past summer from all of his hard work! It's been a fun, active summer for us!
3 comments:
That is so awesome Heather! And to think of all those times I would run with you but never stuck with it, (sigh), to think what I could have done. What a great accomplishment!! So, when is your next one?
I remember what an awesome runner you were and how I vowed to NEVER run with you again--haha!!! I'm a wuss! Good job!
Wow! So impressed with your determination and stick-to-it ness
So so cool! Very inspiring!
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