Here is my race report and the thoughts I had during my run.
I got off the bus around 5:15 with my left leg melted, because the heat was on and I had the heater seat. I stepped out steaming and walked along the row of fires trying to find someone that I knew. On my way back I ran into an old work buddy of mine and like he always did, bet my time against his time but with our age difference being the spread in minutes. Looking back it would have been close but I declined anyway.
I overheard the announcer say that the front corralled off area was for the elite runners and those of you who had a colored number were welcome to come and enjoy them. I am glad that I had a colored number, and I ran into all of my buddies once I got in. I delayed taking off my warm-ups right till the end and just as I had thrown them in the U-haul and got back to the staging area, I heard the horn. There was no time for me to worry but just to start my watch and start running.
The first few miles flew by I think because it was dark and I was already thinking about the hills to come. The two miles before the Veyo hill I hit sub 6 min/miles, and I was really surprised that the hill mile was under 7. I just kept telling myself that I was ahead and to just relax and run how I felt. Reaching the summit of the Dammoron Valley was a great feeling knowing that the rest of the course was downhill. I had hit every aid station til then and was feeling good.
I ran past he 1/2 way point at the loud tick of the clock showing 1:24:59. This made me very happy, knowing that my 3 hour goal was all but mine,but also if, like everyone told me, I should be able to negative split this course. So I relaxed and stopped looking at my watch for the next two miles. Miles 15 to 18 were pretty steep and I had some low 6's on them. Then I hit the mile that goes under the overpass and has the hill. I kept telling myself nice road, perfect running surface. As I was going up a fellow passed me that I had talked to early and yelled out that I was on a 2:50 pace if I could hold up. I said we'll see remembering how I hit the wall in Ogden around mile 22.
I never hit the wall in this race and was able to keep my 6:30 to 6:20 pace right up til the finish line. And came away with a 2:47:40, my best marathon time ever.
It felt so good and gave me such a boost coming into town and having hundreds of people cheer me on, telling me that I was looking strong and that I just had a few more miles to go, or to dig deep. I even saw a lady holding up a sign saying that we should run to cure rabies. I laughed at that and it took the pain away for a block or two. Coming into the finish line with the bleachers full of people cheering and screaming really gave me a boost and I was able to dig deep and put on some speed. It felt really good to stop.
In the 3 marathons that I have run, at the end I always get a little emotional pushing my body and my will to their extremes. I don't know quite how to explain the feeling. It is part rush, part pride, part something . I think about the people on the sidelines cheering and they see these grimacing, broken, exhausted people coming in to finish a race for most of them is just the satisfaction of knowing that they can do it, and I wonder what goes through their minds. I assume it is a feeling that they want to help the runners cause as much as they can by cheering and yelling. But I know it is nothing to the feeling I get from hearing that support. What a great race!!!!
I am happy for all the bloggers who ran their bests and look forward to reading all the race reports.
Total time:2:47:40
Average pace:6:24
PR:17 minutes and 18 seconds
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