Provo City Marathon...

Yesterday I ran the Provo City Marathon.

Marathon #2 in 2 weeks.

I didn't originally plan to run marathons so close together,

but then I won an entry into this Provo City race... and I love free.

Just like the Salt Lake marathon 2 weeks ago,

I had a plan for this one.

Not too fast- nice and even.

No marathon PR is going to be attempted any time soon.

(I also have the Ogden Marathon in 2 weeks.)

For me, I know I can't full on race a marathon if I expect

to be able to run another marathon so soon after...

without injuring myself, that is.

I did the last marathon a little faster than planned- at 3:45,

so my goal was to try and finish between 3:50-3:55.

I finished in 3:52:21, so right on target.

Here's the recap...

with a lot of words and very few pictures.

I decided to get a hotel room for the night before,

even though the race was just an hour away.

I found a good deal and just went for it :).

I drove down, checked in and then headed over to packet pick-up.

Super quick and easy to get my bib and get out.

By that time, it was 7pm-

so I ordered some Olive Garden to go and took it back to the hotel.

I looked through the stuff that they gave out at the expo 

and found nothing much except flyers-

but I did like the shirt... which doesn't happen often.

I only liked it because they let me get a men's shirt.

I don't like women's cut race shirts- they always fit me very strangely.

After I checked everything out and made sure I had all my race stuff,

I just chilled by myself in the hotel room- eating and watching TV.

It was kind of nice not having anyone coming in asking me questions, etc.

I can't remember the last time that I have been able to sit

and watch an entire show without being interrupted ;).

(Of course, it only took about an hour before I started to feel lonely.)

I went to bed at 9pm and woke up at 3:35am.

It wasn't my best night of sleep ever,

but it was very good for the night before a marathon.

The buses started at 4:30 and I was on the 2nd bus.

I like to get to the race start early to avoid long port-a-potty lines.

Once I get up there and use the bathroom,

I always start to wonder if getting there that early was worth it.

It was REALLY cold up there.

Luckily, they had fires going-

so a perk of getting there early was being nice and close to the warmth.

THAT was the last picture I took until after I finished the race :).

I eventually pulled myself away from the fire

to head over and use the bathrooms again.

The lines were now huge.

They did NOT have enough port-a-potties.

Usually, I will wait until right before the race starts

when everyone is hurrying to the starting line.

The lines always get shorter when the race begins

and who cares if I start right at the gun?

It's chip timed, right?

Well, the marathon and half marathon started at the same place.

The marathon started at 7am and the half at 7:10.

There were only a little over 200 marathoners

and over 1000 half marathoners.

So that plan wasn't going to work.

I should have gotten in the bathroom line sooner 

and I completely missed the start.

By the time I made it through the line and got my bag dropped off,

the marathoners were running by me and the 

half marathoners were starting to line up.

Oops.

The people at the start line were like

"We shot the gun off 8 times, just to be sure all the marathoners heard!"

Well, I did hear it- but I had to use the bathroom.

I finally made it to the start and... started running.

I ran a little faster than I planned to at first,

but I wanted to find an appropriate pace groups

and they were all well ahead of me by that point.

I passed a couple of the pace groups and finally caught site

of the 3:55 sign at about mile 3 and then slowed down.

I stayed behind them for a while and just caught up gradually.

I pulled up right with them around mile 7 or 8 and stayed next

to them until around mile 20-21.

Fun thing about this race is that we run RIGHT by the half marathon

finish- watching them finish and knowing we are only halfway done.

It didn't really bother me as much as I thought it would.

The first half was a nice gradual downhill through Provo Canyon.

The 2nd half was just flat through some rural areas and neighborhoods.

It also started to get a lot warmer and there wasn't much shade.

I felt myself starting to hit a wall around mile 18.

I somehow thought we were at mile 19 and that sort of 

put me in a bad place for a few miles.

I pulled a TINY bit ahead of the 3:55 group at mile 20-ish

and stayed that tiny, tiny bit ahead until the finish.

We ran a few miles on a trail that had some shade

and that was definitely appreciated by my body.

Still, I slowed down a good amount the last 6 miles.

I knew that I was well within range of my finish goal,

so I just aimed to finish without walking (except through aid stations).

The last 2 miles were a blur and the home stretch to the finish

line seemed to take forever... but I made it!

Nothing better than the sight of a finish line after 26.2 miles!

Marathon #8- DONE!

I ended up with 2 medals,

because I somehow wound up 3rd in my age group.

The nice benefit of running in a small race :).

The only way I will ever win age group awards, but I'll take it!

All in all, this race seemed well organized and the medals were nice.

The buses to the start were efficient.

As I already said, they didn't have enough bathrooms at the start,

but that really wasn't a huge deal.

They had plenty of aid stations along the way.

I wish they would have had water bottles at the finish line

instead of just cups of water.  I need more water at the end.

Cups are just awkward to carry around, too.

The volunteers were awesome and the police officers

out on the course were great and very encouraging.

I stayed around the finish for a while to cheer people in.

I liked that they had this guy up there calling out people's name/bib #:

I had to walk along the home stretch of the course to get to my car,

so I was able to continue to cheer for those who were finishing.

This guy told me that he was finishing his 340th marathon!

Seriously amazing!

I had to take his picture- even if it was super far away.

I know I will never get anywhere close to that,

but what an inspiration.

It was also the husband's birthday,

so I hurried on home to celebrate with him :).

(He's such an awesome husband to let his wife run a marathon on

his birthday.  I swear I made sure it was REALLY okay with him before I signed up for this race. 

 I may have annoyed him with how many times I made sure he was okay with it.)

I feel really good today,

except for the top/side of my right foot.

It is really sore and sort of throbbing.

I am hoping that my shoes were just tied too tightly.

(I already skip a few laces on my running shoes)

Anyway- I am icing and elevating.

Hopefully it gets better!

And that was marathon #8.

Marathon #9 coming in 2 weeks - Ogden Marathon!

Well, as long as my foot is better.

Salt Lake City Marathon...

Well, that SLC marathon certainly was wet and cold!

Nevertheless- marathon #7 is in the books.

I had planned to make this the race where I actually took

pictures so that I could do a REAL race recap.

Then this happened:

Forget that 30-40% chance of rain.

It 100% rained until probably mile 23 :).

I will take rain over unbearable heat or wind,

but my hands were freezing and I was completely soaked through.

I was a little too focused on avoiding huge puddles

and somehow pulling my phone out of my Spibelt

was the last thing I wanted to do.

Except the one time I pulled it out at mile 9...

when my 10 year old called me 3 times in a row.

Called me to ask if he could use the computer,

because he didn't want to wake up dad and ask him ;).

For real.

Anyway-

It was pretty cold at the start and the rain certainly didn't help.

I got to the TRAX station nice and early and caught

a train up to the finish- that only took about 10 minutes.

They did have Homeland Security there with bomb dogs-

they had to sniff every bag before we could get off the train.

No complaints from me- I appreciated the extra security.

Getting to a race early means no lines for the "bathrooms".

So I may have used those a few times.

I found a nice, unused port-o-potty and part of me just wanted

to hang out in there for an hour ;).

Okay, not really... but it was warm in there!

Getting to a race early also means a long time to wait out in the cold.

I wandered back and forth to keep warm and did get this pic of the start:

The time actually passed pretty quickly

and soon it was time to take off my warm sweats

and shiver uncontrollably as we waited for the gun.

They played "Sweet Caroline" right at the start-

to dedicate the race to Boston.

I also had my Boston RunNow bracelet on:

(As well as a homemade bracelet)

I fell in step with the 3:45 pacers early on and stuck with them

for pretty much the entire race.

I pulled ahead of them for a few miles and then slowed down

and fell back in with them again.

Since I have another marathon in 2 weeks, I didn't want to go

too fast and completely burn myself out.

I felt really good for almost the entire race.

The whole race was through the streets of Salt Lake,

so that wasn't going to keep my mind occupied.

I was aware of this, so I listened to music in a race for the

first time in quite a while.  It definitely helped during the boring times.

Time seemed to fly by... until mile 20ish.

Around mile 21, I always find myself thinking

"Maybe I'll start walking a little bit after each mile".

This is the fatigue talking and fatigue usually convinces me :).

I fell behind the 3:45 pacers at an aid station at mile 23.

That sluggish feeling was sinking in and 3 miles felt FAR.

I took another gel at mile 24.5 and it must have been

what I was needing, because I got a second wind.

I picked up the pace and started gaining some ground on the pacers.

At this point they were running alone.  

A couple of the guys with them had gone on ahead,

but most everyone else and fallen back (including me!).

I managed to catch up with them about a block from the finish :).

They just pushed me to run ahead and finish strong,

which I did- a nice 3:44:57 official chip time.

Right on target- good pacing, Pacers!

(I clearly didn't run the tangents very well or my Garmin was off)

That's my 3rd fasted time (only about 30 seconds off of my 2nd fastest)

and I feel really good about my time.

My goal was to just keep an even pace and finish strong

without killing myself- so that I can do the Provo City Marathon on May 4th.

(I won an entry... and I can't pass up a free race! - I  also have Ogden on May 18th)

I ran the first half and last half pretty close to even, so goal met!

This course isn't the easiest, especially compared to other Utah marathons.

I prefer rolling hills over the huge drops, though.

I don't feel like the rain was a huge factor

except for being weighed down by soaking wet clothes ;).

I look absolutely terrible in the race pictures,

so there is no way I am buying any of those.

They can be found here if you want to see lots of awkwardness:

http://www.marathonfoto.com/site/viewphotos

Bib# 316

I get more pictures of myself at the finish when my family is able to come,

but they had soccer games all morning.

Thus, I was alone, cold and ready to get to my car.

The shuttle back to my car was awesome and took no time at all.

My drop bag had clearly been sitting out in the rain for hours, though-

so all of my warm clothes were soaking wet.

Overall, I think this race was very well organized.

The aid stations were very well stocked with water and Gatorade.

The volunteers were amazing and there were lots of them.

I only saw them handing out GU at 2 stations, though.

I think they should hand them out more often during marathons.

Also, oranges and bananas would have been nice toward the end.

The race started on time and the finish line food was good.

I didn't look around much after because I was so COLD.

I was also very impressed with the amount of police presence.

Every single road (and there were a LOT) had a police officer

standing there- most of them very friendly and rooting us all on.

I would probably do this race again but it conflicts with a lot

of my children's spring activities, so I can't sign up for it until

a few months before when I know our schedule.

(Last year I was one of the first 50 to register and paid $35 for the full!)

This race gets really expensive the longer you wait to register.

As far as recovery goes, it is now Wednesday and I feel awesome!

No soreness at all.

I ran an easy 3.5 miles yesterday and walked a mile.

It felt good and my body wanted to go faster,

but I managed to rein it in... mostly :).

Marathon #8 next weekend!

I can't wait.

Marathon spirit...

I have been an M.I.A. blogger.

Running is still happening, I just haven't blogged about it :).

This is also happening:

I was starting to feel the normal "I have to run a marathon"

nervousness last week...

but after the terrible, bewildering events in Boston, 

I am just ready to get out there.

There is no time goal in my mind.

I just want to go and run this marathon.

They race is doing some very lovely tributes to honor

those affected by the events in Boston.

Many runners are wearing either green or blue/yellow.

(I have my green shirt and blue/yellow ribbons all ready.)

I saw this quote all over the place and absolutely love it.

I also love this one:

 So, until my next (hopefully sooner than later) post,

MarathON!

Getting around to it and ready for Spring...

It's only been 24 days since I last blogged.

That's not too bad ;).

Have no fear- I have been running.

I've actually stopped being a wimp and started to run outside again.

Once I let myself get used to running inside...

either on a treadmill or an indoor track...

it sure was hard to get my wimpy self out to run

in the dark, freezing cold mornings.

I sucked it up a few weeks ago and just did it.

I have to do it alone in the early morning dark,

but I stay in my own general neighborhood and carry pepper spray.

It does start getting light during the last mile ;).

It's some good training for my legs,

because my neighborhood is full of short steep hills...

over and over again.

My kiddos like to take my cooldown walk with me afterward.

All but one fresh out of bed and still in pajamas.

We don't get far before they realize that it's cold

and then we turn around and head back.

So that is what's been going on with running.

Still going strong.

1st marathon of 2013 is in 25 days!

I feel plenty ready for it.

(not ready for a PR or anything, but still ready)

Then there are the other non-running related things

that go along with having 5 children...

and that keep me from blogging as often as I would like.

Hmmm... this post is all over the place

and I don't know how to fix it right now.

It is what it is.

Anyway- Happy Spring!

(we got snow this past weekend)

Looking forward to slightly warmer temps

for the early morning runs!

Another 20 miles in large circles...

It worked out better to get my long run done today

instead of Saturday this week- so that's what I did.

Thanks to those of you that informed me that running in the 

outside lane at the oval definitely adds some distance :).

According to my very scientific calculations,

last Saturday's 20 miler was probably closer to 22 miles.

I was then able to determine that I probably only needed

to run 70 laps in order to get to approximately 20 miles.

Yes, that says 72 laps.

We walked an additional lap after we finished-

then I had to push the lap button again to get a picture.

I use my Garmin to keep track of how many laps I have gone,

but it is otherwise useless while running inside.

It will connect to the satellite and then lose the signal randomly.  

Even when it finds a signal, the info is way off... as you can see here:

Average pace of that lap at the top was 50 min/mile?

That's a sloooow mile.

Then it gets really random... 4:36 min/mile average for one lap?

No way I will ever run a lap at that pace.

Ever.

Unless I really am just super fast and didn't know it until today.

Anyway- feels good to have two 20 milers done.

We have some warmer weather coming our way

AND it's getting lighter earlier, so I hope to get two more

20's done outside before it's time to taper.

In random, kids are fun stories...

we pulled up to a gas station the other day and my kids all said

"Mom, look!  Why is there a phone outside??"

Even I was surprised to see it.

I remember taking change to the mall so I could

call my mom when I wanted to come home.

How the world has changed.

33 for my 33rd...

Tuesday was my birthday.

I am now officially 33 years old.

A nice number.

I did NOT run 33 miles for my 33rd birthday.

No time (or desire) to do that on a Tuesday.

I did head to the oval in the early morning hours

to get in a nice birthday run, though.

33 LAPS on my 33rd birthday.

Running in the outside lane (there are 4 lanes- 442 meters around in 1st lane),

I figure this is about 9.5 miles- who knows for sure.

I felt good about it.

Got me prepared for all the eating I did the rest of the day ;).

(this is a running blog... not so much a healthy eating blog)

I got home at about 7:20am and had to open all of

my beautifully wrapped presents before the kids went to school.

Yes, this is how the husband "wraps" gifts.

By going down into our storage room and finding

any old gift bags he could (I keep the good ones in our closet, but he didn't know that).

The one on the far left was from the baby shower

for our oldest child... who is 10 years old.

When he couldn't find enough,

 he resorted to old shopping and takeout bags...

Luckily I am not one who cares about that kind of stuff-

it's the thought that counts, right?

That... and the gifts inside the bags ;).

A giant bag of Hot Tamales:

 4.5 lbs of candy is always a good idea.

Lifesavers for running:

It's good to know that he knows me and has been paying attention.

There was also this:

I am having fun with it.

The husband took the day off of work-

so we went out to breakfast AND dinner.

Lots of food happened.

I love eating so much that I completely forgot

to take any more pictures the whole rest of the day.

My little kiddos were extra sweet all day.

They were more excited about my birthday than I was!

They all made my 33rd birthday a happy one.

20 miles in circles...

When it is snowy, windy, dark and you have to get your

20 mile run done before 9am... what do you do?

Either hop on a treadmill for an excruciating amount of time

or run in many, many circles around the Olympic oval.

The oval seemed like the lesser evil-

so many, many laps is what I did.

76 laps to be exact.

A little over 20 miles.

I like to think that running in the outside lane makes it so much further ;)

but I for sure got in that 20 miles!

 (Some speed skating races got going right as I was finishing. It was fun to watch.)

The last 19 laps were rough and not pretty.

I was a little sad about how hard it felt towards the end.

I need to get 2 more 20+ milers done in the next month

or else these marathons I have coming up will be no fun.

Now I get to focus on getting these Girl Scout cookies delivered...

 and by that I mean, telling the husband and our 

3 little Girl Scouts where to take them ;).