Long marathon recap with very few pictures...

Marathon #4, done and done.

So glad it is over and that I made it to the end.

 

This was easily my worst marathon so far.

I felt pretty much drained and done after mile 15.

I know that was mostly from being under-trained-

but I also did not love the race course.

There was a lot of downhill and I think it was just too much.

For me, at least.

The first 5 miles were crazy downhill-

I really prefer a good flat race with small rolling hills.

So much easier on the legs!

I am terrible at taking pictures during races.

My phone was snugly tucked away in the magnetized pocket:

The pocket worked out pretty well...

it was just really tight and tough to get the phone in and out.

I was struggling enough, I wasn't going to start messing

with pulling my phone in and out all the time.

So no pictures of the race.

I know, no fun at all.

Here's the rundown:

 

Got up at 2am to get to the 3:15 bus.

Got to the start line about 1.5 hours before the race start.

Used the bathroom and then found a spot to sit and wait.

Got bored and took random self-portraits:

 There I am- showing off my boredom while also contemplating

if I could possibly find someone to take me back to my car.

I wasn't feeling this race already- bad sign?

Miles 1-5:  5:30am- We started running down the canyon immediately. 

So downhill that my stomach muscles were cramping up.

That seems to happen to me a lot.

I don't know how to run downhill properly.

I think my stomach tenses up trying to keep me from rolling down the hills.

Something for me to work on, that's for sure!

It finally started to ease up and I got into a rhythm about mile 4.

Took my first GU at mile 5

Miles 6-8:  Some big uphills- a nice break from the downhill,

but I could already tell this race was not going to be good.

Miles 9-16:  Nice gradual downhill- the best part of the race for me.

The weather was great- a nice cloud cover.

We even got rained on a little bit.

Nothing much else interesting, took a GU at mile 10 and 15.

My stomach did great the whole time.

Once in here thought I might need to make a stop, but it passed :).

Miles 17-21:  The worst miles EVER and I really started to hit the wall.

We left the canyon here and went into a neighborhood

and then onto a major road with cars driving alongside us.

It was just a blah place to run, especially during those hard miles.

Another GU at mile 21.

Miles 22-24:  Got back to more downhill, then a short uphill,

and back down again.  I was really done by then.

I had just wanted to get under 4 hours, 

but that goal was really slipping away fast.

I was having to take short walking breaks and was getting very discouraged.

I do NOT like walking during a race, but my legs were just dead.

Miles 25-26.2:  That last mile-ish was tough.  The sun came out.

It felt hot, my legs were finished and I was ready to be done.

We ran along the route of the parade for about a block

and that was fun- gave a bunch of high-fives to little kids.

That got me going... for about 30 seconds :).

That last half mile was some small uphill into the sun.

Brutal.

It felt like it took forever to get to the finish.

The one good thing about a terrible, horrible, very bad race?

A finish line never, ever looks better!

(The medal was cool enough, but it is by far the smallest one I have received 

from a full marathon.  The ribbon is pretty thin and cheap feeling.)

 

I did manage to make it under 4 hours- but barely!

3:58 and some seconds- My Garmin showed 26.32 miles.

Just about the same time I had for the Disney World Marathon-

but I stopped for a bunch of pictures at that one.

Yeah- this was a BAD race day for me.

Finished thinking I will never do this again!

Too bad I already have 2 more this year.

 

I felt a little wobbly when I stopped, but found some water

and a popsicle, found a spot to sit and sat my butt down.

 The self-portrait does not show off the sweat effectively.

I was dripping.

So gross.

I was all alone for this race,

so I started to wander around and look for my drop bag.

Then I saw the shortest post-race massage line I have ever seen.

Um, yes please!

So worth it.

The husband and the kids did a hike with his family while I ran.

When I signed up to do this race, I forgot that the husband's

family has a tradition of doing a hike every July 24th.

The kids look forward to it so I didn't want them to have to miss

out just so they could sit around waiting for mom to finish a race.

(July 24th is a state holiday in Utah- Pioneer Day)

Since I was alone, I had to wait a while for a shuttle back

to my car- but I got to chat with other finishers, so that was fun.

I am definitely the most sore I have ever been the day

after a marathon- every part of my legs!

I also got a random blood blister on my toe.

I am doing the funny after-the-marathon walk.

I hope THAT goes away soon.

The kids had a great time on their hike with dad-

No one was seriously injured and that's all I asked of them.

They got to enjoy a beautiful view from the hike.

I am looking forward to the 2 half marathons I have coming up.

13.1 miles seems a lot more fun right now.

The St. George marathon is only about 2 months away, though.

It hurts my legs to even think about that right now.