fitkansaschick
Cathlete
Tonight it is total body weights for me. My laptop has been down so I have had a tough time with posting.
::: CHEETAHS ::: Mon., 10/9
- Thread starter seeking_guns
- Start date
toughYrun
Cathlete
Hi cheetahs! I got home late last night and, as you can imagine, I have all sorts of stuff to do today. The marathon has been going around and around in my head and dear Sarah has asked for details, details, details!!!! So here is a recap of the day. Sorry it's so long but hey, I had to cover 26.2 miles. Thanks to you all for the well wishes. I know that Christine, Wendy and Jennifer(?) ran this weekend too and I plan on making my way back here to give lengthier congrats later!
It’s 2:45 am and I am pulled out of a dream by a light knock at the door at the same time the alarm goes off. Someone, Brad, Teryl, or I, had the idea to get on one of the first buses that will take us up to the marathon start line in Central. We know that riding up between 4:00 and 4:30 makes us eligible to win a prize. Plus Brad and I know from last year’s experience that it will be best to get up there sooner rather than later. Clothes were all laid out the night before so we quickly get dressed, eat breakfast, take some pictures and head down to St. George. I have a score to settle with a 26.2 mile stretch of Highway 18. It has taken months of training, studying the course map and just generally obsessing about what I am about to do and I feel ready.
When we get off the bus in Central it is in the low 40’s. Porta potties line one side of the highway and bonfires line the other. We find a bonfire to sit next to and for the next two hours take turns hitting the porta potties. The time goes quickly and soon the moment has come to strip off our sweat pants and any other clothing that we don’t want to toss along the way. Brad and I notice the 4 hour pacer standing in his place and we plan to come back and run with him after we throw our bags in the truck that will take them down to the finish for us. Teryl, who will be running her first marathon today, wishes us good luck and heads back to the 4:30 area.
When the gun goes off we are stuck in a bottle neck and the pacer gets ahead of us then is out of sight. Oh well…..I will just use my GPS and the pace band on my wrist to keep on track.
Central is just a speck on the map, no houses or stores near the road at all, so it is very dark after I cross the start line. When my GPS alarm goes off to tell me that I have finished the first mile I cannot see what the time is. I am very cold, from my toes to my face. It is an unusual experience to run in this temperature since it is rarely this cold at home. As Brad and I are about to come up to the 3 mile point and the first aid station he asks me if I plan to walk through it. Since he carries his own hydration I tell him to go ahead, to run his own race, to be at mile 13 by two hours but not before that. A fear that has been in the back of my mind all along is that I will go out too fast and crash and burn before I am done. I don’t want him to make this mistake either.
It is now light enough for me to see the time on my Garmin. I am 1 minute behind! This is not good. My plan was to warm up with a 9:30 pace the first mile then pick it up into a 9:09 pace. The crowd, the cold, possibly the elevation has caused me to start slower than what my plan called for and I am pissed. But I have an alternate plan! I will take full advantage of any downhill I have but there is still some worry in the back of my mind because I know that from mile 7 to 11 is a steady uphill climb and that I will likely lose time when I get there. As I make my way to down the course I speed up when I can and even though I am feeling good I make myself hold back on the flats, reminding myself that I have a long way to go and there is no room for greed.
As I come down the hill at mile 6 into the little town of Veyo I am happy that I have covered this mile with an 8:39 pace. But here I am at the base of the hill and it seems colder down here. I am wishing that I had not yet tossed my $2.00 gloves that I purchased at the expo the day before. Someone has backed their SUV to the intersection and opened the hatchback so that we can hear the song from the movie Madagascar. “We like to move it, move it. We like to move it, move it.” I suck up the energy from the crowd and head up the first steep hill and then the steady climb out of Dameron Valley. I take it slowly….. 10:21, 9:25, 9:21, 9:26, 9:09. I am glad to be at the top. Mile 13 is almost upon me and I know I have some more time to make up in order to be there at the 2 hour mark. I become aggressive now because it is crucial for me to make this time goal. I take the next mile in 8:36. Finally, I am there and I am on time! I look for Brad but I don’t see him anywhere in the crowd so I just hope that he is on track too.
As I continue down the road for the next two miles I am banking some extra time. I feel good, so happy to have gotten over the first hurdle but I know I have one more hill to climb at the 18 mile point. But right before the 15 mile point is where a 6% grade begins and I am flying now with an 8:03 pace. I quickly decide that I do not want to stop the momentum I have gained so I blow past the aid station. My quads are on fire. The speed at which I am taking the extreme downhill is excruciating and this is where I earnestly begin to think about the people who are there with me in spirit. I think about my brother and the battle he has fought. What I am feeling right now cannot possibly compare and I push on through the pain.
I quickly cover the next couple of miles as I move toward the next upward climb. Again, I am slow on the hill with a 9:20 and then a 9:11 pace. But this is OK because I am on track. However, as I crest the hill I will now have to contend with an 8% grade down. This is tough. I have started the final 10K of my journey and my quads are hurting even more now. To make matters worse, I feel some slight cramping in one of my calves. It subsides and then I feel it again. I begin to pray “Oh God! No! Please take away these cramps! I am almost there! I have worked so hard to get here! I don’t want to finish this walking. I don’t want to have to tell Sarah that I walked when I was supposed to be shooting for a BQ!” I grab Gatorade at the next aid station and although I continue to feel some cramping it is diminished and the fear has been alleviated somewhat.
At the bottom of the hill I have now finally reached St. George and the crowds are lining the streets. There are kids with their hands out wanting a high five as the runners go by but I am focused now and ignore them. The cheering of the crowd is hard to block out. Normally I revel in the encouragement but not today. I have 5K to go and I am tired running an 8:13 pace. I begin to say to myself over and over “You are strong. You are strong.” The mental game is in full swing and I dig deep. As I get to mile 24 I hear someone on the sidelines yelling that the 4 hour pacer is about 50 seconds ahead and is walking because he is finishing too soon. A few paces later I can see the balloons! I cover this mile with an 8:24 pace as they get closer and closer. I know that this means I am under the 4 hour mark since the pacer crossed the start line before me. Suddenly I am there with him and I am so incredibly tired. I decide to slow down and run in with him but the slower pace is too uncomfortable so I pick it up again and move past him. There is the finish!! I am there!!! I glance up and see 4:03 on the clock and I raise my fist in the air as I am overcome with emotion. I took me 5 minutes after the gun went off before I crossed the start. I have just run 26.2 miles in under 4 hours. This moment is sweet. The journey is now behind me and I am leaving with what I came here for!
It’s 2:45 am and I am pulled out of a dream by a light knock at the door at the same time the alarm goes off. Someone, Brad, Teryl, or I, had the idea to get on one of the first buses that will take us up to the marathon start line in Central. We know that riding up between 4:00 and 4:30 makes us eligible to win a prize. Plus Brad and I know from last year’s experience that it will be best to get up there sooner rather than later. Clothes were all laid out the night before so we quickly get dressed, eat breakfast, take some pictures and head down to St. George. I have a score to settle with a 26.2 mile stretch of Highway 18. It has taken months of training, studying the course map and just generally obsessing about what I am about to do and I feel ready.
When we get off the bus in Central it is in the low 40’s. Porta potties line one side of the highway and bonfires line the other. We find a bonfire to sit next to and for the next two hours take turns hitting the porta potties. The time goes quickly and soon the moment has come to strip off our sweat pants and any other clothing that we don’t want to toss along the way. Brad and I notice the 4 hour pacer standing in his place and we plan to come back and run with him after we throw our bags in the truck that will take them down to the finish for us. Teryl, who will be running her first marathon today, wishes us good luck and heads back to the 4:30 area.
When the gun goes off we are stuck in a bottle neck and the pacer gets ahead of us then is out of sight. Oh well…..I will just use my GPS and the pace band on my wrist to keep on track.
Central is just a speck on the map, no houses or stores near the road at all, so it is very dark after I cross the start line. When my GPS alarm goes off to tell me that I have finished the first mile I cannot see what the time is. I am very cold, from my toes to my face. It is an unusual experience to run in this temperature since it is rarely this cold at home. As Brad and I are about to come up to the 3 mile point and the first aid station he asks me if I plan to walk through it. Since he carries his own hydration I tell him to go ahead, to run his own race, to be at mile 13 by two hours but not before that. A fear that has been in the back of my mind all along is that I will go out too fast and crash and burn before I am done. I don’t want him to make this mistake either.
It is now light enough for me to see the time on my Garmin. I am 1 minute behind! This is not good. My plan was to warm up with a 9:30 pace the first mile then pick it up into a 9:09 pace. The crowd, the cold, possibly the elevation has caused me to start slower than what my plan called for and I am pissed. But I have an alternate plan! I will take full advantage of any downhill I have but there is still some worry in the back of my mind because I know that from mile 7 to 11 is a steady uphill climb and that I will likely lose time when I get there. As I make my way to down the course I speed up when I can and even though I am feeling good I make myself hold back on the flats, reminding myself that I have a long way to go and there is no room for greed.
As I come down the hill at mile 6 into the little town of Veyo I am happy that I have covered this mile with an 8:39 pace. But here I am at the base of the hill and it seems colder down here. I am wishing that I had not yet tossed my $2.00 gloves that I purchased at the expo the day before. Someone has backed their SUV to the intersection and opened the hatchback so that we can hear the song from the movie Madagascar. “We like to move it, move it. We like to move it, move it.” I suck up the energy from the crowd and head up the first steep hill and then the steady climb out of Dameron Valley. I take it slowly….. 10:21, 9:25, 9:21, 9:26, 9:09. I am glad to be at the top. Mile 13 is almost upon me and I know I have some more time to make up in order to be there at the 2 hour mark. I become aggressive now because it is crucial for me to make this time goal. I take the next mile in 8:36. Finally, I am there and I am on time! I look for Brad but I don’t see him anywhere in the crowd so I just hope that he is on track too.
As I continue down the road for the next two miles I am banking some extra time. I feel good, so happy to have gotten over the first hurdle but I know I have one more hill to climb at the 18 mile point. But right before the 15 mile point is where a 6% grade begins and I am flying now with an 8:03 pace. I quickly decide that I do not want to stop the momentum I have gained so I blow past the aid station. My quads are on fire. The speed at which I am taking the extreme downhill is excruciating and this is where I earnestly begin to think about the people who are there with me in spirit. I think about my brother and the battle he has fought. What I am feeling right now cannot possibly compare and I push on through the pain.
I quickly cover the next couple of miles as I move toward the next upward climb. Again, I am slow on the hill with a 9:20 and then a 9:11 pace. But this is OK because I am on track. However, as I crest the hill I will now have to contend with an 8% grade down. This is tough. I have started the final 10K of my journey and my quads are hurting even more now. To make matters worse, I feel some slight cramping in one of my calves. It subsides and then I feel it again. I begin to pray “Oh God! No! Please take away these cramps! I am almost there! I have worked so hard to get here! I don’t want to finish this walking. I don’t want to have to tell Sarah that I walked when I was supposed to be shooting for a BQ!” I grab Gatorade at the next aid station and although I continue to feel some cramping it is diminished and the fear has been alleviated somewhat.
At the bottom of the hill I have now finally reached St. George and the crowds are lining the streets. There are kids with their hands out wanting a high five as the runners go by but I am focused now and ignore them. The cheering of the crowd is hard to block out. Normally I revel in the encouragement but not today. I have 5K to go and I am tired running an 8:13 pace. I begin to say to myself over and over “You are strong. You are strong.” The mental game is in full swing and I dig deep. As I get to mile 24 I hear someone on the sidelines yelling that the 4 hour pacer is about 50 seconds ahead and is walking because he is finishing too soon. A few paces later I can see the balloons! I cover this mile with an 8:24 pace as they get closer and closer. I know that this means I am under the 4 hour mark since the pacer crossed the start line before me. Suddenly I am there with him and I am so incredibly tired. I decide to slow down and run in with him but the slower pace is too uncomfortable so I pick it up again and move past him. There is the finish!! I am there!!! I glance up and see 4:03 on the clock and I raise my fist in the air as I am overcome with emotion. I took me 5 minutes after the gun went off before I crossed the start. I have just run 26.2 miles in under 4 hours. This moment is sweet. The journey is now behind me and I am leaving with what I came here for!
andtckrtoo
Cathlete
Oh Elaine!! What an incredible account!! Thank you sooo much for sharing! And a BQ!!! I'm SOOOO impressed!! It's so cool for me to be able to tell people I know someone who is running the Boston Marathon - I cannot imagine how it is to be able to do it! You are a wonder, girl!!!
singinggoddess
Cathlete
Elaine,
I just applied my mascara and it is starting to drip down my face. You are AMAZING!!! What a great recap and you are so strong and your brother will be so proud. It is truly amazing what we women are capable of and we never let ourselves think that we can't do this. Thanks for the inspiration and for sharing your wonderful remarkable day with us. I am in awe.
Susan
I just applied my mascara and it is starting to drip down my face. You are AMAZING!!! What a great recap and you are so strong and your brother will be so proud. It is truly amazing what we women are capable of and we never let ourselves think that we can't do this. Thanks for the inspiration and for sharing your wonderful remarkable day with us. I am in awe.
Susan
seeking_guns
Cathlete
Well, helloooo there, cheetahs. Checkin’ in again. I just completed a 5.39 mile run and forgot how tough it can be a day after GS Legs! SO, I think I am going to bag GS BSB and save that one for tomorrow. I’ve done a lot in the last 3 days.
Barb :: we don’t have a Dunham’s around here, but maybe I will check REI. Thanks! You have the right attitude about being a flexible cheetah…sometimes I give in to guilt.
Judy :: no, our district had school today, to my surprise. It’s the first year I haven’t had off for Columbus. Sorry to hear about the bug comin’ on. Hope you can knock it out quickly. Glad you had a safe route to run.
Linda :: I do hatha yoga. Glad you’re having fun w/ the Garmin!
Carole :: that does sound like a grueling workout you have planned. How’d it go?
SunnyD :: way to go on the 4.5. It’s always a thrill to push a little farther, isn’t it?
Christine :: look at you following up a race with something like Slow & Heavy!! You’re a beast!
Or did you opt for the Stretch X or yoga? Yes, believe it or not, Dick’s had very little in the way of fall gear. Still a lot of shorts and tees. I thought it was odd, too. I’m sure in the next couple of weeks that’ll change. Especially with this cold front coming on! Amazing that the Polar still works…and here I thought we’d be enabling you to go for the Garmin!
Susan :: your posts crack me up. Congrats on your new gym membership…whatta deal!
Colleen :: you didn’t mention what your workout was for today??
Shelly :: Really glad to hear you are making a little bit of progress each day. Good news!!
Wendy :: where have you managed to score some gear?
Katrina :: glad you were able to leave an impression at your reunion…the rewards of all your hard work! Have a good workout!
Elaine :: your day started at 2:45 am??? GADZOOKS! What madness! ;-) And what a story. My eyes filled up as I read it. You sure do rock, woman!!! That sounded like one helluva course. And I’m in awe, too, that you passed the pacer! Incredible! Thanks for sharing that w/ us.
Hi to Jennifer & Natalie and anyone else who comes by.
-Cathy
Barb :: we don’t have a Dunham’s around here, but maybe I will check REI. Thanks! You have the right attitude about being a flexible cheetah…sometimes I give in to guilt.
Judy :: no, our district had school today, to my surprise. It’s the first year I haven’t had off for Columbus. Sorry to hear about the bug comin’ on. Hope you can knock it out quickly. Glad you had a safe route to run.
Linda :: I do hatha yoga. Glad you’re having fun w/ the Garmin!
Carole :: that does sound like a grueling workout you have planned. How’d it go?
SunnyD :: way to go on the 4.5. It’s always a thrill to push a little farther, isn’t it?
Christine :: look at you following up a race with something like Slow & Heavy!! You’re a beast!
Or did you opt for the Stretch X or yoga? Yes, believe it or not, Dick’s had very little in the way of fall gear. Still a lot of shorts and tees. I thought it was odd, too. I’m sure in the next couple of weeks that’ll change. Especially with this cold front coming on! Amazing that the Polar still works…and here I thought we’d be enabling you to go for the Garmin! Susan :: your posts crack me up. Congrats on your new gym membership…whatta deal!
Colleen :: you didn’t mention what your workout was for today??
Shelly :: Really glad to hear you are making a little bit of progress each day. Good news!!
Wendy :: where have you managed to score some gear?
Katrina :: glad you were able to leave an impression at your reunion…the rewards of all your hard work! Have a good workout!
Elaine :: your day started at 2:45 am??? GADZOOKS! What madness! ;-)
And what a story. My eyes filled up as I read it. You sure do rock, woman!!! That sounded like one helluva course. And I’m in awe, too, that you passed the pacer! Incredible! Thanks for sharing that w/ us.Hi to Jennifer & Natalie and anyone else who comes by.
-Cathy
sunnydelite
Cathlete
Hi again ladies,
i found a few minutes for some personals....
judy- glad you found a safe place to run. i was thinking about what happened to you when i was out on sunday.
shelly- thanks! signed up for my first 5k on 11/1/. i am so psyched!!!
susan-have fun with your gym membership. it's awesome to have so many options
wendy- pass you?? yea, right, you wil have already ran a marathon before i run my first 5k }( i've been looking at a 10k for new year, shhhhh
elaine- what an amazing story. thanks for sharing. makes me so glad i decided to start running
cathy- yes it is!! thanks. i just can't believe people run after gs legs...woooweee, that's impressive
hello to anyone i may have missed.
enjoy your evening ladies.
i found a few minutes for some personals....
judy- glad you found a safe place to run. i was thinking about what happened to you when i was out on sunday.
shelly- thanks! signed up for my first 5k on 11/1/. i am so psyched!!!
susan-have fun with your gym membership. it's awesome to have so many options
wendy- pass you?? yea, right, you wil have already ran a marathon before i run my first 5k
}( i've been looking at a 10k for new year, shhhhhelaine- what an amazing story. thanks for sharing. makes me so glad i decided to start running
cathy- yes it is!! thanks. i just can't believe people run after gs legs...woooweee, that's impressive
hello to anyone i may have missed.
enjoy your evening ladies.
jennifermaria
Cathlete
Just a quick check-in to say, WOW, Elaine!! You go, girl!! After yesterday's run, I can't imagine running a full marathon. I'm not worthy .
Jennifer
.Jennifer
fitkansaschick
Cathlete
OMG Elaine your race sounded great! I can't wait until I can run one. I think I am ready for the distance but need to wait until the time is right with my family. I liked hearing your play by play.
Natalie
who was kind of whimpy doing Power Hour tonight. I just don't dig weight lifting.
Natalie
who was kind of whimpy doing Power Hour tonight. I just don't dig weight lifting.
Fit_mommy
Cathlete
Good Evening Cheetahs!
Cathy, I recently picked up a couple of things for fall in TJ Maxx. It's a hit or miss type of place but I LOVE it! }( I bought this one pair of pants that I absolutely adore! They had 2 in stock and I only bought one. By the time I get back there they won't have another pair and I'll be kicking myself for not buying both to begin with!x(
Well I did my Power class tonight. AWESOME! }( I upped my weights for the lower body work....heavier than I've gone in quite some time. I hope I don't regret it...It felt good though.
Have a great evening ladies!
Cathy, I recently picked up a couple of things for fall in TJ Maxx. It's a hit or miss type of place but I LOVE it! }( I bought this one pair of pants that I absolutely adore! They had 2 in stock and I only bought one. By the time I get back there they won't have another pair and I'll be kicking myself for not buying both to begin with!x(
Well I did my Power class tonight. AWESOME! }( I upped my weights for the lower body work....heavier than I've gone in quite some time. I hope I don't regret it...It felt good though.
Have a great evening ladies!