Ogden Marathon Recap

This recap will be almost all in pictures.  

I don't have much to say.

It rained from mile 2 to 26.2.  A lot.

It was freezing.

I wore my 6 dollar throw away rain jacket from Savers the entire race.  

I was slow. 

For a while at least.

So true.  

Everyone who ran yesterday was super hardcore.

We did have a great time.  I got us a hotel room a block from the finish/bus pickup.  We met up the night before and really just had fun and talked. I shared this sweet experience with fellow flight nurses Amy and Deb.

TWINNERS shirts.  Love the shirt, hate the color.

Amy and I hanging out talking and posting stuff on our phones

Amy figured the timer out on my phone.

Danger!

Fact.  Danger.  hahaha

I had rice and chicken in my teeth.

The morning started way early.  4am to get to the buses by 5.

Finish line forecast.  ew

Long wait by the fires in the cold.

Hoping for clear skies.

We found us a helicopter pilot!  Congrats Clint on meeting your goal by 5 minutes!  Animal!

SOOOO many runners!  Took us 7 minutes to get to the start line.

Amy ran with me and Deb took off and finished over an hour before we did.  This was before the swearing began. 

More then half way.  Stopped at the potty - which took over 5 minutes to get clothes down to pee.  Soaking wet all the way through.  And yes, that is my throw away black jacket.  I have a really cute outfit under it. We also had some gummy bears.  At this point we just wanted to finish.   haha

AND WE DID!!!

Over 5 hours...but heck, at least we weren't pulled off the course from hypothermia.  

First marathon in the bag.  Yes, I already want to run another one.  I really would like a do-over.  

I actually felt pretty good during the run.  The problem was there was no chance to warm up the muscles.  At the start the front of my ankles were very painful and tight, which had never happened.  When that went away everything from my glutes to my knees was so tight.  Not cramps just painfully tight.  I was scared to do too much stretching because I was SO cold.  The cheap gloves I wore stayed on about 13 miles.  They were finally SO wet that I threw them away.  I tried tucking my fingers in my jacket and that helped. My fingers tingled for 2 hours after my hot shower.  Our shoes were absolutely filled with water for more then half of the race.  They were heavy and coupled with the tight muscles we pretty much gave up any hopes of under 5 hours after the pacer paced us.  Amy's jacket that was suppose to be water proof couldn't stand up to the rain.  Actually neither jacket kept us dry but I stayed dryer longer.  

Fueling

The one thing I was most nervous about turned out great.  I had a Luna bar, Honey stinger waffle and banana before I ran.  I had mixed a Clif gel (cherry chocolate is my fav, but they didn't have those on the course) with one of my applesauce (this brand has a flat screw on top which fits better in pockets) and put it back in the applesauce container.  I also carried one applesauce without anything in it and one hazelnut butter.   In my water bottles I had one water and one Skratch hydration.  I used half the mixed applesauce at 45 min and 1hr30min.  After that  I would have a half of a gel then a little bit of applesauce.  At mile 20 I finished the applesauce with the hazelnut butter.  I drank a couple of poweraids and had a cup of water at each water stop.  No stomach upset at all.  I'll keep that system and tweak it when I train for my next one.  

I'm just a little sore today.  My back hurts a little but dang the front of my ankles and tops of my feet hurt SO bad.  My toes are fine! (miracle - lots of Vaseline on the toes) I thought with the new socks and soaking feet I would be screwed.  A day of eating crappy food and watching season 10 of Dancing with the Stars (first time watching) is what this day is doing.  

Met Jeff Galloway in the elevator!!!

YES!

I do have his books and I use the 5/1 running ratio.  He had his hand on my shoulder and was shaking cold!!  

BAD ASS

My finish stats.  

5:23:10

...and I didn't die.

Thank you Amy.  We had a real bonding run.

AND..we slept together.  

I'm not talking about the hot shower.  No pics, didn't happen.  ;)

You know your freezing when you don't care who sees you naked.

Huge props to the organizers of this marathon!  It was one of the biggest races I've been to.  So many volunteers and they were so awesome.  Most of the time when I took a cup from a hand it was just shaking.  Two shaking hands passing off cups of water.  I am so very thankful.  Ton's of water stops, plenty of portapottys, lots of Clif products, oranges, bananas, band aids, Vaseline, whatever we needed.  There was trucks driving the course hanging out silver warming blankets.  I felt like we were being watched closely for safety and taken great care of by all the volunteers.  Some awesome cheer leading going on!  The course markings were spot on and the timing thing with the app was great!  Amy and I got notices when our friends passed certain points.  Then we smacked talked them for being so fast.  ;)

Funny how marathon training takes over your life.  I can't wait to get back to having some time.  My bathroom needs cleaning...

Dino half recap and the Marathon countdown begins!!

One week before my first marathon I ran a half marathon.  Crazy?  Yeah buddy! But how could I pass on THIS medal?

Photo credit:  Tera Schatz

With these people

Photo Credit:  Kind stranger

The usual subjects.  Jason and his wives.  

Me, Jen, Ashley, Tera (real wife...we make her sleep with him) and Jill

Dream pants FOUND

I don't regret a minute of it.  I love traveling, going to dinner and hanging with these people so much.  We don't really run together but it's still a blast.  

Before we ran we sat in the car and I worked on looking really smart with my glasses on.

Photo Credit:  Jen Quarry

I was actually adjusting my glasses.  Maybe.  

The race itself was awesome!!  It was storming like crazy the day before but race day we had just a little light rain and cloud cover.  Nice and cool.  I bought a sweet zip jacket for the start and then dropped it off at one of the aid stations.  

My goal was very simple.  Run it slow and easy.  I stayed with or behind the 2:30 pacers.  I stopped at aid stations.  Ate a few oranges and drank water at each one.  I even stopped to pee at one point.  I kept my "run 5 minutes, walk 1 minute" approach.  Sometimes I had to run a little faster to get past annoying people.  Mean?  Well, there are people that annoy me and I'd rather just not run next to them.  Like the three girls all across the road.  One of them yelling at the pacer to slow down and why does her neck hurt.  I wanted to chime in something catty but I didn't.  I'm growing up so big!

OFFICIAL TIME:  2:27:44

The last mile I just eased in.  Ran almost the whole time and ran past the pacers.  I'm thrilled.  I wasn't too sore except the hammy on the right that has been tense.  I kept the slow pace and I had a blast.  

A beautiful course!  Easy downhill and lovely scenery.

photo credit: Me

I'm covering his scary face but it's a COOL medal!!

photo credit:  guy that works at the hotel the doesn't wash crotches.

We took the after pic at the hotel because it was freaking cold once you cooled down and we had tossed the jackets.

STINKY  (aka Jason) took second in his age group!!

WOOT WOOT

I took 6th.  Can you imagine if I actually ran it.  Dang, I love getting old!

So whats the marathon plan?

I want to run it under 5 hours.  I want to keep it easy and slow at first.  I would rather finish and be ultra slow then kill myself trying to make some fast time.  It's my first one.  I want to take the time to learn my own do's and don't of marathon running.  I will be doing my walk/run that I hear lots of "poo poo" about.  Like it's cheating or something.  It's easy for me to start running again and get in a groove.  Towards the end I just run how I feel.  I don't force the walk breaks after the first half.  I have some negative split numbers that I'll be looking at during the race.  

I'm most nervous about fueling.  I don't think it's going to be hot so I'll be wearing my capri's with the pockets.  I did take one Clif GU and had it at mile 9.  No stomach upset.  I think I'll take some applesauce (2 with stuff mixed in) and then have GU's also (provided at aid stations).  Thinking about taking a packet of hazelnut butter.  Jill told me it helps with that feeling that you are just REALLY hungry.  It happened in my 2 long runs around mile 17.  

I also had a new fuel belt to try.  

Nathan Mercury 2 hydration belt

I've had a tough time finding a belt I like.  Finally the belt makers have figured out how to put a little stretch into their belts instead of just clips.  I had to make a few adjustments but after that it stayed put and felt great.  I have 2-10oz flasks.  In one I put some SKRATCH hydration in lemon/lime and the other water.  I also took water at the stations and drank some Skratch every 45 minutes.  I switched to Skratch when I bought a small pack to try on my long runs.  I like the taste and it appears to work.  I do use my go to NUUN before the race and drink one the night before and anytime I think I need some extra electrolytes.  

Plan for this week:

I have some great aches and pains that I'm ignoring ala taper.  Stretching, rolling and hydrating.  I'll do a short slow run.  I'm trying to eat healthy and good carbolicious.  Did I mention I'm hydrating?  I had my pre race illness already, hopefully.  I had a headache from HELL last night.  I blame Rock Springs.  Heehee

I'll end this ridiculously long post with my favorite Marathon/running memes.  Laughter will get me though....or not. 

Then I'd be dead.  Fear.

 All the great memes.  I hope thats what my race looks like.

Bulls would make me run faster.  FACT.

I'll consider it.

I do NOT want to chafe mid run.  I'll be properly lubed. Trust me.

Hope I don't start a crotch fire.

What do you carry for hydration?

Always asking for Marathon advice?

Is it really Saturday?

Blog on.............

Quit Marathon Training.....almost

I am training for a marathon.  Surprise!  The bad news is that I haven't felt very good about it.  The ultra left me feeling pretty down and super bloated.  Luckily I have some great pals that have given me the "you can do it!" and I have continued to train.  

Last week I didn't feel good.  My body couldn't commit to the flu but my stomach hurt and I felt dizzy.  SO I missed a couple of runs and the run I did do was FAN-CRAPPY!  

Then I did my long run on Monday.  The thing about my long runs is that the entire time I'm planning them, laying out my clothes, charging my gear and getting my fuel I am in total denial of going on the actual run.  On my 18 miler 2 weeks ago I was pretty sure I wasn't going to do it up to about mile 15.  Some sort of trickery so I don't give it any REAL thought.  I can't deny my fear of the marathon and up until Sunday I was sure I wasn't going to be able to finish it.  

Let's get to the down and dirty.  

My long run Monday was fan-effing-tastic! 

I planned a course that included some uphill at the beginning then downhill for most of the rest.  I'm running the Ogden marathon and the course is mostly downhill.  

Ogden marathon elevation charts.  The top one is from the website.  Pretty lame.  The bottom one is from my MapMyRun route that I added, hoping it's pretty close to the real route.  Mile 17-22 looks a little sketchy with all those little bumps.  

Long run

Recap or picture share.

The first 7 miles of hills was a little tough.  Some of the hills are really steep.  

Here is the route.  I had my son meet me at where mile 13 would be and I left my car there with fuel and more water.  Then he drove me to the other side of the mountain to start by Mountain Dell golf course.  

Thanks Daniel!!

I started out pretty smooth.  Realized I didn't have my HR monitor.  After a brief panic attack I decided I was actually enjoying the freedom of not having a double chest squeeze.

Sweet Jebus!  It's a miracle.  A clean bathroom that was OPEN at mile 3.5.  Fact:  In Utah a lot of bathrooms are closed from Labor day to Memorial day because of the winter, I would guess.  I'm finding that more of them are opening earlier.  I almost peed my pants.  I guess I hydrated well.    Yes those are shoes in the picture.  Someone lost their slides.

It was a shoe-a-palooza for the first 4 miles.  The poor lone shoe at the start.  Then in the same parking lot 2 pairs.  Abandoned.  Shoe abuse I tell you.  

The miracle bathroom was here.  In Bear country.  Awesome.  I then proceeded to run down the road that was gated off to cars and I was alone.  Thank goodness it was only about a mile and then I turned around.  Great running area....scary to be so remote.  I didn't even think about bears until I saw the sign!

At the very top of the hill is some great views!!!  I fueled a little here and used the bathroom there.  I do love this view.  I always get a kick out of the historical marker that says "The Road to Zion".  I have no idea why it amuses me but I don't question a giggle.

From a little over mile 7 to mile 13 it was a nice downhill.  It wasn't so steep that I felt out of control but just felt NICE.  I ran according to effort and tried to keep it easy so I'd have enough energy to finish the run.  

Sitting on my car snacking.  I drank an electrolyte drink and ate part of a Picky Bar and one of those blended fruit baby foods.  (perfect fuel!)  I also refilled my water bottles and took off!

At miles 14.5 my friend Missy pulled over and I got a hug and a little run with her!!!  It meant so much to me.  She had been texted me good vibes and it really helped!  Thanks Missy!  Your teaching me to be a good runner friend!

Didn't get a pic.  Bummer.

Bathroom again at mile 15

Rotary Park.  Just east of the zoo.  I love this park.  Clean bathroom and a little hand wash station.  

Oops.  Heehee.

I didn't read the sign.

From mile 15 to 20 I zigzagged my way downhill to Liberty Park.  I planned a stop at my favorite gas station that I use for long runs.  I don't always stop but I like to run past places I can get water or use the bathroom.  I stopped a few times to take pictures of houses.  I'm looking for paint ideas that goes with red brick.  

The last 5 miles were pretty good but I was tired.  At mile 17 I was starving.  I'm not sure how I'm going to fix that during the marathon.  It wasn't like I felt that I needed energy I was just HUNGRY.  I could have stopped and had a full meal.  By mile 18 I was pretty much on the down hill homestretch.  Mile 19 my knee started to twinge and my feet were sore.  I was so happy to be done that I didn't take any more pics.  

My son picked me up at the park and took me back to my car.  

Cool, I wasted almost a full 45 minutes with picture stops, food and bathrooms.

Overall I was thrilled with the run!  I wasn't watching my pace too much but running by effort. I was also running on tired legs.  I had done speed work with heavy weights on Saturday.   When I saw that it was just over 11 min/miles and I still felt ok it FINALLY gave me hope that I can finish a Marathon without walking half of it or dying.  

I refuse to back out of this Marathon.  I'm still nervous about it and that's OK.  I remember my first race - a 10K - I was almost in tears I was so nervous.  A couple of things I need to work through.  

Fuel.  I took some Clif GU because that is what they are offering on the course.  I didn't even use it.  I was too nervous that I would get sick.  Yeah, brilliant I know.  I know I can't carry the usual fuel so I've got to figure that out.  

Bathroom.  I usually don't need to use the potty during a race.  I'm assuming I'll need to use it at least once but hoping that not more then that.  

Outfit.  Well duh.  

Any and all recommendations and advice is wanted.