Judy and me at the starting line.
(We drove up to the starting line the day before the race to get a feel for the course)
The St. George Marathon is one of the top rated marathons in the US. You have to apply in April for a draw in May. In 2005 and 2006 my brother-in-law Darrell and I entered the draw but both years we were not selected. In 2007 they introduced a new way of qualifying. If you don't get drawn for 2 years in a row they will let you in the 3rd year. So we got in under what I call the "Loser Clause".
Judy and I travelled down to St. George, Utah with Sheila and Darrell. Darrell did great and qualified for the Boston Marathon (which he ran in April this year). I finished 2 time zones behind Darrell but I did finish. I also got a Boston Marathon qualifying time - the only problem is that it was for an 80 year old woman - no offense to 80 year old women. So if I can keep up that time until I'm an 80 year old woman you will see me in Boston someday.
Darrell and I with our finisher medals.
Notice that Darrell has an orange bib. That indicates that he is an elite (or real) runner.
It was a great experience for me (except for the last five miles).
We started early in the morning.
Darrell and I walked from our motel to the loading area. They loaded us onto buses and drove the thousands of runners 26 miles out of town.
The line ups for these before the race were unbelievable
(I ended up going in the trees behind the fires and found that alot of people had the same idea)
The local fire department lit these fires as the buses arrived.
It was still dark and quick chilly up at the starting line. They had all these fires going and people would gather around each fire. We relaxed and tried to keep warm while we waited for the start. I started way in the back with the slow runners. It took me about 8 minutes just to cross the start line from where I started. We ran in the dark for the first couple miles. I tried to enjoy the experience as much as I could.
You basically run in a desert very beautiful hills and valley all along the way. I remember the sky starting to turn purple and then orange as the sun started to come up in the east. I'm not a fast runner - I started out running with a pace group to finish in 5 hours. Because of some hamstring problems I didn't get all the running I would have liked to in training for the race.
I ran the Melissa's 22K in Banff a couple weeks earlier for my long run but also go gauge how my hamstring was feeling. I was slow but I finished and wasn't hurting to bad.
Back to St. George. I enjoyed the atmosphere of the run. There were people out cheering along the way. They were still out even when us slow folks came by hours after the leaders.
All along the route were homemade signs encouraging runners.
This sign was close to the end of the marathon
Official race pictures that I was too cheap to purchase
(or "PROOF" that I really ran the race)
At 20 miles I remember thinking how good I was feeling. I was on schedule to get a sub 5 hour time. Then at about mile 21 I started cramping in my calves. For the last 5 miles I would run until the cramps made it so I had to walk. Then I would walk for a few minutes and try to relax my cramps. Then I would run a couple more minutes until I couldn't because of the cramps. I repeated that until the end of the race. It really killed my time. But that what happens when you haven't done the training you need.
You turn a corner and you can see the finish line. It was several blocks away but even with the cramps in my calves I just had to run to the finish line - especially with all the people lining the sides of the road.
Approaching the finish line. You can see how my calf is cramped.
I was in pain but you can't tell by the smile on my face.
I did it. I finished a marathon.
Just after I crossed the finish line
by catching the buses early we got a sticker that entitled us to a free massage at the end. The lady taught Judy how to do a few things. (Judy needs to practice more)
Well I'm sad to admit that I really haven't run regularly since that day. I don't really know why. Maybe it was because I accomplished a goal that I had worked a couple years for. Maybe its because I was busy doing other things. Its probably because I'm lazy. Or maybe its because my memory isn't like it used to be and I keep getting the principles of my fitness program confused. Is it "Eat Less - Exercise More" or is it "Eat More - Exercise Less"? Its obvious what program I was following this last year.
The worst thing is that I've gained back about 1/2 the weight I lost in the 3 years working up to the marathon.
This is how much weight I've gained in the past year.
(I lost 2 of these in the 3 years leading up the marathon)
Can you imagine carrying this bag of rice around with you all the time?
The good news is that I've started running again. Judy and I started on October 1st. I've done 3 days in a row. I'm starting slow doing the run walk method.
Alana expressed interest in me posting my running story that I wrote in 2005. Would anyone else be interested in reading this?
