THe Ogden Marathon..I did it!!!

So after 1144.94 miles of training runs, just under $1000 of running gear, Shoes, socks, winter gear, gloves hats, GPs watch, tights, shorts, tank tops, sports bras and every other running thing you can imagine, hours and hours and hours of running (meaning Ben getting up with kids while I run..thank you!), too many GU's (energy gels), Cliff Bars, Life Savers, and who knows what else, and about fifty gallons of Gatorade (okay I don't know how much of that I drank throughout training, but it was quite a bit. )Oh yeah, I forgot to mention the many hours of biking, swimming and water running throughout training. Anyways, after all that, I finally did it. I ran the Ogden Marathon Saturday morning, May 17th. And the one thing I have to say about it is..It was AMAZING! It was 100% worth it and I am already signing up for more. I can't even begin to describe how awesome the entire race was, even being sicker than a dog, it was so much fun.
Okay to start out, I have to say that the week of the Marathon I caught a virus from the very depths of hell, seriously, it was about the worst sickness I have ever had. I couldn't even walk to the bathroom without my entire body shaking. So I sent out an SOS to my family, they all prayed & fasted for me, and obviously, their prayers did not go in vain. The day before the Marathon I started to feel okay. I went to the DR's and he told me not to run, but I told him that there was no way I wasn't going to run so he might as well get me what prescriptions I needed to get through the race. So he gave me a sleeping pill to take the night before and I decongestant so that I could actually breathe while I was running. Thank you Dr. 

So we packed up the kids, picked Jay up, and headed up to Ogden. We got to the Expo, got my number, bought a hat for me to wear during the race to keep the sweat out of my eyes, and I have to say that by this point I was feeling 100% crappy. My head wanted to explode, my ears were about to pop, and I was tired all over. My entire body as still achy, and I had serious doubts about my ability to run the race. I promised Ben that I would take it slow and drop out if I needed to, but he and I both knew that if I started, I would definitely finish, no matter how slow I went. So anyways, we got some pasta for dinner. Oh yeah other complication, since I had been sick the entire week I hadn't eaten a darn thing. I ate a subway Sandwich on my birthday but I had to force myself to eat that, and then I ate that pasta dinner the night before, and even that was hard to choke down. But I had been making myself drink drink drink. Beer. No, j/k, Water obviously. so I felt that I was well hydrated and should be okay that way. Anyways, it was off to the Hotel. I was really glad to see that the bedroom was separate from the the rest of the room. So I took my sleeping pill, got all my gear ready, closed the door to the goofing off boys and went sound to sleep. I didn't stir until 3:30 am. I was supposed to get up at 4 am anyways, so that was great timing.  It was amazing to actually get some sleep. I hadn't slept very well all week, so I was very grateful for a nights rest. So I got ready and headed down to the buses outside the Hotel.

I was excited to ride the bus up to the Start of the race. It was just all us Marathoners together, everyone anxious for the race asking how many Marathons people had done and what ones. It was fun to talk to other runners and be amazed at what they had accomplished. The start was great. They had several fires going for us while we waited for 7 am to roll around. (we waited 2 hours for the race to start) And it was very very cold. We started 26.2 miles up the canyon and the sun had not yet risen, so it was cold cold cold. we were all huddled around fires, but it got conversations going and that was fun as well. It amazed me how calm everyone was, it was great. When people found out this was my first they would get excited and tell me I could do it, I loved that. Anyways, then it came time to take off your warm ups, put them on the truck and go line up in the appropriate spots. As I walked through the start line I passed the "elite" runners at the very front of the line..wow. Now there are some serious runners. They looked amazing. I wish  I could have seen them run but I was pretty far back in the start line, so yeah. Ben saw them go through the half mark about an hour into the race and he said they were amazing, That they were just power horses, and just flew right past him. I think that would be amazing to see.

Anayways, back to my spot in the starting line up. I love it when they shoot the gun and you see the sea of people ahead of you take off down the road. I think it is such a beautiful sight. I just love seeing  a solid road of runners.  It is so amazing. So we started putting along and as soon as I crossed the start line I heard all of our timers go off and I started my stop watch and the Marathon began.

It was a pretty gentle downhill the first few miles. It helped us keep a very decent pace at first, this was my downfall, I went too fast at the beginning, and I knew I was going too fast but what the hey. It was fun to see the different campsites and have the campers come out and cheer us  on. We had fun waving to everyone as we passed. I felt like I was in a parade and wanted to wave to everyone on the sidelines. The weather was perfect at this point, just slightly cool at this point as we head down our first canyon. Once we got down into the valley between the canyons it heated up very rapidly and I began shredding the layers. During this time I was feeling strong, slow but strong.  And I was being very careful about drinking and eating  enough so I would have something in me for the second half of the race. I drank and ate as much as I could the first half of the race. Running through the valley was somewhat rolling hills, not big, but still little hills here and there. At mile 8 my running partner's , Tiana, family was there to cheer us on. That was great. They made signs for both of us and were holding them up and cheering us on. It is so great to have people you know there to cheer you on. Then it was running along the reseviour, and then to mile 13 where Ben and Jay and kids were waiting for me. I was feeling pretty tired at this point, but I knew I was only halfway, and knew that I could run the other half still. THey refilled my water bottles for me and it was off again. I was heading for the big hill at this point. It is a big old hill that is about a mile long and kicks your butt. But I just kept pluggin along up the hill and I made it up just fine. I was huffin and puffin, but I made it.  From miles 13 to 18 you got around the edge of the water and then down Ogden canyon. This was a very long stretch for me. I turned my ipod on and enjoyed several new songs I bought just for the marathon. It was fun to listen to them and kind of run to the beat of the song. At this point you were running with the people that really run your pace and I finished with the people I was running with at this point. These are the people that were running around me. There was a father and a son running, both were wearing Orange, one was wearing a Disneyland hat, I kept up with them most of the way, then there was a girl wearing a blue tank top, she finished just before I did, and there was a dad pushing his baby in a running stroller. Those are the people that I stayed with most consistently throughout the race, Tiana went ahead of me at mile 13, but I was happy for her to get a good time, I really did not want to slow her down. 

Anyways, so this stretch got to  be quite hot, no shade, and it never seemed to end. But eventually, we made it to the Dam, and headed down the canyon. The downhill felt really great at this point, my pace picked back up to a 9 min/mile and I felt re-energized. I remember the aid stations very well throughout this section, mostly because I needed them so much. but I have one thing to say about the aid stations at this marathon and the volunteers. They were absolutely amazing. At every station there was fruit, powerade, water, GU's, Granola bars, candy to suck on, pretzels. They had people there with sunblock, chapstick, vaseline, anything you needed they had and were ready to help you out. They were so great. I loved it. THey were so uplifting and just great. It made me want to go volunteer at races to be like that. Anyways, at mile 20 or 21, I don't remember, but I was getting really really tired, and it was 85 degrees outside so I was pretty darn hot and even though it was downhill, it was really hard to keep running.  But then there was an aid station and a man was there with a huge bowl of cold crisp watermelon. I ran right to him took several pieces and said " I could kiss you right now" seriously, that watermelon was a gist from the heavens. It was the most amazing thing I have ever tasted. It totally re-energized me and got me through a couple miles. At this point I was getting 2 waters at every station, drinking one and dumping the other over my head, it felt so very  good to have the ice cold water trickle down my burning hot head.  

So on I went down the canyon to mile 22.5, and I kept hoping that someone would be at the mouth of the canyon, I had told the family that I would love to have someone there to cheer me on and to my great happiness there was mom, dad, amy and aubrey. I ran over to them, gave them hugs, and ran on. It was a great boon to see them there.  Now I was time to run 3.5 miles through the city & into the downtown ogden area. Nothing in the world can prepare you for how hard those last few miles are. Not only are you in immense pain, but you are 100% absolutely exhausted. Your entire body is telling, no, screaming at you to stop but your brain is saying, no don't stop, it is only 3 miles, just 3 miles. you got this, you are just about there, don't give up now. And as you run along you see other runners dropping out on the sides and you say exactl what you are thinking, no don't stop, run with me, you are almost there! That is why I love the Marathon so much. It is not an individual thing. Everyone there is there to help everyone else finish the race. And no one wants to see someone fail. It is great to see so many people help strangers out and encourage them to keep running. I loved it. Anyways, throughout the marathon I would run steadily until I came to an aid station, then I would walk through that (it takes about a minute or less to walk through it) , And during those last 3 miles they had 4 more aid stations and it took every once of energy and strength to just make it form station to station. and it was really hard to start running again once I had my water and needed to run on. But i did it. I kept running, I didn't stop and I didn't give up. I was slow, but I finished. I will never forget running down the street towards the finish line. I wanted more than anything to stop and sit on the side of the road and just die. I want to take my stupid hat off, my water belt, my watch, and that stupid timing chip tied around my ankle. I felt like I was breathing through a straw. I was afraid I was going to pass out before I would get to the finish line. I remember thinking, oh my gosh I can see it! but thinking, but it is so far away....I just want to stop running! But for some crazy reason unknown to me and all other runners, you keep running and you don't stop. I was 100% absolutely focused on that finish line. I saw mom dad, amy aubrey, James Ben Harrison all waving and cheering me on but I didn't even have enough energy to wave at them, I knew I just had to focus on crossing that line, I thought I would never make it and the race would never end, but then all of the sudden there I was. I can still feel my foot landed on the other side of the line. And then I stopped. They announced my name as I crossed. Someone put a medal around my neck. people asked if I was okay.  handed me water bottles and a bag of ice. My final time was 4:31:36 and my place was 952 out of 2000. So pretty average I guess. Tiana came and hugged me. She had come in just a few minutes before me. Then I found Ben and my family. I was so happy to have them all there. I was so happy to have Ben there, I gave him one big sweaty kiss and a great big hug. And now I had to thank my wonderful husband. Without him, I never could have done this. I never could have run even one mile. He has supported me 100% the entire ay. He never doubted me or complained about the time and money, lots of time, lots of money, that it cost for me to do this. He watched the boys every morning for the past several months while I ran. He sometimes packed them in the car and came and found me running to cheer me on. He has gotten me several running gadgets and other gear. He has taken care of me when I have been too sore to walk. The past couple months have been extremely intense training and I have been really tired as a result. But he has not complained one bit to help with the house chores and cleaning up dinner, or folding clothes or watching the kids while I nap. He has done everything for me and I love him and appreciate him more than I can say. So thank you Ben. 

Okay now to the post race activities. After hugging family members, I went to the food tent where they had jamba juices, yeah that was amazing, and several other foods but also PBJ' which looked yummy to me at the time, but i ate one and I discovered that I have lost my appetite. Since the race I have only been able to eat one real meal. my appetite is completely gone. I am sure it will come back double time in not too long here. Anyways, then it was time to sit a ta table and relax and eat good food, well what I could at least. Then I went over to the massage tent were they quickly rubbed my legs down, that felt good. And then it was time to go home. THe ride home was the most painful part, my legs cramped up really bad, and I was about in tears, but I took 2 lortab when I got home and that took care of the problem. I couldn't sleep that afternoon, but that night I slept 12 hours, and then I took a 5 hour nap the next day. Yeah I was tired. I am not in so much pain anymore, but my legs don't really work. They are like jelly sea legs. I have to walk backwards downstairs, it is funny. 

So yeah, after all that, I would have to say that I will definitely do this again. It was an amazing experience and I am already signed up for the San Francisco Marathon in October (Grandma and Grandpa robertson are coming out to see me run that one...yay!) and I am considering signing up for the Deseret Morning News marathon in July. But I heard that one sucks, but I might do it anyway. I am hooked. Once again, thank you all for your prayers in my behalf. I definitely felt them and the Marathon was an amazing experience. You should all do one.