There were times in the last 20 years where I thought a marathon would be a bucket list item. Mostly, though, I pushed aside that thought and claimed I had no desire to run one. 2019 would prove otherwise. I started training in earnest in April--I had St. George Marathon in my sights which takes place the first week of October.
Marathon training has been extremely enjoyable. Yes, it makes for super early weekend mornings and often alters week activities i.e. hiking after running 10+ miles is not appealing. I've realized that marathoning is more than just an individual commitment--it involves the entire family. Karen has been so supportive. I used headphones on nearly all my training runs which allowed me to burn through audiobooks. Training proved to be educational as well as preparational.
The Kauai Marathon was coming up the first weekend in September. It is known for being extremely difficult—humidity, sun, and hills make this race the 4th most challenging marathon in the nation. I really had no intention of even considering the event until Karen mentioned that I should look into the 1/2 marathon for training purposes. I was still trying trying to figure out another long run before St George and an upcoming business trip was making it difficult. It was a last minute decision. I decided on the spot to sign up for the full marathon 30 minutes before registration closed on Friday. Kauai Marathon would be my first. The best part was seeing Karen and the kids holding up signs and supporting me in the race. I would not get this in St. George.
Fortunately, Mom and Dad made the trip and were there to cheer me on. I had run the Kauai Marathon in 3 hr 40 minutes and knew my time would improve in St. George. I was a bundles of nerves and really wanted to run well.
The morning starting at 3:30 am--I woke up and couldn't go back to sleep. After a carb-loaded breakfast I jumped on one of the buses to the Central, Utah--the starting line. I hopped off the bus and was shocked by the cold! Wind was blowing and temperature was in the low 40's. This Kauai boy was freezing his tail off! Fortunately, they handed out emergency blankets and started dozens of campfires which surprisingly really warmed up the area.
The start line was lined with flags from every state in the United States.
The race started at 6:45 am. The temperature suddenly seemed perfect the moment I began running:) I was shocked how well I felt the first few miles. I have never felt better on a run after mile 7. The views were beautiful, but turned stunning right after mile 13.
The decline of this race really caught up to me around mile 15-16. My legs started hurting because of all the pounding. My calf felt a little crampy at mile 22, but when I saw my time adrenaline kicked it. I saw that if I maintained a quick pace for the last few miles I could get close to 3:10--a Boston qualifying time. My fastest mile ended being mile 24 at a pace of 6.52 min/mile. In the end, I was happy that I finished strong and performed better than I had expected with a time 3 hours 11 minutes.
After getting rehydrated I spent some much needed time in the massage tent.
It was so fun having Mom and Dad there to cheer me on.
The after party--ice all around!
I woke up the next morning to this--Moms' rock!
The weekend went by so fast. I watch most of General Conference with my parents and then took off to Vegas. My flight didn't leave until 1:50 am Monday morning so I took detour south of Vegas to check out the Seven Magic Mountains. Kind of a funky tourist destination, but something to do while I waited.
Ironically, one week later and still suffering from leg soreness, Karen and I watched live as Eliud Kipchoge from Kenya unraveled human barriers by running a sub two hour marathon. His time was 1 hr 59 min 40 sec -- that's 4:34 min/mile pace for 26 miles! The feat was run in Austria on September 12, 2019.
