Skip to main content

2010 St. George Marathon

I basically had my race report written (in my head) before the St. George Marathon even started. I was that prepared mentally for the race. After the race, I also knew my legs had been prepared to go the distance. Unfortunately though, that wasn't enough. So instead of the race report I thought I would be writing, you get this.

The Good
  • I finished. With a smile on my face.
  • The smile was a result of seeing my husband, girls, aunt, uncle and cousin just before I rounded the corner to the finish. There is nothing like having support to get you through something tough. I thought I would cry when I saw them, but instead I was just overwhelmingly happy.
  • My cousin ran part of the last 1/2 mile with me. Having a little conversation to distract me was exactly what I needed. During the race, I actually thought several times about how nice it would be to run with someone else just for that little push or distraction when you need it.
  • I have spent the last few days focusing on what I can learn from the experience. After being seriously disappointed at first, I changed my attitude and am moving forward.
  • I will run another marathon, even though at one point during the race I swore I wouldn't.
  • It is only Tuesday, three days post race, and my legs are almost back to normal. I haven't been very sore at all.
  • My shin didn't bother me at all and my IT band didn't act up until 10 miles into the race. It tightened up off and on but it was never too much to run through.
  • I was running by the 4:15:00 pace group until 13+ miles. My legs felt great and I felt really good about finishing by the 4:30:00 mark at the halfway point.
  • The medal is awesome.

The Bad

  • I didn't PR. When the 5-hour pace group passed me with just a couple of miles to go, I wanted to sit down on the curb and cry. I didn't.
  • I wore my black capris. Once the sun came up, we were running directly into it. Sun + black = HOT!
  • With the amount of sweat I was wiping off my face and the water I kept dumping on my head, my sunscreen didn't have a chance. My nose and forehead got way too much sun!

The Ugly

  • This was the warmest race in the St. George Marathon's 34-year history. It was 67 degrees at the start and in the 90s when I finished. I got dehydrated and very nauseous. I had to walk a lot toward the end because any exertion made me want to puke. I was afraid if I puked, I wouldn't finish.
  • I didn't train in the heat. Because of my husband's work schedule and having two little girls, I do most of my runs on the treadmill. I didn't realize how much hydration I would need. I drank water and/or Gatorade at every aid station, but I probably should have started drinking before the first station (at mile three), and I obviously needed to drink more overall.
  • Because my stomach got so upset as I became dehydrated, I couldn't get my energy chews down when I needed them. I was fighting a losing battle.
  • Obvious signs I was dehydrated: I wasn't sweating anymore and my mouth was SO dry I could hardly swallow. I have never wanted ice that bad in my life. The last aid station had cups of ice, and I savored every piece.

RUN: More photos and random post-marathon thoughts to come...

Comments

  1. Keep up the positive attitude! You can't PR with every race and it is awesome that you are able to do what you do. Keep it up!

    ReplyDelete
  2. It was soooo stinking hot! Congratulations on finishing such a tough race!

    ReplyDelete
  3. love that picture :) congrats on finishing a TOUGH marathon. there is absolutely nothing you can do when you are faced with tough conditions besides do your best and you did :)

    ReplyDelete
  4. Wow sounds BRUTAL!! Thank you for the honest play by play. You look BEAUTIFUL in that photo if it makes you feel any better..

    ReplyDelete
  5. Hey, you're a survivor. Temperature makes or breaks a race, and dehydration is nothing to play with...not over 26.2 miles.
    That is such a great picture, just look how happy you are, like a bubble of sunshine in a sea of broken runners.
    Your recovery sounds great, ease back into training runs and thank your body for staying in motion under the conditions.
    And finally, it is so cool that your cousin helped you with the last .5. You are very lucky.

    ReplyDelete
  6. Oh man, I've done marathons where temps hit the 90s and I feel for you. But you overcame; you survived; and you finished. Good for you. There will be another race and soon enough you're bound to be the recipient of great weather conditions.

    ReplyDelete
  7. Way to go and still smiling! Awesomeness!

    ReplyDelete
  8. 90F when you finished? Dang. I trained through the summer heat, and I still think I'd be in trouble if I ran a marathon in those temps. Sorry it wasn't the race you hoped for, but you finished another marathon, and ultimately that's what matters.

    ReplyDelete
  9. Congrats on finishing a tough race! Running in the heat is so hard, but you finished with a smile on your face!

    ReplyDelete
  10. Thanks for sharing your experience... that is the point of these, to learn from them and it definately seems like you will change things next time around.

    I cannot imagine being that dehydrated... it had to be scary.

    I also couldnt imagine running that distance by yourself - I have a running partner that we ahve trained all of our long runs together and will be doing our first 1/2 marathon next weekend together. Its nice to have someone to talk to the entire run - minus going up the hills! It makes the time go so much faster!

    ReplyDelete
  11. Sounds VERY tough. I can't imagine running a marathon in those conditions. Being nauseous is the worst. But the point is, you stuck it out and did it. Good for you!

    ReplyDelete
  12. You are one tough cookie!! Great job sticking with it and giving it your all in awful conditions.

    ReplyDelete
  13. Congrats on finishing in that heat! My first marathon finished in the 90's, the first real hot day of the year and it was tough. And once you're dehydrated it's impossible to play catch up. I'm glad you can have a positive attitude about the whole thing. It is such an accomplishment and you should be so proud.

    ReplyDelete
  14. Oh yuck - but I love that you still finished with a smile on your face. And that you WILL be doing another marathon. Great attitude, even after the bad experience.

    ReplyDelete
  15. First off, CONGRATULATIONS ON FINISHING! I can't believe it was so warm!!! Girl you really trooped through and you should be so proud of yourself for that. Keep up that attitude and go tackle another one!!!! ;)

    ReplyDelete
  16. I had three friends that ran this.

    They all said it was similar to death.

    You did it though!

    You rock!

    ReplyDelete
  17. Congrats on being a marathon finisher! Sounds like an extremely tough day. Running in the 90s is serious stuff. Glad you pushed through and finished with a smile on your face!

    ReplyDelete
  18. Wow sounds like some pretty extreme conditions! I am sure if the heat hadn't been such a factor, the race would have gone differently. Stomach problems really are the worse. So sorry you had to deal with that! Keep the positive thoughts!

    ReplyDelete
  19. Good for you finishing with a smile and all! I honestly can't say I was smiling at the end. I too had a hard time staying hydrated. Runners were dropping like flies and I was just grateful to finish. The heat was totally unexpected and my runs at 4:00 am didn't prepare me for the temps. Ah, but we can learn a thing or two from this. Can't wait to follow more of your running adventures. Good job!

    ReplyDelete
  20. 90s at the finish? Yikes! That's really tough. Good for you for pushing through and finishing.

    That's a great pic of you!

    Recover well.

    ReplyDelete
  21. Great job finishing such a hot race! And with a smile, even!

    ReplyDelete
  22. It's so hard when we set goals and things don't work out to get them checked off. YOu will though, no doubt. Race day is always a mystery unfolding - you just never know.

    I was sitting in my office today when another teacher came by and told me of his StG experience. He did well, but his wife had bad hydration problems due to the heat and at mile 23, she passed out and was carried to the med tent. She vomited 4 times and 45 minutes later, they let her go out and finish - well off of her BQ goal, of course, but grateful for the experience!

    Congratulations girl you DID it!! :)

    ReplyDelete
  23. Every marathon finish counts, well done! Nothing worse than marathon plus heat. You will learn a lot from this and have a great marathon next time.

    ReplyDelete
  24. You really sound like you learned a lot from this marathon! I love to read that. It's not all about what that clock said.

    It is unfortunate that as moms we have to "fit in" our training and as a result you didn't get to train in race conditions. With that said I think you did a great job finishing strong. You look wonderful at the finish!

    Like everything in life take what you can learn from it and let the rest go! congrats!

    ReplyDelete
  25. first, congrats! you may not have gone as fast as you wanted, but you're a marathoner! no one can take that away from you!

    i ran the chicago marathon last weekend, and same thing with the heat. by halfway through i was struggling- it was in the high 80's. i knew i wasnt going to finish in the time i wanted, but there was no way i could run much faster! it just makes me want to run another marathon that much more!

    ReplyDelete
  26. i dont know why it didnt link to my blog? it's www.runningwithoutheels.wordpress.com :)

    ReplyDelete
  27. I just found you through Iron Mike. I also ran St. George and things didn't go the way I had hoped either, the heat killed me.

    Congrats on completing the marathon!

    ReplyDelete

Post a Comment

I love your comments! They make my day, so be sure to let me know you stopped by. And I always try to respond to your comments, so let me know if you have any questions for me or if there is anything you want to see on here!

Popular posts from this blog

Carpet Burn On My Butt (and a giveaway)

After two lame, pathetic, lackluster weeks of running, I woke up excited to run yesterday. And today, I wore my running clothes all morning in anticipation of my nap time run today. Even in spite of sore glutes and tired quads from getting in some P90X Core Synergistics last night, I couldn't wait to get moving on Millie. I am a planner. Today I had a plan to get my run in while my girls slept, and my day was organized accordingly. I am also a creature of habit. The first thing I do when I roll out of bed every single day is make my bed and my girls' beds. If I do something else first, it throws off the entire morning. I am a creature of habit when it comes to my running routines as well. There are a few things that differ depending on whether I am running on Millie or outside, whether my girls are asleep or not, and whether or not they are joining me in the jogger. Yet, no matter when, where, how far or with whom I run, some things are always the same. My hair goes into a pony

I wasn't sure going in...

Yep, I'm checking in. Why? Because I did something completely out of my comfort zone that I wanted to share with you. Last week I went to a place near Salt Lake called Dexa Body, where I got a DEXA Scan. For those unfamiliar with what that is, I asked Google to help us out:  "Dual-energy X-ray absorptiometry  ( DXA , previously  DEXA ) is a means of measuring  bone mineral density  (BMD). Two  X-ray  beams, with different  energy levels , are aimed at the patient's  bones . When  soft tissue   absorption is subtracted out, the  bone mineral density  (BMD) can be determined from the absorption of each beam by bone. Dual-energy X-ray absorptiometry is the most widely used and most thoroughly studied bone density measurement technology." Since that is pretty medical sounding, here's my take. A DEXA Scan is a tool to measure your total body composition. It specifically breaks down the regional composition of your lean and fat tissue. It gives a fat distribution

Social Media: Some good, a lot of bad, and way too much ugly

There are a lot of good things that come from social media. We can connect with people we have lost touch with. We can unite as a group (runners!!) with a comment interest. We can promote a good cause. Sadly though, what social media does best is makes us feel bad about ourselves and makes us feel negatively towards others. This isn't just my opinion, although I can unquestionably support the truth behind this based on my own experience. I have spent way too much time feeling bad about myself as a result of comparing myself to others based on their Instagram or Facebook versions of themselves. And there are several people I have started feeling negatively about or have become completely annoyed with because of their IG and FB posts. It isn't just me though. There are actual studies that can back me up on the negative impact social media can have. I have read dozens of articles reviewing many different studies that show the overwhelmingly negative (vs. positive) effec