After I had the minis I needed to have a goal for me to work on personally. I wanted it to be a hobby and me time. Since running is my favorite hobby, and the Ogden marathon is on my race list, I signed up for the Ogden marathon. It was a little premature because I thought since I was running 5-6 times a week that training would be do able but that was not always the case during my training.
Recovering from twins has been harder on my body, not always getting a great sleep made it hard, and working part time added to the difficulty. I tried selling my race spot about half way through. It didn't sell and so I kept training. I had an ear infection a few weeks ago that took over 2 weeks to clear up and two round of antibiotics. That didn't help make training easier but I stuck with it.
Today I woke up at 3:25 am. I set 5 alarms so I wouldn't sleep in. I stayed at Betsy's house so I wouldn't have as far to drive. I accidentally set off my car alarm while trying to leave. Hopefully I didn't wake up too many of her neighbors.
I loaded the bus at 4:45 and got to the start line at 5:45. The race didn't start until 7:15! So all of us runners sat around fire pits and tried to stay warm. It was long and boring.
The race started at 7:15 and my toes were numb from the cold. I could see dark clouds coming and thankfully my toes thawed by mile 2 before the rain started at mile 3. From there on out it rained the whole time. It was so brutal. By mile 16 I couldn't feel my arms/hands. I stopped by the medic station and got a garbage bag. This helped a ton! Especially because the rain and wind picked up as I got closer to the mouth of the canyon. Betsy met me outside the canyon with dry gloves. She was my support crew. She is the best and has helped me at 3 of my marathons. I finished the marathon in 4 hours and 31 minutes. It is my worst personal time yet. While I was running I knew my pace was slow. At first I was discouraged and then I decided that I was happy because I completed my goal.
Betsy took this and it was right before I crossed the finished line. I had a big smile on my face because I was about to cross the finish line.
I have now run five marathons in five years. I'm not sure what is next on the horizon but I definitely don't want to run another marathon in a crazy rain storm again for a very, very long time!
