Balancing Bites: St. George Marathon Race Report

Well, it has been over a month since I ran the St. George Marathon and I’m already looking forward to next year’s race. If you’re on the fence about registering for this race, I definitely recommend it. I've been putting off writing this post mainly because I didn't focus on the details of every mile I ran. Well, that and I’m unbelievably busy. One more month and this graduate school nonsense will be over at least for a few months.

Here is what I remember:

Miles 1-6 – First off, it was freaking cold outside. I started the first mile running slow and by the second mile I settled into a groove. Most of these first miles were in the dark and going downhill. I passed a lot of people. I felt like I was zigzagging around people for most of the race. I took my first Gu and turned on my mp3 player right before the hellacious hill at mile 7. I drank water at every station except at the third mile.

Miles 7-13 – Holy, huge hill. Oh my goodness the hill at mile 7 was steep, and I thought it would never end. I didn't stop or walk, but my pace dropped to around 10:30. I finally ran over the hill, and made up time running down hill. I took another Gu at mile 11. I passed the 4:30 pacer sometime during these miles. Lesson learned… line up correctly.

Miles 14-21 – Took another Gu at miles 15 and 19. I continued flying downhill, and my quads were starting to get sore. Around mile 17, I passed the 4:15 pacer. At mile 19, there was another steep, long hill. I didn't stop once.

Miles 22-26.2 – By this point, I was looking forward to seeing my family around mile 23. I took my last get at mile 23. I never really hit the wall and thought I couldn't take another step. At mile 24, I was over it. I was ready to be done. This is where I had to start counting down the time. I have 18 minutes left. I have 10 minutes left. I have 5 minutes left. My time was 4:11. I was one minute shy of my #3 goal. After training all summer, I seriously thought I would finish around 4:30.

****I think my husband was afraid I would need an ambulance or possibly need it himself from boredom.****

Other things I remember:

The volunteers were amazing, and the aid stations were fully stocked.
This is a downhill race with a ton of rolling hills. Some of which are quite steep and long.
There were a few spectators throughout the race with the majority of them starting at mile 23 to the end. I was ok with that.
There were funny and motivational signs posted on every reflector during the entire race.
I ran the entire race without slowing down.
I loved every step I took.
I was so sore for the next week after the race that I could barely walk. Running downhill is no joke.
The scenery is beautiful, but I didn’t really pay attention to it. I live in the desert with red rocks surrounding me, so it wasn’t anything new to me.