2014 St. George Marathon race recap!!

Debbie's race recap.....

There isn't a race that I look more forward to than St George. Ok, maybe Boston, but there is just something about training all summer long and heading south for the first weekend of October that has me coming back every year. This year would have been my 5th St George if I hadn't had an alarm issue in 2012, I will post about that crappy year sometime:) I have told the story many times, I have never put it down in words. Stay tuned for that, it's a good one!

Let me rewind briefly to 2013, because I never put it into words either. (maybe I need to actually start recapping my races) June of 2013 I decided that I wanted to hire a coach to help get me under the 3:00 hour mark in St George. I had run St George in a 3:12 and 3:07 the years that my alarm worked:) So that is what I did, I hired Heath and Mahogani Thurston to put a plan in place. I started in July and nailed my training. I learned so much about how hard, yet how smart I could push my body. As the race approached last year, I showed up nervous but completely excited about getting out on the course that I had SLEPT through the year before. I had a little revenge built up! It was PERFECT day. the weather was on the cooler side, and there was a friendly tailwind. There wasn't a doubt in my mind that I would hit my goal. Something that I reached for in this years race. I finished 2013 in an un-fathomable time of 2:53. I look back and still feel 2013 was a dream. THE BEST dream!

Fast forward to 2014. I asked Heath and Mahogani to write up a plan to get me through Boston and help me to run Ogden in a killer time. Like I had hopes of running a sub 2:50....It didn't end up that way. However, I learned some valuable lessons training and running Boston in 3:02 and having a sub par race in Ogden 3:12. In Boston I was loose and had no HUGE pressure on my shoulders, I approached it as a training run. I had a plan and I was confident in executing it. The crowds and the feeling of being back in the city after the marathon bombings the year before, was electrifying and healing all at the same time. Ogden ended up being a race full of nerves that got the best of me. Like they say, what doesn't kill you makes you stronger. I still can't believe that I haven't written about these experiences!

I started my training for St George back in July after 3 weeks of some much needed rest and cross training. I was bummed about how Ogden played out, and my body and my head needed a breather! I had decided that I would train this year almost exactly how I trained last year. So I pulled out all of my old training notes from 2013 and tried to execute them like before, I loved recalling all of the training runs from the previous year and lived vicarioulsy through those runs. I had to miss a couple longs runs and track sessions because I was out of town with Young Women's girls camp and youth conference. I figured it would just have to be ok, and it was.

Let's get to St George 2014 already!! I was able to register as an elite runner because of the time that I had run it in 2013. Can I tell you that if I were reading this post 10 years ago, I would NEVER believe that I was considered an "elite-ish" runner of any kind. I have to pinch myself, and sometimes I feel like I am a poser! I know that I won't always be able to run, so I am going to enjoy it every step of the way.

Race week! The taper was upon me and I was feeling good! My run on the Saturday before St George got me really excited. I felt good and was able to get my legs moving. We got down to St George on Thursday afternoon. The weather was beautiful! Excitement in the air! After a couple hours at the pool I ran 3.33 miles with a 30 second pick up every 3 minutes. The number 3 was a fun number to play around with. Now, I just wanted the race to get here! Friday was a great day with the family, we went to the expo, picked up packets and then grabbed lunch at Kneaders (turkey and avocado sandwich on white bread for me) and headed for the Red Cliffs so the kids could hike the slot canyon. Jess and I sat in the shade of one of those cliffs, drank water, Gatorade and called our coach for a pep talk and words of encouragement.

We made dinner at the condo Teriyaki chicken, white rice, asparagus and pineapple. Tradition is to keep things light and get some laughs on the night before the race, so we watched Blades of Glory and did just that. Giggling helps me to keep those race jitters at bay.

Race morning! Up at 4:30 I ate a PB and Honey sandwich and half of a banana, one Metasalt, 3 Recovery pills on the way to the buses. Here comes the crazy part of the morning. We got to the bus loading zone at 5:20 (last bus was supposed to be leaving at 5:30) and ended up standing in line for an hour, there were not enough buses!!!!!!! 6:20 was when we finally loaded the LAST bus for the 6:45 start! I was trying to stay calm, but inside I was DYING!! They ended up starting the race 15 minutes later at 7:00. On the way to the start was when I started doing the things that I would normally do at the top. Pace bracelet on, ipod and earphones in place, GPS started. The package of honey stingers went down so fast, so did the Metasalt, VO2 Max and Motivator. I stripped off all of my warm clothes as the bus approached the start line, hopped off the bus and ran to drop my bag in the truck. Hauled through the crowd of racers all lined up to start the race and into the elite corrals to use the bathroom. Talk about pre race jitters showing back up!!! :) Second later, found my way into the field of runners all waiting for those last few buses (that I will never be on again) to hear the national anthem, as I huddled next to a man with a thermal race blanket on. The gun went off and I was running!!! Definitely not how I had envisioned the start of my race, but that was all behind me now!!!

My game plan was to start of the first 13.1 conservatively and run a negative split like last year. There were three goals I had in mind, that darn sub 2:50, a PR or something close to it. The first 3 miles were ones I enjoyed because I wanted to be running and not worried about making it to the race. My splits go like this:
Mile 1 6:32 felt good, happy to be running!
Mile 2 6:45 couldn't tell how conservative I needed to be running
Mile 3 6:31 trying to shake my legs loose (first sip of carbo pro)
Mile 4 6:34 wanted to stay close to this pace or just under (2 Metasalt pills)
Mile 5 6:37
Mile 6 6:22 love this part (shhh there is a runner) Jess and Brooke you will appreciate this
Mile 7 6:20 wanted to gain momentum before Veyo (second sip of carbo pro)
Mile 8 7:26 I didn't look at my garmin, just wanted to get to the top
Mile 9 7:11 my legs felt HEAVY!!! (2 Meta salt pills)
Mile 10 7:06 wanting to just get through this stretch, I kept looking at the word "CAN"on my arm
Mile 11 7:29 DARN LEGS!! (third sip of carbo pro)
Mile 12 7:04
Mile 13 6:44 Ok, let's do this!!! Finished 1st bottle of carbo pro(200 calories)
Mile 14 6:45
Mile 15 6:20 sip of carbo pro (2 Metasalt pills)
Mile 16 6:08 SNOW CANYON!!
Mile 17 6:25
Mile 18 6:34 sip of carbo pro
Mile 19 7:15 Ledges, just get to the top and see what you can do the last 6 miles
Mile 20 6:49 finished 2nd bottle of carbo pro(200 calories)(2 Metasalt pills)
Mile 21 6:37 I wanted to drop my split times here, but my quads were not agreeing with me
Mile 22 6:48 LEGS!!! chewed on some honey stingers(160 calories)
Mile 23 6:37 wanted to be closer to 6:20 6:15 LOVED the crowds!!!
Mile 24 6:40
Mile 25 6:51 I was looking forward to that home stretch Quads were SHOT!
Mile 26 6:55 Not the negative split that I had wanted but I'll take it!!
Last .2 6:40 favorite stretch, I got to see my family on the left side of the shoot. So happy!!
Finished 2:56:56 6:44 pace

St. George is a beautiful course! I enjoyed the scenery and feel so fortunate that I am able to do what I love to do. Running has brought so many good things and people into my life. It was so nice to see and hear about others race experiences. I wish we could throw a big party and swap race stories. That first weekend in October is one of my favorites. To be able to spend time with my family and run St George Marathon is something I will hold on to for as long as I CAN! My favorite thing from the weekend was what my 8 year old said. She said she wants to run the race next year and asked how many miles it was. I told her there was a kids race that she could run the night before. She quickly asked if that would get her into where the ice cream truck was. We laughed and decided that anything that can motivate you to want to run 26.2 miles is good, especially ice cream!!!

My sweetest family!!!

Jess's Race Re-cap:

My story up until the race sounds a lot like Debbie's except St George 2013 I was 6 months pregnant and had the run of my life. I didn't have any goals and I remember saying to Debbie as we were driving to the buses, "I don't care what my time is, I just want to enjoy this with my little guy every step of the way." For some reason I had a 3:40 in my head and I didn't look at my watch much during that race. I was so surprised to approach the finish line and see 3:17 on the clock...WHAT!?! I was thrilled. I loved every moment of that race, and the entire time I was running I had a prayer of gratitude in my heart for my healthy body & baby that I had been blessed with!

Now onto St George 2014!!! I hit the training hard. I knew what I wanted to do and trained accordingly. Like Debbie, I work with Heath & Mahogani Thursten for my coaching and they are so great!!!! They have taught me so much and believe in me even when I doubt things for myself. They help put everything in perspective and are so great at what they do! I have been feeling great on all the training runs! I am ready to tackle this race!!! I love this race!!! The Saturday before I felt sort of dragging but figured it was all part of my taper. Didn't read too much into it..it is what it is!

Now onto race week! See above on Debbie's....virtually the same thing! We drove down to St George together on Thursday morning and followed our same little routine! Training run on Thursday night felt good. I was ready and excited to run! Hung out with the family and just got ready to race. I got a little case of the nerves here and there but I expected that so I was okay!

Race morning...we were on the last bus! That is a place I will never be at again! When I lined up to start the race I just felt a little scattered and hoped everything was where it needed to be. Then the national anthem and we were running!! Here we go! My race went something like this...

Mile 1 6:57 felt good, but trying to figure out how this was going to go. Don't want to start too fast!
Mile 2 7:04 Didn't know how I needed to run at this point!
Mile 3 6:54 Am I feeling okay??? Legs feel like bricks!
Mile 4 6:52 I think this is right where I should be! (Big Sip of Carbo Pro)
Mile 5 7:03
Mile 6 6:45 Good Vibes from here. Ran this stretch in training!
Mile 7 6:52 Trying to gain momentum before Veyo (second 1/3 of carbo pro bottle & 2 MetaSalt)
Mile 8 8:08 WHAT!?! Tried to not look at my Garmin but couldn't help it! Don't let it go to your head Jess...but where are my legs!!
Mile 9 7:45 LEGS are heavy...get past veyo...get to mile 13. Just keep running!
Mile 10 7:42 Hey guy...zig zag runner pushed me into the rumble strip. Did I just roll my ankle.. run it out Jess!
Mile 11 8:06 Shake it loose Jess. Ankle starting to feel okay but still my DARN LEGS!! Need to get that time back. Dang rumble strip! (1/4 bottle of Carbo Pro downed!)
Mile 12 7:32
Mile 13 7:07 You can do this!!! You have trained for this! Finished bottle of carbo pro(200 calories)
Mile 14 7:06
Mile 15 6:50 sip of carbo pro (1 Metasalt pills)
Mile 16 6:36 SNOW CANYON!! LOVE THIS!!
Mile 17 6:56
Mile 18 7:12 Started 2nd bottle of carbo pro and I can see the overpass at Ledges.
Mile 19 7:36 Ledges, just get to the top and to Mile 20!
Mile 20 7:14. Oh no! I have to find a bathroom!! (Second sip of Carbo Pro & 1 MetaSalt) Tummy go away!!! Nerves!?! Nutrition is right on! Heat maybe?
Mile 21 7:04 Okay here is the time to at least somewhat salvage the time I want...goals changed!!
Mile 22 7:40 Found that bathroom! Feeling better! Lets do this! (Big Sip of CarboPro)
Mile 23 7:08 wanted to be closer to 6:45 here on out! LEGS!!! (finished 2nd bottle of CarboPro)
Mile 24 7:22 Cadence Jess!!! Keep your legs moving!!
Mile 25 7:55 Yep...just finish!!! Quads are shredded!
Mile 26 7:27 Home stretch! I sure love these crowds!
Last .2 6:53 favorite stretch, I got to see my family and give them High 5's into the finish!!Happy!!
Finished 3:12:16 7:19 pace (2 MetaSalt right away)

Not what I wanted but so happy and grateful for where I am. I had a bad race, things didn't come together and my legs really never showed up. I fought some mental battles but still came out with a 3:12. I will take it and realize there will be another race. I threw a few mental tantrums and wanted to scream a few times because my goal of 3:05 or better was there...I even thought if the stars align and I run the way I think I can...I can be right under 3:00! Wow! Did I just put that on paper...but I know I have it in me! That wasn't Saturday but it WILL happen! So I greeted my family at the finish line, gave them hugs and kisses and got them lots of ice-cream!!

I am so lucky to have such a great family to support me in all my craziness. And the best running partner ever!!!

We train and train and train for that one race. And sometimes when things don't come together we start doubting our ability...well don't. Take a few days and process the race. Sometimes you will know what went wrong and sometimes you wont...either way...it was the day! If it was a bad day, you WILL have your day. And if it was a great day, new goals will be set. This is why we race...to push our bodies to different limits and places that it normally shouldn't do or go! We set goals and once those are accomplished, we set new ones. The most important thing is to keep moving, keep pushing and keep loving what we do!!

St George Marathon...I still love you and I will be back next year and we will have our day! We will dance again!!!