Earlier this year, I thought my marathon days were over. My last full marathon was on April 15, 2013, in Boston, finishing about 20 minutes before the bombs detonated. I thought that was it. My last. I just didn't have the drive and time to commit to running them well, and really didn't have anything more to prove. At least, so I thought...
In April, my buddy Rick Hobbs said that he was thinking of entering the SGM lottery. SGM has always been my favorite, for many reasons. My first BQ (3:20:02 in 2007), awesome scenery, fresh dry air, and the many friends I've made through the various blogs and forums. So, I decided to throw my name in the hat with Rick -- and I also decided to ask my buddy, Dave Chase to give it a shot (as he is the fastest runner I know who has never BQed, I thought the odds were in his favor at SGM). Long story short, the three of us got in.
Flew in to Vegas on Thursday. Rented a car then drove the 2 hours to St George. Quite the contrast of locales! Checked in to St George Inn and Suites, then gave Dave anRick the tour of the martathon route.
Friday morning we went to the Expo to pick up our packets and wander the aisles looking for bargains. I kept looking for friends of mine who I hoped would be at the marathon this year, but didn't see any. It's been 3 years since I've run SGM (2007, 2009, 2011) and our old "forumflyers" blog site has gone defunct.
After the expo, we got a quick lunch at the Black Bear and then headed to Zion National Park. It's only about 40 minutes from SG, and well worth the trip. We drove most of the park route through the tunnel and back. Hiked a little on the smooth trails and took lots of pictures.
I talked Dave and Rick into going to the spaghetti dinner at the Expo center -- because it was quick, predictable, and all-you-can eat! Once again I had hoped to run into some old buddies, but none were to be found. The spaghetti dinner was exactly how I had remembered it from 2011. Was in bed by 8:00pm for a 3:30 wakeup.
Saturday morning caught the shuttle from the hotel to the buses at about 4:15am. Rode to the starting line where much to our surprise it was a bit windy and chilly. Got a space blanket and some free gloves they were handing out and headed to the fires. It is usually a bit chilly at the start, so they have many piles of firewood that they light as people arrive before the start. Once again I looked around for my buddies in the dark. Just before the start I heard my name. It was Kathie and Kim who I have known for quite some time -- Kathie has run the Boston marathon a few time. It was good to see some old friends. The race started at about 7:00AM, as the sun was just starting to make its way over the horizon off to our west.
The weather was perfect. We even had a tail wind of about 15MPH. I ran what I thought was a comfortable pace for the first few miles. Even though I had only one 20 mile run during my training, I hoped that all of the cycling I had done this summer would help me finish strong.
I was shooting for anything under 3:30 (my Boston Qualifying time). I was actually on pace for the first 20 miles, when my the soreness in my legs got unbareable. I had to take frequent walk breaks. I was adequately hydrated, didn't have any cramping, but I was sore!
I finished in 3:45:36 - with the last couple miles averaging over 10:00/mi. (My slowest of 4 SGMs, and 4th slowest of the 26 marathons I've completed)
got to the park and looked for Dave -- I never saw him on the course, so I assumed he was ahead of me. I waited by the fence for the finsihers. Eventually, Rick came through (in about 4:15). He said Dave had achilles issues and was walking. Dave eventually finished in about 4:45.
I was sore, am still store 2 days later as I write this. SGM is still my favorite marathon -- I missed seeing some of my old friends, one of the reasons that makes this a great destination for me. I'm now thinking seriously about Bqing for 2016. Rick already told me that he's signing up for the Utah Valley Marathon in June. If I haven't BQed by then, I'll probably go out there with him -- and perhaps my family, like I did back in 2010.
http://connect.garmin.com/modern/activity/606878850
Woohoo! I made the Spectrum website.
http://www.thespectrum.com/picture-gallery/sports/outdoors/2014/10/04/st-george-marathon---course-gallery-1---oct-4-2014/16728471/
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