This Is The Goal...

I hope this is me warming up/stretching before a race in 40 years.  But maybe with some better running shoes.

What's A Girl To Do...

So it didn't happen.  No Boston 2012.  Yep.  I'm a little disappointed.  But it's all good.  I did everything right for race day.  Seriously, everything.  Ate right.  Hydrated well.  Fueled right through entire race.  No stomach troubles.  I just was slow from the beginning.  In the first 6 miles keeping pace was supposed to feel easy and it felt pushed.  And if it felt pushed/strained from beginning I knew I wouldn't be able to sustain for another 20 miles.  So I made a decision.  I was going to just enjoy Top of Utah Marathon.  I really love this race. 

It is a beautiful race course.  And on this day, the skies were filled with heavy dark clouds that somehow made the canyon even more spectacular.  We did get poured on, several times, during the race.  Especially during mile 10-14, where the rain came down in sheets with some hail sprinkled in.  I never did dry out from then on.  It was a little chilly.  But what it did to my hair...

That's not the wind blowing my hair.  That was it's post-pony tail position.  Getting a brush through that was not easy.

So another marathon in the books. I finished in 4:27.  Still love TOU, even though I was not even close to my goal.  But people are right.  My body is tired.  I need some good recovery time.  14 mary's in 16 months has taken its toll it would appear.  I think I need some time to heal up all my little injuries.  And some time to rebuild some base mileage with speed.  I'm not giving up.  Boston isn't going anywhere.  And you know there's already a plan for next year. :)

And...my dad even came to my race!! He hasn't been to one of races for a few years.  Love that he was able to come.  And yeah, how did I not get any of that 6'5" height.  Dang.  I could have used some longer legs... ;)

Thanks you for all the comments, thoughts and emails once again.  It's so nice to have such amazing support!  And congrats to Erin for rocking another PR and Cari for running her first marathon!  So proud of you girls!!!

So what's next?  I've got a few things in mind, but for this month...

It's all about potty-training Spiderman.  They should give medals and tech shirts for that.

One More Chance

I'm usually not a quotes person.  But that one's pretty good.

Alright.  Pokey is in the past.  I've got one last shot this weekend for BQ 2012.  Praying that Boston doesn't fill today with the 5 minuters. 

I big puffy heart love Logan.  Best memories there, ever.  So of course, I love the Top of Utah Marathon.  It's either my third or fourth time doing this race.  I can't remember, it's a blur. ; )  But it's a great BQ'ing race.  A lot of downhill once again.  I will pull back a little this time though.  No sub 8's.  I'm going to really try to race this steady, same pace beginning to end.  I've tried starting fast and that has yet to work for me.  Fingers crossed, this strategy makes it happen.

BQ or die.  At least for 2012.

I Don't Know What To Say...Pokey Had Me In The Potato Bag

First off...  I have amazing family and friends.  Thank you all for all the super supportive, kind emails, text, and comments.  I feel so lucky to have you all rooting for me.

This is one of those posts that no one wants to write.  I'm not even sure I should be writing about it now, but blogs are about journaling so you can go back someday and remember those moments in your life, whether good or bad, and hopefully be able to learn from them.  And there was WAY more good than bad this past weekend. :)

It actually was a weekend full of awesomeness.  On Friday I picked up Emily from the airport and off we were to Pocatello.  First time to hang since last May at her 24 event.  It was almost a 3 hour car ride and I don't think we stopped talking once.  So fun.  First up... meet up for lunch!

We got to meet Supermom Erin and Cari!!  They are both darling and it was so fun to meet in person.  Cute Cari drove an hour to meet up and even came back the next day to see us at the finish line!!!  Love her. 

I get to see these two again in a couple weeks.... more on that in a second...

Don't mind me standing on my tippy toes to try to compete with those 4" heels...

Next up was Expo time.  It was kind of a small sad Expo, but don't worry we grabbed our potato bags.

Race morning.  Felt good.  Slept ok.  I kept my nerves at bay.  It turns out I didn't hydrate super well. But I felt really good at the start.  Game plan: Run mostly 8:00's through first 15 and 9:00's last 10 if need be.  Main goal: keep this lady in sight.

Yeah she rocked the arm sleeves and tatts like a pro.  We chatted the first hour a little but by mile 8 it was time for music and buckling in.

Without going into writing an epic saga on the race that wasn't....  I'll give the cliff notes version because, well just because.

Halfway point I was at 1:47.  Yeah, my fastest half ever.  Still feeling pretty strong.  By the time we hit 15 there weren't too many downhills to find and I started to slow.  By 18, I think we were around 10:00's and I knew 3:35 was out the door.  By mile 21, I was barely squeaking out 12:00's and I knew BQ was gone.  Mile 23, I knew a sub 4 was gone too.  I hate realizations during the race.  I couldn't will myself any faster. 

Emily was awesome.  Completely patient.  And bored out of her mind.  I'm not a big talker during races, as in not at all.  She knew when to check in and when to just roll with it.  I kept my emotions in check, til the end.  But I knew she felt bad.  And I thought of all the people that were pulling for me.  But it is what it is.  I tried.  I fell apart the last ten miles.  Still trying to figure out what to do different.  Probably just more fast training.

Happy faces coming into the finish line.  And look at those awesome heel strikes.  ;)  Emily's parents and sister had come to the race!  They were at the finish line!!!  And cute Cari!!  I could hear them cheering.  So nice to have hugs from family and friends at the end.

We found Erin and were so happy for her awesome BQ finish time!  3:32!  So amazing.

I tried to disappear to a corner, looked at my phone and saw all my messages and just couldn't keep my composure...

It's so disappointing.  And I know it's only a race.  But I was hoping for better from myself.  Thank goodness I had a best friend there. 

So.  Finish time for me and poor Emz: 4:06.  Actually my personal best ever.  But no BQ.  Gonna try again in two weeks at Top of Utah Marathon in Logan.  If all the early registration doesn't fill the Boston Marathon, I still might have a shot to get in if I can pull off a 3:44:59 in Logan.  And Erin and Cari will be running TOU too! 

So what did I do with my potato bag?  Since I didn't mash them in the race...  nothing like a little grease to give some comfort.

I'll get over this one.  It's all good. :)

Calm, Cool & Collected

Definitely.  Those words have definitely described me over the past few weeks.  I'm completely together.  Nothing big going on this weekend.  Just another marathon.  Another race, different location.  I've done this before.  Old hat. 

Those are the words that I keep telling myself.  But for some unknown, weird, odd reason my chest hurts.  I don't want to eat.  And the numbers 3:35, 3:31, 3:29 keep flashing through my head.  All the time.  I'm having a love/hate relationship with this race.  I can't wait for it to come and I can't wait for it to be over.

It's gonna be amazing.  No matter what I'm getting a PR.  That's for sure.  And...  I've got an ace in my back pocket.

Yep.  I'm chasin' this lady down.  She's heading straight to BQville and I'm tagging along for the ride.  Maybe afterwards we can hang a right and head over to abville so I can pick up a set of those too.  ;)

Training is done...for this go around... time to see if I did enough.  I'm feelin' like I did... 

Good luck to all the other racers this weekend!!!  I'm still out of the loop but I know I'm meeting Supermom Erin this weekend!!! Yay!  And good luck to Caroline at your Disneyland half!!  This weekend is giving off good vibes.  High fives, hugs, tears, smiles are all coming Saturday afternoon.  For sure. 

Calm, cool, collected.  Wait, I think I need to throw up...  No, false alarm.  Back to being calm, cool, collected. ;)