So, I did it. I ran the St. George Marathon last week, and it was quite the experience. It was one of my New Year's Resolutions and so I had to follow through with it. Anyone who was with me soon after I finished heard me say, "I'll never do that again", but, I'm totally disregarding how hard it was, and am currently planning out my next year, and will soon be signing up for another one...I guess it's kind of like having a baby, you just forget how bad it hurts, and that's why we can do it over and over again. As good as it feels to be done, I am so disappointed with my time...I finished in 4:17 (which isn't great, it's like a 9:48 average pace or something). I finished my half-marathon in 1:49, and so my plan (and I was on track until mile 16) was to finish around 3:50. I was able to hang with the 3:45 pace guy up until this huge downhill section, and then instantly after we finished mile 15, my IT band in my left knee started hurting SOOO bad. I knew I was in big trouble. Soon after that my right knee started giving me the same problem. I never really trained on any down hills, and I keep hearing that's why my knees were giving me problems. So needless to say, I slowly started to increase the gap between myself and the pace guy, who's back I'd been staring at for the past two hours. At that point it hurt so bad I could just get up enough motivation to run a mile and then walk a few minutes, run another mile, then walk a few minutes. It was just as hard on me mentally, knowing I was going to be so far behind the time I was aiming for, and had so diligently trained for. I could've cried so many times...and actually did break down to Andy at the finish line. It was amazing to me how many people needed medical attention throughout the course, and how many ambulances would come speeding by me, taking people to the hospital. Apparently it was considered a hot day compared to past years. It was a pretty surreal experience running through the finish line, having so many people cheering for me, but at the same time being in so much pain, and feeling disconnected from my body. Maybe these are all thoughts and complaints of a first-time marathoner, I don't know...that's why I need to try it again to see if I can overcome all of these obstacles. Anyway, it was so fun to see Andy and the kids at the end. I was so glad to be done. I could barely walk down the stairs for the next few days, due to my knees, but the sore muscles I had, sort of felt good. It was definitely one of the hardest things I've done, but I think I'm hooked and can't wait to do another one.
