I finished the Salt Lake Marathon yesterday!!
I am so happy I don't have this marathon looming in the distance any more; it's over. I can just say I am never going to train for a marathon in 10 weeks again; your body definitely needs a lot more time to train! That is why I think I was having knee problems. But the good thing was, that I didn't have any trouble with my knee during the marathon. I think since I have kept up with my exercises the dr proscribed, my knee is almost recovered.
My thoughts on the marathon:
--The weather was perfect. It was overcast until about mile 22 and it even started sprinkling around mile 18. The sun came out around mile 23. The temperature was great--cool at the beginning, then it gradually got warmer.
--The starting line had only one toilet that I could find. I got to the starting line 30 mins before the start and went straight to the toilet line; there were 35 people in front of me. The line wasn't moving at all so I had to run up to Primary Children's Hospital to use the bathroom. I didn't get back to the starting line until 10 mins before the start so I hardly had time to stretch properly. That really ticked me off because my legs were tight most of the run, and cramped up at mile 16 so those last 10 miles were horrible. I was expecting there to be lines of toilets like at the Chicago marathon, but this marathon paled in comparison to the organization of that marathon.
--I did not like the course at all. The first two miles were good because of the thrill of the start, the next 22 miles were boring, then the last two miles were cool because it went through downtown Salt Lake. The worst stretch was the Van Winkle Expressway (miles 14-18). There were no spectators and it was like running on a freeway with nothing to look at but the pavement. I am thankful to a few of the neighbors we ran by that provided oranges and bananas to the runners. I forgot to get my Powerbar from Jacob at mile 17 so I was starving; the fruit did wonders. I should have brought some Gu or some kind of power shot; I just hadn't used them in my training and didn't want to try them during the marathon. The next marathon I run will be somewhere cool like New York, London, or Paris--I definitely like bigger city marathons.
-- I was pleased with my half marathon time, but my pace slowed by 1 min 15 seconds per mile the whole second half. I need to find a way to not get leg cramps after 15 miles, though there were several things that weren't in my favor--my lack of stretching at the start, and the fact that I was sick. Thomas gave me his cough and congestion that he has had all week. We actually took him to the dr after the marathon and he has walking pneumonia--I don't think I am that sick.
Hope you all are having some fun runs!! Now I can go on some runs with you guys!
Half way through the marathon.
Best part of the race was running in to the finish line at The Gateway.
FINISHED!!!
My fans, Thomas and Reed.
