Ogden Marathon

Okay. Sorry it took me so long to post about the Ogden Marathon. I seem to get home from a marathon and just crash for the rest of the day! Sorry if you've been waiting a while. But here's a recap of how things went yesterday at the Ogden Marathon:

The Ogden Marathon was simply a GORGEOUS race! It started up Ogden Canyon, ran around Pine View Reservoir, back down the canyon, along the Ogden River into downtown Ogden. I loved that it was almost completely downhill. I loved how beautiful it all was running past campgrounds, darling little farms, around the reservoir, through the rocky canyon, past the river; I could go on & on. It was so nice having that pretty scenery to distract me.

I was lucky enough to meet up at the start with my friend Heidi's friend named Stacey, and my cousin Janice who just ran the Boston Marathon a few weeks ago. We rode the bus to the start together and huddled around the fires to keep warm before the race started. I mostly loved that Janice was so hilarious that she kept me distracted so I wasn't thinking about what I was about to do! (I was also happy because she insisted on using the potty one more time before the start--which I hadn't done last time. I think this time it kept me from having to stop along the way. A seemingly small thing, I know, but one of my biggest regrets in SLC was that I had to stop so often and use up so much precious time waiting to use the potty!) Both ladies were faster runners than me, so we crossed the start line together and quickly said goodbye and good luck.

I admit, though, I do enjoy the serenity of solitude. I like to have that time running to invest in my own thoughts and analyze things. This time I brought along my handy iPod shuffle, which also helped pass the time running to my silly music. I was actually shocked when my watch beeped at me that the first hour had passed. I really looked down and thought, "I've already run a whole HOUR??" It went by so quickly. The first half was pretty easy and quick. I was grateful.

As I was approaching the halfway mark, I saw a familiar and wonderfully friendly sight; there was Vince waiting for me. He'd run the 5k down in the valley (in which he won 4th place in his age group and 29th place overall--way to go, Honey!), and driven up and around the other side of the mountain to meet me. He started running with me and asking me how I was doing. He ended up jogging with me for about 15 minutes, and got me up the one substantial uphill portion of the race. I was so glad I had him there to distract me from the relentless nagging voice in my head telling me to stop and walk up that hill. Thanks, Babe! It made a big difference.

Coming down the canyon after that was the most downhill section, which I thought was going to be my favorite part. It wasn't. I was expecting to enjoy it a lot more. But I got into some serious pain. I don't know if it was the continuous pounding on muscles that aren't used to running on that steep of a decline, or just the fact that I was between miles 18 and 22, which are just HARD! I was glad that it was downhill, though. I stopped twice for about a minute each time just to stretch my muscles a little. Then I kept running.

Once I got out of the canyon, I actually began feeling really good. Numb I think is the best word to describe it. The pain was still there, I just was more numb to it, or didn't care because by now I only had 3 more miles. Just 3 more miles. I can do 3 more miles! This was now one of my favorite parts of the race. Almost everyone around me began walking. But I still felt really strong, so I kept chuggin' along. It was so exhillerating to run past all those people. And sad in a way. I was sad to leave them behind, especially when I passed Stacey for the last time, who was having problems with her leg. But by now the crowds were all around, cheering us on. I turned off my iPod and tuned into the people around who brought me more encouragment to continue than my music did.

I hit 25 miles. Just ONE MORE MILE LEFT! Then I saw my sister-in-law, Heather, who had her two girls and my Brooke. They ran with me for a few yards. The girls bolted and thought it was funny that they could run faster than me! Haha, girls! You are quick, aren't ya? Then I turned a corner and the Ogden Temple came into view! That was a beautiful sight. And I knew I was close.

Then I saw Vince again. And there was my Dad. Actually, I saw my Dad's grin! It was a huge grin--ear to ear! It was a smile that said, "I'm proud of you, Becky!" I love seeing him smile at me that way. It makes me tear up even now remembering that face.

And then the FINISH LINE!! There it was. I got into the home stretch. The crowd was cheering. I picked up speed; I was still feeling good. I raised my arms and got the crowd to cheer us in a little more. I yelled with joy. I crossed the finish line. I saw Vince. And then the tears came more. It was wonderful.

It's hard to see me in this picture. I'm in a red shirt & black pants. The one running towards Vince, not the one taking the picture!

You can see me in red on the middle right side of the picture here. These were the only ones Vince could get; I was running by so fast that he didn't have time to take a good picture of me! ;0)

I took a second to catch my breath again and checked out my time: 4 hours, 53 minutes, 38 seconds! Woohoo! I made it under 5 hours! That's all I wanted. Sure 4:30 and even 4:45 would've been great, but I was just thrilled I did so much better than SLC. I shaved almost 20 minutes off my last time. And that was just 4 weeks ago! Imagine what I can do next time! ;0) And I felt so proud that I ran virtually the entire race. I walked only while I was drinking my water or eating the GU packs. And I stopped twice to stretch for about a minute. The rest of the time, I kept on running. Certainly not fast. But I ran it.

I was also happy that I was so much less nauseous than last time. I only took in water and GU packs when I could tell my body needed it. That was it. And it worked really well. Not too much, just enough. After about 45 minutes to an hour after I finished, when I felt pretty rested, I was able to make it to the refreshment table. I downed 5 or 6 orange slices in a matter of seconds! It was probably the best thing I have ever tasted!! They were so good. And the 1/2 oatmeal cookie & the chocolate creamsicle were delicious as well!

The other great thing about the Ogden race was that they had a Kid's K that started at 12:30. Both Brooke & Evan wanted to run. I was still just a little sore at this point, so Vince ran it with them while I waited at the finish line and cheered THEM on! It was so fun to have them participate too. Evan fell and scraped his knee, but jumped up and kept running.

These kids were so fast that all I got was a blury picture, but I love it all the same:

They both got cowbell "medals" at the end of their race. And they enjoyed their creamies & cookies & "Gator-Egg" as Evan calls "Gatorade!" And I didn't even care that they had chocolate ice cream dripping all over their new shirts. (Although, I wouldn't let Evan touch me till he washed his hands, I'll admit that.)

Here's my nephew, Grant, running by:

Here's Vince's brother, Doug, & his family--their kids ran too:

And the Hogge clan--we are a running family!

It was a wonderful experience and a wonderful day. I'm so glad I did another marathon. We'll see about more. For now I'm just happy that I did these two. And now I can say I've run more marathons than Vince! (No, I'm not competitive! ;0) Mostly I'm just happy to say that "I RUN MARATHONS!"