You are no longer a runner; you are a marathoner!

If you don't think I'm crazy by the end of this post, you're in the minority.

19 weeks ago I decided it was time to go for the big one. The 26.2 Marathon. So I ran. On Wasatch Blvd., down Emigration Canyon, from Salt Lake to Murray, from Snowbird to Murray, even along the Pacific Coast Highway in California. Every Saturday but one I was out by 7:30. Every single Saturday. I am not a fast runner at all. But I am a distance runner. I would rather run a few 10's every week than a lot of short runs. My half marathon time holds steady at about 2:20-2:24. So times by two and you have your marathon time right? WRONG!

The last six miles of a marathon are the slowest miles you've ever run in your life.

And so with that I give you my marathon story.

Kade and I stayed at a place called "Sleep Inn" in Ogden. Logan was completely booked. The beds were awful and the air conditioning was loud. I woke up every hour. I set my alarm for 3:40 to be out and on the road at 4:00. I picked up my packet that morning and got on the bus.

I equate the bus ride to that rollercoaster you get on, where at a certain point, you think, well there's no turning back. I was being bused 26 miles up the canyon and I knew I had no choice but to run the whole way down.

I ran the race with my boss Jon, which was a blessing. If I would have been by myself in a hailstorm I would have been so tempted to be like, "okay, this is lame. Where's the car?" He slowed down a lot for me which I am appreciative of. 26 miles has to be super boring by yourself.

Without going into extreme detail, it poured rain for at least 10 miles of the marathon. And not just rain. Hail. It was one of those rainstorms where you would just stare out your window to watch the rain. Lightning, the works. The gutters were filling up with water. Someone yelled out to a group of us, "You guys are crazy." I wanted to yell back, "You are exactly right!"

Whether it's a sunny day or severe thunderstorms, your first marathon is one for the record books. You have NEVER gone that far before, and you really have no idea if you can. So you just keep running. I told my best friend two days before the race, "I don't think I'm going to be a marathoner. I just want to do this one and get it over with." But now I know why people do so many. That feeling of accomplishment is addicting and totally doable by the way. It is only a race with yourself. I cannot wait for the next one. Without a sinus infection, hacking cough and Hurricane Katrina, I'm sure I would cut some time off.

And here is me in all my sexy-ness. At one point believe it or not I had mascara on. And it rained so hard that it wasn't even running down my face anymore, it was just completely washed off.

From the Herald's Website. Gotta love the mascara look.

And here are the full gutters. Perfect for an ice bath.

Final Time: 05:21:05.8 (I'm a speed demon, right?) :)