Ogden Marathon

I ran the Odgen Marathon on Saturday. I tried to do everything right . . . I stopped exercising on Tuesday of that week to let me legs rest, I carbo loaded on both Thurday and Friday night, I left the kids at home with Mom on Friday night so I could get plenty of sleep at the hotel, I remembered to pack my running shoes, Josh hooked me up with plenty of nasty hip hop music on my IPod to keep me going during the 4 hours I'd spend running, and I wore my lucky red hat (okay, it's not lucky, but it keeps the sun out of my eyes!).

Well, Aaron and I got to the Holiday Inn Express in plenty of time to pick up my running packet from the Expo, and have a fabulous meal at Jasoh's in Ogden. We had sweet potato fries for an appetizer. If you haven't ever tried sweet potato fries, you haven't lived! It is now my new favorite food group!! I ordered pasta for my main dish. I ate every bite. The only problem is, when I got to the bottom of my pasta dish, I found a whole cube of melted butter in my bowl. I just kept praying my bowels were going to cooperate!

We went to bed at 9. I knew I needed plenty of rest. I set 2 alarms for 3:30 a.m. as we had to leave at 4:20 a.m. to get to the busses on time. I practiced to make sure both alarms worked and snuggled down for a good night sleep. I don't know if it was the whir of the hotel air conditioner, the butter packed pasta, my concern over the 2 "maybe won't work" alarm clocks, or just the stress of the impending run, but I didn't fall asleep until 2:30 a.m.!! I kept tossing and turning and sweating. It really was the grossest thing. I feel sorry for whoever sleeps in that bed next. I got up and took a cold shower at 2 a.m. and then finally fell asleep for a 1/2 hour. Not a good start!

Aaron, who loves his morning sleep, was kind enough to drag his booty out of bed and deliver me to the bus at 4:30 in the morning. What a trooper. As I got out of the car, I said, "See you in 6 hours. Enjoy your nap!" It didn't quite seem fair.

I sat by a Man Stranger from Ogden on the way up to the starting line. He was very nice and told me about all the beautiful scenery I would see along the running route. The course sounded beautiful: we would pass the Ogden river, see a lake, horse properties and rustic barns, ski resorts, a waterfall . . . it couldn't be better!

When we arrived at the top, I ate a GU (yuck!) and used a nice clean porta potty (there was an annoying man in the one next to me that kept talking about how his porta potty had a flat screen and shower inside). I then stood by a fire to keep warm and shook violently from nerves. I decided to use the porta potty again. This time, while standing in line, I saw a fellow runner lighting up a cigarette. How can you be a smoker and run marathons? He sure seemed to enjoy that cigarette. He looked so calm and happy. I wasn't feeling calm or happy. Maybe the Surgeon General has been wrong all these years and I've been missing out!!

The gun went off promptly at 7 a.m. I took off down the first hill with my eyes on 2 men in front of me. One of them was dressed as the Statue of Liberty and the other as Bob Marley. They seemed to be going at a good pace and they were easy to keep track of visually, so I tried to stay with them. Unfortunately, they were much faster than me. They would stop at each water station, take a break, chit chat, and then run past me again. Why is running so easy for some people? How can people wear a costume and run a marathon? It just isn't fair!

The miles ticked by very slowly. The hills did a number on my legs and I felt like I was running on 2 Pirate Stumps. I couldn't believe it when I came to the 1/2 way mark. It was so depressing to know that I still had 13.1 miles left to go!!

I did finish the marathon, but not with Bob Marley and Mr. Statue of Liberty. Unfortuately, my Pirate Stumps wouldn't keep up. I also did not really enjoy the beautiful views talked about by the Man Stranger on the bus. I wasn't able to look around much to check out the scenery, as I was focused mainly on my aching legs. Why do people do marathons?!

I was so happy to see Aaron at the finish line looking so fresh and rested! Unfortunately, he didn't get any good action sequences of me crossing the line, as he was busy videotaping all the "funny" people that came across the line ahead of me (we will be posting a video soon of Marathon Bloopers).

I ended up crossing the line at 3:43 and some seconds that I can't remember. Because I am a girl and becoming elderly, I qualified for Boston! I am now taking donations for a sightseeing trip to Boston in April 2010. Aaron would like to go along as well (he enjoys the vacationing without the running) so make sure your donation is big enough to help both of us get there. (P.S. If you don't get my sense of humor, I am just joking. Keep your money. I'm staying right here in good ol' Spanish Fork! I don't think they let people with 2 Pirate Stumps run in Boston anyway!!)