Ogden Marathon

Race Day for the Ogden Marathon finally came!  I have been training all winter/spring for this day and no matter how ready I feel, I always get nervous when it comes down to it.  This time around I tried a new training schedule running just 3 days a week instead of 6.  I really wanted to keep up with my weight training program I have been on so I decided to do a combination of both running and weight training to see if I could work around doing both things.  I wasn't sure if I would be able to get enough miles in running just 3 days a week but actually I think it worked out ok.  I have really been trying to get my speed increased and I am certain that the weight training has really helped me feel strong enough to do that.  I have been consistently running a 7:30-8:00/mile on my training runs and feel really strong and have been able to push myself through being overly tired on my long runs.  I have really loved being able to run and strength train at the same time and I was really hoping that it would pay off when race day came.  So here we are!  That morning turned out to be so beautiful!  I got up to the start line on one of the 1st buses so had plenty of time to stretch and feel ready for the race.  There are always lots of campfires so we can all keep warm while waiting for the race to start.  I love the atmosphere up there at the starting line.  It is so fun to be surrounded by so many that you know have trained just as hard and put in a lot of time to be there at the same time.  It's a pretty cool feeling.  I realized once I got up there that I didn't have my tracking device that goes on my shoe.  I ended up needing to get another bib with a chip so that I could get an official time.  That seemed really important to me especially this time around because I was hoping to be able to run a qualifying time for Boston.  I wanted to make sure my time was official just in case I actually did it! I thought it may be a long shot to qualify just because I know how hard a marathon is.  No matter how much training I had put in and the times I had run those training runs in, the actual race is a whole other story.  It is such a mental race as well and I didn't want to be too confident that I would qualify just in case I didn't.  Anyway, I was ready for the run and was hoping for a time of 3:40 or better - but in the end I just wanted to finish!  So off we went!

It was the most beautiful day to run.  The sun was shining and it was not too hot or too cold.  I took off my jacket and gloves within the 1st mile and was just fine the rest of the way.

I will say though, this was definitely the most difficult race I had ever run!  It was my 3rd time doing the Ogden Marathon but this time around I realized how many hills there actually were throughout the course.  I think it was because I was really paying attention to my time and trying to stick with a fast pace throughout, so the hills were more evident.  The first 5-7 miles are a gentle downhill coming down the canyon, but starting with mile 8 it turns into a gradual uphill for the next 5 miles or so.  The course winds through the small towns of Liberty and Eden and wraps all the way around Pineview Reservoir and it is so beautiful!  Honestly one of the most picturesque courses around! But coming up around the reservoir just after mile 13 it turns into a steeper uphill portion until mile 16-17 when it finally starts heading back down the canyon.  Those miles were really hard.  I started to panic that I wouldn't be able to keep up my pace and maybe not even be able to finish the race at all!  It was the weirdest feeling I've ever felt and had to actually stop running a couple times and take some deep breaths to get my mind back in order.  I told myself I would just take it one mile at a time and go from there.  So that's what I did.  Mile 13 turned to mile 14.  Mile 15 to mile 16.  Mile 19-mile 22 through the last stretch of the canyon.  And when I got to mile 23 and there was an official time clock there, I knew I would make it.  I was on track (barely) to get under a qualifying time if I could just keep up my steady pace.  It was such a weird mind game that I had to play to make it through those really tough miles but I did it!

I got to the finish line and crossed at 3:34:02.  I had such an awesome group cheering me on and I was so so happy to see all of them at the finish line!  Josh and the kids, my mom and dad, Josh's mom and dad, Aunt Shirley (who kindly let me stay at her house the night before), My grandpa and grandma Iverson from California, Uncle Mike, Andy and Kristi and my friend Wan Kou who had finished a few minutes before me.  I was exhausted, overjoyed and overcome with emotion all at the same time.  I was shocked but so excited that I had actually finished and qualified for Boston!  It has been a bucket list item that I wasn't sure would ever be crossed off.  

I got lots of hugs from all my loved ones and I cried and cried on their shoulders - mostly because I was so tired, but also because I could not get ahold of my emotions.  It was a pretty cool moment for me.  My kids made the best signs to hold up near the finish line when I saw them.  Josh and the kids have all been so supportive during the training and all the time and effort it takes to get those runs in.  I am so glad to have this one behind me and look forward to Boston next spring!