My first marathon. I started out with my Dad. The plan was to run to 15 with him and then see if I felt good enough to go. The hope was that a conservative start would prevent some of the horrors of the last 6 miles of the marathon.
We placed strategic bottles with electrolytes and glucose at miles 7, 13, 17 and 21. I'm pretty sure these bottles ended up making a big difference for me, as I ended up not hitting a glycogen wall. Many thanks to the TOU race staff for placing these bottles at the aid stations.
The first 12 miles were pretty comfortable, around 5:50 pace. I was a little cold for the first miles, but then warmed up. The canyon was pretty, and I tried not to think about how many miles I had left. I was grateful to be able to run with my Dad. Midway through mile 12 I realized I needed a VPB stop. I completed the stop in about 15 seconds, and then surged to catch up a little before mile 13.
After the VPB, and with the bottle from mile 13, I was feeling light and quite positive. The course leveled out, and I started feeling my calves. They weren't liking the ground impact. At 15, I took off and ran about 5:43, 5:49, 5:51, 6:00 (mile 19), and then around 5:45 for miles 20 and 21. I'm pretty sure I was 1:57:25 at 20.
I caught Kyle Petersen in mile 19 on the uphill. He had been in sight for basically the entire race, and so doesn't really count as a Ram in the Thicket. Also, passing Kyle moved me up (in my perception) into 6-th place from 7-th, and therefore didn't move me into the money, a defining characteristic of a Ram in the Thicket. Unbeknownst to me, Jake Krong dropped out of the race at some point (probably in the last 6). Thus, passing Kyle actually did put me into the money.
As I crested the final hill of mile 20, I saw a runner in the distance. My Dad had predicted that one of the lead pack would fall back, but I hadn't truly believed him untill that moment. I knew that the runner ahead of me was coming back to me. I also believed that I was in 6-th place. This was a Ram in the Thicket if there ever was one.
At mile 21, I was close on the runner's tail. I also grabbed the last bottle of goodness at the aid station. Armed with fresh fuel. I caught the Ram in Thicket within a minute or two, and passed him without a fight. Little did I know that this was not to be our last encounter.
I took it easy on mile 22, the awful uphill mile, which I think I ran in around 6:10. Throughout the race, my calves bothered me more and more. Also, I started feeling a lot of pressure and pain in my SI and hip joints. I said multiple prayers for those joints, and although they hurt a lot after the race, I was able to run through the pain.
In mile 23, I started feeling weird. It became difficult to focus. My legs felt heavy, and each step felt as though my legs were slamming into the ground. However, a combination of swigs from my bottle, renewed focus on the hymn I had running though my head: <a href="https://www.lds.org/music/text/hymns/i-believe-in-christ?lang=eng">I Believe in Christ</a>, and the fear of losing money helped me to focus and push.
Mile 24 was where my adventures began. I passed the marker for mile 23, and went straight down the street, missing a left turn with my tunnel vision. I ran a whole block before a police officer informed me that I'd missed a turn. At this point I wanted to cry. I was very exhausted, and upon turning around I beheld to my utter horror that the supposedly sacrificed Ram in the Thicket had returned with vengeance, and was making the very turn that I had missed. This wasn't fair! I had passed him once. And I now might lose money over a missed turn.
So I gritted my teeth and began trying to run him down. Fortunately, he was pretty blown up, and I was able to catch him before the end of mile 24, thus sacrificing the Ram in the Thicket for good. Then I was able to really move in the last two miles, averaging a little over 6 minutes per mile. My body felt awful, but I felt a sort of disconnect from the paint that enabled me to push. My final time was 2:35:45, 4-th place overall. I did not throw up at the finish, but had trouble walking for the rest of the day.
Ended up taking home $400 and a bona fide moose trophy that looks just like the trophies my Dad's massive collection of moose trophies. Based on our esitmates of circuit standings after the race, It looks like I'll end up in second place, which is $750. So I'm very, very happy with this marathon.
At home, my Dad measured the detour on Google Maps and I apparently added 0.24, or around a minute and 30 seconds. So my real time for the marathon was a low 2:34. Oh well.
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