St George Marathon Recap

Let me start this post by saying "AH YEAH!!"  STG 2013 did not disappoint.   I ran my guts out and finished in 3:32:00 a PR by over 8 minutes and another Boston Qualifying time!!!  I am seriously so excited with how the race went.  I think the St George marathon is one of the best.  It's great for me because it's close to home but it is so well run and so beautiful it just can't be beat.  It's hard to get into but I totally know why.  It's a fast, beautiful race. 

Now for the recap....

We drove down Friday afternoon and hit the expo.  The expo was great.  It took a matter of minutes to get my number and shirt and then we walked around for a bit so I could buy random running gear.  Then I got my heel taped up.  I waited in line for like 40 minutes to get taped up but I wanted to be sure my heel wouldn't bother me during the race.  I thought it was hilarious that the only line in the entire expo was getting taped up and some people were getting some serious taping done....makes me wonder if marathoners are hard on themselves :)  ha ha

 

I of course picked pink.

The only problem with the entire race was this years race shirt.  They are HUGE!  Last year I got a women's medium and the arms were a little short so I decided to get a women's large this year.  However - it's more like a men's XL and I will never be able to wear it.  Even though it's one of the cutest bright green shirts ever.  Oh well.  

Kami (my sis-in-law) and I got on the 4:30 shuttle from our hotel (if you run STG stay at the Marriott they are amazing to the runners).  Then got right on a bus and headed up to the starting line.  We got there with A LOT of time to spare hit the porta potties then sat down to rest and wait for Kelli.  It was cold at the start - in the 20's.  Once we met up with Kelli we hit the potties again and then dropped our extra clothes off and headed over to the starting line.  We crossed the line about 3 minutes after the gun went off.  I was freezing and couldn't feel my feet for about 3 miles and didn't even toss my gloves or jacket for 5 miles.  But the temps were PERFECT for a marathon. 
 

 
The goal was to shoot for a 3:35 time so that all 3 of us would qualify.  I liked knowing I might have a nice big buffer and instead of focusing on myself I could focus on my training partners instead.  It helped me stay mentally tough.  I wore a clif bar pace bracelet to keep track of where we should be.  I didn't watch it too closely but every 5 or so miles I'd double check it and we were ahead of schedule.  The closer we got the happier I got.  

Post race group photo.  I couldn't be happier.  We worked so hard and have trained for so long and it all paid off on race day.  We were strong and made our goal.  

 After stretching and walking around the finishers area for a bit Kami and I headed back to the hotel.  I did a 10 minute ice bath and put on my comfy clothes and compression socks.  Then we headed over to Swig to get a big fat diet coke and cookie.  A very well deserved treat.  We drove home right after and I was home before 6:00 pm and ready to lay down in my bed and not get up again :)

A few more details for me:  I did a caffeinated GU at mile 5, chomps at mile 11, Roctane at mile 17 and chomps at mile 22.  Drank a full glass of water and/or gatorade at all 4 stops and drank one other time.  I didn't cramp up during or after the race so I feel like my nutrition and water were right on.