My last marathon... for now

Last weekend I ran the Utah Valley Marathon with my friend Eliza. And to be totally honest, I am so happy it's over! Eliza will be moving at the end of the summer and convinced me to do one last marathon with her before she leaves. One last hoorah. But after finishing this one, we have both vowed to be done with marathons (well... at least for a while...) If I had one word to describe this race? PAIN. It really was miserable the entire last 6 miles. Has every marathon been this painful? It's hard to remember. I think time makes me forget. Kind of like having children... being pregnant is so uncomfortable, and labor is so painful, yet I forget, and somehow go through it all again. My sister-in-law Liz ran the last 6 miles with me, so that at least made it tolerable. I think I would have stopped and walked the last few miles if it weren't for her. Around mile 22 or so I remember thinking, "I'm never doing this again! This is insane! And so painful! I hate this!" But then... after what seemed like an eternity later... I crossed the finish line and it was all somehow worth it. It really is such a good feeling to push yourself further than you ever thought you could and to finish a race like that. I was somehow able to get my second best time, 3:18, even though I felt like I was jogging turtle speed at the end, so I was pretty happy about that. So, let this be the end of marathons!... at least until someone else convinces me to do another one with them : )




This is how we really felt afterwards.