On Saturday I ran the Ogden 1/2 Marathon. 13.1 miles of FUN! While most of our running club was running the full marathon, I decided to drop back to the half as I am running the San Diego Marathon in 2 weeks. Luckily there were a few others from our club running the 1/2 as well (Yay Stella, Bev and Kathy!).
Our experience started the day before. We decided to stay the night in Ogden as I needed to be up at 3:45am! I checked in to our hotel (which was 1 block from the finish line) and then headed to the expo where I picked up my gear bag, number and timing chip (which looked like one of those ankle monitors one wears when on house arrest and which I almost forgot, thanks Liz). After the expo we all had wonderful pasta feast provided by Carol, Mike and Camille Fletcher(so yummy-thanks!). We all had a great time talking, eating and sharing our race plans. Then it was off to meet David at the hotel (he had to work late) and it was off to bed for me. Poor David didn't get there until 8:30pm and then I told him it was time to go to sleep! Luckily, he had an old friend he wanted to visit while in Ogden, so he took the opportunity while I slept.
The alarm went off at 3:45am. I got up got dressed and headed down to the hotel lobby where all of our group was meeting at 4:30am. We ate some breakfast and headed to the buses that would take us to the start. We hugged those doing the full marathon and Bev, Kathy, Stella and I got on our bus.
The start was cold! It was still dark, but there were fire pits made to try and keep us warm while we waited for 2 hours for the race to begin. We all hit the port-a-johns a couple of times before as we did not want to have to stop on the course. The sun came up and before we knew it it was time to start.
The gun went off with cheers and excitement all around! I could not believe how fast the first mile went. I was so worried about my knees that I decided to take it really easy and not run for time, but to get the mileage in. I have to be in good shape for San Diego. The four of us had a great time as we ran through some of the most beautiful scenery I have ever seen. Every other phrase was "how beautiful".
I had my cell phone, so David called me as we approached mile 6. I told him to meet our friend Liz (who could not run due to a stress fracture, but set up a great aid station for us-thanks again Liz!) at mile 10. We passed mile 10, no David. He got there 3 minutes after we passed! This cycle continued for the next three miles. The last call went like this... David: "Where are you?" Me: "Running to the finish line, I can't talk now!" Poor David! He had both the video and still cameras ready to capture my race, but I was just to fast for him (this is why there are no photos with this post)!
Stella and I broke away from our group at mile 10 as we felt great and we kicked it up a notch. In our last mile we heard the police behind us yell "lead runner coming through!" I got to the side of the road just in time to see the 1st place marathoner speed past us. It was so awesome to think that he ran 25 miles in the time it took us to run 12! Those elites are truly inspiring to watch!
As we came down the home stretch, Stella and I were together. Then Stella looked over and said "Angie, GO!" So I did! I finished strong with a 2:26.33. Not a PR but a good run with minimal knee pain. Stella came in less than 30 seconds later and within a few minutes, the four of us had finished! We got our medals and headed to the team tent where we sat in the sun, ate popcicles and relaxed.
We went back to the hotel where I showered and changed clothes, then walked back to the finish just in time to see our marathoners come in! What a great day!!!
Our experience started the day before. We decided to stay the night in Ogden as I needed to be up at 3:45am! I checked in to our hotel (which was 1 block from the finish line) and then headed to the expo where I picked up my gear bag, number and timing chip (which looked like one of those ankle monitors one wears when on house arrest and which I almost forgot, thanks Liz). After the expo we all had wonderful pasta feast provided by Carol, Mike and Camille Fletcher(so yummy-thanks!). We all had a great time talking, eating and sharing our race plans. Then it was off to meet David at the hotel (he had to work late) and it was off to bed for me. Poor David didn't get there until 8:30pm and then I told him it was time to go to sleep! Luckily, he had an old friend he wanted to visit while in Ogden, so he took the opportunity while I slept.
The alarm went off at 3:45am. I got up got dressed and headed down to the hotel lobby where all of our group was meeting at 4:30am. We ate some breakfast and headed to the buses that would take us to the start. We hugged those doing the full marathon and Bev, Kathy, Stella and I got on our bus.
The start was cold! It was still dark, but there were fire pits made to try and keep us warm while we waited for 2 hours for the race to begin. We all hit the port-a-johns a couple of times before as we did not want to have to stop on the course. The sun came up and before we knew it it was time to start.
The gun went off with cheers and excitement all around! I could not believe how fast the first mile went. I was so worried about my knees that I decided to take it really easy and not run for time, but to get the mileage in. I have to be in good shape for San Diego. The four of us had a great time as we ran through some of the most beautiful scenery I have ever seen. Every other phrase was "how beautiful".
I had my cell phone, so David called me as we approached mile 6. I told him to meet our friend Liz (who could not run due to a stress fracture, but set up a great aid station for us-thanks again Liz!) at mile 10. We passed mile 10, no David. He got there 3 minutes after we passed! This cycle continued for the next three miles. The last call went like this... David: "Where are you?" Me: "Running to the finish line, I can't talk now!" Poor David! He had both the video and still cameras ready to capture my race, but I was just to fast for him (this is why there are no photos with this post)!
Stella and I broke away from our group at mile 10 as we felt great and we kicked it up a notch. In our last mile we heard the police behind us yell "lead runner coming through!" I got to the side of the road just in time to see the 1st place marathoner speed past us. It was so awesome to think that he ran 25 miles in the time it took us to run 12! Those elites are truly inspiring to watch!
As we came down the home stretch, Stella and I were together. Then Stella looked over and said "Angie, GO!" So I did! I finished strong with a 2:26.33. Not a PR but a good run with minimal knee pain. Stella came in less than 30 seconds later and within a few minutes, the four of us had finished! We got our medals and headed to the team tent where we sat in the sun, ate popcicles and relaxed.
We went back to the hotel where I showered and changed clothes, then walked back to the finish just in time to see our marathoners come in! What a great day!!!
2 comments:
Great job you guys looked awesome at my station :)
Your going to do awesome in San Diego
You did it! Hooray for you! I am so proud of you!
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