Before embarking on my first marathon training program, I asked the question, "I have never run more than four miles before, how will I be able to run 26? In one day?" The answer was complete cheese and went something like this...
"I'll give you a bag of 26 marbles and after each mile you throw out one marble. When you cross the finish line look down in your bag and you will see you just lost all your marbles." - Mark Foist.
Officially my time in St. George was 2:59:36. I thought about what I would write, but in the end decided there probably wasn’t much to say. I had a good race and felt great. The weather looked menacing at first but helped keep my legs cool and wet. I ran a negative split of 1:33/1:27 just like I had hoped and planned. I told Carey the day before the race I planned to run sub 3. I laughed when I said it knowing that if I truly wanted to do that, I would have to run my fastest half marathon ever and it would be in the second half. Although I laughed, a part of me thought I might be able to pull it off.
My favorite moment in the race came after I crossed the finish line (of course). In previous marathons and Ironmans, when I crossed the line, it was done. No emotional ending or discharge, just a simple “I am glad that is over.” This time was different. I embraced Carey and had a hard time holding back. It was roughly six years ago that Carey and I became active in running. It was the finish of the San Diego marathon that captured my attention. Watching runner after runner endure a pain unimaginable to cross a line marked on the ground before the clock overhead struck 3:00:00. I didn’t understand it then, but I do now. In the grand scheme of things, whether I finished 2:59:59 or 3:00:01 is irrelevant. What’s a couple of seconds after all? But on this day, this race, this time, it mattered. I don’t know why, but I know it did.
This is how I got it done.
1 - 7:43 (7:43)
2 - 7:26 (15:09)
3 - 7:13 (22:22)
4 - 7:00 (29:23)
5 - 6:51 (36:14)
6 - 6:05 (42:40)
7 - 6:44 (49:05)
8 - 7:40 (56:45)
9 - 7:47 (1:04:33)
10 - 6:46 (1:11:19)
11 - 7:19 (1:18:39)
12 - 7:06 (1:25:45)
13 - 6:54 (1:32:40)
14 - 6:47 (1:39:27)
15 - 6:33 (1:46:01)
16 - 6:19 (1:52:21)
17 - 6:44 (1:59:05)
18 - 6:17 (2:05:23)
19 - 6:56 (2:12:19)
20 - 6:51 (2:19:11)
21 - 6:04 (2:25:16)
22 - 6:36 (2:31:53)
23 - 6:31 (2:38:24)
24 - 6:30 (2:44:55)
25 - 6:39 (2:51:34)
26.2 – 8:05 (2:59:39)
Run smart,
J-Rod
