The Big Cottonwood Canyon Marathon!

A couple of weeks I checked one of my goals off of my list...I finished my first marathon! I chose the Big Cottonwood Canyon Marathon for a couple of reasons. First, I ran the race's half marathon and absolutely loved it. Second, the scenery in the canyon is beautiful, and third, I appreciated the fact that it was mostly downhill.

I started training in March with a goal to just be able to finish the race. When I first started training, the prospect of running a full marathon seemed impossible. The furthest I had ever gone before was a half marathon (13.1 miles) and I didn't see how I would be able to double it. Despite an injury in August, by hard work and persistence paid off and I was able to make it.

The race begins at the top of Guardsman's Pass and goes down Big Cottonwood Canyon for just under 17 miles. I was really worried about it raining, but it turned out to be a beautiful day for a long run. The canyon was beautiful and provides such a great backdrop for the race. 

I felt really good running down the canyon. I was relieved to find that the tendonitis that had been bothering my knee wasn't acting up and I was excited for the remaining miles and felt pretty confident. 

That confidence and excitement lasted until about the 19th mile, when I could feel that I was getting more tired. I kept telling myself that I only had seven miles to go, and that running seven miles was nothing. I could do it! Then I started to hit "the wall" around miles 20-21. The wall is a very real thing. It was like instant fatigue set in and it took all my will power to keep running instead of walking. I kept looking at my GPS watch and it seemed like the miles were going super slow and that I wasn't making any progress. I definitely slowed down quite a bit for the last six miles and I would try and tell myself that the faster I went, the sooner I would be done and could rest, but if I tried to go too fast, I felt sick to my stomach. So, I had to be content with my slow jog and keep going. I think that there was one point around mile 23 or 24 when I seriously wondered why anyone would want to do multiple marathons...I just wanted this one to be done! 

Finally, I past mile marker 25 and I knew that I was close. I pushed myself to go a little faster and soon the finish line was in reach! It was so encouraging to see my family waiting for me on the sidelines and when my mom came and ran beside me for a few minutes, I got more energy to surge ahead to the finish. Finally, I crossed the finish line, received my medal, and found someplace to rest! 

Running a marathon has got to have been one of the hardest (if not THE hardest) things that I have ever done. It was hard physically and mentally, but I am so glad that I stuck through the months of training and finished the race. Pushing myself like this helped me appreciate how far I have come as a runner and how much potential that I have. Even though it was hard, I would like to train for another marathon in the future. I love the way I feel when I run and I can't wait to see where it takes me.