Wednesday, April 23, 2008

why oh why?

i've decided that running a marathon is just like childbirth. dang, it's painful. and you think as you are doing it, "why do i do this again? this is going to be my last marathon for a LONG time." and then, i swear, soon after you finish, you're planning your next race. well, maybe most people don't plan to have another baby right after they deliver one, but it's so true... you forget the pain and, therefore, deliver yet another marathon... er, i mean, child... sometime later down the road. i'm glad i forget the pain, though, because i sure love my babies and i sure love to run races, of all distances.

i ran the salt lake city marathon this last weekend with my darling husband, ben, and despite the pain and agony of it all, i totally had a blast. this was ben's first marathon and he worked it like a champ. i'm so proud of you ben! and this is the first time i've run a marathon with someone... i've always been alone. i liked having company... a lot. the time goes by way faster and just having someone by my side, even though he doesn't talk much (my silly husband thinks it's weird to talk when you run), helped me to work harder than i think i would have worked had i been by myself. i had originally set out at the beginning of my training to get a PR by beating my time of 4:11 from the st. george marathon. ya, didn't happen. i was quite lazy with training this time around. i missed about half of my long runs and quite a few of my weekday runs as well. so, before i ran the race i decided that if i could beat my time of 4:19 from the ogden marathon, i would be pleased with my performance. and i did. ben and i came in at 4:16. it was hard though...

after the course split off from the half-marathoners, we had this wicked head wind blowing straight at us as we headed south down to holladay. maren, lindsey, julia, did you girls have that head wind? it was tough. we literally had to just duck our heads and push into it. and then there was the altitude. i was just so tired for the first half of the race. but after we turned and started heading back up north, we had a tail wind working with us. i've never felt anything like that before... there were these huge gusts of wind so strong, it was literally pushing me faster than my body wanted to go. it helped get us to the finish line faster, though, thankfully.

and there, at the finish line, was all of our wonderful family. what a great feeling to be finishing something so challenging that you've been working your tush off on for the last four hours and to see your family going crazy for you! it was awesome. my parents, were there and my sisters, hailey and alexis. ben's sister, kadi, and ben's brother and his wife, doug and jackie, were there. and you can see my sister, morgan, and her husband, nate, with their hands in the air for us.

and seeing our precious little boys... that was the best.

so which marathon next?! like i said... marathons, childbirth... you totally forget the pain. :)

6 comments:

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  2. i love it whitney. yes, there was a headwind - but not for long. turning around heading north was wonderful. the wind was at your back.

    i completely agree with your thoughts on the brain "forgetting" the pain of a marathon. i feel the exact same way. it's gotten to the point when i cross the finish line and i am ready for the next one.

    way to go!! running TOGETHER as a couple is the best.

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  3. YAY for Ben and Whit. It was so cool to be at the finish line for you guys, I was totally crying... long before you guys even came in. It was pathetic! But it is such an amazing thing that all these people are accomplishing. It made me so excited for my next one.

    It's true, we totally forget the pain of marathons and child birth. After my first marathon, i seriously thought, ok, i really don't need to do this again. but the next day... Same with my children. After Asher, I thought, who in their right mind would ever have more than one child?? But it passes (thankfully), and I think it passes sooner with each child, and probably each race as well!

    and yeah, i don't know how you ran all by your self the other times!

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  4. Good job, Whitney!!! You guys did so well!

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  5. congrats!
    i agree running with someone is much more fun!
    i ran the 1/2 alone and it the pre/post race activities were not that fun for me.
    during the race i kept thinking it would be my last for a while but as soon as i crossed the finish line i was thinking about when i'd do my next one. i can't wait.
    glad you had a good race!

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  6. congrats ben and whitney! That is great. John and I haven't done a marathon since st. george but we are starting back up again with a 5K this weekend, and a bike event next weekend. When we went out running yesterday John said to me, running the marathon was so fun, I was in pretty good shape!! Maybe that means another is on the way.

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