26.2...big cottonwood take 3

after a few less than stellar race performances i decided to take a break from marathon running for a while-until i got a little faster. even though i continued to run every saturday with generation gap, i was not in good running shape. after taking a year off and spending a lot of time and effort working on getting in better shape, i signed up to do the big cottonwood marathon again. i wanted to do better than i did the first time which meant i needed to train harder and smarter.

i did several long runs down the canyon. i did both of my 20 mile runs down the canyon to prepare my body for the very steep downhill. i also spent a lot of time training my mind. by marathon number 11 you would think my mind would already be prepared. i knew exactly what i was getting myself into. in the past i have let my mind take over and not always in the best way.

i went into this race determined to do well. i knew i was prepared. it was a beautiful day. i had a couple of friends coming to meet me along the way. i was all set for a great race.

i met sharon at the buses and we waited at the start together. we ran the first several miles together before getting separated. i talked to several people along the way and really enjoyed the beautiful day in the canyon. i kept my thoughts extremely positive and thought how grateful i was to have a strong healthy body to be able to do this,

mandi met me at the bottom of the canyon at mile 17. i was ahead of schedule and feeling great. she ran the hardest part of the course with me. by the time i saw her i was definitely ready for someone to talk to and encourage me. she pushed me to do a little better than i thought i was capable of while allowing me to do things my way. we ran the out and back loop on wasatch, and i was so grateful for her help and support.

andrea met me at the end of that loop and ran with me the rest of the way. i was still doing pretty well although by the end it was definitely harder. she talked me through it, and i was also grateful for her help and support. 

i was so happy to see the finish line. i felt better than i ever have and did so much better than last time. it's hard taking any time off, but with a lot of hard work, determination, and a major attitude shift i took 25 minutes off my previous time. i was so proud of myself and so grateful for the support i had a long the way. i often end a race unsure if i will ever do another one, but this was exactly what i needed to remind me why i do this.