"PRIOR PREPARATION PREVENTS PISS POOR PERFORMANCE"

Hey gang, it was a great day at The St George Marathon in so many ways. I will start with a great big thank you to all my running friends...without all the love and kindness shown in so so many ways this chosen activity of running marathons just wouldn't be as satisfying!

My weekend at St George started on thursday when I gathered up Hillbilly Runner at the SLC airport. We stayed at my place thursday and made our way to St Geo early friday morning, carb loading all the way. I think we got to St Geo just before noon. We took a drive up and down the St Geo Mary course just to remind ourselves of the task ahead saturday morning.

Went over to the Expo and bummed around there for a little while. Actually I registered for the Utah Valley Marathon while I was there. Then we decided that it was time to get back to the room and get some quality rest time off the feet.

Then it was saturday morning and the day was off and going early. About 3:15 am Dales wife called the room and told us that he was going to be out sick and not to pick him up at their hotel.

Ronnie and I got ready and headed over to the park where we met up with a huge gang of Bloggers and Flyers, I think there were about 25 or 30 runners in the group. I'll have to post some of the photos.

Well then it was on to the bus where the Bus Gastapo tried to split up the group by sending us to different buses. Looks like we mananged to get most of the group on the bus.

Once at the SGM starting line I could feel all the excitement but I could also sinse that it was all going to be somewhat different this year. There were a couple of fires burning but I couldn't get anywhere near one as it was too warm. The guy on the PA said it was 47 degrees but I wasn't going for it. It sounded like a bit of wishful thinking. I had to take off my Boston jacket because I was getting too heated up before the race. After my last trip to the bushes I stopped by the hydration table and took two extra cups of water and sports drink.

I remember lining up with the 3:20:00 pace group right behind Bro-Pro. Bro-Pro said he was going for a 3:20 to 3:25:00 marathon. It seemed to me that the race started a little bit late this morning but my main worry was the fact that the morning was abnormally warm.

So the race was off. I got in line and step with the 3:20 pacer and seemed to be having a really great run. It was really easy to hold a pace in the low 7s.

1. 7:58
2. 7:26
3. 7:27
4. 7:23
5. 7:40
6. 7:11
7. 7:15
8. 8:28 ( got seperated from pace group)
9. 8:10
10. 8.11
11. 8.21
12. 8.08
13. 7.49 (1/2 SPLIT 1:41:32)
14. 7:49
15. 7.33
16. 7.40
17. 7.50
18. 8.10
19. 8.25
20. 8.08
21. 8.06
22. 8.26
23. 8.52
24. 8.13
25. 9.09
26. 9.05
.2. I don't know?
3:30:53 total.

I am very pleased with my performance at the 2010 St George Marathon. I trained very hard this past training cycle and went into the race very well prepared. I remember out at mile 3 that my mouth was abnormally dry and decided to take on extra hydration. Form here on out I took two cups of water or sports drink at each aid station till the end of the race. The days heat was just about normal except that it came on faster than usual. Usually your freezing till about mile 7 in this race and the morning sun is up and warming you up. Today I think I was sweating at the starting line.

Oh well.....the last thing I really remember was going over Vejo at a pace that I thought was slower than I thought and lost my pace group. I picked up my race plan and headed for the finish line.

I remember coming across Hauns ( MarkO) who seemed to be struggling a bit but was still pushing forward. Then I caught up with the Hillbilly Runner (Ronnie) and he assured me that he was OK and hd' catch up with me in a moment. I don't know when or where I got past Bro-Pro!

Somewhere out about 18 miles I began to slow a bit because I noticed Teena in the background coming on strong.
Seems to me that she finally caught up with me somewhere about 20 miles out and blew past me with a hearty flank slap and a Hi O Silver and off she went in a blaze of speed. This woman was hell bent on getting to the finish line, it was like a wild woman on a holy quest. I tried to get out of the ditch she left me in and regain my former speed and composure, but it just wasn't so.

Then it was on to the finish......As I rounded the last corner and was on the final home stretch to the finish line I was having a ball. My victory cigar was out in front and leading the ways. The crowd was was just fab yelling and screeming and welcoming in all the runners! But I thought they were really kind to me! I couldn't believe the ruckus that Kristi was making as I passed her and Larry on the way to the finish, It was so gratifying to have so many friends there welcomeing me in! Yahooooo! I had so much fun that I stood behind the finish line for about half an hour fist bumping and high fiveing runners as they finished. The cool part was you could call them by their first names as SGM put our first names on our bibs this year. I hung around and watched many of our bloggers and flyers finish upright satnding large and in charge. Congrats to all on a job well done in difficult circumstances..................

Finished this marathon standing up with a 3:30:53 performance that I am very proud of. Would have liked to have grabbed the brass ring and brought in a PR, but thats life and an new plan of attack is underway for next year!!!!!!


Thanks again to all that helped me be the best I can be on any given day!!!!! Now it's time to break out a new training plan and get ready for the 2011 Boston Marathon......be there or be square!