Lessons in Words: 2009

Throughout the past 5 months I have had so many different reactions when I have told people that I was training for the Salt Lake City Marathon. Often peoples first reaction was... the half? They seemed surprised that I was just jumping in to the full without hesitation. No half for me. Straight for the full. Their next question would usually be why? I have often asked myself this same question. Why am I running this marathon? Well over the past 5 months I have thought enough about this that I would like to now share my thoughts with you. Feel free to read if you are interested. If you are not interested... feel free to look at the pictures and enjoy :)

When I was on my mission in Japan I sat down and wrote in my journal some goals that I had for my life. I took goals very seriously on my mission and strived to accomplish them. Some of these goals were to get into BYU and graduate, Get married in the temple, have kids, and... run a marathon. Not really sure why I wrote this down other than it seemed like an extremely difficult physical challenge and I wanted to prove to myself that I could do anything that I put my mind too, even physically. So that is where the desire was planted.

When I came home from my mission I had two friends Bret and Jordan that decided they were going to run the Ogden Marathon. I figured this is my chance! I have some friends that are running it as well, now is the time. So I jumped into training. It was winter, and I had to do all of my training on the treadmill. I was naive as to how rigorous this training would be. And I believed that I pushed myself to hard to fast. This resulted in a pretty serious injury. I completely tore my ACL and Miniscus in the middle of Winter Semester. My running goals were gone and I had a good years worth of physical therapy in store for me to get back to feeling normal again. My dreams to run the marathon were put on hold.

Life continued on. I ended up meeting the love of my life during my recovery. We were married later that year. I got into my major and dived into the Advertising world, full time work and full time school. Shortly after we were married little Lily came along, we built our little town home in Lehi... A LOT happened. That running goal got further and further away.

In the summer of 2008 as many of you know my Dads cancer came back and our world was turned upside once again. We rallied together as a family and tried our hardest to endure the trial that was presented to us. As my Dads health continued to decline I thought a lot about his life and what he has done for me. Dad was incredible. He is the man that taught me how to run. I ran track and cross country in middle school and high school. He was a great personal coach. I remember hearing his incredible running stories. He was a maniac! And would run straight up mountains. One of my personal favorites was when he was a freshman at BYU, he decided to ignore the switchbacks up to the Y and he ran straight up the mountain. Only my Dad could do that... he was a machine! Many of my memories include Dad teaching me how to run. I remember him coming to my Cross Country meets and running besides me at certain check points giving me pointers, in the rain... he was die hard and it meant the world. Often I felt that I didn't live up to his standards. That pressure was put on by myself, but ultimately I knew my Dad was always proud of me regardless of what place I came in.

When my Dad passed away, it was hard. I lost my coach. One night I was going through his closet with my Mom and came across his running shoes. The dream reignited within me. I was going to run the Marathon... In Dads shoes. This was the one of the best decisions that I had made.

The day before Thanksgiving I got on the scale and saw that I weighed nearly 220 lbs. It made my decision that much easier I knew that the following Monday was day one of my training. The weekend came and went. I enjoyed my last bit of junk food for a while, and I headed to the gym. I wanted to just see how far I could run. After going a lousy 10 minute 30 second pace for about 9 minutes I realized I wasn't going to be able to complete a full mile without stopping. Stop I did, and I started to walk. I was completely embarrassed. My conviction to run continued. I decided I wasn't going to get discouraged, I just wanted to do a little bit better the next day. The next came and I was able to finish a full mile at a little bit slower pace. But I finished the mile. I was on my way.

There were many frustrating days that followed those. But with all the frustration came a lot of pride as I would set small goals and accomplish them. As the Christmas season approached I realized that a good friend from my ward was also planning on running the Salt Lake City Marathon in April. He and I started talking and compared notes. He had been working out a couple months longer than I had, so I had some catching up to do. But he became a great source and great training partner for the following months. I have realized how crucial it is to have a training partner when training for a marathon. Without him I don't think I would have finished.

The mileage started building up each week, it was awesome to feel that sense of accomplishment when we would reach certain landmarks. 5 miles felt great, then 6, then 7... 10 seemed like an incredible feet and it was! We knew that in order to be successful in our training we needed to run outside, come rain or shine. And run outside we did! Living in Utah that was difficult. I remember the Saturday that we needed to run 11 miles. We found a great trail that was only about 5 minutes from our house by car. We drove out there, it was warm the day before but had got very cold. Ice covered the paved trail. It was early in the morning. Around 6:15... We figured, let's just start running and as the sun comes up it will melt the layer of ice and we will be fine.... the sun came up and the ice never melted. Before we knew it we were 5 1/2 miles away from our car, and exhausted. We needed to go back but were so frustrated that the ice did not melt. We turned around and began running back to our car. It felt like we ran 21 miles that morning. As horrible as that morning run was it did something for Brian and I. It committed us once again to our goal. We were going to run regardless of the circumstances that were before us. When you train for a marathon I think all runners have certain days and experiences such as that were you have to recommit. If you don't you will never make it to the finish line. Always commit.

Almost every Saturday Brian and I ran together. I worked on Saturdays and so we needed to get the runs done by 9:30. As the mileage increased, this became increasingly more difficult. But I made sure that I did it... EVERY WEEK. I remember running 16 miles on my birthday. Brian was in Las Vegas that week with his wife and in laws. So I ran it alone. But it was on this run that I had a great experience. I was able to run with my first running partner... my Dad. I felt that he was out there on the trail with me. Telling me how proud he was of me and telling me that I can do this. It was incredible. Such a great payday for me. Not only did this event confirm to me that I wanted to complete this marathon, it also helped me confirm and commit to myself that I want to live my life to the fullest, like my Dad did. I want to live my life in such a way that I might be able to see him again someday. I loved that Saturday. I hope I never forget it.

The next few weeks the training got more and more difficult. It was very time consuming. I was running upwards of 40 miles a week and lifting. I was already working 11-7 everyday, I know it was hard on Ash. She was home alone. Wishing that this marathon was over. I was grateful for her though, she knew that I needed to get this out of my system and she supported me even though from time to time it was difficult. She was great and she knows that it will be a while before I run a marathon again :) In the end the timing was best... more kids will come and our lives will get busier and busier so it was good to do it now.

My body began to ache. my hips and ankles and heels were in constant pain. My toe nails began changing colors and I was worried that they may fall off, but I had to run through it. There was no turning back now. I didn't want all my hard work to be in vain. So run I did.

The last two weeks were good. I was able to taper and to reduce my mileage which felt kind of strange. I cut my mileage in half but I needed to let my body heal so that I would be refreshed and ready to go come race day. The weather got pretty bad here and I had to run a lot on the treadmill because there were several inches of snow outside... in APRIL! Oh Utah weather...

Finally, the day was here. April 18. The day before I went over to Brians house. We planned everything out and made sure our all our ducks were in a row. We talked about what we were going to wear, eat, what time we would sleep, how we were feeling, what pace we wanted to run, What time we needed to get up to head to the trax station. So many details to cover. The nerves were for sure setting in. I had complete nightmares of me getting to mile nine and taring my ACL again. I didn't even want to eat anything for fear that it was going to mess with my system the next morning. But I tried to breathe in and out and not think too hard about how long the run was.

5:00 AM: Alarm went off. I had woken up every hour on the hour through out the night worried that I was going to sleep in. I got up and started getting ready. Put on all my clothes, new hat that I had bought the night before. Pinned my number on my shirt and finally put on Dads running shoes... today was the big day! I walked down the stairs, took some Advil because I knew I would need it a couple hours later. I started drinking water and anxiously awaited Brains Honda Civic to pull up.

5:15 AM: Brians car pulled up and I walked out the door hoping to myself that I would live to return back to our little home. Brian welcomed me in his car with Queens, We are the Champions playing from his iPod. I was kind of bummed that I hadn't added those classics to my play list. Chariots of Fire, We are the Champions, Eye of the Tiger... what was I thinking? Regardless... I was pumped. We were going to do this.

5:43 AM: We got to the Trax Station off of 106th. Started walking to the station and Brian asked, Hey Jon, did you remember your race chip. I said, "yup!" then I looked down at my shoe and realized it was gone... Great start Jon. Way to go. I was frustrated but tried not to let it affect me.

There were a couple other runners on the train, all listening to their headphones, probably wondering the same thing we were... ARE WE REALLY GOING TO RUN THIS? Most of them looked like beginners just like us. There was a fun special needs girl that got on the next stop. She gave us some comic relief and let us all laugh a bit and cut the stress and tension out for a bit. She was going to volunteer at the finish line. Hand out medals. She proceeded to ask us if we thought the Jazz would be able to beat the Lakers. One guy responded, "I think the Jazz stand just as good a chance as I do winning this race." We all got a good laugh out of that. She didn't like it though. She was the Jazz's number one fan! She was fun.

We got off our train downtown ready to get on the train that would head up to the U of U stadium/Legacy bridge. The second train came and it was PACKED with runners. I felt like I was back in Tokyo and that they may just need a board to cram us all on to the train. We squeezed on and invaded everyones personal space. The energy was pretty amazing though. Everyone was buzzing about the marathon and half marathon. After talking to a couple people I realized that MANY of these runners were running the half. Not many marathoners. Was I nuts trying to do this? Oh well... no turning back now.

We finally got to the starting line and it was MASS CHAOS. Lines and lines of runners trying to get in to one of the porta potties. And everyone else was trying to put all their belongings into a bag so that they could send them in the truck to the finish line. The energy was UN REAL. On the top of the bridge was a black gospel choir. They were INCREDIBLE. And they really set the mood. It was exciting. We all pushed like cattle to the starting line and my emotions were all over the place. I was frustrated that I didn't have time to go to the bathroom, but figured that I would end up finding one somewhere a long the 26.2 mile trail. We were off and feeling great. Brian and I originally wanted to run at about a 10 minute mile pace. We wanted to conserve our energy but the adrenaline made us go much faster than that. We ran at about a 9 minute pace for the first 10 miles or so. It felt great. Every mile that came and went was always a surprise. The mile markers would just pop up! I kept thinking to myself, this marathon is going to be over before I know it! at about mile 4, we split off from the half marathoners for the first time in the race. It was near Sugar House Park. It was beautiful. This is where I started to see people start to get frazzled. Runners were pulling over to the side to stretch, go to the bathroom, walk even. It was a great feeling to pass people and it felt horrible when someone would come speeding past you. But you just kept going regardless. I remember thinking... I wonder if I will see that runner again in an hour or so... almost all of them I never saw again.

I was shocked to realize that I was going to be taking a trip down memory lane. We ran by Olympus Highschool, the house that I grew up in, my elementary school, the chapel that my Dad baptized me in when I was 8. It was awesome. I was able to see Bruce Boucher standing on the side of the road. It made the run down memory lane that much better. We ran all the way down to 6200 SOUTH. For those of you from the Salt Lake area you know just how long this is... it's long. Here is a link of the map.

http://www.saltlakecitymarathon.com/fileadmin/SLC_pdf/SLC_09_AllCourse_map.pdf

The first 13 miles were pretty easy. Once I got to mile 14 things got a little ugly... the body started shutting down. I was kind of frustrated with the Salt Lake Marathon people. They had advertised that we would have gel packs at mile 10 and 16... we did not. I feel bad for all those people that relied on that. YIKES! That would be hard to finish without the nourishment.

Once mile 17 hit, I could tell that Brian was starting to hit a wall. On mile 18 he told me to go ahead of him a ways. I thought he was going to catch back up but that was the last I saw of him until the finish line. Prior to the race the furthest distance that I had run was 20 miles. I was able to make it to mile 20 no problem, but once I hit mile 21 things got UGLY. It was at about mile 21 that the "temptation station" presented itself. There was a group of about 10-15 people there with negative signs telling people to quit now and that if they did they could have all the free alcohol they wanted. And there was a table filled with it. It really made me upset. Up until this time the signs were filled with nothing but encouragement. Simple signs that said, "YOU CAN" were inspiring and kept me going. I was so grateful for people that did this for the runners and then here at my weakest moment I see the temptation station. I clearly was never tempted to stop right there and take these idiots up on their offer, but it just made me mad. The next 5 miles were filled with nothing but frustration. The mile markers took longer and longer to get to. My mind was going crazy. Will I ever finish this race? Will I falter or will I finish? Not only that but I had committed to RUN the marathon, not WALK it... so run I did. My pace got slower and slower... but I was determined to finish it. Up until this point the race was visually very appealing. It was beautiful. Around mile 23 it was just UGLY. South Salt Lake is not very pretty. It was frustrating. There were not many people running next to me either... at this point in the race you really start spreading yourself out from the other runners.

Then the beast of all beasts... mile 25 was on State Street in Salt Lake. It was literally a gradual up hill climb the entire way. WHO PUTS MILE 25 UP HILL?!?!? It was so difficult, especially when I had committed to RUN this marathon. the last quarter mile up to the top of state street by the temple I had to give in and walk or I would never be able to run that last mile to the finish line. I walked... at probably as fast of a pace as I was running, but it felt better so I justified it. Then the point came where I turned the corner, I could see the Union Station and the sign that said GATEWAY. The feeling was exciting. I was going to finish. I was so exited to see Ash and my family. I was hoping that they were there, and that they were on time. I rounded the corner and there they were. All my nieces and nephews, brother and sister in laws, my Mom and siblings, and Ash and Lily with signs and they were cheering me on! Of course... I melted down and started crying, Ash leaped onto the course and she ran the last 100 yards with me. I ran fast and to complete exhaustion. I was crying and had way to many emotions to even express. It was one of the greatest feelings in the world. I did it, I completed the race. They placed my medal around my neck and gave me water and told me to keep walking so I didn't cramp up. My family all rounded the corner to greet me. I had done it. It took me 4:30 minutes. But I had done it! It felt great. Shortly after we snapped some pictures I looked for the bathroom that I had waited 4 and a half hours for :) Perfect way to end the race.

So there it is. My Marathon story. I ran for Dad. In his shoes. I accomplished what most people can't. It felt great. Will I do it again... maybe. But for now I am enjoying saying that I ran a marathon.

Sunday, May 31, 2009

Change

Tuesday, April 21, 2009

26.2

Thursday, April 2, 2009

March Madness