St George Experience

Karma! There's something to be said about faith and Karma in running. I just got back from St George and it was a trying experience. I am glad I ran the race and finished, albeit not at a time that I wanted but probably was expected based on my training. Weather forecast for race day changed on a daily basis. The initial report was for hot weather which gradually turned into a windy, rainy day by race morning. Steady rain showers and a 10-15 mph head wind made it for rough going. I knew I was in trouble when at mile two my watch fell off my quick release band as I was taking off my long sleeve shirt. It was still pitch dark and I had no idea where it went nor did I want to get trampled by the hoard of runners behind me. I chalked it up to Karma and decided to go on and run by feel. Unfortunately, St George did not have regular timing. The next timing was at the half way point and by that time I was at 1:50, 5 min behind my pace. I thought I could make this up on the second half with a negative split, but it was not meant to be. At mile 15, the dreaded bowel issues reared its ugly head once again and I spent a good 4 minutes or so in the porta potty. As I sat on the throne, I realized for the first time that is was raining really hard. I could hear the rain hit the roof of the porta potty at a rapid pace and I almost did not leave the warm confines of this little smelly shelter. Somehow, I talked myself into not giving up and went back out to give it another go. At mile 21, I realized that there was no way I would make my goal. The little demons came back and started to screw with my head. I started to take longer walks during aid stations and found myself slowing down even more. Once the original goal was not attainable, it was very difficult to go one. Somehow at mile 23, I got tired of staying out in the miserable rain any longer than I had to and started to pick it up again. I passed a lot of people in the last 3 miles. I have no idea how fast I was running but I just wanted to be done by that time and lay down. When I hit the finish line, I didn't have much left. I think for how my training went for this race, I did pretty much what should have been predicted. In the end, I am still glad I went to St George and finished strong at least for the last three miles. In the end, the running Karma just wasn't good for this race. But that's the thing amount marathon running. You can control only a few factors and the rest are out of your control. It is what makes it so frustrating and yet so rewarding.