July 24th was the Deseret News Marathon in Salt Lake City, UT. Had to get up at 2:00 am to get ready and Abbe drove me downtown at 2:30 to catch the bus shortly after 3:15 am. Already it was a long day. I've got to learn to not catch the first bus....I was waiting at the start for 1.5 hours in the dark. Fortunately it was not cold out, but it was dark. Have you ever tried to use a porta potty in the dark? You really don't want to use braille to find your way around regardless of how clean you think the unit might be:) We started just before dawn and headed down the canyon. Beautiful course down into the Salt Lake Valley from Big Mountain. Over the pass to Emigration Canyon and finished the first half in 2:25 (expected split). I thought the run back up Foothill Blvd would never end. By mile 19 or 20 the sun was out in full force and I started to feel it. Fortunately just after I passed the university a gal had a hose pouring out heavenly cool water. I drank and doused my hat and revelled in the drips from my bill the next few miles. Another kind citizen had their garden hose draped over the hood of their car running cool water for whoever wanted it. What a nice gesture. Once I hit South Temple I hit an aid station that had many gallons of cool water lined up. I grabbed one from a volunteer and proceeded to pour it down my back. It was an amazing feeling of relief. I kept on pouring water down my back at each aid station and when they finally handed out the wet sponges I grabbed one and put it in my hat so it would cool my scalp. By now the temperature was at least 90. Running along part of the parade route was fun with all the people cheering us on. I struggled a bit during the last half mile and walked a couple hundred yards before jogging in to the finish line. My two youngest, Cullen and Ellis accompanied me across the finish line. Just after they draped my medal around my neck another volunteer handed me a cool bottle of water which I emptied over my head....ahhh, so refreshing. I did that once more a few seconds later. My family arrived a few minutes before I got to the finish and once I was ready we walked to the car and headed home. I had to throw up in a plastic bag on the drive home, but felt much better afterward. I got the shakes pretty badly when my body started to finally cool down, but I took a nap and felt fine within a few hours. I dropped seven pounds during this race and finished in 5:12. Not bad considering the heat. Overall I enjoyed the race very much. Well organized and supplied.
