Bozeman Marathon

I, of course, did not sleep very well the night before the marathon. I finally got out of bed just before my alarm went off at 4.  I made some coffee and started getting ready. I had set out everything I needed the night before, so I got ready fairly quick.  Sarah was picking me up in front of the hotel at 5 and I got downstairs just as she pulled up in her old ranch pick-up which we decided was the perfect thing for two Team Beef girls to be going to the marathon in.

The man at packet pickup kept emphasizing to me that the last bus was leaving at 5:45 so we wanted to make sure we didn't miss the bus.  We were there before any buses were.  No worries there!  The bus ride out seemed to take a long time, but it was nice and warm and fun to visit with Sarah.

Once we pulled up to the starting area we could see the grass on the side of the road whipping around. Eeek! It looked cold out there, and it was! We got in line at the porta potties right away and then got back on the bus to wait for awhile. We didn't have long to wait and before we knew it, it was time to drop our drop bags off and head to the start.

Once the gun went off and I started running I warmed up right away. The wind was behind us and it was in the low 40s so really it felt great for running.  I concentrated on keeping my pace around 8:30 to 9 min/mile pace and the first few miles went by easily.  My shoulder didn't start to bother me until about 2.5 miles in.  I played around with a few stretches while running and finally found one that seemed to really help around mile 4.  It didn't take away the shoulder pain, but kept it somewhat under control.  Although I am sure I looked funny clasping my hands together and running with them straight out in front of me every now and then.

Miles 9-13 seemed really hard mentally. This was the most uphill portion of the marathon and my shoulder was really bothering me. On top of that my Honeystinger chews and Tailwind that I have used with no problem during all my long runs while training were bothering my stomach. I hadn't stopped at any water stops until mile 12ish since I was carrying Tailwind, but by that point I was craving water and feeling very thirsty.

Mile 14.5ish  I was feeling super motivated to get here as I knew my husband and kids would be waiting for me here with a fresh bottle of Tailwind.  I took it and high fived my kids and kept running. The kids couldn't believe I would even stop for a high five "Keep running Mom, don't stop"!

At this point the course was mostly downhill. It seemed like at every water stop, and I stopped at nearly every water stop in the second half of the race, someone would say "It's all downhill from here"  and then there would be a hill. Not a big one, but a hill all the same.

Kiley drove by somewhere around mile 21, yelled some encouragement and took some pictures.  So nice having encouragement along the way!  I even managed to smile.

My pace was slowing quite a bit as I was now walking through water stops and my guts started protesting.  I had to use a porta potty around mile 24, but from there I finished feeling pretty strong.  For the most part my shoulder quit bothering me for the last 5 miles or so.  I feel like it really sucked a lot of the fun out the marathon. My quads were feeling a bit crampy for the last three miles, and I know I will be feeling that for a couple days!

The last 2 miles is a long straightaway and you can seem the turn to the finish for a long time, when I finally turned onto main street the finish line seemed soooo far away! It was great to see my kids and husband cheering me on and I finished pretty strong, passing a few people along the way.

Two more fellow Team Beef Montana runners, who had run the half, were waiting just across the finish line and after I had a couple minutes to catch my breath and drink some water we had fun catching up and the race. We also met some Team Beef runners from Texas.

We are all headed to Hawaii in a month to run Ragnar Hawaii

I ended up 3rd in my age group and scored a belt buckle for an age group award.  I am super happy with my time and completing my second marathon without hitting the wall as insanely as I did in my first one.

I got a 28 second PR even!

Randoms

• It got really warm towards the end. 
• By the time I got home and weighed myself I was down 6 lbs...better hydrate!
• The water stops the first half of the marathon were about three miles apart and two miles apart the second half. 
• I was very glad I carried my own hydration as well
• Injuries: one big blood blister on my left foot and several small blisters. One of my toenails ate the toe next to it. Very sore quads. Chaffing in left armpit and chafe marks around waist from my hydration belt.  Nothing very major thankfully.  Now to hopefully get this shoulder thing figured out.
• Marathons are hard
• Bozeman marathon is a very scenic course. 
• awesome medals and awards!
• Loved having my family there for support.

linking up