Did someone qualify?

Prayers were answered about 2 weeks ago. I got into the St. George Marathon, and it was by a miracle.

The St. George Marathon receives so much recognition because it's the fastest course in Utah, and one of the fastest courses in the U.S. The course is scenic, the volunteers are unlike any others, and again, it's fast. The way I would describe this marathon is,'God's running course.'

For certain athletes it takes about 3-12 months to recover from a marathon. I was a little concerned with my body because I had just ran a hard, 3:45 marathon in Logan. That would only give my body 2 weeks to recover before the next marathon. But taking mental inventory of my body, during the past year I have not had any injuries. Everything has been well maintained, thanks to the ice-baths that I jump into weekly. So without thinking twice I accepted the invitation to St. George.

The first week of recovery I hopped onto the spinning bike 3x for vigorous workouts. Then I ran twice that week, about 10 miles total. The following week I did speed intervals totaling in at about 12 miles. I usually pull 40-60 mile weeks, so I felt like a slug.

Race weekend came, and I became very excited that I was running this marathon. The forecast was showing it would be rainy the entire day of the race, I didn't care. I ate my pasta, and put my running shoes on.

Well, at the start line it started raining. It just kept raining, and it never stopped. With the rain came a harsh wind against us. Sometimes during the race the rain was coming at us sideways. I didn't care, in fact, I hardly noticed.

Before the race I searched for my pacer Andy. Andy's job was to run the marathon at exactly an 8:23 minute pace per mile, finishing at exactly 3:40. He did just that. It amazed me that he ran exactly the same every mile, using only a simple watch.

When I found him, I told myself that I would be glued to his side for the next few hours of my life. I did just that. I listened to Andy very intently as he spoke to the heard of 3:40 runners. At every hill we went up he talked us through it. I had to put myself a little in front of the group so I wouldn't trip on others that were behind Andy.

By the time mile 18 came I was completely running high on endorphins. Same thing at 20, 22, 24, and 25. It was incredible. I really thought that I just dreaming, I had to pinch myself to know that this was actually real. I didn't hit a wall the entire race. By the the last 5k I plowed to the finish at a 3:35. I remember thinking at the last mile, I can walk if I want to.

At the finish I sobbed. Other runners kind of looked at me, I didn't care. I called my family and told them about my accomplishment. I even took 5th in my division.

To this day, that is one of the most fulfilling experiences I've ever had. I've only been working toward this goal for 4 years. This April I'm joining 25,000 other runners from around the world to run the Boston marathon. It's amaziong what happens when we have goals.

How can I train differently so I can run faster next year? Hmmm, 3:20 anyone?