26.2 miles...again

Yes. We did it again. We ran a marathon last week. Are we crazy? Probably. Read on to hear all about it. We wrote this one as a little interview with ourselves to give you the inside scoop on the marathon experience. And a special thank you to CC for the awesome pictures!

What is a marathon?

Tim: It's kind of funny - my mom, V, started running marathons when I was still living at home, so I learned all about the specifics of the race from a young age. I've known for as long as I can remember that a marathon is the name for a race of exactly 26.2 miles (never forget the .2, because marathoners are usually insistent that the .2 matters since every step hurts by that point in the race). For a lot of people (especially non-runners, AKA Muggles), I think the word marathon just means "a long race". People ask me all the time how long of a marathon I'm running.

A lot of people wonder why the race has such a random distance - why 26.2 miles? Even if you switch to kilometers it is still weird (42.195 kilometers). When it was first introduced as a modern Olympic sport, it was to commemorate the fabled run of a Greek messenger from the battlefield of the Battle of Marathon to Athens. The runner supposedly ran all the way to Athens to report the Greek victory over the Persians, bursting into the Assembly to shout "We have won!", and then falling to the ground dead. Non-distance runners are always quick to point out to me the obvious lesson found in this first ever marathon run.

The distance from Marathon to Athens is about 25 miles (40 kilometers), and the early modern Olympic race distance was about that long. When they standardized the race distance in the early 1900's, they used the distance from a recent course that was a little longer for convenience of the start and finish lines. That is how 26.2 became the official Olympic distance, and the standard distance around the world for the marathon. The fastest marathon runners finish the race in about 2 hours 10 minutes (meaning they average about 5 minute miles the whole time). You can click here to learn more about marathons, and here to see a list of upcoming races (because I know by now you're itching to do one).

Waiting for the race to start at the historic Teton Dam overlook area. 

When did you first have the idea that you wanted to run a marathon?

Irene: I think the first time the idea of running a marathon entered my mind was after I had D. Postpartum I was completely out of shape! I couldn't even run a full mile without having to stop, walk, and catch my breath. I decided that I didn't want to be in that physical condition and that I wanted it to change. So why did I choose a marathon? Still not sure why, but I did. I made a goal that after every new child I would run a marathon to get back into shape. However, after this marathon, I am thinking of maybe doing a triathlon instead of a marathon next time. But we shall see.

Tim: My mom ran marathons while I was in high school, but I didn't consider doing one myself until my senior year when I became more invested and competitive in Cross Country running. For a distance runner, the marathon is kind of the ultimate challenge, though people are getting more and more crazy with 100K and 100 mile races.

Why run a marathon?

Irene: Because it is really long, and it takes a lot of training to get there. The consistency and focus of daily exercise it takes is really the best part. Its not so much about the race day or the end for me, but more about how it helps me focus on working out every day for a long time. Plus I wanted to lose the baby weight!

Almost ready to start!

This isn't your first time running a marathon, so what was unique this time?

Irene:
Let me first give a little background about my last marathon, the first one I ever ran. It was in Anchorage, Alaska and was held on Summer Solstice. The year I ran it rained the first 15 miles and then slowly let up, but never became sunny. It was a great race - my family cheered me on at different points and watched D for me. I did that race in 4 hours and 15 minutes and felt satisfied with my time, especially since six months earlier I could barely run a full mile without stopping.  The race course was a slow increase in elevation till mile 14 and then a steady drop in elevation. There were little hills but nothing terrifying - except for the finishing line where the course planners put a hill right at the end. Who does that?!

Irene running her first marathon in Anchorage, 2014.

Irene at the finish of the Anchorage marathon 2014. D had really missed her!

The Teton Dam marathon this year was very different. The course was supposed to drop in elevation the whole race, so in my mind I thought, "Great - no hills!" I was terribly wrong. A decrease in elevation does not equal no hills in the race. This race had lots of rolling hills throughout. Between the rolling hills were long straight stretches of the course with not many curves (which become a mind game). Also the race started right as the sun was rising and it was a bright, beautiful, clear day with lots of sun. I was not prepared to race in heat (I actually don't do heat very well - that's why I love Alaska). So at every aide station I drank two cups of fluids (either Gatorade or water) to stay hydrated and not get heat stroke. I had run here in Utah were it gets hot, but running 4.5 hours straight in the sun was rough.

At the beginning of the race Tim and I decided to not run together because he is way faster than I am and I didn't want to hold him back with my slower pace. So I ran alone pretty much the whole time with a few miles here and there running along side other racers. I also decided not to listen to any music or audio books while running because then I would have to carry a device in my hands. The inevitable set in - loneliness. It probably hit around mile 7 and lasted for the majority of the race. There were points around mile 20 that I would start to cry but couldn't because it would make me hyperventilate and then I couldn't breathe to run, so I told myself to stop it and just push on.

Marathons may be hard on your body and make you really sore afterwards, but it is the emotional fatigue that I hate the most during the race. I remember finishing my first marathon and just wanting to cry because for the last 6 miles I would see everyone else around me running with a partner/friend/family member and I didn't have anyone. Luckily I didn't cry at the Teton Dam finish line because Tim was there to tell me it was over and to just relax.

Irene coming into the finish line.

I also somehow always get really bad blisters on my feet when I run long distances, so at the end of the marathon I found some lovely big ones waiting for me to take care of. Fortunately, I've figured out a great system of getting them to heal quickly before the next long run.

One regret I have about this marathon is not training longer. My first marathon I trained for six months and did lots of speed training. This marathon I didn't do any speed work and I think it showed in my results. I like longer training period because of the slow build up and longer taper. Next marathon I want to do another 6 month training period.

One bonus to this marathon was training with Tim. Even though we didn't run together it was fun to talk to each other about our struggles during the long runs. The funniest part was hearing the cries coming from the bathroom as Tim would sit in his ice bath after a long training run. I am excited for time to pass so we can reminisce about our memories of this marathon.

The part we will remember in years to come.

Tim: First off, let me say that Irene's shrieks from the bathroom during her ice-baths far outdid mine (I love being the editor and getting the last word). This was my third marathon, but the previous two were both on the Top of Utah course in Logan, UT. That course is quite different, starting up in a canyon and winding downhill for the first 14 miles along side a river before flattening out to head into town for the finish. This time on the Teton Dam course in Rexburg, ID, there was much less elevation change (no long downhills) and more little uphills. It was less windy, and much more straight, flat, country roads where I could see for miles. In addition to the course being different, the Top of Utah marathon is much bigger with hundreds of runners. Only about 50 runners competed in the Teton Dam marathon. But one of the most impactful differences was the climate. Top of Utah takes place in late September, and has been sweetly cool both times I've run it. The first time it was even drizzly the whole way, which was glorious! We ran Teton Dam on June 3rd, starting just as the sun rose. What seemed like 10 minutes later, the sun was high in the sky and burning down on the farm land and roads. It was hot. At every aid station I grabbed a cup of water to pour down my back.

The other thing that was different this time was the family support. I've had family support each time, from B driving to Logan with me, to Irene taking care of D, to Irene's brother and sister-in-law housing us and a friend the night before. But this time there were so many people to see me at the finish line that it was really unique. My Mom, Dad, and brother-in-law took care of our kids in the morning and got them to the finish line, and my sisters helped with them all while we ran. They all met us with my nephews and niece at the finish, and it was so powerful to have them all around me after I finished!

The finish-line welcome crew (minus most of the kids, who are probably playing, and CC, who is behind the camera). 

Family doing what family does - coming through for us.

My two sisters ran the 5K and my nephew ran the Kids Run. 

D at the finish line. Can you tell how excited he is?

How long did you train?

Tim: This time we trained for 16 weeks, which means we started in mid February. Irene stuck to the daily schedule like glue, and I did pretty well (missed a few days here and there). We had actually set out an 18 week training schedule, but ended up registering for a race that was going to happen two weeks before we would be done training, so we cut out a couple of weeks. You can check out our training schedule here. Feel free to use any part of it or ask us questions if you are thinking of training. If you are an experienced marathoner, feel free to help us improve it!

What was it like having both of you as parents training for and running the same race?

Irene: It was sometimes a logistical nightmare. When both of us had to do a long run on a Saturday morning (17, 19 or 21 miles), it was hard to fit them both in switching off watching kids. Whoever went first had to watch kids while exhausted from the run while the second person went running. One of us would leave early and get to run mostly in the cool, while the second person had to do the run in the heat of the sun. The one bonus of that was that I got tan faster than I otherwise would have! Sometimes we went on trips and we would change up the schedule a bit so we didn't do long runs on the same day, but that would impact the other runs and the flow of the week. Sometimes it was chaos.

I did like the fact that Tim would listen to audio books while running, and I got into that through him. I got to listen to some books I really liked, like Still Alice by Lisa Genova. It only took two long runs to finish the whole book!

During training, one of us always stayed with the kids while the other ran. Not so for the race. M hadn't seen us for hours, and she was emotionally pretty wary of being left for a while after the race. 

What is something you have learned from training?

Irene: Endurance and physical stamina take time and consistent effort every day to build. You start at the bottom, but the body is amazing and it just grows tougher and tougher every time you challenge it a bit more. I also learned to make sure you get the right shoes the first time. I had a hard time getting a pair of the shoes I know I like, and it was hard on my feet. I learned that I don't like running with lots of cars and noise nearby (which is hard to escape here in Provo), and that old men on bikes think I am cute even when I've run 11 miles and am super sweaty. He told me so three times!

Tim: I learned to put Body Glide anywhere that might rub, cover my nipples with band aids, and take an ice bath and a long walk after a long run. Seriously, a lot of the pain goes out of distance running if you learn to prevent chaffing and speed up muscle recovery. I started taking ice baths while training for my last marathon in 2013, but adding a long walk later in the day made a noticeable difference this time. 

What was this race and how did this race turn out for you?

Tim: This was the Teton Dam marathon in Idaho, which started up at the historic Teton Dam overlook site outside of Rexburg and finished in Rexburg's Smith Park. It is a fairly new race, and still a quiet and small one. I didn't have a very specific goal for this race, but hoped to finish somewhere between 3 hours 30 minutes and 4 hours. I went out much faster than I should have, which is a temptation every time I race because of the adrenaline of the start line and the current of people (who are incidentally also running faster than they should, but one always wonders...). I ran the first 8 miles much faster than I'd trained because a young first-time runner named Ben pegged himself to me and started to chat. I adapted to his pace (probably due to instinctual manly pride) and kept it up until we were joined by an experienced marathoner who was pushing to finish in 3 hours 23 minutes. I ran with them for a mile or so and then dropped back to what I know my pace should be.

I ended up finishing in better time than I'd expected, but payed for it with a slow recovery and utter fatigue at the end. I was so happy to be done that I leaped across the finish line. I regretted it about 2 seconds later as I almost fell over and had to lean on the course volunteer helping finishers into the recovery area.

So happy to be done!

Tim's results

Irene: I was slower for this race than my last one, but I think part of that was due to the rolling hills and the heat. Even though I drank at every station, I felt that I was constantly zapped of energy. I ran alone a lot, and stuck with running buddies when I found them to help me stay motivated. I also got an awesome sunburn!

That's what happens when you don't train much in your new running shirt before a sunny, 4.5 hour race!

 I wish I had trained longer, so that I could have pushed my body more. I pushed hard through mile 20, and was on pace to finish in 4 hours. But after that point I broke down physically and emotionally. My mile pace slowed way down and I cried a lot, making sure I stifled it when I heard someone coming up behind me to pass. I think next time I want to do more speed training to get used to my goal pace before the race day.

Irene's results

What was an interesting experience you had while running the race?

Irene: I ran next to a man for 7 miles straight because he was running at the pace I wanted to stick to. We talked a little bit, and it is always interesting to hear why people are running, where they are from, and how many they've run before. This guy was from Draper, UT, and was running this race because his dad lives in Sugar City (right near Rexburg), and had been there for the flooding when the Teton Dam broke on 5 June 1976. He was doing this as a way to commemorate the people who survived that catastrophe, particularly his own father.

Welcoming Mama in the recovery area.

Tim: I love meeting people on the course. You always end up running next to someone for a few miles and chatting. This time I ran next to several people who have set out to run a marathon in each U.S. state. One was completing her 7th, and the other her 10th. I also saw a man who had just had surgery a couple of weeks before and was supposed to be "taking it easy". One lady I ran next to had run a different marathon two weeks before, and said she could feel that she still wasn't recovered. Ben, the young first-timer who ran with me the first few miles, was just back from an LDS mission and hadn't really trained. He had just decided to run the marathon when his friend told him about the race. He finished about a minute ahead of me. 

One of the best moments was when my old hometown friend and fellow runner JJ showed up to encourage me for the last .3 miles. He helps run the business that manages all the timing logistics for the race, and knew I was running. He met me near the end and ran me almost all the way into the finish line - pushing me and helping me give my utmost in that last stretch. He felt like a saving angel! I found out afterword that he had informed my family where I was in the course so they knew when to expect me, and were all there waiting. What a guy!

Tim coming into the finish line. I could swear I was sprinting, but to the observers it must have looked more like a lumbering trot. 

What is the hardest part of the race?

Irene: Mile 20 to the end. You are tired, hot, and you're past the longest run you've ever done in training. Your legs are fatigued, and you still have 6 more miles to go, and you start wondering why on earth you are doing this. All the excitement is gone at that point, and there is still no finish line nearby to motivate you. You think, "Meh, I'll just walk." But then you think you've been running for 20 miles, so you might as well finish it out. I did pay to do this, after all.

Waiting to cheer on Mama at the finish. 

Will you do it again?

Irene: Don't ask me that question right now.

Tim: Probably, though I'm not quite sure why.

We're better together.