Saint George Marathon- Taylor Farnsworth

     My debut marathon was certainly a learning experience! The training had gone very well and I had my goals set high. I came into this race with a lot of confidence. I was only able to get 3 hours of sleep the night before, which was frustrating and likely wasn't too helpful. The first 7 miles were quick, averaging 5:17 pace to this point. I got caught up in running with a few guys up front because I was afraid of being stuck in no-man's land for 20+ miles. Turns out there was a group going just a little slower than my intended pace. That would have been better for me than a little too fast.
     The uphill section had some strong wind and due to going out too fast I didn't run as strong here as I would have liked. Jon Kotter and I came through the half in 1:11:55, stocking Fritz. Being 25 seconds behind where I wanted to be, I went a little too hard the next few miles. 15 and 16 were 5:03 and 4:57. I passed Fritz at 15. At this point I was excited and running on emotion and adrenaline, disregarding how my body actually felt and the fact that there were over 10 miles to go. Shortly after 16 I realized I had made a big mistake. I slowed down to try and recover but I never was able to feel decent for the rest of the race. The next hour was the hardest consecutive hour of running I've ever done in my life. I was able to keep moving and running until mile 23. From 23 to the finish, I walked 4 times. My last 2 miles were 6:50 and 6:53, a slower pace than most of my recovery days. It was brutal, but I received a lot of strength from the 4 runners who passed me in the last 3 miles: Scott Keate, Mike Nelson, Nate Clayson, and Ben Van Beekum. These guys were so great in offering me encouragement and urging me forward. If it weren't for them, I'm not sure I would have finished. I know I would have at least walked a couple more times. I crossed the finish line in 6th place with a time of 2:28:32. 
     While I'm not necessarily proud of my time (considering I had a goal of under 2:21), I am extremely proud that I finished the race. I have never been so proud of a finisher's medal. I'm thankful for the supportive friends, family, and running community that helped me prepare so well, namely my wife, the Sojourner's guys I did some training with, Iain Hunter for coaching and guiding my training and race plan (even though I failed to keep an even head and follow it well), and Runner's Corner for making sure I had the gear I needed to train and compete. For a long, complete, mile-by-mile analysis, see my running blog :)

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