26.2!

 Yesterday I ran my first marathon.  Unlike Philippides- the Greek warrior who ran from Marathon to Athens- I didn't die.  But I did have to sit down after finishing.  Heidi asked, "Mike are you in shock?" "No, I'm just tired."

  I felt great for most of the run.  I had worried about a little posterior thigh pain that started after playing Ultimate two days before the race, but that disappeared after about 1/2 a mile.  Then at mile 24 I started feeling tired.  At mile 25 I felt like my calves might cramp and despite wanting to finish strong I had to walk a tiny 30 foot hill before the last home stretch to the finish line.

Running a marathon has been a personal goal for sometime.  Like so many worthwhile and amazing things in life there are always good reasons not to do them.  I wanted to find a marathon at least 5 weeks before "Baby Ume" was due and preferably one that had a climb and was at least partially on trail.  The inaugural Wasatch Back Marathon presented itself.  It started at Soldier Hollow and ran a little downhill for about 4 miles and then began ascending snake creek canyon.  Elevation mile 2: 5,446.  Elevation mile 15: 8631.

After finishing the climb it took some time to stretch my legs out and start making longer strides.  Then I got to enjoy soaring views over the Heber valley with Deer Creek and Jordanelle far below, and yellow daisies, blue-purple-and white geraniums, blue lupine, dark blue and purple penstemon, and I'm sure there were some red paint brush but I couldn't concentrate or slow down enough to see them.

There was a surprise hill about mile 17.  I kept hoping the route was somehow going to skirt around it but then I saw the leaders in the distance and saw they were walking the hill which pretty much confirmed for me I was going to walk that section.

The winning time was 3:45 and I finished 4:19.  9th overall out of about 250 and  2nd in my age division.  This was a brutal but beautiful run.  My friend and training companion Spencer finished about 3 minutes behind me.   We couldn't help but wonder what are time would have been on a traditional marathon course with a steady loss of elevation and all on asphalt.  Another time.

When I told Hannah about how Phelippides died after exclaiming Nike.  She said, "He didn't train."  In rehab we talk about the SAID principle "Specific Adaptations to Imposed Demands."  Got out on some great training runs and added specific exercises to my training regimen to prevent common injuries:

Achilles tendinosus- eccentric calf raises
Ankle Sprain- single leg babalncing
Hamstring strain- eccentric single leg squat
Anterior Knee Pain (Patellofemoral pain)- Double leg squats
IT Band syndrome- single leg hip abduction
Plantar Fasciitis- towel crunches, and writing the alphabet with your toe.  Great for boring meetings.


The journey has made me stronger and it was fun.