So, I found out that I made it into the St. George Marathon. It’s a lottery and I kind of entered it on a whim. When I wasn’t able to run the Canyon Lands Half-Marathon, I was kind of bummed, so I thought I’d sign up for the full in St. George…probably hoping, somewhere deep inside of me (or perhaps on the surface), that I wouldn’t get in.
After I registered for the lottery, I mentioned to a friend that I had done it and he asked, “Is this your first time?”
“Yes,” I replied.
“Then you’ll get in for sure. They always let first-timers in.”
Well, that would have been helpful to know about a minute before I registered. I might have thought about it a little bit more.
Not only did I get in, but it was one of the counselors at work who told me that I had. He came up to me and said, “I saw your name on a list. Looks like you’ve got some work ahead of you.”
My response: “What? I have no idea what you are talking about. What list?” I was truely at a loss, and this particular counselor likes to ‘banter’, so it took a few minutes to finally get him to tell me what the heck he was talking about.
This is my first year of running in races, and so far, I have been emailed whenever I have gotten in to a lottery, but there was no email this time, so I was grateful someone else was watching out for me. I am excited and nervous all at once. Running a marathon is on the list, and now I will get to do it before I turn 30 (yep…the big day is this year). I’m also glad that most training programs run about four months, so I have a month to get back into running daily.
And in true Andersen form, as soon as I found out, I decided it was time to purchase a running skirt. (This is a great blog post with lots of comments about the pros and cons). My voice instructor told me about them…so I did a little online searching and found these ones that have two pockets (how convenient! I can stick my iPod, gels, etc. right there in my skirt) and have received lots of positive reviews. I can’t wait for it to arrive!
Any words of wisdom or advice? Yes, I’m actually soliciting advice, so take advantage, as this rarely happens.
existential dilemmas 
I think it’s funny that we’re having a conversation through comments. Thanks for the great advise. I didn’t even think about training downhill but that definitely makes a lot of sense. Unfortunately running downhill means I also have to run back up. Yuck!! I tried the energy jelly beans once. I ate one and had to spit it out. Maybe I need to test out a few different flavors, what’s your favorite? I think I definitely need to unrefine (not a word) my tastes or else I’m going to be hating life!
Also, have you ever used the gels? I’m a little creeped out by them but I figure I need to get over that aversion pretty quickly. Do you prefer one brand/flavor over another? I need all of the help I can get!
Our marathon stories are pretty similar. I entered on a whim after swearing I would never run a race longer than 10 miles, I was also informed after I submitted my entry that my being selected was pretty much a done deal thanks to the fact that it was my first marathon, as well as the fact that I live out of state (apparently they love out of towners), and I probably wouldn’t have known I made it had I not have been bored and decided to go through each name (thanks to the fact that they mixed up my first and last name).Are you following a training program? Are you excited/nervous? I still have mixed feelings about the whole situation. Perhaps we can help motivate each other. I could definitely use a little moral support in this adventure!
hey chloe – i am in maren’s ward in california. congrats on getting in the st. george marathon. best decision to act on a “whim” you’ve ever made. i think we’ll have maren completing a marathon around that same time! how do you know her?