Wow! All those months of training. All those miles on our new shoes. All those long hours of running. All the trials and errors. All the money spent on clothes, shoes, earphones, ipods, watches, energy food, GU. All the planning. All the frustration. All the excitement. It's over.
My alarm went off at 3:00am and my dad's alarm went off at 3:30am. I can honestly say I got a good night's...well hours...sleep. We both went through our individual routines to get ready. I headed up to my parents' house to stretch and warm up a bit. My biggest concern about the run was my IT band so I was doing everything possible to get it ready for what it was about to face. We were out the door and picked up Betty Yamashita at 4:15 and headed to downtown Ogden to catch our buses. My mom later drove to her starting point with my aunt Jodi.
Tom, Betty and I walked to where our buses were. Oh, side story. Did I ever mention that for me to run this race I had to enter in the VIP marathon? By the time I found out my dad was going to run and I decided to run it with him, the marathon was sold out. He agreed to pay for a VIP entrance if I wanted to do it with him. For months everyone has joked about how I would get to ride up on a heated coach bus, get a continental breakfast, get my own private toilet, and I could stay on the bus until minutes before the gun went off instead of freezing outside with everyone else. Well let's just say it wasn't all it was cracked up to be. I am glad the money went to a good cause but I don't think I will be doing that again. I walked my dad and Betty to their "regular" bus and then I was off to find my own bus. I went to the place where the bus would be and saw the little packed breakfasts waiting for us. But they weren't letting us on our coach buses. Come to find out, they were the wrong buses. The coordinator told us to take a breakfast and walk 2 blocks north where our real buses were waiting for us. Not a problem. I followed the crowd and headed toward my bus. My dad was already on his way up to the start. I found a seat on the new bus but just as I was about to break open my breakfast, a guy entered the bus and told us all to get off and go over to the next bus. *sigh* So off I went again to get on the "correct" bus. I found a seat and after what seemed like forever, we were off. Luckily I sat next to a nice girl who I had an easy conversation with. If you know us Zampedri's then you know we are nervous nellies. I don't like to sit still and I get very anxious. I am used to having my dad with me and now we were separated. The entire drive up the canyon, which seemed to take hours, all I could think about was what my dad was doing. I knew he was with Betty so she would take care of him, but I wondered if he was stretching, or going to the bathroom, or waiting for me at our designated meeting place. I started to feel sick. I don't know if it was car sickness or just my nerves starting to ramp up but I was ready to be off the bus. Oh, and the private toilet we VIPs got? It was just the bathroom on the back of the bus. I don't know what I was thinking but I pictured a small RV type thing taking me up with a few people and we would have our own porta potty section at the top. When we did finally reach the starting area a guy came on our bus and told the driver not to let us off. They were having a hard time getting all the buses turned around at the top and he didn't want us getting off I guess to not slow down the process. But I promise there was plenty of sitting around time that we could have all gotten off no problem. The "heated" coach bus was now getting too hot and I was really starting to have anxiety about the whole thing. I kept telling the people around me that I needed to get off that bus but they just looked at me like what was the problem. I looked at my watch and saw that there was only 20 minutes until go time. Now I was getting mad. I wanted off the bus so I could stretch and use a regular porta potty and do everything I had practiced for the last 7 months. I was really working on my breathing because my nerves were almost in crazy mode and the bus was so hot I was worried I would faint. Where was my dad? I needed him. He was always by my side before a run. I finally decided I better swallow the pride and go to the bathroom on the bus or I might not have another chance. Luckily I made good friends with my seatmate because as she came out of the bathroom she handed me some tissues she had packed and informed me the bathroom was out of toilet paper. Geez. I'm not sure I want to be a VIP anymore. Didn't the bus people know there was going to be literally a ton of nervous poo going on in these buses!
Once we were let off the bus I did a quick assessment. I had 10 minutes. I needed to find my dad, stretch, go to the bathroom one last time and get to the starting line and shake off the nerves. I ran up to our designated meeting place but while I was headed up there I knew my dad would not be there. Once I confirmed this I ran back down to the waiting area. I looked over the sea of people just hoping to spot my dad. I realized I had less than 10 minutes until the race was going to start and decided I better mentally prepare myself to run alone. I got in a porta potty line and started stretching. I started giving myself a mental pep talk that my dad would be ok because he had Betty. I was so worried about him but knew he had someone who could carry him through. I kept reminding myself that I had done this before and I could run it alone. Just then I saw a familiar face, Ron Remkes. I yelled and asked if he had seen my dad. He said no but said he was running carrying an American flag. He told me to come to the flag and if he saw my dad he would have my dad stay with him. The announcers were already gearing up the runners and I was still stuck in the potty line. I was trying to keep my anxiety manageable but I just wanted to get to the starting line. Finally I headed to the starting line. I was walking towards the middle of the 9 and 10 minute/mile flags when I spotted Ron's American flag. Just as I turned towards him I spotted my dad. Standing just behind the 4:30 pacer. I could have cried. I was so excited and relieved to see him and Betty and I was also touched that he had remembered I wanted to follow the 4:30 pacer. Suddenly I felt calm.
My dad's pre-race routine wasn't exactly what we practiced either. After arriving at the starting area he got a bloody nose. He said he instantly prayed that it would quit and not come back. In the past he has had to go to the ER to get it to quit. Luckily Betty ran into a doctor she knew and he helped my dad get the blood to stop flowing. He said he went to the 4:30 pacer because luckily I had talked about that pacer so much he knew that is where I would go.
And the gun fired. It took 5 minutes to get to the starting line. My goal was to keep the 4:30 pacer in my sites the entire way. I really wanted to come in in the 4:30s. My dad, however, just wanted to finish. I understood this but I knew that we had consistently trained and that a 4:30s goal was possible. But every time I told Tom this he just got frustrated with me and said he didn't care what the time was and he wasn't going to change anything we hadn't practiced and didn't want to push himself and get burnt out. I didn't either, but I also didn't want my dad to be too conservative because it was actual race day and we end up going slower than normal. We did just fine though. We stayed with the 4:30 pacer and even got in front of him a bit until mile 7. Mile 7 is where we pulled off for a quick bathroom break. After that the pacer stayed in front of us. Because of our walk breaks we never did catch him. Around mile 16 I could feel my dad start to get heavy and slow a bit. I tried to motivate him because we had just completed a big hill and told him we just needed to get to the canyon. I ran ahead a bit hoping he would try and catch me but he didn't. At the mile 17 aid station we took a little longer walk break to try and get some energy. It was starting to get hot and I was really looking forward to the canyon. That is what motivated me to keep going. The mile 17 aid station is where we permanently lost the pacer. I no longer cared. I felt good physically but the heat was starting to get to me. Finally we made it into the canyon where we were instantly hit with a cool wind. I didn't care that it was coming at us instead of behind us. It just felt good. The top of the canyon is a pretty steep downhill and I was recharged. I started gliding down the hill but Tom was still taking it easy. He kept saying he felt great and he was running consistent, but I kept wondering if he was doing ok. But then it started to hit me. I was getting tired. At the mile 20 aid station I was downing all the food they were handing out and asking for GU. But the only GU flavor left was espresso. I know there is no way I could do that flavor and not puke. I passed. For the rest of the canyon we both felt fine but I could tell I needed something...food, GU, more food. The canyon seemed to go on forever and I was ready to be out of it. The miles felt like they were passing slower and slower too. We exited the canyon and both got a little boost of energy because there were quite a few people cheering. At the next aid station I was yelling for GU but they also only had espresso flavor left. Now we had fully entered the parkway. This is where I struggled last time and it is where I began to struggle again. At mile 24 they had cookies but I didn't see them until it was too late. Oh how I wish I could have grabbed a gooey chocolate chip cookie! My dad seemed to be doing ok. I can't be sure though because we pretty much stopped talking. We did do a few more walk breaks during the parkway. It was so hot and we were tired. At the end of the parkway, after one of our walk breaks, I took off. I got behind some lady and instantly got some energy. I was letting her pull me. I was matching her stride for stride and felt really good. Until I looked back and saw my dad stuck in a crowd. I guess he yelled at me to wait up but I didn't hear and he said, or not, and the ladies around him started laughing. At the mile 25 aid station, which was just out of the parkway, we grabbed our drinks and took our time walking. You would think that with only 1.2 miles to go you could just pick it up and book it to the finish. But I have to say this is a really difficult mile. We would start running and not make it far before we were walking again. We were now on the final street, but blocks away from the finish. Mentally we both wanted to take off running but when we tried our legs just wouldn't listen. But walking at this point made it really hard to start running again. I started doing a really slow jog and told Tom that running slow was easier than walking and running again. Tom started inching ahead of me but I told him now is when we needed to be careful because I would rather walk well before the finish line, and crowd, than run now and have to walk in the finish chute. Luckily the crowd starts soon on this street and it really helped us get going. We ran. Waved to family. And hit the finish line hand in hand! We even made my goal of finishing in the 4:30s.
Way to go dad! I have loved doing this with you and am so glad we got to experience this together!
Oh and my IT band? Not one bit of pain!
Some things we have learned along the way:
*It's ok to stop and go to the bathroom...it doesn't kill your time.
*Carry GU because you never know when only espresso is going to be offered to you.
*Eat or refuel early and often, even if you don't think you need it....you do!
*Proper clothing can make or break a run.
*Getting electrolytes cured throwing up.
*Go out and run even if you don't feel like it. You will be glad you did when it is over.
*Tom's an elephant and needs to carry water no matter the distance.
Now the question is, Will we do this again? It's too soon to tell. I am actually really motivated to keep going and really want to sign up for the Top of Utah (Logan) marathon in September. My dad, however, well, he isn't so sure. But here's the thing. I can't do it without him. So hopefully I can convince him to go on a LONG run with me in the next month or so. I would really hate to not have him by my side. So stay tuned and hopefully we will have more running adventures in the future.
I wish I had pictures of all the family who ran but Jeremy didn't know everyone who was running.
Here comes Todd! He made it over the finish line and headed right for the garbage cans to puke. Way to go bro! This is his second half marathon. 1:53:27
Mamacita runnin' hard! First half marathon. We are all so proud. She surprised us all with her running skills. 2:11:49
Aunt Jodi running in strong. She is no stranger to this half marathon, she ran it last year. 2:46:14
Here comes the Daddy Daughter team! Lookin' good if I do say so myself! 4:34:38 & 4:34:39
Mamacita runnin' hard! First half marathon. We are all so proud. She surprised us all with her running skills. 2:11:49
Aunt Jodi running in strong. She is no stranger to this half marathon, she ran it last year. 2:46:14
Here comes the Daddy Daughter team! Lookin' good if I do say so myself! 4:34:38 & 4:34:39
My friend Cami ran the half. 1:56:01 Her hubby Matt ran the full.
Our cheering crowd!
Todd's biggest supporter, Erin. She ran it with him last year.
Betty Yamashita was my and Tom's biggest cheerleader during the run. She seriously gave us the best advice and kept us going. It's fun to run with her because so many people know her.
So glad I did it with my dad!
DADDY DAUGHTER TEAM!
OFFICIAL TIMES OF FAMILY MEMBERS(hopefully i am remembering everyone who ran)
5K:
Ed Powell 32:16
Taylor Zampedri 27:17
Katie Zampedri 32:48
Bill Zampedri 27:50
Half Marathon:
Half Marathon:
Todd Zampedri 1:53:27
Cydne Zampedri 2:11:49
Jodi Cleveland 2:46:15
Jodi Cleveland 2:46:15
Kathy Montgomery 3:07:34
Cari Montgomery 2:57:22
Andi Zampedri 2:41:35
Sue Zampedri 2:41:36
Meghan Manning 1:58:50
Neil Manning 1:43:31
Full Marathon:
Tom Zampedri 4:34:38
Brandy Bair 4:34:39
