The girls and I made a quick weekend trip to Utah. My sister and I had signed up for our second annual half marathon (we're making it a tradition :) ).
We figured it would be easiest to meet each other in Utah for this half marathon after researching races in our own states. There are a LOT of choices in Utah for half marathons, and they're mostly held on Saturday instead of Sunday. They happen every weekend AND there are choices of races in canyons where it's nice and cool, but most importantly, there's a lot of downhill sections of the race.
First, the half marathon story and pictures. And since I want to remember how it went, I'm going to copy my sister and tell the whole story about how I felt during the race. I only wish I was as witty as her so this would be entertaining for you. But I'm not :)
We had to wake up at 3:30 a.m. to catch a bus to the start line. I guess that's the price you have to pay for running down a canyon--there's nowhere to park at the start and they have to bus people up there. And wow, there were a LOT of buses.
Living in a small town, I underestimate the amount of people who show up for these races. It's fine, except for the traffic at 4 a.m. to park and get on a bus. And maybe you're a little late to begin with. We sat in the car a good 20 minutes trying to get to the parking lot. Finally I pulled over and parked in front of someone's house and we walked the rest of the way to meet Jordyn (a friend from my ward who was running this race with us) We all boarded the bus and listened to the other people around us talk. I scoffed at the man talking about his toe causing him problems, until Jordyn told us later (she was sitting by him) he had just run a 50 mile race the week before and lost his toenail. Yikes! WHO DOES THAT!? I wouldn't be WALKING a week later. Actually, I probably wouldn't have lived through it. So no more scoffing at hurting toes. Good work old man. (And he was old--by 50 mile race standards anyway--probably like 55 or 60). Much tougher than I could ever hope to be.
We got to the start line and waited for 6 a.m. to come around. Amanda was grumpy, which was really funny to me because 1) she's funny all the time and 2) she's always (or was always) perky in the mornings. So I had some good laughs at all the funny, grumpy things she was saying.
It was FREEZING cold. They had a van to take down items of clothing so you could pick them up at the finish line. I didn't want to part with my sweats because it was so cold. So I waited until the last second to shed them and dump them in the van.
Finally the start time rolled around and we were off. Just a note, I'm a big jerk and I don't ever want to run with anyone. I probably mentioned this last year on my blog when I ran the first half marathon. Amanda likes to run with people and talk to make the run go faster and I think this is crazy. I just can't talk while running and I want to go as fast as I can at my own pace and not pace myself with anyone else--faster or slower. I don't even want to follow a pacer. Sorry Manda!! I've heard you shouldn't run so fast that you're too breathless on long runs. If I wasn't breathing hard, I'd be walking. So...I'll just listen to my music and breathe hard for 13.1 miles.
As we took off, I was impressed with how downhill this race really was! It was FUN to run (the first 7 miles) because I wasn't out of breath or too tired. And I was pleasantly surprised when the lady on my app broke in to tell me how fast the first mile was. It was fast. Probably too fast, but I didn't feel like I was going that fast and I felt like I had plenty in me to keep going at that pace. But then after mile 7 we started coming out of the canyon and my beautiful downhill run was over. We started running on a cart path at a golf course. I didn't like this part as much because it was hilly--up and down--with the downhill being too steep to be comfortable to run. And who am I kidding, so were the uphill parts. I was starting to get tired around mile 9 and could tell I better scale the pace back a bit to have the next 4(.1) miles in me.
That's when I saw our family. YAY!! They were situated in just the right spot in the race to cheer us on. I stood up a little straighter and pretended I wasn't tired. Picked up the pace a bit and looked like I was enjoying myself :) Sam and Brett (my brothers-in-law) came and brought Hailey and Ashley. Bless their hearts for waking up that early and driving through the traffic to find a spot to cheer for us for the 2 seconds it took to run by. But seriously, it really meant a lot and made all the difference in my mood and energy. I was getting bored of staring at the backs of the people in front of me and watching their funny ways of running. One day I want to videotape the back of me to see if I run as funny as some people do.
Anyway, I don't remember which mile it was--probably 10ish?--that there was a big steep UPhill. I didn't think this was a very funny joke. I still "ran" up it, but it was STEEP. I was excited to get to the top of it and figured I could handle the last 3 miles. The last 3 miles were OK, but a little slower than my beginning pace. And I thought SEVERAL times that I don't know how anyone could run a full marathon. Because that would have meant I wasn't even halfway. Maybe one day.
I didn't sprint to the finish like I did last year. I did quicken the pace and beat my last year's time by a lot. I got 1:40. That's a 7:40/mile pace. 7 minutes faster than last year's finishing time :) I was happy with that and can't complain. Just remember that downhill start helped a lot.
When I stopped running, I didn't feel like I was going to puke like I felt last year. But I did feel a little drunk--or at least I imagine that's what someone feels like when they can't walk straight, seeing as how I've never drank in my life. It was a little funny trying to walk around and stay upright. My legs were so wobbly! Finally I found some shade and laid down. I should've probably kept moving but by this time I was REALLY hot. Such a difference from the start!
There was free Kneaders french toast at the finish line for racers. I think this is funny because the LAST thing you feel like doing after running is eating. I had a banana and walked around a bit. Met Manda and Jordyn at their finish. Sam, Brett, Hailey and Ashley had also come to the finish line :) They went home and took ALL the kids out for breakfast. We said good-bye to Jordyn and then Amanda and I hung around awhile. We waited until we kind of felt like eating and by that time they were putting away the grills and all the food. Boo. No free french toast for us. I didn't care at the time because food sounded gross, but now I do because I haven't ever had Kneaders french toast. And french toast is right up there with my favorite foods :)
Now, for the rest of the weekend. Sunday was Ashley's birthday, so we took a trip to Build-A-Bear on Saturday. It was a surprise for her, but she was SOOO excited. She's been begging and begging to go sometime, but we don't have any branches very close to us. Amanda and her adorable kids came and we had the whole Build-A-Bear experience. Ashley was beside herself.
