Well, I DID IT! I ran my first ever half marathon on Saturday, June 15th! Surprisingly enough, I'm so sad (but also very happy :), it's over! What possessed me to run a half marathon, you ask? I do not know. I ran cross country in high school (10 years ago...), but have never been a super runner, and the thought of 13 miles made me want to kill myself. Alas, I ran one anyways :)
Last fall, right after I moved to Salt Lake, and before I started my job, I didn't have much to do....so I started spending a healthy amount of time at the gym, which got me running pretty seriously. Around December I thought, "Hey, maybe I should run a half marathon." (yeah, I don't even know) So... I did my research and found one I thought I'd like. I specifically picked this one because the first 7 miles were downhill. I'm not dumb. I signed up in January, with the final push of my friend Brock (who runs full's). Brock was supposed to run with me, but ended up hurting his ankle pretty bad and had to bow out. Sad face.
Basically, all I did for 5 months was run. A lot. More than I ever have in my life. I found a training schedule on Pinterest, wrote the miles I was supposed to run each day on my calendar, and stuck to them. And I've got the runners injuries to prove it. I had TERRIBLE shin splints that made me take a month off until they healed, my IT Band started acting up (basically a constant burning pain in my hip. Not fun.), then my left knee started feeling like it was really loose, and was going to blow out at any second. So that was cool. I eventually invested in
KT Tape. Saved my life. Or my legs. It's magical. Buy some. And chafing. Oh, the chafing. Basically anywhere a sports bra could rub, it happened. TMI? Showering hurt like the devil, btw. Body Glide is my new bff.
Anways, where was I? So yes, I ran. I ran and ran and ran. You want to know how many miles I ran around Sugar House? A million. You want to know how many laps I ran around Liberty Park? I don't even know. About a bazillion. Love/hate that place. There are some interesting creatures that spend their time there. Love those bongo drumming, Quidditch playing, hippies. Some entertaining times, my friends. Also, all those peeps who bbq'd whilst I was running mile after mile torturing me with their amazing smells? Shame on you. You didn't even offer me a hamburger when I was done...
Finally... It was race weekend! I was freaking out. Just a little. The farthest I ran in my training was 11.5 miles. I was feeling pretty confident that I could do it, but still. 13.1 miles is really far, guys. Yikes. My family was super crazy supportive, and my parents flew down from Washington to watch me run! Yay for them, they are so great. Friday night was one crazy night. I picked up my mom from the airport about 5, because she ended up being able to come earlier than my dad. This was a blessing because the ac at my house was broken (it was 86 degrees in there, guys) and the repair guy was coming that night. Problem... I had to pick up my bib & packet in American Fork before 7pm (and none of my roommates could be home at that time), so I dropped her off at my house so she could wait for the guy...who eventually NEVER came. Yeah, I KNOW. It was HOT. What was he thinking?!
So anyways, I dropped my mom off at my house (who then made dinner, vacuumed, and mopped our floors. I should drop her off more often.), and started my trek down south. During rush hour. In Salt Lake City. Basically I was going 30 mph the entire way. Whatever. I made it back home about 8pm. By this time my dad was there, and my sister in law Lisa and my nieces had come in to spend the night. It was super fun to have all my family there to support my freak out that night. What was I thinking voluntarily signing up to run 13 miles?
I had made plans to be in bed by 9pm that night, seeing as how I had to wake up at 2:30am to get down to the busses in time. Yeah, 9pm came and I wasn't tired. At all. I usually go to bed about midnight. Shocker. I finally climbed in bed at 10... not falling asleep until 11. Kill me. About midnight I get woken up hearing my 9 mo old niece Estelle crying. Like really crying. I'm thinking "I have to wake up in 2 hours make her stoooppp!" Then, all of a sudden I hear my roommate Debbi yell, "Help me! Somebody help me! I need help!" Something wasn't right. So I bolt out of bed and run downstairs to find Debbi almost in tears herself, holding a screaming, panicking Estelle. My mom, Lisa, and Ava are no where to be found. She tells me that Ava (my 3 yr old niece) accidently ate a Peanut Butter Pop-tart, and they took her to the ER. You see, Ava is allergic to peanuts. Very very allergic. I guess she starting saying that her tongue was itchy, started getting puffy, and then she started throwing up... Lisa used the Epi-Pen and off to the ER they went. Scary.
So... I take Estelle and try to console her from her screaming bloody murder panic. For 45 minutes. Not working. I'm pretty sure she just woke up in a strange place, to someone who she doesn't know that well (my roommate), her mom wasn't around, and panicked like she'd been abandoned. That's the only reason I can think for the amount of decibel's coming from that child. I felt bad for the girl, but seriously, I have never prayed so hard for something in my life, than I did at that moment. She HAD to stop. I had to wake up and run 13 miles in about an hour on practically NO sleep. This was not going to be good. Finally they return from the ER about 1am, my dad had gotten Estelle to stop crying by this point. Figures. I was back off to bed. (Ava is fine now, btw)
My alarm went off at 2:30am. No. No. Nononononononono. I was so crazy tired. But I had a race that I paid $65 for, had ran for 5 months training for, and was NOT going to miss it! I got up, got dressed, put my #1183 bib on, ate a bagel and my mom and I hit the road for the 45 min drive down to American Fork High School (the finish line, and where they busses were leaving from). I parked, put on my throw away sweatpants and sweatshirt, and hopped on the greyhound for the 40 minute ride to the starting line. That ride seemed to take forever! And knowing that I had to run my way back? Yeahhhh....
We got to the staring line at 5am, so I had a whole hour to wait until race time. I used one of the 50 port-a-potty's, and tried to keep warm. I looked for my cousin, Kira, who was also running, but there were 2,200 runners that day, and didn't ever find her :( I eventually sat down by and leaned up against the tire of a truck and tried to sleep a little (didn't happen). About 5:30 I thought I had better try and use the bathroom again. Good thing I got in line when I did, because it seemed like everyone else had the same idea, and at 5:50am I was still a ways from the front of the line. I started to freak a little thinking, "I'm still going to be in line when the gun goes off at 6!" Luckily, I made it out with about 3 minutes to spare. I ripped my sweatshirt and pants off, made sure my shoes were double knotted, got my music queued, said another quick prayer (I was sure going to need the Lord's help!), the MC played the theme song for the race (I don't remember what it was)..... and then fired the gun!
I probably started about half way back in the crowd, so I ended up crossing the starting line 4 minutes after the gun, but no big deal it was chip timed. The moment I got up to the start at 5am, I was just like okay let's get this started! But once the gun went off, and I was inching my way to the start, all I could think was, no I changed my mind! I don't want to do this anymore! But the hoards of people kept pushing me forward, and I had no choice but to run across that starting line.
I decided to not start my music right off, and just enjoy the sea of other runners around me. Eavesdrop on conversations, enjoy the pounding of thousands of other feet, & get my rhythm and pace going. The first 2 or 3 miles of any run are always the worst for me. It's when my muscles are still going through the pain/waking up stage telling me "No. Stop. You don't want to do this." But not that day! I seriously felt awesome. I was so blessed. I ran the first mile in 7:34 min, which was a mistake. I was just so full of adrenaline and excitement that my little legs were MOVING. I knew I had to slow down if I wanted to keep going for 12 more miles. The first 4 miles FLEW by. Seriously, it went so fast. I was just enjoying running down the canyon and others around me. The crowd was beginning to thin out by that time, and I decided to start my music up. I had to keep reminding myself to look up, and not just stare at the ground, because you guys....American Fork Canyon is crazy beautiful! It was my first time there, and I could not get over it. I was running along to my tunes, when all of a sudden the mile 6 marker showed up. It was then that I thought, man, this is so easy! If this was a 10k I would be done already! Ha. Yeah. I had to quickly eat my own words when my IT Band started flaring up, causing crazy pain in my left hip. All I could think was, nooooooo I have to run 6 more miles! Luckily, the pain only lasted for about a half mile. Thank goodness or I would have been toast.
About mile 7.5 is where we came out of the canyon. I could see a big group of supporters standing there, and knew my family was with them. I was so excited to see them, and got a little teary eyed as I ran past them all with their cow bell and homemade signs, screaming my name. They are the best. From there we ran on the path next to a golf course until about mile 9, where my family was waiting again! My niece Ava gave me a cute little high five, and it gave me a push to keep going.
The mile 10 marker finally came into sight, and I was so happy. I had just run 10 miles! Without stopping! And I was feeling GREAT! Until... about mile 10.5. There was a hill. It felt like Mt. Everest. In reality it wasn't that steep, but it lasted for a while with a steady incline. I about died. I realized right then that my legs were shot. I had just run 10 miles for goodness sakes! I was going so slow that I was barely running by this point, so I told myself that I could walk for 30 seconds, but after that I had to get going again. So that I did. I tried to keep a fast pace walk going, and didn't feel too bad about it when I looked around me and saw that everyone else was walking up the hill too.
I made it to the crest of the hill and told myself to get going again. Oh. my. gosh. It hurt. It hurt bad. Mile 10.5-11.5 was probably the hardest of all the miles for me. I immediately regretted my decision to walk, because it was so hard to get myself going again, and up to the pace I wanted. I finally got my groove back, just in time to see mile marker 12. Twelve! Only 1 mile left! ONE MILE left?!!?! I was so happy, but the thought of one more mile about did me in. I told myself, it's only 9 more minutes. You can definitely run 9 more minutes! Get it! So off I went on my merry way for my last mile. I could tell that I was getting really close to the finish line, because we were weaving through neighborhoods that I remembered from studying the course map. Oh, and I could also tell I was close to being done because I wanted to die. Yeah, that.
I turned the corner and saw a big crowd at the end of the street. There it was! The FINISH! I gave it all I had (which wasn't much by this point), and tried my best to finish strong. I saw my family standing there on the right side, gave them fives as I ran past, and finally, finally crossed that finish line. I was handed a medal and a water bottle, and stopped. I did it! I had just ran a half marathon!!!! ME! I DID! I found my family and we celebrated for a bit. Then I went to stuff my face. Kneaders were offering free breakfast for all participants. I was not hungry at all afterwards, but got it anyways and my family ate most of it. It was such a great feeling knowing that I had finished! All of my hard work had paid off, and I was done. I only had two goals going into the race, both of which I completed: #1 To finish, #2 Not get last place. My official time was 2:11:31. I was the 660th woman, and got 1036th place out of 2,200 runners. I may not be the fastest, but hey, I finished! 13.1 miles.
The rest of the day was spent lounging on the couch, icing my knees until that night when my neighbor, Cameron, took me for a celebratory ice cream cone. I am so happy I did this. It was so much fun. If you would have told me 6 months ago that I would run a half marathon, I would have told you you were crazy. Not so anymore. I am proof that it can be done! Will I ever run a full marathon? No. Hell no. And I bet my roommate $50 I will never do one (payable on my 80th birthday, or unless I get a deadly illness). Can't wait to spend that $50, Kara! Oh and guess what? Surprisingly, you can have FUN running! So much fun, that I am officially addicted to it, and have signed up for two more! I'm running the
Deseret News Classic Half on July 24th, then I'm running the
Provo Halloween Half on Oct 26th, and this time I have brainwashed some friends into running with me! It'll be a good time. Come run with us!
Wow. This may be the longest post I've ever written. I realize this is the first time I have blogged in like two years, so at this rate... see you in another two. If you made it to the end, you deserve a medal. Come to my house and I'll let you wear mine :)
Now for some pictures. But seriously, why do they have photographers taking pictures of you while you're running? It's NEVER attractive. These were the best ones, and they are
not great. Please don't zoom.
The finish line!
Dad and me
The hardware
I call this face: Sweet Relief.
The cutest cheerleaders there ever was.
Look how I'm all defying gravity and stuff here...
My awesome roommate Debbi who came to cheer. Don't judge us, it was really bright.
At the starting line
The sea of runners. This was probably about mile 2. It's hard to take a picture and run at the same time.
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