Snow Canyon Half Marathon

I ran my third half marathon of Nov. 5th. I was not nearly prepared for this one as I have been for the other two. I wasn't really training, I was running with my friends but I wasn't really working on my mileage, my longest run was only 9 miles and I only did that one time. I was kind of chickening out too, I knew I could run the race and finish but I knew my time was going to be terrible. I let my pace drop way slow and I was a little sad to run the same course as my first 1/2 and finish behind my PR. But my Dad said he would come up and watch the kids for me while I ran (since we weren't sure if David would be on call or not) and I was really excited to have my Dad see me run. I haven't had my parents at any of my finish lines yet and it really meant a lot to me that he was going to be there. So I figured slow time or not I'm running this race. My Dad got in on Thursday night and Friday after David got off of work we headed up to St. George. And we barely got there in the nick of time to get my packet, literally, they were closing at 9pm and we pulled up at 8:51. Then we headed out to dinner at Chilies, which is always an experience with 3 kids. Afterwards we headed to the hotel so I could get some good rest before the big race. SO not the case. First I forgot to bring the pack and play for Talli and the hotel was all out of portable cribs, Maylee didn't want to sleep on the hid a bed or with Grandpa, she only wanted to sleep with David, I and Talli. Luckily David was able to get Maylee to sleep pretty quick and she did sleep through the night on the hid a bed but as for Talli, she did not sleep much at all. She woke up about every two hours and cried for about 5-10 minutes until David could get her back to sleep. David was super great though and took care of her by himself so I could get as much rest as possible. But waking up every two hours makes for one exhausted mommy.

When the alarm went off Dad drove me to the buses and wished me good luck. At the start it was freezing, there was snow on the ground and I didn't come prepared for that. I was using a extra pair of socks for gloves, it was so cold. Once the race got started I warmed up really fast, a little to fast in fact. At about 1/2 a mile I was pulling off my gloves/socks and my jacket. But if I wanted to get them back at the end of the race I could only drop them off at an aid station. So I ran with them in a bag holding it for the first five miles, it was very annoying. But the course is all downhill for the first seven miles and so you can just fly. At one point I heard someone say that they were at a 6:40 pace. I still can't believe we were running that fast. About mile 5 1/2 I was curious what my pace was so I asked a lady next to me with a garmin what are pace was and it was a 7:35. I was shocked, mostly because I felt like I was running slow and because I didn't train at that pace at all. Then at mile 7 my shoe came untied (first time that has happened to me during a race) so I bent down to tie it and it was so hard to do because my hands were so cold. By the time I stood back up the lady with a garmin got to far ahead for me to catch back up to, I was really bummed about that. Close to mile 8 my hips started hurting from all the downhill and I was really needing some encouragement. Once you hit mile 8 you come out of Snow Canyon and then you start seeing spectators again. I was really hoping to see David and my Dad. David has never done the whole spectator cheering thing, but I knew my Dad would, so I was hopeful that I would see them soon. Then all of the sudden I came around a turn and I saw our van, or at least I hoped it was our van. So then I started looking for them, I turned another corner and there they were. It was definitely the encouragement I needed at that point. I just wasn't really feeling my best during this race, and I knew it was because I hadn't properly trained for it. They kept driving ahead and then getting out and cheering until mile 10 when we went into a neighborhood where spectators couldn't come anymore. They seriously gave me such a boost to keep going for those two miles. Then I hit mile 11 and I felt like some one could have walked past me even though I was still running. I was feeling pretty slow and pretty miserable. But I was encouraged that I only had two more miles. When I hit mile 12 I thought ok this is it, just push through this, give it all you've got only one mile left. But I just could not pick up my speed any more. I was tired! Finally I could see the school, and then the track and I was down to the finish line. Once I was on that final stretch and the clock was coming into view I finally got my second wind and was able to really push myself into gear again for those last few steps and then I crossed the finish line and saw the clock 1:54 and I was SHOCKED! I could not believe for one minute that I came in under two hours considering how I was feeling. I got my official chip time and it was 1:53:33 only one minute behind my time last year. I was beyond thrilled that it was so close. You think I'd be upset that I missed beating my PR by a minute but I was just so happy to still come so close considering how I was feeling during the run. And it was so fun to have my Dad at the finish line, it was great to have him drive all the way up just to support me in my run. Thanks Dad for coming!!!

We got our results in. I know I didn't do fantastic or any thing but it is still such a huge accomplishment to me every time I finish a race. I never thought I would actually be considered a runner. And if you knew me in my younger days, you would all agree with that.

The results are:

Out of the overall I came in 591 out of 1408 people. Not to shabby.

Out of overall female I came in 290 out of 882 women. I feel pretty good about that.

And out of my age group and gender which is 25-29, I came in 39 out of 120 women. It feels good to know that I'm actually a competitor.

I really couldn't believe that I ran a full marathon after this run. I could not image having to turn around and run it all again. It just goes to show how important training is. I kept telling David and my friends that after this race I was taking a break, I was burnt how. But once I crossed that finish line all I could think was, when is the next race, sign me up. But next time I will definitely train better.