Top Of Utah Half Marathon!

I started this post Saturday afternoon, after the race, here is what I had so far:

"This morning I got up at 5:30 to get dressed and ready for the Top of Utah half marathon.

I was so nervous that I had a hard time eating. I ate some cereal and orange juice and hoped it would be enough!

The finish line is just a few blocks from my house and I needed to be there by 6 to ride a bus up to the start line. The race started up Black Smith Fork canyon at the Hyrum electrical plant and went downhill through the canyon until we turned onto Hollow Road in Nibley. From there we ran out to the highway for a short distance then back into Millville and then South until we made it to the finish line at Zollinger's park in Providence."

This race was awesome. During training for this the furthest I ran was barely over 7 miles. I just have a hard time going any longer. It's a total mind game. So I was positive I would be walking at some point, I just couldn't run 13.1 miles continuously.

My brother in law, Brock ran the race too, and he listened to Harry Potter while he ran. I think he made it to Potions class by the end of the race. I think I might try loading a book on my shuffle for my next long run, what a great diversion. I found Brock at the start line before the race and we started off together but ran separately after a while.

About a mile in I found a friend I had talked to before the race, Makaylee. She's a friend from high school and it had been since highschool since we had seen each other. She said she was only going to listen to her ipod when she really needed a boost to get her going, and I liked that idea. Save it for when you need it. We turned our music off and just talked and caught up on the past 10 years of life. It was nice running without music but talking to a friend made the miles literally just fly by.

By the time I saw a mile marker we were at mile 8. And I was feeling really good. I just couldn't believe I was still going strong, it was an amazing feeling. Race Day Adrenaline was playing a big part I'm sure.

My feet and left calf were feeling sore around mile 11 but I was so close, and they were just achy, not enough to hold me back. I wore my IT band strap to help stabilize my leg so my knee wouldn't hurt. It worked like a charm, I had no pain there at all. I also paid attention to where I was running on the road, totally avoiding the bank on the left side so I wouldn't put extra strain on it.

At mile 10 we decided it was music time and then Makaylee started really going fast! I kept up and we just kept on going. Before I knew it I could see the finish line in the distance, about a mile or so away. I was there!

The last half of a mile was packed with people cheering everyone on. I was feeling a little exhausted but it felt so good. It was so awesome to cross that finish line! I am so proud of myself for running the whole race! I never thought I could really do it, but I did!

I admit that I did have to walk while drinking water or Gatorade at the aid stations for a few seconds, I just haven't mastered drinking-from-a-paper-cup-while-running. I did try, and ended up with a sticky arm. Skills to work on I suppose. There were also orange slices which were awesome. Brock said something like "I have never had oranges that tasted so good. In my life" and that pretty much sums it up.

My final time was 2 hours 23 minutes, that is the chipped time. I crossed the start line about 2 minutes after the start gun so my time on the clock as I passed the finish line was 2:25.

I took about 20 minutes off my last half marathon, that was my first one too. I did the St. George half marathon last January and ended up walking off and on the last half of the race.

The reason I stopped running during that race was because of my knee, it was hurting because of the IT band issues. I didn't know what the problem was. But after I slowed down I got cold and my body was tired. I was also less prepared.

Finishing that race was hard. This race was such a different experience, so much better! I'm looking forward to the St. George half again in January, I'm hoping to run a 2:10 race. It's a colder run and it's not downhill like the TOU half, but I think I can do it.

There were around 2300 runners for this race. It was an impressive sight seeing everybody at 6 a.m. in the cold, dark morning air boarding buses. The start line was an amazing sight too. It's a good feeling to think, we're all in this together. I can do this because they can too.

I love running now. I know I still gripe about it sometimes but it's been such a great hobby/sport/activity for me for the past year. I finally understand why so many people run. It feels so good.

I don't have any photos from race day, just the ones the zazoosh photographers snapped.

Here is a link to a photo of me from the race. I look happy, and I am!

View Photos from Top of Utah Half Marathon

Registration will open up in, I think, April for 2011.

Who's with me next year?!