13.1

Are you ready for a novel?!...

Well I did it! I ran my first half marathon. I chose the Provo Canyon Marathon/ Half because I am familiar with the course and have ran or biked every part of it before. I woke up at 4:25 am (!!!) because buses had to shuttle us to the starting line up in the mountains. My race breakfast was a blueberry muffin from Mimi's Cafe, and water which I ate on the bus. The race start time was 7:10, so we had to wait in the cold mountains for nearly 2 hours before the race started. Luckily they had fires going through out the park. I made friends with 2 girls and we rode the bus together and chatted til race start. I also chatted with a 60 year old man who was running his 340th marathon. He has ran a marathon every month for the past 27 consecutive months.  RUN 13 had race pacers in five minute intervals, who would run the same pace for each mile, so we could run along side them to stay on track. I had 2 goals for this half: to finish, and to try to run under 2:15. Before race day, the most consecutive miles I had run was 7, and the most miles I had run/ walked was 10. I was looking at the race pacers while I was making my way to the start, and I decided I was going to run with the 2:05 group. (I figured, if I dropped behind, at least I would of had a good start) Our race pacer was this hilarious guy named Adrian. He would always wave around the marker stick and was very encouraging. In our little "2:05 group" were many ladies from Wyoming! I ran with the 2:05 group for the first 8 ish miles, until a girl from Wyoming  and I ended up in front of Adrian. I was just running next to the girl, and I realized we were slowly picking up speed. She then told me that it was her first half marathon also, and she wanted to try to finish under 2 hours. I didn't want to run by myself and drop pace, so I just kept running with her. (I usually pick a buddy and just run with them the whole time.) We did a good job pushing each other. The course was a gradual downhill which was awesome. I never really felt tired. I think all the adrenaline and fanfare of it all just kept me pumped up and going. Also, whenever I race, Mike likes to go and cheer me on during the different miles. He cheered for me 2 times during the race, and then of course was at the finish line.The hardest miles for me I think were probably between 9-10. At the 8 mile water table, I grabbed a gel shot and I think that really helped.  I think the sugar really kicked in right before mile 11. Once I hit mile 11-12 I was pumped and ready to finish strong. My left ankle started hurting around mile 2, but it was faint. Both my ankles were completely swollen by mile 7 from the impact of running.  I was able to pretty much ignore it. However at the beginning of mile 12, I had a sharp pain shoot thru my left ankle for about 30 seconds. At that point I picked up my speed even more, telling myself "The faster you run, the sooner you're done". Then finally, before I knew it, I was sprinting across the finish line while Mike took pictures and ran to meet me. My finish chip time was 2:01:16. I was really proud of myself because I ran the entire race, and I destroyed my goal of 2:15! Everything was perfect and I wouldn't change a thing. Except maybe the fact that I've been icing my ankles all day, and they are still swollen and in so much pain that I have been hobbling around. Mike was awesome and made me lunch while doing everything for me while I laid on the couch icing and resting. Well enough words, here are the pictures!

 All nice and sweaty!

Mister Mike is the perfect cheering companion! He runs the 5k's with me, and then for the longer races he always meets me along the course to cheer me on and take pictures.