Big Cottonwood Half (aka. My First Half!)

Have I mentioned this weekend was my first half marathon?  I can't remember if I have. 😜 So let me just make sure everyone knows... I RAN MY FIRST HALF MARATHON THIS  WEEKEND!

There were definitely times in my training that I was convinced I'd never be able to run 13.1 miles. A week before the race I ran the distance and put some of the nerves at ease, but there's something about the official race that still scared the sh#* out of me. 

It scared me so bad that I completely psyched myself out of a good night's sleep. I knew I had to be up at 3 am(!!!), so at 8:30pm I headed to bed.... And laid there forever (it seemed). I slept off and on and fully got ready for and drove to the race in my dreams. Think I had something on my mind? 

The race had arranged buses that left from Cottonwood high school from 4-5am and took us up the canyon. We got there early on and hopped on a bus. I've ran 13 miles before, but when you're driving it up a winding canyon, trying to anticipate your run down, it seems very daunting!

 

The bus finally stopped 9 miles up and left us on the cold, dark side of the road. And there we waited.... 

Finally, it was time to start. Like a herd of cattle, we all mooshed our way towards the starting line and took off. I tried my hardest not to get caught up in the herd's pace, but I knew I was still running faster than I normally do. Tehra's iPod decided to not work... of course, so we chatted. Then about a mile in, it hit me.  This was it. What I'd been working for for so long. This wasn't just another practice run. I was officially joining the 15% of America who can say they've run a half marathon! 

The first 5 miles flew by and Tehra stuck right with me even though her natural pace is quicker than mine. I'd told her from the get go that I did not want her holding back for me and would be mad if she did. I call her a crazy mountain goat because the girl LOVES inclines (bleh!) so when a small incline came just after mile marker 5, I slowed a bit and she took off. I watched her like a proud momma! You go, little goat!

I continued down the canyon and every time my Nike+ told me my pace I knew I was going too fast. I'd try to pace back a bit, remembering so many stories of runners burning themselves, but with the momentum of the crowd and the help of the slope, there was only so slow I could go. 

I finally reached the mouth of the canyon and hit the more level course. I fully expected my pace to take a blow, and it did, increasing by almost 20 seconds a mile. 

I brushed that aside and refocused on the goal I'd set for this race: I wanted to RUN the whole race. I didn't need to focus on my pace as long as my feet were both getting off the ground at the same time. 

I kept it going, but I've never had a mile last longer than that last one. As much as my first mile flew by, this last one was dragging on. Finally I turned the corner on 1300 East where the finish line was. I could see the finish chute, but more importantly, I could see Tehra. She'd finished and walked back on the course to finish with me. One more corner and there was the finish line and there was my family!  I charged the line and looked at the clock as I did, 2:12 (unofficial time), 22 minutes faster than my practice run. 

All and all, my first half was a great success. It was an amazing race that could not have been more organized. And they had popsicles! Who doesn't love a Popsicle after a long run, c'mon!

A few things I learned:

1. Walking across wet grass before you get on a bus to wait at the top of a freezing canyon, dumb!

2. Even if your iPod worked the night before, it won't necessarily work now.  lame!

3. Peeing in pitch black porta potties is easier than I thought. Win!

4. Wide mouthed cups of water and maintaining your pace do not go hand -in-hand.  Fail!

5. When you feel a rock in your shoe on your way out the door, don't think "I have plenty of time before the race starts. I'll remember to get it out later." You won't. And you will remember as you start running and you will fixate on it all 13.1 miles. Ugh!

Trying to keep warm. 

Look, I even remembered to snap a few shots of the scenery!

Hey, this guy's taking a picture of me taking a picture! Hah!

Post race

With the peanut gallery!

Almost to the finish line!

I'll postulate official stats when I get them. 

For my grandma

A race report is coming, I promise. But I needed to do the important one first. 

You see this is my grandma. She is the grandma that a large majority of my childhood memories center around. She had an amazing backyard and I can still hear her calling my cousins and me inside for dinner... (Or, let's be honest, yelling at us to stop whatever naughty situation we'd gotten ourselves into!) She made her own bread and when we moved away it was one of my favorite Christmas presents to get in the mail.  

Early last December we found out she had a tumor in her lung.  The doctors felt they could successfully remove it. So as they prepared her for surgery the night before at the hospital, I made my way up to see her. Something told me I needed to. 

I brought the kids with me, and my grandma and my aunt enjoyed them playing around and entertaining them. 

At this point my running had taken a blow. I'd developed tendentious and between that and the horrible winter weather and air, I'd almost given up. 

My aunt asked me that night how my running was going. I laughed it off and said, well it was going... My grandma looked at me and said, "you keep it up!"

Sadly, my sweet grandma never recovered from surgery...

You keep it up.... Just four words, but those four words have carried me many miles. When there was times I just knew I couldn't go one more foot step, or days that my want to run was null, those four words have made me never stop. 

I've thought of her often while running and today during my first half marathon I know she was right there with me. 

❤

This one's serious, guys...

Just so you know how SERIOUSLY I take my running, I wanted to share my run from yesterday with my rockstar running bud, Tehra...

Our first half marathon is this Saturday (more on that later) which means not much running this week.  Three miles has become my quick, bare minimum run and according to Hal Higdon's training schedule, three was the longest run I should do this week.

Anyone that knows me, knows as soon as I'm told not to do something, it's exactly what I really need to do.  And as a runner that LOVES trails and has been limited to roads over the summer (due to the kiddos) this week has been especially hard not to bust a move on a long trail. 

Tehra and I had plans to run while the kids were in preschool and I purposely didn't bring my hydration pack so we could NOT sneak up to a long trail!  We settled on two laps around Liberty Park (3 miles) and then we'd drive over to the running store to grab some last minute supplies for the race. 

So we take off, chatting as we go, and when we get to the corner of the park, we realize, "Hey, the store's just down the road... Let's just run it.  Two birds, one stone... right!"

PERFECT!  Great run to about a block away from the store.... I'm thinking about my list of what I need... Cliff Shot Blocks, Stinger Waffle and maybe a tube of Nuun.... anything else? Nope...

Thinking, "This is so awesome!  I love being able to just RUN down to the store.  Free and clear... No stuff, no car... just me and my ipod..."

Wait...Free and clear.... I didn't bring my pack, which usually holds my stuff; keys, id, debit card... you know, just in case.  In case I run to a store last minute!

DAMN!  Back to the park.....

 

 

Miles: 2.34

Time: 26:31

Ave Pace: 11'18"