Half Marathon...who knew?

Read more about our fun race on Mrs. G's blog http://thegoldelement.blogspot.com/2008/04/april-19th-12-marathon-today.html

While having an introspective moment about my life thus far, I think about a lot things to describe me as a person...a runner was never one of them.

It wasn't until about 2 years ago that I could even run a mile without being ready to pass out by the end. Obviously my weight was a factor in my discouraging running patterns, but I was bound and determined to be able to run a race. I don't know if I have ever really publicly discussed this, but I always had a dream of running the Deseret News 10K because I remember seeing my sister Rachel's pictures and number bibs from her races. Who knew I wanted to be like my sissy. Anyways, I worked towards perfecting my endurance levels to the point of being able to run that 10k, and last summer I did it!

After that race I felt so liberated that I thought that I should progress even further. Instantly I started training for the Salt Lake Half Marathon. I printed out the map of the route and started to prepare...I spent all winter running 7-15 miles on a tredmill (ya know, I have to say that is quite the dedication because tredmills are so terribly boring!) After Christmas when Beck signed up for the race I knew that I had to really do it. I was excited that her and Vic were going to run it as well because I really don't like going alone...Thanks for doing it with me, I love you guys!

The last couple of weeks were a real struggle for me to train for some personal reasons so I was really nervous to run the race today. I wanted a good time because the last couple of races I have done, I have smashed some personal records. As for today, I did not break a personal record in this distance, but given the wind and my slacking the last couple of weeks, I am quite pleased with my performance. I ran 13.1 miles in 1 hour 55 minutes. My real goal was to finish in less than 2 hours...and I did it (even by the skin of my teeth)!!

Race Day: I had to meet Beck and Vic at the trax platform at 5:25am, though the race did not start until 7. We load the trax and head up to the Legacy Bridge aka the starting line. We spend the next hour huddling because the wind is FREEZING! Finally it is time for the 6,000 marathon and half marathoners to start the run. I found a friend from high school and tried to keep her pace and did fairly well until mile 3. I should have realized that she is like 6 feet tall and therefore her legs can cover a lot more distance than I can. I was so excited to see my family at mile 4 cheering me on, even with a sign! That gave me a high for the next mile. I was doing really well until about mile 11 when I started to get cramps and the wind was so strong in my face that I didn't feel like I was moving at all...what a joy. I just kept telling myself that I could do this and it was almost over. The finish line was the best thing I had seen all day! And even though I seemed a little dazed and confused I was thrilled to see Jordan and Megan waiting for me at the finish. They are so awesome to come for me, thanks guys!!!

In the end, who would have thought 2 years ago that I would be able to run a half marathon and now even considering a marathon...