September 8th I ran in the Spanish Fork Half Marathon. I made the decision to run a half at the beginning of August. I was already running 4 mile runs a few times a week and 6 miles occasionally but I pretty much trained in a month. This is the second half I have run. I ran my first half back in April of 2009 in the Provo Half Marathon. While running isn't too expensive of a sport/hobby, I chose the Spanish Half because I could opt to not have a shirt making entry $10 less making it only $30. I've never seen a race for so cheap! And I still got a medal! :)
I fell asleep the night before the race at about 11 and set 3 alarms. I was afraid I wouldn't wake up in time. I even had a dream (or nightmare) about it. I was dreaming that we ran out of milk and went to a neighbors to get some and saw on the clock that it was 6:50 and started freaking out since the race started at 7 and was 20 minutes away. I woke up right after that and saw that it was 5:30, just 2 minutes before my first alarm was to go off so I just got up anyway. It was pretty cool out so I brought a blanket with me in the car and went on my way. Luckily I had planned to get there at 6 cuz I made a wrong turn getting off the highway and took a little detour (driving to unfamiliar places in the dark if not my fav). I picked up my pack when I arrived and went back to the car to keep warm, eat a few cheerios (I don't like to eat breakfast before running), get my tunes ready, and then went to the bathroom one last time. Unfortunately I made the mistake of walking through the grass when I picked up the packet and went to the bathroom and got the morning dew on my shoes making my feet cold. Next time I will take the sidewalk. Ten minutes before the race I made my way to the starting line. I stood about ten feet back so I wouldn't get trampled. I jumped up and down a bit to keep warm and get my muscles ready and then I took off with the shot of the gun.
While training I was averaging about 8:10 a mile which is what my average was for my first half. I thought I could do about 8min/mile since usually you run faster in a race. A few weeks ago I bought an arm band so I could run with my iphone to listen to music and time my runs. I have the mapmyrun app that says the mile, time, and pace at each mile. Well, at the first mile marker the little voice came on and paused my music and said the time was 7:02. I thought "oops!" I was afraid that I was going to get burned out. I think I went so fast because I was trying to keep up with those at the front of the line. So I slowed my pace down and finally averaged 7:40/mile. In the first few miles a few speedy people who weren't already way ahead passed me (always a little discouraging when people pass you). I think I kept up the fast pace just because I didn't want anyone else to pass me. Toward the end of the race the runners get pretty strung out. At one point on a windy road I couldn't see anyone in front or behind me. The trail was good though. It was all on the road and there weren't too many cars because it was throughout farm land. I saw, heard, and unfortunately smelled a bunch of cows and horses but I really love running outside! The earth is full of so much beauty! I saw tons of sunflowers and the mountains looked amazing as the sun rose up from behind them. I did see something funny/disturbing. Since there were farms there were obviously large stacks of hay and right in front of a large pile was a toilet. Weird/tempting? But pretty sure it was not for the runners. haha. There were stations along the run with water and Gatorade. I never bring water with me on my runs cuz honestly I'm just lazy. I don't want to have to carry a water bottle and I usually run in the morning when it's cool so I feel less of a need. I only took water twice because man it is really hard to drink from a cup while running! Both times I had to stop for a sec, take a gulp, throw down the cup, and start up again. By mile 7 I was still feeling good and happy that I had already made it a little more than half way which meant the rest of the race was literally slightly down hill. By mile 10 I was just telling myself "just 3 more miles!" My legs were starting to feel a little jelloish. Just before mile 12 I passes a guy (is it bad that it made me feel good?) but then a girl and guy came out of no where and passed me. Finally I saw the 13 mile sign and the finish line in front of me and sprinted through. I was kinda bummed that I barely missed making it under 1:40, but I did get my personal best! I was a little disoriented after that I almost passed up the volunteers handing out the medals! So glad they called after me reminding me to get my medal! haha. I didn't stay long after I finished cuz I had to get back home, shower, and get to work (long day right?). So worth it though! I love running and am so grateful for a healthy body that allows me to do so! ... And for a husband who massages my feet and calves when they are sore. :)
So the tie-dye shirt makes me look hippyish but it is SO comfortable, doesn't show sweat (which I do a lot of), is what I wore for my very first half (made matching with my two other running buddies), and I haven't invested in actual running attire shirts (maybe when Nick's a doctor but for now my free t-shirts do just fine).
STATS:
Time: 1:40:26
Pace: 7:40/mile
23rd of 161 overall place
7th of 88 gender place
1st of 19 division place (20-24)
More good news/updates!(since I haven't posted in over a year):
Nick has already had 2 med school interviews (University of North Texas and Creighton) and has a 3rd scheduled at the University of Washington! The soonest we can find out about acceptances is mid October. The interviews went really well so things are looking pretty good! I can't wait to know where we will be next year!
