1/2 Marathon.....Completed

I did it! I ran my first 1/2 marathon today. It wasn't too bad. It was in St. George, so Steve and I came down yesterday and just hung out. We picked up my packet, went to dinner, and caught the end of the Jazz game in the hotel; nothing too exciting.

Steve dropped me off at Snow Canyon High School this morning and I got on a bus that took us up to Snow Canyon State Park. The bus ride wasn't as bad as I thought it would be (for some reason I was really dreading that part). It was supposed to start at 9:00, but one of the volunteer groups for an aid station didn't show up, so they had to switch around the aid stations. It started about 25 minutes late, so that wasn't cool, cause I just wanted to run and get it over with. But I was also thankful for all of the aid stations, so I guess I can't complain.

The girl that sat by me on the bus was really nice. This was her second 1/2 marathon and she claimed to be a slow runner, so she asked if I wanted to run together for awhile. I said okay, but told her not to feel bad if she had to leave me behind. Her goal was to run it in 2 hours and 15 minutes. I thought that might be shooting a little too high for myself, but I didn't really know. I kept up with her for about the first two miles. She was like a freaking gazelle, just running gracefully and effortlessly while I was to the side of her huffing and puffing. I never saw her after to ask how she did.

The weather was beautiful, it was supposed to get into the mid 60's today. It was still kind of hot for running, I was sweating really bad by the end. And I had a little tan line from my shorts.

I finished in 2 hours and 22 minutes. I thought that was pretty good, considering I had only trained for like a month. I was really happy to see the finish line! I got a little discouraged at 6 1/2 miles, I thought I was way further than that. But then I got way motivated at like the 8th mile. That was when we were coming out of the canyon and there were some people on the sidelines cheering (not for me, but it helped anyway). After about mile 10, I sure could have used a friend to run with or some more people cheering. Then the last mile wasn't too bad, other than the bottoms of my feet were hurting a little, but knowing I was almost done was a good feeling. I walked at all the aid stations while I got a drink, but that was all the walking I did.

I was really glad that Steve was there to support me and take pictures. He's not really the cheering type, but it meant a lot to see him at the finish line! Everyone that ran the 1/2 marathon got a metal, so after I got that, I got a drink and we were on our way. We were in a hurry to get to Spanish Fork. I wish we could have stayed a while for awards and just to enjoy the warm sun, but we had to get going.

We stopped at a gas station for a drink and so I could change my clothes. Then we went through the In 'N Out drive through for lunch. It probably wasn't the best thing to eat right after running, but how do you pass up In 'N Out Burger?!