It was a 3am wakeup call for me. Having not really gotten much sleep the 2 weeks prior, I was grateful to have gotten a nap yesterday, and then got to bed at a decent time too. But, I was still pretty tired getting up this morning. Ezra, bless his heart, got up and dropped me off at Rice Eccles Stadium so I could make my shuttle to Emigration Canyon. I sat next to a PT, Steve, who helped me relax about this race.
At the drop off point, there were no lights, so visiting the Porto-Potties was a bit of a challenge. And it was a challenge for the buses to get through once the lines for the bathroom started up. We were up there around 5am, so we had a good hour to wait for the start... and of course it rains! With it being so hot, even at the 5am hour, I didn't have a long sleeved shirt or sweatshirt. It was pretty cold, but it didn't last long (that's Utah weather for you)!
We finally started our run at 6am. It was a nice cool start, having had the rain for a short period of time. It stayed overcast for awhile too. The downhill was pretty nice. There were a few rolling hills running down Emigration Canyon. I tried to pace a few guys ahead of me, but then the soreness and a pain in my foot kicked in. I just tried to remind myself to just enjoy the race and take my time.
As the sun started peaking out, I got to snap a few pictures of the scenery - I rarely run the canyons... I'm usually cycling them!
Whenever I'm running or cycling or whatever, and in my element, I tend to have moments of revelation and reflection. Today I thought about this passageway we were running. This route was the route that the Mormon Pioneers walked when they first came into the Salt Lake Valley. With it being Pioneer Day, it meant so much more to me. As I was reflecting on not being prepared for this race and the anxiety I felt in choosing to run it, I thought about the Pioneers. Were they ready for their trek across the plains, hundreds or thousands of miles away from home? I'm sure they were scared, but they relied on their faith and the faith they put in God and their leaders to get them to their destination. I knew that even though I wasn't ready for this race, I didn't have to face such extreme weather conditions as they did along their journey.
I ran into Joshua and Becca (some of my Run Aways family) around mile 6. I was just happy to make it half way through the race and out of the canyon. As I was making my way down to Foothill Drive, I got to see the Hogle Zoo and This is The Place. I noticed a monument that I hadn't seen before.At this point, I found a couple of other men to pace... It helped keep me going when I just wanted to stop.
Foothill Drive was nice and flat. We ran into Meridith, Christy, and Becca's kiddos at mile 21 of the marathon course (about mile 8.5 for the half marathon course). Becca and Joshua had stopped to chat with them for a bit... so of course we had to stop for a selfie! We passed the UofU! It was cool seeing the Rice Eccles Stadium as we we ran down 400 S.
And then off we went again. I tried not to think of how many miles were left. Around mile 9, my hip and knee were starting to cramp and get tight. I felt a little sick in my stomach too. But I kept pushing through.
At mile 10 I really started to hurt. I found shade along the course to keep my mind focused, and walked a little bit. When I was back on the mountain, I was standing beside an Asian brother & sister and then 3 guys (I think military?) who were planning to run with 50-60lb loaded sacks on their backs. They caught up to me around this point! I was so amazed at their persistence, and maybe
I also saw the sister, of the brother sister team, that was standing with me at the start. She was going strong and wasn't giving up! Go girl!
This stretch of the race felt like the longest part of the race for me. I didn't feel like the end was in sight. We just kept going.
Finally, we took a left onto 300 E! What was neat about this part of the race was that it was part of the parade route! There were hundreds of people lining the sides of the streets, cheering us on!
I knew being on 300 E that I didn't have much further to go. I had to keep running intervals to try and keep my calves from getting Charlie Horses. We passed mile marker 12, and only had 1 to go. It was so painful... Charlie Horses set in in both calves! I had to stop and stretch out, and apply pressure to that spot to get it to stop spasm-ing. Even when I started back up again, I felt like I could barely walk. I finally got them to relax a bit... at least enough to keep going. I ran into Brother Sosa, who gave me some shot blocks, right near 500 E! He snapped this picture of me, fighting to get to the finish.
After crossing that point, I really tried to push for the finish. My calves kept bubbling with cramps, but I just wanted to be done. The end was in sight, so I picked up my pace! It was fun hearing the announcer call out my name as I was coming down the home stretch! Crossing the finish lines (and the timing mats) felt so good! Getting my medal was just the icing on the cake!
I tried not to sit down or stay too idle for too long, or I knew I would never be able to get home. They had Coke machines to personalize a Coke can! And I shared my first hashtag (whoa! probably
not doing that again! haha)!
Then I went for my free breakfast (I was starving) and then went for my free massage! I wish the massage therapist would have done more massaging than stretching, but either way it felt good! I wanted to fall asleep right there on the massage table! And then I realized, I didn't get my Creamie! So I went back, and I ran into all the Run Aways again! And we took a bunch of pictures, of course!
What a great day! I think I did pretty good, considering I barely trained (and I, in no way encourage that)! But it's amazing how resilient the body is and it can do some pretty amazing things when you want it to! As for my time... it wasn't the greatest, but it wasn't too bad, considering the circumstances. I think if I hadn't been in pain, I could have pushed it a little more. I don't have the official results yet, but I think it was pretty comparable, if not faster, than my first half marathon ever!
First half marathon done in Utah! You Know! ;) Congrats to all who raced today! Happy Pioneer Day!
Official Chip Time:
795 Joycelyn Tross Salt Lake City UT 1745 32 F 121 30-34 2:50:03.4
2:51:36.2 1:32.8 12:58/M
No comments:
Post a Comment