Porter's Half Marathon 08.30.14

August 30, 2014.

Another 3:30am wake up call, so I could get myself ready for my half marathon down in Draper.  My training buddy, Alberto, met up with me at 4:15am.  Then we headed down to Draper City Park to do some volunteering at day of race registration and check in.  We saw Janet and Robert there early.  And the more and more Run Aways started trickling in.  I also saw one of my tri teammates, Corinne, as she checked in to the 10k.  She was there to run with her daughters.  :)  I didn't get an early pic with my Run Aways family while at check in, but they did get this one of us before we headed down the canyon.  It was so nice to meet more of them!  I finally got to meet the amazing Suzette!  As you can see in the picture below, she was running in memory of her son, Porter.  Running for Porter at Porter's Half Marathon!     

This race didn't have too many participants.  It was a rather small race compared to Deseret News Classic.  I think I prefer larger races, but that's okay... I like the small races for different reasons.  :)

The gun went off  at 7am.  We all headed down the canyon.  I decided to take my time, while most of the RA's took off.  It was a beautiful morning for a run.  It was a bit breezy with a bit of sunshine poking through the clouds as it rose over the mountains.  It wasn't hot at all.  We ran through some neighborhoods with gorgeous houses and gardens. 


Just like Alberto told me on the way up to the start line, there are some pretty amazing views along the course!

I made two new friends along the way.  Janie and Yvonne.  I was pacing Janie and she was pacing Yvonne.  Janie had run a half not too long ago in 2:20, but she got injured during a recent Ragnar.  Yvonne was a great motivation in trying to keep our spirits high and to keep moving forward.

Along the course I got to see this beautiful view of the Draper Temple.  It's not every day that you get to run a race with a temple in sight.  That's the cool thing about running here in Utah.

I was keeping a pretty good pace until about mile 8, when stomach issues hit me!  At this point, I ran into Camille, who just wasn't feeling it.  Camille is amazing!  She's one of those cool women who runs those races while pregnant!  She walked with me for the few minutes we were together.  She spotted a port-o-potty hidden in some construction for me to visit before getting back on the course.  Some deer were in the vicinity too!  (I'm sure Joshua would have loved that!)

When I got back on the course, I felt like I was the only one around.  The sky got more overcast and the wind picked up.  I only saw about 3 people ahead of me.  I kept moving forward.  My legs started to feel the burn around mile 10.  I'm sure it was from the downhills.  The last few miles of the race felt so long.  Even when rounding the corner at mile 13 was torture!  That 0.1 was a killer!  I didn't think I'd ever make it to the end!

But, I crossed the finish line and my Run Aways family was there at the finish line!  It was nice having people there to cheer me on!  I'm so grateful for their friendship and their encouragement!  I hope to be like a lot of them, and become a better runner!  They are so inspiring!

 Quite a few of them got age group awards:  Monte, London, Robert, Janet, and Stacy.  (I think there may be more, but I can't remember who)

I also caught up with Janie and Yvonne, who were worried about me when I dropped off.  It was really sweet of them to wait around for me! 

We got some pretty fun medals too!

Alberto and I sat and chatted with Heather for awhile after the race.  I stretched out my achy legs while the young men tore the finish line down.  We saw 2 ladies come in after everything had been torn down.  Good for them for finishing!  One of the girls hadn't run in a few months, but came out here and did it anyway!  What heart!  I think some of those stories are more inspiring than the overall race winners.  I know what it feels like to come in last, when everyone else has already gone home (that's partially why I like bigger races more... I don't feel like I'm alone).

And the fun didn't stop there.  In lieu of my upcoming half iron distance triathlon (70.3) coming up in a few weeks, Alberto humored me and came on a 30 mile bike ride with me up in Huntsville, UT (the site of the tri).  We rode around Pineview Reservoir.  

 

We were aiming for 50 miles, but he got a little tired, so we cut our ride short and headed back to Salt Lake.  Before doing so, however, we stopped by Wendy's and got burgers to replenish all the calories we burned! 

What a fun day!  I didn't think I'd make it through the bike ride, but I did!  I felt pretty good afterward too!  Standing in the reservoir for a few minutes helped.  I can't wait!  70.3 here I come!  :)