Mt. Nebo Half Marathon 09.05.15

I have officially come to the end of my running season for the year.  I was bummed that I'm unable to run my last couple of races, due to my own poor planning, but I guess if I had to end my season I couldn't have picked a better race to end it on (running race anyway... I would have loved to have finished with USTC this weekend).  Besides being mentally exhausted from March, I almost considered not even running this race.  But I figured I'd give it one last push.

I got up at 2:45am on Saturday morning... bright and... oh wait... I mean, pitch black.  I had laid all my stuff out the night before so I could be ready to go in the morning.  Much thanks to my friend and running family member, Soren, for picking up my packet for me, and even hooking me up with some dinner so I didn't have to cook!  I donned my gear, got in the car, and headed down to Payson.

As I was heading over to the buses, I ran into Jess!  I'm surprised she spotted me, because it was really dark, and I was still half asleep!

I got in line for the bus and ran into my friend Karrie!  Then found that Joshua, Cevan, London, Jonathan, Suzette, and lots of other friends were on the same shuttle up the canyon.  When we got to the top, I made sure to hit the bathrooms, then I huddled around the fire and tried to sleep (standing up).  I wished I had been a flamingo at that point, because it was rather difficult.  I wanted to join my friends, but I knew I wouldn't get any rest.  But my good friend, Brook, happened to find me, as I was sleeping.  I love Brook!  She's just awesome.  I'm sure I've mentioned that before, but she always puts a big smile on my face!  I hope to be as cool as her when I grow up!

 

with Brook and Camille

and I found the Naked Canadian, Robert! :)

As the sunlight drove away the darkness, we were left with a lot of people in clear view of the half marathon start.

I also saw this guy this morning, and his shirt's message is just what I needed!

And... I couldn't forget why I was running this race... I was running it in honor of our friend, Meridith!

Did I mention it was cold?  I was excited to get started so I wouldn't be freezing anymore!  The timers were a little late, so we got started about 20 minutes after the start time (7:20am).  I had to say hi to my friend Cevan, my pacer (for awhile) at the Dino Half in May.

And off we went.  I wasn't expecting anything... I was exhausted and my stomach had been hurting, so I was just there to finish and get my medal.

As we headed off, I got to see Dulcinea, Camille, and Joshua.  Joshua and I kept tagging back and forth for a bit, as we both felt we started off a bit too fast (a problem I tend to have).  I kept a pretty steady pace for quite some time.  I thought I needed to stop for a bathroom break, but an image of my high school field hockey coaches popped in my mind, and it made me keep running (even when our bladders were somewhat full during hockey tryouts, we had to run through it on endurance days... those 3-6 miles were brutal)!
 

The canyon was beautiful, and it was nice and cool.  I felt great!  I'm surprised my stomach issues were holding out.  I just kept trudging along.  When I started to feel hunger pangs, I ate my Honey Stinger.  I tried not to go too fast, because I didn't want to burn out my legs like I did at TIMP.  Most of the run was a steady downhill.  I didn't feel tired, which was surprising to me! I caught up with Joshua again for just a few moments.  It's interesting that I can now identify him by his cadence!  Imagine that!

 Around mile 9, I started to feel the "Charlie Horse Bubbles," as I like to call them.  They're the bubbles you start to feel before your calves cramp and go into a full Charlie Horse.  When I start to feel those coming, I start walking a bit, so as to prevent a full Charlie Horse.  I ran into some Run4Fun ladies who thought I was the 2:30 pacer.  That was a good sign, I thought!  Not too much longer after, Marisa, the 2:30 pacer passed me.  She said they were a little ahead, so we had time to catch up and pass them.  I hung back, but stayed as close to her as possible.  I kept pushing, and kept asking myself how bad I wanted this?  I didn't expect a personal record (PR) this race at all, but it looked like it just might happen if I pushed just a little more!

Before I knew it, I was heading towards the track at Payson High School!  My calves and Achilles Tendon started to bubble, but I kept pushing.  The runners around me kept encouraging me too!  I was excited to reach the track, but not excited that we had to take the long way around!  That's okay... I was almost done.  As I rounded the last 100m stretch, I booked it.  I wanted to try and beat the 2:30 mark, but just barely missed it.  But that's okay... I was happy with my time!  2:30 baby!  Fastest Half Marathon time yet! 

I was so happy to see Ruthie and Royce at the finish line, handing out medals!

John, Ezra's best friend, was at the finish line congratulating me!  He was there to wait for his wife, Jess (whom I posted of earlier), finish her full marathon.

It was fun running into Elvia, too!  Elvia is another member of my running family (the Run Aways, which have been an integral part of my running season these past couple of years), who told me she PR'ed as well!  So awesome!  Congrats Elvia!

Because I had run 2 other Runtastic Events this year, I "Trilogized" and received my Triology Medal!  What an awesome way to end my racing season for the year!  I ended up knocking a total of 21 minutes off my half marathon time!

So, that's a wrap for my running season this year!  I'll still run 5ks here and there, but nothing longer this year.  It's time to focus on school again... A big thank you goes out to my Run Aways Family, Salt Lake Tri Club, Orange Theory Fitness, and all of you who have encouraged me to get here!  Love you lots!