Race Day Race Day RaRaRa

Well folks I did it! I completed The Halloween Half Marathon on October 29th. It was total insanity! Not sure what I was thinking but I'm still glad I did it... check it off the list of things I never thought I would do.

(This is me at 5 am all dressed and ready to go. There were a lot of ladybug costumes.)

Now before I tell you my official time I need to give some background details...

I randomly decided to train for this thing about 11.5 weeks before the race. Prior to starting a 12 week training program I was active to the extent of walking (slowly I might add) on the treadmill 3-5 times per week for 20-50 minutes. With a training schedule in hand I jumped into trying to move faster, for longer times, more often. The schedule gradually increased the length of my runs until I was readyish for the big time. I did well for a while until things went crazy in my life. My long runs were supposed to happen on Saturday mornings but it just so happened that out of my 12 training Saturdays the last 5ish of them were insanely busy! I had family pictures, Kevin's party, moving, Kaylee's party... something prevented me from getting my long runs in so I ran 7 miles one weekend then didn't run another long run again for about 5 weeks until the actual race. (In total I ran something like 113 miles prior to the race) I hate to admit it, but I wasn't getting faster... Even when I felt I was trying my best, my runs brought me in at about 15 minute miles. I'm pathetic I know.

If you ever decide to run a half marathon avoid the Halloween Half, it's very disorganized and you may end up waiting three hours to pick up your race packet or you may end up standing outside in light weight race clothes for an hour at 5 am in below freezing temperatures!

(Freezing to death outside and needing to pee from of the powerade we were trying to drink pre race)

(bus ride up provo canyon to the starting line.)

So race time arrived and I thought whatever, let's just finish this thing!

So I start out all pumped going down the crazy steep hill and after about 3.5 miles my phone battery is shot thanks to a number of issues and I am forced to turn the thing off and run the rest of the race w/o tunes :( SADNESS.

At about mile 7 I think I started having major pain in the arch of my foot that made it impossible to do more than just force myself to keep moving.

Still, all this aside I accomplished the one thing I set out to do which was finish! My official time was 2:52:22 . This was a nice jump from my usual 15 minute miles to 13 minute miles!

Ryan was running late (SURPRISE!) and didn't make it to the race but my mom, brother, and sister in law came to support Shauna and me.

(Kristi got this lovely shot... Still smiling and moving after 13 miles!)

(Putting food in my body after crossing the finish line. Shauna ran the last little bit with me)

I was beyond sore for a few days but I'm fine now and it's easy to forget pain once it's gone :)

Will I do it again? Probably not but you never know. I still really suck at running. But I do think I view my threshold for physical activity in a new light.

My sister compares running to making children. Training is the 9 months of super annoying pregnancy. Racing is the labor. Finishing is the delivery.
I'd rather have a baby though. The rush of oxytocin after delivering a baby is so much more magical than the adrenaline of crossing a finish line but that's just my opinion. ;)