time: 4:00 am ... way to early for anyone to be awake. my alarm clock pulls me out of the hour of sleep that finally came. resisting the urge to turn it off and go back into semi-peaceful sleep, i get up and get dressed- to race.
4:46 am... arrive at Riverwoods and hop on a bus to take me to the top. freakishly nervous. luckily i sit by a nice girl who is also experiencing the butterflies associated with a first half marathon.
5:15 am.... finally arrive at south fork. go to portapotties. then walk around laughing at the deer wandering among thousands of people like its one of us.
6:15 am jog a bit. down to where we heard the start is supposed to be- after a mile of seeing nothing but vegetation, we turn around.
mass confusion ensues.
7:00 am. . . race officials arrive and inform us that it is our fault that the race has not started. we wait impatiently for the race to start!
approx. 7:15 am. . . i'm off!
miles 1-4 i contentedly keep a steady pace whilst listening to empowering tunes such as "remember the name," Glee, and Anberlin. after mile 4 some nice children give me water. thanks. (
note to self- when running early in the morning, bring tissues because it is no fun running with a runny nose.)
mile 5 my ipod decides to suck all the power and die! i am left with no music. after considering just giving up then, i press on. after all, the morning is young and nature is beautiful. i feel great.
miles 6-9 getting a bit hotter. running a switchback
uphill was not on the course map- i swear. but i do pretty good. a nice man runs by giving high fives and telling us how great we are doing. i see the pregnant lady i met at the start line and feel very inspired/empowered.
mile 9 this is as far as i have ever run. the rest will pretty much be mental....
miles 9.2-12 phew this is getting hot. i'm sweating like a mother. some powerade invigorates me, as well as the cute little boys giving high fives. i am still keeping a steady pace despite the hot morning sun beating on me. sometimes i get the weird sensation of tingling in my calves. my legs feel a bit numb. i bust out of the canyon and know that i am almost done.
mile 12 right after the mile mark i see water ahead and my friend mike- cheering me on and taking pictures. he runs alongside me asking me how i'm doing (
i'm a 7 on a scale of 1 to 10. 10 being the best and 1 being the worst.) and tells me to keep pushing- i'm almost done. determining to run the rest of the way i keep it up. as i near the finish line i hear people cheering me on. i don't know them, but they are rooting for me. my friend Bre yells my name, telling me i'm awesome.
mile 13 i put on a last burst of speed and spring across the finish line!
thoughts afterward:
i can't believe i just ran that! i feel great! give me some water please. i have never sweated so hard or pushed so hard. this is the best high. when can i do the next half?
i ran the Provo Half Marathon, August 7, 2010.
i am hard core.
thanks to everyone who supported me through my training and race: my family, my roommates (Jessica, Shalise, and Collette), Mike, Breanne, Katie, and Grandpa and Grandma Thomas!
is it weird that i cannot wait until the Halloween Half marathon?
Bring it on!
