So....I know I am a slacker when it comes to blogging here, but since this was a bigger race and so many on the blog did it, I thought I would post.
The morning started off so early, (2:45 am), I wanted to be up in time to eat/get ready with no stress and then leave my house by 3:45 am. I caught the VIP bus that Hyrum said I could get on and it was virtually empty. Talked to a few people on the way up, one being Paul P. (nice guy). Definitely chilly once up the canyon and I had great concern on whether to wear a long sleeve or not, ended up not, which was a good decision besides the cold hands and the 2 miles of rain around miles 3-5, a tank top was the way to go.
Race started and I went out relaxed but still hard, I had a goal to break 1:15 and I really wanted that bonus money. 1st mile: 5:22, 2nd mile 6:00...had great concern at this point, even though that mile was up hill, I knew I had to pick it up. 3rd mile: 5:14. I am now in no man's land, the lead guys and group of guys behind them are far gone and the two guys I had passed let me go...so it was just me now until mile 12.
So at this point the rain is coming down and I just keep moving along, hoping the rain/wind will stop soon. This is the point where the exact mile splits stop, I seriously don't know how all you bloggers get every split and remember them. I look at my watch every mile marker and get the split at the current time but can't remember them. I just know that for the next many miles, I hit every mile between 5:25 and 5:40....YAY!
I saw my husband's truck around mile 6 and then started looking for him and finally spotted him, it was nice to see a cheering face for me. He later passed me around Will's pit stop and yelled that I had over a 3 minute lead, which was nice to know, but not the overall goal for the day. I got to mile 10 and however I calculated the distance I had left, I thought 1:15 was not going to happen. I pushed the pace as much as I dared and got to mile 11 in 1:01 and some seconds. At this point, I knew I had about 13 minutes to cover 2.1 miles and really started doing anything I could to surge. I dropped my gloves and just focused. My calves ached but everything else was pretty okay.
Around mile 12 came a blessing, a male runner within reach. I focused on him and caught him just before the last hill, he then passed me back on the hill, and then I passed him back as soon as it leveled out again. I can now see the mall, hear my family yelling, and give it one last kick to finish...by my watch 1:13:31, although I haven't seen official results.
I am happy with this race, more happy that I finished my 2nd half-marathon successfully, and even more happy that I far exceeded my goal of 1:15. |