utah valley half
A week ago tomorrow, I ran my second half marathon EVER. Whaaat!! I know, I'm crazy. My training this time around was... lacking, to say the least. However, I finished in just under 2.5 hours so I was super happy with that (since I honestly thought it would take me 3). I run by myself so I just listened to music; shoutout to Billy Joel, Beyonce + One Direction for getting me through the rough spots!
^^ We got to meet running legend Ryan Hall who holds the record times for both the half and full marathon's! He was a stellar guy, way nice, and chatted for us for a minute. Here is Z + Bonnie with Ryan!^^
The race was beautiful and we got to run past Bridal Veil Falls, through the beauty of the canyon and then down University Ave to Center street. Towards the end of the run, around mile 9 or 10, you could see the new Provo Tabernacle temple and it was so beautiful! It was absolutely a motivator to me, seeing the temple and knowing it was my finish point. I ran pretty fast the last 2 miles and when I finished, I was DONE. Like probably would've collapsed had I had to run much farther. My sweet sis-in-law and one of my dearest friends, Laurel, was a volunteer at the finish line and I basically ran right into her arms! We hugged and I almost threw up on her (ha! Sorry for the close call Laurel!) but she gave me my medal. It was a wonderful feeling of relief being done + then we napped all the rest of the day. All in all, it was a good race. :)
^^just before the finish line.. LOOK AT THAT RELIEF! // Feelin' real good about being done. ^^
^^ WE DID IT! Go us, man, GO US! ^^
The night before our race, we went over to Z's parent's house for dinner (past a.k.a. carb central) and then stayed the night since Zach's mom, Bonnie (who is an amazing runner and has run 25 marathons + many, many half's), was also running. I wore my new Star Wars shirt for good luck + received my new pair of Nike's from my birthday in the mail so that was EXTRA luck!
The race started at 6:00. Yes, SIX AM. Which meant that busses were leaving at 4:30 at the very latest. So up we got at 3:45 A.M., sleepily put on our clothes + shoes then left for the busses. We were incredibly tired but in good spirits.
It didn't take long to get up to the starting line but it was still really early and we had time to kill. The most important thing to do before a run is go to the bathroom. Like, yeah, poop. It can be awful to have to go while on a long run because, well, it can be hard to run. Which is why there are tons of port-a-potties at the start line and along the course. So, it was nice to have so much time so we could go to the potty before the race started.
The race was beautiful and we got to run past Bridal Veil Falls, through the beauty of the canyon and then down University Ave to Center street. Towards the end of the run, around mile 9 or 10, you could see the new Provo Tabernacle temple and it was so beautiful! It was absolutely a motivator to me, seeing the temple and knowing it was my finish point. I ran pretty fast the last 2 miles and when I finished, I was DONE. Like probably would've collapsed had I had to run much farther. My sweet sis-in-law and one of my dearest friends, Laurel, was a volunteer at the finish line and I basically ran right into her arms! We hugged and I almost threw up on her (ha! Sorry for the close call Laurel!) but she gave me my medal. It was a wonderful feeling of relief being done + then we napped all the rest of the day. All in all, it was a good race. :)
^^just before the finish line.. LOOK AT THAT RELIEF! // Feelin' real good about being done. ^^
!!First half, August 2014, + second half, June 2015! ^^
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