WE DID IT!!!

This morning we woke up, bright and early, at 5 am. Since all our stuff was ready, it didn't take long to get dressed and out the door. I couldn't believe how fast I woke up. I guess it was adrenaline. You know how some days you feel groggy and your face looks like you're still asleep half the day? Thankfully, this wasn't one of those days.



Jared was all calm (as you would be if you hadn't trained for a half marathon, right?) while I was very nervous and jittery. I kept checking my bag to be sure I had everything I needed. We arrived at the U of U and quickly found a parking space. We were unsure as to how warm we should dress (crazy Utah weather!) but we ended up wearing shorts with a tee underneath a long-sleeved shirt, that we planned to take off once we warmed up. I wore a long sleeved tee I bought at Runner's Corner for $2 (on a clearance rack) so that I could just throw it out, which turned out to be a great idea. I could never run with it tied around my waist for so long. After we warmed up, the weather was perfect for shorts and a t-shirt. Not too cold, not too hot.



We started out very close to the front. I expected there would be fast runners hogging those spaces but the whole Start thing was very casual. They had some strange gospel group singing and when it came time to start the race, the Mayor of SLC just counted down and said, "Go!" The first 5 miles or so were really smooth. I wasn't even thinking about distance or time. I was in the zone and it turned out to be a great run. The views were beautiful. I loved looking up at the mountains as we ran along Foothill Blvd. I was thinking that the scenery in this race must be one of the best.



When we hit mile 7, I remember thinking "Wow, we're already over half way done." I felt so good and wasn't tired, crampy, blistery, chafing, or anything. A second later I thought, "Yeah, but I still have 6 miles to go." AAAH! Don't get so comfortable yet, right? So I tried to just listen to my iPod and relax, enjoy the run, and keep my pace. Jared was wearing the Garmin so he kept us on track. Most of the time we ran right where we anticipated we might be, a tiny bit faster if anything, so our time was good.

The next thing I remember is seeing mile marker 22 for the marathon, meaning we had 4 miles to go. It was a nice flat route at that point, we were nearing the end. We passed Liberty Park, the start of the 5K (which I did in 2004) so the rest was familiar. At mile 11, Jared said, "Are we going to speed it up when we hit mile 12?" I was thinking, "I will be happy just to finish the last mile!" I was doing ok and keeping the rhythm, but I didn't feel like I had a reserve to draw on. I just wanted to stay steady to the end. We finally approached 300 West, nearing the finish line. I saw Mom, Landon, and Austin on the side with a camcorder and camera. I waved and gave Austin a high five. It felt good to almost be done. We entered the end of Gateway and started running to the finish line. I really wanted to be done by now, I guess it's a mental thing, because it seemed like it took forever to run down that street between the shops. I saw Jared speeding up and I thought, "Oh no, what are you doing?" I didn't feel like I had it, but I made myself give it all and finally we crossed the finish line together- under 2 hours! We were very happy to have met our goal (actually beat it by 2 minutes) and be done with 13.1 miles. (note: the Garmin actually showed that it was 13.17 miles, so really we should get credit for that) I am anxious to see the photo from the finish line of the two of us together. You have to wait 72 hours until they're ready.



Our post-race meal was had at IHOP! The place was packed and we even saw a few other runners there. I got an omelette and pancakes. Jared got the big sampler breakfast or something and finished it in about 4 minutes flat. I guess when you burn 1800 calories in one run, you're a little hungry.

It felt so good to come home and have a hot shower. I just wish I could have had a 2 hour massage as well! That would have felt great. I took some ibuprofen to hopefully prevent too much soreness. The worst thing right now is the bottom of my left foot, which I have been having a problem with for a few weeks now. It just aches. I don't know if it's some kind of plantar fascitis type of thing or just because of my flat, non-existent arches. I need new shoes soon. Oh well, if that is the worst of my problems, then I am good. Goooooood. Good. Feels good.