WA HOO! I did it! AH! I finished! For those of you who have read our blog before, you know I was training for the Salt Lake City Half Marathon. Well I finally ran in it Saturday! It was one of the most amazing things I have EVER experienced!
I woke up Saturday morning at 5:50am, the race started at 7am. After getting to the starting line, which took me a while considering I had no idea where I was actually going, my nerves finally started to calm. The announcer told us to line up according to MPM (minutes per mile), and had signs along the side of the starting line indicating where we should stand. I decided to stand next the the 9 minute mile mark, figuring that would be a good place for me. Once I got there and everyone started crowding in around me, the stench of BO started to overwhelm me! We hadn't even started the race yet, it really was very disgusting. But once I got over the smell, I got really excited! The next thing I know the announcer is telling everyone to move forward, the race is about to begin! I got my Pandora station ready, Miley Cyrus, and just like that the buzzer went off and the race began.
I was feeling great for maybe 10 seconds until I realized I was running up hill, thankfully I had trained running up hill, but I knew that by starting that way it was going to take all my energy instantly from me. For some reason however I didn't let that get to me, I just kept on running. I have an app on my phone, that I have mentioned before in previous posts, that tells me my pace after each mile, I love it! It's the Sports Tracker app. As I was running my phone was telling me my pace every mile, which instantly filled me with confidence. I was running faster than I had ever before through my training. I ran my 3 fastest mile times at the beginning of this race, and I didn't even realize I was running that much quicker. Prior to this race my fastest mile time was 9 minutes 24 secs, after this my new fastest mile time is 8 minutes 32 seconds! My first 7 miles were ran in 1 hour 7 minutes 33 seconds! In training I had a hard time getting 6 miles in just over an hour!
The best thing about this race was that my family was there cheering me on! My sisters, Kaylee and Lindsay and their husbands, met me at different spots on the course. After I had ran 3 miles and hadn't seen them, I was so nervous they were never going to see me because I was running a lot faster than what I had told them. By mile 5 I knew I was never going to see them and I really wanted to start crying. I was running up South Temple, which is on a small incline, I wanted to call them to tell them where I was, so they could finally see me run! I decided against that, because I didn't want to distract myself, but I really wanted to start walking out of disappointment that they weren't going to see me. (I know this sounds weird, why would anyone stop running because their sisters aren't there... but we are really close!) Anyways, I didn't start walking but was about to, when I noticed my sisters and their husbands! The joy that I felt can only be known when I tell you what I did next. I sprinted... up hill, just so I could see them! haha, at the time it sounded like a great idea! But right after I saw them haha I wanted to walk again. Thankfully seeing them again gave me the burst of energy I needed to continue on!
I saw them a lot after that! I can't remember exactly how many times, but it was thankfully enough to get me to the finish line! As I said earlier my first 7 miles were ran pretty quickly, (for me anyways), sadly my last 6 miles were not ran as quickly but still pretty good. I finished the race at 2 hours 23 minutes 31 seconds. My goal time was being under 2 and a half hours, and it was! It felt so good! As I was nearing the finish line I was looking out for my family. My husband had lifted up my 2-year-old and he was the only one I saw. It was the best part about this race! To have my family at the end with me! I am so grateful for them and the love they have for me to support me during this race! If it weren't for them, I would not have had the motivation to keep going!
I am so glad I did this! Not only to keep my body in shape, but the power I got from succeeding at this was amazing! I was sore afterwards and had blisters all over my feet, but I would definitely do it again in a heart beat!
This is my most awesome blister from after the race! |
Way to go Ash!! So proud of you!
ReplyDeleteOh I love that you wrote this story about your race! So fun and entertaining to read. You were so fun to watch and cheer on. I am so proud of you for accomplishing this goal of yours! You're my hero! :)
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