Last year, I had the amazing experience of running in my first ever HALF MARATHON!!! 🙂 This is something I always secretly wanted to do but didn’t really honestly believe it was possible. (Well, I think I knew it was possible but I was skeptical that I would be able to get through it without suffering a whole lot… haha)
Being physically active has always been a big part of my life, but I’ve never been very good at running distance. I ran track in high school and enjoyed the intense workouts but anything more than 2 miles was death… After deciding to run the Timp Half, I took the training very seriously and always made sure to get my work outs in. I knew that if I just followed the training schedule then I would improve and really prepare myself.
One thing I am most thankful for with all of this, is how I was able to show myself how diligent and disciplined I can be towards a goal that is important to me. By the time I showed up to actually run my race, I already felt like I had completed the hardest part. I put in all the miles in my training, I spent the time training and I really took good care of my body in order to handle all the training. In the past, while trying to increase my miles, I would have problems with my knees and ankles. This time, I was committed to success and really took care of myself. I drank lots of water, slept well and took good supplements and oils to keep my body in good condition.
Running the race was fun, exciting and basically a great celebration! It was fun to be surrounded by so many people! I ran faster than I ever had before in my training, partly because of all the adrenaline and mostly because it was all downhill.. haha! Running downhill REALLY increased my speed, In fact, my family almost didn’t make it in time to see me cross the finish line because I ran so much faster than what I had planned for..
There was an energy in the race that was so exciting and powerful. I felt a part of something so great! I’m sure this is what racing feels like in general, but it makes me want to prepare for more races in the future! 🙂
I loved picking everything up the night before. It almost felt like Christmas! I felt so excited but knew I needed to go to bed and get good sleep so that I could wake up early the next morning! My friend Kelsie Matheson picked me up really early and we drove together to meet at a high school nearby. All of the runners boarded buses and we rode all the way up the canyon together. I remember feeling so nervous about whether or not there would be porter potties available. That was my one biggest concern and when we got to the buses they told us the porter potties were not going to make it onto the mountain… haha! Thankfully, when we got to the top, PSYCH! The porter potties were there. Matthew’s friend Nathan Turley played the National Anthem to kick us off and then we RAN!
My parents and sister drove all the way down to cheer me on at the finish. It felt amazing to be supported by my husband, my baby, my sister and my parents! I felt so loved and so successful.
After the race, we went out to breakfast together and I ate a big plate of french toast! 🙂
I don’t remember much about the day after finishing the race and I think it might be because I slept through the whole thing… haha I was SO SO SO exhausted! But it was well beyond worth it!
