Thankgiving Point Half Marathon

I completed my first half marathon! I did the Thanksgiving Point Half Marathon in Lehi, Utah. It was a great course that ran through the tulip fields, golf course, and around the residential area. It had a lot more hills than I was prepared for, but I survived it.

I had told myself that anything under 3 hours was great. I would have been excited to get 2:30 and ecstatic to get 2:10. So when I lined up for the race I placed myself with the pacer for a time of 2:10, thinking that even if I fell behind I would still be just fine.

Before the race started we had a minute of silence for those who were effected by the Boston Marathon. Even the shirts they gave out had a Boston Strong ribbon on the sleeve. It was neat to be apart of remembering those in Boston.

Then the gun went of and the race began. It was chilly, but not too bad. We really did get lucky with how nice the weather was. I had worn a long sleeve shirt and shorts and was wishing for a tank top later in.

The first 4 miles flew by. I had my running mix going and I was in the zone. I had no problem keeping up with the pace. At about mile 6, I got ahead of the pacer. I figured there was nothing wrong with getting a little ahead so hopefully by the end we would be back together. No such luck.

I officially lost the pacer between miles 7 and 8. One of my goals had been to run the whole thing. There had been hills off and on the whole run, but around this time they got so steep and long that I might as well have been walking with how slow I was "running". It was at this point I passed a lot of people who had stopped to walk. But not the pacer. She ran the whole thing while carrying on conversations and cheering all of the runners on.

By mile 8 she was nowhere to be seen. Even in sections where the trail looped back I couldn't see her. But by this point, I really wanted that time of 2:10. So I pushed myself a little harder. By mile 10 I could catch a glimpse of my alluding pacer. I had long given up on slowing for the water stations, but ended up needing to get a gulp of water and a piece of banana. But I ran though the stations as quick as I could while not choking on the food and water. I know this was my only chance of catching her.

Then at 11.5 miles, I caught her at the top of a hill. As I got next to her I told her that I had been trying to catch up for nearly 4 miles now and was not going to let her pass me again. She assured me that she would push me from behind if she had to.

I wanted to die. I was running on sheer determination and maybe some stubbornness. I wanted 2:10 so bad. The emotions were kicking in and all I could think was that I needed to collapse into Dan's arms at the finish line and maybe cry for a minute.

My IPOD was counting down the miles. I was just over a mile out. 400 meters, 300 meters, 200 meters, 100 meters. "Congratulations! You have reached your goal." Well, that's what the IPOD said. But really the finish line was nowhere in sight. You have got to be kidding me. Now I really wanted to die.

The closer I got to the finish the more people there were cheering us on. I was so thankful to those strangers for cheering for me. I kept looking for Dan, my mom and the boys, but hadn't seen them yet.

Finally, I rounded the last corner and there was the finish line. I mustered up what little strength I had left and ran as fast as I could, though I'm sure it wasn't much. I passed under the clock and stopped. What was my time you ask? 2 hours, 9 minutes and 45 seconds. I did it.

The only downer is that no one was there. Running is a very personal thing. And only those who have done it can understand what it is like to work so hard to achieve these crazy distances. And even though I do it all for me, the support and encouragement of my family means so much.

They had had a horrible morning with the boys, and things just didn't line up for them to make it there in time. Otherwise I know they would have been there at the finish line with big smiles on their faces. If I would have run slower they would have made it! That's what I get for being such an over-achiever:) Not to complain, because I understand how crazy and unexpected life can be, but maybe one day I'll run a race and have someone other than a stranger cheering me on.

My time was 2:09:45.
I placed 34 of 84 in my age group
I placed 177 of 530 of female runners
and I placed 363 of 835 overall.