AF Half Marathon

June 23, 2012 was my VERY. FIRST. RACE.  All of the insane amounts of training/sweat was for this day.  I felt prepared, but extremely nervous/anxious/excited.  My biggest fear was that I would fall flat on my face and have some lovely road rash.  Luckily that did not happen.  All week prior to the race was when I felt the most overwhelmed and seriously anxious about what the day would bring.  What to wear?  What to eat?  What to expect?  I picked up my packet and was ridiculously happy to check out all the goodies, including my first race shirt.  After I decided on my attire and made a new playlist I loaded up on some pasta from Pizza Factory and took a shower to avoid furry legs and armpits in the morning. TMI?  The race started at 6AM, which meant the last bus would leave at 5AM for the ride up to Tibblefork.  My outfit was laid out and I set my alarm for 3 so I could be ready for KDJ to pick me up at 4 and hit the sack at 9PM worried that I wouldn't be able to sleep. (Yes I am proud to be the girl who gets ready to run her race by doing her hair and make-up.)  I slept like a champ and was ready to get going as soon as my alarm went off.  KDJ arrived 10 mins early and after patiently waiting for me to change and double check my race bag we were off!  Most people that know me well, know that I am not a morning person, I am quiet and probably seem grumpy but I'm really just not a big talker in the AM especially on the morning of my very first half marathon.  We arrived around 4:40 but waited for a few more people that KDJ knew and rode the last bus up.  Breakfast was a banana because I knew that would sit fine in my tummy.  I was surprisingly calm and relaxed on the bus ride up, which seemed to go on forever.  I think we arrived at the start line close to 5:30 because we had to drop our bags off right away and then jump in the eternally long potty lines.  There was no way I was starting the race without using the restroom first.  We heard them announce the 5 minutes to race.  I was in no rush to jump in the line since we had chips on our race bibs so regardless of race starting, our time would not start until we crossed the start line.  KDJ and I were probably some of the last people to start the race.  I started my Nike+ running app and my playlist and off we went!  WOW.  This was it.  Something I've wanted to do for so long...run a half marathon successfully!  The first 7 miles are all downhill which can boost your pace but be somewhat harsh on your legs.  We weaved in and out of people for quite awhile.  Before I knew it we were at mile 5.  I was in such a zone I wasn't paying much attention to our pace but we were zipping along much more quickly than I had imagined.  Everything flowed so wonderfully and I was feeling strong and relaxed.  I was not sure what mile I would hit what runners refer to as "the wall."  The point when your mind is telling your body, "ok self, I am getting tired and so are you so lets just be done now."  The most I had ever run prior to this was 10 miles.  It creeped up on me around 11.5.  My mind knew I was so close to finishing that it was ready to quit if I would have gave in.  Of course with just over 1.5 to go I would have never let that happen.  Those last couple miles were definitely a push though!  We rounded what I thought was a final corner and I saw my Mommy and Luke holding a sign for me and ready to snap some pictures.  That has to be one of the best things, when you are getting to the end and you see people waiting just to see YOU in all your sweaty running glory!  I mustered up the remainder of my energy to smile and give my last burst of energy...boy was I unhappy to see another corner to round before running toward the finish line!!  All I could hear was KDJ saying "you got this, you can do it, we're going to push now, are you ready?"  Of course I'm not ready.  I just ran a really awesome 12.5 miles, now back off!  However, I knew I needed to hear all of those things and burn out the remainder of my energy just to finish.  Right before the finish was my bestie Ainslie, waiting to see me cross.  I could not have been more full of gratitude for my family and her to wake up early by choice, to cheer me on and see me complete something so important to me.  KDJ grabbed my hand just before we crossed and I finished my first race with my best friend.  I had chills and happiness running through my veins.  What a thrill it was to me to finish something I had worked so hard to accomplish and do it well.  Thank you to everyone who was there to support me through this.  My finish time was 1:47:33.  My goal was 2:00 so I was pleasantly surprised to surpass that.  Next up: St. George Marathon October 6, 2012!
Here is a link to my STATS for anyone interested.

The outfit.

Adrian, KC, KDJ, Britt & Lee. Waiting for the potty pre-race!

This pic is primarily to show KDJ heel striking, and Britt ahem, well, NOT.

We saw Tahsha's honey at the finish line and Luke was kind enough to hose all three of us with silly string!

Kyle, Britt, KDJ

Typical KDJ. Posing every chance he gets!

Running=HAPPINESS!