13.1

I did it. Actually, WE did it. Tara and I. My 2nd half marathon is done and it was so freaking fabulous. 1:37:54. Woohoo! I had every intention of running the Provo River Half in August with Kami and Tara, but I hit my funk, in case you forgot, and doubted that I could do it at all, let alone as fast as I wanted. I was really sad. I should have signed up and run it anyhow. I still would have beat my old time. I decided I wanted another 1/2 to run sometime this fall. I sortof had my eye on the Halloween 1/2 in October.

Tara had other plans. I had heard of the Nebo Half. This was it's first year. She had a thought a few weeks ago that we just needed to do it together. That it would be the perfect race. We decided not to tell anyone so the pressure wouldn't freak me out and I could just enjoy it. I obviously told Dave, but kept it really quiet until the night before when I told a few other friends. I really think that helped. I never had to tell anyone my goals, I could just run as hard as I could.

I felt prepared for this race. We had a great 12 mile hilly run last week and I felt very confident. I didn't sleep very well the night before, and my plans of getting to bed my 8:30 were a total joke. Oh well. I got up at 4:05 and was out the door to get Tara by 4:30 to head down to Payson. We knew the course had a pretty huge elevation drop (3300 ft), so we knew it would be fast, but had no idea it would be so beautiful. I didn't take these pictures...I can't imagine carrying a camera, but at times really wished I had.

We took the bus from Payson High School all the way up to the Payson Lakes area. It was dark and cold, and the roads were windy and nauseating. Once we got to the staging area, there was music, fire pits, Honey Bucket's...all a girl could ask for. It was tough to stay warm for the next hour. The fires were smokey. Tara and I both had a Gatorade primer about 30 minutes before the start, then a Gu Roctane about 15 mintes later. I have only tried Roctane twice, but have really liked it. I don't really like to eat before I run, so the calories and caffeine are just the kick I need to run hard.

Mile 1 - 7:56, mile 2 - 7:23

There is always a little bit of chaos at the start of a race. This was no different. The gun went off, and so did I. Then I saw that a runner had fallen. People were helping her, so I kept going. Tara had gotten stuck. Anyhow, I looked around for her for a second, then she caught up with me and we were on our way. The first mile was spent talking about how sad we felt for the gal that fell. How devastating that must be. I heard she ran the whole thing though. In my mind, I was hoping to take the first mile a little slower anyhow, to get into a groove, so this worked out great.

Mile 3 - 7:19, mile 4 - 7:05

At this point, I felt so, so great. I knew we were flying and I just didn't care. It didn't feel difficult. We were just riding the hills. My legs felt fresh. The air was so crisp. I think I ran the 1st half of the race with a smile on my face.

Mile 5 - 7:07, mile 6 - 7:37

Still feeling great. There were a few girls ahead of us that we had our eyes on. They were running a really nice pace. It gave me something to watch. We stopped at the aid station between 5 and 6 for a quick sip of water and 1/2 of a Gu, then were off again. I was surprised to see that we still managed a 7:37 with our stop. I was so happy.

Mile 7 - 7:13, mile 8 - 7:17

I was still feeling really strong. Pretty invincible actually. We were able to catch up with some of the people we had been eyeing. I kept telling Tara how strong and fresh my legs felt. Our pace even reached 5:40 at one point. It really was the perfect race. I loved the confidence I was feeling.

Mile 9 - 7:29, mile 10 - 7:36

The course started to even out here. It felt flat, which actually felt uphill when you had been cruising for so long. There were lots of little rollers. They felt like mountains. We grabbed water and Gu somewhere in the 9th mile. I didn't feel like eating any, so we just held it until the next aid station. We seemed to be playing cat and mouse with a girl in a white t-shirt. We would pass her, then grab water and watch her go by, then work to pass her again. She was really quirky. She would run with her hands hanging down by her side. We got a good laugh out of her...and laughing is a great distraction when your legs aren't feeling so fresh any more.

Mile 11 - 8:20, mile 12 - 7:59

We stopped at the aid station for a quick drink between mile 10 and 11. Tara had some trouble with a sock so pulled off her shoe to fix it. At this point, she told me to keep going and that she would catch me. So, I went. Didn't really like it. I tried to push hard, but kept looking back for her all through the 12th mile. I really wanted/needed her beside me. I would hear her cheer from behind so that I wouldn't feel the urge to stop for her. The hills were rough. I was bummed that they seemed so hard, but then remembered that I had just run 11 miles on those legs of mine and they were doing the best they could.

Mile 13 - 7:21

At the mile 12 marker, I slowed down so she could catch me. I wanted to run this last mile hard and I wanted to run it together. I needed her support and extra boost of confidence. We pushed and we pushed. The mile seemed to take forever. I wanted to cry. I KNEW I could do it, yet felt like quitting 100 yards from the finish. The sun had risen over the mountains by this point. It felt like it was cooking me. It wasn't. It couldn't have been more than 60 degrees, but after running for an hour and 1/2 in the shade, it was hot. Our pace coming into the finish was a 6:18. You can tell by the look on my face in these pictures. I had nothing left.

There is the green shirt we had been trailing for most of the race. Boy, there are things I hate about my form in these pictures. But you know what? Everyone has something weird about their form. Who cares? I'm running and that's all that matters.

Dave drove down to see us finish and take some pictures. I love these. Tara is smiling and I look like I want to vomit. I was smiling inside...really, really big. Once we had reached 10 miles, I know I would reach my goal. Actually all 3 of them. I had hoped to beat 1:50, thought I could possibly do 1:45, and dreamed of breaking 1:40. 10 miles in, I did the math in my head and knew if we kept up our pace and didn't trip and fall, we would be below 1:40. I was elated. I had no idea I could run that fast, for that long.

WOOHOO!!!

Dang, I look old here. 38 years old. This picture makes me laugh. It was 2 seconds after crossing the finish. I wanted to puke, have a drink, scream. I did it! I had beat my other 1/2 marathon time by 19 minutes and it felt awesome.

I didn't even have to use a Honey Bucket the entire time. What a blessing. We like to use them as backdrops for photos though.

I'm really glad Tara encouraged me to run this with her. I'm glad we gave it everything we had. I realize this will be a tough time for me to beat with all the downhill, but I'll do it. I will. And I'll be back to run Nebo next summer for sure.

13.1 miles

1:37:54

average pace 7:30