TOU Half Marathon

I'm sure some of you are sick of hearing about my half marathon but I just loved it soo much! I'm not even kidding. I had a grin either literally on my face or was thinking how fun it was the whole time. Now you may be thinking "what could possibly be fun about getting up at 4:30 am to go run 13.1 miles?" My response, what could be more fun!? Even though I admittedly have motivation issues when it comes to running/working out, once I'm out there doing it, I feel amazing. Racing is even better! Nothing makes me feel more alive, more aware of myself, than running and especially racing. I feel strong, I feel invincible, I feel like nothing can bring me down.

I was really nervous for this race. I signed up for it back in April because it was something I had always wanted to do. My training wasn't completed as well as it should have been. So when I was getting ready for bed and found myself knowing my time was up for training, I was nervous.

I got up at 4:30 and at 5:00 am, Desiree picked me up and then we picked up Whitney before heading off to the finish line. After waiting in line, we boarded a big yellow school bus and heading toward the start line. The bus kept going...and going...and going. There were many times when I thought "ok we've gone far enough...bus, you can pull over now!" But the bus didn't. Not until we got ALL the way up to the start line. To see the milage I had to cover was intimidating! It was a little chilly up there but nothing too terrible. After a trip to the potty and some jumping around to stay warm, we lined up at the start line (by time...a very clever way to do it!) and after what seemed like forever, the final gun went off and the race started.

there were lots of porta potties...lots!

My friends soon left me behind (I tend to start slow) and I was on my own, just running. Within the first mile I started to feel great. I was in my element. I started looking around me at the beautiful canyon I was in and truly enjoying the moment. I even took pictures as I ran. Yes, you read that right. I took pictures with my iPod as I ran. I was having too good of a time to care what anyone else thought! As I listened to my playlist I had made for the race, mouthed along to the words and took pictures of the beauty around me, I felt to lucky to be running that race, so lucky to have a body capable of running and lucky to live where I do.

The race went well and thanks to my shot blocks I used (heaven sent! I would NOT have made it without them!) and also the positive atmosphere my music and all the people cheering along the sidelines created, I had so much fun. I kept thinking, ok, at some point this is going to start to suck. But you know, it never did. Not that it wasn't challenging! It was very challenging! But with each mile marker I was just so proud of myself for running another mile. I never would have thought I'd be able to run that far.

The last two miles were the hardest. I was tired and I could tell I was getting close to the end, but not close enough. The miles lasted longer and just when I was convinced I must have just not seen the last mile marker, I would pass it and know I wasn't as far as I thought I was. Then, I saw the finish line. It was still quite a ways down the road, so I knew I couldn't get into full force mode just yet. But I finally got close enough to kick it into gear and then I ran harder and faster than I have in a long time. I crossed the finish line and felt so great! My goal had been to complete the race at a 10:00 min/mile pace, which would have been a little more than 1:10:00. I finished at 1:05:28.3. That put me at about a 9:40 mile/min average. I am so proud of myself (little bragging moment) and I cannot wait for the opportunity to try it again. I definitely want to do another half marathon. I've caught the bug and I hope it doesn't ever go away!

I'm so happy I did this. I proved to myself that I'm stronger than I thought I was. It was the perfect end to this summer. A stronger, better, more empowered Alyssa.