SLC Half Marathon!

I just want to say...  I can't believe it's over.  How many blog posts have been about my training?!  And now it's all over.  Crazy!

I am most certainly going to be running at least one more of these this year to redeem myself though!  Let's just say that I had a good long cry once I got home from running this race.  I don't think there is something that could go wrong with my body that has not already gone wrong!  I kept thinking yesterday, Why does my body hate me so much?! 

The first 6-7 miles of the race, I felt absolutely amazing!  I kept a consistent 9:15 pace [which I'm telling you is extremely good for me!] and was thrilled that I was going to finish the race WAY before my goal time!  And then...  My knee started bugging me.  And the best part...  It was the knee that I've never ever had problems with.  Not the knee that I missed my last half marathon for--not the knee I went to physical therapy for; my perfectly healthy knee!  I just ran through it thinking maybe it was because I was unconsciously favoring my bad knee, but it just got worse and worse.  Basically, I had to run/walk the majority of the last half of the race because of the shooting pain.  Once I finally finished, I honestly thought I was going to fall over.  My knee and leg was shaking soo bad from running the last half mile or so, I just wanted to die!  Haha, you would have thought I had just finished the FULL marathon with the way I went limping off the course clutching onto Jared!  What a joke, right?!

But you know what...  After I got home and had my 10 minute pity party, I thought to myself what a joke it was that I was actually upset with myself.  I just ran my very first half marathon, and I know it won't be my last.  I shouldn't care what my time was, and I certainly shouldn't be upset that given my injury I only finished 7 minutes over my original finishing goal!  Seriously?!  I limped the last half of the course and I only finished 7 minutes over what I wanted!  Why am I being such a baby?!!  I DID GREAT! 

So, this race was just my practice race.  ;)  I'm already trying to think of ways that I can strengthen my knees so this doesn't happen again.  I know I am capable of SO much better--the first half of yesterdays race proved that to me, and it gave me so much more confidence!  For the first time in my life, I was passing people!  What?!!  Amazing.

I will do better next time.  And my body will not determine how well I do!  My mind will!

Crossing the finish line literally took everything out of me...  I had to forget how bad my knee hurt and I just pushed it!

I'm so lucky that I have my whole family to look up to; they're all such amazing runners!

Jared literally could have finished in half the time I did, so I'm SO grateful he stayed with me the whole way.  He's always been my support system!

And...  The aftermath.  Ouch.

Pretty cool medal, eh??  ;)

Now, which half marathon to sign up for next?!!  :)



[okay, it's now story time.  We're around mile 10.  We run next to a manhole in the ground at the same time as we smell this awful, awful stench.  Jared gasps and puts his hand over his mouth and stops running.  A girl in front of us stops running, turns around, and starts dry heaving.  I think to myself, "what in the world people?! That was probably just a sewer drain!"  Oh no.  No, no, no.  This teenage guy had ran past us at the same time, with what I thought was mud ALL down the back of his leg.  Are you catching on yet?  ...yup.  This poor guy shat himself.  Not. Even. Kidding.  Diarrhea allllll over.  And he just kept on running like he didn't have a care in the world!  Why would you not stop?!  

"Oh, I gotta poop...  uhh...  okay, I'm good now, just pooped myself.  No big deal, just keep on running folks!"]