Um...

Wow.  It's been two weeks already?  So, a lot happened between when I came in second at the speech contest and today.  I'll spend this week getting caught up so that I can then tell you all about the cool stuff that is currently happening.  I'm going to start from the newest.


Because it's my blog, that's why.


The Provo Halloween Half Marathon


Remember how I vowed that this was going to be my last long race for a very long time?

Well, I lied.

It wasn't intentional.  It wasn't like I said "I'm going to tell everyone that I'm not doing any more long races and then secretly go out and do them."  No, it really was going to be my last long race.

And then, my good buddy, M. signed up for the Provo Halloween Half Marathon.  Initially, I had no desire to do the race and I just laughed at her for having to get up early on Saturday mornings and do long runs.

But then, one Saturday, I said "hey, I'll come run with you."  We picked a nearby canyon that would mimic the (supposed--key point) route and parked our cars at the beginning and end points.  And I had such a marvelous time that I agreed to do it again the next week.

But...(and there's always a but), Wade was gone with the scouts (I know.  SHOCKER) and my babysitter got sick and so instead, I agreed to pick M. up at the end of the run and drive her back to her car so that she could still run the canyon and prepare herself for the race. (Because I'm a good friend.  That's why.)

The following weekend I met up with her again, and we ran the same course.  Again, it was marvelous and so at about 4 or 5 miles into the run, I threw out the idea that maybe, I would sign up for the race too.  I mean, I have already put in two long runs of 9 and 10 miles apiece.  13 miles?  Not a problem.

I was gone the next Saturday for the last run before the race.  Meanwhile, during the week, I was averaging a decent run on Monday mornings and then the rest of the week, I swam and biked.

Mildly put, I was very under-prepared for this race.  My only advantage was that at least I knew what 13 miles felt like and I knew that, even in the worst conditions, I could walk it and still finish.

Friday, the reality of the situation hit hard. I started freaking out that I would crash at mile 9 like I always do and then spend four miles berating myself for signing up for a half marathon with no training.  Also, I was slated to show off my awesome talents again at the Ward Talent Show (tomorrow's post).  There was some stress involved with getting ready for that--talents require time to master.

M. went off to pick up our packets and apparently, it was freakishly unbelievable.  Mind you, this was not the cheapest race I had ever done either. There is a level of expectation depending on how much money you spend. But the lines were up to two hours long and the number bibs were messed up and all in all, not a good experience for anyone.  Then M's husband dropped her off at her parents house for the night and drove home.  The plan was for me to drive down after displaying my talent and meeting her in Orem for the night.

About halfway from home, I realized that I had forgotten my coat.  It was going to be chilly in  the morning, and I toyed with the idea of just sucking it up, but I hate being cold.  So I ran into a Walmart and bought a new coat.  I was two minutes from M. when she called me.

"You're not going to believe this."
"What?"
"I left my running shoes in the car and my husband has all the kids asleep.  There's no way he's going to drive them back to me."

M. does bank work from home that has a deadline that has to be met every night.  Other than that stipulation, it's pretty laid back work.  However, the packet pick up process took so long, that M. was stressed about not reaching the deadline and in her panic didn't double check that she had everything.

If it had been a 5k we were doing, we would have just gone to Walmart to buy a new pair of shoes.  But being that this was 13 miles, we had no choice but to drive home and pick them up.  Luckily, M's parents were out of town and had left their luxury car at our disposal.

Two and a half hours later, we returned back to M's parents house and fell asleep just in time to be awoken four hours later.

For the life of me, I couldn't figure out why a race that had a 9 am start time required everyone to be at the bus loading station (the mall) by 6 am.  And then, we figured it out.  We lined up at 5:45 and got on a bus at 6:50.  We weren't even that close to the end of the line.  The end of the line went A QUARTER OF A MILE around the mall.

Up at the start, they had a "heating" tent, which was basically a fire code disaster waiting to happen.  We were all herded into these tents and then sat waiting.

And waiting.

The "start line party" we were guaranteed consisted of music softly playing in the background and sitting on cold grass, huddled around trying to heat a tent.

Finally, the first wave of runners headed out and we took our spot for the second wave.  The costumes that people wore were hilarious.  Of all the races I wish I would have had my camera, this one was it. The race course was gorgeous.  We ran from Aspen Grove, by Sundance, and then down Provo Canyon.  Once the race was underway, there weren't any problems on our end, though I hear pretty much every aspect of the race had terrible organization.  We finished at The Riverwoods in Provo.  The finish line was crowded, but we managed to get through and find our return ride to the car parked at the mall.

M. and I ran every step of the way, except for the water stops.  It's been my experience that the time you gain in running through the water stops never outweighs the disadvantages you have in trying to drink and run at the same time.  There was also a stretch of nearly .10 miles at about mile 12 that we walked because I had a side ache that wouldn't go away.  But other than those incidences, we ran it all. It had been billed as a downhill run, and the first four miles were definitely a steep descent.  But then, it sort of turned into rolling up and down hills and that made it pretty hard, considering the training runs I did do were all downhill in nature.

I'm happy with this effort.  I think I could have gone a little faster, but I probably would have overestimated my ability and burnt out at mile 9 like always and ended up coming in slower.  I finished this one a full 15 minutes faster than the Moonlight Half, and I'm happy about that.

So I'll say it now, and maybe it will stick.  Or maybe it  won't.  But I'm fairly confident in saying that THIS is my last long race for a long time.