American Fork Half Marathon - June 25, 2011

~   Rachelle asked really nicely - so here's a recap of my newest Half Marathon PR!!!~

Want to know how to shave 21 minutes off your time within 7 weeks?  Start by having your first half marathon with a flat course on the first hot day of the summer – then have your third half on a course with a 1747 decline in elevation!  It does wonders to your time. 

Here's the official stats:

1:58:46 - 13.22 (my garmin was incorrect and had a distance of 13.56, so I stole someone else’s distance! LOL)

 8:58/Average Pace 

 Age Group - 28/52   Overall 438/811

This race was AMAZING! This race gave all money to fight cancer – which is amazing!  I loved how they gave cancer ribbons to you when you picked up your packet to wear while running.  And seeing the survivors running and hearing all the wonderful/sad stories was definitely inspiring!  Also I was running with my neighbor and one of my best friends Sasha!  This was her first half and she killed it!  She finished in 2:01!  So happy for her! 

Mile 1: 9:36

Mile 2: 9:02

Mile 3: 8:42

Mile 4: 8:28

Mile 5: 7:26

Anyway the day started out with me getting to sleep in until 4!  We headed to AF High School to board the buses. I got to ride up with Rachelle which is always fun!  We reached the top of the canyon around 5:10 - way better than 4 o'clock like the UV half - and went to the bathroom and the 50 minutes flew by and before I knew it, it was time to go! And it was sooo much warmer than UV. The only negative was the bathroom situations – but we just made our own line (oops) and got in quickly.  Since I had my friend to run with, I wasn't going to worry about time - but if I felt great...I was going to go for 2:05.  I wanted my first mile to be slow and thankfully within half a mile - we came across water that had flooded over on the canyon road...made it slow and my toes were FREEZING!  Then around mile 2 – they had to go to the bathroom - I thought about going ahead without Sasha...but I really wanted to stick together. And this was the most disgusting thing…I went real fast and all the toilet paper rolls were still wrapped up so I didn’t want to waste time unwrapping it…I did a little shake and just left.  The first few miles seriously flew by.  The decline was perfect...not too steep but not bad and after the first mile I really started just letting go.  I wanted to run what my body felt like...and seeing miles in the 7's - that's NEVER happened before!  And at one point I saw a 6:28 pace on my garmin and kind of freaked!  I knew I would regret it later...but I was too happy.  Around mile 5 I pasted the 2:00 pacer and I knew I could definitely hit my goal of 2:05 this time. 

Mile 6: 7:35

Mile 7: 7:37

Mile 8: 8:30

Mile 9: 9:09

After mile 5 - I started breaking away a little from Sasha - I just kept doing what I felt and knew that once we got out of the canyon I would slow down so I might as well just go for it now.  And I was totally enjoying passing people right and left!  I felt amazing! We came out of the canyon a little before mile 8 and the whole 8th mile was directly in the sun with some hills...it definitely tired me out quickly and the last few miles were definitely tougher. I wish I would have slowed to a 9/M pace for my 8^th mile so that I could conserve some energy for the remaining miles.  I ran into Justus and the kids around mile 9 - in which they didn't see me until I was almost past!

Mile 10: 9:50

Mile 11: 10:12

Mile 12: 9:44

Mile 13: 10:09

These last few miles were flat and definitely harder than the first 9.  At mile 10.5 there was a HUGE hill and I just decided to walk that beast.  That's when I started noticing my calf was killing me.  It hurt so bad while running and walking so I might as well run!  This is the time it became mentally tough for me.  I knew around mile 9 - this was my sub 2 half for me to lose.  I kept saying to myself…this is mine to lose…this is on me.  If I could just hold a 10/M and I could do it.  I was dying just trying to make it mile by mile.  The last few miles, the volunteers were holding up really funny posters - my favorite of course was "Your kids are waiting for you at the finish line...enjoy the peace and quiet" -  I started trying so hard to make it to each water station for 11 & 12…but I’m not going to lie, I walked a little further past the aid station than I should have.  And I had no clue where I was in AF so I had no clue how to gauge how much longer I had or what was ahead of me.  Like I said earlier, my garmin was way ahead in mileage.  Thankfully right before the finish, Rachelle (ran a 1:32) ran in with me for awhile.  Without her I probably...no I know for a fact I wouldn't have made the sub 2 half.  She gave me that extra push especially holding her sign "Your Feet Hurt Cause Your Kicking Ass" - and I finished strong.  I just remember running with her and Rachelle kept going faster than I wanted too...but I didn’t want her to leave me so I continued to push through. 

All in all, this was a wonderful half.  I have nothing but great things to say about this race and about my run.  I really don’t think I ever expected to do a sub 2 half…like ever – and I accomplished it on my 3^rd time.  I know if I went back and did the Provo half, I would not get close to sub 2…but I’m still going to be dang proud of this accomplishment!  I am now aiming for a 1:55 finish for the Provo Halloween half.  I better get to work!!

I think it’s so amazing on how far I’ve come.  I was ready mileage wise for the Provo Half but I wasn't ready endurance wise.  I feel so much stronger now and so much wiser about running.  I may never be fast, I may never beat this PR, but I feel much more confident about my running now then I did previously.  Seeing improvement helps...and though this half was a lot like my last - started off slow, got fast in the middle, died at the end - but I can see the differences and the improvements.  I'm so happy that I only had two miles in the 10's this time around and none in the 11's!  For me, that shows my improvement and my increase in endurance.  These last 3 miles were definitely the toughest mentally I've ever faced...but I pushed through.  

Sasha and me (please don't look at the fact that my arm is twice the size of hers)

My mom and me! (and my cute Brendon)

Paden and mommy after finishing!