Halloween Half Marathon!!

I did it!!  13.1 miles!

I really love half marathons I decided.  They are hard enough that you really have to work to get ready, and you feel so accomplished when you are done.  My mom says that every race has its own "labor and delivery" story...and its so true.  I've never given birth but I have heard many a story.  So now I am going to share mine...feel free to not read it.  Haha.

In the morning before the race last Saturday we had to be at the buses at University Mall by 6:30.  Laura and Beau picked me up at 5:45 and we headed over there (thanks SO much again guys!!).  We got right on a bus and then drove up to Sundance.  We got there probably around 6:45 or 7 ish.  And the race didn't start until 9!!  So we had to sit around and be freezing FOREVER.  They had a big tent set up with heaters though.  Luckily we ran into Danielle and Brother and Sister Hoopes!  Yay!  So we hung out with them too which was so fun.  We chatted, listened to the awful music they were playing (what's up with that?), asked random people for chapstick when our lips were burning off (ok that was just me), and went potty several times.  When 9 oclock rolled around we were ready to go!

The race started off with a super steep hill for like 2 miles.  I was running with Danielle and we were running super fast.  Then once we got to the main road, I lost Danielle and them (sorry!) and started running solo.  I was feeling awesome!!  Mile 4 rolled around and I was like "what?  This is going to go by so fast!"  Then mile 5..."yep feeling great!"  Then mile 6..."what that was ONLY a mile??  I need to pace myself better" And then I didn't see any mile markers for forever.  I tried to eat my shot blocks I'm guessing around mile 7 and they were FROZEN!  So they were SO hard to chew!  So I was like choking.  At mile 8 ish I ate 2 more shot blocks as fast as I could because I didn't want to walk too long.  This is about when my right calf started tightening up all weird!  I had been running way too fast in the beginning haha!

I kept cruising along...pretty dead tired at this point.  My calf was hurting and I had listened to all my new music I had bought like a million times already so I couldn't use that as an extra boost.  I saw mile marker 11 and I was going to cry.  But I trudged on.  When I saw mile marker 12 I was REALLY going to cry.  Still a whole mile!  My calf was going crazy and I was so tired.  But I kept running and finished!  Yay!!!!  Once I finished I put my medal around my neck and saw Billy taking a picture of me.  I was annoyed because I was tired and I thought he had just gotten there and that was the only picture he took.  He had been there forever though and the camera had magically turned off when he saw me come around the corner, so he only got pictures after I finished.  So I was wrongly annoyed, but we still only got a few pics sorry!

There were some pretty great costumes.  Lots of Captain America's and Batmans.  I was a loser and didn't dress up though.  Mickey Mouse...

The Pope...

Me just finishing (I look fat because I had tons of stuff in my pockets...gloves, shot blocks, phone)

Soo tired!

(I look really big in this picture too...not sure why.  Maybe I really am big but just think I'm not haha. Oh I think the truck behind me is morphing with my body and making me look wide)

I finished in 1:55!!  13 minutes faster than my last half!  But that hill in the beginning gave me a way head start.  And I was running way too fast.

Well, that's the story!  Sorry it's so long!  It was a super fun race despite how stupidly I ran it :)  I wish I had my fav half marathon running buddy to run it with me (Jessica!)...I felt so great after the Salt Lake one!