My First Half!!!!!

Okay, I did it!! I ran in the Salt Lake Half Marathon yesterday, and it was AWESOME!!!!!
On Friday, I woke up after having a terrible nights sleep and felt nauseous. Kaylee had thrown up several times that week and I didn't know if I had what she had or if it was just my nerves, but I spent most of the day feeling sick and achey. I was so sad thinking I might not be able to run the race because I was sick. I threw up before dinner, which made me feel better long enough to eat dinner so I could get a good meal in me. So I got a lot of rest that day and went to bed early, hoping I would feel better in the morning. I woke up at 4:30 to get ready and felt a lot better than I had the night before. I ate breakfast (I had to eat a few hours before so I didn't get a side ache...which I didn't, so that was good!) and left the house by 6 to meet my friend Teresa. My friend from Bells on Temple Square, Teresa, ran with me. So we met up at the conference center where we parked, and got on trax to make our way up to the U of U where the race started at 7 AM. That trax train was SO full, we barely made it on!! But we made it up to the start line with about 20 minutes to spare, but spent all that time waiting in line for the porta potties along with about 1500 other runners. In fact, we were about 3 people back from our turn when they actually started the race, but when we got to the start line they were still trying to get all 8,000 runners across the start line. We finally got started about 10 minutes after they shot the gun to start. Here we are waiting in line to go potty!

Once we were off, I felt great. In fact, the whole race I felt SO good. I didn't have any side aches, knee aches, or pains. I felt fantastic. Teresa had her Garmin watch and so we were able to see our pace the whole race. We were around 9:20 and 9:30 miles and towards the end we were around 8:20 miles and we sprinted the last 1/4 mile to the finish line which was awesome!! Teresa was awesome, she pushed me at the end to run hard and fast and to finish strong. Before we ran into the Gateway where the race ended, I saw my Mom, Dad, Carson and Kaylee there cheering me on!!!! I didn't see Nick as I came toward the finish, but I could hear him yelling and I also could hear my good friend Jana yelling my name too!! It was such a rush!! Just seeing all those people and hearing them cheer was overwhelming! It was the best feeling. Once I crossed the finish line I really had to hold back the tears because I couldn't believe I had just accomplished this HUGE goal I had set for myself. It felt amazing! Here are a few pictures Nick got at the end of the race.

Here we are after the race! (Teresa is getting for a FULL marathon next month, so she turned around after the race and ran another 7 miles so she could get 20 in that day. I know she is CRAZY! )

My best friend Jana was there with her family and BRAND NEW baby!!! Now that is a good friend!!! Thanks for coming guys...it meant a lot!!! She ran the half last year and was my inspiration for me to do it this year! Maybe next time we can run it together! :)

Me and Kaylee.

After the race, I had to pick up my drop bag from the beginning of the race. It took over an hour, so Nick stood in line for me so I could go and see my family and friends. Thanks Nick!!

The kids had fun playing on the rocks and water at the gateway while we waited.

Here I am with my coach. Dad!! He was the best for helping me come up with a training plan and to talk to about different ways to train and work out. I was SO happy he was able to come and watch me run!!!!

And our course, my Mom was there too!! They are so supportive of me and my family. I love them to pieces!! Thanks for coming!!!!!

Once Nick was finally able to get my bag, we were able to get a family picture. But by then, both of the kids were ready to go and needed a nap!!! So they weren't that cooperative for a picture, but this is what we got!!!

I am so happy that I did this. I remember watching Jana run it last year and thinking to myself I have NO desire to do a half, EVER. Well, I was wrong. I won't lie to you, it was a lot of HARD WORK!!! I started training the first week in January and ran 5-6 days a week for 15 weeks to get ready for the Half. Here is what my training schedule looked like.

Week 1 = 10 Miles M-2 T-3 W-rest Th-2 Fri-3 Sat-CrossWeek 2 = 12 M-3 T-3 W-rest Th-3 Fri-3 Sat-CrossWeek 3 = 14 M-3 T-2 W-rest Th-3 Fri-2 Sat-4Week 4 = 14 M-3 T-2 W-rest Th-2 Fri-2 Sat-5Week 5 = 16 M-3 T-3 W-rest Th-3 Fri-2 Sat-5Week 6 = 18 M-3 T-3 W-rest Th-4 Fri-2 Sat-6Week 7 = 20 M-4- T-4 W-rest Th-4 Fri-2 Sat-6Week 8 = 20 M-3 T-4 W-rest Th-4 Fri-2 Sat-7Week 9 = 22 M-4 T-3 W-rest Th-5 Fri-3 Sat- 7 (March 1-7)Week 10 = 24 M-4 T-4 W-rest Th-5 Fri-3 Sat- 8Week 11 = 26 M-4 T-4 W-3 Th-4 Fri-3 Sat-8Week 12 = 26 M-4 T-4 W-2 Th-4 Fri-3 Sat-9Week 13 = 28 M-3 T-5 W-3 Th-6 Fri-3 Sat-10Week 14 = 30 M-4 T-3 W-4 Th-5 Fri-4 Sat-11Week 15 = 20 M-5 T-3 W-rest Th-2 Fri-1 Easy SATURDAY=13 MILES!!!!!(The Big ½ Marathon!)
I had to normally run after Nick got home from work in the middle of the day. Or I would have friends watch the kids for me while I ran or I did a few runs on my tread mill. I had a good friend, Jen, who was super great to help me out. I would drop my kids off at her house and run, and then watch her kids while she ran. It worked out great for both of us and helped me get my training in every week. I only missed probably 2 runs because of weather, but I would either do a workout video or do a few miles on the treadmill. It was a lot of running, but I really felt prepared for the race. Doing this Half wasn't all about the race, that was just the icing on the cake. I really think I learned a lot about myself and how it really is possible to achieve anything if you put your mind to it and work hard. Thanks again for all the love and support from my family and friends. I couldn't have done it with out you!!!!