The Pink Series- Half Marathon

A few months ago, I found out about the Pink Series races down in Park City that were to be held on October 13th.  It was a race to support breast cancer research, hence the pink!  I saw that there was a 5k and half marathon and thought it would be fun to see if my sisters and mom wanted to run with me.  We have five women in our family who have been diagnosed with breast cancer and thought it would be a good cause to run in honor of them.  We extended the invite to all of the extended family on my mom's side as well.  Because life is busy, my Aunt Karen was the only one able to join us and we are so glad she did!:)  Unfortunately, my mom wasn't able to come and run either because she was kind enough to stay home and watch my boys since Tyson had to work. 

I found out about the race almost 8 weeks to the day of when it was going to be.  I had always said that someday I would love to run a half marathon, but it seemed like something I would never be able to do.  I had never ran more than 3 miles up to that point and had never ran any kind of race!  The goal of training for a half marathon seemed very overwhelming considering my fitness level at the time but I decided to try and do it anyway.  I found an 8 week training program online and went for it.  It was pretty intense and on my Saturday's when I would have to do my long runs, there was a lot of walking going on and a lot of discouragement.  I didn't miss any days of my program plan for the first few weeks, but then life went on and it was hard to fit in such long and intense runs.  About a month before the race my sisters and I finally signed up!  They signed up for the 5k and I really wanted to, but decided to try for the half! 

The next couple of weeks were really hit and miss on whether or not I could run and a couple of weeks before the race I got sick with a nasty cold and didn't run at all that week.  I kept thinking there was no way I would be able to run 13.1 miles and was really wishing I could just run the 5k and be with my sisters.  The Saturday before the race I still had my cold but knew that I needed to get a long run in since the furthest I had run up to that point was 8 miles the week before with lots of stopping to walk.  I ended up getting 10 miles in on the treadmill but it took me close to 2.5 hours.  That is when I really started to get nervous for my upcoming run that was only a week away!  I decided at that point that I would just try and make the most of it and do my best!  After all, finishing a half marathon would be a big accomplishment for me, in and of itself. 

Mandy, Taylor and I met up with Kylee down at our hotel in Park City and went to our packet pickup!  It was at that point that I got super nervous!  All of the other ladies at the pick-up were all decked out in their gear and they looked like legitimate, real runners!  Not somebody like myself who had never ran a race of any sort and had no idea what to expect!  We decided to go to Subway to eat dinner and then we went back to the hotel to try and relax before our big day the next morning.

 

Here we are with our shirts we got at packet pickup!

 

My mom is seriously the most thoughtful and sweet lady I know, and made us all these cute little goodie bags full of "pink" things!   It was at that point that I started to get really nervous and sick to my stomach!  Thinking of my mom and boys back home made me a little homesick!:)

 

Since we have the 5 ladies in our family effected by breast cancer, we thought it would be neat to put 5 different colors of pink ribbon on our shoes to help motivate us while we were running!!  I will admit that while I was running, there were several times when I didn't know if I was going to be able to continue on and thinking of my family members and the trials and struggles they have experienced with their cancer helped me to push forward!

 

The 3 ribbons on the left are to represent those on my dad's side: Aunt Barbara, Aunt Cinde and Grandma Mary.  On the right are my mom's side: Aunt Katie and Aunt Dianne.

 

That night, none of us slept real great and I think we finally fell asleep around 2 or so.  I got up shortly after 6 and got ready.  My sisters dropped me off at the shuttle buses shortly after 7.  I was so NERVOUS!!  I was wishing so badly that I had somebody to run with so that I wouldn't have to feel so alone!  I got on the first shuttle bus and was overhearing everybody talk about their past running experiences with their last half marathon, their 5th marathon, the time they ran a half in 1:45, etc!!  It definitely didn't help to calm my nerves!:)  And, they all had either one other person or a group that they were running with.  Shortly before our bus was leaving, a girl named Amy, from Vernal, UT came and sat by me and we started making small talk about family, careers, running experience, etc.  She had ran a couple of half marathons as well as marathons but said that she mainly ran to stay in shape and to accomplish goals.  We instantly became friends and I was so glad! She was an answer to my prayers and really helped me feel that everything was going to be ok.

I told Amy that I was going to try and keep up with her as long as I could but that she could go on without me whenever she wanted to.  Her goal was to run it in under 2:10 and so I made it my goal to run it in 2:10.  We found the 2:10 pacer and lined up.  It was freezing cold and I was glad that I had a jacket and gloves, etc at that point.  Next thing I knew, the gun sounded and we were off!  It was so weird seeing so many ladies running, all for the same purpose!  Definitely a cool experience.  The scenery was beautiful!  All of the leaves were changing and the colors were so vibrant.  The 13.1 mile route was along little creeks/rivers, on trails through tons of tress, along the mountainside full of color!  It was so neat and kept me going!  

I was able to keep up with Amy until about 6.5 miles and then she got a burst of energy and just took off!  I was still feeling good up to that point and was still staying in front of the 2:10 pacer, which means my pace was a little bit faster than 9:55min/mile.  I was feeling pretty good until about mile 8 and I started to feel like my legs weren't really connected to me and I was wondering how I was even moving.  It felt like I was going so slow but I knew that I was still running at the same pace because the 2:10 pacer was still a little ways behind me.  I wouldn't let myself walk except for when passing through the aid stations for my water and GU gel. 

It was at mile 10 that I really started to feel like I had jello legs and I just couldn't keep going at the pace I was.  I was starting to get cold and it was starting to rain.  I looked back and saw and could hear the 2:10 pacer right behind me.  I told him that he couldn't pass me.  He tried to encourage me to keep going but he had to pass me!! I was so sad at that point because I knew that I wasn't going to make me goal of 2:10.  I kept running and trying to push myself but could feel myself getting discouraged and tired.  I kept thinking about my relatives in my head and was silently saying little prayers about how grateful I was to be able to have the health and strength to be able to do what I was doing and it helped motivate me to keep going.  The next thing I knew, I saw the mile 12 marker and knew that I was getting close!  That last mile there were a few little hills that felt like mountains and I didn't know if I was going to make it up and over!  That mile felt like it took forever.  Toward the end, there were a lot of little bends and after each bend I thought for sure I was going to see the finish line, but more and more bends kept coming.  All of a sudden I could hear music and a crowd and knew that I was extremely close!  I got really emotional, thinking about what I had just accomplished and started to cry!  All of a sudden I saw the finish line, got a burst of energy and ran!  I knew that my sisters would be waiting for me at the finish line and I was so excited to see them.

 

This picture was taken by the race photographer shortly before the finish!  At that point I had no idea what my time was going to be because it felt like it had been forever back at mile 10 when the 2:10 pacer passed me! 

I was so excited to see that the clock was only at 2:12! Woohoo!!:)

My official time ended up being 2:12:05!  I missed the time I was shooting for by 2 minutes but was still so proud of myself and the goal that I had accomplished!!  What a neat experience!!  I placed 200th out of 527 women who ran the half!!

 

Along with my sisters, Amy was also waiting for me at the finish!  I was so glad I got to see her again!  She ended up running it in 2:07!  She seriously was heaven sent! I am so glad I was able to meet her!

 

Here are a few pictures after the race!! I really didn't want to post them because looking at them now I see just how terrible I looked!  Really gross and embarrassing but I want to remember it none the less!!:)  I am so glad my sisters were there to do this with me! It was a wonderful experience and they really helped encourage me along the way of preparing for this whole ordeal!:)

 

Looking back, I can't believe that I ran a half marathon!! 13.1 MILES!!  Aaaaaahhh!!  It seems so crazy to me but I am so happy that I did it!! I love that I set a goal and was able to achieve it!  Especially since it is something I never really knew whether or not I could do!!  I definitely couldn't have done it without Tyson! He was so supportive through the whole thing!  He would watch the boys while I would go run even if it meant not getting as much sleep after working the night before!  He was always there to encourage me!  I am so grateful to him and the supportive husband he is!