A hALf MaraTHon....

Let me just start by saying...Wow, what an experience that was. Not only was this the farthest I had ever run, it was also my first race ever, I have never even done a 5K before. So I was fully prepared for how challenging and exhausting this would be but completely unprepared for every other emotion and feeling that came along with it.

Friday night of course was not the best night sleep I have ever had in my life. I woke up about nine million times and even had a dream that I had forgotten to run. So we woke up at about 6:30 am and got ready and headed to the race at about 7:30. Once we got to Snow Canyon high school we had to take a bus up to the starting line. Of course the bus ride was the longest ride of my life, the whole time I was thinking, "OK that's got to be 13 miles now....STOP".

Me, Nic and Teena before the race

Once we got up to the start everyone was doing there thing, stretching and warming up. Once it was close to starting we were all herded like cattle to the starting line and waited for it to start. That was the worst part of the whole thing, the waiting and anticipation. The bell finally rang and off we went, almost. I had a little IPOD issues and by the time Nic and I got it going we were in the very back. The car that stays behind the last person was right behind us. But once we got it all figured out we were on our way and quickly passed quiet a few slower people. The first couple miles were pretty steep downhill which helps you run faster but is really hard on hips and feet. At the first aid station, (mile 3), we turned up a dirt trail and ran about 1.5 miles up and then came right back down that same hill. That was not fun, not only is running up hill obviously harder but dirt trails always slow me down because I'm afraid I'll hit a rock and roll my ankle or something.

By this time Nic had gotten tired of going slow with me and left me in the dust. Once I got to the bottom of the dirt trail it was about mile 6.5 so I thought I better take my Ibuprofen and down my GU pack because I knew there wouldn't be another aid station with water or Gatorade for another couple miles and by then I would really be needing something. Oh, I also had to stop and take my shoes off to get all the rocks out! The rest of the race was on either a paved trail, cement, or asphalt. Let me just say how unexpected the ups and downs were. I knew about the uphill dirt trail but after that there was constantly a little hill to go up and back down.

By about mile ten I was really starting to hurt. The seam in my shirt by my armpit must have been rubbing against my skin because by then it was so sore. I had to keep pulling my sports bra up so that my shirt would stop rubbing right there. There was a girl that was keeping pretty steady pace with me and every now and then she would speed up a bit and pass me and then I would pass and this went on for a mile or so and then once I hit mile 11 there was a pretty good down hill part and said to myself, "that's it this girl is not going to pass me again". So I put that down hill to use and speed up enough that I knew she wouldn't be able to catch up. Every now and then my calves would really start cramping and I would stop to stretch them a bit and walk, but I finally decided that it hurt just as bad to walk as it did to run so from mile 11 till the end I didn't stop running.

When I finally saw the high school I knew it was almost over. I came around the last corner and I saw my father in law waiting by where I needed to turn to go to the finish line. I started crying when I saw him and I knew it was almost done. I also saw some friends of ours up on top of the bleachers yelling my name. Once I came around the corner into the stadium there was a big group of people all yelling my name and cheering me on. Then my cute little babies ran over to me and ran with me to the finish line. My goal was to finish in under 3 hours, actual time: 2:58:24. That's right, a minute and a half to spare.

Once I finished I was so ready to just collapse and that's what I did. My cute husband who had come in about 35 minutes earlier gave me hug and I just started crying. Then my sister in law Teena who finished it in 1:39, gave me a hug and said, "Annie, all this pain will go away but the feelings of glory and that you did it will never go away".

Nic, me, Rylee, (Teena's daughter, she did the 5K), and Teena.

I can honestly say that I gave it my all. I really don't think I could have pushed myself any harder or faster then I did. I sure wish I wouldn't of had IPOD issues in the start, that could have taken off probably 5-10 minutes off of my time, but I can't control that. I came in under my goal of under 3 hours so I am happy. I also didn't want to be dead last and I think there were about 10 - 15 people that came in after me. I came in 358th place over all. You wanna hear something sick? The guy that came in first did it in 1:10. That is just over 5 minute miles. CRAZY!!!

It was probably one of the hardest but most fulfilling things I have ever pushed myself to do. I was so happy to be able to share it with my husband and sister in law. I will never forget the feeling of seeing all of those people cheering me on. That is what made the whole thing worth it in the end.