What goes up...

...must come down.
    That's what I was thinking after I boarded a school bus and was taken up a canyon... with no ride back.  The goal was to run back down, along with 2300 other runners in what is called a half marathon (13.1 miles).  I stood there in the dark, cold canyon with a bunch of strangers at 6am, waiting for the 7:00 race and wondering what on earth I had gotten myself into.

Blacksmith Fork Canyon in Logan

All the training was just about to pay off, right?  Well, unfortunately during my training I injured my hamstring... not once, but twice.  The most I had run was 8.5 miles.  I wasn't as prepared as I had hoped to be.  But I did have one thing going for me - I was very well rested.  


Once the gun went off it was 3 minutes before I crossed the starting line.  There were so many people.  Everyone was excited and nervous.  The first 7 miles were no big deal... the canyon was beautiful.  The sun was on my back.  The wind was blowing on my back, giving me a nudge and it was all a slight down-hill course.  Then, the next few miles were spent trying to decide whether or not I needed a pit stop to empty the Gatorade I'd been drinking all morning.  The only problem was there were 5-10 people in line for every porta-potty... so I kept going.  

Will and Mae waiting for me on the street near the finish line

    When we finally reached the streets I was tired (obviously); at one point (around mile 11) there was a little hill and I walked for about a minute... then I saw a porta-potty with no line and had to stop.  This may or may not have caused me about 5-7 minutes, because right when I got there 2 people jumped in line at the same time.  But I felt much better and knew I had it in me to finish strong.  I knew Matt and the kiddos were waiting for me at the finish line and I had to run!  I passed mile marker 12 thinking -- wow, I've never run 12 miles before, not even in cross country (I think the most we ever did was 11 miles at once) -- and I had a small celebration inside and told myself "Only 10 more minutes... only 10 more minutes... I can do 10 more minutes..."  Then, I saw Matt looking for me.  I felt an immediate spurt of energy from the support of my "fans".  I'm so thankful for Matt, Mae and Will.  For awhile they were the only thing that kept me going.

              Going across the finish line with a time of 2:38:58 (or 2:35:58 if you use my 'chip' time) was a great feeling.  I was done.  I met my goal.  There is an amazing sense of accomplishment to do something I didn't know I could do.  It was hard, but I did it.  How many people can say that about themselves?  

           I'm looking forward to my next half, probably in the spring once I'm not aching with sore muscles anymore.  Then, maybe a marathon this time next year.  The people at the Top of Utah really know how to put together a nice race and I've heard their marathon is fantastic.