I started the day out running the Provo Haunted Half Marathon. I was scared out of my mind for it, because I was too sore to run the entire week, from the Haunted Half I ran that previous Saturday. I was also low on energy, and feeling sluggish from a small cold I had. I was seriously wondering if I was going to absolutely die during this half.
Despite all of this, I got my bum out of bed at 5:00 that morning, put all of my running gear on, and drove to Provo, where I hopped on a bus that took us all up to the starting line.
It was really weird not being with anyone this time, and a little lonely at first, but once I got up to the starting line, I found some good running friends I know from the gym, and we had a good time fighting off the freezing cold for an hour while we waited for the race to start. I was even able to get a picture with the headless horseman this time. :)
I didn't realize until a minute before start time, but I had no reception up there in the Canyon, which meant, no Pandora, which meant no music!
Running without music is like dancing without music. No fun at all. I freaked out for a while, and then saw that Mary had downloaded two Taylor Swift songs on my phone. I got to listen to those two songs for the first 4 miles. Thank heavens they were upbeat.
About 3 miles in to the race, I finally got a great burst of energy, and felt really good. It was such a huge relief, because I was feeling like such a slug up to that point. At that moment, I got a text from Ben saying that they had just prayed for me at home. It was pretty neat, because I truly and literally felt the power from that prayer helping me.
The run was gorgeous, but quite a bit harder than the one I did the previous week. The last 3 miles were killers! There were all uphill.
I learned my lesson from before, and when I choked down a Goo at mile 10, I drank two cups of water with it...and guess what....I didn't have even ONE potty break! Seriously not one! Miracle people, complete miracle.
I definitely got tired, and it got really hard, but the beauty of a half marathon, is that when you hit that point, you are either done, or almost there. It is wonderful.
With one mile left, a huge group of us got stopped by a cop at a traffic light, and we literally sat there for about 4 minutes. It was discouraging, because we were all making pretty good time. Rats!
Once we were cleared to go, we all took off and did our best to make up the time in that last mile.
It felt GREAT to run through that finish line, and I was all sorts of high on zipfizz, goo, and endorphins. It was awesome!
My goal was 1:45, and I came in at 1:50. Not bad, considering it was my second half marathon in a week. I was proud of myself.
I met up with quite a few friends at the finish line, which made it really fun, and then I made my way home, just in time for Sam's last soccer game, where Mary presented me with the cutest gift ever!
She is such a thoughtful, creative girl.
I will definitely be doing the Haunted Half's again next year. So much fun!
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