Goal Accomplished: Running a Half Marathon

It finally came: the day I had been training for, planning for, and anxiously anticipating. The Top of Utah half marathon. I'll be honest, since I moved back to Utah, my training had suffered a bit and I was feeling nervous about the big run. A week before the race, Jen and I ran 9.45 miles of the course, and I felt really good about that run, so it helped me a lot mentally to prepare for the 13.1 mile run. The night before, I was surprisingly calm...until we went to pick up our packets and I noticed all the other runners. I can't help it, I have a problem with comparing myself to other people that run. So I had some thoughts creep in that weren't so great for me mentally. We then drove the 4 miles of the course that we hadn't ran the weekend before, and that again calmed me down a bit. We then went to eat. Pasta of course! We went to Le Nonne, an Italian restaurant in Logan that I've wanted to eat at for years but never had the opportunity to do so. It took FOREVER to get seated, and again, thoughts were creeping in that weren't the best but I kept trying to fight them off. Le Nonne hit the spot, and we went back home to bed, and I felt ready. I woke up, feeling ready and wanting to just do it. The first 7 miles of the race were great for me. It was perfect weather, perfect scenery and I had some great tunes to keep me going. Miles 7-10 were a little rough but I was doing good, ahead of the goal time I wanted. But then mile 11 came, and my spirit just broke. My body was tired, I was ready to be done. I hadn't trained past 9 miles of running so I hadn't built up enough endurance. But right when I was starting to have my breakdown, I spotted Jenna, an angel in disguise. She will never know what seeing her did for me, and how much it meant to me. She ran with me, talked me out of my negative thoughts, and coached me through to mile 12. I could see the finish line. It was so close, yet so far. She left me at mile 12 so I could run the last mile alone. It was a tough mile for me, but I couldn't help but feel so proud of myself. I was accomplishing something I never thought possible! A few hundred feet from the finish, I spotted my mom. Like Jenna, I had no idea my parents would be there. That got me through to the end where my brother Mick, my nieces Abbie, Libby and Aspen, my close friend Meggan, my dad, and Jen (she finished a few minutes before me) were waiting and cheering me on. I did it! I just completed a half marathon. It was one of the greatest highs I have ever experienced. It was a good run for me overall. I was proud of myself! I even finished 5 minutes before my goal time!

I thought a lot during my run, especially about people in my life, and what I'm grateful for. I'm so grateful I have a body that allows me to do physical things that are so motivating and so good for me, not only physically but emotionally and mentally. I'm so grateful for people who support me, and encourage me to do things that may seem impossible. I'm grateful for answered prayers! Thanks Meggan for being there, and for taking these pictures and letting me steal them for the blog!

My niece Libby, waiting for Jen and I to run to the finish.

My niece Aspen waiting patiently!

Abbie wondering when we would be done!

Me running to the finish..

Immediately after finishing. Can you guess what I'm thinking?!

I was needing some serious meds. Notice the frizzy hair?! Totally earned it!

Jen and I posing after the run.

Posing at the finish line, well after most people had left

Stretching out