13.1 Miles

 Moving here to Utah has brought a whole new freshness to my running life. I can't really say that I am a "runner" by any definition, but I do like to run on occasion. One of my dear friends here has really set the pace as far as involvement in local races. After I ran Long Beach's Half, I thought I had sworn off the long runs forever. But alas, I lied. Shortly after moving here, Katie had me registered for the Provo City Half Marathon.

The only races I have ever been involved in were in California, where you just show up at the starting line and wait for the gun to go off. So you can imagine my surprise when I was told I needed to board a bus 3 hours before the race started! The bus experience wasn't all that terrible, but the chill in the air up at the starting line was frigid! Waiting for "go" was just awful. After huddling around for what seemed like forever, and making 2 stops at the Hunny Buckets, we finally lined up and were off down the canyon.

I started off at quite the pace. I followed the 2:10 pacer for about 8 miles, which I thought was quite the feat. The last 5 were much slower, but I was surprised to see that my final time was only 5 seconds slower than my last race. Consistency, that's how I role.

Nothing says triumph like a medal and a finish line. My sweet husband came out to support me with the lad. Knowing he was at the end of the race really helped keep me going. He has always been my cheerleader, and I so appreciate him for it. And - as a big bonus - I didn't feel like I was going to throw up when the race was all over! "No cookie toss" is always a victory.

I can't say I'm addicted, like a lot of the girls I run with feel. But they have got me roped into a Ragnar Race next month. I didn't even know ragnar existed in my California life. And now I'm on a team. Wish me luck.