Tuesday, January 3, 2012

My New Year's Revolution Run-Dec 31st, 2011

Who would have even thought that running round and round a track for 4 hours could be a fun adventure? I'm here to tell you I had a blast! I didn't even have any running buddies with me but I still was able to have a great time. I can't even pinpoint the reason for the great pleasure either, which is still strange to me, but I'll give a rundown of how my day played out and see if I can figure out why the extreme euphoric feelings I was having.
*Arose at 6:00 am and drove to Kearns where the Utah Olympic Oval is located
*Got checked in by 7:30 am and got my t-shirt, bib, goody bag and ankle band to count the laps.
*Race started only 4 minutes late at 8:04 am.
*At the starting line hearing final instructions which mainly consisted of enjoying the oval by walking, running, meandering around, resting, watching the speed skaters, using the restrooms, enjoying the snack table, but most important instruction was to just HAVE FUN!
*About half way through my run a kindly, elderly gentleman was sitting at some tables where my stuff was at.  He was resting and also taking pictures of his wife as she went around the track and so I asked him if he would take a few photos for me.  Obviously these two are posed or I would have crashed into the little cute man. He wanted the olympic flags in the background of my photos so I said "great!"
*I thought he was done taking photos and I thanked him.  As I continued on and made another lap around  there he was standing up with my camera still in his hands taking an action shot-so I smiled and made a cheering sign.
*Um......next lap around......cute little old man still taking photos.....and I was starting to feel awkward.......but still smiled.
*Ok.....cute little man, enough is enough of the photo taking......much appreciation!
Items consumed during the 4 hour race:
*2 peppermint lifesavers
*3 pretzels
*4 orange slices
*2 banana chunks
*dixie cup size trail mix
*1 mini milky way dark bite size
*1 mini butterfinger bite size
*Zip Fizz electrolyte drink-43 oz.
*water
*Gatorade
*1 GU packet
*4 pieces peppermint Extra gum-1 new piece every hour (I have to chew gum while I run)
Music listened to while running:
John Mayer the whole way!!-Thanks John for a beautiful run.
Items used:
*3 ibuprofin
*9+ kleenex- many boxes used up by the runners-not just me. Supposedly it's 65 degrees in the oval but it felt way colder than that to me. My nose felt like a dripping faucet.
*A change of shoes in the third hour-felt refreshing for my feet.
*A convenient bathroom located on every lap if so desired.  I only had to use it 4 times.
People I passed:
*34 on one lap
*32 on another lap
*Didn't have the courage to count how many people passed me-it was oodles though, trust me.
Laps Accomplished:
*1 lap to warm up-not counted by race people
*1 lap to cool down-not counted by race people
*68 laps 
*Total-70 laps for a grand total of over 18 miles-total time 4:01:35
*17th place out of 160 females for laps accomplished
*49th place of 264 runners
*The top female winner accomplished 99 laps-Amazing!
*The top male winner accomplished 119 laps-Incredible!
Prizes won:
*Awesome pair of running sunglasses-have been wanting some since last Summer so this was worth the whole day right there alone to win those.
*Muscle Milk
*Finisher's Medal-Dog Tag
*Chia Seed Powder drink mix gunk-not sure what to think of this stuff till I try it.
*After the race was over and most people cleared out I checked the photos that the little cute man had taken and noticed they were mostly blurry.  I attempted a couple photos of my own-still a tiny blurry.  Oh well!
*Happy it's over and can't wait to do this race again next year.  I would love to take some buddies with me though, which would only add to the extreme fun.
Feeling very achy on the car ride home and enjoying my cool new running sunglasses.

8 comments:

Anonymous said...

You amaze me!!!!!!!!!! Plus, you look cool in your new running sunglasses. M.

Julia said...

this seriously looks so fun!!! you did amazing and it looks like you had a blast along the way :) great job!

Shayna said...

I would love to do it with you next year... count me in!! Also, plan on me for the half marathon in june!!! I think I have also convienced a few others to join us. Soooo... I need some advice on how to train and everything! I am up to about 4 miles right now!! And I am with you, I run but I am not in love with it yet!!!

tammy said...

Great job! And thanks cute little old man. I wish I loved running, but I so don't.

Jenny Lynn said...

Well, way to go! Maybe you will see me next year, walking. Not a runner.

Glad cute old man took some pictures for you. I was chucking as I read about him taking another and then another.

Just SO said...

That is great!! I can't even imagine running for 30 minutes let alone 4 hours. You go!

ruth said...

Wowowowow that race is crazy!!! I applaud you for not spinning out into Colorado!! Great recap and I love the photos... Especially the blurry ones ;)

Doran & Jody said...

You are awesome!!
I wish I could catch the same running bug!