Revolution Run January 1st, 2013

Race #1 of 2013

It's a new year and I was so excited to start off 2013 with a nice big 5 hour run.  This Revolution Run was held at the Olympic Speed Skating Oval in Kearns. It's a big indoor speed skating ice rink with a running track surrounding the ice.  It's one of the venues that was used for the Olympics when they were here.

I got up early because the weather has been so bad for the last week and the roads are just messy.  I had a good 45 minute drive to get there and wanted to allow plenty of time to drive slow if needed. It was lightly snowing and all was quiet and peaceful in the early morning hours.  My heart and body were completely wired up though because I had been looking forward to this run for weeks!  Last year I ran it completely alone and this year I knew there would be some familiar faces and friends to run with. Running races with friends just makes me a happy lady!

I went inside and got checked in and put my bib on and got my shirt.  It's a blue long-sleeved tech shirt which I'm pretty happy about.  I only have 3 long-sleeved running shirts and one of them is a Halloween shirt and one of them is a St. Patricks Day shirt, both of which can't really be worn year round. The third one I'm wearing here.  So a fourth one will be nice to have.  I won't say how many short-sleeved shirts I have.  If you know how many races I've run in the past 2 years then you should have a pretty good idea of what the majority of my closet consists of.  

After getting checked in and finding a spot to land with all my running paraphernalia I recognized a fellow runner and blogger and went over to say hello.  This is Murph. I can't remember his first name, but his last name is Porter which I of course think is very cool.  He remembered the sign I wore on my back in memory of my son Porter at the Porter's Half Marathon last Summer. He writes his own blog over at Mind of Murph.

Josh and I are holding up our first fingers to indicate this is race #1 of the new year.  Oh just you wait......there will be many more races to come in 2013.  It's hard to say who is more addicted to running races.   We both are filling out our lists and getting signed up for races throughout the year.  A few of them are the same and it will be fun to run with Josh occasionally through the year.  There is definitely an adrenalin rush to signing up and then definitely an endorphin rush after the running is over.  If you could bottle up the happy feelings of running and sell them a person could be very wealthy.     

The race director rounded us up like hamsters getting ready to run round and round a wheel and gave a few brief instructions and then at precisely 8:01 am the race began.  Its a little more than 3 1/2 times around the oval for a mile.  It takes 48 laps for a half marathon and 96 for a full marathon.  We got 5 hours to see what we could accomplish.  I knew I could get the 48 laps done but questioned my abilities for the full marathon so away I went just running and running and running.  I saw my friend Monnica whom I've run with a few times in other races.  She is always a delight to run with and keeps me moving a bit quicker than I'm used to.  Maybe I need to hang with her more often.  Another friend from Runner's Anonymous, Stephanie Johnson, was there and it was fun to chat with her as I would see her walking with her buddies.  The beauty of this race is that there were walkers, runners, and even bikers over in the corner hanging out.  There was definitely a lot of visiting going on while getting a good work-out in.

I also got to meet the race director of another race I will be running later this week, the New Year's Run by Jonathon Crampton.  There was another older gentlemen who was wearing a shirt advertising the Provo Squaw Peak 50 Miler and so I talked to him and learned he was the race director for that race.  He piqued my interest in that ultra race but after learning elevation changes were over 14,000 feet I quickly shied away from that one.  He also does a snowshoe run up in Midway at the end of the month that seems fun.  I just have never run in snowshoes before and don't think race day would be a good idea to start learning.

As I spent those lovely 5 hours on the track today it was just so much fun to run along with somebody and meet a new friend and visit for awhile as well as hang out with Josh.  I seriously couldn't believe how fast the time was going.  Pretty soon, the crowds were thinning out as people accomplished their 48 laps, or a half marathon status and called it quits.  I was in for the long haul and stayed around till the very finish where I completed 77 laps.  Which calculates to a little over 21 miles.   I'll take it.  Not quite a marathon but a good number to start my new year off with. 

I'm holding up 7 fingers to indicate 77.  Use your imagination.  Plus, I needed to get some stretching in. 

 Heading out to the parking lot and car after 1:30 pm.  The sun is shining but it's still freezing cold out there.

 Good-bye Olympic Oval until next year.  I will be back!