Vigor Big Cottonwood Half Marathon

Race #13 of 2013

May 11 
Pacing the 2:20 group

 Vigor Big Cottonwood Half Marathon

I wanted to run this race as soon as I learned about it but was totally taken back by the price tag attached to it.  The early bird pricing was 65 dollars and I decided no half marathon is worth that price to run.  I guess I've been pretty lucky in finding half marathons for a lot cheaper and signing up when they are rock bottom prices.  So, I determined that I just wouldn't have a race to run this particular weekend and that maybe I would set up my own long run in a canyon somewhere to sort of make-up for it.

Having started in this new venture of pacing races has been fun and money saving for my pocketbook.  So I casually asked Jonathon, whom I've paced a couple races for now, if he was possibly pacing for this particular race.  He said he wasn't but would check into it.  Well, I told him if he got the opportunity that I would be interested in helping out.  A number of days went by and I didn't hear back from him.  I asked the Big Vigor people on Facebook if they planned on having a pacer group help out with their race and they told me no.  I then responded with a polite comment of being a little disappointed because I know that pacers perform an important job and that when I run a race I appreciate having them there as a guide.  I also told them that I had done a little pacing myself and that people have told me personally they appreciate what I was doing.  Well, a few days later Jonathon contacted me and told me that Big Vigor changed their mind and would be having pacers.  They hired Jonathon's group, the Utah Race Pacers, to pace this race and he gave me a spot to participate.  To say I was thrilled would be an understatement.  I would now get to run this race for free and help others with their goals as well.   2:20 seems to be the perfect time for me to pace lately and so that's what I requested to do.  Due to the extremely fast course I wish I would have gone with the 2:10 but I had a great time anyway.

This race started at 6:00 am, the earliest race of the year so far.  Bus pick-up was 4:00 am.  That meant getting up at 2:15 am and on the road by 2:45 am to meet a few of the other pacers to carpool to Salt Lake at 3:00 am. These early morning hours have me questioning my sanity at times.  

Everything went super smooth and we got to the starting line area at 5:00 am up at Solitude Resort.  We got to wait in a nice warm building while enjoying hot chocolate.  I didn't dare drink any since I hadn't ever drank that before a race.  I decided to play it safe with the rule of never anything new on race morning.  At precisely 5:30 am they told us it was time to walk a mile to the starting line, what?  They had warned us that was the case and it was fine.  I was just glad it was a mile down the canyon and not another mile up.  Being able to wait in a warm building was totally worth the 1 mile walk since it was about 39 degrees out there.  Plus it helped warm up my muscles.

The race started on time and we were off.  This was a smaller race with supposedly about 500 runners.  Turns out there were only about 300. I only had a couple people who wanted to attempt the 2:20 goal.  The morning air was clean and beautiful and I just was enjoying running down this mountain.  It was a challenge to hold back on such a downhill course. I talked to a few people while pacing but mostly people just wanted to get past me to attempt a faster time.  

Some of the mile markers were way off and so that played tricks with my speed.  Mile 11 was way beyond what it should have been and then when mile 12 came I was expecting it way sooner.  It just makes pacing a little more tricky when the race people don't set them in the right spot.  Coming into the finish line the 2:10 pacer found me about a minute before the finish line and said to walk the rest of the way.  The course was short and fast and that all the pacers had been coming in way too early.  I was no exception.  I still had about 3 minutes left and so I stopped and even went back a little way around a corner to encourage any behind me to hustle quick and beat the 2:20 time.  I then walked in the rest of the way pretty slowly and still came in early with a time of 2:18:46.  We aren't supposed to be any earlier than 30 seconds but Jonathon was fine with it because the course was barely 13 miles and it was extreme downhill running. 

End of race treats were nice with beautiful water bottles, fruit, Jimmie Johns sandwiches, and creamies.  I even won a prize of a big bag of coffee, and handed that off to my friend Angela, since I'm not a coffee drinker.  I sat in the grass and stretched and ate my treats and visited with a few people.  Then it was time to head home with the pacers I rode up with.  

Beautiful day! Beautiful weather! Beautiful course!  Other than the super early morning hours this was a perfect race!   

Oh look, this little card was in my race packet already advertising next year's race, hmmm?

A Call From a Stranger That Made Me Happy, Happy, Happy

It's interesting how blogging and running have opened up a whole new world of friendships.  I got the most random phone call the other day from an 82 year old gentlemen.  He left a message on my answering machine and I was blown away by his kindness.  I typed out what he said because I was so touched by his words and I wanted to share them.

"Hi my name is Woody Whitlock and I live up in __________. 
Mine's the name listed next to Susette on the sign-up entrance for the 50K Corner Canyon run.  The crazy one that's 82 years old.  
I'm just calling to say THANKS so much for your detailed write-up of the last year's 50K. 
That helped me to change my mind, and sign up and switch over to the 25K.
Probably saved my life.
But it was wonderful and then I looked at your running record and was just in totally awe-shock at all the running you've done in the last 2 years.
But anyway it was just wonderful to read that and I wanted to thank you for it and maybe I'll get to see you down there on the 15th of June.
If you want to call back my number here is_______________.  
You're an inspirtation, thanks bye."

You better believe I called him back.  We had a nice little conversation and I asked him how he had found my write-up on the blog.  I was so glad it helped him with his decision about running this race. I told him since he knows what I look like he will have to introduce himself at the race.  He has the advantage seeing my blog and the photos.  Honestly though, not many 82 year old's are out running 25 and 50K's so I think I will be able to find him as well.   HE is definitely the inspiration.  I hope I'm still running at 82 years old!  Seriously!!

I'm not the fastest runner out there but I have a good time and if I can inspire people to get out there and enjoy it too then by golly that makes me happy, happy, happy.  (Yes, I'm a Duck Dynasty fan)

Provo City Half Marathon

Race #12 of 2013 

Pacing 2:20 Provo City Half Marathon 

Last Saturday I ran my 12th race of the year and had my 3rd pacing opportunity.  I'm really enjoying the pacing experiences but probably won't be able to do much more of it, other than tomorrow morning I am scheduled for one more.  Most of my weekends throughout the rest of the Summer are pretty booked with races I've already signed up and paid for.  There are a few blank spots here and there, but that doesn't mean I won't fill them up too.  I wouldn't mind being able to pace another time or two if the opportunity arises. 

My good buddy Josh ran this race as well and drove to my house and then we carpooled on down to Provo for the bus pick-up.  Breakfast on race mornings usually means a bagel or toast and banana with  peanut butter.  I offered Josh some toast and in his true Joshua style took a picture of it.  I teasingly told him that 95% of his photos are of food and he agreed and even said that number was probably higher. 

We parked a couple blocks away from the finish line and headed over to the bus pick-up area. There was a huge line to get on the buses but we were able to board pretty quickly.  It was 5:30 am and still dark outside.  I'm still wondering why on earth we have to get to these bus rides so early??

Josh may just be wondering the same thing?

We arrived at the starting line with oodles of time to spare.  Provo Canyon South Fork Park is where the race starts and it's a beautiful park. A little road that's not even painted with lane lines is how tiny of a road this is we started on.   After hanging around visiting people and meeting up with the pacers group for some final instructions we got lined up.  The full marathon people headed off first and about 10 minutes later the half marathoners started.  I saw one of my friends, Mike Talbot, from the Runner's Anonymous Facebook group and said hello to him.  He's an outdoors enthusiast and will be on the same team as me for Wasatch Back Ragnar. 

Lined up and ready to go

 

I'm not going to talk about how freezing cold it was up there because anyone that runs Spring races in Utah, in a canyon, knows absolutely what I'm talking about.  But, it was frigid and I was grateful for the moment we finally heard the gunshot and we were moving.  Josh wore that big hoodie of his for about the first 4 miles of the race before he warmed up.  

Once the race begun my camera got put away in my water belt and I didn't take it out again until the end.  I had a job to do and had to keep my eye on keeping my pace.  It can be a little bit tricky as each mile marker comes up and then you gauge how far off or on you are.  The really tricky thing about this particular race is the mile markers were very sporadic.  So I had to go by my own garmin.  We are taught to go by the race mile markers though because in the end that's what matters.  I stayed pretty close to where I needed to be the entire race and then all of a sudden at mile 10 a marker shows up that was way further down the road then I was expecting, so I had to start booking it a little bit faster.  By mile 11 we were only a tiny bit behind so I just kept my cool and tried to run a little bit faster.  I never saw a mile 12 marker and then next thing I see is the finish line coming into view and I still had about 5 minutes to use up.  Sheesh!!  There was definitely a problem with whomever marked the course.  Another pacer told me she had the same challenge.  

So when I realized I was going to be coming in too early I sent Josh on his way and told him to GO,JOSH,GO!!  I wanted him to get a PR and he was on course to do so.  He went flying into the finish line area with a new PR of 2:18:39 and I was so happy for him.  This is the first time I have ever run an entire race with him and it was pretty entertaining.

Just re-enacting a burping contest we had ages ago in a different race.  I'm a terrible burper unless you give me some gatorade and a few big inhales of breath while running.

I have the cutest friends. This is Annaleesa and Laurie and they were there at the finish line to cheer and take photos.  After I sent Josh on his way I saw these ladies and stopped for a photo and to say hi. I had a few seconds before I needed to cross the finish line.

There should be an award for goofiest pacer! I just may win.

I probably only waited about 15 more seconds and then hopped on over that mat with an exact time of 2:20:00.

The rest of these photos show what a spaz I turn into at the end of a race.  All those endorphins are just wiggling all over inside me and I get a little silly.

My cute hubby and son came to see me too.  I kind of like ending a race with familiar faces around.  Some of my further away races means I cross the finish line, get my treats and my medal and then drive home all by myself. 

More smiles with my good buddy!

My neighbor and friend Rachelle Harris.  She only started running a little while ago.  This was her first half marathon and she won 1st place in her age category with a time of 1:34:51!  Holy Moly!

A couple of Logan area pacers that came down to run this.  Adrian and Don are two of the members that will be running Top of Zion Relay this Summer with me.  Nice peeps.

This was a great race and one that I hadn't run before.  It's course almost matches the Utah Valley Half Marathon other than I actually liked this one better.  Running on the Provo River Parkway Trail is definitely a lot more scenic than running right on the cement highway down the canyon.   This is a race I would run again.  The treats were delicious and the weather was cool.  French toast from Magelby's was pretty awesome too!  I didn't take any photos of that food, but of course Josh did.   

Thanksgiving Gardens Half Marathon

Race #11 of 2013

This was my second time running the Thanksgiving Gardens race and last year I vowed I wouldn't run it again because it was so hilly.  But I think running races is oftentimes like childbirth in that you forget how hard the experience really was.  Plus, the gardens with all the tulips in bloom just draws me in. I really wish this whole race could be run in the gardens only and I would have had a smile plastered on my face for the entire run.

There are 3 major reasons I liked this race this year: 

♥No bus ride to get to the starting line-just park and walk to the start. Love that!

♥The gardens are gorgeous and the golf course is beautiful too!

♥The after-race treats felt like a feast! 

The only thing I didn't like about this race were the hills.  

I just recently got the opportunity to run Ogden marathon on May 18th and so I am quickly heading to the final weeks of a marathon training plan and realized I needed to run 20 miles today for that.  So I got up a little early and ran 3 miles on the treadmill.  Then I showered and changed my clothes and headed to the race.  I was about a half hour early which gave me plenty of time to put on my bib, my timing chip on my shoe and use the bathroom in a nice pavillion area.  No port-a-potty necessary here.  You just had to know where to go.  I kept my jacket on until about 10 minutes before the race and handed it to the drop bag people and snapped a couple photos and then headed to the starting line.  

This is the map of the half marathon.  You can see where it winds all over the place.  That is the area right inside the gardens.  I smile the most when I'm running in there.

It was fun to see the Utah Race Pacers there pacing this race today.  I have met a few of them since pacing the Salt Lake Half Marathon the weekend before and I chatted a little bit with Scott Ivans here.  He was pacing the 2 hour time and I wanted so badly to be able to hang with his group.  Someday this dream may become a reality if I am willing to work hard enough.  I'm not sure about that yet.  I want running to be fun and attempting this speed may then turn to a feeling of work.   

The race started at 7:00 am and we were off!  I tend to start a little fast with each race I run and then taper a little bit.  I was averaging about 9:30 minute miles which is pretty fast for me. I tried to keep this up as long as I could and then when the hills started I watched that average start to go down a little at a time.  I tried to keep it under 10:00 minute miles but the hills are relentless and finally my little garmin clicked into the 10's around mile 9.  I tried so hard to get it back under but it just wasn't happening.  For the next three miles I was just maintaining a 10:05 and finally near the end I gave a little extra kick and finished with a 10:04 average.  

It's a constant mind game I have to play to keep my pace up.  Some good music on the headphones helps as well.  

The most exciting thing for me though was realizing I had just beat my time from last year on this same course by 20 minutes!!  Maybe I am making some progress a little at a time.     

After I came in to the finish line and got my medal and treats I headed back out to finish up my mileage for Ogden Marathon training.  I needed 4 more miles to complete the 20 for the day.  So I headed back down the course in the opposite direction and just watched the runners still coming in.  You could just see in their faces the challenge of what they were going through.  Many were walking.  Many had companions with them.  I wondered how many were first timers?  I was just proud of them for continuing and persevering to get to that finish line.  After a little distance I turned around and ran back towards the finish line but then headed off in another direction where I saw the kids fun run 1 mile happening and decided to hop in on that course for a short distance.  I also decided to keep running around Thanksgiving Point and discover other areas.  I was super surprised to find a little 'mini' gardens of some kind that I hadn't seen here before.  The following pictures were taken there which wasn't part of the course I had ran earlier.  Since I wasn't being timed I decided to stop and take a few pictures.   

I finished up my additional 4 miles near the awards ceremony going on and enjoyed listening to all the speedy winners times.
I don't usually pay attention to my standings in a race because I always know I'm near the back of the pack, however I thought I would check it out in the results page.
Final time 2:12:12
I was 8th of 32 in my age category.
I was 199th out of 530 women who ran the half marathon,
or 401st out of 835 people who ran the half.
So happy to not be near the back of the pack.
Race registration will be opening up next week for 2014 and I will be signing up.  
See?  I have already forgotten about those hills!

Pacing the Salt Lake City Half Marathon

Race #10 of 2013
Salt Lake City Half Marathon

This pacing opportunity happened because I met Jonathon, the head of the Utah Race Pacers, back in January of this year and ran his New Year's Half Marathon.  It was also around this time that he became a member of Runner's Anonymous Facebook group page and from there we became friends and started a little challenge to see who could run the most miles in January. I beat him of course.  I am way too competitive when somebody throws a challenge out to me.   Then February came along and I was still eager and ready to go with the challenge again but he backed down.  I however was enjoying the high mileage and decided to keep at it.  So from there he decided that maybe I could handle a little pacing opportunity and offered this position to me.  I was nervous, yet excited.  It would be for the Salt Lake City Half Marathon, no small venue that's for sure.   

Adidas was one of the sponsors for this race and so they provided each of us with a free pair of shoes and a pacing shirt to wear while running on race day.  The shoes were awesome to run in, but I can't say I'm converted yet.  I am a pretty solid Saucony girl.

Before race day Jonathon held a meeting at his home where we were fitted and picked our shoes out from the Adidas rep.  He also taught a few of us newbies how to pace.  It was just so fun to be in a room with so many other runners who already knew what they were doing.  I was thoroughly enjoying the conversations being all about running.  We had a second meeting a couple weeks later where we then received our shoes, so we could start running in them and breaking them in before race day.   

One of our responsibilities before actually pacing was to man the Utah Race Pacer booth at the expo the day before.  We just basically talked to people about what we were there for and answered any questions they may have had.  My friend Angie manned the booth with me for the last shift of the night.  My cousin Cherri and her husband Joe stopped by the booth and took this photo.  Joe is a race director and holds about 12 events a year.  If you want to get involved in some of his races check him out at onhillevents.com.  He puts on some fun races for sure.

Since I would be pacing the 2:20 half marathon I printed out this pace band so that I could get some good solid practicing in on my own.  Even though I paced with my friend Hollie a few weeks before in a different race, I needed to know that I could do this by myself since I wouldn't be getting a partner to help me on race day.  And I needed to be able to do it 10 minutes faster than the previous race I paced.  I would pin this little paper on my sweat band around my wrist and head out.  It was such a fun experience every time I practiced.  I loved the challenge of seeing how close I could come at each mile mark.  I was usually within 15 seconds of where I needed to be.  Sometimes as close as only 3 seconds.

Now, moving ahead to race morning. I must have been feeling somewhat stressed because I got a nice little cold sore on my lip the night before, and that usually only happens when life gets a little crazy.  I got about 4 1/2 hours of sleep and woke up at 3:10 am. I like to set two alarms on race morning just to make sure there are no panic moments.  I got myself out the door about 4:05 am to meet up and carpool with some of the other race pacers.  I ended up just following them to Salt Lake because I wanted to have my own car and be able to leave when I wanted after the race.  This turned out to be an extremely good decision!  Due to weather reports, rain was expected all morning in Salt Lake.
Tis' the season of disgusting AM hours for racing and getting to the starting lines or bus pick up areas with time to spare before running.  Ughhh......This is definitely my least favorite part about running races and I'm certainly not looking forward to this aspect of it for the next 6 months.  Oh well, good thing I love the actual running part so much and just being with so many other people who are running too.

Getting to Salt Lake was easy.  We were there by 5:30 Am.  We parked at Liberty Park where the finish line would be.  We hopped on a shuttle bus which then drove us to the Trax Station.  We rode the Trax for a good half hour or longer, which was packed with people.  I had to stand the whole way while holding about 7 balloons on dowels.  I don't have a clue who these two runners are but you can see my nice bundle of balloons there as I stood to ride in the cramped train. This made for tricky foot work as the train would stop and start.  No catastrophes though.  Before we reached the end of the ride they stopped the train and allowed the policemen and their bomb sniffing dogs onto the train.  It was a nice feeling knowing there were lots of extra precautions being taken for our safety. 

The Salt Lake Marathon and Half Marathon was the first major race since the bombings at the Boston Marathon just 5 days previously.  Extra security was in place everywhere.  There was a constant roar overhead too with national guard helicopters.  If somebody was going to try and hurt us runners I think they would have had a hard time doing it.

We got to the starting line area and meandered around taking photos, using the ports, getting our gear put on, passing out the balloons to the other pacers and trying to stay warm.  The rain was starting to drizzle and I had never been so grateful for a black garbage bag as I was this morning.

Joshua Hansen, my running bud, had a really neat shirt custom made just for him.  It says on the front "No More Hurting People. Peace"  That was what the little 8 year old boy who died in the Boston bombing said on a poster he had made at school.  Such a sad unnecessary death.  My heart goes out to this family as the country mourns their loss of this innocent little guy.  The names of the other people who lost their lives in this horrific event were printed on the back of Josh's shirt as well.  Such a neat tribute to run in their honor.

Running today in the Salt Lake Half Marathon is one small way we proved we will not let cowardly, heartless people prevail. 

Quote by 8 year old Richard Martin

You can see the raindrops starting here as they are beading up on my jacket.  I quickly got a few more photos with running friends before the race was to start.  This is my friend Galen Garrison.  He is about one of the happiest runners on earth.  I think he has a non-stop smile on his face.  Below is my friend Angie and I honestly couldn't tell you who is standing on the other side of me.  That's the beauty of runners, we are all friends!

I quickly got my water belt put on along with my hat, garmin, pace band, bib, gloves, and other stuff and hopped into a group photo with all the pacers for the day.  We headed to the throng of 7000 runners and found a spot to squeeze in.  It was fun to hear people say, "I'm going to try and stay with her" as I would walk through the crowd.  People had a goal in mind and I was there to help them accomplish their goal by holding that obnoxious yellow balloon through rain and wind resistance for 13.1 miles. 

The race started at 7:00 AM and right before that they had a moment of silence for Boston and then they blasted "Sweet Caroline" over the loud speakers to pump us up.  It was a great moment.  Then the gun blast went off and we were heading down the street.  I loved that the first 4 miles of this race is a pretty sweet gradual downhill.  The rain was relentless though and never eased up the entire way.  It was also so cold and wet that I never took off my garbage bag.  Because it was so wet out there I kept my garmin covered under my jacket sleeve and wasn't able to watch my pace as often as I wanted to.  I made sure at each mile marker though that we were within range. 

At the starting line I had one specific gentlemen that said he wanted to run the entire race with me because he was afraid if he ran faster he would burn out before it was over.  He also said he hadn't been doing a lot of training so this would be a good pace for him.  I told him that was great but that if he ever felt a need to go faster or a got a little surge of energy then he should take advantage of that.  Honestly, I was so grateful for him because every time I needed to check my watch it was so much easier to hand him my balloon and then have a free hand to do so.  Also around mile 4 I needed to use the restroom and so I handed the balloon off to him and said "Don't run too fast, I'll catch up to you soon."  He did a good job continuing on the way and I found him about a mile and a half later.  We didn't do a lot of chatting along the way but it was just pleasant having that 'helper' by my side.  His name is Jared Knowlton and he really was a great support.

One of the blogs I like to read is Christy's.  She has been talking about running the Salt Lake Half Marathon for quite a few months now.  She lives down in Arizona and so I was looking forward to getting to meet her in real life.  As I was coming near the finish of the race I saw her mom around mile marker 12 cheering people on.  I only recognized her from Christy's blog and said hello to her and that I read her daughter's blog.  She probably thought I was wacked out!  This is Christy and she's a pretty fast little lady.  She was a frozen popsicle just like me.  The black garbage bags may have been a nice wardrobe accessory to keep us dry, but they really didn't keep us warm. 

Once I was done running I couldn't get my teeth to stop chattering.  I was frozen to the core.  Even after driving home for 45 minutes with the car heater on full blast, it took a long hot 20 minute shower before I finally started feeling better. 

OH!!! And the most important part about pacing.  How did I do on time?  Well, I was supposed to come in at 2:20:00 and according to my watch that's what I did!!  The race people clocked me at coming in at 2:19:57, three seconds early.  I'LL TAKE IT!  Jonathon said we should come in between 0-30 seconds before the time, so I was very happy with that and will be able to pace again.  (Jonathon told me if I did good at Salt Lake then he would let me pace Provo City Half Marathon on May 4th)  Looks like I will be pacing Provo City next month, and looking very forward to it!!

Race Paraphernalia

There were so many things I loved about this whole experience, even though it rained the entire time!  Plain and simple, running just makes me happy!