Tremonton West Stake Half Marathon

Horray! Last Saturday, May 21st, I went back to Tremonton to run their semi-annual half-marathon. I honestly thought I might die since my longest run prior to this race was 7 miles. I went in with the goal to run at least the first 6 miles and then if I needed to, I'd walk a little every 3 miles until I finished. Prior to the race I talked to my sister-in-law, Jordan, and she told me to just have fun and forget about my time. I decided it was good advice. The weather was perfect, with just enough breeze to keep cool. There were only about 25 runners and I just hoped I wouldn't be the last one to finish! A few guys took the early lead and were soon out of sight. Quite a few of those who were behind me were no where to seen either! Basically, I felt like I was running this race on my own and I loved it! I didn't feel all competitive and I truly just enjoyed the race. I told myself I'd check my pace at about mile 8. When I got to that mile checkpoint, it was actually at 8.8 miles and I decided if I'd gone this far without knowing my time, I'd just finish off the race at my current pace because it was working for me. As I approached the last mile, I decided to speed it up a little and was so happy that I was able to run the entire race, and especially that it was so much fun. I remembered all over again why I love to run. The competitive races are fun, but I enjoy these kinds of races once in awhile. I crossed the finish line and checked my phone for my non-scientific time, which I knew would be slow but I didn't care. I finished in 1 hour 57 minutes, 5 minutes slower than my last half but it was by far my most enjoyable race. Instead of coming home, wondering if I ever wanted to attempt and half-marathon again, I came home even more optimistic of completing my next goal: a full marathon before age 30. I'm sure I'll run a few more halves before that, but this race game me a lot of confidence that I can keep getting better and better!