March Recap: Old Goals, New Goals, Travel, and Life

Who's got two thumbs and is super pumped to be back in the world of having monthly recaps?!?

Coming off a long injury, March marked a return to goals, a return to regular running, and a return to looking forward to the next race season. So how did it go? Welcome to the March Recap.

March Goal: Since my four month total from November through February was about 45 miles, I kept my goal modest, at 12 miles per week. I thought 4 miles 3x/week seemed attainable.

March Miles: 50.0. FIFTY! I'm absolutely pleased with this. It means I was about on goal. It means I ran more in March than in the previous four months combined. It means I get the green light to set a higher goal for April.

April Goal: 15 miles per week. This should put me just over 60 miles for the month. This goal is still modest, and honestly I'm hoping to exceed it.

March Highlights: I ran in 3 states during the month of March. Of course, my home state of Utah. My highlight at home was a five mile run where, for the first time in months, I felt like I finally settled down into about fourth gear. My three middle miles were 8:45, 8:27, and 8:45, and it felt great.

I was on the road a good bit, too. First to Arizona to visit with family, which was freaking awesome. On the way down we camped in Bryce, awaking to a light dusting of snow on our tent! In Arizona, we stayed with my husband's aunt and uncle, who have been nothing but amazing to us. I'm so, so glad we got to make this trip. While there, I did a run through their community of Goodyear. It's a master planned community which is very nearly built out (at least their part). As an urban planner, I have a trained eye to developments like this, and I was impressed. The homes are close enough together to allow the density necessary to support the community facilities they have, and there are many thoughtful design details throughout.

The week after, I was off to San Diego for work. I ran along the water, from our hotel near the Gaslamp Quarter down to the USS Midway. 

The view from my room

USS Midway

Then, of course, was Easter, and putting our house on the market to prepare for our upcoming move to Ohio. This has given us plenty of opportunities to get creative with dinnertime (when a lot of showings happen) and random other hours. We've mostly enjoyed this adventure, as odd as that might sound. We're making memories with our kids, and showing them that although moving is a lot of work, we're committed to enjoying the journey.

When life gives you a home to sell, make sand stars with your kid

Throughout the month, I've seen my average mile times come down and I've felt progressively better after my runs. My injury still requires that I wear a knee brace when I run, but this has been worthwhile. I'm experiencing very little day-to-day swelling, and very rarely any pain. This is a huge improvement.

It's been a good month. Here's looking forward to April, which will see miles in at least one other state--Ohio, as we house hunt. Wish us luck!

That Time You Cried While Singing Country Roads, AKA: I Give Up On Titling This Post

Coming up with a title for this post presented a significant challenge. I have running updates, and I have..hell, I don't even know how to categorize this, "majorly gigantic life altering news that has running implications." And implications for nearly everything else.

Since you already know about Project Fix Joanna, I'll start there. Also, I'm burying the good stuff to make you read more of this post. Because I'm evil like that.

Project Fix Joanna
I last wrote that I'd done some short runs successfully. After that things got weird, largely because I fell into a cycle of getting sick a few times over a month-long period. Also because I continued to have knee pain and swelling. So I stopped updating the blog because it was frustrating.

I'm back because I have progress and new hope. I can now run pain-free--with help. My calves have stopped throbbing on the daily. The help? I run with a compression sleeve on my left knee. This allows me to run and to be no worse for the wear afterward, which is huge. However, I still experience pain and swelling from medium-to-long daily walks at my work place, shopping for groceries on the weekends, and hiking with my family (which involves a 3-year-old, so you know it's not much distance). Clearly I need to be more diligent about using compression for non-running activities. I likely also need a second visit to the sports massage therapist. But guys, I can see light at the end of the tunnel!

Down here at the bottom line [paragraph] of it, my progress has emboldened me to set some new goals. Since I am so terribly out of shape my goals are modest but THRILLING to this long-benched runner. I am aiming to run 12 miles per week for March and go to yoga at least twice. This is double my February mileage, and that, my friends, is a great thing. I am also aiming to train for a half-marathon in the fall, which brings me to the "majorly gigantic life altering" part.


Majorly Gigantic Life Altering Part
My STL running buddy, Rachel, and I were recently discussing the Utah Valley Half-Marathon, scheduled for this June. One of the many reasons for this discussion was the fact that my house may be largely empty by then and I may have some logistics hurdles to clear....because we're moving to Ohio.

Yes. An incredible amount of life has happened since my last post.

Actually, it turns out that we'll almost certainly be gone before the race, so this might be my first DNS. I'm guessing a DNS wasn't your first question about this news though.

Over the winter I interviewed for a position at a university in Ohio. This was not something I did lightly. I carefully considered the position itself, as well as the implications for my family. The alignment of the job to my research and career interests was undeniable, and the location appeals to me for personal reasons as well. I will be within driving distance (or a very short flight) of my own alma mater, my native West Virginia and virtually everyone I ever knew before moving to Utah. In a way I have difficulty articulating, this move is something of a homecoming for me. I've never lived in Ohio, but to be so close to so many places I love, and in a city much like one I've known and loved and grieved leaving (STL)--for most research-intensive academics this is as close as we ever get to going home.*

Considering the implications for my family was involved. My parents live here in Utah for half the year and have their own place. It shouldn't surprise me, but their response did. "Go! We'd rather be back east anyway, and if this job offers you what you want, why on earth wouldn't you take it?!" I am so humbled by this. How instructive to me, of a model of how I hope to treat my family. I am so inspired by them in this.

My younger son is too young to understand what's happening in any serious sense. My husband likes it here but still telecommutes to STL, so there's nothing really tying him here. My older son though, I know he's sad about this. I am dedicated to helping him find his place in our new community. Part of me laments this, because we came to Utah intending to stay. Part of me knows that life happens, and it's easier to move him now than in a year or two just due to his age. So off we go, with optimism I hope he'll be able to embrace eventually.

As for me, I am very happy to say that I have a few friends in our new city. A few who are in my profession, and one who I know through none other than our running blogs: Jodi.  Plus, my bestest friend is only a few hours away, and I have a few other friends who live elsewhere in Ohio, mostly within 2-3 hours.

So that fall race? I'm eyeing up the Northern Ohio Half Marathon in October. Y'all know I love October races, and what better way to get to know my new state. Plus, it just occurred to me yesterday, I'll be close enough to Detroit to do the Martian Half next spring if I want to. I ran it in about 2010 and still remember the course fondly. And we all know that the Cleveland Marathon will have my revenge. It's had that coming for five long years. I'll be there! This can happen!

For the next few months my life is going to have a lot more of this:

That, dear friends, is a 65lb box of boxes with one of my work bags sitting on top of it. And there's more where that came from. It's going to be one hell of a journey, in every good and stressful way, I'm sure. Then, what I really hope will be our home for a very long time. I'm so ready. 

* And by "home" I mean central Appalachia. I don't literally mean my hometown. I also mean St. Louis, in a way. And I mean home in an intellectual sense that's pretty esoteric. 

Week 2 of Project: Fix Joanna

Thank you so, so much for the comments of support and encouragement a few of you have offered to me in various forums since my post last week. I appreciate that so much.

It's a week later, and I'm concluding Week 2 of Project: Fix Joanna. I am delighted to report solid, actual progress.

Progress Point #1: I Ran Without Pain

After posting last week, I headed out for Trial Run #1, a short out and back from my house. The run went fine, but that wasn't newsworthy; I hadn't had much pain while actively running during the whole ordeal. But, what did matter, and this is big, guys: I didn't have pain at any point following the run. This is the first time in about 9 months that I could honestly say this. Hallelujah! I repeated the run on Thursday morning, and again had no leg pain.

How? Well, I do think last week's sports massage helped a ton. But before and after these short runs, I stretched and tennis-ball-rolled the problem areas in my legs. I also took NSAIDs after both runs. Then tennis-ball and foam rolled again later that day. And the next day, just in case. I'll tennis ball & foam roll fourteen times a day if that's what it takes!


Progress Point #2: Cross Training

For about half of 2015 I was decent about going to Tuesday morning yoga. The class is great--a lot of stretching, some strengthening. You leave feeling dewy and awesome about the world. I love the class. But then I'd watch those Runner's World cross-training videos that focus on core strength and look super fun and a little intimidating, and I knew I wasn't doing enough. I'd heard of another class that was created by a runner who was sick of being injured. I thought, "hey, that sounds like me!" I was a little intimidated (the description included the word "very"). Nothing ventured, nothing gained, right? Off I went.

Holy. Crapballs. More than a few times I had to simply assume child's pose for a second. More than a few times my ab muscles were full on shaking. It hurt so good. And you know what? I finally nailed crow pose! Not baby crow, actual crow! Like, for a while! My friend Linda will understand what this means.

I left feeling like Runner's World would approve this as honest to goodness cross-training. The kind that actually prevents you from hurting yourself because it's focused on stretching, opening, and strengthening exactly the areas that athletes need to attend to.



Feeling a little bold from these successes, today I headed out for a slightly longer (3.5 miles), slightly faster (8:54/mile) run. It felt great. I'd planned to run slower and longer, but it's so damn fun to go fast, and dammit I miss it!! I've got my fingers thoroughly crossed to see how things feel tomorrow.

I refuse to see this lingering injury as a set back. I am taking this as a step toward long-term strength, by teaching me to identify, treat, and bounce back from a fuller range of issues, and finally teaching me once and for all that I need to actually focus on strength training. Here goes, Project: Fix Joanna, Week 3.

I'm Still Alive

Hi! Remember me? I used to run. Then, I used to write blog posts about it. Then, something horrible happened and I stopped doing both of those things. And I've been AWOL since July. But yes, yes readers, I am still alive. Given that it's the new year and whatnot, I decided you are long overdue for an explanation about all of this not running business, and a summary of last year.

No, I am not pregnant.
No, I have not decided to give up running.
No, I have not fallen into elicit drug use.

No, my friends, I have been injured. Back in early summer I wrote about how I was having to stop multiple times during short runs, and how I was afraid I might DNF the Utah Valley Half Marathon (and then gloriously didn't--read that story here). After that race, I continued running through the summer but didn't register for more races because I had no idea when I would be able to do distance again. I kept doing Thursday morning runs with my neighbor, because I adore her and then, because she was moving back to St. Louis and I wanted to spend all the time with her I could before that day came. I even registered for a mid-day running class at work, and managed to go a few times. I LOVED the class. We did speed work and short (less than 5 mile) trail runs and easy runs and I met other runners.

Back at my office after the mid-day class once, trying to not look red before meeting with students.

But it hurt. A lot. It got so I couldn't bend my left knee very far, and so that even walking short distances left the backs of my lower legs throbbing. Then one night I got out of bed and looked up symptoms of a pulmonary embolism on the internet because I thought I might be dying. So finally, in mid-October, I did the extreme. I benched myself.

So what was going on? How could I fix it? I'm not sure I have answers to any of those questions, but here's my best guess.

What Was Going On?
Back in late March I realized that I'd inadvertently forgotten to replace my running shoes for significantly longer than usual. Typically, things start hurting around 350 miles on a pair of shoes, and these were at at least 450 if not over 500 miles, and things hurt. My feet hurt. My hips hurt. My knees hurt. When I went to replace them, I inquired about changing the make & model. I'd been running in Brooks Adrenalins since 2007, size 102A (narrow--I swear this detail is important in a minute). This had worked well until August 2014, when I hit 200 miles in a month. And then, narrow was too narrow, and I realized quickly that some foot problems I'd chalked up to work shoes previously were just mild versions of the high mileage shoe problems. The bottom line: my heel is narrow, but my toe box isn't, and the narrow shoes were rubbing the ball of my foot at high mileage.

So, I tried new shoes. First, a pair of Mizunos that lasted 2 runs and clearly weren't working. Then, Brooks Ravennas. They fit just fine, but taught me that I do not want a really cushiony shoe.

Between the pain from the old shoes, and the Achilles issues that likely started there and took root with the too-much-cushion Ravenna, I was deep in Achilles issues that just wouldn't let up.

How Could I Fix It?
I still don't really know. I've been a runner since I was 15. I know how to handle IT band problems, piriformis issues, shin splints, low iron, and a range of other problems. This, no clue. I tried stretching, foam rolling, and rest. Nothing. When 9 weeks of rest didn't help (but nearly drove me insane), I finally saw a sports massage therapist earlier this week. I haven't run since, so I know not to celebrate yet, but I'm pain free, finally, and cautiously optimistic. I've walked several miles this week without problems, at least. I'll take it! The run test is coming very soon. Maybe before you've even read this.

And finally, what did all of this mean for my Year in Running 2015? Drum roll, please.

2015 in Review

Mileage
It meant overall, lower mileage than I'd hoped. My count is imperfect because I had to switch how I was tracking at some point, but a low-end estimate is 631 miles, which is my lowest in several years. The miles looked about like this:

Races
I ran two races in 2015, the Salt Lake Half and the Utah Valley Half. I set a course record at Salt Lake and a 13.1 PR at Utah Valley. I call that a successful year!

Cross Training
Through the summer, I was pretty good about going to yoga once a week. It helps SO MUCH. This year taught me the importance of cross training in a big way. This will be an increased focus moving forward.

Other Lovely Things
My year included some really lovely non-running things, too. In June, Mr. Joanna and I celebrated our 10th wedding anniversary with a kid-free trip to San Francisco. We'd always wanted to go, and it was everything we'd hoped for.

 

In August I got to go to West Virginia (below), and in November I had the honor of helping my Illinois Running Buddy and dear friend, the ever lovely Meg, get married to her love. Of course, there were many other great things from our year, but you've just finished reading all the family newsletter Christmas cards, so I'll spare you. :)

Looking Forward
Looking to 2016, my first priorities are easy:

1. Get back on the road. I need to run.
2. I would love, love to PR the half again. I was four-tenths of a second from my goal time last year. 
3. I would like to do another full marathon. I don't know how fast I can be at that, but I think I have work left to do. I think I can keep improving at that distance. 
4. I'd like to incorporate strength training and focus more holistically on my health. 

There you have it. That's where I've been. If anyone has other suggestions about my lower legs, I'm all ears! I'm so eager to get back out there, and see 2016 off to a strong start. 

The Douchbagery of Airline Passengers

Aside from people who are so Type-B that nothing pierces their iron-clad visage of letting the good times roll, most of us get annoyed by mundane things. I'm an urban planner, so for me it's often large lot zoning. We know that large lot zoning increases vehicle miles traveled (because you can't walk to anything) and home energy use (because the homes are larger and require more energy to heat and cool). Yet this is a slow march of a battle, because people who enjoy these homes can easily hide behind property rights and the free market, and feign ignorance (or legitimately not care or believe) about their little contribution to environmental problems. I prefer to believe that these people also drive SUVs, because that annoys me too. But again, it's a slow march. But on airplanes? No, that douchbaggery lacks the plausible deniability of the standard stock suburban consumerism. I will explain. 

Take this guy sitting in front of me as I type this. He knows full well that in reclining his seat, he is reclining into my seating space. With his seat up, I have approximately 24 inches between the back of his head rest and the front of mine. With his seat reclined, I have 21 inches (I measured) and he has 27 inches between the front of his head rest and the back of the one in front of him, creating a difference of 6 inches, or 34%. Setting up a laptop on my tray would be out of the question. In fact, my slim iPad barely fits. 

There is no free market here. There is only the ability to consume more at someone else's expense with the ability to do so without verbally acknowledging it or making eye contact. And that's douchbaggery. 

I saw a list recently of the top 10 passenger complaints. The top item on the list was unruly children. This has almost never bothered me. Maybe it's because I have small children and I sympathize with the parents, who are likely exhausted and miserable. Other complaints included the chatty Cathy's, the overhead bin hogs, and the frequent-pee passengers. These things can be unpleasant, but I was really surprised to find many of them ranking above the seat recliner. 

The other thing I find truly obnoxious is not the Chatty Cathy sitting next to me, but the one behind me. Once on a flight from Salt Lake to St. Louis I sat in front of a man who spent the entire 4 hour flight talking about his life in Thailand. This included not short segments about his cat and its hilarious antics. It also included intensely detailed information about the provisions of his employment vis-a-vis travel. Since he taught English abroad, his employer would pay twice a year for a ticket to and from the United States. And boy, didn't that open up a lot of opportunities for him! And the cat. Who hated to be away from him, his daughter, and his fiancee. These people would be much less annoying if you had the opportunity to make eye contact, or provide the common social cues that you're not interested in their conversation. In this particular case, I even turned around a few times to glare, but to no avail. The hilarious cat,  and the tales of amazing food discoveries went on, and on, and on. 

These people are on a level with the young men (inevitably) who sit behind my young children on a plane and discuss their frat parties in lurid detail. Or their habits regarding bong maintenance. Or lengthy discussions on political views that involves the work "fuck" as frequently as possible, to let their new seatmate bff's know that they are both informed AND edgy. 

I once sat across the aisle from a woman in her mid-60s. On the round side, with hair that had taken some doing--not bouffant style, but curled and sprayed. She wore a sweater set and ironed pants. I watched her eat her lunch, which contained some sort of sandwich and potato chips, and she chatted with her seatmates. Some time after her lunch, she neatly folded her napkin and stowed her trash until the flight attendant could come by. She stood up in the aisle, as if to stretch, turned to face her seat mates so as to continue chatting with them as she stretched, and dispensed with the most toxic SBD in history. She stood a few moments, doing light calisthenics to complete the charade, and then simply returned to her seat. My brother says I'm a 4-star grudge holder, likely for the fact that I bother to remember incidents like this for long periods of time. I don't think so, though. I think it was just a heinous act against humanity that couldn't possibly fade from memory during this lifetime. 

So that's it on my rant on the douchbaggery of airline passengers. I have to admit, I'm feeling better about this asshole in front of me. When do we land? 

[Note: I wrote this in December 2013, while on a flight probably for work. I rediscovered this on my iPad while on a recent trip, and decided it needed to be set free into the world.]

Post-Race Shenanigans

Hello friends! After Utah Valley, I took some time away from running (gasp! I know. Read on.) to relax and enjoy other pursuits. I have some tales from the road to share, and a look forward to my fall season. First up, the Post-Race Utah Adventure with my St. Louis BRF (best running friend) Rachel. 

Utah has five national parks. FIVE. Two years here, and I hadn't been to any of them. As we plotted our hijinks in the weeks before the race, I couldn't escape the feeling that it was high time I broke the Utah National Park barrier and went barreling in. After a bunch of reading online and talking to friends, I suggested Capitol Reef National Park for a few reasons. First, it's a little closer to home than the bigger parks. Second, its website suggested that it's a little cooler than in the parks farther south. Third, it has various camping options, and I wanted to check out the developed camp ground for possible future camping-with-kids adventures. Rachel thought all this sounded great. It was set.

After our race in Provo, we headed back to Salt Lake to shop and pack for our camping trip and hang out with my family. On Sunday late morning we set off, car full of gear. We arrived at the Fruita Campground about 2pm, in time to snag one of the last few open camp sites* and get set up. Once set up, we headed out for a short hike on the Cohab Trail. So cool!! The trail winds through a narrow little ravine, where your voice echoes off the rock walls at places. We climbed some rocks to a higher point for a panoramic view, just before turning around and heading back to the campsite for the evening.

The view from our camp site

The camp ground had an evening program on the parks predators and prey. Afterwards, I sat outside for a long time looking at the clear, diamond-studded night sky. It had been so long since I'd seen it that I'd almost forgotten how relieving it is.

On Monday morning we wakened with the sun and planned our hikes for the day. First we hiked Chimney Rock. I'm sure I can't do it justice, so I'll let the pictures speak for themselves.

120 million year old petrified wood. NBD.

Me! In nature!

After lunch, we headed out for what would be my favorite hike of the trip: the Grand Wash Trail. I just, I can't even. Just look. That's me standing in the middle--that tiny fleck. 

We were headed to the Cassidy Arch (named for David Cassidy, who used to hide out there), but we missed a turn, and by the time we figured it out, the sun was hot and the extra distance daunting. Regardless, it was incredible. We saw a family of big horned sheep come scampering down a very rocky, very steep hill. Our voices echoed up to the sky in this next picture. Just incredible. 

We camped a second night, then on Tuesday, ripe and ready for showers, we checked out some petroglyphs from the Fremont Culture (read more here) and a nearby coffee shop that was delightful, and headed back to Salt Lake. The drive between is also remarkably beautiful, with about 4000 feet in elevation gain/loss. Back in Salt Lake, we cleaned up, re-packed Rachel's stuff, headed out for the elk burgers that are not to be missed when you visit Salt Lake, and then to the airport. 

Lessons Learned: 

1. Take a can opener. 
2. Don't plan canned chili two nights in a row when you're sharing a two-man tent.
3. I have decent mastery of all my camping equipment, including the camp stove, chairs, and tent. Go me. 
4. Trail running shoes would be more appropriate than my regular running shoes for this terrain. 
5. I really do love avocados. 
6. I can now identify marmots. I think. 
7. That * above is for this: the Fruita Campground really does fill by about 3pm this time of year. Rachel asked the Camp Hosts (this adorable old couple in a little Pope-mobile) how often the camp ground sold out, and they said since March, it had only not filled on 3 nights. So if you want to camp there, do plan ahead. 
8. While I was blown away by Capitol Reef, virtually everyone we talked to said they prefer Bryce Canyon or Arches National Parks. I have to assume they are worth the extra distance, if you have time. They are on my list, for sure. 

To wrap it up, our trip was great. The race was an unexpected success. I love having Rachel visit, and can't wait to do it again!! Who knows what adventures await us. 

Utah Valley Half Marathon Race Report

Friday Morning

I have had an EPIC four days, and cannot wait to share it all with you, starting with Saturday, the Utah Valley Half. Welcome to the race recap!

If you've been following along on here or on Daily Mile, you know that I have been battling a foot, then knee, then calf strain for over a month, and that this has threatened race day both by screwing up my speed work, then my threatening even my ability to run without constantly stopping. So it was with great trepidation that I entered this weekend. I didn't know where I would fall on the spectrum that runs from a PR (Personal Record) to a DNF (Did Not Finish). Walking large portions of the race seemed likely. 

On Friday my St. Louis BRF (best running friend) Rachel was scheduled to land about 10am, having taken a brutal 5:30am flight from St. Louis. About 9am I got a text message that their departure from Las Vegas (a layover) had been delayed. Then....canceled. CANCELED?! Having lived in the Midwest for 8 years, I'm no stranger to canceled flights. Think you're catching the last flight south from Chicago? Think again. Think you're getting to Michigan in December? Nope. But this? A canceled flight from Vegas in June? This was unprecedented. 

What to do? Southwest couldn't get her on a flight until 9pm, landing at 11 or something. We had to get up at 2:30 Saturday for the race. If I left right then, at 9am, to get her, it was 6 hours each way. We wouldn't get back until 9pm, best case scenario, and both of us exhausted. 

I was facing a possible DNF. She was stranded in Vegas. This Race Eve sucked. 

Being the resourceful girl that she is, she had made friends with a couple on the flight to Vegas. As she stood in line at customer service with a strange man creeping on her, she caught sight of the couple, who asked if she was game for a rental car, and she took the first chance to escape Mr. Creepy and get on the road with, and I quote, "2 gay guys and a plump middle aged woman". As the options went, this was the lowest risk strategy available. She was on her way. 

This left the small issue of a packet pickup, and, cue the superhero music for the Utah Valley race organizers. She emailed them about her situation and within minutes had a reply (by email! on race eve!) that I could pick up her packet as long as I had a copy of her race registration. She sent that to me (seriously, thank God for smart phones), and with that I was headed to Provo to the expo. 

The Expo

No surprises here. They had maybe 30 vendors, including some shoe stores, some other regional races, some nutrition and personal care product companies, including one for essential oils, at which a woman insisted to me that she had a relative in a wheel chair by 50, and she (the sales person) had completed some insane number of marathons and it was all thanks to the power of essential oils. Um....they're great and all, but, just maybe you're overselling it here?? 

I made my way to the back, to the packet pick-up, and looked up both of our numbers, and approached the desk. The girls, in their late teens or early twenties I'd guess, were incredibly nice and patient as I explained needing to pick up two packets. I told them I'd met my AWOL friend doing exactly what they were doing now--handing out pre-race swag at a half & full marathon (read about that day here). 

On my way out I thought I'd capture the moment. I was attempting a selfie when some do-gooder offered to help. I think the selfie might have been less awkward looking. He tried!

Friday Afternoon & Evening
After the expo, I ran errands around Salt Lake, including REI then the Mormon version of Goodwill to pick up some throw-away sweatshirts, remembering shivering at the start line last year. I sent a few last work emails, cleaned up the house a bit, and around 5:40 headed to the airport to pick up Rachel, finally.

We stopped at the grocery store on the way back home to pick up groceries for the morning. We got home, had a pasta dinner, and pretty much immediately started getting ready for bed. I was in bed by 9:30 and asleep soon after, my alarm set for 2:40am. Because we're crazy people.

Getting to the Start Line
Race morning more or less went smoothly, aside from having to come back to the house when we were about 3/4 mile out the first time, to leave a car seat behind. That detour ate up the entire cushion we had built in for ensuring that we would arrive square in the middle of the window in which to catch a bus up the canyon to the start line. When we arrived there were gobs of people standing in the parking lot, lined up for buses. In fact, there was at least a bus-full of people lined up behind us by the time the window ended, but, as it turned out, we did ride the last or next-to-last bus up the canyon. Here again, the race organizers were tremendous. No one got deserted if they showed up on time, and the crew herding us into the buses was both efficient and kind. Thumbs up on this.

The bus deposited us at the start line about 30-40 minutes before the gun. By this point, we'd each had a small cup of coffee, a bagel with various things on it, and were about to have some Gu, which is to say, we were more than ready for the port-a-potties at the start line, and were race-ready afterwards. We got our gear situated, cinched up our drop bags and put them on the truck. Before we split to find our respective pacers I told her I'd never felt less confident at a start line, and that if I didn't come in within 10 minutes after she did, something had gone terribly wrong for me.

I lined up just behind the 1:45 pacer, and next to a trio that appeared to be somehow related to one another. They asked if I knew the course, and when I said I did, they asked questions about different parts of it. I asked about their goals, and very politely suggested they move back in the starting area when they said "just to finish". Oy.

I discarded my throw-away sweatshirt, got back into the starting mob, and then,

FIVE, FOUR, THREE, TWO, ONE, GO!!!!

With absolutely no fanfare--no anthem, no announcements, no words of encouragement, no real warning--the start gun went off. Much later we speculated that there was some gap in communication between the full marathon (which starts farther up the canyon) and the half, and by the time the half start line crew realized it was go time, it was too late for the normal formalities.

At any rate, we were inching toward the start line, and then off! It's at this point that I hear one of my favorite quotes from the day, from a girl next to me: "1:45?! Isn't that some kind of qualifying time??" I laughed out loud.

Miles 1-3
Maybe 100 or 150 feet over the start line, a crazy thing happened. My subconscious exerted itself in a visceral response to people engaging in bad race day behavior, which I and 99% of other runners habitually just deal with as quickly and painlessly as possible. Before I really realized I was doing it, I'd said, out loud, to four women WALKING, four-abreast, that if they were going to walk, they could not line up with the 1:30 pacer.

Is it considered rude to bark at other participants? Yes. Yes, it is. But since I did it, let's take this moment to be crystal clear about something:
If you are planning to walk, DO NOT line up with the 1:30 pacer. Line up with the 3:00 pacer, if not the 3:30. Also, it is rude to run or walk more than two abreast during a race unless you are literally the last people on the course. If people have to veer much to get around you, your group is too wide. 

Hissy fit aside, these early miles were crucial gauges of my ability to run. Earlier in the week I'd put in all of 2.5 miles, and had had to stop 3 times to stretch. And that was the last run I'd attempted before the race. Could I get going? Could I hit the paces on my pace band?

Could I get going? Yes.
Could I hit the paces on my pace band? Sort of.
I missed my Mile 1 pace target by only a few seconds, but this immediately gave me flash backs to the Cleveland Marathon, when I missed the Mile 1 pace and never could regain footing. But I felt OK, and most importantly, my calves and Achilles felt OK, which was a huge relief.

Miles 4-6
The course's biggest hill comes after mile marker 3. This hill is a medium grade, but long. If you're not expecting it, not accustomed to hills, or have trained at sea level, this hill is a b*tch. I tackled this hill slightly slower than intended, then pressed on. Just barreling down the canyon--the gorgeous, dramatic canyon.

Miles 7-10
We came to the mouth of the canyon around mile marker 8, meaning that we had 5.1 miles to go on the valley floor. For a bit I wasn't sure if we'd hit the mouth yet or not, because I wasn't really paying attention when we turned left. I was off in runner-land somewhere, doing my thing. So it took me about half a mile to convince myself that we'd turned left and were out of the canyon. My game plan was to approach the race in early (pre-hill) miles, from the hill to the bottom of the canyon, from the mouth of the canyon to the last hill, then the 2.5 miles to the finish. So when I figured out where we were, I knew I just needed to drive hard to the last hill.

Miles 11-12.6
When I hit the last, smallish, hill at about 10.7, and felt good coming through it, I knew I was in the home stretch. It was too far out to kick, so I held my pace and kept my eye on the downtown landmarks I knew were near the finish, just chasing them down.

The Finish
At 12.6 I kicked. It was hard. I relied on my memory and muscle memory of running all those intervals, to remember that they are hard, and to remember that I ran them in training to prepare me for this point in the race. Push. It's a little hard to tell, but I held this pace around a 7:40 through the end. Coming down the final blocks to the finish line, I didn't let myself look at my Garmin. It's too hard to gauge how long it will take to cover 2 city blocks, and that can be hard to deal with when you're at the very end of a race. So I just ran, hard.

As I approached I spotted Rachel waiting for me just over the finish line. I crossed the mat, clicked my Garmin to stop, and looked at it. 1:47:01. I'd PR'ed. At a race I thought I might DNF. I yelled. Loud.

Then I rang the PR bell. Or, more accurately, I epically failed in my effort to ring the PR bell, all while a young guy stood waiting for it and trying not to laugh at me. *facepalm It's harder than it looks!

Chip time: 1:47:00.4
While my pace bands said 1:45, I'd been hoping to land somewhere in the 1:46 range. This four-tenths of a second just pissed me off. Four tenths! The time lost running around four women walking abreast at the start line. Ha! But seriously.

Overall place: 244/1658
Gender place: 76/1005
Division place: 11/152
Overall pace: 8:10/mile

I am particularly pleased with these place stats--top 15% overall, and in the top 10% for both gender and division. Hell yeah!

Immediate Post Race
We loitered around the post race as long as possible, trying to shake out the legs and recover a bit. In doing so, we ran into my super fast neighbor, who won a prize, and, wait for it......placed second to a guy running in Crocs. For all things, I wish I were making this up. Crocs. And his son won some award too, also running in Crocs. Who does this?!??

After the race, we headed back to Salt Lake to get cleaned up, nap, spend time with my boys, and pack up for our next Utah adventure. Stay tuned.