SoJo Half Race Recap

Here is the race recap for the South Jordan half which Hillary and I ran in October. We both wanted to at least do under a two hour mark (9:07) pace. After our training together since July (and both of us running before that) , we felt like it was  an achievable goal. I met Hillary the first week of church, I said  do you run, she said yes and the next morning we met at 6:00. Since then Hillary has been out running every morning at 5:30 (rain, snow or shine) , and I'm about a 80 percent show up rate, usually missing one day a week. I am so grateful for a great running partner. She is a therapist, friend, confidant, and we live on the same street. Yes I am blessed. So here is the race recap from my perspective.....

• Wake up 4:30, give myself a good hour before leaving for the all the unmentionables, 
• My husband dropped us off at the bus, and we had zero wait time, just the ride to the start, that was nice. 
• Once we got to the start line we had a little bit of time to wait, there were heaters so that was helpful, 
• Porta Potties were visited twice, but that still wasnt enough to clear out my apple cider (at mile 5) 
• The race started and we began a little fast around an 8:30 pace, this is so typical of me, have a fast first half of the race, and bomb in the end. I really wanted a negative split so we slowed down and tried to conserve. 
• I felt great, then at mile 5 or so I knew I had to use the bathroom. Now this wasn't a forested race, we ran entirely in an urban area, so it was Porta Potty or bust. 
• It was so sad to watch Hillary fade in the distance as I waited in line, loosing almost two minutes- truly heart crushing. 
• After this I was determined to catch my friend, I did two miles at an 8:20 pace, until I hit an uphill stretch at mile 7 or so, that's when I spotted her " back" ahead. 
• It felt great to reach her, or at least the sight of her (she never knew I was there) because at that point I fell back to a 9:15 trying to recover from the extra exertion to catch Hillary (dang potty break). 
• Mile 8 or so was a hard mile and then we started down a straight away (which I love) and a gradual down hill ++, so I was a happy girl.
• Really the rest of the race was a breeze until I hit mile 10.5 or so. I don't know what it is, but I have such a hard time keeping speedway on switchback trails (aka I can't see more than a hundred feet in front of me) Mile 10 was ugly almost a 10 minute pace
• This is what happened, we went straight into the wind on switchback golf course, zero visibility trail. I have such a hard time with this 
• The Garmin read almost 12, but for some reason I couldn't find my last mile sprint anywhere, since I couldn't see anything. 
• Frustrating, how my running is so mental sometimes
• I had planned on sprinting the last mile at a 7:30 pace. 
• I finally rounded the corner and could see the finish line with a half mile left. I found a little kick and went for it, 
• 10 feet from the finish line my Mom let my son run to me (so sad I was trying to get under 2 hours and he just wanted Mommy to pack him across the finish line) 
• Needless to say we weren't on the same page and had a slight crash (ie, heartbroken son gets left in my dust)
• I crossed at exactly 2 hours. And turned around to see my son running arms stretched behind me. Cutest and saddest thing ever.

Now I realize that this time is slow for my fast friends, but this slow runner is getting faster, and that's all that matters to me. I really want to do a half at 1:45. Great Goal for Me. 

My friend finished around 1:51 something I think, she did awesome, and I loved loved running with her. 

My Mom and son who I mentioned were at the finish line (Lee was excused since we had an emergency car issue) I appreciate all my family who put up with my training and love me through my races.