taken with iphone
01. Running is--dare I say fun? Or at least that's what I would have said at mile 6. I'm not saying running is fun for running sake, but I understand now why people get addicting to races. The sound of deep breaths and many feet striking the pavement all around me made me feel like I was apart of something big.
02. Choose a race that is beautiful, terrain that you will simply be in awe of as you weave back and forth. I watched the sun rise over the red rocks as I made my way down Snow Canyon. It was stunning and relevant to where I was and what I was doing. All you have out there is your thoughts and found it helpful to have something beautiful to look to.
03. Running in the cold is ideal. I remember one of my friends posted on facebook how her favorite temperature to run in was the high 40s low 50s. I thought she was absolutely crazy, but now I understand. Saturday morning it was cold, about 32 degrees, but it was perfect for running long distance. I wasn't 2 miles in before I stripped down to only a t-shirt and gloves. On that note, I should have run with my arm warmers instead. The only thing that got cold from time to time was my wrists. Strange.
04. Run with a friend. I really loved knowing that I wasn't alone. We actually didn't even run it together, but knowing she was there, working toward the same goal, gave me strength and comfort.
05. If I regret one thing it would be that I wasn't able to run with my camera. There were just too many times I wish I could have captured certain moments throughout the race. I wonder when the time will come that we will be able to take pictures with our eyes without them fading?
06. Embrace imperfections. Undoubtedly something is going to happen that's not ideal. Body aches and pains you've never felt before, chaffing in odd places, uphills that were unexpected, wind working against you. Accept that it's apart of your experience and move on.
07. You may be what someone else needs. At one point for about 2-3 miles I noticed this guy in a green neon shirt running next to me. Finally I had found someone I could pace with, seemed everyone else was passing me up. Toward the end before I pull away from him I wondered who was pacing with whom? I love to imagine we were helping each other.
08. If you've trained you have no need to fear. I thought the night before I would have been a wreck with worry and anticipation. You would have been proud of me, I was calm and peaceful. I was ready.
09. Running is a mind game. If you tell yourself you can, you can. Trust me. If I can run 13.1 miles anyone can.
10. I can do all things through Christ which strengthens me. Philippians 4:13 A young man (guessing 18) ran passed me toward the beginning of the race with this scripture written in black ink across his back. I didn't really think about it again until mile 10.5 when everything started to fall apart. I think the term is, I hit my wall. For one, I couldn't breath because I got water down my trachea, never good, the wind kicked up, we started running uphill, I was hurting and becoming fully aware of my fatigue. Doubt crept in in a serious way and I started to lose focus. I wasn't sure I could continue on. It was then that my one song came on that always pumps me up and gives me energy and I immediately thought back to the shirt I had seen at the beginning of the race. I have no doubt that song coming on just then was a tender mercy from the Lord. I felt loved and understood and was given what I needed. When we do our part and do all we can, God gives us strength to continue on.
11. It feels amazing to see a goal through to the finish line. Although I have been afraid and intimidated by running a 1/2 marathon (do you realize how far that is??) I've always wanted to do it. It's been on my bucket list for years, remember how devastated I was two years ago when I injured my back and I wasn't able to run with Robyn? What an amazing feeling it was to cross the finish line, exhausted, knowing I had given everything I could. Did I say this already? I understand why racing is addicting.
12. Enjoy it. Toward the end when I really started struggling like I have already written about and the race stopped becoming "fun" I keep telling myself to enjoy it, particularly the end, because I may never do it again. This lesson seems to crept into my life more often than I care to admit. As we all know life is full of ups and down, but regardless of what we are facing this experience is meant to be enjoyed. I can't be sure if I will ever run another race, part of me wants to, part of me doesn't, but for now I am just grateful for what this experience taught me and that I enjoyed the whole of it.
Finished results:
distance: 13.1 miles
time: 1:51:00.7
pace: 8:28/M
