December 3, 2013

THANKFUL 13 HALF MARATHON

On Thanksgiving, I ran the Thankful 13 Half Marathon near Thanksgiving Point.

I woke up around 6:15, got ready, drank my morning smoothie, and set out to the race start.  This race was 100% different from the Big Cottonwood Half I did in September.  Both were great races, but totally different.  I loved getting to sleep in for this race and having a slow, low-key start.

On Wednesday, I pulled out everything I needed for the next day, except my earbuds.  Thinking that they were on the kitchen counter, I didn't worry about it.  Well, they were not on the kitchen counter.  They were in my closet at work.



So, Clayton dropped me off, I used the porta-potty and hopped around to keep warm.  Meanwhile, he drove to my work and grabbed my earbuds.  I hadn't showed him the course beforehand, because it was basically an out and back, so I thought it would be easy for him to navigate.  As I ran it, though, I realized it was going to be more difficult for him to find me than I realized, because most of the race was on a trail, not a road.

I decided early on that I needed to just be positive and plan on not having music or seeing Clayton at all.  I'm glad I didn't have my hopes up, because I didn't see him until mile 8.  I was so glad to have music and be able to ditch my jacket when I saw him.

The other mistake I made was dressing differently than I had on my long runs.  I always wear a little fuel pack on my long runs, but I didn't want to wear it during this race, so I just put my iPod and gels in the pocket of my jacket.  It was annoying having it bounce around the whole race.  Also, when I got rid of my jacket, I had no pockets for my iPod or gel, so I ended up holding them both.  It wasn't a big deal, but I learned from my mistake.


The rest of the race went well.  I think the end of the race is always the hardest for me, whether it is a 5K or a longer race like this.  I always get excited for the finish, but it almost makes the time slow down instead of speed up.  The end of this race was fun because they had pumpkin pie and other Thanksgiving treats.  I grabbed a small plate and headed home to get ready for the rest of the day.

Ultimately, it was a good experience.  I felt like it was early enough that I still had a great Thanksgiving holiday.  I was a little nervous that I'd be the only one running it, because who wants to run a half marathon on Thanksgiving?  Apparently, more people than I thought!  My goals for the race were to run the whole time and to run it under 2 hours and 10 minutes.  I was able to do both of these, and so I was pleased!

Notice anything new? Look carefully!
Did any of you do any Turkey trots or Turkey bowls?

5 comments:

  1. Your hair is dark!!!! How did you convince Clay to let you dye it?? I can't wait to see it in person! Btw, when can we help you move?

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    1. Ha! Yep!

      I actually didn't convince him. He wasn't too happy about it. I wasn't too happy about it either -- it ended up darker than I expected. I think I'm adjusting, but I'm not sure he will adjust to it, so it may have to go back...

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  3. Congratulations on your half marathon! I am going to say that you dyed your hair...it looks great!

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  4. Well done!

    My earbuds are always somewhere they're not supposed to be, like in the dishwasher or tied behind Tow Mater.

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