I made a goal this year to run 4 half marathons and race season is finally here! April 2nd I ran my first race of the year, the Riverton Half. My friend decided to run it with me and we had SUCH a fun time.
We picked up the race packets earlier this week. I wasn’t crazy about the grey shirt, it’s kinda a strange grey, but I loved that we had all week to pick up our packets!
This race was totally low key and I loved that. It didn’t even start until 9am, so we could even sleep in and still show up early. The start was the same place as the end so we didn’t have to worry about parking (there was a lot!) or riding buses.
It was so cold and windy before the race. I couldn’t wait to get started. I knew I wouldn’t want a jacket, but standing around before the race we were freezing! (nothing like taking a freezing cold selfie, right?)
I’ve decided my arm warmers that I got free from the American Fork Half Marathon last year are one of my favorite running accessories. I probably never would have bought some, but now that I have them I love them. I wore them for at least the first 7 miles and then took them off when the day started to warm up and hooked them around my flip belt.
This race had some hills! We don’t run too much on hills around time but I did really try to add a couple to my training schedule getting ready for this race. Since I spend so much time on the treadmill I even worked really hard getting ready for this race changing the incline and speed on the treadmill during my runs. But even with that prep, some of these hills were killer! But I am really proud to say we pushed through them all and never walked! (One time we even passed a couple guys who had stopped running uphill to walk…nothing like showing them that girls can run the whole time!)
I LOVE having a friend to run with. She is THE BEST! We had such a good time. We ran and chatted the whole time. We made a couple friends and laughed and laughed. The route was in some beautiful neighborhoods, and along the Jordan River Parkway Trail. We even had a short section that was trail running! While running through one of the last neighborhoods one family had a stand in front of their house and they were handing out frozen otter pops cut in half. It was pretty cute and I loved it! Mile 11 was uphill and really killer – plus there was a crazy skunk smell too. Nothing like stinky skunk smell to motivate you to get going! We knew there was an aide station close so we just ran as fast we could, even though we felt as slow as peanut butter at at that point. We got a drink at the last aide station and then took off towards the end. It was just what we needed. We came around the corner and could see the finish line maybe 200 yards away and just took off! That last sprint towards the end felt amazing!
My goal for this face was not to PR, but to finish and finish strong. With the last two races I ran last year I was so sick for the remainder of the day and it took me a long time to recover. I just wanted to really finish and feel good. I really didn’t want to get sick. After coming across the finish line at the Riverton Half I felt SO great! I felt strong and happy! My legs felt those hills, and I was sore for a couple days, but I accomplished my goal to run it and finish strong.
My final time for the race was not a personal record, but anytime I can beat a 2:10 pacer that wears crazy long striped socks I think it’s a good day. (look behind us in the picture above)
Chip time result: 2:08:21.
It was a good day and a great way to start the race season.
Next up: Salt Lake City Half Marathon – this Saturday!!!!
