Hobble Creek Half Marathon

I ran my third half marathon down the canyon of Mapleton, Utah. It was a beautiful run. It was a fast one too.

I love races. I love all the people standing around waiting to start, huddling together, all waiting for the "gun" to join in a common ambition of running 13.1 miles. I love the sound of hundreds of feet stomping the ground. It's a rhythm that keeps me going. I consciously turned my iPod off a few times so I could enjoy the canyon. Listening to the sound of the creek running along side us.

I wasn't too sure what pace I wanted to keep. "Train to race" not "race to train." My ultimate goal is St. George. Part of me wanted to take it easy and do this as a trial run for the full, maybe a 10 min pace. Part of me wanted to go all out, race, see what happens. I did not care too much about my time. I knew it would be nice to beat my Salt Lake time, but was more concerned about taking care of my body. I still have 6 weeks of training left. I also knew this was a downhill course and I would most likely be faster.

On a scale of 1-10, I was exerting a 6. I was not pushing too hard. I tried a little bit to be conservative, but it was so easy to run downhill. My first mile was a 9:18 pace. Miles 2&3 were 8:54. It was hard to go slow. My first 6 miles averaged a 9:03 pace. I was shocked how fast I was running. I just kept going because it felt good. Once we got out of the canyon, there were a couple rolling hills. I slowed a little bit. I wondered if I could beat 2 hours. At mile 11, I was at 1 hr: 41 min. If I kept the 9 min pace, I might be able to do it. I hit mile 12 at 1:51. I tried with all my all to run all out to be at 1:59:59. Then I began to feel like I was going to puke. I kept telling myself 2:02 would be okay. This is just a training run. I don't need to be under 2 hours. It's the difference between 140 lbs and 139. It is only 1 number but is a huge deal. The last part really is the hardest. That last .1, after you pass the mile 13 marker. I just ran my hardest. I didn't make it under 2 hours but, yay me! I did run a new personal record!!! 2:01:36. Average pace 9:20. Wow!!! When I do tempo runs, I try to hold 9:38 for 3 miles and it nearly kills me. I would recommend this half to anyone but it fills up within an hour, so, shhh, I'm not recommending it to anyone. It is downhill, so, yes, my legs are hurting and aching for a whole new reason. One might ask why I keep doing this. Every post tells about the aches of my body. I don't know why I keep putting my body through all of this. It has given me so much. It is such an amazing feeling to run. To accomplish something this is hard that takes mental and physical exertion. It gives me a gratification I cannot explain.
On a sad note, I did not get a medal. Only a flower and shirt. I run for the medals people. That's what I pay for! Oh well, it is a cute shirt still.

My finisher t-shirt. Looks much better than the tank top.

My mile splits.  My fastest half-marathon.

A little more detail.