I'm training for the St. George marathon, and the weekend of my training to run a half marathon there was a half in Castro Valley (about 45 minutes from the Giullian's house). So I signed up for it! Sight unseen.
The good news is, I got a tough training run in for my marathon.
The bad news is nothing else went right. It was a HILLY course. Mile 1 was a nice paved trail. I was so glad they had so many photographers there, because we got some happy pictures.
But from then on, it was basically uphill. The hill was so steep from miles 2-4 that I literally couldn't run it for more than 5 feet at a time. Once we got to the top the volunteer said "It's all downhill from here!" FALSE. From then on it was rolling hills. It was basically a 13 mile hike. I didn't see another runner for the last half of the race, which is mentally draining. Then my headphones died 10 miles in, and my phone was just about dead so I couldn't listen to music for the last little bit.
So this was a mental victory for me! It was the slowest race time that I've ever had, but it was the most difficult terrain I've run on by far. About half a mile from the finish line, I saw a pink shirt throwing rocks into the water. Seeing Cora helped me find some energy in my legs. And I made it! Look at my cute cheering squad. I also had Dallin and Krystel and Steve and Karen. So much love!
