halloween half marathon

WOW!!
i am actually not dead.. which is surprising after running 3 races in 2 weeks. but i definitely am sore and my body is just drained. i guess i had to expect that though..
well the halloween half was in provo and we decided to get a real nice suite at super 8 in provo so we didn't have to make the long drive to cougar-town the morning of the race. (great idea on my mom's part!)
kayla and i woke up about 4:30 to start doing our ZOMBIE make up! good thing we did too, cause it took a while to get ready. there were buses that were driving runners to the start line and we got to the mall just as the last bus of a group was leaving. So we sat and waited in line for over an hour just for the buses to come and get us. And let me tell you, it was freaking freezing! kayla and i didn't really prepare for anything but the run.. haha figures. once we finally got up to the top of the canyon we only had another hour wait til the race started and luckily there was a giant heated tent for the runners to wait in so we didn't all freeze to death. some people had some pretty creative costumes i was very impressed!
well finally 9:00 came around and so we got ready to start and off we ran. for 13.1 miles. ugh!!
i was frozen for probably the first half of it but i warmed up and was very grateful i didn't have a million layers on while i was running because i got pretty hot.
for the moab half marathon my goal was to finish the race in under 2 hours.. which didn't happen.
at this race, they had pacers that were holding up signs the whole run that said approximately when they were going to finish. I tried to stay ahead of the 2:00 pace man the whole time just so i could ensure to finish this race by my goal time! there was one point at mile 11 where i just had to walk for a minute or two and i told myself i will walk til i get to that pole up ahead, well right when i started walking the 2:00 pacer guy ran past me and i just had to start right back up!
i crossed the finish line probably 5 seconds after him but i didn't look at the timer so i had no idea what my time was!
once they posted the results i stumbled over and saw my time was 1:59:24!! I FINISHED IN UNDER 2 HOURS!! i was so happy that i beat my goal time and on my third race in two weeks!
it was such a great feeling to accomplish something like that.
i am super glad to be done with races for a little while ha my body needs to recoop and maybe in a few months i will be ready for a few more!
here's a picture of kayla and i before the race :)

RAGNAR LAS VEGAS

my second race of this month is over and done. but it sure was a lot of fun.
ha what if i rhymed the whole blog post??
dont worry i will try my best not to turn into a ghost
okay just kidding.
but really i finished ragnar!!
it was a lot of fun :) the team name was sweaty wedgies and i was on a team with 11 boys. fun for me right? wrong. i got picked on the entire time. i dont know why people think i'm such an easy target?!
we drove down to mesquite on thursday night and woke up extra early so we could hit the grocery store and make our way to the start line. i was runner 5 in van one - so i had a few hours of waiting before i actually got to run. but by the time i did get to run my first leg WOW it was sure hot outside. it was close to 90 degrees and my run was basically a ton of steep uphill. i finished though and passed the baton to the next contestant in our van and at our first exchange we actually were at a pool and hot tub so that was amazing.
my second and third legs were during the dark hours of the night which makes it a lot easier to run - and you cant tell where you are going so that makes it great!
after all my runs i seriously felt fine, i had no pains in my ankles or hips and i was super stoked about that. maybe the moab race was just not a good day for me..
my van got about 2.5 hours of sleep during the night and tried to get more while waiting at the finish line but there was a dang car alarm going off and i swear it never stopped.
sweaty wedgies crossed the finish line in about 27 hours - we placed tenth in men's division and 50th overall out of 477 teams! we did so well and i am way excited about it .
because i ran the ragnar in utah i got a saints and sinners medal, and because i ran the ragnar in arizona and vegas i got a deuces wild medal. plus the medal for finishing the vegas one! so i left vegas with 3 stinking cool medals to come show off at home.
for registering for the race early we got 2 free rooms to new york new york hotel and casino on the strip in vegas! we were all super sleepy though so we passed out about 10:00!
overall i had a way fun time at ragnar las vegas. i am not sure when the next ragnar is that i am going to do but i sure hope it's soon because these races are such a great time!
here are some shots from the race :)











now only one more race to go and i am done with my death two weeks! my goal is still under two hours so WISH ME LUCK!!

one down

i successfully finished one of my half marathons of the month.

the other half in moab was ran and now i ONLY have one ragnar and one more half marathon to go.
seriously... what was i thinking?!?

but anyways the other half is a tough race. its 7 miles of pure flat (which isn't so bad) and then the second you hit mile 7 it is straight up hill and very little downhill for 5 in a half miles. talk about a pace killer. i felt like i was doing SOO well through mile 6, but then my ankle started hurting and once i got to the hills i wasn't doing so great. i had to walk more then i have had to walk in a race before and it got me a little discouraged.
once i got to mile ten, my hip also started hurting. i haven't had any injuries or problems while running before so i dont understand what happened with this race i just pray that it gets fixed in 4 days before my ragnar in vegas!
the last mile is half downhill and half flat (which is the worst part) and by the time i hit the finish line i was definitely done. there was no way i could have taken much more running and i finished at a whopping 2 hours and 12 minutes. which honestly is nothing to be ashamed of at all - but i trained very hard for this race (harder then any other races) and its my worst time. but i am just happy i finished, all my family members finished and we all got to experience this together and spend time with each other. it was a great little trip and i am grateful for the experience - i just hope my next two races will show that i trained a little better haha.
here are the stats from the family
brad - came through at 1:46
me - 2:12
mom - 2:38 (her best time)
kayla - 2:50
kevin 3:07

my mom was the only one happy with her time ha - but it just shows that this race is not an easy one. if you are looking to do a half marathon, this one is absolutely beautiful but very very hard. not for someone who hasn't trained.

well i will post more about the next two races coming up and here are some pictures from the race :)


the whole crew after we crossed the finish line!

















my sister and i matched our outfits again! just like last year :)





















at the finish line waiting for the others to cross!




















the first two finished now waiting for everyone else to come through!

nice knowing you

october will be my death month, i am sure of it.
on october 16 i have a half marathon in moab - a lot of my family is going to do it as well so that should be a lot of fun. but then 5 days later i am heading down to vegas to do a ragnar. yes i always have a great time doing ragnars but less then a week after i run a half marathon?? am i insane?? probably.
i wish i was finished.
after the ragnar exactly a week after i run another half marathon! luckily this halloween half is mostly down hill but still its going to be rough and most likely will just kill me dead.
AHH what am i thinking??