We all started running, except Coelton; he never quit. Joel and I had a pretty good routine down and we were counting down the days. Coelton received his mission call and none of his dates interfered with the race. His mission farewell would be April 24. Then we heard from a friend that stake conference was on April 24, so we called the bishop and he said No, it wasn't then. But it really was then, so we had to move the farewell to April 17! Yikes.
We drove to Utah the day before the race and stayed at one of Joel's Homewood suites. This is the place he lives when he works in Utah. His client is in the same building. The hotel people called him by name and they gave us their best room, it was very nice and comfortable for all of us.
We picked up our running packets at the salt palace and then went to eat at Olive Garden. We were in bed by 9pm so we could wake up at 5am.
The next morning we were up and eating oatmeal and drinking zip-fiz by 5am. We headed out the door and rode trax to the University. We were happy we caught Trax early. There were many runners who couldn't get on because it was standing room only and very full. We were lucky to have a seat. It was a long 35 minute ride.
Once at the starting line we ran to the bathroom lines and got that out of the way. We put our blankets in the back of a truck and headed for the starting line...happy that the rain had stopped.
There were 11,000 runners and the energy was high. A kiss for luck and the gun went off at 7am. We were on our 13.1 mile journey to the Gateway Mall.
Joel and Coelton ran side by side for about 4 miles and then Coelton took off. I kept my slow and steady pace of a 10 minute mile. The first 5 miles went by very quickly. Just watching all the people and taking in the beautiful scenery around me helped the time go by quickly. At mile 8 my knee started to hurt. I hadn't had a hurt knee since my last half marathon which was 3 years earlier. Even through all of my training my knee didn't hurt. I was a little worried, but just slowed up a little and walked after each mile. I didn't think I would make my goal of 2 hours 10 minutes.
There was aid stations every 2 miles. They had Gatorade and water and potties. I was very happy that I didn't stop once to use the pottie...very unusual for me. I grabbed a drink at every station. 4 quick sips and I was off.
The SLC half sponsors the Huntsman's Cancer Institute. A place very dear to my heart. There were many runners running for loved ones who had cancer or died from it. I saw many posters along the way in memory of someone. One said...Cancer Sucks!
Finally I was at the home stretch and only had a mile left. The people were lined up and the cheering was very encouraging. I found a little more energy during the last mile. I spotted Joel and the kids ahead and that kept me pushing to the end. I finished strong and proud at a time of 2 hours 9 minutes! My average pace was 9:54!
Joel finished his race in 2 hours 44 minutes and Coelton was 1 hour 33 minutes. We all exceeded our goals and had a great race.
After getting all the free food and bottles of chocolate milk we could possibly carry. We all went back to the hotel to stretch and shower.
Melissa, Isabell, JT and Brysan came to the hotel and we visited with them for a while. Brysan rode back to Boise with us so he could attend Coelton's farewell.
2nd half marathon...check.
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