Salt Lake City Half Marathon 2016 Recap (Megan)

We did it! Jordan and I ran our first half marathons on Saturday and both of us performed way better than we anticipated. My immediate thought after crossing the finish line was “what race will I do next?”

It had been snowing and raining the week leading up the race, but luckily it finally cleared up by Friday night. We went to the expo the night before and got our race packets. We ate brown butter noodles with kale and mushrooms for dinner and (tried to) fall asleep around 10 o’clock.

We woke up the next morning at 4:45 and drove down to meet Jordan’s mom who was nice enough to drop us off at the starting line. We got there a little after 6 and waited for the race to start at 7. It was COLD-around 32 degrees outside-and we did not bring any extra clothes or anything. We now know better. You live and you learn. 😉

Here are my splits according to my garmin:

1. 8:42
2. 8:51
3. 7:57
4. 8:03
5. 8:16 (stopped at porta potty)
6. 8:33
7. 8:15 (took my GU)
8. 8:41
9. 8:15
10. 8:12
11. 8:04
12. 8:10
13. 7:41
14. (.26) 6:49 pace

Miles 1-3 I honestly could not feel my feet. They were still way cold and numb from just standing there, but they finally got warmed up by mile 3. I ran next to the 2:00 pacer for awhile until I realized that it was way too easy! I left her behind and started going at my own pace.

Miles 4-7 I realized around mile 4 that I had to use the porta-potty, and the longer I put it off the more miserable I would be. I was quick in and out of there and was happy that it didn’t effect my time.

There was a pretty steep uphill about miles 6.5-7 and it was brutal! I didn’t take my Gu until a little after mile 7 but I wished I would have taken it at the aid station before because my energy dropped pretty low at this point.

Miles 7-10 by mile 8 it was back to being mostly flat/downhill. Someone standing outside their house had set-up a “temptation station” of tequila shots. I did not partake but did see one or two who did. It made for a good laugh.

Miles 10-13.1 I started to get a second wind here. I knew I was close to finish and wanted to give it my all. Mile 13 was my fastest mile and as I saw the finish line I noticed how close I was to breaking 1:50. I really started picking up the pace from there and I heard someone yell my name but all I could see was that sweet finish ahead!

I finally crossed that finish line in 1:49:23 at an 8:16 avg pace (21st out 183 in my age group) which completely shocked me! I was nervous telling people my time goal because I honestly thought I was going to be lucky to break 2:00. After crossing the finish line, I realized that I am totally capable of doing so much more.

Jordan did amazing too, but I’ll let him recap his own. This race seriously made me fall in love with running all over again. It was such a fun experience and I thought the race was so well organized. I was definitely that weirdo at the race with the smile on her face the whole time. 🙂

We are thinking about doing the big cottonwood canyon half in September next-I will keep you all posted.

Happy running!

Megan

We’re almost there! (Megan)

Well, it’s been really quiet on this little blog of ours lately. BUT the week of our half marathon is finally here!

I’ve been really pleased with how my training has gone for this race. I’m on week 12 of running 100% healthy. This hasn’t happened for me in years. I have had problems with my left foot since a stress fracture high school that has always started acting up the second I get serious about running again. But this time around I have had ZERO foot pain. I credit this to practicing yoga twice a week along with taking 1-2 rest days per week.

I am so excited to see what I am capable of during this race. If I break 2 hours, great. If I don’t, I’ll still have a blast, learn a lot about the half, and continue to chip away at my goals in the future.

Jordan has been so busy between work and school that I don’t think he got in as much training as he would’ve liked. He did get some good long runs in though and I believe he will do a lot better than he thinks. I hope he enjoys the experience so he will do another one with me in the future. 😉

I have to say though I’m feeling a little lost now that training is coming to a close. What will I do next? Is it too soon to sign up for another? Will I stay motivated without having a plan to follow?

Hopefully in coming posts I can answer these questions. I also hope to start taking more pictures for the blog and post a little bit more. But for now I’ll be back after this Saturday with a full race recap!

Happy running!

-Megan

My training plan (Megan)

For my first post I thought about talk about my training for my half marathon coming up soon. I’m currently on week 4 of 12 and training has been pretty smooth so far. This is my first half, but I have been running for a while so I don’t consider myself to be a “beginner” but not quiet intermediate either. So I am following the Novice 2 program by Hal Higdon, but I’ve made a few adjustments to fit my schedule better.

A typical week so far looks like this:

Mon: Ashtanga Yoga Primary Series (90 min)

Tue: 30 min run EASY

WED: 4-5 mile run easy or at race pace (sub 9 min/mile) + 75 min yoga

Th: 30 min run easy

Fri: cross train, yoga, or rest

Sat: long run (I did 7 today!)

Sun: rest

My BIG goal is to run it under 2 hours but I’m not sure if I’m completely in over my head on that one. My B goal is to run under 2:10 and C goal is to just FINISH. On my long run today I was able to keep a steady 9:20-ish pace without it being super hard, which is pretty good for me right now. 

Running Tip of the day! Wearing these sweet purple running pants make you feel like a faster more awesome runner. Just sayin’ 🙂

 

Happy Running!

-Megan