Salt Lake Half Marathon

Well, today was the day. My first half marathon since 2006. It has been way too long. My time was a tiny bit slower but I was ok with it being my training started 4 weeks ago. It couldn't have been a more perfect day. There was a slight overcast so it was quite warm when we started. The energy was fantastic through out the race. However, at mile 2 and 3 I found myself asking, "Why? Why is this fun? Why do I put myself in these situations?" At that point I was feeling great but the thought of 11 more miles was killing me. But they past with time and each and every street. Finally, the point where I decided I wanted to die rather than finish was between mile 11 and 12 when we were running up the hill towards the capital. That was brutal. IT NEVER ENDED!!! It honestly kept going on and on and on. At this point I REALLY asked myself, "Why is this something I enjoy?" "Who honestly enjoys doing these things!" But then I rounded the corner, started downhill towards the Gateway (the finish line) and remembered ... The thrill of closing in on the finish line is why. The excitement of knowing you are almost done. The excitement of knowing you will soon be out of pain. The thrill of hearing the crowd cheer and the music play. It puts a beat in your soul and a skip in your stride. And then the excitement of seeing the ones you love at the end. It was bright so I couldn't see but as I rounded the last corner down the main street of the Gateway I heard a familiar voice in the mix of the crowd yell "Go Emily!" I couldn't see him but I knew he was there cheering me on with my kids. Just hearing the friendly familiar voice call out made this race perfect. And in the last few steps of this race it made me think about how when we are in difficult situations in life and we feel we have to take care of things on our own, we can always count on the ones closest to us in the side lines to support and encourage us on. I know that I wasn't finishing a full marathon, but I felt as though I was. I found that last .10 of a mile was done with a smile on my face... despite my pain in my cramped up calves, or my empty aching stomach (I forgot to eat before). I was smiling because the voice out in the crowd.

In all honesty now... I haven't been able to get the cotton mouth to go away all day and I am still having some major gastrointestinal issues. My feet hurt, calves won't stretch normally and was on the verge of a migraine all day.
BUT I STILL LOVE RACING!
This was at the start... I will post more picture later when I get some.