It was very wet. It rained the entire time. Before it started, I didn't get much of a warm-up in because I didn't want to get very wet and it was pretty crowded. I wore plastic bags on my shoes, a sweatshirt and pajama pants until we had to drop our bags. After I dropped my bag, I put on a garbage bag to keep from getting too wet before the start. The start was a little unsure, but luckily it was chip time. Right before I crossed the start line I took off my garbage bag.
I passed so many people at the beginning and for a while I thought I might have been going a little too fast, but I felt like I was going at a good pace. Whenever we came up to a longer downhill (and there were a lot of those) I would let my stride get really long which would make me go super fast down the hill and pass so many people. Whenever I came to a longer uphill I would shorten my stride and make my feet closer to the ground which also made me pass a lot of people. That was my main strategy to go fast on up and downhills and go at a good pace when it was flat.
Around mile 3 I saw this kid and I thought I should just hang by him because that usually motivates me. I just kept running and getting wet. It wasn't too cold while I was running, it was just wet. The canyon was really pretty, though. I had fun watching the scenery (sort of). Around mile 10 the kid went faster and I couldn't keep up with him because I was tired and there were a lot of bumps which I am not used to at all. When I turned the street which I knew was the finish line I started to sprint because I knew it was right there, I was excited to finish, and I always enjoy sprinting to pass a bunch of people. The weird thing was that the finish wasn't as big as it usually was (probably because of the rain). I couldn't read the banner over head until I was much closer. Before I crossed the line I look over at the finish which said 1:09 and I realized I looked at the marathon time. I hurried and caught a glimpse of the half which was 1:38 and I was psyched. I crossed the finish!
I was soaking wet and cold! I got my medal and got a chocolate milk. Once I found my family I grabbed my drop bag and we hurried to the car to drive down to BYU where Conner was going to run at state which I really wanted to watch. I was super happy with my time finding out I really got 1:37:34 and getting first in my age group which was 13-18! I was so happy. |