Snow Canyon Half Marathon

In 2015 my main goal was to prepare for the Olympic Trials in 2016.  But I knew I needed some races to keep me motivated with the training.  I opted out of a fall marathon to focus on the trials but decided to run the Snow Canyon Half Marathon in November.  I was having some good races leading up to Snow Canyon but I hadn't been able to PR in anything yet for the year and I was hoping to finally get a PR.  It was my first time on that course but I knew it was a fast one and I was in great shape.  Jason was planning on running as well and had finally had some good injury free training although he was having some health problems that were concerning.  We felt he was on the mend though and headed to St. Gerorge.  About half way to St. George Jason became very ill.  I was driving and we were already a couple hours south of Salt Lake but still a long way from St. George with no hospital within miles.  I was seriously worried and close to turning the car around when things improved and we decided to continue to St. George.  We decided there was no way it was safe for Jason to race the next day.  He was so disappointed to miss out on another race.  I tried to focus on my race but was having a difficult time when I knew Jason was so discouraged and when I was concerned about his health.

So the next morning Jason dropped me off alone and I boarded a bus.  I always hate a bus ride alone but I met some new people.  They weren't serious at all about running but they were friendly so it helped with the pre-race jitters.  I got to the starting line and found my friends, Angi and Amy and we warmed up together.  We were worried about it being too cold this late in the year up the canyon and while it was a little chilly it was a beautiful morning for running. The sun was shining and it was warming up quickly.  I started the race with some arm warmers and gloves but quickly discarded them by the side of the road.  It was a perfect day for running!

The first couple miles are fairly flat so I started out at a comfortable pace knowing that I wanted to save it for the steep downhill coming later.  I thought I was leading the women's race alone but then realized someone was right behind me.  She introduced herself as Candace Carlisle and we ran together for the first two miles.  I was hitting right around 6 minute miles.  I knew I needed to go faster but I was patient waiting for the downhill.  After the first couple miles we got to where the course starts to drop. I picked up the pace and my effort a bit and left Candace behind at this point.  I was warmed up and I felt great!  I ran the 3rd mile in 5:45.  I was settling into a fast downhill pace now and feeling terrific.  Jason was out on the course cheering for me just before we turned off the highway and headed into the state park.  He is always so supportive when he is watching me run. I felt so bad for him though knowing that he really wanted to be running right next to me.  The road through the state park was closed so he couldn't follow me through that section of the course.  This is breathtakingly beautiful steep downhill section.  I had a big gap between the couple men I could see in front of me as well as the ones behind me.  If it weren't for the lead biker (actually eliptigo) in front of me I would have been all alone.  I loved the beauty of the canyon and I couldn't hold back my pace down the steep downhill.  Miles four and five were 5:24 and 5:26.  These were probably a little too fast but I felt so good at this point.  I started thinking I would not just PR but be able to run a 1:15 or maybe even faster.  When I got to miles 6 and 7 the downhill wasn't quite as steep and I was starting to tire just a little bit.  I was a little worried about how fast miles four and five had gone and worried if I would burn out before the end.  Since I wasn't training for a fall marathon my long runs had been a little shorter and suddenly 13 miles was feeling like a long way to go. I was still able to keep those miles in the 5:30s though so I felt like I was in a good position.  Mile 8 was a 6:03 and that's when I really felt like I had to start working.  I wasn't sure if the mile marker was off or if it had just flattened out enough to slow me down that much.  I knew I had a huge lead.  I was getting tired and the course was getting harder. I had to make a choice at this point.  Slow down to a more comfortable pace and coast in for a win or dig deep all alone and go for a PR.  I picked up the pace a bit and was able to settle back into some miles around 5:50.  I was starting to catch a few of the men that I could see way up there so I tried to just concentrate on reeling them in.  The last couple miles were challenging.  I expected the course to flatten out but what I hadn't expected were the rolling hills in the neighborhoods we ran through.  They weren't very long but some were steep and it was a struggle to get up them.  I could see the stadium lights at the high school where we finished a couple miles out and they didn't seem to be getting any closer.  The course had a lot of turns in it as we wound through town.  It was difficult to keep a steady pace with all the sharp turns.  At one point there were volunteers standing and cones pointing me one direction but the lead biker in front of me went straight.  I couldn't see any other runners ahead of me and was confused about which way to go.  I finally decided to trust that the course markings and volunteers knew the course and I chose not to follow the biker.  It turned out to be the right decision.  About half a mile later she caught back up to me apologizing profusely that she didn't know the course.  With a mile to go I knew I wouldn't be able to finish in 1:15 but a 1:16 would still be a huge PR.  My legs were hammered from the steep downhill and I felt done.  I pushed hard through that last mile and was able to run it in 5:52.  My time was 1:16:41, a full minute faster than my previous PR.  A win and a PR was a great way to end the year of racing!  It made it even better that my friend and training partner, Angi, finished second.  It was a great race and one that I am definitely looking forward to returning to.

I have never been so sore after a half marathon than I was that next week.  The combination of the fast pace and the steep downhill was really tough on my legs.  I had to take it easy for a week to recover.  But with three months to go until the Olympic Trials, after my recovery week it was time to jump back into hard workouts and longer marathon training runs.  The days were getting shorter and colder, which is usually when I like to back off on my miles and intensity. My training has been going fantastic though and every day I get more excited about the opportunity I have to test myself next month against the best runners in the country.  A month out and most of the hard work is done.  At this point it's just a matter of not getting hurt or sick and hoping that the stars align for a perfect race on February 13th.

In 2015 I also competed in the USA Track and Field Utah Road Racing Circuit.  In the circuit races I accumulated points against other USAT&F members.  In November I was awarded first place in the circuit at the annual awards banquet.

I also had the opportunity this fall to do an interview with a local TV station.  It was a little nerve racking but a lot of fun and my kids were thrilled to be pictured on the news.  You can watch the clip here.