Ogden Half Re-cap

JoAnna, Mindy, Lori

Saturday, May 19th, I ran the Ogden Half Marathon.   PERFECT RUN! Beautiful scenery, breeze at my back, shade in the canyon, sunshine when needed, breath-taking waterfalls, and I was loving the law of gravity.  I was amazed at how good I felt running. ( Completely different from last weekend, RRR in Moab, running 8 miles in heat.)  Oh, and to top off my Saturday....I got a PR!!!  2.13.58!

My pre-race meal consisted of dinner at Rooster's Brewery........chicken, mashed potatoes, &  bread w/artichoke, crab, cheesy dip. 

I woke up at 4:50 am, quickly put on my running clothes and grabbed my breakfast, (bagel, peanut butter, PRIME, and water).   Mindy met JoAnna and I at the hotel at 5 in the morning to head over to the bus area with us.  The buses were leaving at 5:30 am.  As we were standing in line, a man was walking around through the crowd. He was not one of the runners. Looked as if he was staying at one of the homeless shelters, and he had a "blind cane."  Funny thing was, as he was cutting through the line right by me, he made eye contact with me and said "excuse me."  Thought this was weird, a blind man making eye contact with me.???

As it was our turn to board the bus, we just happened to choose the coolest bus ever!!!  I boarded the bus and started walking to the back and I hear "Lori!"  I look up and it was Stephanie! Her sister Alesa, and their friend Miriam!!!  What were the odds that we would choose the same bus! This was a Good JuJu Bee Omen for all of us!  It was great to visit with them on the way up Ogden Canyon.  Funny thing though, when I got off the bus, I never saw them again, until we were at the finish line.

At the starting area, it was like a sea of people.  It was cold at the start. When we got off the bus, we had to walk through a field of grass. Our shoes got wet. JoAnna and Mindy were teasing me cause I was walking like a "doofus" lifting my feet high as to not let them go through the wet grass.  My feet did not get that wet or cold. On the other hand, Mindy and JoAnna's feet got cold AND wet. NOT A GOOD THING.  Next year I will take some grocery sacks to tie around my shoes like these ladies did at the start of the full. The fire barrels were very much appreciated. We were all crowding them, turning like we were rotisserie chickens, trying to warm all sides. 

 About 5 minutes before the race started, I peeled off my warm clothes, and bagged them up to go in the clothing truck.  When I got to the truck, (a U-haul), the door was CLOSED!!!  Race volunteers assured me that my clothes would find me at the finish line.  (crossing fingers)

The race started at Pineiew Reservoir.  It was a picture perfect morning. The sun coming up over the mountains. Fog and steam rolling off the water. Nature's perfection. And I, along with 1,800 others, were lucky enough to bask in its glory. 

I started with Mindy and JoAnna.  Mindy left us, and JoAnna was my sidekick for a few miles. I told her,  "I want you to run your own race."  (On the was down, she threw out the challenge of having her wear my GARMIN, and she would pace me.  I guess I am not mentally there yet. Kind of scary turning over the controls to someone else.)  This was my nice way of saying, "I am ok to run by myself." OK, so at one of the aid stations, here comes Mindy from behind???  She had to make a potty stop!  AAUUGGHH, I hate it when that happens!  At the next aid station, we all kind of got a drink and split up. My plan was to run and walk only through the aid stations.  My plan worked!!!   

Here are my times, per mile:

• Mile 1- 10.38



Volunteer @ Mile 5, (full)

• Mile 2-10.07
• Mile 3- 10.20
• Mile 4-10.06
• Mile 5- 8.59
• Mile 6- 9.55
• Mile 7- 10.16
• Mile 8- 9.22
• Mile 9- 9.50
• Mile 10- 9.42
• Mile 11- 10.44
• Mile 12-10.25
• Mile 13-10.27 

Look at that mile 5!!!  Less than a 9 minute mile!!!  At times, I would just lift my feet up and let the law of gravity propel me down the road.  I knew I was going faster than I normally do, but yet I was not using any energy! Wonderful feeling!!  MMM, I wonder why Mile 7 jumped into the 10 minute range??? I will have to investigate that part of the course.

I passed TEAM BART!  I met Bart and his Dad at the Halloween Half!  What an inspiration this father and son are.  Wonderful to see and visit with them again. Even if it was only for a minute.

I passed many signs of encouragement through the canyon. I just put my name in the phrase, and it gave me a little extra boost.

Sexy & I know it
Mile 5 (full) aid station

The aid stations were AWESOME!!  Plenty of water and Powerade  and candy. Cliff was a major sponsor and had gels and CLIFF Bars available if needed.  These two skeletons met me just after one of the stations!  All of the volunteers were so supportive and cheerful.

Waterfall in
Ogden Canyon

 The aid stations were well staffed, and there was plenty of fuel available for us runners.  One of the stations was "Pirate" themed.  They had made a pirate ship, and everyone was dressed up.  Our bibs had our names printed on them, and the volunteers would cheer for you by name. The Ogden City Police Department was also wonderful.  As they were directing runners, traffic, holding traffic.....they still managed to cheer for us.

I only glanced at my watch a few times.  As I was getting near the finish line, I could see the arch that I would run under. It seemed so far away.  I would look down, run a little, then look up, and it was if it just wasn't getting any closer. I was tired. My feet were not hurting, just hot.  I was not in a crowd of runners, so it would be easy for me to walk.

  I saw two ladies wearing sparkly skirts, and caught up to them. They were running a little quicker than me, but I managed to keep up with their pace. "OK," I thought, "stay with the skirts, stay with the skirts. If we 3 stick together we can push each other to the finish." Then......they stopped running, and started walking!!!  I kept my slow jog, and turned back to them and said, "Come on skirts!" They just smiled and said that they would meet me at the finish line.  Here was the big mental challenge......it would have been sooooooo easy just to walk for 1 minute!  But I did NOT give in.  ........After I crossed the finish line, I grabbed a bottle of water, can of coke, and a piece of bread from Great Harvest.  Then off to find a banana.   I wonder what my time would have been if I had not fumbled with my phone to take some photos along the way???

Miriam, Stephanie, Alesa

This was Stephanie's first half marathon.  We stayed and cheered her on as she crossed the finish line. She looked so strong!!  Super proud of her!

At 12:30 there was a Kids 1k event.  Some guy was dressed as a Transformer! All the kids got blue t-shirts, and their finishing metal was a cow bell!

This was our post-race meal. I was so hungry. I was craving a cheesburger from LD's!  Five Guys sould have to do.  I tried the Cajun fries this time.  I think I like just the normal ones better. My mouth was greeted by an cold, bubbly Dr. Pepper!!  Would I run this race again...In A HEARTBEAT!!!  This was the BEST Half Marathon that I have ran.  Very well organized, super volunteers, aid stations were every 2 miles, and I loved the course.

One of the booths at the expo was promoting the Huntsville Marathon that will be on September 29th of this year.  I looked at the course. It is going to be a fast course. Downhill. The last 5 miles looked kind of flat though.  Very tempting....I wonder if a  26.2 is in my future???