Top of Utah Half Marathon

Crossing the finish line is fun, but it is not nearly as fun as watching your friends cross. I trained for the Salt Lake Marathon and ran it by myself. Running alone is hard to do, especially on the long runs. I never knew this until I started running with friends. I must admit that I did not train regularly for this race like I did for the Salt Lake Marathon. On the flip side of the lack of training, I have had so much fun running several times with Laura, and occasionally Tim and Maricela. Great friends, super conversation, loads of fun to run with. I knew that the race wasn't going to be easy, I hadn't trained right, but I did know that it would be fun. I was right! It was hard and I certainly could not have ran a whole 26.2 , but the 13.1 was loads of fun. I was ble to shave :44 seconds off each mile from the Marathon to the half. If I am able to continue at this rate and actually do the proper training I think that in a couple years I will be able to meet my goal of qualifying for the Boston with an 8:30 second mile. My marathon mile was 9:51 and my half marathon mile was 9:05, so I still have a lot of time to shave off. The highlight of the race for me was being able to stand at the finish and cheer for Laura and Tim as they came across one closely after the other. Having watched how hard these two have worked, Laura with a 4month old baby and Tim who hadn't exercised in 20yrs. picking up running at the young age of 47, I was AMAZED at how well they both did. Each of them ran faster than they ever had before and finished in good times. I am so proud of them and they are proud of themselves. This is what we are here on this earth for, to help each other work toward our goals, to encourage, motivate, support, and then celebrate when when we are successful. Thanks to these two for showing me that through a bit of hard work, you can accomplish anything you set your mind to no matter what your circumstances are. Hooray for the Half!