Riverton Half

In January a bunch of girls in the ward decided to train for the Riverton Half Marathon that took place on March 26th. Many of us had run the St. George Half so we thought it would just be a matter of keeping up our training. Winter is a very tough time to train for a race and I don't think I could've done it if I didn't have my friends Randi and Susie waiting for me every Monday, Wednesday, Friday, and Saturday to go running.

This was Randi's first Half and since we were training partners my goal was to stick with her and help to keep her going. It was actually a pretty tough race because of the number of hills along the course--I will have to have a really good reason to run it again. Our plan was to stop at every water break and take our time to eat our Sports Beans and drink water rather than rushing our breaks. It was hard to walk and let other runners pass us, but I'm glad we did because at the end of the race I felt really good and think a large part of it was because we stayed hydrated and had refueled often.





Omai was a great support. Including the starting line, he found us four times throughout the race to cheer us on and take pictures. The last place he stopped to see us was at about mile 10 at the top of the hill. It was so awesome to see him and Bailey waiting for me. Bailey had a big smile on her face when she saw me and reached out for me to hold her. It was such a sweet moment and gave me a burst of energy.



There was one hill in the race called Devil's Slide (or something like that) and it was the steepest hill I had ever seen. I'm not kidding. I think many cars older than a 1980 would've had a hard time up this thing. At the bottom of the hill there was a water station and Randi and I were discussing our plan of attack. I just kept thinking if we just keep going and don't stop, the pain will be over that much faster. Sure enough. We made it to the top of the hill--we didn't die and it felt good to have pushed through it.



For me, mile 11 was pretty tough and I knew Randi was struggling as well. To keep our mind off our pain I told her the story about Hazel Powers who I met on my mission in Virginia. She was 81 years old, had diabetes, and only one leg. My companion, Sister Roundy, and I had to give her a bath one day because her maid had been fired and Hazel had just gotten a perm and needed the chemicals washed out of her hair. That was an experience I will never forget and it made for a good anecdote to get our mind off our aching joints.



We finally made it to the last mile of the race and I got my energy back and felt great as I crossed the finished line with a time of 2:09:55. Omai was there waiting with Bailey and it felt so great to see them and give them a big hug. We took a few pictures and were off to set up for Bailey's 1st Birthday Party. Phew. What a day.