Half Way Through to Chicago: Half-Marathon Run in Utah

Hello all!
I have been missing in action for a while, and I am not sure what my excuse is for not writing more often apart from my own laziness. I will try to do better than that!
My last post was all about running, and so will this one be. I just got back from a short trip to Utah (driving through Nevada, Arizona and Utah!) where I visited Zion National Park (WOW!), Bryce Canyon National Park (Holy Molly!) and ran my first ever half-marathon!

The main purpose of my trip there was to run. I did plan it the way that I could have time to visit and check  out the sights and parks, but the ultimate goal was to cover 13.1 miles in a dignified manner (no limping, no getting sick, no cramping, with a huge smile on my face!).

I am happy to report that all of the above happened. I stuck with my plan (thanks coach Peri!) and ran a solid 1:52:07 half. For some people, this might seem super slow, but this is my first year of running, my first ever half, and I beat my goal of 2 hour run pretty squarely!

I arrived to the town of Tropic the day before the race and went for a shake-off run. Though the scenery was gorgeous, I was huffing and puffing during my short 3,5 mile run. It made me so worried about my ability to run at elevation since at this point of my running "career", running 3 miles is really not a big deal for me (Tropic's elevation is 6,300 feet which was way lower than 7,700 feet of Bryce Canyon half marathon starting point). 

I was unusually nervous the night before the race and barely slept. I mean, I am doing this for fun, it's not like I am chasing medals, so worst thing that could have happened was that I ran a bad race, so why was I so discombobulated?. Need to work on my nerves for the next race!

The morning of the race greeted me with dark skies (who doesn't love to wake up at 4AM for the run??) and super chilly temperatures. When I arrived to the start line, my phone proudly told me it was 13C (55F) and I was SHIVERING from the cold. I got so used to Texas heat by now, that anything below 65F seems chilly. I truly appreciated the bonfires the organizers started for us to keep us warm!

 As I lined up to run, I found a 2:00 pacer (a person who runs with a sign telling you she or he will keep the pace to finish the race at 2 hour mark). I decided I will see how I feel about the course and adjust as I go. I was probably a bit too cocky, but after the "warm-up" 2 miles from the start, I realized I want to go faster. I knew that I still had 11 miles to cover, but I also felt good and wanted to speed up a little bit.
We ran through some really gorgeous views, and I just kept on smiling, enjoying myself, and keeping the pace (Thank you, AppleWatch!)

We ran through the small town of Tropic where I was actually staying for this race, and got cheered on by locals and tourists. That helped a lot, because overall this run was a pretty solitary experience, and I was glad I had my music with me to keep me focused and entertained.
After Tropic, I realized I had about 5 miles to go and can go a bit faster again. I was very surprised when I caught up with 1:55 pacer, meaning I caught on 5 minutes of time in between the start and the end of race. During the last 2 miles, I felt like I could push a bit more and I overtook the pacer to close the last two miles before finish.
Mile 11 was mostly uphill which was really touch and unusual as most of the course goes gradually downhill from start to finish. After not dropping my pace on the way up the hill, I really had to push myself for mile 13 to finish strong.
When I crossed the finish line and heard 1:52 as the time, I thought it must have been some mistake. I never planned to finish that quick and was pleasantly surprised to realize it was truly my time. Here I am grinning that I survived my first half-marathon:

I was extremely sore after I crossed the finish line, and 1 week later, I still feel a bit of tiredness in my muscles. I am not used to running downhill (we actually practice uphill runs much more often!) so I need to work on that. I honestly have not done a very good job of stretching right after the run, and then went on two long hikes after my race in the next two days. Lesson learnt: do NOT forget the stretching and maybe ease down on hiking after you run for 13 miles...
I now have less than 3 months until my Chicago Marathon. I am so excited and a bit scared of the next challenge and am now ready to ramp up my training for the big race!