13.1 Miles of Awesome

13.1 miles
1:44 minutes of straight running
1300 calories burned
3 days of intense muscle pain (and then some)

Yeah, it was TOTALLY worth it!

This past weekend Tristin and I ran the Nebo Half Marathon. It was one of THE COOLEST things I've ever done. Maybe even cooler than bungie jumping off the Orlando Towers in Soweto, South Africa!

Here's the nitty gritty details of the day:

~5am-Wake up
~6:15am-Get on a bus with the other runners and drive up Nebo Canyon
It was the longest 13 mile bus drive I've EVER taken. After 30 minutes I asked Tristin, "are you sure you signed us up for the half and not the full marathon....this seems like an awfully long bus ride."
And how were SO MANY PEOPLE that chatty at 6:30 in the morning! It was a LOUD bus ride.  I mean, seriously, people, I was ready to take a nap.
~6:55am-Get off the bus.
The race was suppose to start at 7am. As we get off I head straight for the porter potties. Nerves+stress+anticipation=Upset stomach (TMI??).
HOWEVER!!! HOW. EVER...the dude on the loud speaker says, "Excuse me everyone but we WILL start at 7am. Those that just arrived please come to the starting line. We are going to start in 2 minutes".
WHAT THE WHAT!!! I couldn't believe what I was hearing, not to mention that the lines for the Honey Buckets (honestly, who names porter potties The Honey Buckets. What kinda sick sense of humor is that, people?!) were super long!

So the race starts and T and I are just finishing up. No warm up, no stretches, no nothing. But no worries, Our timers only start when we cross the starting line so I guess I shouldn't have been freaking out.

So as we were about to start I stop and say, "WAIT! I've gotta take a picture". So now we're late, stressed (well I was stressed, Tristin was chilled out as always) and freezing in the cold while I fumble for the phone. Good times!! (It actually was good times! I loved every second of it)
 ~7:03am-Start running!

The starting line. Its a little blurry coz I was shaking.

Finally we are off! The run was not only a blast but it was BEAUTIFUL! and I was listening to a killer music playlist of what Tristin likes to call Cheesy Boy Band Crap. Mix the scenery in with awesome music and the best runners high I've ever had and you've got what I kept calling "a spiritual experience". Seriously, I thought this was just as amazing as going through the Temple for the first time ever!!! I kept thinking things like:

We should have signed up for the marathon! this is fantastic
Lets run 13 miles twice a week now
I cant wait to do this again! We should sign up for  one next month.

The high was awesome...until I hit mile 10. Then reality took over and my body was saying, "Um, I'm done. No more".

The last 3 miles were excruciating.

But WE DID IT! We finished! And we had both our parents there to meet us at the finish line! That was probably one of the best parts for me was seeing them all at the end! I felt like a kid again at a sporting event getting cheered on.

My big grin...because I was happy it was over (and super chuffed with my time I did it in)

Tristin sprinting to the finish line!

WOOHOO! Finished at last!

So YAY us! I'm proud that we did it and I really cant wait to do it again! And not only that but we did it faster than we thought we would. I placed 4th in my age group (20-24 Yr old) and Tristin placed 9th (25-29Yr olds).

So....
Run Half Marathon: Check
Goal Accomplished! Yay Team Roney