Personal Best

I wish I could tell you about being my personal best as a mother, wife, or friend. Unfortunately, this is not the case. But while I am working on that, let me tell you about my new personal half-marathon record.

I am definitely NOT a friend of road running races. Especially not in Utah, where they all tend to be more or less downhill. That said, I was still really excited to run in the Salt Lake 1/2 marathon for a few reasons:

• I got a complimentary race entry from the SLRC. How could I pass up a free race?
• My friend Carlee was racing. I love racing with friends. Friday night was like a girls' night out and Saturday was a party!
• Flat and/or downhill = fast. And that's always fun!

Highlights:

• Feeling good rather than sick
• Being able to push myself but not too hard
• Chatting with friend and pro triathlete Malaika
• A new PR 1:29:53
• My 6:51 pace
• 17th out of 2886 women
• Carlee's PR
• Chocolate milk and Creamies at the finish

Lowlights:

• Boredom. Running on asphalt through a city is just not my kind of fun.
• A 2-mile uphill stretch right at the end
• Invisible mile markers
• A 13-year-old dude running alongside me for the last 5 miles

Although I might actually consider the last one a highlight. I mean, really, this kid was great. Check it out. He does not even look like a runner. I was kind of glad though when he ran out of steam at the end. I was definitely NOT going to sprint to the finish line just so I could beat him. I think that's totally lame.

Now it is high time to get my cycling back. No more running escapades for a while. My focus is on triathlon.