My best friend Julia got her Phd and to celebrate she wanted to run the PC marathon. We planned a big girls weekend and it definitely did not dissapoint. We stayed up way too late, ate junk food and diet coke, and laughed until our abs were sore. So much fun!
Splits: 6:25, 6:47, 6:51, 6:43, 6:37, 7:06, 7:01, 6:59, 6:30, 6:32, 6:12, 6:26, 6:28, 1:46 (6:02)
Nutrition: 20 ounces of sobe life water and a banana pre-race (I normally eat more but was literally stuffed from partying all week), 1 gel at mile 7.5. Hardly any fluids during the race. It was just cool enough that I never really felt thirsty.
Recap: I knew that this course was going to be tough. It is mostly on trails, there are lots of hills and it is at 2,000 feet higher elevation than I am used to. With this in mind I really just wanted to run smart and come in under 1:30. As soon as the race started I realized it would be a fairly solo effort. I am really guilty of racing to my competition and there just simply wasn't any competition. I just relaxed into a comfortably hard pace and ran off of effort. At mile 5 I saw that I was gaining on Jeff and just worked on catching him. I finally did at the turn around point and then we worked together until the finish. I am glad he was there because he definitely helped push me to a faster time than I would have done alone. I know no one cares about my garmin but it measured the course quite long at 13.3 and I had a hard time mentally staying focused until the finish.
This was an absolutely beautiful course and I would definitely run it again. I loved passing all of my friends running the half on the way back to the finish. The camaraderie and support in running is just unparellel to anything I have ever experienced in my life. So much fun and you really just can't beat living in Utah and being able to train up in Park City. I am continually thankful for the ability to run, the friendships I have made through running, and the opportunities it has brought to my life.
The coolest part of the day was definitely running the last mile with my friend Julia and celebrating such a huge accomplishment for her. | 