If I learned anything from this experience, I learned that you can train and work hard and prepare for anything in life, but ultimately we do not have control of the outcome.
You may remember my experience in Moab last year. I trained hard, felt wonderful but when race day came I had an allergic reaction to something that made the muscles in my legs seize up and I walked more than half of the course in a lot of pain. All the training in the world could not have helped me run that race. I felt helpless. I couldn't make my body do what I needed it to do.
As you probably know, I have recently started going back to church after nearly ten years of inactivity. Although I have never failed to have a deep love for the gospel, I never felt that I would be active in the church again. It has been an incredible experience to go back and although it is not the theme of this account it plays a huge part in my experience at the race.
I started training for the race in January. In my third week of training I ran 13.1 miles. I ran from my house to Daniel's work and then back home. It was cold and if I had had the option to quit, I would have. I walked most of the last three miles but I made it home in one piece! :) I felt like if I could do that, I could do anything! (Lol) But, a couple of days later I ran three miles on a treadmill and I injured my right knee. Knee injuries are horrible because you pretty much can't continue training until it is completely healed. I used the elliptical a little bit and did a lot of stretching but I wasn't able to run again until about two weeks before the race. And even then I wasn't able to run farther than three miles.
Daniel and I have done a lot of growing this past six months, both apart and together. I was looking forward to this race as a little get away for us. Because of recent events in our lives and in our relationship, this trip was a chance for us to reconnect and renew our relationship. Up until I injured my knee, I had joked with Daniel that my only goal was to beat the cousins (Amy, Becky, and Heidi). Not because I did not want them to succeed and do their best, but because I knew that Amy would be able to make it in just over two hours without a problem and I thought that sounded like a great goal! Once I injured my knee, I let that goal go right out the window and my goal at that point was to finish the race in 2 hours and 30 min and to run across the finish line, rather than walk across it, like I did last year. By the time we were headed down to Moab, I was not convinced I would reach either goal. In fact I played with the idea of switching to the five mile run, but I could not bring myself to do it.
Back in December I challenged my Mom and Dad (and family) to read the Book of Mormon. My goal had been to finish it before I went down to Moab. I had finished 4th Nephi but still needed to read Mormon, Ether and Moroni. I read the whole book of Mormon on the way down to Moab. The thing that stuck out for me in that book was that regardless of who we are and what time we live in, we can ask in prayer for anything and expect the same results as in Book of Mormon times. Well, I had spent the last three months reading about humble prayer and the miracles that come from it, and was excited that I could apply that to my life, and expect
the same results.
As I started the race, I felt a great sense of peace and excitement. There is something about the energy in the air at the start of a race that is indescribable and that can not be replicated. I was in high spirits as I crossed the starting line. I had little doubt in my mind that my cousins would end up passing me, because I was not prepared for this race physically in any way. The way that I stay motivated in a race is to have smaller reachable goals instead of looking at 13.1 miles, I look at one mile at a time, or a half hour at a time, to make sure that I make it to the end. My first goal in this race was to stay in front of my cousins and once they passed me, I'd pick a different goal.
Up until this race, I have always ran a mile, walked a min. When I hit the first mile in this race, something inside me told me to keep running. I kept playing different scenarios through my head, should I walk every other mile? Should I walk at the aid stations? Should I run until I can't run anymore? Something inside me also answered that question for me. I knew I needed to stop every three miles. I have no idea where this number came from since I have not run three miles straight very many times in my life and had not done it recently at all. When I got to the three miles I did not feel like I needed to stop and I toyed with the idea to keep on running, but it was confirmed to me again that I needed to stop every three miles, so I did.
Near the beginning of the race,I could feel one of the toenails on my right foot lifting. Now, to anyone that has never had that happen, it may not sound like a big deal, but for me it is not only uncomfortable, it is a horribly unnatural feeling and it is really hard for me to run through. I said a prayer as I was running. I knew I was going to lose toenails, but I also knew at that that moment that there was nothing I could do about it. So I just asked that if I was meant to finish the race, to please not let me feel my toes. I had a really warm feeling come over me, and the discomfort in my toes subsided. I ran with such high spirits. :) I sang to my music and pushed up the hills. I was happy that my knee was doing such a great job.
It is such a BEAUTIFUL run!! I don't think I fully appreciated it last year because of what my body was going through, but WOW!! The sky was filled with clouds, but you could see a grayed out sun behind them. To the left was a wall of red rock and to the right, a drop off into the Green River with another wall of red rock on the other side. There was a sea of people in front of me, as well as behind me. I loved being right in the middle of so much positive energy.
I knew I would be coming out of the canyon around mile ten so I kept pushing to get to that point. I just knew Daniel would be there to cheer me on, and I was so excited to see him. I did get a little worried because I was almost a half hour ahead of schedule so I wasn't sure if he would miss me. At mile ten I finally saw my cousins. They were a few feet in front of me. I thought, man I came all this way? I can't give up now! And that gave me the strength to keep on pushing.
Little did I know, Daniel had started walking from the finish line to come meet me. We met up just after the eleven mile mark. He was in running clothes and ready to run the end of the race with me. I was so happy to see him. He helped me push through the last two miles. He was right there telling me I could do it, telling me to lengthen my stride. It helped me so much to have that kind of support at the hardest part of the race. Although we did not start the race together, we crossed the finish line together!
As soon as my body knew I had completed the race, my legs almost gave out, they were shaking so bad. I will lose five toenails and I had two blisters on my feet, but I did not feel any pain or discomfort in my feet past the first couple of miles.
I finished the race in 2 hours, 7 min, and 45 seconds. Almost 55 min faster than last year. This experience has taught me a lot about myself and my abilities, but more so the power of faith and prayer. Last year I relied on training alone and I was not able to run most of the race. It is always good to be prepared for anything in life, but ultimately it is not in our control how well we perform.
Daniel and I are now training for the Bear Lake Half Marathon, held on June 14th! I am excited to train with him. This experience meant a lot to me, physically, mentally, and spiritually, and I am excited for many more experiences like this one!
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