Halloween Half

After months of training we finally ran our half marathon. It was an interesting experience to say the least :). We woke up at 4:00am to head down to Provo. Buses brought all the runners up to Sundance resort where the race started. It was so cold! There were lots of crazy costumes, including a couple Captain Jack Sparrows and a Cupcake. The first 4 miles of the race had an 1000 foot elevation loss. Going into the race, I thought this would be awesome. After about 1 mile I realized it was awful. My legs were numb from the cold and the downhill put so much pressure on my joints that I was sure my legs would give out. Todd and I both went out much faster than we intended, and didn't slow down for awhile even though we knew we should....and we paid for it. Todd ran an 8K pr in the middle of the race! I averaged 6:20 pace through the first 6 miles--bad idea! We both finished with decent times, but  an even paced race would have felt a LOT less painful. Next time I know what NOT to do. Despite the pain, we had a lot of fun. The course was beautiful and it was great to be racing again.
Here are some photos from the weekend:

Trying to keep warm in the tent before the race. All 4000 runners were crammed in the tent.

The view from the top where the race started.

Happy to be done!