Kelly and I headed to Utah for the Big Cottonwood Half and Full Marathon. Visions of PRs danced in our heads.
But guess what? Race day it was hot. H-O-T. Well, it was very cold at the top of the mountain, but by the time we got to the valley many thousands of feet below, it was hot.
It was beautiful:
And steep. So very steep.
So steep that I ran 8 miles straight at slightly faster than my speedwork pace. This is my I HOPE I DON’T DIE running face. It’s not a good look.
Kelly had fun, until he didn’t any more – which was approximately around the 16 mile mark.
So the finish wasn’t what he’d hoped, but at least he survived.
I survived, too, and since I only ran the half I was able to hold on to my massive downhill speed and get a PR. Yay!
But what was a Big Not Yay was the serious leg pain for the next week. We’ve never hurt so bad after a race – including our first-ever marathons.
So all in all we’d definitely like to run a fast race again, but not one with that steep of a downhill. It’s a leg, IT band, glute and every imaginable leg muscle shredder.