SLC Half Race Update from Laura, aka "Landy"

I was hoping there'd already be other Salt Lake City half and full marathon updates, but I guess I'll be first and leave my own...I'm excited to hear how you all did! It's fun to get different perspectives on the same event. Like I wrote before, I used the Provo Half two weeks ago as a training run for the Salt Lake Half. My dear grandfather passed away in February because of an abrupt struggle with cancer, so I thought it would be fitting to run this race in his honor.

I decided after Provo that my goal for Salt Lake would be to run it in 1:50. In order to do that, I knew I had to start out at a quicker pace. I LOVE races that are huge; I really feed off the energy. One of the hard things about big crowds though, is dodging people when you're trying to find your pace at the beginning. I was still waiting in the porta-potty line when the bikers and handicapped participants started, and consequently, didn't exactly end up near the front of the pack. (Not that I think I deserved a place at the front, I know I'm a middle runner, but...anyways...I just got a late start to the line up.) I also didn't see any pacers with balloons this race either. I'm not sure if there were any, and I was hoping I would be able to gage my pace that way. (I'm not yet a proud owner of a fancy-shmancy Garmin.)

Anyways, I did my best to start off quickly and I was surprised to see after the first mile that I had run it in 7:51...I thought I had started much slower than that. Even though I prefer running outdoors, I've trained a lot on a treadmill this winter because I'm not used to running in the snow. Because of that, I've found that I run faster than I think I'm running off the treadmill because it's a lot easier...(Atleast it seems that way for me.)

The weather was perfect and I felt inspired as I ran, thinking about my Grandpa and feeling like I was connecting with him. So much of racing is mental so it was helpful to have something that was important to me to run for. I ran the Salt Lake Half in '07 and I think they changed the course since then, because the 12th mile was a consistent incline which I wasn't expecting. That mile made me realize I need to run more hills because I usually bypass that in my training, and consequently, it was difficult for me.

Nevertheless, I still met my goal and my official time was 1:48:30. (According to the results page, that's an 8.17 pace, which I was really excited about.) I'm running the Provo River Half in August and I think my next goal is to set a new personal record of 1:44:50. (I'd like to see if I can run a half marathon with a flat 8 minute mile.) My plan of action is to actually cross train, lose 10 pounds, (which will be a big deal because I've never been a dieter,) and be more consistent with speed training...I'll let you all know how I do.:)

Now I'd love to hear how everyone else did!

PS- How much and when do you all take immodium before a race? It worked well for me in Provo, but this time around I had severe stomach pains afterwards. Maybe it also had something to do with carb loading the night before with a bag of pita bread and hummus.:) Hmmmmm.....