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The Utah Half (Ironman Triathlon)

Some of you already know, but some of you don't: I ran 13.1 miles on Saturday as the third leg in a "The Utah Half". Check out that link for more details. The background image is the finish line that I sprinted.

I woke up to a friend's phone message Saturday morning after getting home from the family reunion the night before. He said that his message that their runner got sick last night and they needed someone to run a 1/2 marathon that afternoon. I was planning to go running anyway that morning, so I said sure. This was a friend from my freshman year that I had kept in contact with just enough to remember his name was Christian Christensen.

The fee was $99 for a relay team, but they didn't make me pay anything.

I decided to warm up by running to Utah lake. When I showed up and Christian helped me get ready. He had already swam and most everyone else was already biking. I ran and stretched a little more to warm up and then...I was off along the Provo River Trail!

My time was 1 hour 54 minutes; that's an 8 min. 42 sec. split/mile. Our team came in with a final time of 5 hours and 3 minutes.

Overall, I felt great! I sprinted through the finish line as the entire crowd of 1500+ cheered me on. They handed me my medal as I crossed the line. I ran directly to the watermelon and Cantaloupe area. I probably downed an entire composite melon by myself. Then I made my way over to the complimentary chiropractics and massages. The wait was only 10 minutes! I signed a waiver and then the dude cracked my neck twice and both of my hips and sent me over the next table to be worked on. (I had never had chiropractic work done on me before. It was amazing; afterward, I couldn't crack my own neck like it use to be able to do. Everything above my shoulders was so loose that I felt nervous that my head was about to fall off my shoulders.) The massage was super, as always. Unfortunately, they couldn't use oil because we had all of our clothes on. (Some had more clothes than others.) "You have a really tight butt," she said. ( After 14 miles of running, I did not mind AT ALL that she was touching my pompies.) After about 5-10 minutes of heaven, I was sent on my way.




After a quick self-assessment, I decided to ran/walked home along the Provo River Trail (an additional 3 miles). Don't stress. It was mostly walking. In order to pass myself off as continuing competitor, I ran anytime I passed by a re-energizing station stocked full of water, electrolyte pills, twizzlers, bear claws, and M&Ms. Sometimes, I got impatient so I just started running again.

Once I got to the D.I. near my apartments I REALLY started to feel like my left femur was about to slip out of its hip joint. Painfully, I made my way to my room where I got my swimming suit on and I stretched and soaked in the apt. pool for an hour. Since then, I've felt relatively terrific! I didn't need to hold the handrails at all going up and down stairs today--It is a miracle!

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Listening to: Jordin Sparks - One Step At A Time

Comments

  1. Sounds like this half marathon went a lot better than last time. :) Are you going to have to get chiropractic work for the rest of your life now? Is having tight pompies a good thing or a bad thing?

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  2. I've never heard the word pompies before, thanks for the edubecation. Great job on your half marathon. You AMAZE me!

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  3. BG: You are truly amazing, Bryan! Great job on your leg of the marathon-I'm glad you were able to help them out. Besta: Ditto. It's great to feel so loose and relaxed! I would love those kind of adjustments myself as I am tonically tight like Grampy-but, all you need is one bad twist and you're toast for life! You have to really trust whoever's hands you put yourself into:)

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  4. I couldn't believe that you just got into a marathon without the proper training. You are something else. I'm not sure what, but definately something else. I love you Bryan.

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  5. Haha! Sweet! That is one of the greatest running stories I've heard in awhile. Nothing like running a 1/2 on a whim. I have to agree that the massage at the end is the best part. In fact, that's probably the only reason I keep running.

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  6. I don't know why I'm leaving a comment because I have "no comment." You up and run a 1/2 marathon with ZERO notice. You score food and massages, and you're not even sore. I'm jealous.

    ReplyDelete

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