Porter Rockwell Race Review

I woke up at 5:30am to get my running gear on and head out the door. I was really glad I chose a race in my neighborhood and that started at 7am because I didn't feel too tired.

I headed to Draper Park where I caught the shuttle up to the start, mouth of Little Cottonwood Canyon in Sandy. Everyone was so friendly, the race vibe was pretty chill and enjoyed getting to know people.

At the race start I had a banana, drank a bit of water, and stretched. We all headed to the start but we didn't end up starting till 7:15. No big deal since it wasn't cold and everyone was just enjoying being up in the beautiful canyon.

My goal for this race was to run the first 3 miles a bit slower than my planned race pace, about a 9 minute mile. Then the next 7 miles at my race pace, about an 8:40 mile, leaving the last 3 to be a bit faster at an 8:27-8:35 mile. It started out great. I felt good, met some nice runners, found my pace and just enjoyed the beautiful scenery. The first 7 miles seemed to fly by. At mile 8 I caught up to a girl who seemed to be going a great pace so I stuck with her until mile 10 until she seemed to stop.

source

Little Cottonwood Canyon

The last 3 miles were very mental for me. My motto for the race that I kept repeating in my head was, "Run your own race" I just wanted to enjoy running because lets face it, I paid to get up early and run 13.1 miles so I wanted to make it worth while. I had one goal in my mind, beat 2 hours. I didn't want these last 3 miles to ruin all the hard work I had put in the rest of the race, so I wouldn't let myself slow down or even stop at water stations. I would drink on the go. I made it to the last mile and I was spent. I ended up walk/running 3 times and was sure I had let go of my sub 2 hour goal. I finally saw Josh, family, and the finish line! Unfortunately, you had to do a big loop around the finish line before actually crossing it. As I got closer I finally looked up at the clock and saw 1:56!! I was so excited and exhausted. I can honestly say I left everything I had that day on the race course and it felt great to say so. My body, doesn't feel great. It's pretty sore(mostly my quads from the downhill).

I'm so grateful for my support group. Thanks for all the 'congrats' and love I've received from family and friends. I'm really grateful for Josh who's willing to watch J after long days at work so I can run and for J who's willing to play next to the treadmill while I run.

Aunt Alisha and J

I have 1 more race scheduled on Sept. 22nd. But who knows, I seem to be pretty hooked.