Imagine my surprise, when I was selected as the winner!
You'd think with nearly a year to prepare, I would have been totally ready for this race. But I wasn't.
Pre-Race / Starting Line
Jeff and I are trying to really save our pennies right now so we can go on more adventures in the future!, so we decided to drive up to Zion the morning of the race instead of camping or finding a hotel. We left Vegas around 1AM and arrived shortly after they were opening the parking area.
Unfortunately, there were heavy rains the night before, so they decided not to have all the cars park in the now very muddy field. Instead, they provided the option of parking at a church in a nearby town with shuttles back to the start line.
We started to the church, but then turned around to have Jeff drop me off at the start line and risk trying to find parking at the finish. We were warned that there wouldn't be much parking available, but were hoping that we'd get lucky.
I picked up my bib and t-shirt, kissed Jeff good-bye, and headed to the port-a-potty. It was dark and super muddy, but at least there was NO LINE! :) They had a huge line of them, so plenty to accommodate all the runners.
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| My shoes got super muddy walking to the port-a-potty and warming tent |
They also had a warming tent with coffee, hot cocoa, bananas, and more! Oh, and raffles. :) I didn't win anything, but it was a fun place to stay warm while waiting for the race to start.
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| Decided to wear something cute, since I wasn't feeling very prepared. |
By the time we were kicked out of the warming tent to line up at the start line, the sun had come up! And the views were stunning!
The Course
Not going to lie. This course was a tough one for me. I really should have used the prior year to better train.
C'est la vie.
C'est la vie.
The course description on the website:
The elevation map looks a little scary, but pay attention to the real elevation gain. It’s very gradual (about a 2 feet gain for every 100 yards). Besides, downhill courses are for wimps. :)
The first couple miles flew by, or at least I didn't seem to notice much about the course - other than the spectacular views.
I really was just enjoying the course and the views and running my own race. After a few miles, I remember thinking, "I thought this was a uphill course, but all the runners ahead of me sure look like they're at a lower elevation. I totally got this!"
And then I hit mile 6, and OMG! That was a HILL. I started up it pretty strong, but knew I wouldn't be able to continue running, so I intervalled my way up the steep hill.
But it definitely took its toll on me. The rest of the race was TOUGH! Every uphill seemed to get harder than the last. And my walks breaks started to get longer and more frequent.
It's a good thing it was so incredibly gorgeous!
And, the aid stations along the course were fantastic - well stocked with water, Nuun, Honey Stinger gels, and amazing volunteers! This was a cup-free race, but there was plenty of water to refill your bottles, or hydration pack, and the set up was perfect for this! I never needed a refill, but the spigots seemed very easy to use for a quick refill. A couple of the stations even had fresh fruit.
The course weaves through the Zion Canyon leading up to the National Park. It was a pretty cloudy, dreary kind of day, but the mountains were still so amazing. My phone's camera couldn't quite capture the beauty as well as my eyes could. :)
But that didn't stop me from stopping probably a bit too often to snap a few pics.
Shortly after mile 10, my knee was really starting to hurt from all the hills, so I popped some ibuprofen and a banana at one of the aid stations. It didn't seem to help, so walked the entire mile from the 11 marker to the 12 marker.
ONLY ONE MORE MILE TO GO!
I felt a bit stronger after walking an entire mile, so though it was tough, but I really pushed myself that final mile to finish strong.
The course for the final mile was a little annoying. The highway was pretty busy heading into the park, and the runners didn't really have a lot of room to maneuver. Plus, there were a lot of people, who had already finished, walking back to their cars or hotels. Those of us still on the course had to dodge them a bit. It wasn't too bad, really, but, like I said, just a little annoying.
There were plenty of volunteers, though. They were helping to direct the cars coming in and out of the small parking lots as we ran through Springdale. It was a little chaotic, so I was very grateful to all the volunteers.
I waved to Jeff and Sallie, who had found parking about 1/2 mile from the finish. Sweet!
Despite feeling weak and sore, as I approached the finish line, I gave it my all - I wanted to pass just one more runner! :-D The finish line was very good! It was a lovely downhill that I definitely took advantage of. A volunteer put the biggest medal I'd ever received around my neck, and I headed to the post-race food.
Post-race
I was so glad to be finished and to get the medal placed around my neck. Speaking of the medal, it was AMAZING! One of my favorite medals, for sure.
- It's HUGE! Like the size of my hand. Not my palm. My whole hand.
- It's HEAVY! Not some cheap thin medal. It definitely has some heft to it.
- It's HIP! I couldn't think of another good h-word to continue the theme of this bullet list. I <3 the design. It's shaped like an arrowhead with a picture of someone running through the canyon. The back of the medal has the date and some stylized mountains.
There were some post-race snacks available; I grabbed a chocolate milk and a banana. They also had these awesome boxes for each runner filled with yummy snacks - perfect for recovery and hiking.
This is just one way that Vacation Races really encourages all runners to continue the fun by visiting the National Park. They also offered a photo challenge for those up for it.
We didn't do any hiking because most of the trails do not allow dogs. Plus, we were both exhausted from the early morning drive, and, of course, I had just run 13.1 miles. LOL. Instead, we just drove through the park.
It was a long, whirlwind of a day, but I would definitely do it again! In fact, I would definitely recommend Vacation Races. It was very well oranized, the communication was unparalled, and did I mention the fantastic medal?! :-D
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