Half marathon #44 for me, but only state #8! I really got to venture out of Mississippi! I mean really... I could be almost done with the 50 state challenge if I had thought of that when I started running a couple years ago! What better way to end a weeks vacation than with a runcation.... Half Marathon 😜😍 Yellowstone was on my husband's bucket list of places to travel to so when I saw that there was also a half marathon there, I quickly talked him into a runcation. 😎 We however had this planned for 2020 and it was canceled due to COVID. Then in 2021 we were still unsure if we would really get to go because our work rules would still not allow us to fly anywhere, but they changed the rules like 4 weeks prior to our travel date and we were able to fly. 👏👏👏 I was thrilled because I sure did not want to drive 20+ hours!
We had a glorious vacation.. I'll have to do another post on that... but for now here's my race recap:
West Yellowstone is a cute little town. The race was actually outside the west entrance to the park in Montana. Gary and I arrived at the West entrance early on Friday. If I had known we would get there early I could have done the race challenge which had a 5K on Friday night before the half marathon on Saturday morning. But with us being on vacation that week and never being there, I wasn't sure when we would make it so I didn't sign up for the challenge. Boy the challenge medal was NICE! I'll have to remember that if I ever go back. 😀
I had kind of forgotten that the race would be a trail run until my friend texted me the night b4 warning me about the rocks. I'm so glad she did!! Only the 1st mile was on pavement and then we hit the trails. Most of the trail was good hard dirt. We did have a few wet spots from the snow melt. Oh did I mention it was 38 degrees when we started! My friends were racing back home and it was 95 for them! OUCH!
The first 5-6 miles were great. I felt great. I loved the cooler temps! and then we hit that climb that my friend warned me about. It seemed that we climbed forever! And there were big rocks ..... those mountain rocks..... Finally around mile 9 we started going downhill. I was like ok, now I can make up some time. Well, that was NOT going to happen! The downhill was filled with more rocks and uneven ground. It was all I could do to keep from rolling my ankle! My body pure jarred from trying to maneuver over the rocks and going downhill! We finally reached a stretch that was flat winding around a stream. I was like heck yes, maybe now I can make up some time.... but NOPE more rocks! I was running by a group most of the race that were all friends. They said the race was more for billy goats than people! Goats can get around on all that crap easily. 😅 So I gave up at looking at my time. I wasn't there to win anyways. I ran when I could and I walked when I felt it unsafe for me to run. I saw a lady trip on the rocks and fall. I felt so bad for her. She said she was ok, but I know it hurt. I've been there before.
I finished in 2:45. Certainly not my best time 😆 But with all the walking and I did also take 3 bathroom breaks, I was happy I finished with no injuries. 😍
Here are a few pictures from the race. I'm glad I experienced it. I'd love to go back and do the Grand Teton race the weekend b4 this one and maybe this one again for their big challenge... you end up getting like 5 medals if you do both. Y'all know I love me some bling. 😍
So that's a wrap! I started with a Jacket. Ended with Jacket off, but still got on my hat! It was still pretty cloudy and cool when we finished. 💕
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