Zeitgeist Half Marathon

This morning I ran in the Zeitgeist half marathon with some ladies in my ward. And out of ALL days this what I woke up to this morning -Snow. It was so cold, probably around 32 or colder when we started the race at 10am. This race is probably the second hardest race here in Boise. (They say Robie Creek is the hardest in Boise and in the NorthWest). This race has lots of rolling hills, 3 big hills, and 1,180 feet of elevation.

The run was really pretty, lots of snow to look at on the hills. In the beginning of the race the snow made the run kind of tricky. There was melted snow and some ice. I felt like I was running in zig-zags so I wouldn't slip.
About 40 minutes into my run, the outside of my knee started to hurt. (Maybe it was because I was zig-zagging around the ice?). That has never happened before. It really slowed down my running because I was in so much pain. I stopped twice to try to stretch my IT band, but nothing seemed to help. Walking wasn't an option for me, so I didn't.
At mile 6, I could see in the distance a very steep hill. From where I was at I couldn't tell if those were cars, trees, or people on/by the road. As I got closer I saw things moving and I knew that I would be running up that steep hill very soon. The hill began at mile 7 and I just kept my head down and put one foot in front of the other. That steep hill turned into 2 miles. It was the hardest 2 miles I think I have ever ran. When you got to the top you hit a down hill, which I was very grateful for. I was able to re-group and let my body relax.



By mile 9 I was feeling great! (besides my throbbing knee). I had lots of energy. Then mile 11 I felt like I was going to crash, but I knew I was almost done which motivated me to keep going strong.
Right before you finish, you run up a short, steep hill. I felt like that hill was laughing at me. As I approached the hill I had walkers surrounding me. I told myself, "I have gotten this far and that I wasn't going to walk up it. "I leaned my body forward, and dug up that hill. Right when you get to the top you run down, cross the street and cross that finish line.
One of my friends, Jill, was at the finish line cheering for me. It was really encouraging. I told Ryan he could come with the girls, but it was so cold that they would be probably be miserable.
After the race my legs felt like jello. My knee had temporally stopped throbbing and I thought it would be okay. After I got home and showered my knee started to throb again. It got to the point where I could barely walk on it because it hurt so badly. I spent the rest of the day on the couch and Sunday I was in the same pain. By Monday it felt a little better and it has slowly gotten better.

Jill and I are wanting to train for Robie, which is in April.

Bring. It. On!