Hi Trippers,

Bib me!

Sorry for the daylong wait in me posting my race results. It’s been a pretty crazy past few days and I’m just now catching my breath.

One word sums up my experience at the REVEL Big Cottonwood Half Marathon… awesome.

From the second I boarded the plane in LA until the moment the wheels touched back down in the City of Angeles, I had an absolute blast (one of my best overall race experiences ever).

One of the reasons this race was so great had nothing to do with the run itself, but rather the people I ran it with. I met up with my friend Maria (aka “BustA Groove”) at LAX and flew to SLC with her and her friend (and now my friend too) Donielle.

In Salt Lake City I met another REVEL Race ambassador for the first time, Alicia (cue another new friend). Add to the mix Erin, Loan, Renita and a few others.

Maniacs in the air.

This race is brought to you by the letters “BQ”

The quest for noodles.

Quest completed!

Race morning with me and the Big Cottonwood gang.

Alicia and I putting on our “serious” faces.

No race is complete without some selfies and a photobomb.

Tired and bling-ed.

Next thing I know I was the token dude amidst a group of great running ladies. From the expo, to carbo-loading to the pre-race shuttle and post race recovery, we all hung out together. Some great bonding and I look forward to running more races with them in the future.

Now, about the race itself.

Keeping warm before the race and channeling my inner chipmunk. Alvin!

I remember standing near the starting line on Saturday morning.

I was way up on a mountain (over 7000′ above sea level) looking at absolutely beautiful scenery and sucking in the crisp 37 degree air amidst friends. And then dawn broke… breathtaking view.

I’d been struggling the last few weeks with my runs and was only 2 weeks removed from my worst race ever.

But at the moment, all trepidation and feelings of self doubt just melted away. This was going to be a great day.

And it was.

The dead legs I had at the Disneyland Half Marathon felt rejuvenated.

As I ran down the mountain course, in between oohs and ahhs of the scenery, I felt myself running stronger with each passing mile (and my smile widening).

Put simply, I was having a blast. And I was running at PR pace. I even saw that I was going to be flirting with breaking the 2-hour mark.

Downhill and done!

I did have one glitch to deal with as my “temporarily repaired orthotic” (new ones were ordered on Wednesday and will be here in two weeks) “unrepaired” itself around mile 10 leading to one heckuva blister and some noticeable discomfort in my right foot for the last 3 miles.

Left foot, ouch. Left foot, ouch. But I kept on running.

In the end, I fell a little short of the 2-hour mark but bested my previous PR by over 2 minutes. It really was a wonderful race.

Oh, and as much as I loved the downhill course, I’m paying for it today. My quads have staged a coup and I’m hobbling around like a drunken toddler.

Totally worth it.

2014 REVEL Big Cottonwood Half Marathon

CHIP TIME– 02:01:00 (PR)

PACE– 9:14 min/mile

CALORIES BURNED– 2,047

I’ve got a few weeks recovery and training time before my next race (The Long Beach Half Marathon on October 12th) and am looking forward to getting back to training.

Race Review for Big Cottonwood to be posted tomorrow.

Run on!