Saying I bawled my eyes out would be a huge understatement!
I set out to run the Park City Trail 15K on August 10, 2013, my first trail run after two years of stupid hip drama FAI surgery blah blah crap. The course is all on dirt roads and single-track trail on Park City, Utah’s Round Valley trail system.
Before the race I demanded three hugs from my good friend Andrea, I really wanted more, but I was afraid to ask. My goal was to average 10-minute pace, which I was pretty nervous about. I started with the 9-10 minute peeps, but quickly realized that I was a little overly stoked for that pace.
I hit the first two miles at 8:30 pace and I felt great so I changed my goal and just went for it and didn’t get passed once after mile two. I ran up a hill, bombed the downhill, and it was so much fun!!! I was sort of sad that none of my friends made it to the finish because they were still out on their cool-down, yet that was also pretty awesome because they didn’t think I would be finished for quite some time. I showed them and myself too!
After the race I walked back to my car and burst into tears, and they were tears of happiness and hopefulness and sadness and stoke all rolled into one. Not to sound overdramatic, but just a few months prior the idea of running for more than a few minutes at a time seemed like an insurmountable task to me. Now I just ran 9.5 at a not super slow pace – holy crap! I then text my Dad because I knew he would be the happiest for me. Having undergone four ankle surgeries in the last few years and spending more than half a year on crutches, my Dad understands more than anyone how hard I have worked and how much I have overcome.
SO HAPPY – oh my gosh! I then annoyed everyone all day, by bursting out, “I CAN’T BELIEVE I CAN RUN, LIKE FOR REALS RUN” at least every 15 minutes. I am so absolutely thrilled to be where I am at right now and enjoying every minute of it.