Recap: Legacy Midnight Half Marathon - Farmington, UT

OK, so this report is way overdue. Immediately after the two races this particular weekend (which I found out too late was too soon after the onset of my last severe depressive episode that I was starting to come out of) I fell into another deep depression upon my return home Monday evening. I ended up sleeping almost literally (being awake maybe 3-4 hours a day and doing absolutely nothing) for the following 3-4 weeks before going into an upwardly manic phase in addition to PMS and the most hellish week of constant hot flashes for about a week. Coming down has been a relatively moderate depression but I am more functional and can actually complete single tasks at a time. While this in an improvement it's un-nerving that I no longer have the ability to multi-task. Whatever, just rambling...here's the recap.

Race Day: Friday, August 3, 2012 @ 8:30pm

Legacy Midnight Half Marathon - Farmington, UT
Race day minus one 
I had an 11 hour or so drive to Hill AFB, UT where I would be staying for 2 nights for this race. I had left home on bad terms essentially giving the husband the option to try to move out of his funk and do something around the house while I was gone, especially since he wasn't in school. I expected nothing hard just washing dishes, helping me take care of the dogs, occasionally working in the yard and doing something to the living room wall that has been in remodel mode now for 4 years (we have not had a functioning living room in that time, good thing we don't do any entertaining). The ultimatum of if nothing happens either he or I would be leaving the house permanently. So needless to say I was already not in a good frame of mind.

I enjoy driving so the drive through northern NM, the lower south corner of CO and the push through to Hill AFB (Provo), UT was calming and I loved going back through/past Moab, Zion and Arches National Parks. I arrived late at night at the base, checked in and almost immediately went to bed.

Race Day 
Since this was a night race starting at around 8:30pm I basically just stayed in my room trying to get extra sleep. Absolutely got no sightseeing in in Salt Lake City as it was my second time there and the first time was only a 3 hour stop over with my infant daughter in a stroller on the way back home from my MILs house in ID back in the late 80's. Got up in time for a late lunch and then headed out to pick up my packet at the starting line. Since I had another hour before the race, I went back to the base and just chilled in the room for about 45 minutes before heading back to the start.

I picked up some of the free glow necklaces, bracelets and rings. In addition I was wearing a microfiber, multicolor lighted mohawk headband and had criss-crossed my torso with mini LED battery operated Christmas light (whose tiny wires couldn't take the bouncing and broke leaving me without my Christmas lights). We were bused the 13.1 miles out to the start and after getting bitten by several mosquitoes I finally found some bug spray and was good for the night. As the race started we ran on a path along a canal then eventually got on the path that follows parallel to I-70 north. I was doing well, even for not training and essentially having only run a couple of times in 8 weeks, and was even heading for a personal PR improving by about 3-5 minutes. Then it happened, the cramping started in my right calf at around mile 10. Prior to this point I had been following a run/walk/run method with the running increasing from 3-5 minutes by the time I started cramping. I continued to stretch and then run until the cramping started again. By mile 11 or 11.5 I was cramping so bad that I gave in and walked/stretched the remaining miles. When I got close to the finish line my calf went into a severe cramp which resulted in me almost in tears trying to get over the line so I could get some assistance. As I crossed, two young men came to my aid and each took a side of me as I collapsed and assisted me to the ground away from the finish line and literally right on the back of the inflatable arch. After about 10 minutes I had managed to stretch most of the cramp out and hobbled over to pick up my finishing medallion (kind of cheesy light-up, plastic flashing medallion). I made my way back to the base, stopped at the shoppette to pick up 40 pounds of ice and took a 25 minute ice bath before heading to bed.

Race Day + 1 
I made it out of lodging by 8:30am after having locked myself out while packing up the car for about an hour. As I was a mile and a half away from the lodging office I tried to find a housekeeper or supervisor to let me into my room. Unfortunately, all were in a meeting and I would just have to wait for them to report to this buildings office. I finally got on the road to Las Vegas for that night's race (ET Full Moon Midnight Half Marathon) for my 8 hour drive on about 3 hours sleep.

Final/Official Time: 2:57:20.4

Things I liked about this race:
The course was nice and primarily flat, well cared for. I would consider it an an easy course nice for beginners.

Things I didn't like about this race:
Finishers plastic flashing medallion, the fact that the race started next to a canal and mosquitoes were abundant.

Would I do this race again?
Only if they got better medals. I don't mean that it's not a good race, but I want real bling.