This marks the 4th state in which I've completed a race. It was such a beautiful course--I mean who could complain about a sunny morning in the 50s (55 F = 12.7 C)?
I'm glad I decided to go a day earlier than I was initially planning because Delaware, Anaheim CA, and Florida are all at sea level, whereas Idaho Falls is 4,705 ft (1,434 m) above sea level.
Preparation
I thought it would be the elevation that would get me, but no. Not in the least. It was the dry air. The morning of my first practice run, I realized there was not a single drop of moisture in the air, and it made breathing difficult (not to mention the bloody nose I got later that day--TMI, I know!). I kept tweaking my morning runs until I found something that worked to combat the dry air.
If you have a race in a similar climate and are from a humid place, this may be of use:
- Use a nostril saline solution twice a day.
- Dab a Q-tip into Vaseline and lightly coat the inside of your nostrils (just the end of your nostrils; you don't have to go far...lol).
- Hydrate a lot more than you usually would the day before your race and drink a cup of Gatorade before you go to bed.
- Repeat steps 1 and 2 race morning.
This worked like a charm!
Race Day
To say that the course was gorgeous would be an understatement. It went along Snake River, looped into some parks, and entered a stunning desert area with all the beautiful plants and scenery that entails. Once our course met up with the marathoners, the top 4 came speeding past us. I have nothing but awe and respect for them. They were at 17-20 miles at that point and still doing a 6/7 mi/min pace. Much respect to the female marathoner who sped past me! She won the top female award.
I was happy with my time and was within 18 seconds of what I was aiming for, which was crazy!
50 States?
It was a relaxing trip, and I enjoyed my time there. I'm glad I did it.
I joined a few East Coasters before the race. They were 50 Staters (complete a half marathon in every state). I asked about it because it sounds like a great way to see every state, and I'm glad I did. To paraphrase the warning they gave me--
"Be prepared to spend a lot of money, and some states are difficult to get to, let alone host half marathons." They proceeded to tell me about a state that I have zero interest in visiting, how much money it had cost to get there, and how far away the airport was from the venue.
Yeah, I'm not doing that. There are some boring states that I have no interest in, ha ha! I think hitting 25 states would be a better goal for me because I can skip ones like that.