My Battle At Soldier Hollow

The 2010 race season is officially underway. My goal for this year is to run at least one race each month, hitting every distance from a 5K to a full marathon. For months, I've been looking forward to this little spin on the 5K adventure. A SNOWSHOE 5K! This past weekend, I ran the Battle At Soldier Hollow (BASH) Snowshoe 5K. It was my first snowshoe race, and it was a BLAST! Since it was the inaugural BASH snowshoe 5K, so there wasn't too big of a turnout, possibly 50 or so racers.

I did better than I thought I would, most likely due to the snow being so packed down. Nonetheless, it was still a killer workout. I love the beginning of races, once the nerves get flushed out. It's when I catch myself smiling and enjoying the scenery around me. This race did not fail. As soon as the gun went off, I immediately cracked a smile as I adjusted my running pattern to accommodate for the very large contraptions strapped to my winter boots. It didn't take long to get into a rhythm, and at one point thought to myself... "I got this. This isn't bad at all!" That was when I thought I was at the halfway point, but I was, in fact, NOT. I was probably a quarter to a half mile from the turnaround point. Once I hit the ACTUAL turnaround point, I was then thinking... "Okay, this is pretty hard." I kept pushing through, but my mind got the best of me the last half mile, when I had to stop and walk a few of times, but not to worry... it was never more than a minute combined, and I KNEW no other female was going to catch up to me. Unfortunately, I also knew the female ahead of me was going to extend her lead. Oh well... I decided I'd battle it out for second. I finished strong with a time of 28:35, and even though I was the number one loser, I DID get comments on how stylish I looked. Second place overall female isn't bad for my first time out, and hey... I lost with STYLE. Just wait until next year. I plan on smashing it.

As for the rest of the year, here are my racing plans. I dare you all to join me! :)

February - Sweethearts 5K (Bountiful)

March - Shamrock 5K (with AJ & Emily Ty) & L.A. Marathon

April - La Jolla Half Marathon

May - Smithfield Days 5K/10K (not sure which distance I'll run)

June - Utah Valley 5K & Ragnar Relay Wasatch Back

July - Freedom Run 15K (Blacksmith Fork Canyon) & Provo 10K

August - Top Of Utah Half Marathon

September - Top Of Utah 5K or Pocatello 5K

October - I'll find something... possibly Ragnar Relay Las Vegas

November - Malibu Half Marathon & Turkey Trot 5K

December - Moab 10K

Whew... that's a lot of miles. I'm looking forward to making more memories and PRs.

"Consistency requires discipline. Force yourself out the door."

-Bob Glover & Shelly-Lynn Florence Glover