busy bee adventures first half marathon in grand tetons vacation races

Jackson Hole, WY

My First Half Marathon – Grand Teton Vacation Races

August 19, 2023

This past June, I ran my first half marathon (ever) in the Grand Tetons! The company I signed up through is called Vacation Races and it was such a blast. Completing this race was definitely my biggest goal for 2023, and I’m so glad I did it! It was such an amazing experience and I learned alot about myself a long the way. I’m going to tell you all about my experience, from signing up, to training, to getting my medal. Hopefully I’ll inspire you to set big goals for yourself (even if it’s not running a half marathon!)

Table of Contents

BACK STORY:

Getting Into Running and Choosing My First Half Marathon:

I feel it’s important to tell the story of how & why I ended up pushing myself to crush this goal and how I ended up choosing the particular race I did. Back in 2020, I started casually running at parks nearby. I got bored during all the shutdowns and just started by using the Couch to 5K app on my phone. From there, I worked my way up to running 5ks & 10ks, and I quickly started to realize how much I enjoyed striving to reach the next distance. After completing a few 10ks and even a 15k, I knew my first half marathon was the next step. I started looking for fun themed half marathons near me and happened to stumble upon Vacation Races. They organize races near national parks & after I found the Grand Teton Half, my heart was set on doing it!

My Inspiration:

Now this next part is why I really wanted to tell the whole backstory. I really wanted to run this particular race in Wyoming, but I couldn’t find anyone to go with. My friends & family aren’t super into running and my husband couldn’t take off work to go with, so I had pretty much talked myself out of doing it. Then in January, a loved one got in a scary car wreck and it changed my perspective. It was one of those moments in life where you realize how quickly things can change and how short life can be and it inspired me to do this race – even if it meant doing it myself!

Meeting Mary:

I put a random Facebook post out about the race, just to see if anyone would do it with me. I was lucky enough to find someone from my high school who was bold and ready to take on this experience with me, even though we barely knew eachother! Her name is Mary and we realized pretty quick how much we had in common. We kept in touch throughout our training using the Strava app and cheered eachother on virtually. When we met up in Wyoming and ran the race together, we became friends pretty much instantly. I could not be more proud that I put myself out there like that. It ended with me making a GREAT new friend and we had the best experience.

Training:

When I decided to begin training for this, the longest I had run without a walk break was a 10k (6.2miles). So taking on training to complete a half marathon (13.1 miles) was tough at times. I followed the Hal Higdon intermediate training plan. It’s a 12 week plan that has you run about 4x per week & mixes in cross training and rest days. His plan also gives you suggestions for when to fit in your strength training if you plan to do it.

My advice – DON’T skip strength training – even if it’s just body weight exercises twice a week. I didn’t incorporate strength training and I definitely regret it. My leg muscles were always fatigued after longer runs and it definitely hindered me during my racie. I did enjoy my training quite a bit though. It was fun to run longer distances than I ever had before and to just feel so accomplished week to week. Occassionally, I’d bring my dog, Ollie, on shorter runs to make things even more fun, or sometimes my husband would ride his bike alongside me while I ran. Having good running buddies, good running playlists, and good snacks for after the runs are the biggest things that got me through my training. Oh & definitely hot baths with epsom salts to help with soreness 😄

Here are my best tips if you’re planning to train for any kind of race:

The first thing you need to do is buy good running shoes – I LOVE my asics. They’re like clouds for your feet. My friend ran in Bro oks Ghosts 14 and I now own them too because I loved hers so much. If neither of these are your style, go to your local running store. They will assess your foot shape and your running style and recommend the best shoe for you!
Use something to track your training. It’s so fun to look back on all you’ve done! I used both Strava and my Apple Watch to keep track of everything.
- If you’re in the market for a running watch, check out the Garmin Forerunner. It’s super popular among runners and has awesome features. I already owned an Apple Watch, so I just use that.
If you’ve never done a race before, try signing up for a 5k or a shorter race during your training. This will give you an idea of the experience and how the day of a race works, so you’re not going in to your big day completely unsure of what to expect.
Don’t run the same route every day/every week. You’ll get bored, but also your body can adapt to that route and hit a plateau. Even if you only have one area to run in, try running it backwards sometimes or starting from a different point to switch things up.

Race Day:

Our race day began around 345 am. We got up, quickly got ready, and got on a shuttle to the start line. The race company provided warm buses from different areas around town to the start line, and had raffle prices and entertainment at the start line to keep us busy while we warmed up. We spent the first bit of the morning trying to stay warm and getting ready to begin the big race. I live in Texas and by June it was already pretty hot back home, so being in the mountains in Wyoming wearing fleece headbands and coats was a bit refreshing actually. Plus, once the sun came out and we started running, we warmed up quickly.

One thing I wasn’t quite prepared for was the altitude. The course of the race was at over 6000 feet of elevation and where I live is around 450 feet, so that’s a big jump. Some people are less affected by altitude than others, but unfortunetly, it usually gets to me.

busy bee adventures half marathon grand tetons vacation races

The run itself was beautiful. We had views of mountains, we ran past ranches with the horses cheering us on, and we even had a few bridge crossings over super lush rivers. It felt like being in a Hallmark movie! One fun thing about this race company, something I’ve never seen at another race before, was their app where friends and family could track my run from home. The app sent them updates when I crossed certain mile markers and it even let them send little cheers that would read out in my headphones while I was running. It was so heart warming to get these little cheers, especially over half way through the race when I was getting pretty tired and sore.

Heres a little breakdown of my thoughts and feelings throughout the 13.1 miles:

Mile 1-5 ish: I was mostly taking in the sights and settling into a good pace to not wear myself out. I was jammin’ to my “Chill Mountain Run” playlist I found on Spotify & I was feeling good during this part! I did have to stop and use a porta potty after only 2 miles but hey, atleast I was hydrated.
Mile 6-7: I started getting tired and sore around this point. I could really feel the fatigue in my legs. My average heart rate was pretty high (160-170 bpm) even though I was at a slower pace. I think a lot of this was due to elevation & probably excitement/adrenaline just from the whole experience. I grabbed some electrolyte drinks from the fuel stations and focused on keeping going.
Mile 8-10: Things started getting a little tougher around mile 8. I was feeling an intense pain in my leg & hip that I’ve never had before. It felt like I couldn’t bend or move my leg correctly. In all honesty, I was feeling pretty discouraged and it took a lot for me to push through this. I’m usually pretty self-motivated, but I was really relying on the cheers from my family on the mobile race app to make it.
Mile 11-13.1: The last two miles or so were probably both the hardest and the most fun at the same time. All the spectators were lined up just cheering for us and the feeling of crossing the finish line and finishing this huge goal made me feel really emotional. Even now, writing about it, brings back such a good, gushy feeling. There’s nothing quite like the feeling of thinking you’re tapped out and have nothing left, but then realizing you’ve got what it takes to accomplish what you set out to do.

Final Thoughts:

I did struggle through the race a little more than I hoped to. Like I mentioned earlier, I think doing more strength training leading up to the race would’ve helped me a lot. My legs got so tired and I ended up needing more walk breaks than I planned on. But in the end, 13.1 miles is 13.1 miles, whether you run the whole thing, walk the whole thing, or a mixture of both. I’m so happy to just say I did it and made it to the finish line with awesome views and I gained a great new friend in the process. I learned so much and I couldn’t have asked for a better first experience for my first half marathon!