In the weeks and days leading up to this trip, I was pretty wary of the driving. It was such a long drive up to Sun Valley, Idaho. While I do love road trips, my mind tends to think about all the things that could go wrong. Why didn't I just fly? Well, I haven't been vaccinated yet for COVID and just wasn't ready to start mingling with other people in such close quarters.
After my usual morning walk around the neighborhood, I got ready and hit the road just a little past 7 am. Per the usual, before hopping on the freeway, I stopped at the local Chevron gas station to fill up the gas tank. The price of premium 91 octane gas here was $4.49 per gallon.
Getting gas before starting my trip
Lemon kale Caesar salad
After I finished my meal, I used the restroom in the lobby before hopping in the car to continue on with my road trip. Before hopping back on the 15 freeway, I drove over to the Chevron gas station around the corner to fill up the gas tank. The price of premium 91 octane gas here was $4.13 per gallon.
Filling up the tank in Vegas
The next stretch was to see how far the tank of gas would take me. Unfortunately, the traffic on the freeway came to a standstill out near the Moapa area. Couldn't tell what was happening up ahead. After what seemed like forever, it became a crawl and eventually the speeds picked up as I neared the border of Arizona. After about 230 miles and 4.5 hours later, I exited in Beaver to fill up the gas tank at the Chevron gas station. After I was done pumping gas, I went inside to use their restroom. The price of premium 91 octane gas here was $3.99 per gallon.
Filling up the tank in Beaver
The final stretch for today was into the city of Provo. It took about 2 hours to cover 150 miles. I had booked a one night stay at the Days Inn near the intersection of N University Parkway and N Freedom Blvd. Since I was driving through and needed a place to crash for only a one-nighter, this was one of the cheapest places in the area. I checked-in and was assigned room #222.
Days Inn Provo
After I got settled into my room, I hopped back in my car and drove over to the nearby Chick-fil-A to pick up dinner. I ordered a cobb salad with grilled nuggets and a fruit cup on the mobile app and went inside to wait for my order. I took the food back to my room to enjoy while watching some WWE Friday Night SmackDown!
Cobb salad with grilled nuggets and fruit cup
WWE Friday Night SmackDown!
Saturday 6/26
I got ready, checked out of my room, and hit the road just a few minutes before 8 am local time. As I drove through Utah, I noticed that there were a lot of American flags being flown. It wasn't just the standard size, it was the very large sized flag. I guess that makes sense since I drove past Colonial Flag located in Sandy, Utah. Using yesterday's leftover gas, I drove for about 1.5 hours, covering about 110 miles before exiting at Tremonton to fill up the gas tank at a Chevron gas station. The price for premium 91 octane here was $3.81 per gallon.
Filling up the tank in Tremonton
After about 200 miles and almost 3 hours later, I rolled into the town of Hailey. It was too early to check-in, so I drove straight to McDonald's to eat lunch. For some reason, I couldn't get the McDonald's app to work properly, so I had to order the old fashion way. I saw on their menu board that they had a $3 bundle deal. For the deal, I got a McDouble and a small order of fries. I added a large unsweetened iced tea for an additional $1.
Lunch at McDonald's
After I was done with my meal, I hopped in the car and drove over to the Sun Valley Mall. Packet pick up didn't start until 3 pm. I had almost 2 hours to pass, so I decided to get in my daily steps and take a little walk around town. In particular, I wanted to check out Ernest Hemingway's final resting place over at the Ketchum Cemetery. The walk over was nice until I got onto Main St where the road didn't have a sidewalk. I guess, it was a warmup for tomorrow's race. Near the end of my walk, I seemed to have strained my left calf a bit. That calf just doesn't seem to want to loosen up lately.
Talking a walk through Ketchum
Ketchum Cemetery
RIP Ernest Hemingway
After I returned back to the Sun Valley Mall parking lot, I walked over to the Boiler Room which was the venue for the packet pick up. There were a few others waiting there when I arrived. Eventually, they were ready and let us in even though it was still almost 30 minutes before 3 pm. Similar to the Revel Wasatch race, it was a really quick process. I pretty much picked up my bib at the first table, then I got my race shirt and a bag full of race swag. It was a very fast in-and-out 5 minute process.
This way to packet pick up
Race packet pick up
The Boiler Room
Race shirt
Race swag
I then hopped in my car and drove over to my motel. I had booked a one night stay at the Airport Inn in Hailey. I was about 30 minutes early for the 4 pm check-in time, but the lady was able to get me checked into my room. She had to move me into a room (#206) that was just cleaned. She kept cautioning me to be careful as the floor could be still wet. While I was getting settled into my room, I had noticed that they had soft water when I went to wash my hands with the regular motel soap. I also noticed that there was a bible on the night stand. I haven't been seeing too many bibles in hotels these days.
Hotel from the main road
Airport across the street
Airport Inn
For dinner, I decided to stick with my usual pre-race meal at McDonald's. Before heading over, I decided to see if I could fix the issue with the crappy McDonald's app. I uninstalled the app and reinstalled it on my phone. That seemed to fix it. I ordered 2 McChicken sandwiches and a hamburger Happy Meal. I brought the meal back to my room to enjoy while watching the Dodgers game versus the Cubs.
Happy Meal toy
They're hiring!
Dinner from McDonald's
It was a tight game, but Urias has been pitching well this year and was able to keep the game close. I laid out my flat runner and realized that I did not pack my belt that I normally use to hold my phone as well as to hold the race bib. I can't remember when was the last time that I had to pin a race bib to my shirt! The game ended with an unlikely walk-off homerun by Bellinger. Man, has he been struggling this season!
Urias pitching, Dodgers vs. Cubs
Flat runner
Walk-off home run from Bellinger
I followed up that exciting baseball game with some 2020 US Olympic Team Trials. I enjoyed watching both the women's 10,000 meter final and 200 meter final. After that, it was time to call it a night.
2020 US Olympic Team Trials Women's 10,000 meter final
2020 US Olympics Team Trials Women's 200 meter final
Winner, Gabby Thomas
2nd place, Jenna Prandini
3rd place, Anavia Battle
Sunday 6/27
I got ready, packed up my stuff, and checked out of my room at about a quarter before 4 am. I hopped in the car and drove over to Ketchum to catch the shuttle at the event parking lot on Dollar Rd. The lot was just East of the Sun Valley Rd. The drive over was quite dark and I was a bit wary that some wildlife might jump out in front of my car. Thankfully, there was no such encounter. I got there right around 4:15 am which was when I was assigned to board the shuttle. I grabbed my water bottle and headed over to the line to board the shuttle. To get on the shuttle, they needed my COVID-19 screening questionnaire.
COVID-19 screening questionnaire
Parking and busing map
The shuttle took us North on the 75. The start line location was a few miles past Galena where it loops back just beyond the Horse Creek. The shuttle had to go further down the road a bit to turn around and drop us off. I got in line to use one of the portapotties. As each wave was released, the guy on the mic instructed us to get in a single file line on the left side of the road. He reminded us that the road is open and to stay to the left of the cones. I started in the 5:40 am wave.
Coming into this race, I was worried about my left Achilles giving me trouble. However, everything felt good during that first mile. I definitely made sure not to over do it, so I stuck around the 9 min per mile pace. As I was running, I noticed that my shorts kept slipping down. Have I lost that much weight or has the elastic band started to weaken? I kept having to tug on my shorts to get them up, so I finally found a good spot to pull over and tie the waistband. I ended up following bib #2549. She would go on to finish in 4:13:09, 9:39 min/mile pace. No wonder I couldn't keep up with her after about 7 miles.
Start line
Portapotties
Mile 7
It was a pretty scenic course and since I had to hold my phone in my hand, I was more inclined to take pictures along the way. However, I was not a fan of the open road. Some of those cars were driving way too close and way too fast! Also by mile 11, the sun was out in full force and making things warm. I got to the halfway point in 2:15:36. I ran a little bit with Marathon Maniac, Bill Jones from WA. Eventually, I couldn't keep up with him.
Mile 8
Mile 10
Mile 11
Mile 12
Mile 13
Mile 14
Mile 15
Mile 16
Mile 17
Mile 18
Mile 19
Per the usual, I was beginning to struggle during mile 20. My pace was slowing and I was having to take more frequent walk breaks. As I reached the mile 23 marker, I pulled over to use the portapotty. I noticed that for some reason, my phone was quickly running out of charge. Something must have been running in the background. About half a mile down the road, I finally was able to get off of the 75 and hop on the Wood River Trail off of Sage Rd. There were some rollers during this section, but at least it was pretty well shaded by the trees. Thankfully, I was able to run most of that final mile down to the finish line at Atkinson Park. This would be the first time that I've ever run my phone battery all the way to empty.
Mile 20
Mile 21
Mile 22
A little welcome respite from that blazing sun!
Finish: 4:49:44
Click here for my Garmin data.
After crossing the finish line, I got my finisher medal. Revel races always has classy well-designed medals! I then got some post-race snacks and a bottle of water from the table. I also picked up my post-race meal. It would turn out that my meal ticket had a secondary timing chip on it. It was about the size of a shirt button.
Finisher medal
Finisher photo
Post race snacks, water, and race results
I received an email on May 28th asking participants to make our selection for the post race meal. The choices were:
- Turkey & Swiss on White, Lettuce, Tomato, and Condiments on the Side - Kettle Chips and Cookie
- Ham & Cheddar on Wheat, Lettuce, Tomato, and Condiments on the Side - Kettle Chips and Cookie
- Garden Salad - Spring Mix, Tomato, Cucumber, Red Onion, Shredded Carrots - Ranch or Balsamic dressing
- Veggie Sandwich - Gluten-Free/Dairy-Free Bread, Hummus, Lettuce, Tomato, Cucumber, Shredded Carrots, Red Onion, and Bell Peppers
I went with option #1.
Post race food box
Back to my car
After I got my stuff in order, I hopped in the car and started heading on out. I first drove down to Bellevue which wasn't too far past Hailey. I stopped at the Chevron gas station to fill up the gas tank. I also went inside to use the restroom once I was done pumping gas. The price for premium 91 octane gas here was $3.75 per gallon.
Filling up the tank in Bellevue
Baymont Provo River
I arrived just in time to catch the start of the Dodgers game against the Cubs with Kershaw as the starter. I finally ate the turkey sandwich post-race meal box while watching the game. At about 7:30 pm, I took a break from the game, hopped in the car, and drove over to the nearby McDonald's to pick up a quick dinner. I wasn't exactly hungry yet, but earlier in the week, I received an email from McDonald's informing me that some of my reward points were about to expire. So I used a bunch of my points to get a free Quarter Pounder with cheese. I added a small order of their delicious french fries. The Dodgers win easily with a score of 7-1. Kershaw pitched 8 innings, striking out 13 batters.
Dodgers vs. Cubs
Dinner at McDonald's
Before calling it a night, I watched some Rick and Morty. It was the episode called, Mortyplicity... the one about decoys.
Decoys!
Monday 6/28
I wanted to get an early start for the drive home as the traffic can be quite bad going through Las Vegas.
I got ready, packed, and hit the road before 6 am local time. I drove about 20 miles South into the town of Payson before getting off of the freeway to fill up the gas tank at the Chevron gas station. The price for premium 91 octane gas here was $3.75 per gallon.
Filling up the tank in Payson
I drove for about 4.5 hours before rolling into Las Vegas at just before 10 am. Upon exiting the freeway, I drove straight to the usual Chick-fil-A on Flamingo Rd to get some breakfast. I got their hash brown scramble bowl meal with Greek yogurt parfait and a large Sunjoy. I drove over to my timeshare property on Tropicana to enjoy my food and the free Wi-Fi internet. After finishing my breakfast, I used the lobby restroom before continuing on with my trip.
Greek yogurt parfait
Hash brown scramble bowl
Before hopping back on the freeway, I stopped at the Chevron gas station just right around the corner on Decatur Blvd to fill up the gas tank for the final stretch. The price of premium 91 octane gas here was $4.15 per gallon. It has gone up 2 cents a gallon in just 3 days.
Filling up the tank in Las Vegas
The section between Las Vegas and home is my least favorite as the majority of drivers do not understand that you drive on the right lane and the left lane is only used for passing. At around noon, just as I was approaching Yermo, the two cars in front of me broke hard, so I followed suit. Unfortunately, for me the car in front of me ran over something and kicked the road debris right into my car. It smashed my windshield hard enough that I was covered in tiny pieces of glass shards. Thank goodness for tempered glass. Although there was a hole that grew slowly, it held together for the remainder of the drive. For a brief moment, I had considered pulling over to inspect the damage, but it was well over 100 degrees outside and there wasn't anything that I could really do about it, so I kept driving. Once I got home, I saw that the debris did way more damage than I had originally anticipated. It dented the hood and tore up the left front end. The plastic trim around the left wheel well also tore off.
My poor Mini Cooper sustained considerable damage from road debris that was kicked up by the car in front of me just outside of Yermo :(
That was how my road trip concluded. Although it was quite a bummer the way it ended, I was grateful that it happened near the end of my trip and not at the beginning or in the middle of my trip.
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