Moab Madness in March

One of my favorite half marathons is the Moab Half in March. This race definitely falls in my top 5 fave runs, after the Ogden Half Marathon and Moab 'Other' Half of course. It's really such a pretty course! This year, living 1,200 miles away from the race I had to make quite the journey to get there. I wanted to drive my car to Utah so I would have a car to take to Moab... I am still undecided as to whether driving to Utah from Oregon is ever a good idea. 12 hours in a car is a long time!

The race was great and the weather was fabulous! Maryn and Ashley made the trip with me and we met up with Traci and Ingrid in Moab who also ran the race. Bryce was nice enough to give up his spot to Ashley, so she was able to do the 5-mile run down the canyon.

In keeping with Moab tradition, we got in trouble the night before the race for being to loud. Traci and I have been asked to quiet down every time we have made the trip. I guess I don't understand why people go to bed at 8pm for a race that starts at 10am? One of life's many questions... I think this is my, "get up off my back it's only 8:00" face.

The night before the race I was having some serious wardrobe anxiety. Typically I would run in a long sleeve and capris in March, but it was 80 degrees! I didn't feel like I hauled the appropriate clothing 1,200 miles for a 13 mile 80 degree run. To ease my mind I tried on all my options for Maryn and Ash. I think really it helped!The day of the race was great, Ashley loved the 5-mile run and did an awesome job.Don't ask me how, but Ashley got a picture of me smiling at the end of the half. It wasn't my best time ever, which was kind of a bummer, but definitely not my worst. All in all a good race.
I was having some serious calf cramping the last 3 miles of the run. When I finished Maryn was so sweet to rub my sweaty calves. Now, that's a real friend! All the runners together... Ingrid, Ashley, Traci and myself . Notice that we're all sitting!
After the race we went to Arches National Park and did some hiking. Ashley and Maryn hadn't been there before so we went all over and took about 14 million pictures! On the hike to Delicate Arch, Maryn decided to bring her huge water bottle. She didn't have anywhere to put it and carrying a 3lb water bottle proved to be annoying. Perfect solution - use it to keep your pants up!

I must explain the picture below... Nicea, from Good Things Utah, was in Moab with her family. Her husband ran the half marathon. We saw them at dinner the night before the race and did the whisper down the table "look at the famous person" thing. The next day we ran into them at Subway and her husband chatted with us while we waited an hour for our sandwhiches. (YES, and hour!) Then, we ran into them hiking up to Delicate Arch and we talked them into hiking all the way down to see the arch. (They were offically stalking us by this time - obviously). They were nice enough to take a couple pictures of us under the arch. As they were clicking pictures they yelled, "Do something cool!" and below is the coolest we could come up with on the spot.... (I think we may need to work on our 'cool' poses). The next day we did even more hiking. I swear you could have a week in that park and never see the whole thing! I decided that Maryn should be a model and I should be her photographer. I really think we have a serious career on our hands.
Ashley and I were going to climb up into that hole, but once we got over there it seemed a little over our heads, if you know what I mean. We opted to just point at the cool hole in the rock.
Thanks for coming girls, it was such a fun trip. The thousands of miles of driving and broken foot was totally worth it, but that's a story for another time.

Moab Half Marathon

Traci and I ran another half in Moab. We had a really fun time!! The weather was beautiful and it was a gorgeous run, aside from the last 2 miles on the highway... and we didn't even get a late night phone call to the hotel telling us to quiet down! To get in the Spring half marathon you have to put your name in a lottery and be chosen to run. There were 5,000 runners and luckily Traci and I both got in, whoo hoo - Who wants to do that alone! I was suprised how many people from Salt Lake I saw in Moab on such a busy weekend. Run on little runners!

The Moab Experiment

"Running has given me the courage to start, the determination to keep trying, and the childlike spirit to have fun along the way. Run often and run long, but never outrun your joy of running." - Julie Isphording (Olympic Runner)

I don't consider myself a experienced runner, barely even a runner actually. I have only done about 8 races, but this last weekend I did an experiment. I haven't trained for a race since I did the Wasatch Back Relay in June. After that, Traci - my dedicated and fast running partner, decided that we should run The Other Half Marathon in Moab on October 21st. On an impulse I agreed to run and in the next breath decided that I didn't feel like training for it. Instead, I would do my regular gym routine without running and see if I could manage on race day. Silly, I know, but an experiment all the same. Months past and the day of the race crept quickly upon us. Last Saturday, Traci, Bonnie and I packed up the explorer and left snowy SLC, and headed for Moab. After four hours of girl talk we arrived in Moab, picked up our race packets and checked into the Apache Motel - "Where John Wayne Stayed." Old, inexpensive, but surprisingly very clean, I was quite content with the rooming choice. After a night of eating, talking, and getting a call from the front desk asking us to quite down because people were running the next day... we went to bed.

5:30 am, Sunday, I open my eyes just enough to see the alarm clock. 15 minutes before I have to get up... MAN, I hate when I do that! I could hear water running and see the light coming from the bathroom with my squinty eyes. I knew Traci was already up. I put the pillow over my head and thought, what kind of crazy sport is this that I have to wake up 3 hours before the race even starts! Knowing I had no choice because soon the alarm clock and 2 cell phone alarms would be going off ,forcing me out of bed, I got up. We changed our clothes, pinned on our race numbers and bundled up since we would be up the canyon an hour before the race started and it was 35 degrees outside. Bonnie drove Traci and I to the runner drop off, there we boarded the shuttle buses that would take us to the top of the canyon to start the race.

On the bus we were surrounded by excited runners and rumblings of each runner telling the stranger sitting next to them how and when they started running, Traci and I fell asleep. When we arrived at the starting line near the top of the canyon the sun had risen. The sky was gray, but slowly the clouds were moving showing signs of a beautiful day. The air was cool and crisp. All I could think was, they better have a fire here to huddle around because the 4 shirts and tiger striped gloves I have on are not doing the trick. Traci and I quickly found an opening at one of the 10 fire pits and claimed our spots. The fire felt nice, but the pessimist in me knew the smell of camp fire was permeating my clothes and hair, something I would just have to smell for the next few hours.

20 minutes before the race was about to start Traci decided to brave the 100 yd line to the port-o-potty's while I stayed at the fire observing the runners around me. There were 2 girls from Chicago, who had flown to SLC just to run and see the mountains and red rock. A mother and daughter so dolled up they could have been in a fashion show huddling close to stay warm. 3 friends talking about how nervous they were and didn't want to be the last to cross the finish line. The time finally came, 8:20, time to strip off all the extra layers of clothing, set the heart rate monitor get and the iPod ready. Traci and I walked to the starting line. The clouds had disappeared and blue sky was all we could see. We are very lucky, I thought, this race is already off to a good start. Approx. 1,500 runners stood in a clump waiting for the sound of something to indicate it was time to go. I didn't hear any kind of signal, but the crowd began to move quickly across the starting line. My foot crossed the line, I hit the start button on my iPod and heart rate monitor and thought, here we go...

The first 2 miles felt good. I stared at the mountains as I ran wondering why I don't take time more often to enjoy the views that Utah has to offer. The girls from Chicago stopped to take a picture. At every mile marker I looked at my watch. Pacing my miles just to see where I was. Water stops every 2 miles, I took advantage of that. Miles 2 - 4 felt even better. I was getting into the groove although I was already grumbling because I could still smell the campfire in my hair and on my shirt. I was enjoying MXPX blaring in my ears and watching as each runner found their pace and took their place on the canyon road. By mile 4 I started counting down, 9 miles left! I was in single digits now... the first big milestone of the race. When mile 6 came I could feel myself losing the energy I had before. My pace was slowing and my IT bands were aching. Not even half way yet . They were handing out CLIF shots on the side of the road. I took one, mango flavor, I have never tried one before... ha, i suppose now is as good as time as to try it. I squirted the mango flavored goo in my mouth, took a drink of water and went on my way. It wasn't terrible. I don't know if it was the CLIF shot or my fabulous music, but my energy returned. Mile 6.5 is when the hills started. Up, up, up, down for a minute and then up all over again. I won't lie, it was hard, but I reminded myself how lucky I am to have a body that can sustain the impact. At mile 10 as I climbed the last hill listening to Metallica, Turn the Page, on my iPod I could hear the faint sound of drums. I looked up and immediately saw 8 people at the top of the hill pounding on huge congo-type drums and shouting words of encouragement to the runners passing. I paused my iPod, listened to the drums and watched as each runner's legs began to move in sync to the beat. That's when I knew I was surrounded by an amazing group of people who, for whatever reason, were pushing themselves to be a better person. I rounded the top of that last hill, and when I got to mile 11 I could look down the canyon and see the finish line. The last 2.1 miles were easy and as I crossed the finish line I looked at Traci and said, "I would do that again to burn 1,500 calories."

The conclusion to my experiment...
1 - My body can run 13 miles without any obvious problems.
2 - Hills are hard, especially when you haven't trained.
3 - When I got to the top and could see the finish line, I took a deep breath, amazed I could breathe and ready to do it again next year.