Canyonlands 1/2 Marathon 09

March 21st was the Canyonlands 1/2 Marathon. It is one of the most beautiful races in the country because the course winds down through the Colorado River canyon into Moab, Utah. I have been going to this race for the last 4 years and every year it is different and more fun! This year I was really disappointed that Paula couldn't run the 1/2 with me and that Noell couldn't go at all but Paula is still nursing a sore back and Noell started a new job so I had to be happy that they both made good decisions! But I do wish they were with us! We also started this year thinking it would be a "girl's weekend" but Priscilla and Barry are staples for this race and the rest of the boys that showed up for the party certainly added great color to the evening! I did miss John and we all missed Scott and Samuel too! But we still managed to have a great time! :)

My race was intended to be a training day with a decent amount of mileage. I think Andrea said it best "a 1/2 marathon with a 1/2 marathon warm up"...almost. I ran up the river canyon to the start of the race. Keith N caught up with me and we ran the last 5 miles together and we really struggled to slow down enough so that we wouldn't end up standing around too much...we still had to wait almost 20 minutes for the start of the race. But the early morning run was peaceful and it was fun getting to know Keith better. He is a bad ass runner and he proved it at the end of the 1/2. I on the other hand had a harder time "laying it down" when it came time to turn up the speed. I ran into Dottie at about mile 3 or 4 and I thought it would be good for me to run easy with her for a while but then at mile 8 when I realized I needed to turn it up I didn't have much left. I honestly felt like running too slow had hurt my legs more than moving at a faster pace. This is not to say that Dottie was running slow, just slower than I am accustomed to running. So when I tried to turn the pace up to a sub-8 I had nothing. Nothing. I was so mad. My legs were sore and tired and wouldn't move. I had the lungs and energy for it but nothing happened when I hit the gas. I can only guess that the training I did the week prior wore my legs out just enough so that when I mile 19 my legs were pooped. The good news is that I know I had the lungs and heart rate for it had I been able to move. It was a great day and although my overall time was disappointing I am really pleased that I ran 24 miles 2 days ago and I feel tired but really strong. I am pretty sure this endurance thing will really suit me once I start to fill in the days with more long work.

The rest of the gang had great races too! Priscilla and Paula both had strong 5 miles and Barry and Keith kicked it on the 1/2.

I can't decide if the best part of the weekend was the retail therapy, the party we had or running 24 miles relatively pain free...once I show you my new shoes you tell me! Paula...what do you think?