Canyonlands

I have an addiction. Running has become therapy for me. So combine that with my competitive side has led to me racing. Since Canyonlands Half Marathon was my first race ever, it only makes sense to run it again. This year I brought a friend with me. Tilly joined me with Murdock and Steve. 

To be honest I was not in the shape I should have been for this race. But I did better than expected. I was in better shape than I was in last year. Kept up a better pace longer. Didn't feel like I was going to die until later. Motivation to keep trying!

Sitting at the Top Trying to not Freeze

All the Little Ants walking up the hill. 

Post run. The Sun was a Bit Bright.

Tilly and I drove down after her class on Friday. We only kinda got lost a few times. Yeah I know we have such a great sense of direction. We arrived in time to collect our little bag of goodies and meet up for Dinner. Murdock provided some much needed spaghetti and meatballs for us and the families. I love seeing co-workers outside of work. I get to see just how crazy we all really are. 

After Basketball and some relax oils I passed out only to discover my stupid alarm went off. A protein shake and several layers later we were on our way to the buses. 5,000+ people loaded up on buses is quite the scene. Looks like little ants crawling over the hill. I swear it took forever for the race to actually start. They kept playing cheesy Irish music in honor of St. Patrick's Day. But once the race started I just plugged in my own music. I felt pretty good until mile 8 then I slowly began to fade. The worst came up at mile 9--the steepest hill against the wind. I ran and walked the rest of the way. My competitive streak came up on the last mile when the 2:30 pacer creeped up behind me. I ran and sprinted the last 1/2 mile and improved me time by 5 minutes! Final Time--2:29:32!

I'm a bit out of it at this point. I can't bring myself to do an ice bath yet though.

After the race I discovered a few blisters, sat down, and limped around. Tilly and I iced our legs, rubbed some oils on, and took naproxen. We crashed and watched basketball. Of course an ice cream run was needed! The drive home today was slightly painful. I'm still limping around but already planning my next training schedule for the next race!! KT Pro Tape is Amazing stuff by the way. Saved my sore feet a great deal of pain today. 

A View of the Trail