ELEVATION

I finished my second half marathon on Saturday. The Canyonlands (Moab) Half Marathon. My official time was 02:06:06. I have known since December that I would be running when my team was selected. My sister, Sarah, and I have been trash talking for weeks about who would win the race. I won but I think she may have asthma or bad allergies so I'm not so sure my win counts.

This half marathon was much harder than my last. The combination of the heat and the elevation was a killer. This first chart is the elevation chart for the Moab race. The second is the elevation chart for the Phoenix race. You can see that Phoenix was much flatter and at a lower elevation.

The start of the race was cold. We rode a Moab adventure bus up the canyon. As soon as we got off the bus we jumped in line for the porta-potties. We ran into Chelsea who was on our racing team. I decided it was time to get one energy gel down. I thought that an apple pie flavor sounded good. I was wrong. This apple pie did not taste like apple pie mostly due to the texture. I wish I had a picture of Sarah's face as she got her first taste, it was priceless.

We stretched out and started to walk up the hill to the start line. I was reluctant to take off my fleece and throw my bag into a truck to meet me at the finish line. We still had over a half hour before the race would start. We waited as everyone crowded in.

The time came for the race to start. Everyone slowly started moving forward. Then we were jogging as we zigzagged our way through the crowd. It was exhilarating to look down the first hill and see hundreds of people all running. Being in a group where everyone has come with the same goal in mind is powerful. The first two miles were awesome. I ran with my sister and Chelsea and we passed the two mile mark after 18 minutes.

My plan was to run two miles (or to each water station) and then walk one minute while I downed Gatorade. This plan worked well for the first 6 miles. Then I had to go to the bathroom. They only had one porta-potty at each water station. I really had to go at 4 miles but didn't want to wait in line. At mile 6 there were only two ladies in front of me so I thought it would be quick. I waited for about 4 minutes. I was the next person in line but I couldn't continue standing watching everyone run by me. So I jumped out of line and kept running. This was one time being a girl really stinks. I saw guy after guy run to the side of the road to relieve himself and I had to just hold it. I downed a chocolate outrage GU which didn't taste too bad, it kind of tasted like chocolate pudding. Miles 6 to 8 which were grueling. I gave up on the whole running two miles walking one minute idea.

I eventually got to the point where the five mile run had started, there were 30-40 porta-potties in a row and I was able to run right into one. The next big challenge was the huge hill between mile 9 and 10. I made it up the hill and reached mile 10 where a group of drummers picked up my spirits. Once I got on the main highway into Moab I felt much better. I knew the end was in sight. It was fun to see people along the race route.

Crossing the finish line is always an emotional experience. Throughout the race you start to have doubts that you can finish. I love the feeling when you press forward and cross that line. I didn't do as well on this race as I had hoped. I was really hoping to break 2 hour mark. Maybe on the next race. Sarah is thinking about doing Salt Lake in April to redeem her time. I would definately be up for a rematch. :)