Josh, Jenn, Ashton, Emmy and Ethan…

Josh and I ran the Canyonlands Half Marathon on March 8th.  I’m so sad that I couldn’t carry a camera during the run (it’s not that I wasn’t allowed to, I just could not have any extra weight slowing me down ) because it was a gorgeous course.  We ran along the Colorado River with huge red rock cliffs around us.  Sounds fabulous, right?  Well, the scenery was the only good thing about it, if you ask me! I’m sure Josh has his own point of view to share, but I truly did NOT have fun.  I have dreaded writing this post because I feel like a huge wimp, my confidence has gone down the tubes and I have hated running ever since (not that I ever loved it before). 

Training for the run:

Jenn: I run pretty much every day.  Just two miles, then I run/walk one or two more.  To train for the half marathon, I ran 4 miles once, then 8 miles once.  It was winter so running outside was difficult and running on the treadmill for longer than 30 minutes is absolutely way too boring.

Josh: Josh ran the 4 miles and 8 miles with me.  That’s all he had time for.  So, since the St. George Marathon in October, he ran a total of 12 miles.

The morning of the run, I had a little energy bar for breakfast.  I was afraid of getting sideaches and I really didn’t even consider eating anything else.  Here’s how it went for me:

Mile 1-5 Easy as pie, beautiful scenery

Mile 6-7 Still easy but I wondered why everyone was already stopping for drinks and Clif Shots.  I made up my mind that I would give myself a drink at mile 8 and maybe I’d try a Clif Shot (energy gel that you squeeze into your mouth.  I haven’t ever tried it because I think I’d puke.)

Mile 8 There wasn’t a drink station!  I needed a drink BADLY!  And where in the heck were those Clif Shots!?  I found out later that Mile 6 was the only station handing them out.  This is where I hit a brick wall.

Mile 9-10 Pretty hard but I was still running.  I did grab a drink at every station I passed.

Mile 11-13 I HATED life.  All I could think was “There is NO WAY I am ever running a marathon!  I HATE this!” By the last couple of miles, I was jogging/walking.  I had absolutely NO energy.  My body didn’t hurt, I wasn’t cramping up at all, no sideaches, no sore feet, no aching muscles, I just could not muster up any kind of energy.  I even found the songs on my IPod that never fail to make me happy and energetic and they were just useless.  I don’t know if it’s because I didn’t reach my goal of finishing under 2 hours, or because I felt like I would puke at any second, but when I finished I was in the worst mood.

See?!?!?  I’m a HUUUUUGE wimp.  Josh is amazing, he has the craziest determination and can just do things because his heart will drive him to succeed.  Besides being able to go to Moab for the first time and have a new appreciation for the incredible world Heavenly Father created for us, there were two other good things about the trip…..

We had lots of fun with Neil and his nephew, Trevor. 

We got these SWEET hats! (And the lovely running shirts that Neil and Trevor are modeling above)  I will never wear either item.