Canyonlands Half Marathon 2008

Lee and I at the bus pick up area

Planning our race strategy

On the bus - going to the starting line

Here we come!

Strong finish -our chip time was 2:17:26

Lee and I enjoying a sugar cookie

I headed down to the lower 48 to run the 33rd annual Canyonlands Half marathon in Moab. Eric had been training as well, but was not able to come with me. He was in Bethel.......

Lee decided to run for Eric, and broke all of the running rules. He ate McDonald's for his meal the night before, wore brand new running shoes, and barely trained. Meanwhile, I had trained hard in Alaska. Lee did say that I had gotten pretty fast. I've been training really well this go around, and felt this was going to be my best race - and it was.

Lee is much taller than I am, so I set the pace. We were about a 10:10 minute mile for the first mile until we could get away from the crowds, then I just took off. We were running at 9:17-9:30, which was my fastest time. I pulled my IT band last year at this race, so I did not want to go out too fast. I don't know what it was, but I felt great.

Our chip time was 2:17:26 - which was my fastest half marathon. I shaved 22 minutes off of my time from last year. I was sore, but my knees felt fine. I think the combination of good running, and my semi-vegetarian diet made all the difference!

Eric's 2 sisters ran as well. This was their first half marathon, and I was very proud of them. I'm hoping they got the running bug and will continue long distance running.

I was sad that Eric was not able to be with me, but I really enjoyed running with my brother. This was his first half marathon, and I was glad I could share it with him.

Keep on running!