Back to Running!

It seems like I have been a runner for most of my adult life. I have even claimed to be a marathoner (I really was!) in the past. But it has recently occurred to me that I have let that part of my life, and my claim to the title, lapse. :0( I have never posted even one blog post related to my running. I guess that's because I started blogging after I became a mommy, which is when my running hit the skids.  I do still run semi-regularly, but I haven't raced in FIVE years!! Well, on March 16th, I got back in the game!!
Kent and I travelled with Clare and Darren to Moab for the Canyonlands Half-Marathon. We arrived Friday evening, and enjoyed a fab dinner at our favorite carb-loading restaurant, Pasta Jay's. We snagged our race packets and finished our race prep in our condo, making it an early night.
Saturday came early, and we caught a quick trip over to the bus pick-up in the back of a friend of a friend's truck. We were on the bus before 8 am, much to my chagrin, as I HATE sitting at the start line for 2 HOURS!!! Anyhow, 2 hours and 4 bathroom trips later, we were ready to race!! (I overthink the "final pee" a little, and end up cycling through the port-a-potty line repeatedly. Silly, I know!)
Clare and I started the race together, but true to form, I was unable to stick with a running buddy, and I took off on my own before mile 2. I felt pretty decent throughout the race, and really hit my stride around mile 10. I kicked it into gear those last three miles and came in under 2 hours, which was my goal. For reference, my half-marathon time in the old days was 1:45. I was still (relatively) pleased with my final time of 1:55 this year.
Kent and Darren ran the 5 mile race, and Kent finished with a time of 44:23, which is 30 seconds faster than his previous race time. Way to go Kent!!

Pre-race Kent

Me and Clare-Bear

Me and my love, glad to be done!

Clare and Darren

The boys

Me, Clare, Teri, Tom, Rhiannon, and Brandie

We finished the race in the beer garden, and after relaxing in our condo for a few, we headed to downtown Moab for a bit of shopping and some margaritas in the Fiesta Mexicana. It was a great, relaxing afternoon. We finished our day with dinner at the Moab Brewery. 
We had a nice, quiet drive home on Sunday to be reunited with our little Taylee bug.  Thanks nana, for spending your whole weekend entertaining the little miss! She had a great time!