Mom's First Race....Post Jared

Since most of the posts are about the kids, I thought I would let you know what I have been doing. In order to motivate myself to get out and start running again, I decided to train for and sign up for a half marathon. I didn't exactly train according to the training plan, but I got a couple of longer runs in over the past month, so I figured I would just go for it and try to see how I did.

The race I signed up for was the Salt Lake Half Marathon, a beautiful run that follows approximatley 9 or 10 miles of the 24th of July Marathon. As Steve and the kids dropped me off and I sat in the car feeding Jared, we watched the clouds on the east horizon turn a rosy pink, just before the sun popped its head over the mountains. The first 4 miles were the hardest since it was a 4 mile uphill climb up the backside of Emigration Canyon. The final 9 miles were down hill but not too steep, just a tolerable slope. Near the end I started to get quite hot. We dropped out of the shade of the narrow canyon walls and into the wider exit into the valley. The canyon was especially quiet with little traffic, other than the groups of bikers. It was such a peaceful run and rather interesting with the historical markers showing the path the pioneers took into the valley. It was a wonderful way to start the Labor Day Weekend.