Moab UT, Post Race

Well, Sunday came and went and I completed my first half marathon.  I didn’t set any land speed records, but at least I did it.  I spent a lot of time taking photos and video.  It was a great course and very beautiful.  I just wish there had been more shade.  The heat really sucked.  I told the people at Mile 10 aide station that they needed half naked firemen with a hose at this station hosing everyone down.  They thought it was funny, I was being serious.  I spent the rest of my vacation putting a video together.  It took forever to figure out how to get it out of Movie Maker and onto the web.  My best effort had me putting it on YouTube.  Hopefully I can share it from there.  Hopefully it will also inspire more people to do this race.  The course is amazing and I can’t even imagine running a race in the middle of a city.  This race is put on my Moab Half Marathon which hosts 4 races in a year.  The Other Half is actually their last half marathon they do.  That’s probably where they came up with the creative name.  The last race they do in December is called the Winter 10K.  It is Dec. 5th and I think Barb and I are going to come up for it also.  That is also the same time they do their city Christmas parade.  Then in March is the Canyonlands Half Marathon.  It is on a course the runs along the river in a Canyon area.  We won’t have to worry so much about the sun, but it will be March so that shouldn’t be a problem.  Then in June is the Thelma and Louise.  It runs along the area where we went on the Corona Arch hike.  It is a half marathon relay.  I will probably start the race.  The first runner has to finish their 6.55 miles within 1:15, which is about an 11:30 min mile.  Then the other runner, Barb, would retrace the course I just ran.  Barb will be shuttled to her staging area in a boat on the Colorado River.  When I am done, I will be shuttled back that same way to the finish line.  We drove the course today and it is very flat with no major hills.  It is also a gorgeous course also.  That should finish out all 4 races in 1 year.  So, since I have to save all my money and train, I will probably have no social life.  Looks like another year of being single. Here is the link to my race video. The Other Half Video

Monday, Barb and I spend the morning getting massages.  It was one of the best massages I have ever had.  The voodoo hippie wackados here can really work some magic on the ol body.  I was starting to notice a sharp pain in my foot that morning.  I am worried I got a stress fracture or pulled a tendon.  It didn’t help that during a hike Tuesday, I rolled it on a trail and probably jacked it up even more.  I guess we’ll see.  I have an appointment with my doctor when I get back Friday.  Monday afternoon we went up into Arches National Park to do a few short hikes.  We didn’t want to get to crazy, we did just run a half marathon after all.  The first hike we did was the Park Avenue Hike.  It was a short 1 mile on mostly slick rock.  The next stop was Double Arch. This was one thing I hated about being injured and sore, we had to take the short touristy hikes to see stuff.  Therefore, lots of people.  I have so many pics from this trip, I think I’m going to put a slide show together with all my pics.  Here are just a few of my favorites.  I spent so much time on the race video that I didn’t get to put a slideshow together yet.  I’ll try to blog when I get it all completed.

We were originally suppose to leave on Wednesday, but we decided to stay an extra day.  So, Tuesday we decided to do 2 longer hikes.  In the morning we did the Corona Arch and Bowtie Arch hike. It was about a 3 mile round trip hike.  Most of it was on slick rock.  There was one point on the trail where you had to  use a cable and some holes cut out in the rock to go up the rock.  Then we had to take a ladder up another short cliff.  Bowtie arch was what they call a pothole arch.  Corona Arch was more of what you think of when you think of arches in this area. The pic on the left is my favorite pic and it is Corona Arch.  The right one is Bowtie arch.  On the way back down the trail, I stepped on the rock wrong and rolled my ankle.  I have always been pretty lucky that I have flexible ankles.  All those years as a middle blocker and I never had a major ankle injury.  I was able to get up and walk around.  It was kind of painful, but I could walk on it so it couldn’t be too bad.  After lunch, we hit the Negro Bill trail. This led to Morning Glory Bridge.  I didn’t get many photos with my big camera because we went on a trail that took us to an area where we were climbing around.  Even with the sling, the camera was a pain.  So I stuffed it in my backpack.  Then it started raining on us.  It rained most of the hike up to the bridge.  I was able to get my cell phone out and take a few pics.  It was a 5 mile round trip hike.  It was done mostly in the rain and thru some poison ivy.  Luckily for Barb and I, neither of us seem to be allergic.

So, this morning, I woke up and my ankle was a mess.  I could barely walk on it. We went into town and had breakfast then I hobbled around picking up all kinds of touristy crap.  At least when we come out here the next 3 times, I won’t have to spend so much money on souvenirs.  It rained a lot while we were.  The rain would come in, then it would be sunny again.  Then clouds and rain real quick then more sun.  The weather is weird.  I decided to get Fiona out on the streets.  We went up into Arches National Park and I think I got a perfect pic with her and the scenery up there.  Then we drove the course for Canyonlands Half Marathon and Thelma and Louise.

We are headed back to Wichita tomorrow morning.