I went, I ran, I survived

26.2 miles is really long. I think I realized this definitively in two waves. The first wave came this summer as I trained, running longer and longer distances in the entirely too hot summer morning hours of the desert. And the second wave came at about 18 miles into the race.

My baby sister and I ran the Top of Utah Marathon on Saturday. The race begins at Hardware Ranch in the mountains above Logan, Utah and winds its way through the mountains, finishing up at Central (Merlin Olsen) Park in downtown Logan, 26.2 miles later. It promised to be a cool and beautiful, descending race course, a sharp contrast to my hot, uphill and hotter desert runs all summer.

My sister and I get each other into these things. I can't really say she talked me into this one, though. We both thought it was a good idea. For me, the appeal of the marathon had three prongs: a chance to spend some time with my sister, a training goal culminating in achieving something noteworthy, and running all those miles would surely help my weight, right? Well, I did enjoy the time spent with my sister. Here's our before shot:



We got to stay at my great grandmother's home in downtown Logan, graciously offered to us by its current owner, my great aunt Maureen. I hadn't been in the house since Grandma Great passed away in 1993. Funny how it still smells the same and how many memories came flooding back to me as soon as I opened the door.

The race in the canyon was beautiful, cool and a relatively easy run, except that they were unable to close the canyon, so we had to run on the slanty sides of the road and my sister ended up with tendonitis as a result. Things got a little more difficult as we came into the little towns along the way and it got less scenic and less cool and I got more tired. By the end, I felt like a hamster on a wheel--totally running in place. But we finished, just barely, as is apparent by my deathly pallor in the after shot.


But we did finish. I think I have to agree with my sister: I'm looking forward to doing some other forms of exercise for a while, although the cooler fall temperatures blowing their way into town are making me feel much more favorably toward running again. I am continually amazed by how soothing temperate weather is to me in the throws of a hot desert summer. I am definitely seeing the merits in summer mountain living! Now if only my budget would accommodate such a thing.

Years ago, CE's shy friend had as her motto for the year "I can do hard things." For her, those hard things were giving a talk in church or otherwise being in front of people. Doing this marathon has been the latest in my list of following the same motto. I, too, can do hard things. Somehow it helps me, when faced with the latest emotional mountain to climb, to remind myself that if I did this hard thing, I can do more. Not a bad Saturday's work, I suppose.