Moab Half Marathon!

Josh at Dead Horse Point!

We had so much fun this year in Moab! Last year Josh wasn't able to come because of school, I was pretty bummed out about it. This year was awesome. Josh and I drove up with Tiggy and her boyfriend David, and Ray and Trev caravanned with us. It was so much fun. I wasn't thinking this year and neglected to book our hotels early (even though we booked it in January!) So we really didn't have many options left, so we ended up paying over $400.00 for two nights! We split it between the three couples, so it wasn't too bad. The good thing about it was it was right by the finish line of the race! Our first night, we waited for about 40 minutes to eat at a place called Pasta Jay's, it is one of the best Italian Restaurants I have been to. Ray and I were the only ones running the next day, so we tried to load up on carbs. But I think we all ate a bit too much, we were all stuffed. Plus we were all stuffed into our hotel room, so lets just say it got a little smelly! 

In front of Pasta Jays!

The race doesn't start until 10 am, but thousands of people run this race, so we have to wake up early to load the buses. Rachael and I didn't sleep well at all the night before, but I never do before this anyways. Josh walked to the loading area with us and waited in line with us, which was over an hour. He is such a sweetie. When you get to the top, they drop you off in front of the outhouses, there is an enormous line for those as well! Of course we had to use them, I always do before, and many times during the race! I had to stop a total of 5 times to use the bathroom this year! Something must be wrong with me! I wasn't sure how I would do this year because I have had some ongoing injuries that have set me back, but I was determined not to walk! It got difficult when I hit about 9 miles for about 10 minutes, but I just kept going! I was thrilled to see the finish line, so thrilled that I almost crapped my pants! Yikes, but I made it! My time, with all my 5 stops, was 2 hr and 5 minutes. Ya it's okay, but I want to do better! Josh and the crew kept looking for me, but he said I just all the sudden ran passed him, so he got a picture of me running by, with my sweaty back! Ha ha. It took me a little while to find everyone, we waited for Ray, and relaxed at the park for a little while. 

Ray and I after the race! Hurray!

After showering and relaxing for a while at the hotel, we were famished and needed food! Another great place in Moab is Zaks. They have delicious burgers and fries, and that was exactly what I was in the mood for! I was only able to eat about half of my burger, but it was really hard to let that other half go!

Waiting in front of Zaks

After dinner we decided to go see Dead Horse Point. I love this, it is just breathtaking! This is all the boys first time to Moab, crazy I know, and they were all really impressed with it. We spent a while there goofing off, causing mischief, and having fun! Here are some of out silly pictures!

This is what a small animal may look like right before being attacked! Sad!

I just needed a little rest

Serious faces!
Ha ha we are so funny!
The sunset was beautiful!

After Dead Horse Point we got some delicious ice cream and met up with Scott and Steph Grable to hot tub it up. It was pretty relaxing. Scott's older brother also ran in the half too! We were all pretty worn out and were ready for some good sleep! So our sleeping arrangements this night were all six of us in two queen beds pushed together. Ray and Trev slept on an air mattress the night before but it just was not comfortable. Surprisingly this worked out great! I slept pretty well! It was warmer with us all together! 

The next day we cleaned up and checked out, and decided to get breakfast at the Jailhouse Cafe. The wait was way too long! So what do you do while you wait, you go goof off and take funny pictures. We went to a Western Antique store around the corner. They had all sorts of gems there.

So breakfast wasn't that great, our food took forever, came out kind of cold, and the service wasn't great. I still enjoyed  it, but Josh vowed never to go there again. After breakfast we went to the Arches National Park. It was a lot of fun, but I was still pretty stiff from the run. We hiked up to the Delicate Arch. It started to get super windy! The sand would pierce your skin like little needles! It was crazy, but we had a blast anyways!

By the time we drove up to Devils Garden, the wind was really bad. We decided we had better not go on the 14 mile hike in the weather and save it for next time. We just played around close by for a while, then headed home. 

We had so much fun with our friends in Moab! I love it there and can't wait for our next vacation together! It was sad coming back to the bad, cold snow in Salt Lake! Please weather! I need Spring!