Moab, May 2016 [Amasa 15.5 Race Profile]

I ran the Amasa trail run earlier this month.  It was probably the most grueling race I've ever run (harder than a full road marathon!) and was also likely the most enjoyable. I love Moab and all the surrounding area.  The scenery was incredible and I had good company!  I got Natalie Holden, Liz Cala, Elizabeth Labau, Megan Nelson, and Casey May to run the race with me!

Here is the race profile:

Look at that elevation!

Here are my stats.  Nat was 5 minutes faster, Liz one minute behind me.

Posing at the starting line

We really took our time and stopped for lots of photos.

I had to stop and photograph these mysterious mud cylinders on the ground

Beautiful!

Here's the steep drop (and rise) in elevation we trained hard for

Boulder hopping down the cliff side

We did a 5 mile loop around this Mesa after dropping down the chute

The surprise river crossing just before the finish line

The finish line!!!

Casey and Megan finished before me (they ran a different distance)

We were the last finishers.  Standing tall and proud!

While in Moab we had plenty of other fun stuff to do.

The most beautiful pit toilet I've ever seen

Todd trail ran while Kyle (Liz's hubby) biked

Beautiful girl on a beautiful day

We celebrated Rylie's birthday with a donut cake!

Lydia snuggling with her favorite friend.  Rylie is amazing with my kids!!

Todd was a good sport and watched the kids a lot while I played :P

At night we swam and hot-tubed under the stars

Rar!

Avery loved petting the scary ones and touching their teeth.

The kids underneath him show the size of this huge dinosaur

Boston Marathon 2016!

We went to Boston in April, so Todd could run the Boston Marathon!  I'm hoping he will post more about it but here's the gist of the marathon second hand.

It was a very difficult course, and Todd didn't train as well as he should have.  He pushed really hard for the first nine miles, then hit the wall!  He fought through cramps the next 17 miles and had to walk quite a bit.  He passed the "Wellesley Girls" holding signs that said, "kiss me!" (and he reports that he didn't take them up on their offer lol) and struggled up heartbreak hill... As well as many other hills.  The crowds were tremendous and screamed support the entire race.  His ears were fatigued by the end and he felt like he'd attended a rock concert!  The only quiet moment of the entire race through a tunnel underneath a road where spectators weren't allowed to stand.  The lack of sound was quite strange after such a well supported race.

Todd was hoping for a personal record of 3 hours, but after bonking and walking so much he ended up finishing in 3:45.  That's a pretty amazing time if you ask me!

He enjoyed the experience and we both loved Boston with it's rich history and good food.  We had fantastic company because we stayed with my cousins, who were great hosts.

Beautiful Boston Harbor

Our fantastic hosts, Niles on the right and Thiago his husband next to me.

Todd looked like he had aged 15 years when he crossed the finish line!  It took a lot out of him.

The Boston Marathon runners looked like super heroes with wind whipping their blankets behind them like capes.  Let's face it, they are super heroes!

We feasted!

Niles and Thiago live in this beautiful historic stretch of condos.

I loved having a dog around to warm my feet on!

Our tour guide along the Freedom Trail

Paul Revere's headstone is the tiny unimpressive slab on the right, the plaque was built years after he died.

Avery stayed home on this trip.  Besides the flight, Lydia was fantastic and she enjoyed all the history and train rides. :)