Moab

Over this last weekend we went to Moab with my family.  Everyone was able to come except my parents, and we missed them!  We hung out at the condo, the boys played golf, we ate lots of food, and some of us ran the half marathon.

Saturday morning was the race.  I was so excited to be running it with Marcus and my two sisters, Katie and Tierra.  We were all nervous--we always are before a race.  We drove the course the night before and it felt SO LONG as we were driving.  We had also been told that it is mostly a downhill course, but as we drove it we realized that it was more like rolling hills--there was down but there was definitely also up.

I really didn't know how this race was going to go for me or for Marcus.  We both have been training in new "barefoot" running shoes, Marcus has the five fingers and I have the Feelmax.  My knees have really been hurting me too so I haven't been able to train very much at all.  I wanted to have a really good goal--but I knew going into it my only goal was to actually finish. 

The race started at 10:00 and it was seriously freezing at the top of the canyon.  We had to wait over an hour up there, just shivering and freezing.  Finally the race started and we were off!  It was so fun to run with the four us together, running with 4,000 other runners down the beautiful canyon.  We ran together for a few miles and then the four us slowly spread out to run at our own pace.  I ran with Katie for somewhere between 8 and 9 miles and it was so nice to have her help push me along.

My knees were killing me and I don't think I have ever been in so much pain before but I was somehow able to keep running the whole time. I was so happy when I crossed that finish line!  I finished in 2 hours 2 minutes and Marcus finished a few minutes after me.  Obviously I wish I could have ran it under 2 hours but there is always next year! Thanks Marcus, T, and Katie for running the race with me!  I'm glad we all did it!

Cruisin'

Marcus and I just got back from a seven night cruise to the Mexican Riviera!  We had such a great time and loved getting a break from this miserable cold weather.  We had so much fun soaking up the sun, relaxing, reading, swimming, being entertained and eating.  We couldn't believe how much food there was!  We enjoyed dressing up each night for a four course fancy meal and Marcus loved ordering room service cheeseburgers late at night as a "second dinner" (and I must admit I enjoyed my fudge cake along with him...)  The boat was huge.   

PUERTO VALLARTA

Our first stop was Puerto Vallarta and it was a beautiful city.  It was a lot bigger than I expected.  We took a bus ride at least an hour away from the city and zip lined through the jungle.  It was incredible!  There were 14 zip lines and it took a couple of hours to do them all.  We would hike a little in between each canopy, then get hooked up and swing through the trees and over a big river.  A couple times Marcus and I got to go together, and then we could swing and twist from the cable and go upside down.  The highest line was 700 feet above the ground and went for a quarter of a mile.  It was beautiful!

MAZATLAN

  

Mazatlan was different and probably my least favorite of the stops.  At first, you are let off into an old looking ship yard and have to be taxied through it.  The town was a lot smaller and it was definitely poorer.  There were so many people, men and women, some with little kids or babies, all around you, trying to sell you anything and everything. We jumped in this open little taxi and road around town, with our driver (he seemed 16 or so) swerving in and out of other cars, playing with the stereo and blasting the music.  Once we got to the beach and got used to all of the people selling things we started liking it more.  It kind of had to grow on you, but it was still a beautiful coastal city.  We sat on the beach, ate coconut and drank lemonades, and got plenty of sun.  We also rented wave runners and had tons of fun with that.

CABO SAN LUCAS

Cabo was also beautiful but quite different.  It was less green, and looked a little bit  more desert-ish.  We took a water taxi (a glass bottom boat) to see the famous arch.  Our guide told us people think it looks like a dinosaur taking a drink of water, but someone on the boat laughed and said it looked "more like Utah to him..."  We were dropped off at Lover's Beach and were able to explore the beach and rocks and see lots of sea lions and pelicans.  We also wandered around the marina and enjoyed the feel of a cute fishing town while eating some delicious frozen yogurt.

Overall we had such an amazing trip.  My first experience with Mexico was a good one.  The weather was perfect, really warm and sunny but not too hot, the cities and ocean were beautiful, and I loved spending all day with Marcus for the entire week.