Zion Red Rock Relay

Several months ago, I signed up to run with a group of ladies in the Zion Red Rock Relay.

"Teams of 12 run relay style through 187 miles of southern Utah's most stunning landscapes in a journey that starts on a Friday morning at Brian Head ski resort and ends sometime the following day at the base of Zion National Park."

I like to have something to work toward in the summer, so it was a perfect idea.  I didn't run when my schedule said I needed to, but I ran when I could, and felt pretty good about being in the race, until a couple weeks before when I found out I was pregnant, then I worried a little more.  I push myself WAY less when I know I'm pregnant.  And I was afraid of how much I'd need to push myself to even finish.  It ended up being perfect, because my van of 6 girls was the best support group ever, and didn't care how long it took us to finish!  One of them even traded me her leg on the middle-of-the-night run so I could do a shorter uphill, instead of more downhill (I had just finished over 6 miles of steep downhill, and my legs were Jell-O) On my last run, which was over 6 miles in the middle of the day, and a huge elevation climb, they stopped every mile.  All 5 of them came out of the RV with something to offer me, water, ice, power bar, an icy cold towel, or some Gatorade.  And believe me, I know how hard it was for all of them to get out, because our legs ached, our knees ached, and we were tired and sore.  I made some good friends that day!

Me, Michelle W., Dona M., Diane P., Larissa T., Daisy S.

Our whole team at the finish line.  Hard to see everyone, but the other van had LeAnn A., Alice H., Dusty B., Tawnya M., Meagan G., and Carrie J.

My total mileage ended up being 16.57 miles and here I am at the finish!  Yay!  I was ready to go to Disneyland!  Mike and I met in Cedar, as we were traveling home from the race, and I hopped in the car, not showered and all.  I don't remember much from Cedar City to Barstow where we stopped for the night because I was able to sleep in the car, which was VERY nice.  The race made it so that I had stayed up for 24 hours, then got a 1.5 hour nap before we were up again for the next leg of the race.  I can't believe I did so well without hardly any sleep, and then again, there were a lot of prayers in place, and I'm sure that's what got me through it! And, as much as I complain, I did love it... and probably wouldn't ever do it again :)