Moab Half

So this past weekend I went with my family down to moab to run the half. It's always an adventure when you get with the whole fam. Our differences become more pronounced when were all staying in tight quarters. None the less, we had fun. This was my third half marathon, and I can't say I prepared all too well. The most I ran was about six miles, basically due to pure laziness. I figured my adrenaline would pick up and carry me to the end. Saturday morning we got bused up 12 miles up the canyon. The scenery was great, but the river look more blah then it did in the picture. They added some amazing blue and green to the water that of course enticed us. The run was basically even kill, meaning it was pretty much flat with some grades of slight down hill or slight uphill. Actually kind of boring. By mile 8, I felt great. I thought, this is going to be the fastest half I have ever done. My idea was to keep my pace controlled and even and not to push until mile 6-8. Well I can't say that I ever pushed, just kept going. by the time we made it out of the canyon there was 2.2 miles left on the highway to make it back into town. Well that 2.2 miles was hell. You would think that the people on the sides of the road cheering would energize you, but I wanted to punch them. I had "hit the wall." Brilliant me thought, if I stop and let myself catch my breath and get blood flow to my feet I can finish strong. Bad choice. Once I stopped, my body did not want to go again. It was the first time in my life that I didn't want to finish the race. I actually thought about just wandering off into someone's back yard and hiding in a corner. Somehow I kept going, probably about a walking pace. Once I could see the finish line my spirits lifted and I charged to the end. I didn't even want to talk to anyone at the end of the race because I was so emotionally drained. I was also bugged by my patheticness in the end. Now that the race is over, I am seriously thinking I will now run the Salt Lake Half. Probably because I want to prove to myself that I can finish stronger and also because you forget quickly how challenging these races really are!