Moab, Utah

Every March my family meets up in Moab for the Canyonlands Half Marathon and Five mile race. This past week marked our ELEVENTH year running it. WUT?

I remember the first year I decided to do the half marathon. I I was in 7th grade. MY "training" consisted of going to the gym with my dad at 6am, and then running a mile just so I could have the excuse of needing a gatorade on the way home.

The day of the race I remember pulling on my adidas shorts that were three sizes too big and an Ohio State Buckeyes shirt. As we waited shivering at the start line I pulled out my Ipod nano to get a little pre run pump up and realized I had forgotten to charge it. 3% and 13 miles. I was doomed.

For fear of it dying I didn't dare change the song. If you ever wondered what listening to Poker Face is like on repeat for 2 hours I'd be happy to let you know I will never be able to listen to it again. Even with the little training and horrible music I was still able to place 2nd in my age group and basked in the praises of friends and family the rest of the day.

Mind you...it was not a field of flowers though. And I can't tell this story without being real. I remember the last mile I was sobbing and told my dad I couldn't take another step haha it was the most dramatic moment my 13 year old self had yet to experience. I'm pretty sure I thought my dad was going to leave me to die on the sidewalk.

But hey I did it and I'll never forget the next morning waking up and not being able to get out of bed because I was SO SORE. From then on out I learned how important training was...so when my 17 year old self tried doing the same thing, running without training, it was not a pretty sight. I called it quits after that and stuck with the five mile ever since. Or in this case I just didn't even run this year.

So there's my inspirational story about how I'm not a planner and how I expect my body to be able to seize the opportunity and take life by the horns even though I've done nothing to encourage it to do that.

And yeah I also disgraced the family name this year by not running but someone had to watch the children and I called dibs. Being an aunt is THE best excuse ever. Plus with the fawn design backpack and the double stroller I was rocking the mom look so hard.

Moab has certainly become home away from home. I don't know if it's the red rock or the trails or the little cabin we rent every year or even just the atmosphere but I just feel like I belong there. So cheesy ha. I find myself there at least once every couple of months for quick weekenders or family traditions like this one. My dad is into his toys too so we love to take our razor down to play. Unfortunately he couldn't make it this year with school and work which was a reeeaaalll bummer and I think he had a small dose of FOMO.

Love Lundie