Sedona!

We had the BEST overnight adventure in Sedona this weekend! Ben's parents were so nice to watch all our kids on Friday night, so Ben and I decided this would be a great way to celebrate our Valentines a little early. Since we knew we would be childless, we were sure to pick out a nice hotel. We don't do this type of thing very often - we've gotten away from the kids overnight only a few times since getting married - someday we hope to be able to do it more often! :) Once we got into Sedona on Friday night, we checked into our hotel and then decided to just eat dinner at the restaurant there, since it looked nice, and we didn't really want to get back in the car to go somewhere else. Our dinner was delicious, especially dessert! :) Then we hot tubbed - which we debated doing at all - it was COLD outside. Not Utah cold, but about 20 degrees colder than Phoenix, so it felt like winter to me (we even had to scrape ice off our windshield the next morning... brrr). But I convinced Ben it would be worth it walking outside in our swimsuits, 'cause the hot tub would be nice and warm. :)

Saturday morning was race day! I was NERVOUS. I don't know why I was so nervous - this was my 3rd half-marathon, but I was definitely nervous, and the really chilly morning wasn't helping! Here's me BEFORE the race...


The race was HARD- harder than I was expecting. I knew it would be hilly, but I also thought there would be at least some flat parts too, but there was mostly just hill after hill, and the hills were big and steep. The downhills were great though! :) Anyway, I had a rough time after mile 5 - I haven't had asthma trouble in a couple of year, but I could not get a full breath in during parts, which made it doubly hard. So, I felt rather defeated during sections, and walked a bit a couple times. But I thought of my cute Ben waiting for me at the finish, and I made myself start up running again and plugged away at the distance. In the end, I finished - I was disappointed at my time, because I had high hopes to do much better - but the scenery during the run was amazing, and it was awesome to be a part of such a great race...

Here I come down the hill on the final stretch...






So, Ben was going to run the race with me originally, but about half way into the training program, he injured his knee - it's mostly healed now, but too late for finishing training and actually running the race. We hope to someday soon, actually run a substantial race together though! When Ben ran the Lake Havasu Half last year, I was pregnant, so we just don't seem to be on the same schedule. :)

After the race, we went back to the hotel to get ready and checked out, and then we went to lunch in downtown Sedona and explore a few of their eclectic shops. :) Our favorite shop was this one... it had all sorts of awesome pottery, plants, and antiques...






Goodbye Sedona! Our stay was short, but a fun adventure!