The Worst Parade Ever!

Some people think I am crazy because I like to run.  They're probably right. Running fulfills many purposes for me.  Health is only part of the reason.  I also like the warmth from the sun, the beating of my heart, and the feeling of accomplishment.  Running is also like therapy, but a lot cheaper.

Last fall Audra convinced me to sign up for the South Jordan Half-Marathon.  After that race, I kind of became addicted to running in half-marathons.  Soon after the South Jordan race, I signed up for the Salt Lake City Half-Marathon.  I tried to convince a lot of my friends to sign up with me, but for many of them, asking them to sign up with me, was like pulling teeth.  As a matter of fact, I bet many of them would rather have their teeth pulled than to run 13.1 miles with me.

I was kind of nervous for this race because I train as well for this race as I did for the South Jordan race.  I worried that I might injure myself, or just really struggle to finish.  I definitely felt much more pain this time around and even became a little dizzy around mile eight or nine. 

Luckily, there were funny signs like these which made me laugh off the pain:

As runners passed by him, he yelled, "This is by far the worst parade ever!"

Here I am towards the end of the race, about 60 seconds to the finish line:

 After I completed the race, I jumped back in to run with my friend Alesha:

This is what I look like after 13.1 miles:

I am impressed with the medals they give to all those who completed the race:

Needless to say, I enjoyed the run, but I was extremely exhausted by the end and had two hurting knees.  I decided to take a short nap afterwards that ended up being just over four hours!

Here is a comparison of my South Jordan Half-Marathon and my Salt Lake City Half-Marathon:

I was about 30 seconds per mile slower at the SLC race.  If I would have ran the same pace as I did at the South Jordan race (6:51/mile) I would have placed 68th overall instead of 146th.  It's amazing to me how 30 seconds per mile slower can make a difference of 78 spots.

Now I am trying to decide what half-marathon to run next.  Sign up with me! 

10,000 Mormons and 25 Hindus

I am so glad spring is here and summer is around the corner. I can't stand the winter. I shouldn't complain, though. This past winter in Utah was so mild compared to what I have experienced in Rexburg, ID. But despite how mild this winter was, I am grateful spring has arrived with warmer weather and brighter days.

This past March I celebrated a Hindu tradition in Utah, of all places. I was surprised to learn that there are Hindus in Utah and they even have a temple. So a group of friends and I went to the Festival of Colors. I won't go into the history or meaning of the festival (you can go to Wikipedia for that info), but basically it is a tradition to celebrate the arrival of spring. I went on the last day and there were a couple hundred people there.

Here are some random pictures taken at the event:

For the next couple of days my snot was very colorful. It was so much fun I felt like a kid again!

Here is one last photo I saw floating around on Facebook and Pinterest. This is so true: