Moab Half Marathon II

Joined by thousands of runners in one body of thumping feet, I ran my first half marathon.

13.1 windy miles down a beautiful canyon with sand in my eyes and adrenaline in my blood.

Mile 1-4 ...a blur of people, crazy running styles, dropped cell phones, flyaway hats.

Mile 6 ... a bear. Side-splitting ache--impossible...but it passed.

Mile 7-10 ... on a cloud, greeted at end by Japanese drummers. Elated! Smiled at a photographer.

Mile 11-12.9 ... Where the hell was the finish line?

Mile 13-13.1... running through quicksand, each step an eternity. 

In the end, I made it.

Chip time 1:59:44. 

My impatient 7-year-olds exclaimed: "What took you so long Mom"?

The view at the start, looking behind me.

The view at the start, looking ahead.

quicksand....

Reward!

Moab Half Marathon

I'm leaving for Moab tomorrow. 

Running my very first half-marathon on Saturday and I'm getting a little nervous.

My training has been so-so. Never made it farther than 9 miles. Knees got a bit sore last week so I decided to take it easy until the race. Just a couple of short runs. I hope it works and that I make it the 13.1 miles. People need to STOP telling me horror stories involving cramps, injuries and poop. I know you mean well but really...you're not helping!

On a lighter note, the scenery of the course looks amazing, so I'll have to stop myself from making photo breaks along the way (lovely excuse for rest, I know). 

The race website discourages you from using mp3 players and headphones. Hmm...there is no way I can make it without my music...it is literally what keeps me on pace and from laying down and taking a nap on the pavement. I'd rather get run down by racers I can't hear than miss out on my favorite tunes. They'll have to pry it from my cold hands:).

I'm betting I'll be slow enough that no one will care.

So, I'll be off the blog for a few days. Wish me luck! Keeping my fingers crossed for a beautiful race filled with music, energy and clean pants!

Cheers,

Johanna

Baby Covington

Life....is beautiful.
Visited Trindl and Chris at the hospital yesterday and said hello to Baby Covington who has yet to be named. The most adorable little family. I'm so happy for them and thought I'd post a little collage of my short visit. Congratulations guys!

Who inspires me today?

A while back, I stumbled across Charlie Colmer's street images on flickr.
Looking through his work, I'm absolutely awestruck with his talent to capture candid moments together with having a fantastic eye for interesting composition.
There is so much humor and tenderness in his photos.
Having tried some street photography myself, I know it isn't easy to capture candid moments of strangers. In the instant people realize they're being observed....that moment is changed forever.
Colmer has an almost uncanny ability to share his window of the world in a way where you feel like you've walked the streets with him and seen with his eyes.
His images inspire me and I wanted to share some of his stuff here.

I hope Charlie doesn't mind.

Please see the above images on his flickr stream.
Right now he's working on a book "The Street" that will be available this spring.
Please support him by buying it when it's released. Charlie's website