Zion Half Marathon
Erin Trumble
Y’all, I did a thing! A little less than a year ago, my brother, hubby and I ran a 10 mile tough mudder race. When I crossed the finish line, I proclaimed that I was going to run a half marathon. In recent years I’ve made it a point to say out loud the goals that I want to accomplish instead of keeping them buried deep down inside me.
In addition to saying them out loud, I make sure that I tell people. But not just anybody and everybody that will listen. I have a group of family and friends that I know support my goals and dreams. Those are the people that I trust to share my aspirations with. Why? Why not just shout it from roof tops? Well, honestly because there are people in this world that will tell you that your big dreams are crazy. And when you tell people that you want to run really far for fun, there are likely folks out there that just don’t understand.
I’ve never really been a runner. I “ran” in high school, but only because my best friend did and I just wanted to do everything with her. She came from a family that ran, and me, well not so much. Two summers ago I decided that I wanted to see if I could run a mile. While a mile doesn’t really seem like much, remember that I live in the woods, at the top of a giant hill, at 9,216 ft elevation. So running “just a mile” was a freaking challenge in itself. For a few months it became routine that the hubs and I would run a mile a couple of times a week. It was brutal. It wasn’t really fun, and I didn’t really understand why people enjoyed running.
Fast forward a year, my brother had just gotten out of the Marines and he wanted to run a tough mudder. He basically told me that I was doing it with him and that he was going to help me train for it. So once a week we’d get together and he’d push me to run and add miles to the weeks previous run. We ran and ran and ran until that big race. That race made me face some serious fears as well as run the farthest that I had ever run. Crossing that finish line put me on cloud 9, and all of the sudden I got it. I totally understood WHY people run. That feeling of setting a goal and the build up to it became sort of like an addiction.
When I blurted out my goal of running a half marathon at the finish line of that race, I almost couldn’t believe what had just come out of my mouth. I decided that IF I was going to make this commitment that it was going to be an epic race, so I googled “most beautiful half marathon in America”, low and behold Zion came up. I wasn’t sure about it because all the registration talked about this being a “technical trail run” and one of the hardest halfs to do, but I had 8 months to figure it out. I started running, like a lot. Putting in multiple runs a week, building up miles to the point where my “short runs” were at least 4 miles long. It became easier running these mountain trails, and then came winter. Running in the winter when you live on top of a mountain creates a whole new set of challenges. Now I had to learn how to run in the snow and on ice, and had to invest in all kinds of gear and clothing. But I persisted on. I ran through calf deep snow with spikes strapped to my shoes while wearing layers and layers of clothing and accessories to protect me from the gale force winds and below freezing temps.
The months passed and all of the sudden it was time for my race and I started to panic. Partially because I had total imposters syndrome about running a half marathon and partially because the reality of Zion being in the middle of the desert meant it was going to be hot. Like really hot compared to the 15 degrees that my body had become accustomed to. Here’s where I decided that I had to break my “no buying clothing for the whole year” goal that I had set for myself, because I needed a pair of running shorts. I have a bad habit of feeling anxious about the unknown like, what’s the weather going to be like? Am I going to be too hot? Am I going to overheat? But come race day, the weather gods were on my side, it was literally the most perfect morning starting off the race at about 45 and only getting to 60, and while others were bundled up and freezing an unprepared to run in the cold, I was perfectly comfortable in my new shorts.
The race was so stunning. Zion is about 4,000 ft lower in elevation than what I had been training, so breathing was easy. My body and lungs felt great! I was also so grateful for all those snowy runs that I had put in. When I first started running in the snow I explained it to the hubs as being a lot like running on the beach with the soft sand. Turns out that over half of my race was through soft sand, my legs felt like it was no problem. And then there was the “technical” part of the trail. As soon as I turned onto the rocky, cliff hanging, tree dodging, section of the race, my heart lit on fire and I felt over come with joy. This part of the trail, this is why I run. Its the joy and playfulness of trail running that really has developed my love of running.
All and All this was one of the greatest days of my life, and I’ve joked with my family that I’m just going to wear my medal around the house now. I keep picking it up and holding it to remind myself that I’m a freaking bad ass. I can do hard things. I can set major goals and accomplish them with hard work and dedication. So that’s my story about running the Zion Half Marathon! Shoot me a message if you’d like more information about the race, or my training! Keep setting big goal, and let’s keep growing together.
