Why I love living in Utah and Ragnar Training Run

Utah gets a bad wrap and I wouldn't have it any other way.  I was worried when the Olympics came here in 2002 that people would discover places like Huntsville and Eden and move here in droves.  These places are growing, but not to the extent that I thought they would (thank goodness).  I ran the first leg that I will be running during the Ragnar/Wasatch Back relay this afternoon and it was simply breathtaking (see images).  I don't know of anywhere else (including Denver where I lived for many years) that offers as much as Utah within a 45 minute drive.  My run this afternoon was up Old Snowbasin Road and ended at the resort.  The recent rain we have been having made every inch of the mountain thick and green.  The weather was perfect for running and the 3 mile uphill went much better than I thought it would (the 3 miles back down was much easier, however). 

As I was running I started thinking about how far I had come since I began my "marathon" journey.  Trying to carry my sorry butt up that hill a year ago would have resulted in a call to the LifeFlight dispatch office.  Now, not only did I make it to the top, but I was able to actually enjoy the beauty around me as I did it.  For most of the run I was completely alone, running in pure silence.  Prior to beginning this journey, my mind would have cycled through one of my various anxieties that I used to fixate on whenever I wasn't distracted .  Today, I felt a range of emotions ranging from pride to spirituality.  At no point were any of these emotions negative.

As I think about what all of this means, if anything, I gravitate to the word, "peace".  I have discovered peace in so many different places and ways. I am making peace with the weight issues I have had my entire life.  I am making peace with my anxieties.  I am making peace with my ability to commit to something and see it through.  And maybe most importantly, I am learning how to simply be at peace with myself and the world I live in.

Okay, that was really sappy and stupid and I promise to never do that again (at least not for a while).