Death Valley Half Marathon

So I started training in May...not really believing that I would ever be able to run more than 6 miles, let alone 13. My fabulous Omaha running partner, Danielle, and I made a valiant attempt at training, but the heat, humidity, and upcoming move to Vegas dampened our efforts. I found out right away when moving here, that there are LOTS of runners in our neighborhood, they even have a Mountains Edge (our master community name)Running Team. I found a fantastic group of 4 other girls that invited me to run, one in particular (Christa Watson) that was exactly my tempo. So we started really training in September, running at 6 AM 4-5 mornings a week. Slowly we inched up our mileage and when got up to 10 miles one morning, I finally had confidence that I would finish the race.

8 girls from my area drove down to Death Valley (about 2 1/2 hours away) last Friday. Danny and the kids came to support me. We carb loaded the night before, then ran the race Saturday morning. It was BEAUTIFUL weather. Cool enough to start out. There were more hills than I expected, but overall it was a great course. Christa and I kept our normal pace, and actually beat our estimated time. We came in at 2 hours 13 minutes and felt fantastic about it. I can say now that I am addicted, and I am already planning a few big races for next year...anyone want to join me?

Welcome to our blog

After much prodding, we decided to start a blog! We are so far away from so many dear friends, and so much is going on, it is hard to keep up. Our December so far has been busy. The kids are off track from Thanksgiving to New Years. It is nice to have a break from our daily school routine. Danny is almost done giving finals, and then will have a month break from classes...doesn't mean he won't be working from home, though.
The weather has been amazing, above average they say, but we can't complain. We get to wear shorts and t shirts one day, then put on a sweater the next. The kids really want to go sledding, so we are planning a trip to SLC for Christmas. The whole Pett clan will be together, so we are excited.