Running the Grand Canyon Part 1: Rim to River to Rim

This past April, I finally made the decision to run the Grand Canyon...well, at least some of it. :) 

My amazing running friend Kathryn (and by amazing I mean she is a BEAST on the trail!) was going to run R2R2R (that's South Rim to North Rim to South Rim, for those unsure of our South of the Canyon lingo) again and she asked me to come along. I originally planned to run the entire 40 mile-something out and back, but decided in the end to try my hand first at a trip to the bottom and back. I would see how I fared and try again in the fall, hopefully. 

We planned on meeting at the South Rim on Friday night. I decided to take the day off from work and get there super early (like 2 pm) so I could walk around and be a little touristy. I got there, found our hotel room at the Maswik Lodge, and took off on foot exploring what the Grand Canyon Village had to offer. I did some shopping, got a "bite" to eat (as in, I ate prime rib at one of the nicer restaurants with a view!), explored the museums and watched the film in the visitors center. But I really wanted to see the sunset (I have never seen it here before!), so I stayed out until dark to catch a glimpse of it.  

Sunset on the South Rim.

Update: Why I Lost My Running Mojo

I wanted to give everyone a quick update on what's going on in my life. 

As you know from the last post, I have a busy schedule and my interests may be changing. 

I changed my blog name and I felt better. 

For a little while. 

Then, my sister texted me to tell me she couldn't find my blog. It didn't exist!!

I freaked out and got really worried that I wouldn't be able to have my original blog URL back. 

Thankfully, everything worked out and I'm back. 

I think I lost my running mojo for two reasons:

+ I'm always getting sick after my long runs.

+ A few of my favorite bloggers/runners stopped writing on their blogs. 

I am trying to figure out what is making me sick
and I'm moving past the fact I lost a few main motivators. 

Two things to work through.

Oh, and I'm a full time teacher and part time student. 

It's definitely taking up some of my precious running/outdoor time. 

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Other than that, I have some fun things to update you on!

1. I am running Ragnar Relay Del Sol this weekend! I finally decided to run it again. Remember that last time I dropped out? I wasn't feeling Ragnar Las Vegas for some reason. It may have been the group of people, may have been the steep price, may have been the 7 hour drive to get there, whatever. But I'm definitely doing this one!  And I'm super excited. I packed my stuff up early (strange for me) and I plan to do a full recap on it. The last time I did Ragnar, my recap was basically a bunch of photos. I was so overwhelmed by the race itself that I had no idea how to recap it. This time, I'm bringing a notebook along to jot down memories and things I don't want to forget!
   
   
2. I joined Tough Chik and I am also a Sweat Pink Ambassador! I want to talk about it more later, and do a bio on each awesome community. Coming soon!
   
3. My friend Kathryn and I are planning on running R2R2R next April. I am so excited about this. I am obsessed with the Grand Canyon (history, hiking, geology, etc) and so I'm glad I found someone to run across the canyon with...and back! All in one day. It's going to be epic. More on the preparation for that later.
   
     
   
4. I have an interview for the Girl Scouts of San Diego summer camp! It's next week and I'm a little nervous. It's a phone interview, which should be easier than a Skype interview. I hope it goes well. I really want to work there! Wish me tons of luck!!! 

That's it for now! I'll keep you updated. :)