Blood, sweat, and a few tears

Well, I did it. I ran the Top of Utah half marathon and survived. Barely.

Let's review the goals I made for myself, shall we?
1- to finish the race without dying
2- to run the entire course without walking
3- D wanted me to run it in under two hours

Now I realize that hindsight is 20/20. But PUHLEEZE!! Those goals were set WAY too high!! ;) lol I think for the next race my goals are going to be 1- put shoes on the right feet 2- don't spill red gatorade on myself whilst running cuz it stains and 3- just be happy that you didn't trip :)

I'm not saying I didn't put my shoes on the wrong feet, mind you. The goals are going to be a little easier to attain next time. Gotta start small.

The race was.... a LOT harder than I thought it was going to be, and totally different from training. I wish someone would have told me this. I had people mention that it was going to be harder, but they should've sat me down and drilled it into my brain. Haha It was SOOOO different!! My neighbor and I drove up to Logan at 4:45 in the morning, arriving at 5:30. It was pitch black. I should've brought a flashlight with me. We recieved our packets (with t-shirts, coupons for stuff and other paraphenelia. you also put any clothes in this bag that you don't want to haul down the canyon while running) and got in line at the rainbow colored porta-potties. Have you ever used a porta-potty in the dark?? It was a first for me! I seriously felt like the stupid thing was tipping over. lol Then we jumped on the school bus to head up the canyon. The bus ride took forever and I kept thinking 'this sure feels like a lot longer than 13.1...' We got to the starting point and it was FREEZING. We couldn't wait for it to start!! Finally the starting pistol sounded and we were off, like slow little turtles, there being 2300 of us... haha

The canyon part of the run was actually not bad. It was super humid, having rained all night, but every once in a while the Lord blessed us with a reaaalllly cold breeze that froze the sweat on my body. The first six miles went by quickly. Going downhill for that long was starting to hurt but I kept pushing. So far I was keeping my 10-minute mile pace which I was happy with. I got to the bottom of the canyon and started seeing people on the sides of the road, lined up to cheer runners on. It was so emotional, I started to get choked up a little. Then off to the side I saw two of my running partners and really good friends and I started to cry! It was so nice to see a familiar face! They started running with me for about 1/4 of a mile and then gave me hugs and sent me on my way, heading back to find my neighbor I had driven up with. That was so cool! The rest of the race from here on was pretty flat, which was nice. My thighs were hating me for all that downhill crap. :)

I ran most of the way til just after mile 11. I had walked a little here and there, mostly to catch a breath and give my legs a rest. Suddenly at 11 my body started shutting down. I couldn't catch my breath, my thighs were literally on fire, I had to pee like you wouldn't believe, I had a pain shooting down my right leg into the arch of my foot, and my knees were hurting so bad I could barely hobble, let alone run. So I walked. Well, attempted to walk. And I cried. Cuz this wasn't how it was supposed to be! I had trained for this! I thought I was ready! Clearly, I had gone into this way too cocky. So I was knocked down a couple of stripes. As I walked and cried the song "Big Girls don't cry" came on, I was listening to the Broadway recording of Jersey Boys, and I thought 'good thing I'm a little girl and I can cry' lol . But I stuffed the tears away, had a good little pep talk with myself and started a slow jog. By this point I was passing mile 12 and I could see the finish line. I remembered seeing a lady with a sign earlier in the run that said "Don't think. Just run" and that became my mantra. I picked up my pace and really started running through the pain. The finish line was a wall of people on both sides, cheering on their loved ones. I saw my dad and mom-in-law, my parents, and then Wade and the kids. I high-fived them all as I ran past and crossed the finish line at 2 hours 18 minutes and 33 seconds. It was a personal record for me. ;) As I did the math in my head I realized that yeah, I was 18 minutes over my goal of two hours. However, I kept a ten-minute pace for the entire race until that life changing mile 11. Had I kept my pace through to the end I would've finished at 2 hours 10 minutes. I was only 8 minutes over!! To me, considering everything I went through, I was THRILLED.

I learned a lot from this race. I learned that it's ok to not keep up with everyone else, even though it's tempting when people pass you. It's kinda fun to pass other people too. haha I learned that A LOT of people run into the bushes (in the canyon, not in people's yards, gross) to answer nature's call cuz they don't want to wait in line at the porta-potty. I learned that I would probably prefer to run with someone next time. It's a little lonely being surrounded by 2300 strangers. And I learned that it's totally ok to walk. Other runners totally don't care and they totally understand. You think that everyone's looking at you, they're not. They're concentrating on putting one foot in front of the other just like you are.

I loved and hated this race at the same time. It was by far the hardest thing I've ever done. But I can't wait to do the next one!! :)

Top of Utah here I run!

Well tomorrow's the big race. 13.1 miles. The course is down Blacksmith Fork Canyon and into Providence. I'm super excited that it's finally here and just a little nervous! I'm nervous about the unknown, the weather, and the fact that I have to get up three hours before the race even starts. Yeah. Not so much used to that.

I have three goals, two of which seem pretty attainable.
1- finish the race without dying. I'm not so much worried about that.
2- run the entire course without walking. Yeah, that one I already know I'm going to fail on. haha
3- D wants me to run it in under or very close to 2 hours. I think I can do that as long as the miles are marked so I keep my time.

I'm not nervous about the 13, I got that. It's the .1 that scares me. ;)

Summer... it's a wrap!

Ah!! So many things to blog about so I'll try to sum it up in a few short paragraphs that will actually be quite longish and then you'll spend half your day staring at the computer screen wondering what put you here in the first place until you finally realize that your left leg has fallen asleep and your children have ended up eating poptarts and koolaid for lunch. No... that's not from experience. ;)

Summer has been FABULOUS!! Weird right? Usually I hate summer and can't wait for school to begin again. Not so this year!! I'm so not ready for school! We've had a blast! I don't know if it's cuz I've been way more active and so I'm trying to get the kids off the couch and unglued from the tv, but whatever it is, it's been fun! We swam a lot, got multiple sunburns and great tans, and Ethan even had an almost-almost-drowned story. Every kid's gotta have one, right? I still remember mine... Any rate...

We went to Island Park with Wade's family and camped in the new tent, came home with a thousand mosquito bites each (not kidding, I think Livi had 12 on just her legs), floated the river and came home with an appreciation for NOT packing the coolers at the bottom when it's snack time (I was not smart enough to figure that part out... it's for further reference). We spent the night at Park City and went school clothes shopping for like a hundred hours with 4,000 of our closest friends. We went to multiple shows and learned things from each show- like don't sit on the front row if you have to sneak out during the last song before intermission in order to work the concessions, don't sit on the same front row with a four year old who always has to pee at the most inopportune moments... don't take four gazillion snacks to an outdoor show, nuff said.

Wade participated in Pioneer Trek with the Youth and loved it. Came back and promptly bought new hiking boots. haha Ethan had his surgery on his lip and realized that Yes, IV's suck. (he was a total trooper, I was so so proud of him!!) He also went on two scout hikes after which I had to throw away his socks... bleh... Wade and I both had the honor to speak at different Youth functions- he spoke at the Special Needs Youth Conference and wow... those kids are amazing. You can really see the light of Christ in their eyes. And I spoke and sang at the Stake YW medallion dinner, what a great opportunity to share in those wonderful girls' spirits and attempt not to lead them astray. ;)

Wade and I had the opportunity to clean the temple one night from nine to midnight. It was a total and complete blast. Man that place is spotless!! I guess if I started vacuuming and dusting and wiping down my entire house every night it would look amazing too! We went to countless reunions and shook hands with countless relatives and I started rehearsals for my upcoming show, "Scarlet Pimpernel"!! We even put some veggies in at the Stake Fair and our anaheim peppers (wade's actually, I have nothing to do with them except eat them) took first place! Ethan put in some of his drawings, Abby put in her business card collection (450 and counting!) and I sang for twenty mintues or so, knocking everyone's socks off finishing with 'The Wizard and I' from "Wicked". IT WAS AWESOME!!! I'm running like crazy getting ready for my Top of Utah race in a little over a week. Aack!! I'm not worried though cuz D has been running my legs off - today we ran 12 miles for the second time and this time I actually ran a little faster than Superman. ;)

So that's been our summer! Tons of fun, lots of laughs, and some great memories! Let the school year begin! :)