The Race

Jamie and I huddled around the fire pit. We left the hotel 3 hours before the race and got to the starting line an hour before the race...so we had some time to kill:)

Kaelyn giving me my after race hug, while I chow on my banana creamie

So race day came and went and part of me is a little sad its over, but not too sad, because there will be more. Its kind of like when you have family or friends stay over for a few days, and when they leave you feel a little empty inside. Yes, strange I know, but thats how I've felt the past few days. I just want to run so I can have that feeling go away, but I'm still pretty sore and when I did go run on Tuesday I was pretty achy and it wasn't too pleasant.

The race was great, the weather was perfect, the company was spectacular and the course was down right gorgeous. Part of the run was around one of the prettiest lakes in Utah (Pineview) and the water was "butter" (as Wayne would put it) You could see the most beautiful reflections of the sky and landscape in the water. The hardest part for me was between mile 24-25. We had just seen all my family that came to watch and I just wanted to get to 25 so I could tell myself "just one more mile". Thank goodness I had Nicole by my side, because it was very tempting to start walking, but she kept me going...and afterwards she said I kept her going. Kind of funny how that works.

My favorite part was around mile 11ish we came up on Wayne and Kaelyn chilling in their camp chair on the side of the road. Wayne brought Kaelyn right up to me so I could give her a kiss as I ran by. At the moments when I felt so tired, and realized how hard this was, I would keep telling my self, "104 days in the NICU. Kaelyn fought for 104 days in the NICU and never gave up, never gave in. " That was my personal rally cry. It got me through the most difficult times of the run.

Now I want to work at picking up my pace a little, and also try to get more than a sketchy 2 hours of sleep the night before the race. I’m not sure if that’s possible though, I did the same thing last time. I didn't get into the St. George marathon, which is probably a good thing. I forgot how hard this is, but its definitely worth it, just don't think I'm hard core enough to do 3 in 6 months...some day :)

My sister in law told me about this video that a Seminary teacher from my church put together for her students while running the Boston Marathon. Its pretty cool and oh so true, enjoy. (Might need a Kleenex)

Life is like running a marathon