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

Can't make your cake and eat it too...

My first (and possibly last) attempt at decorating a cake with fondant. It wasn't too bad, but as you can see I made "a piece" of cake, and it was pretty time consuming. I ended up only making "a piece" of cake because one of the cakes crumbled to pieces when I took it out of the pan. Guess thats why they tell you to cool completely before you start messing with them. The marshmallow fondant recipe wasn't as hard as I thought it would be, and it was fun playing with the new icing colors I bought. I'm toying with the idea of making Kaelyn's birthday cake, but we'll see how ambitious I'm feeling in a MONTH from today! Yes, my little girl is 11 months old today. I can't believe it. Well I better go to bed before I even think about eating that hunk of sugar, seeing how I've been laying off the sweets this week in prep for the big day Saturday.

Runner's High is Dangerous

It will get you to do some pretty crazy things. Like post on your almost forgotten blog two times in one week. Even crazier, you will have some pretty serious epiphanies' while the warm sun hits your face and a cool breeze gives spring running the perfect conditions. I've been toying with the idea of doing another marathon this summer, so I put my name in for the St. George marathon in October. They do a random selection process because they have so many people sign up. If you've signed up twice and don't get in, you are guaranteed a spot the third time around. So I thought, what the heck, I'll get the process started. Then I decided that if I didn't get selected this year then I would do the Park City marathon in August. Well after my wonderfully easy six mile run today, I realized that this running business is only going to get easier, so why not go from here. I came right home and registered for the Park City marathon. So here is my summer running schedule.

May 15 - Ogden Marathon

June 12 - Utah Valley Half Marathon

July 4 - Neola Half Marathon

August 21 - Park City Marathon

October 2 - St. George Marathon (Maybe)

That should keep me pretty busy ehh. The tricky thing is going to be fitting all my running in around outdoor doubles volleyball tournaments. (Those are my true motivation for getting in shape :) )

The second epiphany I had was...I want to run every marathon in Utah. From what I can find online, that is somewhere between 12-13 races. After this summer I'll have 3 down and 10 to go! See what I mean about Runner's High being dangerous, what will it make me do next? (I'm sure Wayne doesn't want to know)

Still Running...

Yikes, where have I been? Reading everyone else's blogs I guess. Well we just ran our last LONG run before marathon today (20 miles). It feels pretty good to be this far in the training regimen. The big day is in three weeks. I'm getting pretty excited! There is just something amazing about being surrounded by a couple thousand other people, all taking part in the same exciting event. The weather was beautiful today and couldn't have been more perfect for the run. Its been kind of crazy how this time around things have been so different than the first marathon I ran. Then it was like I had to plan my life around my training, but this time...training just has to fit into my life. It's also been a lot easier mentally because I've run all these long runs before, so I know I can do it. Well there's my update, just wanted to let everyone know I'm still going through with it :)

Tagged

My fun cuz Teri Tagged me to do this post, so I better not disappoint:)

Seven things about me...

1. I was once a little Ballerina, never graceful, but a ballerina. The other day my nephews were watching my wedding video and they were very impressed with the footage of my days in the Nutcracker. Carson told me he wanted a copy of my wedding video at his house.

2. In 5th grade I slammed my left middle finger in the door and cut the top of it off. Since then I've met at least 4 others with the same crazy looking finger. 2 family members, 5th grade teacher and anatomy aid. I believe that is why I'm a better dribbler (basketball) with my left hand, cuz my three middle fingers are all the same size.

3. As of today, I've put 106 miles on my new running shoes in the last couple months. It sure starts adding up quickly.

4. My favorite T.V. show these days is the Biggest Loser. In order to watch it though I make myself exercise while watching it...or else I don't get to watch it. It just doesn't seem right to sit on the couch while their working so hard:)

5. In my early elementary days I was voted "class clown". I was very social, which is strange because now being outgoing really pushes me outside my comfort zone. I blame it on junior high...yikes those days were rough.

6. I am the only girl in my family of 4 kids. According to my brother it was his job to toughen me up.

7. I'm married to the coolest guy on the planet. We have lots in common so we don't get too bored.

Five things that make me smile...

1. Just looking at my little daughter Kaelyn. I just can't get over how cute she is.

2. Playing volleyball.

3. Wayne when he's being goofy.

4. Getting together with friends and reminiscing the good old days.

5. Spending everyday at home chilling with Kaelyn...and when we hear the garage door open and know Dad's home.

I tag...

Jamie

The Crow

Everyone else who feels up to it:)

I'm doing it again...

but this time I'm doing a few things differently.

1. I'm not going to map every single run on Mapmyrun thanks to the Christmas gift Wayne gave me...Nike + Ipod. It keeps track of my mileage so I can just hit the open road and save lots of time planning.

2. Jamie (my sista from a different mista) will be doing it with me, and that will be great!

3. Lots of inside runs with the Christmas gift I bought myself (Treadmill), because now that I have a little one I can't just take off anytime, plus the air quality isn't the best this winter.

4. I'm going to do a half marathon a couple months after, so I won't quit running right after, not pick it up again for a year and let all my in-shape-ness go to waste.

5. Last but not least, I will NOT run the 10 mile run in the heat of the day on the Jordan Parkway alone...I had to learn the hard way on that one last time, but I learned my lesson.

Yep, I'm running another marathon in May, the Ogden Marathon. From what I hear its one of Utah's best. One of my lifetime goals is to run one within a year of having a baby. I've found it to be a great motivator to get back in shape. I would have to admit that I don't LOVE running, sometimes I down right dread it. But I do LOVE getting in shape, shedding the pounds, feeling like I pushed myself and accomplished something REALLY hard. I do look forward to when the 3 mile runs seem like nothing more than a walk to the mail box, and not like the death sentence that they do right now.

This is the quote I put on my treadmill, because running on a treadmill is A LOT more difficult that running outside, but I'm sure it will get easier. For now though, I have to read this quote multiple times during a run and talk my body out of giving up.:)

“Now if you are going to win any battle you have to do one thing. You have to make the mind run the body. Never let the body tell the mind what to do. The body will always give up. It is always tired in the morning, noon & night.

But the body is never tired if the mind is not tired”.

-George S. Patton, U.S. Army General, 1912 Olympian

I Choose Mother

So I've totally neglected my blog lately. I've had an idea for a post for a while, but just found the time to write it up, yes at 2:30 am just after feeding Kaelyn her mid-night snack. Just kidding my life isn't THAT busy, but I've just been putting this off too long.

I still remember that dreadful afternoon. My first year of college was coming to a close and I sat on my twin bed in tears because "they" were making me declare a major. "They" said it wasn't set in stone, most college students change their majors 3 or 4 times. That just didn't set well with me. What was the point of declaring something if you didn't really mean it? I called my mom hoping that she would just tell me what to put down, what I should gear my education towards. I remember wanting to be able to say, "A mother! I've always wanted to be a mom, its all I've always wanted to be. Its the only profession I've ever considered." (Except dance teacher, but I hadn't danced since 6th grade so that really was no longer an option) But I couldn't declare that as my major, or could I have?, I should have. Any how after a long conversation with mom I finally decided on "Physical Therapy". What a relief it was to finally get that out of my way, and to have more direction in the courses I would need to complete over the next few years.

That decision helped set the course for the next few years of my life, and in a way bring me closer to my life's goal of being a mom. In my mind it only made sense for me to go to the University of Utah after I graduated from Jr College. It was the only school in the state that had a Physical Therapy program, and I would have a better chance of getting in if I did. It didn't even take a full semester at the U for me to decide that PT school wasn't what I wanted to do, but I'm grateful for the initial desire I had to do it, because it got me where I needed to be. To make a long story short, I met Wayne and we got married, and none of it would have happened had I not gone to the University of Utah.

So now to this mother business. On one of our drives home when Kaelyn was still in the hospital I made a promise to myself, and then I had to report it to Wayne so I would have some accountability. I promised that I would, "Never complain about being a mother." If it has anything to do with my children and the care I am privileged to provide them, I will not complain. Yes, I understand very well that being a mom is the hardest job in the world, but I also understand that we can find joy in anything in life. Sometimes we have to look REALLY hard to see it, but it is always there. I feel like children are on loan to us from Heavenly Father, and we have to report to him on how we raised His Little ones. I'm so grateful for the blessing of being a mother is in my life, and so grateful for the lessons I learned about motherhood while Kaelyn was in the hospital. It helped get me to a place where I could say, "Whatever she needs from me, I will do it." I love her so much, and am grateful for every second I get to spend with her. Even when those seconds are in the wee hours of the morning and I'm spilling milk all over the both of us while putting it in her feeding tube.