13.1 Arizona edition

Waiting for the race to start with Susan and her race friends 

Beautiful views along the course 

Finished!

With Kate at the finish line

Post race breakfast 

Sharon and I have been talking about going to Arizona to run a marathon for a few years. We get excited to sign up and then end up changing our minds. I decided this was the year. I went back and forth between running the full and the half. In the end I signed up for the half marathon and I’m glad I did. It was a really great race. It was so nice to do a half with no pressure on time because the full was still going on. The weather was perfect. The race was very well done. I would absolutely do it again. 

Thanksgiving 2018

Since I haven't gone to St. George for Thanksgiving the past several years, I always find other things to do to celebrate the holiday week/weekend.

Wednesday was a pretty low key day. I went down to Lehi to pick up my packet for the Thankful 13 race the next day.

Celsey invited family over to celebrate Rem's birthday. 

I ran the Thankful 13 half marathon on Thanksgiving morning.

I hurried home to get ready to go to the Anderson's for Thanksgiving dinner. They are always so kind to include me with their family. After the running joke 2 years earlier about barely eating (since that was meal #1 out of 3), I made sure to fill my plate this time. 

We enjoyed a nice meal, relaxed in the hot tub and pool, and had a great day.

The rest of the weekend was also pretty relaxed. It was perfect.

13.1..Thankful 13 round 2

After running the Thankful 13 the year before, several others of our running friends wanted to run it and get the cool medal and shirt. We had a little bigger crowd this year, and it was fun to all do it together.

JoAnn, ReNae, Judy and I met to pick up our packets and race materials the day before. Unfortunately JoAnn was having some hip problems and wasn't able to run with us. She did come to pick up her stuff.

We all met on Thanksgiving morning to start the race together. Donna and her friend started a little early. Sharon, Mike, ReNae, Todd, Judy and I all started together. Judy, Mike and I ran the first few miles together. Judy and I stayed together the whole time.

The course runs through neighborhoods but also on trails. There are some really parts of the run.

Every mile marker had a gratitude quote and there were many signs along the way of what people are thankful for. Those are my favorite parts of the race.

The first 10 miles went really well. We ran really strong and the weather was pretty good. Judy started to lose a little steam and a little balance so we stuck even closer together for the last 3 miles. It also started raining at that point. We were very happy when we crossed the finish line.

We crossed the finish line, hopped in the car, and hurried home to get ready for Thanksgiving dinner. It is a really good race and a great way to start the holiday.

26.2 St. George round 3-wetter than wet

Stacha and I have talked about running here and there at work. One day we started talking about the St. George marathon. She always wanted to do it, and I kind of wanted to do it again. I knew I couldn't run the big cottonwood so I was considering it. We kind of talked each other into signing up.

We drove down to St. George separately and met up at the expo and for dinner after. The weather forecast wasn't looking great so we worried quite a bit about what to wear the next day.

We met for the buses and also met up with Sharon and her son. The weatherman the night before said there shouldn't be any rain so it eased our nerves. Unfortunately it started to sprinkle while waiting for the buses. 

We got to the top and hung around for a hit. Eventually we got in our places to start, and the rain also started. We got our garbage bags out and put them on. We thought it would be temporary and the weather would get better. It never did. We wore them for 26.2 miles.

There were several times where the rain stopped for a minute or two, and we were hopeful. Around mile 17 or 18 we finally knew we weren't ever going to take them off. Stacha started getting blisters in the first 10 miles somewhere. I didn't start noticing them until later-probably around mile 15 or 16. We knew things were going to be bad when we finished, and they kind of were.

I was really proud of us. The weather was bad-really bad. We were pretty miserable, but we stuck it out. We stayed together the whole time, and helped each other stay positive. We had pretty good attitudes through it all. We chatted and laughed and tried our best to distract ourselves from the weather.

Stacha's sister and her family surprised her along the course and cheered in several spots. It was the push we needed to finish strong.

We were so happy and proud when we finished. It was by no means my best marathon time-wise, but it felt like one of my biggest accomplishments. I am so happy we stayed together the whole time-something I had never done before. Our bodies were pretty wrecked for several weeks after from blisters and severe chafing and other effects of the weather, but our sense of a accomplishment made it worth it.

Documenting my garbage bag.

26.2...Big Cottonwood round 4

Marathon running is an interesting thing. It's amazing and awful and crazy and incredible. Some days I think I will never run another one, and other days I am ready to sign up right this second.

The Big Cottonwood marathon is always tempting. The course is beautiful. It is practically in my backyard. It is a good time of year. A fall marathon keeps me on track all summer.

I ran the marathon again this year. I did a lot of training in the canyon this year. People always ask if I am ready. The answer is always the same-kind of. I ran all the long runs. I drank a lot of water. I tried to get good sleep the week of the race. I picked up my packet and did everything I could to prepare. I don't know if you ever really feel ready.

It was a beautiful day. The canyon was much greener this year than it usually is. It was a little chilly at the start and warm at the end, but overall the day was really nice. 

I ran into Tina at the start. It was fun to see her since I was up there all by myself. 

I got off to a good start. I felt really strong basically the whole way. I ran really hard in the canyon. It was steep and easy to run hard and fast. I lost my steam a little around mile 9, but after taking it a little easier for a couple of miles, I picked up the pace again.

Sharon met me at mile 18 and ran several miles. She was with me on part of the wasatch loop-my least favorite part of the race. It was nice to have a little company for that part.

Andrea met me and ran the last few miles. It was nice to have that company too. I slowed down a bit by then so it was really nice to have someone to push me a little more than I could push myself.

I got closer to the chute and saw Becky and Amanda with animal heads. I was so happy to see them. It's always nice to have a little crowd at the finish line. It was so nice of them to come.

I really love this race. It is steep and hard and also so rewarding to finish. My time did not reflect this, but I felt really strong the whole way. I am not happy with my time, but I am happy with my preformance. Part of me think 12 is a good number to end on, and the other part of me can't wait to do it again.

weekend happs

basically crammed a whole weekend into saturday. i worked late on friday and did my usual sunday things (church, laundry, meal prep) things on sunday.

saturday started out well before bright and early. in fact it was pitch black when we started running down big cottonwood canyon. it was starting to get light by the time we got to the bottom of the canyon. we ran around town for a while until people needed to leave. andrea drove me back up the canyon and i ran down again. it is so beautiful. it is still so green. it is a pretty steep downhill so training for the marathon there is pretty important.

 

i finished running in time to run home and change before heading to the pure barre 5 year anniversary celebration. they previewed the new Empower class launching august 14. it is such a fun, sweaty class. the pace is much quicker, and the energy was so high. it was so much fun and a killer workout. after brittany finished teaching, we went to protein house for lunch. it is so fresh and clean (the food and the place itself).

the rest of the weekend was spent meal planning.prepping and general goal setting and planning for the week and month ahead. there's something about sitting down and making plans that gets me all kinds of excited. 

how was your weekend? any exciting happs?