Carsyn Ran a Half Marathon!

Carsyn ran her first half marathon and killed it! She has always been so determined and when she puts her mind to something, she does it! I am so impressed with her - running wasn't her favorite thing for a long time, but she put in the work for this and had a great race!  Great job, Cars!

Rod and I were out of town and were so sad to not be there to support her. 

Her cute friends showed up big though! I am so grateful to them!

 

AF Half 2017

I am so proud of Rod today! We hardly ever see each other anymore, so he decided to join me in training for the AF half (even though running is not his favorite thing). He ran an awesome race and PR'd by 12 minutes from his last half! It always makes me an emotional wreck to see my dad at the end. Cancer sucks.

Loved seeing Carrie and Rachel at the start line!

So fun to have Rod at the top with me!  It was COLD though!

It was clearly NOT cold at the finish! Look at how sweaty Rod and I were! 

I loved having my dad at the finish line. 

A rare picture of my parents and I all together!

Don't let his face fool you. He loves me. Except for when we run together. 

But I am really proud of him and he did PR!

Race Results:

57 out of 306 in my age group

193 out of 1290 females

413 out 1971 overall

8:12 min/mi

Final time was 1:47:33.

AF Half 2016

I hope to run this race on behalf of my dad and loved ones we've lost to cancer every year. 

This year, I got to run with my sweet friend, Carrie. Her dad has the same type of cancer as mine. Another super special year to run!

Race results (just so I can feel cool one day when I'm old) - again, not my fastest race, but I will admit that I did NOT train for this one. 

31 out of 162 in my age group. 

111 out of 687 females.

201 out of 972 overall. 

8:14 min/mi with a final time of 1:48:01.

 

AF Half 2015

 I have loved running for a long time, but this race hit a little different for me. My dad was diagnosed with Chronic Lymphocytic Leukemia a few years ago and I decided to run this one for him. There were so many amazing runners on the course running for people they love. It was pretty emotional.

Kelli is the sweetest human - always happy!  I loved hanging out with her at the Start Line. 

I don't know why I looked so mad at the Finish Line.  I wasn't! 

It definitely wasn't my fastest race, but it is one of the more beautiful courses I've run!

My race time: 

I was 42 out of 339 in my age group.

152 out of 1537 females.

I was 358 out of 2264 overall. 

8:02 min/mi with a final time of 1:45:23.

Utah Valley Half Marathon

These ladies talk me into (I mean inspire me) crazy crap!

Utah Valley Half Marathon!

We met up and took ourselves to a yummy pasta dinner the night before. 

We decided to take a picture BEFORE the race since we all look so good after the race!

This one was a hard one. Nicole (in the middle) asked me to pace her so she could get under two hours. I felt great, but she didn't. It was hard to know when to push her and when to just let her be - I made her pretty grumpy toward the end. lol! We came in at 1:54, so we just barely made her goal, but we did it!

 

Wasatch Back

I have NO idea . . . 1. Why I am SO behind on my blog, and 2.  Why I feel like trying to get caught up now!  Either way, here it is!  All the way back to June! 

Rod and I BOTH got asked to do Wasatch Back this year!  It was so much fun having him on the team and having him with me the WHOLE time (as opposed to being the driver, or the fill-in runner for one leg)! 

 It was non-stop adventure from the get-go, but Rod was a trooper and we had a great time!   

Our team did PHENOMENAL (we had some very elite runners on our team - and Rod and I were not them!).  

We came in 52nd out of 1092 teams, 23rd out of 800 in the co-ed division, and ran 192 miles in 28 hours and 30 minutes!  

 Our first adventure of the day - Rod put his duffel bag on a cooler rack next to the muffler of the truck.  

It got just a little hot on the way up to Logan. 

When we got there and started grabbing our things to check in - 

Rod noticed a good size hole in his bag.  It had melted . . . 

along with his brand new underwear and running socks.  

He looked really cute in my pink running socks - but the pink underwear wasn't going to work. 

Too much chaffing.

Luckily, van 2 hadn't left yet.  We had to call one of the gals in that van and have her buy Rod some new underwear and socks.  

Um, awkward.  

I, of course, couldn't stop laughing, and just added to his frustration by trying to "cheer" him up with teasing, not to mention that the poor guy was STARVING! (Sorry babe!)

The start line was pretty anti-climatic.  

Our team got a really late start time because of our fast runners.  We literally started with about five other people.  

The announcers were pretty bored with the whole deal at that point!

These are the runners in Van 1.  Rod, Jessica, Lorena, Nicole, Nyle, and Kenny.  

It's amazing how good of friends you can become with complete strangers in 24 hours! 

Rod's first run of three.  He did so great!  It was SO hot -

 or was that just Rod???

I love that he still looks happy to be there! 

Rod was the only one smart enough to climb in the river this year and soak tired muscles! 

My first leg - towards the end.

This is what running at midnight does to you!  

Makes you CRAZY!

Rod's second leg - and his daughter's cute pink and purple headlamp.

After a long night and ZERO sleep, Rod was still smiling and going strong.  

As for me, there are no pictures because I'm pretty sure that the Honey Bucket and

 I were best friends at this point! 

Besides, it's my blog, so I get to pick what goes on here! :)

Thanks to Team Trail Dusters for another fun and wild year at Wasatch Back! 

(No finish line pictures either . . . we were a little ridiculously tired and went home instead of waiting for another 6 hours for van 2 to finish.  Yes, we're old and lame.) 

Utah Valley Half

These cute and crazy girls talked me into running the Utah Valley Half Marathon with them

two weekends ago!  They are my dear friends and long-time running partners, 

Jill, Tamera, and Leesa.  They are incredible runners and inspire me daily!   

 (Don't judge - we had to leave our houses at 3:30 in the morning!) 

 We found some of our favorite friends along the way  - Kelli, Nicole, and Kelli's cute cousin, Tif!

 

This was Tamera's first official half marathon!  She did AMAZING!  We stayed together right up until almost the very end!  While it was not my fastest race, I was happy with my time (1:43:54), 

but more importantly, I had a great time!  It was a beautiful day (even with the head wind), 

and a super fun race!

One of my most favorite moments of the whole race was seeing this sign attached to three of the cutest little munchkins ever!  My darling friend Kelli's (pictured above) mom, helped Kelli's kids (who I teach in Kid Fit - and love to pieces) make this sign for me!  They were holding it up near the finish line and yelling for me!  It gave me all the mojo I needed to cross strong!  Thanks Jeannie, Kel, Tate, Whit and Reese! I loved it! 

Marathon Runners Are a Special Kind of Stupid!

It's one of THOSE kinds of posts . . . it's long, it's mushy, and you've been warned!

After a summer of almost no running, frustration, pain, loss of identity, and going a little PSYCHO, I was more than blessed to be able to run the St. George Marathon!



While it sounds like a funny thing to call a blessing, I have good reason . . . marathons teach you an awful lot about yourself and how you view the world.

In my own personal experience, they bring me closer to my Heavenly Father and give me a new found appreciation for a lot of things.

For example, I have never been more grateful for the human body - and what mine has overcome and been able to accomplish (surgeries, babies, dumb varicose veins, and recently, a torn calf muscle and stress fractures).

I have never been more grateful for the support of my amazing husband, family and friends.

I have never been more grateful for the power of prayer and guardian angels - both of which I felt all around me as I ran.

I have never been more grateful for the beautiful landscape we have right here in Utah - majestic!


I have never been more amazed at the strong will and spirit of the everyday man and woman, and the determination that so many have to do something extraordinary!

I am touched by the camaraderie, and the kindness that others have for those who are a little down on their luck. I am touched by how many are willing to "carry" another so selflessly.

I know that this comparison is SO over-used, but it hit home so much for me during this marathon: Life really is like a marathon. We are never alone in our race - and we really need the support of others to make it to the end. We have two choices when it gets hard: Quit and give up, or dig deep and keep going! It's not an easy thing to do, but it can be done - by anyone - if you want it bad enough!

I got to experience the "heart of the race" in St. George this year - the reason that we all keep doing this to ourselves! I will never finish first (or last, hopefully), and I will never know what it's like to be in the top five runners, but those who are focused so much on that goal will never experience the race the way that I do.

I watched numerous people stop to help another, got cheered on by complete strangers, got high-fived by hundreds of spectating children, got to watch the most beautiful sunrise I've ever seen, watched people push their loved ones with disabilities in wheelchairs up giant hills, watched complete strangers link arms just to keep someone having a hard time going, and watched the human spirit and love for running conquer any challenge that marathon offered.

I finally found Joy in My Journey, and for that, I am grateful.

Thank you to all of my cute friends and family that did so much to get me out there, and that believed in me when I didn't. The care packages, the notes, the yummy treats - it was better than Christmas, and it was your love that got me through! Love you all!

(Yes, my eyes are closed - and I am beet red - and EXHAUSTED . . .
and no one said I had to look pretty after running 26.2 miles anyway . . .
and for the record, I only lost one toenail, but got PLENTY of blisters!)

Meadow 1K

Let's play catch up . . . seeing as how I'm only about 14 blog posts behind!
For the LOVE!

The girls participated in their first 1K as part of a fundraiser for their school this year.
It was so fun to watch each of them take off in the race!
Tyleigh had a look of determination like I've never seen, and ended up leaving Rod in the dust as she sprinted ahead. Camryn and Carsyn did great as well!
I'm not sure that I've convinced them that running is FUN yet, but I sure am proud of them!

RedRock Relay!

I got invited to be on an awesome team for the Moab RedRock Relay this year. It's a 70 mile relay run by a team of 6 in one day. The course goes UP the Colorado River, around the La Sal Mountain Range, and back into Moab - INTENSE!

It was one of the best relays I have ever run . . . even though . . .

The first guy on the left in the back (Griff) had food poisoning that morning, the second guy from the left (Braedon) had never run more than 5 miles in his life, Rod (third from the left) had not been training and was there for moral support - not running, I (blue shirt) tore my calf muscle the week prior to the race, the guy on the far back right (Nile) is 62 and tore his meniscus four years ago and had to have surgery to repair it, and the girl on the front left (Nicole) just found out she is pregnant and was exhausted, and Kenny (front right) likes too much Celine Dion.

Odds were not in our favor for a great race day. However . . .

We rocked the RedRock anyway!

We were the mighty Red Rockodile Hunters!

It was hot - but not too, too hot, and the scenery was like no other.

I was the 4th runner, so my beloved husband taped me up good and sent me off running.
My leg climbed 1000 ft. in 5 1/2 miles. After a mile and a half, my calf gave out . . . and my amazing, non-trained husband stepped up and rescued me and the team. Go ahead. Zoom in on the picture above - my face is screaming defeat as I take that blasted wrist band off!

Superman to the rescue - and he even smiled as he finished the last four miles (straight up hill) of my leg!

Nile, Nicole, Me and Griff

One of the many breath-taking views from our run!

I couldn't stand to sit in that car and watch everyone else run - especially knowing that not one of them was any better off than I was that day . . . so being as smart as I am, I had Rod tape me up once more, put a smile on and ran my second leg of the race. 7 miles of rolling hills and pure beauty all around me. I loved every minute of it . . . and paid for every minute of it later!

Rod was the greatest blessing ever to the entire team. He drove, cheered us all on, picked up our slack, and kept everyone of us hydrated and cool throughout the entire day. How many husbands will do that?!

And as if one giant hill wasn't enough, he ran the first part of Nicole's last leg so that she wouldn't have to go up the steep hill in the heat! Rod, you really are amazing!

In spite of all the craziness leading up to the race, we finished in great time - 9 hours and 26 minutes, which meant we had an average pace of 8.o9 minute miles, which put us in 18th place out of 200 teams! We literally rocked the RedRock!

Griff, Nicole, Me, Nile, Braedon, Kenny . . .

And my most favorite team member! Thank you from the bottom of my heart for being so supportive in all I do . . . and for always being the one to carry me when things get crazy and hard! Love you always and forever!