Salt Lake Half Marathon '11

{ The group from my ward that ran the race}

A couple of weeks ago I ran in the Salt Lake Half Marathon. I wasn't planning on running any half marathons this year, but two weeks before the race I decided to sign up. My two friends that I run with during the week had been planning on running the race for months. I decided even though I wasn't planning on it, I would continue to run the miles they were running. When we started hitting 10-11 miles on our longer runs, I decided what the heck! I might as well run it too. Signing up two weeks before race day was the perfect way to go! No stress or nervousness during any of my training runs, and by the time I signed up it was already time to start tapering. It was fabulous!

{Jessica, Me, and Cozette at the starting line}

I was all nerves once race day came! I was having knee and ankle pain earlier in the week and it totally freaked me out! So, I said a lot of prayers and hoped for the best! I normally don't set too many goals for races, but this time was a little different. I knew that I had increased in speed over the year, so I was really hoping to beat my best time of 2:21:54. Deep down I was really hoping to finish in under 2:10. I didn't really think that I could finish that quickly but decided it was worth a shot! When the gun went off at the starting line, the adrenaline was insane! There were so many people and it was difficult to find our normal pace. We were weaving in and out of people for the first few miles, but finally found a comfortable stride around mile 5. I decided to look at where we were pace wise and just before mile 5 our average was 8:45. I couldn't believe it! We had never ran that fast before. We decided to slow it down a little bit. I continued to feel good up until mile 8. That's when I started feeing sluggish, so around mile 8 1/2 we took a break and had our energy gu's. Shortly after starting back up again, I stepped in a crack and rolled my ankle. Luckily, I've had this happen MANY times and was able to keep going.

We hit Liberty Park and I was really starting to doubt myself. I always hit a wall between miles 10 and 11 and was nervous it was going to happen again. Luckily, they had cameras taking pictures as you were leaving the park, so naturally you try to look all gung ho and happy. Right after that happened, my energy gu kicked in and I felt a little bit of energy come back. I was mentally trying to prepare for the State Street stretch. Everyone had warned me that it was miserable! There is a short hill at the end that isn't fun to run after you've already ran 12 miles. Once we turned on State, all I could think about was the hill. We stopped at a water station {around mile 11.5} for a quick drink. I really felt that I needed to slow down if I was going to make it up the hill. I told Jessica and Cozette to continue on if they felt they could go faster than me. I fell behind a little bit and was a little disappointed in myself, but knew I could finish strong. I ran up that hill like I owned it! Once I turned on South Temple, I could see the Gateway where the race ended. I finished the last of my water and took off! It was so fun to see the crowds of people get thicker as you got closer to the finish line. As I rounded the corner into the Gateway, I began seeing friends there cheering me on. Shortly after was Rob and the boys, then my sisters and their families. I always get so emotional at the end and they gave me the boost I needed to finish strong! I have the best family and friends in the world!

{Waving to Rob and the boys in passing}

I crossed the finish line and hit stop on my timer. It read 2:03:03! {My actual time ended up being 2:02:34} I couldn't believe it! That is the fastest pace I have ever maintained for that many miles. My body and my training didn't let me down. I had such a runner's high!

{Our little family}

{My whole cheering squad}

{My first {and favorite} running partner Jess. Who is amazing and ran the race with only 2 weeks of training!}

I am so glad I decided to run the half. It was a great experience and one I hope to have again in the future. A special thanks to Rob! He is so supportive of my running. Always willing to help with the boys while I go out on my long runs. Not to mention, he puts up with my ornery self when I am beat and tired from running so many miles. I love you babe! You are my rock!

Later that afternoon we met up with my siblings and their families to celebrate the April birthdays. What a way to celebrate! We chowed down on some delicious grub at Cafe Rio! I was starving to say the least :)

Longing for...

SPRING!

I can't stand this winter any longer! I honestly think I might have to check myself into the loony bin if I don't see some real sunshine and/or warmer weather soon. Is it just me or does this winter seem to be lasting FOREVER? I'm in a huge rut and I don't know how to get out. Normally I like to break up the late winter with a trip somewhere, but our lack of funds this year is preventing us for going anywhere. Well, until June anyways. We are trying to save every penny to take a trip to Chicago. Last year I took a girls trip to St. George in February and then ran the Canyonlands Half in Moab last March. It kept me from going stir crazy. I think another reason for my restlessness is that I'm not training for anything. No 5k, no 10k, no half. I'm still running on a regular basis and I've even bumped up my speed. But, I'm just not sure if I feel like running another half anytime soon. Running in these freezing temps is sure getting old!

Man, do I long for the warm days of spring spent watching my boys run endless laps around the backyard, or sliding down the slides at the park. I honestly can't wait for even hotter temps so we can spend many lazy days at the pool. Normally I am a bigger fan of winter than summer but as I've gotten older and now that I have kids, I'm becoming a huge fan of summer! There is NOTHING to do {with two energetic boys} in the freezing cold months of winter! Spring/Summer, please tell me you're out there! Until then, I am trying to stay positive and look for things to keep me motivated. Here are a few things in the next couple of months that I'm looking forward to:

1. Beckett's Birthday in March

2. Warmer running weather {Spring is my favorite time of year to run outside.}

3. General Conference

4. My Birthday in April

5. Possibly running the Salt Lake 5k with Rob in April

6. Easter {which brings Easter candy :) }

Here's to hoping that Spring will be here before we know it! If not, you'll probably find me at the Funny Farm!

Thanksgiving!

We had a GREAT Thanksgiving this year! It was a little different than we are used to, but it was a great day spent with our wonderful family and friends! I kicked off the day early with the Human Race 10k. It was FREEZING! My car said 5 degrees when I pulled up to the race. BRRRRRRR! I don't think I have ever been so cold during a run before. My best friend {and favorite running partner} Jessica came down to run it with me! {Thanks again Jess!}

Me and Jess before the race

Our good friends Mike and Trisha joined in the fun as well!

I was in charge of bringing rolls to the Smith's this year. I decided to make my Mom's delicious homemade rolls. It's not Thanksgiving in my book without them! This was my first time making them {my Mom has ALWAYS made them in the past}, and it was a complete disaster in the beginning! My Mom accidentally left out a key ingredient when she emailed me the recipe. Luckily it was an easy fix, it just took twice as long to make them. They turned out perfect though. Aren't they pretty?

My siblings also volunteered me to make my Mom's cream pies...PANSIES! None of them dared to try and since I have made them before, it was automatically my job. They turned out beautifully as well!

3 out of the 5 pies that I ended up making

We ate dinner that day with Rob's family and our good friend Mike came along. The food was delicious and the company was even better! Every year we put together hygiene and school kits for the church's Humanitarian Center. I think it's a great tradition and an even better way of showing gratitude for all that we've been given. After we put the kits together, the kids put on some Thanksgiving costumes and Rob's brother David read a cute Thanksgiving story.

Beckett the Indian

All the kiddos with Dave

Wesley the Pilgram {not really sure what the baton was for?}

Yoshi, Grandpa Smith, Rob, and Beckett

Everyone watching Rob and Dave play their annual piano duets

Thanks again to the Smiths for a fabulous Thanksgiving! After dinner we headed to my grandparents house to eat pie with the Rigby family. It was a good time as always and it was fun to visit with my grandparents, aunts and uncles, and Jen's family.

We tried to get a picture of our little family, but the boys weren't really cooperating.

Ok, maybe I was the problem in this picture.

Seriously?!?!

almost there...

This is the best we got :)

Wesley ended up getting a wedgie for not cooperating!

We definitely missed having my parents here for Thanksgiving! It was the first time that I truly missed them since they left. It's comforting to know that my Mom will be back next year, cooking a mouth-watering meal that I can already taste! I know that a lot of people have been doing this, but I just wanted to list a few things that I am grateful for:

* My Family, I honestly don't know what I would do without them!

* My Husband...yes he gets his own line :)

* My amazing friends!

* a healthy body {and the healthy bodies of my family}

* Jesus Christ

* The Gospel

* The Scriptures

* Our warm house

* Trials - This is a big one!

* Diet Coke

* Hot showers

* Our cars

* In-n-out

* Dunford Donuts

Although this past year has definitely been difficult, I have truly seen the tender mercies of the Lord. He has truly blessed our lives and I am grateful for that! I hope all of you had a great Thanksgiving as well!

Kaua'i Day 3

Day 3

We woke up bright and early at 6:30...AGAIN! We decided to start the day off with a run along the beach. This was one thing I really wanted to do while we were there, and the day before we had found a really cool trail that went right along the beach. The scenery was breathtaking!

I do have to say if we ever move to Hawaii, I would have to transition to a treadmill runner. It was so stinkin HOT!!! I wanted die.

On our way back to the hotel, it started raining. We had the top down in the car and decided to keep it down. While everyone else was pulling over and putting their tops up, we welcomed the refreshing rain! It felt fabulous after our hot workout. It poured for another hour or so, and had stopped just in time for us to head out for the day.

Hawaii even graced us with a rainbow!

Our first stop was to rent a boogie board and snorkel gear. Then it was off to the North shore once again! The drive that morning was even more breathtaking than the day before! The rain had produced multiple waterfalls on the mountains. It was gorgeous!

This is what the mountain looked like on our first day on the North Shore. If you look closely, you can see a tiny waterfall near the top.

This is what it looked like the next day after the rain. You might have to click and enlarge it to see all the waterfalls.

After boogie boarding in Hanalei Bay for an hour or so, we grabbed some lunch and a scrumptious Hawaiian Shaved Ice!

Have you ever had an authentic Hawaiian Shaved Ice???

They are to die for!

Next on our agenda was snorkeling at Ke'e Beach. This was my first time snorkeling in years! I think I have only ever snorkeled one other time in my life. I was a little nervous but excited.

All ready to go! Attractive huh?

The reef on this beach was only a couple of feet under the water. Shortly after getting in the water I started feeling really claustrophobic. I also kept getting water in my mask that would sit at the base of my nose. I finally had to knee on the coral to adjust my mask (BTW, I know you aren't suppose to touch, kneel, or stand on reefs, but I had no choice! I was about to drown!). It felt like kneeling on rocks! I wasn't really enjoying my snorkeling experience, so I decided to head in. Rob stayed out for a little while longer. While sitting on the beach drying, I looked down at my knee and noticed it was gushing blood! The stupid coral had cut my knee! Me, being super unprepared like always, had zero band-aids and nothing to clean my wound with. I ended up asking the people next to me if they had a band-aid. They not only had a band-aid, but they had anti-bacterial wipes, neosporin (sp?), and band-aids! Lucky for me, they were SUPER DUPER prepared! After Rob finished snorkeling, we decided it was late enough that we would stay and see the sunset. To kill some time we did a little exploring around the area...

This was a cool cave filled with water

The beach was lined with these trees that had massive root systems!

This tree was practically knocked over, but the roots kept it from falling completely over!

So cool!

I LOVE Hawaiian sunsets!

So Gorgeous!

Luckily the sun sets early in Hawaii (around 6:45), because we were starving! It was the perfect ending to another perfect day in Paradise!

4th of July

Wow! Look at me...three posts in one week! That hasn't happened in a LONG time! It seems like we have been so busy playing for the past month or so, and the fourth of July weekend was no exception! With Wesley's birthday being so close to the holiday, it feels like we celebrate for a whole week! We started off the patriotic weekend with our good friends the Arbuckles. We met up for dinner at Robintino's, then we headed to the firework show at Granite High. In my opinion, Granite puts on the best firework show! We are never disappointed. Since Wesley is completely terrified of fireworks, my parents were kind enough to let me tag along with them up to Bear Lake.

Beckett and his buddy Max playing with Max's uncle Matt

Us minus Wesley

Silly Beckett

Cute max

Scary Carter

Next on our weekend of celebration...I decided to run my first race since my knee injury. The City of West Jordan usually holds a 5k and 10k over the holiday weekend, so I decided to try the 10k and asked my friend Lexi if she wanted to join me. I had never ran a 10k race, but figured it wouldn't be too difficult. I ran 6 miles the week before and my knee held up ok, but I was still nervous for the 10k. Saturday morning turned out to be a gorgeous day! It was a little cooler than normal (no complaints from me!), and I ended up with a great run! I finished 6 minutes faster than I was hoping to finish. Afterwards my knee felt great and I couldn't have been any happier!

Lexi and I after the race!

After we left the race we headed home, packed up the car, and hit the road! We spent the rest of the weekend with family at our cabin up in Bear Lake. Although the weather was a bit on the cooler side, the kids still had a great time playing in the sand and in the hot tub!

We had a great weekend and were completely exhausted by the time we got home! I think it took a week or so for us to recover. I am definitely loving summer this year! Can't wait to see what else is in store for us...stay tuned!