St. George Marathon Weekend!!!

Saturday: St. George marathon!!! We (Mike, Corom and I) woke up at 4:20 a.m. to get ready and load the buses. Amy was up with our girls at 5:30 :/.

I was not stressed at all this morning… Today I decided I was not going to race the marathon. My race in December is way too important to jeopardize for the wanting to race this one. So I used it as a long run (I was supposed to run a 21 miler… What’s 5 more? :)). I will admit that at the starting line, it was extremely hard for me to not go out fast. I even battled the urge to “race” up until mile 8 or 9. And even when I hit the halfway point (13.1) I had the same itch to want to race… So at the beginning, I started at a 7:15 pace and eventually got up to a 7 minute pace.

The last couple of miles I picked it up and finished off with a 3:02.38. I carried my phone with me so I would be able to take pictures and “relax & enjoy” this run. I felt really good during and after the race. Yes I was sore and tired but not as sore as I usually am after a marathon. I am hoping this run won’t set me back… Come Monday we shall see! I watched Corom, Mike, Sarah (my mother-in-law), the Booths, & all my running friends come in. Many of them had great races (Beth broke 3 :)) and some did not. For Corom… Not so good, but he doesn’t train!!! So without training it’s not too bad!

As I waited in the “racer’s” area, I was able to people watch… I love marathons and races… You always see the people who are so happy and emotional and then those that are emotional because they didn’t do as well as they hoped… Then you see those that are carried away to the medical tent…

… And there is always people like these 2… 😉

(Weird :)). Good times. Amy, her kids and my kids, Yolanda (Corom’s sister) and her family all came to hang out at the finish line.

After, we (the Fullmer’s and us) went back to the place we are staying at, relaxed as much as we could (as much as our kids allowed), then met up with Yolanda and Sarah (his mom) for dinner.

The girls had a blast Back at the house we were able to stay at in St. George. They caught lizards, climbed trees, played games, watched movies, etc. Thanks again Amy and kids for watching the girls this morning for Corom and I! Later this evening, the girls went to bed and we watched a movie and ate. 🙂

Sunday: The day after the marathon… When I woke up, I have to admit that I was a little nervous to see how I would be feeling soreness wise. I threw my legs over the bed, stood up and began walking… I heard Angels singing! I was not sore at all! Throughout the day I would feel a little tenderness in my thighs but nothing to stress about. I know now that I made the right decision in not racing the marathon (well the true test will come tomorrow on my nice, easy run). We packed and cleaned up everything at the place we stayed at… The Fullmer’s took off and Corom, the kids and I went to Sand Hollow State Park to hang out with Yolanda (Corom’s older sister) and her family. They own the boat, ATV, mini store-restaurant place. So we hung out there, relaxed, listened to General Conference (in the lounge chairs) and ate some yummy food!

We left a little after lunch and we were able to listen to the 2nd session of General Conference today on the radio. Such great messages today! We have amazing leaders in the church! You can feel their love, concern and support for us. The girls did well for the first couple of hours… Towards the end of our drive… Not so good. We were all excited to arrive to our new home. We hung out for awhile and then eventually went to bed… Corom is having a hard time moving around. 🙂 Here are a few pictures I found in my photos from today…

Friday: I know I’m going out of order with days. 🙂 I woke up this morning so exhausted… I decided not to go for a run. These past few weeks have been so busy- emotionally and physically! I just felt like I needed the sleep and with the marathon tomorrow I knew I would be ok to take the day off. I did get a lot done here at the new house, then I headed over to our old house to help the new family move in.

I watched the coaches daughter for them and then they (well Marti) watched my 2 younger ones so I could ride the bus with the HS kids to their cross country meet. I met Thompson half way through the ride up to the meet… I hopped out and he got on the bus. I sadly couldn’t go to the meet because I was headed to St. George for the marathon in a couple of hours. I went to the girls school to run with the 3rd graders…

Then it was off to a late start for our 4 hour drive (usually takes us 3:15) to St. George. We went down with the Fullmer’s so with 2 cars it always takes a little longer. We made it to the expo 1/2 an hour before it closed. Corom realized that he “forgot” all his running stuff. He had to buy shoes, shirt and shorts. Yeah… A little pricey!!! By the time we left, there were not many people left.

I am so grateful that I was not racing and I did not have that pressure! I would have been so nervous and probably on edge with this Friday evening! We went to the store after for food the next morning, etc. We didn’t get to bed until late! Saturday morning came too quick!