Mother Racer

Monday Dec 21st: Monday began very early for us. We were just about to drive over Donner’s Pass in Truckee at around 1 a.m. That’s where Corom and I traded off (I drove from Utah to Reno which took about 9 hours with all the snow and weather). At that point in Truckee, we had to put chains on the van. So at 1 a.m. Corom went out and put chains on. I got to stay inside to dive the van back and forth over the chains. The kids slept through this whole process… By 2:30, we were back on the road… Yes, that is how long it took “us” to actually put the chains on.  

 We had to laugh about this because the roads were not even bad! I think driving in Utah for so long has helped us with learning how to drive in the snow. We drove for about 2 miles and were told we could take our chains off. 😁 It was just over the summit and then we were done. By the time we were down the pass it was about 4:30 a.m. We parked the van in some parking lot and sacked out until about 7. We went out for pastries. My 2nd child was having a really rough morning. That always makes these outings fun! 😐 The chocolate croissants were amazing!  

 We soon ended up at Jarom & Christina’s house (Corom’s brother). The girls were so excited to play with their cousins!  

 They had a great time! 

 While they were playing, Corom and I were helping our sister in laws parents clean out their barn. We actually had so much fun doing it and her parents are way cool.  

 Corom did take our nephew, his cousins and our 2nd daughter out to the field. The kids wanted to make a movie so Corom was more than happy to help. 😁  

 We had to take off in the early evening to make our way to my parent’s house. With the rain, it took us about 3 hours to get there. My kids were so excited to see their grandma and grandpa!  

 We were all pretty tired, so after calming the girls down we eventually all went to bed. 

Tuesday Dec 22nd: I went out for a late 40 minute morning run after a nice breakfast from my mom. Oh it is great to be here for the Holidays. We kept busy all day with crafts…  

 Playing Barbies and last minute shopping (well more like goofing off for Corom and I)…

 And a great time at Chuckee Cheese. Grandma and grandpa surprised the girls… They loved it!  

 We had fun with the sketch machine. It only cost a token. 🙂 
 We did have some down time but not much… The girls kept us busy. They love all the attention they get from grandma and grandpa. It’s my parents fault… They are so good to the kids! 

Wednesday Dec 23rd: I did go out for a 51 min run. The 1st 6 of my run was with my youngest. She really wanted to go with me this morning, so I took her around the block (a 6 min loop).  She did well. 

The weather is so great here. I love it! Today consisted of more crafts…  

My girls are loving all these crafts. We were able to get tickets from my mom’s friend to go to the Aquarium in Monterey Bay. The girls loved it… But they stressed me and my parents out by running to and from each aquarium tank in the crowded place. Corom wasn’t feeling all that well so he spent most his time in the restroom. 😑  

   We showed the girls The Christmas Story movie for the 1st time… They were laughing in so many parts.  I forgot how funny it was. Corom is obviously feeling better. 😉  
 
Thursday Dec 24th Christmas Eve: I went out for a 40 min easy run. It felt nice. I was able to run on the golf course near my parent’s house. It was raining very lightly… It kept the golfers away. I came home to my mom teaching the girls how to make homemade lemonade.  My mom is so good with the girls. They can be a handful but she knows how to direct their energy into a positive thing… 

  We did the traditional ginger bread houses…  

 And then while the girls (and Corom and my dad) watched Swiss Family Ribonsen (which the girls loved), my mom and I made our traditional Greek food. I love Greek food and I loved it more working side by side with my mom.  

 The girls worked on another craft and puzzles along side with their grandpa (grandpa helped with every activity… I think he enjoyed it more than the girls at times). 

 The girls helped with the Christmas Eve dinner with cooking and setting the table.  

 Then the Sister missionaries (female missionaries) came for our Greek Christmas Eve dinner. It was very nice and the food was excellent!! The girls acted up a bit but nothing out of the norm. 😉  They are so excited for tonight. 

 The girls opened up a Christmas Eve present from my parents…  

  Pajamas have been a tradition for me growing up. So being at my parents… They got their pj’s. We set up the cookies and milk and of course the girls set up a “trap” for Santa. 

 After the girls fell asleep… We noticed Santa came while the adults were watching a movie (and he wasn’t caught). 😉 The girls had the piece of rope going into their bedroom. It was the funniest thing.  

 Santa left a note for the girls; now I can’t wait until the morning! They will be so excited! It was a late night for us and the morning is going to come quickly! 

Friday Dec 25th Christmas: I love Christmas morning! It came early, though. We had a very nice time.  Lots of excitement and happy screams going on (mainly from Corom). 😋 
  I don’t know who left the gifts on our doorstep but whoever did it, knows our kids pretty well! Words can not express the gratitude I have felt for all our many blessings! There are so manygreat things and so many 

great people. Thank you for whoever had done this. 

My 1st daughter…
 My 2nd daughter…

 My 3rd daughter…  

 My 4th daughter…   As mentioned earlier… It was a great morning. We had cinnamon rolls and hot apple cider for breakfast. The girls played, got ready, did more crafts, played checkers, etc…  

WWe walked to the park and played “softball” for a little while…. My mom was actually a pretty good hitter! My brother Ben and his wife, Jenn, arrived this afternoon with their 2 boys. I am so glad they were able to make it over. We have not seen them for a while. My girls were way excited to hang out with their cousins.  We exchanged gifts and then ate dinner. 

 We taught the kids well… It was a nice shoulder rub. 🙂 My brother showed the girls some magic tricks and then we made a cake and sang Happy Birthday to Jesus. 😉 Just a little tradition we do every Christmas. Such a fun night! 

My 3rd child lost her tooth tonight. She left a plate with $1 on it. She told the Toothfairy to keep the dollar. Too cute!  

 The adults watched a movie and then went to bed. 

It has been a wonderful  full day/week. We are so blessed! I love my savior and for all He has done for us. Merry Christmas to everyone!! 
W  

Monday Dec 13: I decided to take today off of running too… We woke up to the 1st real snow fall of the winter season. I was a little sad that I didn’t get out this morning for a run because I love running in fresh snow when I’m not in training!! But the girls hurried and got ready for school and went out to play before school started. This was the 1st time our “puppy” (8 months) has seen the snow.  Pretty funny to watch. I checked the girls out of school a little early to take them to the dentist (for their 6 month cleaning). It’s sad when they are so excited to be checked out for the dentist but last year when I came back from my Greece/Spain trip, the 2 older girls cried and complained that I checked them out early. 😁 

 For the Christmas activity, the girls wanted to wrap their presents that they got for each other. I decided to wrap all the rest of the presents just to be done with it. I was able to stay within our budget of $50-$70 per kid.    Shortly after dinner we were hanging out. Someone knocked on our door and when we went to answer it we saw a couple of garbage bags with gifts in them from “Santa”. I have no idea who it came from but we were so shocked and the girls were extremely excited! Whoever it was… Thank you!!! Words can not express the feelings we have felt!  

I had a soccer game tonight. We actually won our 1st game. We had a double header… The 2nd game we did what we do best and lost, but it was still a blast. We got home so late!! 

 
Tuesday Dec 14th: I took the girls to school. It was cold today! I did RS visits this morning. And then I ran errands and cleaned until it was time to get the girls and neighbor kids from school. For our activity today we played in the snow cave (that Corom and the girls built) and had a snowball fight. The elderly neighbor across the street came out and played with the girls and neighbor kids.  He is so fun with the kids. 

 We started in-door track today. The distance runners start in-door but end up outside. It was a good, cold run. 😊

 The 2 younger girls had their last dance practice before their dance recital (tomorrow night).  My youngest had a little fall and hit her face on the floor… Dancing is not her thing. 🙂 

  We started to deliver our neighbor’s gifts (this is a few day process). And then our home teacher came over for a nice little message…  

 
Wednesday Dec 15th: The morning started off amazingly! My oldest thought it would be funny if she drew whiskers on our youngest last night when she fell asleep. My youngest wasn’t too happy about it as I was scrubbing it off her face.  

 I substituted today in my youngest’s class (Kindergarten). It was the easiest day to sub! The entire school walked to the HS and watched a performance by the choir. The great thing about going was the 6th grade class came and each 6th grader took a kindergartener as their little buddy (to help watch over). It was nice. It was fun to see all my girls there. We got back with just 20 min of class left. We had a lady come in to read a Christmas story… Then it was time to go. Great subbing job today.  

 The girls and some neighbor kids decorated Christmas cookies…  

 The 2 younger girls had their dance recital… It was an 8 class course through the city. They wanted to try out dance and by the end of the course they were done. The class and instructors did a great job but my girls were not into it. Which I am totally ok with that! As I mentioned before… I have vouchers I recieved from the city for the amount of work (a lot of it volunteer) I do for them. So it’s nice to be able to put them in the sports, programs, etc that they want to do and try. They did look so cute during their little dance routine, though. 🙂 

 
Thursday Dec 16th: I met up with Beth for a easy hour run. It felt nice to get out but it’s been nice not having to get up and run. My coach sent me a text today reassuring me that I can and should take more time off if and when needed. “No pressure” on feeling that I have to get up and going. It was nice to hear that because I do feel that way a lot. My kindergartener had her Christmas program today. They are all so dang cute!!  

 My 2nd child and Corom had to go back to the dentist for cavities to be filled…  

For Track practice, I just sent the kids off on a 50-55 min fun run. I find it ironic that the distance runners jumped on the elevator just so they didn’t have to walk down the stairs before they headed out for their run. It made me laugh as I ran downstairs just to hurry and take their picture as the door opened.  

The girls had their 1st gymnastics session tonight. They loved it!!! I did my RS/visiting teaching while they were there and then Corom and I did home teaching together. It was nice to get it done without having to worry about the girls.  

 
Friday Dec 17th: So I took another day off of running. My problem is, is I’ve been staying up so late every night watching movies… Pretty much playing catch up with all the nights I’ve been going to bed early. I helped in my 2nd daughters 2nd grade class. They had a Polar Express party today.  

 The kids also had a sing a long in the cafeteria that I stuck around for. Later in the afternoon I checked my email… I wrote to the directors for the Boston marathon about a week and a half ago. Well I got a response back…  

 I got into Boston marathon! I signed up and now need to figure out if I’m able to go with the high expense and with the time away. The girls and I went out to deliver neighbor cards when we got a little distracted…  

 We eventually made it home… My 2nd daughter (for who knows what reason) had her feelings hurt from her older sister. She refused to come to dinner and eat with all of us. So I thought it would “cheer” her up if I brought dinner to her… In bed.  

  It worked and she loved it. We did have the Barney’s over… We put a movie on for the kids upstairs and the 4 of us watched a movie downstairs.  

 It worked out great. 

Saturday Dec 18th: I met up with a big group of runners at the base of Provo canyon. We soon broke off in smaller groups/pairs for everyone to run their own paces. I didn’t take a watch or anything but I got in around 13-14 miles. The other 2 I ended up running with pushed the pace… It felt great!  

 The girls and I went out to finish passing out our neighbor cards… We did get distracted with one of our neighbors houses. The cutest ladies put out a mini “library” for people to come trade books out. My girls wanted to check it out.  

 At home we did lots of cleaning, organizing, packing and getting our pets situated. We are having a white elephant Christmas party at our house tonight and then leaving for California tomorrow after church. So getting everything done today kept us busy! The white elephant gift exchange was so fun! Corom’s gift was very entertaining… He put a live hamster in a box and wrapped it up. Someone actually stole it from the 1st person who picked it. Too funny! 

 There were some really funny gifts! The kids had fun downstairs…  

 Well until Corom told the girls the hamster was supposed to be for them but decided not to give it to them because they don’t take care of the pets they have now. Talk about 4 meltdowns the rest of the night. 😁 I didn’t know about the hamster and that it was in our garage for the past 2 weeks. I am glad he gave it away… Another animal in the house… 

Corom and Mike played a little prank on the Barney’s. It’s kind of tradition to play a prank on someone after the party.  I know they tied the trash can to Travis’s car… Which we found out the next day that it worked. 

 
Sunday Dec 19th:  We finished up everything (for California) and headed off to church. It was excellent today! I do love the Christmas Sunday’s. The spirit was so strong. My 3rd daughter had a talk in primary and she did a great job.  They did have their matching Christmas dresses that my mom gets for them every year. I love it! 

 They are so dang cute. It is funny trying to get a few good pictures from them… They are always goofing off. 

  We were finally on the road by 3:30 p.m. A little later than what we wanted but it’s all good. Corom hooked up a tv in the van… We have never had a TV in the car before so the girls thought it was a real treat!  
 Soon they fell asleep as Corom and I continued to drive well into the night. 

It was a busy week. It was great being able to take the week off of running but at the same time not so great. I did enjoy not having to get up and not having to run in the freezing cold. I needed a break mentally and physically… But I’m also struggling on what to do next. I want to find another race to train for and keep working on bettering my time. I’ve had mixed emotions about the Olympic trials qualifying time changing. It was 2:42.59 and earlier this week they changed it to 2:45. Why now and not sooner…. Yes either way I didn’t make it but if one can go into a marathon race and be able to start off at a slower pace (5 to 7 seconds slower than the 2:42 time) it would make a big difference towards the end. For me running at a 6:12 pace until I can’t go any farther always seems to happen around the 22-23 mile mark (Where I crash). And knowing that I could run at a 6:17 pace seems a lot easier. Anyway… My little venting right there. I just wish the Olympic committee (across the world) would have changed this earlier and not 2 months before the trials. http://www.letsrun.com/news/2015/12/usatf-acts-swiftly-relaxes-standards-2016-olympic-trials-219-men-245-women-match-olympic-standards/ It is a frustration among many of us but it is what it is… Now what? 🙂 I will find other races to train for and enjoy my time doing it. Who knows… Maybe I will get the itch to try again in 2-4 years for the next trials when I am 40.  

Monday Dec 7th: My youngest woke up this morning and asked if dad and I were ever going to break up. I looked at her and said, No and  I don’t plan on it. She then said well, if you ever do I want to live with dad. 1st off where does she even hear/know this stuff. She is only 5 and 2nd, fine, whatever! 😂 Corom and I laughed about it… She is a little spitfire. (The other day, I was combing her hair and she turned to me and said, mom, when I turn ten you will be dead. 😁 What do you say to that?) Anyway… I took the girls and all the kids I drive, to school. I stayed for our PTO meeting and then we set up for the Book Fair.  

 I work with amazing ladies. It is always fun to have events/activities just so I’m able to work side by side with them. The kids all had friends over (CC is officially over so no more practices after school).  

 We had family night and our Christmas activity was watching “No Ordinary Shepard”. 

 And then I went to my soccer game.  We lost again big time but still had a blast.  

 My sister took pictures of the girls last night with their Christmas activities…  

Tuesday Dec 8th: I was at the elementary school for a good amount of time today for PTO (book fair preview stuff)… Then the girls did the usual with playing with neighbors and getting everything out of the correct spot and putting it everywhere around the house (and outside).  

 Corom and I went to his monster work party (it was for all the Utah county employees)… We got picked to go up on stage to see how well we know each other. Out of the 10 couples we took 2nd. We had to answer a question on how our spouse would answer… I just had to think on the more perveted side. The food was yummy!!  

 Corom dropped me off at the movies. I met Stephanie, Camille and Suvi there. We saw the last of the Mocking Jay movies… Fun times. 

Wednesday Dec 9th: Corom and I went with the girls to “parents and pastries (donuts)” at the school. I stayed to help with the donuts and then with the book fair. I was able to eat lunch with the girls, which is always fun.  I want to take advantage of this time while my girls still like me and want me around. 

 The girls had piano lessons and then I drove them around the pond to look at the lights the city put up. We came back and made hot chocolate. It was our Christmas activity for the night. Corom had to work late tonight. The girls and I had fun but it would have been more fun with him there…  

 
Thursday Dec 10th: More PTO/Book fair stuff in the morning… As you can see my youngest cried; she cried the entire morning of me working at the book fair (until school started) because she wanted me to buy her a book. Holy crap, she was hard this morning! No, I didn’t give in but I really, really wanted to! 

 I signed up in each girls classroom to read a Christmas book and to do a craft… That was fun! I did help in my kindergarten’s classroom and then after lunch substituted in my 2nd daughter’s class. Her teacher had an appointment so I just stepped in for the 2nd half. Teachers are amazing! It’s a tough job. 

 For our Christmas activity, the girls wrote a letter to the little girl living in New York. She was burned in a house fire and lost her family. All she wanted this Christmas was letters from around the world. It breaks my heart what trials people go through… It puts me in check. What an amazing little girl.  (I’m unable to upload her picture.) 

I shortly left to go work at the Clarion Event Center. She had 4 events tonight. 2 that were catered out and the other 2 were at the building, at the same time; just in different rooms. It was busy but I really enjoyed it. Oh and once again… The food was amazing! 

Friday Dec 11: I’m enjoying the time off of running but I’m also kind of missing it already. Today was the last day of the book fair. Helped with that this morning and then went straight into the school carnival. All the kids had a great time!  

   I came home and hurried and cleaned house. We had couples bunko tonight at my house. It was so much fun. Pizza, games and then a white elephant gift exchange. There were times I had tears coming down, I was laughing so hard.  
 
Saturday Dec 12th: It was strange not getting up and going out for a run. But I did take advantage of the morning. Corom and I took the girls to the $1 store to go do their Christmas shopping for each other. Corom stayed in the car and one by one the girls came into the store with me and picked stuff out for their sisters. They had fun shopping for each other. I gave them each $4 so they could pay for it. My youngest did have a melt down because she wanted me to buy her stuff that she wanted. She eventually made it back to the car and seemed to forget about her little tantrum. Sometimes it is so hard to do these things with the girls. I guess the girls were fighting and out of control in the car.. Corom said there was lots of yelling going on. Good times! 

 My car was dead… Corom had to jump it (we drove depressed because he had to go to a few other places). Thank goodness he brought the other (monster) van. The girls did their chores and then made messes again, but that is very normal!  

 I worked again at the Clarion tonight. I didn’t get home until late… Corom went with some friends to watch the fights at Mike’s house. A babysitter came to hang out with the girls. I ate so many cinnamon rolls and drank so much hot chocolate. It was so good! 

 
Sunday Dec 13th: Today we went to church. It was a good day today. The girls were good.  They are so dang cute! 

 We had a family over for dinner and another family joined us for dessert after… We had left over cinnamon rolls, brownies and hot chocolate, oh and ice cream!  

Sunday 6th: I got up at 3:45 a.m. To get ready for the race. By 4:45, Corom dropped me off at the bus. Once again the nervous energy was strong in the tent… This is everyone’s last shot at qualifying for trials. Oh the stress but it’s an exciting stress if that makes sense. 
 What was really neat was I knew at least 5-6 other ladies in there from all over the U.S. that I have met at other races (and a few more from Utah). I love the friendships that have been made and are made through running. What is even more amazing is how we all helped each other out out there. It’s not about placing during these races, it’s all about the time! Throughout the race, everyone was sharing their personalized water bottles, extra gu’s and everyone was full of encouragement. We had a pacer that was running an even 6:13 split (the Olympic Trial B Standards), I ran with the group for the 1st 14 miles. At mile 14 I really began to struggle mentally (even before the physical hardness set in). (The picture below was the 1st place female.) 

 I decided that from mile 14 to 20, I would back off and hold onto a slower pace. I averaged a 6:21 for those 6 miles. My plan was at mile 20 to pick back up and hold on to a 6:03 pace to finish in the time I needed. That “was” the plan. 😔 My legs and well entire body was tired (mentally and physically). At mile 20 I was unable to pick it up To the 6:03 pace, so I maintained the 6:21 pace for another mile. I was battling some major demons in this race but I didn’t want to not finish. I knew I had to keep going and so each mile I pushed through. I saw my coach throughout the course (there were 4 other ladies out there that he coaches… It was fun meeting up with them and meeting a few for the 1st time). That helped! I saw Corom shortly after mile 22. I looked at my watch and saw that I had 20 minutes before the 2:42.59 time and 4 miles left… I knew I would not be able to make/catch up to the time I needed. I didn’t have the energy to pick it up much. It was a hard thing to take in… As I came up to mile 22 1/2-23 I saw a good running friend of mine. She said she felt like she was going to pass out… I ran on a little bit but about 30 things went through my head (in a matter of seconds). The few main ones: 

1st: Do I turn back and help her…

2nd: Do I continue on and go for a PR. 

3rd: I keep slowing down so I won’t hit a PR so why not just go back.

4th: If I keep running I will get done sooner.

5th: I even worried about if my time would look “bad”. I know that probably sounds shallow and lame but it crossed my mind a few times (even after I went back to run with her). I know I’m weird! 😉 

6th: I’m not going to get the qualifying time so who cares about a PR and go run with her…

So I chose the latter… I wasn’t going to hit the time I wanted and went back and ran with her for about 2 1/2 miles.  

She wasn’t doing to well. There were times we had to walk because she couldn’t see to well. I’ve been there (at the Grandma’s marathon in Deluth) and it is scary and frustrating. Maybe it was dumb of me not to try for a PR but it was nice to be able to run with a friend. 

 With a little less than a mile to go, I ran it in and waited at the finish line for her (her husband met up with back at that point). It was a bitter sweet race. I knew coming in to this race that it would be an uphill battle. I’ve been running/training on tired legs since Chicago with very little of a break. And there were many times in the 5 weeks sincs Chicago where I wanted to be done. I would ask myself why I was still training. But I knew if I didn’t do it then I would always wonder “What If”! So I gave it one more shot for the Olympic Trials and just couldn’t do it. The marathon is a beast of a race! And I have yet to conquer it! On a good note… They lost my toss bag and somehow it ended up in the VIP section. The VIP section was in a center for all the top racers. The ones that placed in the top 10 or 15 (the Kenyan team was in there and the top Americans, the pacers were in there, race directors, etc). Corom and I were able to stay for the huge breakfast they provided for the VIP’s. We were able to take advantage of the massages if we wanted and the luxury of the things provided. The pacer I tried to stay with and his wife (she qualified for the trials) sat with us. I was going to take their picture but I didn’t want them to think I was a creeper. 🙂 

 We left after brunch and headed back to Utah! We made just a few stops and got in at 9:45 p.m. I had so many different emotions going on in my head on the drive home. This will be tougher than what I thought it would be! But it is what it is and I had fun trying! Corom and I did have a good time being able to talk without any interruptions or distractions. It was a nice drive. We came home to a fun prank on our doorstep.  

 All the things on the plate was eaten and the rootbeer was almost all gone. 🙂 We visited with my sister for a little while and then to bed. 

Thursday 3rd: I had to get up really early (4:50 a.m.) to go for a run. I was able to get in 4 miles… I am supposed to run 8 today so when we get into California tonight we will take the HS kids on a run. We spent the morning with the girls (and the babysitter) before we left. It was hard for us to say goodbye. The girls were excited for us to leave… 😀 We left on our trip to California…  

 Surprisingly, the bus ride was not too bad! It was fun talking with the other coaches/chaperones and messing with the HS kids (we did combine with another school to fill the bus up). Corom did get in trouble a couple of times when we made a stop for lunch. But somehow him and the security guard ended laughing, joking around and shaking hands. I don’t know how he does it!  It was for climbing the tower things… 

 We arrived shortly after 4 p.m. We quickly dropped our stuff off in our hotel rooms and then went out for our “adventure Corom” run. This run is what the kids look forward to every year.    He took them running on shipping containers, walls, parking garages, climbing over walls, jumping through holes, jumping over him, pushing shopping carts and finished off with Christmas caroling at a few random houses. (Some people answered and some shit their lights off as we approached… But I don’t blame them 😉.) Quite the fun run. 
 The adults went out to dinner, hung out, we did bed checks, then went to bed ourselves. 

Friday 4th: I didn’t have to run at all today, so coach Thompson took the kids around on the course while, Corom, Thompson’s wife and I hung out in the registration line. It was a 2 hour wait but we finally got all the kids their bib numbers.  

 It was off to Huntington Beach… Almost everyone got into the water…

 For the ones that didn’t (me, Marti, and 2 other moms) went and looked around at the little booths set up with things to buy. Shortly after we all went out to lunch. It was beautiful today!  

 Back at the hotel, we went Christmas shopping (The Thompson’s, Corom and I) and then went to Marie Calendars for dinner. Early bed checks for the kids (9:30) and then bedtime for me (well like an hour and a half later). Corom was putting some music together for me and it took longer than what we thought. My 2nd daughter’s teacher sent me a picture of her. 🙂  

 I loved it! The girls are having a fun time with the couple that is staying at our house! 

Saturday 5th: I ran 5 1/2 miles with strides…  

…all while cheering the HS kids on in the Footlocker race. They all ran so well today! I’m glad I was there for as long as I could be. I was proud of the kids! Our top female (who excepted BYU’s offer to come run for them) finished in the top 3. But like I said… They all ran well.  

 Corom and I took off and drove up to Sacramento for the CIM marathon. It took us about 6 hours to get there. We made it just in time for the Elite meeting and for “snacks” that they serve to the elite runners. I had to laugh because I still feel out of my league in there… But there was so much food!  

 It was so fun to finally meet my coach. He lives in Phoenix, so we’ve been communicating through phone and email. He has been great!! Corom and I left shortly after the meeting and headed to his brother’s house. We hung out with the family. It was a nice, relaxing night. My nieces and I watched a movie (I feel asleep in the middle of it). I’m such a grandma!  

 This race has been different for me. I’m not nervous at all and I’m going into this with no expectations. I don’t know if that is a good thing or a bad thing. I know that the odds are against me, with peaking twice in less than 2 months… And running tired for the last little while, but I need to do this race for me. No matter the outcome I will never have to wonder what if… We will see how it goes…