Mother Racer

Friday & Saturday: Napa Ragnar!!! Where to begin on these Ragnar experiences… I will have to say that this route was one of the prettiest routes. I loved the course. Corom and I were asked to run this Ragnar by the CEO’s of Ragnar. They filled the other van… We then put our van together. Corom, Mike and I did start off by picking up Ashley in Sacramento. It was so great to finally meet her. An amazing person and runner. We continued the drive into Napa (about an hour away) and picked up our other 2 teammates for our van. Tifany and Garrett were staying at a hotel in Napa… It was breakfast time at the hotel, so we decided to partake in the warm meal.  We had to hurry along to make it to the head quarters of Clif Bar… They were hooking us up with a lot more stuff for our weekend! It was pretty awesome! (We left Corom’s brother’s house right when our van 1 started… Lots of driving around while they were running 😊.)

 We were now pushed for time… The traffic in California is always bad. Good thing we had a moderate bad traffic day (if that even makes sense). We arrived at the 1st major exchange and waited for van 1 to come in. We had legs (runners) 7-12. I was runner 10 (6.7, 8.3, & 13.01 miles).  

  This is where the real fun begins…  And I can honestly say, never a dull moment with Corom around. He really knows how to entertain and everyone that meets him loves him!!! If only I were a better writer, I would be able to give this weekend the greatness it deserves, but it really was a good time. Our team was hilarious, energetic and out going. 

 There were many laughs, jokes and pranks…  

 I did warn Ashley early on in this Ragnar adventure never to let Corom know what bathroom you would be in… Well as you can see, she made the mistake of letting him know. 😊 He did give it a little nudge just to let her know we were there… She said she nearly “peed her pants” because she realized what was going on. The poor other stall person… That lady tried to come out but was stuck, too. We couldn’t stop laughing.  The running part was fun, too, I guess…  

 Really, in all honesty, the running part was a blast. It was so great going into this with no pressure and knowing it was for enjoyment. I did average a 6:40-6:45 pace for all 3 of my legs… It was faster than what I planned but I felt good!  

 I don’t think Corom ever put the megaphone down except for when he was running… He may even slept with it (poor Tifany and Ashley… I think they probably felt Corom was running with them the entire time with the megaphone in their ears).  Mike was able to scrounge food off of another Ragnar team and Garrett when he was behind the wheel had to burn out every time. 🙂 We did get about a good 4 hours sleep total (8 p.m. to 10 p.m. And then from 4:30 a.m. to 6:30 a.m.). Throughout the race we had a little thing about what bottled water was better… I have never even thought about bottled water tasting different but apparently there is a difference. So of course we had a water tasting test…  

 Arrowhead won over the other (which I forgot what kind it was). We also felt really lousy about our team organization when we pulled in next to another teams van.  

 Now we will know what to do for next time! Really it was a fun trip. It was great hanging out with everyone and getting to know them better. The other Van was way cool even though we didn’t really hang out until the end. Always a good time.  

Tifany and Garrett were dropped off at the airport to fly their own plane back… Very tempted to hop in with them even though I hate flying. We met Ashley’s husband at In & Out in Sacramento, made the drop off (that would be Ashley) and headed to Corom’s brother’s house to pick up the girls. His brother and family had to leave for other engagements. So by 6:30 p.m. we were on the road back to Utah. A long drive back! Poor Mike… But he’s a pediatrician so he is used to it. 🙂  

  The girls had a blast with their cousins! They didn’t want us to come back.  

 Christina and Jerom, Thank you! I know it was a crazy weekend for you guys! The girls had a blast! 

Sunday: We got home at around 6:30 a.m. Very long night and very tired! We have to get up in time to go to church… So another 2 hour sleep, awake by 8:30 and on our way by 10:45. It was the primary program today. I Love it when the kids do their program for sacrament meeting. It was great. Corom was able to sit with me and all our kids were on the stand. We went over to the Booth’s house for a little birthday celebration. Jason happy birthday!  

Monday: I went out and ran an easy 8 miles.  My legs were tired from the weekend, so a nice easy run felt good. The kids had to wear red to school today. It’s Red Ribbon week and the week is filled with fun activities and prizes (at their school).  

 The entire school came through and pledged to be drug free…  

 The kids thought this was pretty cool and to tell you the truth, so did I. 🙂   We had CC practice today… Even though State is done and over with, we are still going to train until December for our Footlocker race. We will go back to the base building/maintenance with a few speed workouts.  

 We Headed up to a friends of ours for a Halloween family fun night. The Provosgardds put this party on every year and the kids love it. They played games, decorated cookies, had a piñata, a spook ally, dinner, etc.  

 And it was fun to hang out with all the adults. We had a great time. 

 I did leave a little bit early to go play another game of indoor soccer with my sister. I loved it!  My legs were so sore and tired but it’s all good! 

 
Tuesday: I ran an easy 8 1/2 miler. Once again, I’m glad it was an easy day. I couldn’t have run hard even if I wanted to. I was supposed to go 10 but I felt a sharp pain in my left leg above the knee. So I decided to cut it short and head back home. A little discouraging but before I start to worry about it, I will see how tomorrow and the next few days go. For red ribbon week, the kids dressed up in their favorite sports attire/team and then had an Internet safety assembly. My 2nd daughter was chosen for her dress attire (in her class) to come down for pictures. Then the kids decorated the fences with red cups saying “Drug Free”.  

 After school, there was no CC… The girls spent the afternoon playing and making messes.  

 We attempted to go to a haunted house tonight but it was closed. 😦 

Wednesday: I lost my watch so I went out for an hour and 20 min run. I felt better this morning but still felt a random pain… Not as bad though. So it was a good run. I’m having a hard time getting up to train, with it being so dark and cold and then running by myself. Can’t wait for time change! Today was crazy hair day at school! All morning, Corom and I did hair and used lots of hair spray…  

 My oldest wanted a bird’s nest… It turned out pretty good. She was sent to the office to get her picture taken this morning. My carpool and their hair do… The office ladies and their cute hair! 

 The kids were able to go through the fire trucks, ambulances and police cars today for Red Ribbon week. I went to the Beehive home (a retirement center) to go give a lesson, then out to lunch with a few friends. I had to babysit my friend’s kids so they came along with me.  

 At CC practice, the kids went on a hilly run…  

 And I took my 3 older girls to piano lessons and then the 2 younger girls went to the city’s little dance class (right after piano)…  

 It was a Burger King dinner tonight! I took the girls and a neighbor girl to the local Haunted House. It’s a fundraiser that the HS puts on every year. Very well put together and the kids clung to my legs the entire time.  

 I was bummed that Corom wasn’t able to be there with us but tonight is his late night. 

Thursday: I went on a solid hour and 15 min run. I felt good and pushed the pace. For school it was crazy socks and shoes day. My 3rd daughter was sent to the office for her crazy feet wear.  

 We also had a k9 cop assembly. I was only able to stay for the 1st few minutes but the kids loved it. What great officers we have… They took the time out of their schedule to come do this for us! Pretty cool assembly.  

 I had to skip out early to go to my orientation for the substitute teaching job. It was soo boring! But I got it over with.  

 I dragged my girls around with me after I sent the CC kids off on their run, to go run errands for our salem witches run 5k. This is our CC teams fundraiser… A fun little Halloween run.  

 They were troopers. Corom went to BYU right after work to pick up a couple of 15 year old Japanese boys that will be staying with us (well one is with us and the other is with my mother in law). We will have him for a week.  We went straight to Michelle and Ingrid’s house for dinner…  

 Then back to our house to get our student settled in. He brought us a beautiful picture frame from Japan as a gift. 🙂  

 My kids were so tired! With all the excitement of the Japanese student coming… I think it wore them out!  

 Next post will be about our Halloween weekend! 

Monday: I started off my day with a lovely run of 6 miles. I’m liking this week. My legs are still tired from the marathon but that’s going away. I did work at the school for PTO for a little while. Cross country practice was an easy 5 miler. 

 We had 4 families over for dinner and the fun times of carving pumpkins. 🙂 The kids had a blast.   It’s nice for us this year because all the girls are now old enough to carve their own pumpkins. 

 It was a fun family night with the other families and their kids.    I did feel bad because I had to leave a few minutes early to head up to a soccer game. My sister (Missy) and sister-in-law  (Lyndsey) are on an in-door league and needed an extra player… So I agreed to play. You play 3 on 3, so there is a lot of running around. 

 It was so much fun!!! I really had such a great time. I agreed to come play next Monday night with them. 

Tuesday: I went on a easy 8 mile run this morning. I was sore from playing soccer last night. Cross country practice was an easy 2 miles with strides. We have our State CC meet tomorrow, so today was just a shakeout run. 

 After practice the Varsity/State male and female teams came over for dinner. They got their little night before State peptalk. Coach Thompson is so good with getting them motivated.    After the HS kids left, Corom took out our oldest for one on one time and then I took out our 2nd child for a one on one. Now that their soccer is over, we have time again to do our little dates. The girls love it and need it! 

 
Wednesday: I met up with Amber at the track for a nice little speed workout. I had to run 8 miles total with 8 x 400’s at 90 seconds. I was hitting about 85’s for every 400. I felt good and it was only 8 of them! 🙂  Today I arranged babysitters for the girls (for after school)… I headed up to the State CC meet with the team. 

 I love watching this meet with everyone from all over. Such great talent! Our girls ran so well! As a team, they took 10th overall. Our top female came in 5th overall the females. She was battling between 2nd and 5th the entire race. Great competitors!    The guys also took 10th as a team. They looked great and ran together in a pack. I believe they all came in witching 20 seconds of each other. It was fun to cheer them on. 

 Before the races began, a couple of us (the other coach I coach with and runners not competing) went out to lunch. There was a lady that had a flat tire in the parking lot. So of course I volunteered the 2 of them to change her tire. She was a great lady. Lunch was good, too!    The 3 younger girls had their 1st dance class (through) the city. They enjoyed it. 

Then we headed over to the Thompsons house to rake up their leaves in their backyard (it’s for my daughter’s kindergarten class tomorrow). 

  They goofed around for most of it, though. 🙂 They eventually went to bed…late. 

Thursday: I actually didn’t wake up in time to go for a run. But I’m actually ok with it because we are doing Napa Ragnar this weekend. I did have a job interview this morning (right after I dropped the girls off at school). I am going to do substitute teaching at the Elementary school. I figure that I’m down there all the time and we need extra cash… So why not teach. It will be fun! I headed straight to my Kindergartener’s class for their Fall activity…  

 My mother in law came to help, too. We were put in charge of the leaves and “bear cave”. Always a good time helping with these activities. We realized that we were all matching. 🙂 Kind of cute, right?   Corom came home around 11:30 from work and him and I quickly packed for our trek to California (today). We packed, cleaned, shopped all by 1:30… We checked the girls out of school and our family and Mike Fullmer headed to Sacramento. We are going to Jarom’s house (Corom’s brothers) tonight.  

 The girls are just a little excited! 🙂 We ended up getting in around midnight…

 The girls went straight to bed knowing that morning would come sooner for them to play with their cousins. 🙂 It’s Napa Ragnar tomorrow…

Tuesday: It was weird not having to get up to go for a run. But I will say that my calf muscles were so sore! It was nice to be able to mentally and physically take the day off. After I dropped the girls off at school (and the other 5-6 kids I take every morning), I headed to the Clarion Event Center to help them out with a to-go order.  

 The girls and I went to cross country practice… The HS kids did a hill workout. They absolutely love this one. j/k… This one is tough. It’s Hazel Hill repeats with a pond sprint. While I was in Chicago, the team had Region. We took 3rd as a team in both the boys and girls. Our top female took 1st in region with a time of 17:50 in a 5k. Amazing! They all ran well and I was so sad to miss it. We are training for State now which is a week from Wednesday.  

 The 3 younger girls had their last soccer game tonight. They have had a fun time playing and I have had a fun time coaching all their teams this year. They are getting pretty good! We did have a picnic dinner in-between their games.  

 Corom took our youngest daughter and our oldest daughter (and her friend) to the jail’s pumpkin patch while I coached our 2 middle daughter’s game.  

 
Wednesday: Once again I was able to sleep in, kind of. I automatically wake up by 6 but this morning I just laid in bed. 😊 It was nice. I did go on a field trip with my kindergartener to the fire station. The station is right next to the school so we all just walked there. She threw Corom under the bus many times. One comment she made was, “My dad lets me and my sister have a fire out in the field and we all get to play with the fire.” Thanks a lot! Way to get the firefighters to chastise Corom in front of everyone. It was pretty funny. 

 I had lunch with the girls today at school. It was parent lunch day.  

 My 3rd daughter is a riot. I didn’t realize that she got into most of the pictures at lunch… We had a fun time. 

 I ended up going on a field trip with my 3rd child (1st grader)… We walked to the park/pond and played there for awhile.  

 After was CC practice…  

 Then we Visited a neighbor (and her new puppies)…  

 And then the 3 older girls went to piano lessons while my youngest and I met up with Megan B and Heather V. We went over to pick out some pumpkins…  

 After dinner and homework, I ran to a quick church meeting with Corom then we all headed to my oldest’s soccer game. Her team is tied for 1st place, so tonight is the playoff game. The team played so well but we did lose.  

It was so much fun. Marti Thompson and I team coached… We had so much fun doing it together.  

 The girls found a new slide for their room. They are always finding ways to keep themselves entertained!  

 
Thursday: I went out for a easy 6 mike run today! My calves were so tight and sore… I stuck around a 8:15-8:30 min mile hoping to loosen up the muscles. I ran straight to CC practice (there is no school today and tomorrow because it’s Fall break or the deer hunt weekend). So practice was held this morning… After their run they came over to my house for waffles, eggs and potatoes.  

 After attempting to get their chores done…The girls had friends over the rest of the day… They had fun taking care of the alpacas! 

 I was able to get away for the evening and went out with my friends Camille, Stephanie and Britney. We had so much fun. Dinner at a chineses restaurant and then went to the movie “Let It Go”. Such a good movie. It’s based on a true story of a dad who forgives a 17 year old who killed his wife, unborn child, son and daughter in a car accident. The 17 year old was driving drunk. A great movie and great company. 

 My oldest made dinner for Corom and the girls tonight. She did an excellent job with the presentation and all…  

 
Friday: I didn’t have to run today but I still had to get up early to go to CC practice. So worth it! After their speed workout, one of the moms came by with fruit, donuts, bagels, juice, chocolate milk, etc.  

 The Fullmers, Corom, the girls and I went hiking up Diamond Fork canyon to the Hot Springs… It was a little more than 2 miles to the springs. The girls and a little friend did amazing!  

 It was beautiful out and the perfect weather. The girls hiked the entire way without us having to carry them up or down. The dogs did great, too.  

 We made it to the Hot Springs… The girls and their friend Travis played in the springs for a while…  

 Corom and Mike were busy trying to start a fire without matches. After their attempt at trying they switched to a lighter. It was cute watching them. 😉 We roasted hot dogs for lunch, then back to swimming in the springs…  

 Everyone was having a lot of fun… 

 Time went by too quick. It was close to 4 when we headed back.  

 We were tired when we got home. We made scones for dinner and Corom began experimenting on dessert scones. They were so yummy! We had to share some with a few neighbors…  

 The girls are playing their turtle game at one of the homes… It is an awesome game and it keeps the girls calm and quiet. 😉 The 2 older girls slept in the garage with the dogs.  

 Weird, I know! 

Saturday:  I got up early to meet up with Amber for a 10.3 mile run in 1:20. It felt so good to run with someone! It was a nice run. I came home to my oldest making us all breakfast. 😊  It was fruit with a yogurt/whipped cream blend. 

And then we all got right into cleaning. The girls did really well cleaning this morning! We did bribe them with a movie today. We went to the discounted movies for G-goats birthday (Corom’s mom). And then my 2nd daughter went to a birthday party.  

 We went to the Barney’s for dinner. We had tomato basil soup… My favorite soup! Loved it… Topped it off with apple crisp.  

 
Sunday: Everything went so smooth this morning! The girls and I were ready by 8 (church doesn’t start until 11) and Corom left for his meeting already. Dinner was cooking in the crock pot by 8:30 and the girls took out a board game to play. 😏 This was a strange morning. This never happens. I did say I would teach the Relief Society lesson today (my friend that prepared the lesson sent a text letting the presidency know that her daughter was sick and she couldn’t make it). I volunteered to teach, so the rest of the morning I prepared the lesson on “Beware of Pride”. https://www.lds.org/manual/teachings-of-presidents-of-the-church-ezra-taft-benson/chapter-18-beware-of-pride?lang=eng           The girls were really good at church, the lesson went well- thanks to all the people that helped with the discussion. We had a few new families over for dinner and then Barbara, Megan, Amber and I went on RS visits. Corom and I finally sat down and watched a movie (The Saratov Approach). Good times! 

Friday: We came in late last night and went straight to our hotel. Today we slept in and that felt amazing. The bed was comfortable, it was quiet and there was nothing to get up for… Oh well actually, the hotel breakfast closed at 9 so I guess we had to get down there for that. We decided to go in our pajamas. Talk about embarrassing! Tons of business people, runners, and others all eating there fully ready. 😊  

 We eventually got ready and headed to the Chicago marathon expo. It was way crowded today so I can only imagine how tomorrow will be. We didn’t stay too long, just long enough to get the free handouts and my race bib. 

 We were able to figure out the train and bus system (thanks to Corom) and got around pretty nicely. I am very impressed with the  transportation system here. We got around everywhere with only paying $25.00 and we never had to wait. The train came every 5-10 minutes. 

 We walked around the city for just a little while. We walked to the starting line and finish line area. There was a nice little park there. I didn’t want to do too much walking around today. 

 We did head over to friends of ours for the evening. We have never met in person…We met through our blogs and have been communicating/friends for a while. We visited, ate the famous Chicago pizza and had a really fun time. Sarah and Rock… We wish you and your little one lived near us! We would have some fun times together. Well Corom and Rock would probably get into trouble. 😉 Your parents are amazing and we thought you guys were so much fun.  Thank you for having us over.   We left and returned to our hotel around 10. I had a great night of sleep! 

Saturday: I slept in and then went out for a 6 mile run. It felt great and I was able to breath really well! Beautiful morning out and I saw so many houses decked out for Halloween. I couldn’t resist not taking a picture (more for my girls sake… Gosh I miss them). 

 We ate a great breakfast at the hotel (met a lot of runners from around the country and world). Chicago marathon I guess is kind of a big deal. 😉 We decided to walk to the train station (instead of taking the shuttle there). We took the wrong sidewalk and ended up on the freeway… We ran down the field and hopped the fence. Corom fell and hurt himself. I could not stop laughing! So funny. 

  We decided to go to a movie to be able to relax. I wanted to take my mind off of the race. We ended up at this really nice movie theaters. We were already a little late (20 min late), so we quickly ran in. We didn’t see anyone at the ticket booth and decided to go into the movie. We soon realized we had the balcony seats to ourselves. Yes, at this point we didn’t pay. We watched the movie (Martian) first and as we walked out realized that we went through a VIP door. We did go to the correct place to pay for our movie after. The ladies were confused when Corom kept trying to buy a movie for the 11:00 a.m. Showing when it was almost 2. I will say he messed around with them but that wouldn’t surprise anyone that knows Corom. They were grateful that we did come back to pay… We shared a hamburger from Kings restaurant and then headed back to our hotel. I am getting way nervous!   I was able to get a 20 minute catnap in. I put the headphones in, listened to the piano guys and nodded off. We packed our things for the night and all my race stuff, then headed into downtown to be closer to the starting line. We met up with Janae & Ken, Kathryn & Bill MacLeod, Emily Jameson & Jasmine Sessions for a “Utah” dinner. Janae, Emily and Jasmine are also trying to Qualify for the Olympic trials. It was nice meeting up with friends from home. (None of us made it but we all had fun.) The restaurant sent us to the business conference room… We had a pretty good laugh! I ate chicken parmesan… So good!  The group below these 2 picture was a Costa Rica team. They are staying in the same hotel we are staying in. We became friends with them pretty quickly. Corom served his LDS mission in Costa Rica. We will be going out there soon… They want to meet up and take us around on their running routes. They were a fun group.  After dinner, Corom and I made our way across the city to Abbey & Ryan’s house. We have never met them… My friend Stephanie knew Abbey through her Jamberry (nails) business (they have never met in person, either). Abbey and Ryan volunteered to take us in after a post Stephanie posted on Facebook. 🙂 They were awesome! That is something Corom and I would do. I slept well there and had a nice early morning wake up alarm…

Sunday: Race Morning! I Would rather not run on a Sunday (and I have only one other time) but 99% of the qualifying races are on Sunday’s.  I already wrote about the race so here is after the race. I do have to say though that I am rather embarrassed that there were times during my race when my watch would beep the split and it would be fast, so I would actually slow down a bit thinking I had to save “energy”. Oh and if I did qualify for the Olympic trials… I would have received $2500. Bummer, right?  Fun times. 😏 

After we headed out from the race tent, Corom and I hurried to the train and found their local LDS (Mormon) church. I just threw on a skirt over my shorts and a nice shirt over my top… Corom changed quickly, too (obviously in the corner). 

  It was actually held in an elementary school. Sacrament meeting was really good…  Throughout the meeting, I would think of the outcome of my race (all the training and just everything else) and tears would come down. I couldn’t help it! 😂 I think people thought I was feeling the spirit or something because they would turn back and smile at me. 😉 But in all honesty, I am grateful that we can go anywhere and find somewhere to go partake of the Sacrament. It is the same everywhere. 

 We left when sacrament meeting was over, so I changed…  We headed back to Abbeys and Ryan’s place for a quick shower… We all went out to dinner (our treat for taking us in). It was the least we could do. They were a fun couple.   Corom and I walked around for awhile. We had to see the famous Chicago Bean…  Then we had fun with this guy here… He was a good kisser!   Corom still had his rental bike from the race earlier… Instead of paying another $10 for a 2nd bike, he had me sit on the seat while he stood and pedaled. We had so many looks… Probably jealous that they paid for an extra bike. 😉 Corom rode hard while I had to hold my legs in the air. I think we were both struggling but laughing so hard. Well I was laughing while Corom was breathing hard. 

  Overall, we had a great time there. I was grateful corom came out with me. We had a great time meeting so many people and building lasting friendships around the World. We ate tons (mostly from our hotel and we would take hotel food to our rooms for later)… Yeah we are cheap :/. We were able to see a lot of things and I even met the high school cross country team on one of our occasions out. They were running in circles around this little park. My cross country team… Be grateful! They said most of their runs (long, short, speed) are around this park so they can stay out of traffic, etc.  
Monday: We slowly got ready this morning… Another great hotel breakfast and then shortly before lunch, we headed over to some outlets for a little shopping. We both hate shopping but had to pick up something for our girls. We ate there… I got their pizza again. It is some good pizza!   While we were there, we met another nice gentleman from China. We talked with him for a little while and then he asked if him and I could be in a picture together. He was so sweet. 

 
We packed and left for the airport… The fun times of traveling back home. The airport was so crowded and busy. It made me a little stressed. You have Corom here who could care less about anything… He was making fun of me and taking my picture. Yes that irritated me even more. 😉 I am smiling in this picture because we finally made it to our gate after 40 minutes of the security check line.   On our flight (with about 1 1/2 hours to go), you see all the flight attendants and then one of the pilots come out. The smoke alarm went off up front (just a warning alarm). I will have to admit I was a little uneasy and tried to pick up on what they were saying. Well I guess someone went into the bathroom to have a little smoke… Yeah Not so sneaky!  

 The girls had a fun weekend with their grandma (G-goat) Hughes. They went to the movies, the park, the store to pick out treats, church, etc. Thanks Sarah for taking the girls for us. It was nice to know they were being taken care of. 
 

Goal time: 2:42.59

My time: 2:48.12 (40 sec PR)

Sunday: Chicago Marathon: I am writing this as I am crying (yes I am a baby) 😂. So this will be really emotional… Here is my race report. Everything went smoothly this morning. Getting up and ready, walking the streets in the dark to the train, and then connecting with 45,000 other runners. Beautiful but warm and windy morning. But I was not going to let that effect me! 

 Cops ligned the streets everywhere… It was neat to see. 

 I hung out in the American Development tent with about 200 other people trying to qualify for Olympic Trials… The nervous energy was so intense and heavy! My nerves were so strong. I just wanted the race to start. And then right at 7:30 we were off! I felt so good… More than good, great. My garmin kept beeping every mile and I was faster than my splits! I was excited. My half was right at a 1:20… I knew I had another half marathon in me… These were the 1st 17 miles from my garmin:  (my garmin went out on me when I was writing it down and I know that my last 2 miles were a 6:43 and a low 7- maybe 7:03). 

 I just kept thinking, my girls are going to be so excited because I told them we will go to Disneyland right after the trials (which takes place in L.A.) I thought about Corom as he was chasing me around the course (he even rented a bike to get back and forth).  I did find out that he knew I was off from tracking my number. He was afraid to tell me because he thought I knew… As I ran past him smiling and waving every time. 🙂 He was the best out there! 

 I thought of all the kids I coach and the support they have given me, all my friends and church members and then I thought of my coach… How he would be proud. 🙂 These were all the things going through my head after every split on my garmin.  
When I hit mile 24.45 on my garmin, I noticed on my right that there was a flag saying mile 24. I was a little confused and then in that split second I got so discouraged because I thought I only had a mile and a half left (and I knew I would have been close…the last few miles I did slow my pace down 20-24); I realized then that my garmin was off . I ended up running 26.7 (on my garmin, whether it was correct or not) I thought I was closer than what I was. Once I realized I was .5 over on my garmin at mile 24, I just knew that physically I would not be able to make that time up. 😕 The crazy thing was… Everyone around me all had our garmins going off at the same time… And it showed that we were on pace. None of us took in that with all the tall buildings our garmins would be thrown off. (That’s the only thing I can think of.) I should have known that I felt too good to be hitting the times the entire way. At mile 24 there was the clearing of no buildings. But on that point, who knows if I could have held on to the 6:10 pace for that long to the end… It is what it is… This is what my chip report (the official race report) had:  

 As you can see, my garmin was way off… I thought I was hitting all my marks but I obviously wasn’t. I missed most of the flags with the mile markers because the crowd (1.7 million people) were along the entire course and it truly was electrifying!!! Simply amazing with the amount of people out. I am just so frustrated thinking I was on. I do want to say that we have met some really fun and great people here! I will blog about my weekend probably tomorrow because this truly has been a great experience.  K I’m going to stop because I will just keep rambling!  

 Thanks for all the love and support!!! I do want to say that it really was fun. Great course, great spectators, well put together and very electrifying! I did love it.