Soaked shirts, soggy socks, but spirits not dampened

I am not sure what was going through my mind a little over a week ago when my sister Tiffany offered me a number in the St. George Marathon if I wanted to run it. My first thought was "We can make it a little weekend getaway to somewhere warm"!! My next thought was " I have never ran St. George and from what I hear the course is mainly down hill" not so bad right? So I said yes, and spent the week of not feeling all that great about the upcoming event.

So as we lined up at the starting line it was raining, and cold and I thought to myself "this is better than 90 degree weather, I am sure it won't rain the whole time". (IT DID). We started running in the dark and I felt OK, but as the time went on I realized having youth on my side was not enough alone. Yes, it rained the whole time and I found myself splashing through many puddles. I met a man almost twice my age and we ran together for most of the way. He was shooting for a 3:15 marathon and had to pull away the last three miles. Again I had age on my side but he had experience, training and the mental ability I lacked. I found those last three miles incredibly long but as I ran past mile marker #24 I heard hoots and hollers from the best cheering section I could ask for. My family!!! My mom caught up with me and ran alongside for a little bit to keep me motivated. I didn't get to see Garrett and my kiddos until after I had crossed the finish line and realized we hadn't communicated timing very well. Every time he got to a spot and got the kids out I had already passed. I was so excited to see them there at the end though. I must say it was a good experience but next time I will plan accordingly.

I didn't get to see many others after the race due to cold kids and a cold mama, but Tiff and my cousins Megan, Matt, Shane, and Doug also ran and did incredibly well. They made it look easy and they actually enjoyed the ride. Maybe next time?

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"This isn't so bad, only 12 miles to go"

I got a rude awakening 9 miles later when I completely hit the wall.

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My star runner met me at the finish line to run along with me!!

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Just Glad to be done!

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After the marathon Garrett and Travis took the kids to Zions where they hiked around before heading to the priesthood session.

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We spent a wonderful weekend with family listening to conference relaxing and of course fitting in some much needed shopping. I will remember in the future that we don't need a marathon for an excuse to escape for the weekend. Thank you to everyone who stood in the rain to see me run for 5 sec.

YOU ARE THE GREATEST!!!