The Big Cottonwood Canyon Marathon!

A couple of weeks I checked one of my goals off of my list...I finished my first marathon! I chose the Big Cottonwood Canyon Marathon for a couple of reasons. First, I ran the race's half marathon and absolutely loved it. Second, the scenery in the canyon is beautiful, and third, I appreciated the fact that it was mostly downhill.

I started training in March with a goal to just be able to finish the race. When I first started training, the prospect of running a full marathon seemed impossible. The furthest I had ever gone before was a half marathon (13.1 miles) and I didn't see how I would be able to double it. Despite an injury in August, by hard work and persistence paid off and I was able to make it.

The race begins at the top of Guardsman's Pass and goes down Big Cottonwood Canyon for just under 17 miles. I was really worried about it raining, but it turned out to be a beautiful day for a long run. The canyon was beautiful and provides such a great backdrop for the race. 

I felt really good running down the canyon. I was relieved to find that the tendonitis that had been bothering my knee wasn't acting up and I was excited for the remaining miles and felt pretty confident. 

That confidence and excitement lasted until about the 19th mile, when I could feel that I was getting more tired. I kept telling myself that I only had seven miles to go, and that running seven miles was nothing. I could do it! Then I started to hit "the wall" around miles 20-21. The wall is a very real thing. It was like instant fatigue set in and it took all my will power to keep running instead of walking. I kept looking at my GPS watch and it seemed like the miles were going super slow and that I wasn't making any progress. I definitely slowed down quite a bit for the last six miles and I would try and tell myself that the faster I went, the sooner I would be done and could rest, but if I tried to go too fast, I felt sick to my stomach. So, I had to be content with my slow jog and keep going. I think that there was one point around mile 23 or 24 when I seriously wondered why anyone would want to do multiple marathons...I just wanted this one to be done! 

Finally, I past mile marker 25 and I knew that I was close. I pushed myself to go a little faster and soon the finish line was in reach! It was so encouraging to see my family waiting for me on the sidelines and when my mom came and ran beside me for a few minutes, I got more energy to surge ahead to the finish. Finally, I crossed the finish line, received my medal, and found someplace to rest! 

Running a marathon has got to have been one of the hardest (if not THE hardest) things that I have ever done. It was hard physically and mentally, but I am so glad that I stuck through the months of training and finished the race. Pushing myself like this helped me appreciate how far I have come as a runner and how much potential that I have. Even though it was hard, I would like to train for another marathon in the future. I love the way I feel when I run and I can't wait to see where it takes me. 

Still Alive!

Yes, I am still here and yes, I realize that I haven't blogged in MONTHS! I am not really sure if anyone still reads this, but I am going to *try* to post a little more regularly. I think that blogging has definitely taken a back seat to the business of life, plus sometimes it feels like it is a little repetitive between other social media outlets, like Facebook and Instagram.

Sometimes I feel like I blink, and Jaxson and Aynsley have grown even more. They are starting to act more and more like twins. Really, the only differences are that Jaxson is taller and says a few more words. They seem to have the typical love/hate sibling relationship, but I love watching them play and I know that they really are best friends. They have entered a busy stage...I like to say that they are two tiny tornados, but I prefer that to the alternative of them just sitting in front of the TV all day. They definitely keep us on our toes and add so much to life.

Much of my spare time has been filled with marathon training! My first marathon is about six weeks away, and I am starting to realize that maybe I am a little crazy for doing this. All of my training has gone pretty well and I feel like I am on track, but wow...26 miles is a long way to run! You really start to realize it when trying to plan out long runs and you keep having to find ways to make them longer. My goal with this race is just to cross the finish line. I have had a lot of thoughts about running and training for this race in particular, so perhaps I will save that for another post.

To sum things up, life is busy but still amazing. I am blessed to have a great husband and have these two little people who call me mom. They make each day an adventure, and hopefully I will do a little bit better job of documenting it.

Big Cottonwood Half Marathon

I did it...another half marathon! After running the Salt Lake Half back in April, I decided that I wanted to find another race to help keep me motivated with running. After some research, I found the Big Cottonwood Half. This was the first year of the race, and it really appealed to me because it was down the canyon in the fall. What a better backdrop to run than the beautiful canyon? I talked my friend, Camille, into running with me, and I am so glad we did it!

The race was so much fun. I loved the route...seriously so beautiful. It was really different to start running in the dark and then have the sunrise during the run, but I really did like it. I loved the crisp air, the smell of pine, and of course the changing leaves. Plus, I was able to improve my personal best time by about 12 minutes. This really was the best run I have had in a long time, and I am already looking forward to signing up next year.

This race was really runner-friendly. All of the race pictures were FREE, so it was nice to have some pictures from the route. 

Crossing the finish line! Until next year...and maybe even a FULL marathon???

SLC Half Marathon!

A couple of weeks ago, I ran the Salt Lake City Half Marathon! This is the furthest I have ever run, so I was so proud of myself. I decided that I wanted to set a goal to run one this year, so I talked my dad into running it "with" me. My dad is a way better runner than I will probably ever be, but it was still nice to know that we were running the same course even though we weren't running side by side. I finished in 2 hours 33 minutes, which I feel is good, considering this was my first half marathon. Unfortunately, the only picture I have is from my phone...Mike tried taking some, but I forgot to put the memory card back in the camera. I really want to find another one to run sometime later this year, and then who knows...maybe I will consider a full one?!?!

P.S. A BIG thanks to Mike for being such a great support and watching Jaxson and Aynsley so that I could spend the time training!

Night of the Running Dead 5K

Yesterday, I ran in a 5K race called 'Night of the Running Dead'. You could either register as a zombie (infected) or a survivor. If you registered as a zombie, you were encouraged to dress up, and if you were a survivor, you a got a one minute head start. So basically, it appeared that the 'survivors' were running for their lives and trying to escape the 'zombies'.


My brother, David, also decided to run the race. This was his first 5k and he did awesome! I think that my dad said that he came in 11th overall. He definitely inherited the running gene from our dad!

My friend Alisha also ran the race. We had to pose for a picture together before the race got started.

Although I didn't do quite as well as I was hoping to, I am still glad that I participated. It was fun to run with my brother and my friend, plus all of the proceeds were donated to the Huntsman Cancer Institute.