Bucket Listing -- my marathon

My honey came home for the marathon. 

That's how it is in the summers.

"Mother's Day or Marathon?" he asks.

I picked Marathon. 

Mother's Day will happen every year for the rest of my life.

This could be my first and my last marathon EVER. I wanted him to witness it firsthand.

What did he bring me home in his suitcase?

Funny you should ask.

Only 100lbs worth of Brunswick Stew, made and sold only in Virginia. 

This was the sweetest thing EVER.

I'm kinda super excited to have these cans in my food storage. 

It would not be a bummer if I had to live off these cans for an extended period of time.

Just saying!

Friday afternoon I headed to Ogden with my sisters and we checked out the Expo after I picked up my packet. 

Unfortunately Goose didn't win diapers this year like she did the last time we were in town for the Ogden 2009 Marathon.

Melody and I did find some adorable running charm necklaces and I found a table full of super cute head/sweat bands.

I was having a hard time deciding between the band that said "Runner Mom" and "In My Dreams I am a Kenyan"

Finally I happened upon a beauty which said, "Will Run for Cupcakes." Had it said Oreos, it would be been perfect, but cupcakes are a close 2nd or 3rd (as long as they are moist). 

So I bought it.

My mother made a spaghetti dinner that evening for all the family. It was a great time. 

Just before I left my sister and Dad ran out to get me some garbage bags, a bagel and powerade. 

So Sweet. 

These were reminders that one is never through being a parent.

I'm so grateful for that.

I drove up that evening to my hotel room.

Kyle stayed at my parents with the kids.

Not gonna lie. It was so nice to be in that room all by myself.

Peace & Quiet are very good friends of mine, but we rarely get to spend time together.

When I do, I really cherish their company.

I finished up my playlist, charged my watch, clipped my toenails, and tried to sleep. 

Didn't get much of it, but surprisingly when 4:15 came,

I was okay with the prospect of 26.2 miles

So why did my dad buy a garbage bag?

So I could be warm at the starting line with my friend Kami long after we had to turn in our stuff. 

I was so great having a buddy to ride up with, stay warm at the top with, and Run the first 11 miles with:

Here we are, all smiles just before starting the big race. Check out the scenery!

My family was awesome and woke up at the crack of dawn and met me at mile 7 with these awesome posters:

Kami and I cruising along....

Had to look at the posters up close and say hi to Caders

I couldn't not stop and smooch my little Ruby. 

They found me again. Mile 11? or so...

Melody picked me up around Mile 14. She had just done a "work out" on the course then found me a bit after the half-way point.  For the next 12 miles she was my "runner's assistant"

What exactly does a Runner's Assistant do?  Well, she chatted with me, grabbed my gatorades, sponged water on my face, arms and back, unwrapped my goos and candy, untangled my headphones and cheered me on.  It was so awesome!  We had a blast together.

See?

Funny story... Around mile 16 or so I decided I needed to re-tie my pony tail so I held out my i-pod for Melody to hold and said, "hey, can you hold this for a second while I tie my pony tail?"  

Then I looked over and realized the girl was not Melody. She had a look on her face like, "I can't believe you really just asked me to do that for you."

Oops.

I really felt great the entire race. By mile 18 I decided I wanted to try and beat 4:15:00. 

Secretly I wanted to beat that, but I didn't want to say so because what if I didn't?  

Then I'd let myself down. 

I took a Goo and hit the road running.

By mile 20 I was a little bummed. The run was nearly over. All that time and effort I had put into this event...for it to only last 4 hours...it was bittersweet. 

By mile 23 I was getting tired and was okay with the race almost being over.

Melody was amazed at all the people who knew me and were cheering for me by name.

And then she realized my bib had my first name on it.

Ooooooh.

At the final half-mile I saw my family...

and cute little Savvy caught up with me (thanks to Aunt Melody) and we crossed the finish holding hands. I'll forever remember the huge grin on her face as we ran that last stretch together hand in hand.

The Aftermath

two of my favorite posters

Daddy, Ruby, Me, Goose. I love this belly shot of her and the casual pose of my daddy. 

We found this great little Argentine bakery which made Jon a happy camper. He lived in Argentina when he was 19 for 2 years. 

I got to practice my Spanglish and Cade thought it was kind of cool. 

This hot mama-to-be will be running Ogden Marathon in 2014!  Yahoo!

I love this shot. Finally one of the man who is always behind the camera, and the one who has been behind me for over 10 years to accomplish this goal.
Love him.

When we got back to my parents' place I went online to check my official race chip time:

4:14:19

Niiiiice.

 My other stats:

Overall:	1122 out of 2402
Women:	433 out of 1187
F 25-29:	60 out of 145

I was pleased with the outcome. Respectable enough for me. :)

Kyle drove the big kids home in his truck and I drove Ruby home in the Van. He took the kids to get snow cones and I put myself to bed after Ruby.

Then we had a celebratory dinner of Brunswick stew and grilled cheese sandwiches.

Savannah made a family proclamation that we must have this meal every Saturday night.

I'm okay with that tradition.

With the marathon over, it was time to exert my time and energy into some things that had been neglected:
The house cleaning.
It was bad. So bad, in fact, that when Kyle got home and saw the current state, he texted friends and asked for their recommendations for cleaning services/people.
To pour salt on the wound, he texted me when he flew back to Virginia "Promise me you will schedule a cleaning this week."
Sweet, yes. But mostly embarrassing.
A girl can only do so much.
Then there was my nemesis, the laundry.
And Cade's elementary school's walk-a-thon.

So I said Bring It.
{after I catch up on some much needed sleep.}