Yay for St. George Marathon 2011

ST. GEORGE MARATHON

October 1, 2011

What a fun race and 24 hour getaway! Really one of the funnest races I have done. I think I loved it because I was doing it with my hubby and my great running buddies that I have trained all summer with. We had so much just laughing and playing the night before (and of course didn't get enough sleep...except cute Keila who was smart enough to go to bed at a decent time. The rest of us stayed up eating more and more and more and more and doing other stuff :) ) We also all got our PR's for either that race or overall. I have some amazing runner friends! (and some were not there for this race and were greatly missed).

Debbie Tebbs, Keila Lewis, Staci Taylor, Cody Haycock, Taylor and I went down together.

Beginning and end of race with my girls

Finish line pictures. The finish line was so much fun after. We were there for quite a while just hanging out, getting ice massages, and chatting with all the peeps we knew. There were so many fun people that ran the race this year! Congrats to all my cute friends that did it!

I love my husband and he did so great!!! He did his PR for St. George and he felt great which is huge because he usually gets sick during races or he is in so much pain. (he did have some butt pain after hence the ice pack in his bum picture). I am so proud of him. I wish that we would've been able to run together at some point :( but it was so fun to just know we were both there for each other. I took a picture of my arms after because my motivation was my kiddo's. I kept looking at my arms throughout the race.

(This is boring for everyone to read....I just doing it for journaling)

The race: This was my 11th marathon. I started in the Elite coral. Usually I am cold at the beginning and have to wear gloves and or extra top for the first few miles but I wasn't even kind of cold. That made me a little worried for the entire race because running in heat is super hard. I started out with a few friends but instantly we split off. I usually run with people or talk to people but when you run up in the front people are all business. I was ok because I had music but it was different for me not to have run a long side of someone and chatted :) As I passed people or people passed me there were a few exchanges of words. I felt really good for the beginning of the race. I stayed around a 6:20- 6:40 pace for the first 7 miles until I hit the hills. Veyo actually felt harder than last year but I think it's because I started out so much faster. I slowed down on the hills and after the hills at about mile 13 until about mile 23 I kept my pace between 6:30 and 7:20. Mile 23-26 were super hard for me! It was hot, my legs were cramping and I was tired! I grabbed everything people were handing out. I took popsicles, wet towels, ice bags, bananas, oranges, etc. (I gu'd at miles 7, 15, 19, and 23) I just had to keep my head full of optimistic thoughts at the end. I stayed between a 6:50 and 7:50 the last three miles but it was difficult! I just have to tell myself "it's just half of your normal run" "it's just 10, 6, 3, etc..miles. Once I hit mile 16 I can start mentally feeling like "ok I'm nearing the end". My legs started cramping at mile 19. I wish I would've taken the salt tablets I had but I didn't want to bother getting them out of my pack. I don't like to stop because I have a hard to starting back up so through every water station I would slow down but keep running and grab 2 cups of water. I would either drink them or drink one and pour one on my body or head. I listened to music the first 23 miles and then I kind of listened off and on because I like to hear the crowd and my headphones kind of fell off and wouldn't go back in. My watch went out at mile 24 so that was hard for me! I just had to listen to my body. If it was cooler than I think I would've been less exhausted but the heat was totally getting to me. Once I rounded that last corner on mile 25 I was able to pick up my pace and semi sprint in. Best feeling in the world is crossing that finish line! Honestly it is indescribable! I waited right across the finish line to see my friends. When Debbie finished we both started crying...happy crying! then shortly after Tay finished and we just hugged! We are so happy for each other. He was so sweet about my time and I was so happy for his time. We were all on such a high! THE RUNNER'S HIGH!!! I guess I ended on a high note because that's it for me for awhile. It's now time to go for round 2/3 :) Who knows how long it will take us to get pregnant but we are going to start trying soon. I'm so happy!!!!!

There were some incredible runners at this race! It really help motivate you watching some of these runners. Being in the marathon environment is just something that is hard to explain. It's such an addiction of mine! I love the race environment! There's something about all the people excitement, doing something you love, challenging your body both mentally and physically, enjoying scenery, meeting new people that share same interests, seeing all the amazing spectators and volunteers that come out to support, seeing the pay off from training, and doing something hard and fun with those you love. My running buddies know more about me than a lot of people because I see them 2-3 times a week and we just chat for 45 min to 3 hours (long run days). I also love sharing this passion with my husband! We can talk about our training, our injuries, help each other out, support each other on runs, etc. It brings us together. When we go on vacation we love just running together. It's hard with small kids to do that at home so it's such a treat when we are able to. I love my husband and he is such an amazing athlete and motivated person!

There was a little bet going on better people about who would win between Tay and I. There were split opinions. It was hilarious to see the comments and predictions! Well I honestly can say I wish we could've finished together but I beat him :)

Keri: 3:02:51 (PR by almost 7 minutes)

165th out of 5700 runners

27th out of 2, 543 women

5th out of 282 girls in division

Taylor: 3:09:02 (PR in St. George marathon)

259 out of 5700 runners

220 out of 3,157 men

16th out of 205 guys in division

Here are some random cute pictures of our kids. The PJ picture was when we were in St. George and my parents were watching them. We missed them so much!!! The top right is them at wheeler farm egging on the goats and the bottom right is them having races in the garage. They get their strollers and say "ready, set, gooooo!" and they run straight into the garage. It's hilarious! Man I love my kiddos!