Marathon Recap

Marathon Day has finally come and passed. I crossed the finish line and I am not dead. I repeat, I ran 26.2 miles and I am still alive. The day started early for me. I woke up at 4 AM. I got dressed, got my stuff together, made some peanut butter banana toast, grabbed my coffee and was out the door by 5 AM. I got to Westgate at 5:20 and hopped on the bus which left less than 10 minutes later. I happened to make the first bus leaving so that was nice. I got out to Verrado right around 6 AM so I had about an hour before the race started. My running partner Aislinn had just gotten dropped off there, too. I did some warmup/stretching and got my sunscreen on while sipping the last of my coffee. We got in a last minute port-o-potty trip and then checked out bags right before the race started. The sun was just starting to come up but the weather was perfect for running. We made a good effort to not start off too fast and I think we did really well with that. The first 6-ish miles was basically straight before we turned into some neighborhoods. The golf courses were nice and we even saw a coyote staring down some ducks by one of the little golf course lakes. The first half of the race went pretty well. We stopped to pee at mile 16 and then saw my family at mile 17 before heading in to Luke Air Force base. Throughout the 1.5-ish miles through the base there was someone cheering every 100 feet.  It was really cool. We saw my family again at 20 and I was still feeling okay but then when we saw them again at 22 I was hitting the wall. I actually started to panic a little and my sister was there ready to run with us and with some cold water. I calmed down, but it was really hard for me from 22 on. There was not one specific part of me that was in severe pain, but I just felt heavy and emotionally exhausted. The last 6 miles was also almost all straight so not too exciting. We had a pretty good hill at 25.5 miles and after that I just really needed to see that finish line. My official time was 4:25:35 but my watch actually hit 26.2 about .3 miles sooner and I paused it while I peed so nike plus says my fasted marathon is 4:18:09 and I like that. Looking back, I really feel okay about the first 22 miles but that finish was hard. I could not have done it without Aislinn and I am so lucky my sister ran the last 4 as well. It sure is mental at the end there. I am also super grateful for everyone who came out along the way and for taking pictures/video. I had a burger and french fries for lunch and treated my self to two beers with dinner that night. It was also nice to not have to work today! I went to a restorative yoga class last night for some deep stretching and I think that helped, although I probably looked like an idiot because I had to use my hands to get my legs to extend, haha. I do have Ragnar with weekend but my legs are pretty short and then after that I don't have any running on my agenda. I know that lots of people run marathons but to me, it is still a really big deal. It was hard for me. I trained a lot and running has never come naturally to me. My youngest is only 17 months old and 17 months ago I weighed over 200 pounds. I am not sure if I will ever do one again but I am very proud to be a part of the 26.2 club.

 

 

Getting on the full runners bus at 5:20 AM

less than a minute before we started

My sister made the girls shirt

not enough fluids in the world

thank you Krystyn!

the last hill

just want to finish! 

done!

complete exhaustion

my people

so thankful for this lady and for my body being able to carry me 26.2 miles. 

Weekend in Review

We had a busy and productive weekend. It started early Saturday morning (shocker) with a long run for marathon training. This was my longest and farthest run yet, 14 miles. Thankfully I have an awesome training partner, otherwise I just don't know how I would continue to get up to do this! Saturday afternoon we celebrated my nephew Teddy's birthday at the train park. We love the train park and it was a beautiful winter day. Lots of people came out despite his birthday being so close to Christmas and we had lots of fun. Saturday night we went to my sister's for pizza after church and the kids made little gingerbread houses. In reality, the adults made gingerbread houses, because, let's be honest. Sunday morning we got up early and went to the Zoo. We got there for the early hour for members and it was awesome. We got to see the some really cool stuff before anyone was there including the new tiger exhibit. My sisters met us there and the kids had fun. After we got home we did some cleaning and gift wrapping before I met my sister for hot yoga. She needs to de stress and I thought it would be good for my muscles during marathon training so I am glad she agreed to go for a couple weeks with me. We had a nice Sunday night dinner that ended with a Cardinals win, so Justin was happy! Can't wait for Christmas!


We had a beautiful sunrise and even saw lots of little headlamps from the hikers on Camelback Mountain.

First piñata for us!

not feeling well but sooooo cute!

Here is a quick little video from our zoo morning and more pictures below:

 

Leave it to me to be early to the zoo but late for EVERYTHING else. Also, these girls love each other!

early sunrise with the giraffes!

Finally getting to see the new tiger exhibit!

silly Everly

 

two monkeys: baby Jiwa who is 3 days older than Aspen and Uncle Tony stealing Santa's presents.

The zoo added gators recently and also reopened the elephant viewing area.

two crazies and one tired/sick baby

tractor rides

auntie love

 

presents wrapped that I can't wait for the girls to open in 3 more days!

First Family Hike

Last Sunday Justin and I took the girls for our first family hike (as a family of four). We went once when Ev was 2 1/2 maybe but Justin wore her in a hiking pack so it didn't really count. This was the first time Everly did most of the hiking herself. I say most because Justin did carry her a little at the end. She was really excited to climb a mountain and wear her "hiking" clothes. She did some whining and it was probably a little bit longer than it needed to be, but I still think she did really well. We hiked in the Thunderbird Conservation Park on a trail that I had never been on before but it was a very easy trail. It would be a great running trail. It was fun because the bushes at the top were decorated with ornaments for Christmas so she really liked that. I wore Aspen on my back in the ErgoBaby carrier and she slept most of the time. That thing is so comfortable and it was super easy to hike with her. The weather was great too so we really couldn't ask for a better hike!

Aspen on my bag and Justin teaching Ev to walk on the flat dirt instead of rocks.

pretty views

ornaments at the top

me and my girls

Dutch Bros ornament on one of the bushes

 

can't wait to take her again!

We're famous!

Okay...not really, but Aspen and I were on TV a couple of weeks ago. The owner of my gym sent out an email looking for moms with babies to join her for a pre/post natal segment on Fox 10. I took the morning off so Aspen and I could go. It was really cool to see the news from behind the scenes. Surprisingly there are a lot fewer people working then you would think. In the room where the morning show was filmed, it was the two hosts and one camera man. That's it. Kinda crazy. Aspen and I helped show an exercise you can do with your baby. She did great and was smiling during it.  The segment was right before she was due to eat so it could have gone bad but she was an angel. I had a lot of fun spending a little extra time with her in the morning. To be honest, I never workout with my kids because I do it while they are still asleep. I think we still set a good example though because Everly knows when we have come back from a run. She has also seen me play soccer and finish races. For me, working out with my kids just doesn't fit our schedule but for other people I know it is the only option so do what you gotta do! We also recorded it so Everly could watch it that night but here are some pictures from the morning:

 

Getting ready and the Simpson's statues in the lobby

 

 

See what I mean??? Not a lot of people behind the scenes. 

A clip Justin took.