Some Thoughts on Boston

Last Monday I woke up wishing so bad that I was in Boston for the marathon. Next year, I had to remind myself. I've been planning our next Boston trip ever since I crossed the finish line there in 2010. Since I didn't run a marathon last year because of my pregnancy I wasn't qualified for this year's race.  Little did I know the events that would unfold that day in Boston. I had a busy morning but kept checking on the leader board and tracking friends on my phone. I felt a twinge of disappointment when the top American finished 4th in both the women's and men's race.  Another year without an American winning Boston...

Then I was at the grocery store and my phone started ringing. "Have you heard about Boston?" I stood in utter disbelief as the stories came to me about explosions at the finish line. Suddenly finishing times and place were meaningless.  My first thought was of friends that were in Boston.  I was relieved to hear back quickly from them that they were unharmed.  Then came the thoughts of what if.  What if I hadn't had a baby last year?  If everything in my life had worked out the way I timed it, I would have been there.  And even worse my kids might have been standing at the finish line watching.  I was of course grateful that we were safe at home but I was devastated thinking about those that were in Boston this year.  So many times the questions ran through my mind.  How could this happen?  Why would anyone do this?

So many people work so hard just to qualify and get the opportunity to run Boston.  Many people have much more inspiring stories of overcoming obstacles to get there than me. My Boston experience was what every runner dreams for.  The people of Boston welcomed me, as they do all the runners, with open arms and treated me as a celebrity.  I couldn't go anywhere in town with my marathon gear without being swarmed with congratulations. The people in Boston love hosting the most prestigious marathon in the world and they come out by the hundreds of thousands to cheer on the runners over the 26 mile course.  For a recreational runner like me, it's the only place to feel as if you are an elite athlete.  There is really nothing like coming down Boylston street to the finish line.  The sense of accomplishment and achievement is like nothing else I've ever done before.

Here I am in 2010 at the spot where the bombing occurred last week.

My heart aches for those who were hurt in this tragedy.  Although I feel helpless I hope those whose lives have forever been changed will take some comfort in knowing that countless people are praying for them.  So many others walked away from the race "safe" yet all of their dreams were shattered by the senseless act of violence.  Instead of the feeling of celebration and accomplishment they were surrounded by terror.  And while we will never forget that day and those who were hurt, I hope we don't let Boston become defined by such a terrible act.  This poster hangs on my wall and I think it really sums up how I feel about Boston.

I've heard a lot of comments the last week like, marathons will never be the same, or would you ever go back?  But if we have that attitude I think we have let the terrorists have a victory.  The Boston Marathon is all about pushing yourself harder than you ever thought you could.  Every marathon runner knows you only get better by working through hard things.  The race will go on and only get better.  After all, noyhing says better, better than Boston.

Only a Half

I once read an article that pointed out that the half marathon has been unfairly named.  After all, you don't call a 5k a half 10K.  Why doesn't a 13.1 mile race deserve it's own name?  I've noticed that I often hear this conversation with the Ogden Marathon coming up.  "Are your running Ogden?" And the response, "Only the half."  Have you ever run 13.1 miles?  I really don't think running that far should be phrased as "only" 13 miles.  If you haven't run that far just try driving it and think about running it.  It's a long way.  Many half marathons have also started giving medals to finishers like full marathons since it really is an accomplishment to run that far.  Personally it's my favorite distance to race.  You don't get to the glycogen depletion like you do in the full marathon but it's long enough to be a true distance race, which happens to be my strength.

So even though I love half marathons I've realized that every time I sign up for one it's used as preparation for a full marathon.  It's always in the thick of my training and used as a predictor for how I'll handle the longer upcoming race.  This also means I'm never fully tapered and have tired legs coming off some recent hard workouts.  One of these days I need to train specifically for a half marathon but the race I ran last week was like the others.  It was the Striders Winter Racing Circuit Half Marathon.  It's part of the series I have been running and I was looking forward to it because it is basically the first half of the Ogden Marathon.  I figured it would give me a good idea of how to pace myself next month in the marathon.

We got on the bus at the finish line in Eden and headed to the starting line up South Fork Canyon.  The course is one way, my favorite way to run, no loops or out and back.  It was chilly, in the high 30s, with a slight breeze but not bad for early April in the mountains.  The buses were a little late so my warm up was cut short and my muscles didn't feel warmed up at all when I pulled off my sweats and made my way over to the starting line.  I started to wonder if I'd made a mistake wearing shorts but it was too late.  The gun went off and we started down the canyon.  The first mile I was with the lead pack of women.  This race is also part of another racing series that brings a lot of fast runners from Salt Lake.  I knew some of these runners were extremely fast and seemed to be taking it easy.  Either that or I was going too fast. The pace felt good though and I hit the first mile mark in 6:21.  It was a little fast but it was downhill so I wasn't worried.  The pack started to split up a little at that point and I settled into 5th place and let some of the faster women go.  I was running a comfortable pace hitting miles in the 6:30's.  I figured I'd slow down when we were out of the canyon.  I was surprised how fast that came.  The course does start down lower than the Ogden Marathon course and we were out in the valley already after only three miles.  Still ten to go.

The road stayed fairly flat, even a gradual downhill for the next three miles.  I was still keeping up my pace in the 6:30's and was starting to pick off all the men that were running ahead of me one at a time as they slowed down.  By about mile six or seven I was alone and that's when the hills start.  The hills aren't big but they are rolling hills that never seem to end.  The next runner ahead of me was the girl in 4th place.  She had at least a 400 meter lead on me and she was far enough ahead that it was difficult to imagine catching her.  I was about half way but I felt fantastic so I just concentrated on trying to keep my pace steady.  I was still running my miles in about 6:35 even though I was in the thick of the hills.  They just didn't seem as hard as I remembered.  After about two more miles I realized I was definitely catching the girl in front of me.  My legs were finally starting to feel like I'd been running hard for a while but I was chasing her down and I knew I could get her.

Between miles 10 and 11 I caught up to her.  She was super nice when I passed her and said "Good job!  You look great!"  I felt great!  Then she added, "You are in 4th place now."  I knew that already.  Thanks for the reminder.  See, they were giving prize money to the top three and I seem to have a habit of finishing 4th when they do that.  And the girl in 3rd still had a pretty good lead on me.  I was catching her but I was running out of time with only two miles left.  At this point I realized I was going to run a great time.  I could either be satisfied with that and just relax and keep my pace steady or I could give it everything I had left and try to catch her.  I set my eyes on her and picked up my pace.  Mile 12 was a 6:20.  I was closing the gap.  I caught her with about half a mile to go.  After I passed her I didn't even dare look back.  Was she strong enough to keep up with me and race me to the end?  I didn't want to know.  I just had to keep running as fast as I could.  Mile 13 was a 5:55!  I plan on 40 seconds for the last .1 mile but when I glanced at the finish clock I realized I had a chance at breaking 1:25 if I could do it in less than 35 seconds.  So I sprinted in and finished in 1:24:55 in third place, 40 seconds faster than 4th!

It was the fastest I have ever run any half marathon!  The race alone was an accomplishment but like I said, it sets me up in a great position for the marathon in six weeks.  The race felt so good and I can't wait to see how I feel on marathon day after a few more weeks of hard training and a full taper.  My goal: slow the first half down by five minutes and run it in 1:30 and then use Ogden Canyon in the second half to negative split and break three hours.

Jason wasn't thrilled with his race but still ran 1:22:31.  When we got home the kids were excited about the medals and prize money.  They asked how we did and when Jason told them our times Andrew said, "Dad, you better be careful.  If Mom keeps getting faster she's going to beat you!"

Here I am with Melisa Harrison and her dad Bill Sneddon.  Our training group did a great job taking a lot of the prize money and age group medals.  Melisa won the Masters division.  So I did go home with some prize money.  It wasn't much and I spent almost all of it paying the babysitter for the morning but it was still felt good!

What do you think?  Should the half marathon get it's own name?  What would you name it?

Shakespeare

Andrew's honors English class has been working hard preparing to perform Much Ado About Nothing the last month.  We went to watch their performance the other night.  I was really impressed with how well a bunch of seventh graders did with Shakespeare!  Here are a couple clips.  Keep in mind I wasn't in the best spot to film and I was also holding a baby!

Here's Andrew as Antonio.

Spring Break

Spring Break started with a beautiful sunny day at the zoo.  A few of the cousins came along with my mother-in-law and sister-in-law.  My kids were so excited to see the new exhibits that opened last year. You  really couldn't have asked for a nicer day other than there were a lot of people there.

Having lots of fun with Morgan and Winston

Loving the baby giraffe.  One of the few spots at the zoo that still looks like it did when I was a kid!

This is what big sister does to this poor baby when he falls asleep in the stroller!

Jared thinks this orangutan is stuck inside because he won't clean his room.  I wonder where he got that idea from?

Saturday morning Jason's step-brother Alex and his wife Tiffany were sealed in the Salt Lake Temple.  Jason and I were privileged to attend the beautiful ceremony.

Afterwards we went to lunch.

All Kaitlyn wanted to eat were the chocolate covered strawberries!

Andrew discovered he's almost as tall as his grandma!

Then it was off to Grandma's for an Easter egg hunt with the cousins.

We spent a quiet Easter Sunday at home and going to church.

Kaitlyn in her Easter dress

Monday was the last day of spring break and it rained.  So we took our trip to Krispy Kremes for the kids to get free donuts for the A's on their report cards and then went to a movie.

My smart kids!  A whole box for each of them!

It was a great spring break but too short!  I sure wish I could convince Ogden School District to give these kids a whole week off!

Jared's Science Fair

Jared's teacher made the science fair optional for his class. He was so excited to do a project though. He wanted to do an engineering project. He came up with testing Lego buildings on a shake table to see which ones were more stable. What a perfect project for a 10 year old boy! What could be more perfect than building with Legos and then destroying them! It really was a great project. I just wish he hadn't waited for the night before to do the poster...

Out of the whole 4th grade his was one of only two projects that received an honorable mention.

Skyler 9 Months

How can 9 months of pregnancy last an eternity and nine months with a new baby go so fast?!  It's hard to believe that Skyler is nine months old already.  He's changing so quickly and it breaks my heart to realize he won't be a baby much longer!  What a cute little boy he is growing into though!

Skyler is 16 lbs. 11 oz. now.  I can't go anywhere without everyone commenting on how happy he is.  He has such a great personality and loves to get any one's attention he can.  When I got these pictures taken a couple weeks ago he thought the flash was the funniest thing in the world and just laughed and laughed!

What Skyler loves at 9 months:  peaches, bananas, watching his siblings dance and jump around (really you should see how excited he gets when Kaitlyn is acting crazy), taking baths, going outside in the nicer weather in the stroller and the swing, smiling at everyone, talking on facetime to Grandma and Dad (if you ever try to have a "normal" phone conversation with this kid he is really stumped why he can't see you too!), Brazilian Samba music (thanks to our friend Moises), pulling hair, destroying any piece of paper he can get his hands on, grabbing anything within reach (including plates off the table!), and constantly being the center of attention.

What Skyler doesn't like at 9 months:  getting his face washed (really, if you want to see this kid unhappy just let him see you coming with a washcloth), taking naps when there is something more interesting going on, having Mom take her iPhone away (Did you know they have some pretty entertaining apps for babies? Unfortunately, he doesn't appreciate it getting taken away when he eats it instead of playing on it.)

Milestones:  Still waiting for that first tooth even though I have suspected it's coming several times.  He hasn't figured out crawling yet either but I know that's going to happen any day and I am really appreciating that he will still stay in the spot where I put him down!

loving being outside one of the first spring-like days

What a good sport.  His brothers are huge into Minecraft right now and made him his own mine cart to push him around the house in!

Love this picture with big brother!

Bad Luck?

All winter I've been wanting to get a babysitter and go skiing with Jason for a date. Most of our skiing is done with the kids or alone. Especially this year since someone has to watch Skyler. I decided one morning to use the day care up at Snowbasin on Jason's day off so we could ski together. The other kids were all in school and two feet of powder had just fallen. I was so excited but along with all the fresh snow the storm had knocked out the power at Snowbasin. We got there and found a freezing cold daycare room and decided instead to keep Skyler warm by the fireplace in the lodge and we had to take turns skiing again.

So it's March already and there's not a lot of snow in the mountains this year so we were running out of time. Jason's mom offered to come up and watch Skyler for the day yesterday so we jumped at the chance. Conditions weren't great but at least we could ski together! So imagine our surprise when we pulled into the parking lot, looked at the mountain and saw that none of the lifts were moving! There were strong wind gusts and they couldn't run any of the lifts to the top of the mountain. The only thing open was Little Cat and Becker (the intermediate lift that only goes half way up.) How can it be so hard to find a day to ski together? For a minute we thought about just going home. But Jason's mom had come all the way from Orem to babysit and we hated to waste the day. We finally decide to do a couple runs. After all we were there with all the equipment. We might as well do something. I braced myself for a cold ride on the chairlift in the wind. We are so spoiled with the gondolas there that I rarely ride chairlifts. I started to panic a little after we got on the lift and I realized if the wind got the chair swinging too much I could end up motion sick. The ride wasn't nearly as bad as I anticipated though. We explored some places we usually don't ski. Just when we were starting to get bored of the limited part of the mountain we could access someone told us John Paul was open.

John Paul is the hardest part of the mountain. It's the area the Olympic downhills were held in 2002. There is one easy way down which I've done a few times. The rest are black diamonds. I reminded Jason I don't ski black diamonds but what else were we going to do? The rest of the mountain was closed. The wind was really whipping when we got up to the top of the lift. We hurried to get off the top of the ridge out of the wind. Then with butterflies in my stomach I saw the hill I was going to have to go down. It was steep but there was no turning back now! I was proud of myself to get down my first black diamond without even falling. I surprised Jason and even myself a little when I said "That was fun! Let's do it again!" So we spent the rest of the day having fun skiing black diamonds. We had lunch at the John Paul lodge with an amazing view! It was warm, the snow was slushy, and the wind was whipping in our face. But looking on the bright side, it kept the crowds away and we had the mountain almost to ourselves!

So the day didn't turn out the way we planned. Maybe you can call that bad luck. But I couldn't have asked for a better day.