Thursday, May 31, 2012

Conversations

The boys had a delicious and nutritious meal for lunch today which consisted of corndogs and ranch dressing.  I started to become interested in their conversation when I overheard Camden talking about baptizing his corndog in the ranch.  This is what my sacrilegious children were saying:

Jace: You are getting bigger so you can be baptized
Camden: I'm only gonna be 5, not 8, but I don't wanna be baptized
Jace: Well you have to be baptized
Camden: Nuh uh
Jace: Uh Huh
Camden:(yelling) I said I don't wanna
Jace: Well Daddy will put you in the water and you can't choose.  You will just be (growling voice) BAPTIZED!
Camden: (crying and running away scared out of his mind) NOOOOOO

Saturday, May 19, 2012

26.2


My alarm went off at 5:15 this morning and I started getting ready for the race.  Normally my stomach can only handle half a banana, but today I felt extra hungry and knew the race wasn't for awhile so I ate the entire thing.  I did a little foam rolling, taped my knees, drank a glass of Gatorade with some ibuprofen, and practically forced my dad to take a picture before we headed to the race.


Normally I'm one for taking lots of pictures, but the cold wind coupled with my nerves kept me bottled up in order to spare everyone of some kind of explosion.  The start line was crowded, we sang the national anthem, they blew a horn, and off we went.  For the most part, the course ran along the Boise river greenbelt and had some pretty beautiful views.  I was soaking in the atmosphere and feeling great about finally getting to this point.

The first 13 miles were a breeze.  I remember thinking to myself I could totally do a half marathon and push myself to get a decent time.  But I was not naive to the fact that we were still just beginning the race at that point.  We knew Dan would be bringing the boys to the race but we weren't sure at what point we would see them.  As we came around the corner it was a nice surprise to see them just after the half marathoners broke off for their finish line.  We quickly ran past and that's when I remember things starting to get hard.

Around mile 15 my dad jokingly told one of the spectators he would pay them to drive us to the finish line, he replied with a loud, "get out of your own head and finish this race".  A few miles later we were caught walking by Dan and the boys along with Andrea and Helen.  It was nice to hold Jace while Camden and Helen walked with us until we started running again. After passing them I turned around and Jace was running after us crying for me to come back.  We started noticing several people running back toward us and thought for sure the turn around point was near, but it felt like an eternity until we hit it.   I'm pretty sure miles 16-20 were the hardest for me, that is when my legs started feeling like led, and my emotions were at the surface.  We pushed forward.  I took out one headphone so I could listen to what people were saying.  Everyone was so nice!  As runners passed, they said encouraging things.  At first I thought it was out of pity until I started doing it myself.  We were all in this together, not trying to beat each other, just seriously hoping to finish.

The volunteers and spectators we so great.  Clapping, smiling and cheering for everyone.  I tried  hard to thank them and smile back.  There were several runners wearing "Leukemia & Lymphoma Team in Training" shirts and had coaches running with them.  At one water station all the volunteers had those same shirts and one man held up a sign that said, "I'm alive because you run".

One marathon runner was doubled over in pain, whaling out while trying to rub his cramping muscles.  I remembered being miserable during one of my training runs and said a little prayer of gratitude for the way my body was holding up.  My dad had some hip pain and calf cramping that bothered him and I felt pretty helpless.  There were times I thought he was gonna fall over because the cramping comes on so quickly and severely but he pulled through.  When we were both feeling ready to be done he said, "you know this is your fault" but I quickly responded with, "actually I think it's your fault because I would have never kept going if you didn't train with me" and I was dead serious!


We made it to mile 26 and the last .2 miles were longer than we expected.  We rounded the corner and saw the finish line!


We made it across the finish pad in 5:20 and were greeted by Dan, Camden and Jace, Julie, Andrea and Helen.  It was so fun to see them at the finish line and extremely nice of them to spend their Saturday in the heat for us.


Trying to put my marathon experience into words is actually harder than I thought.  I'm convinced anyone can run a marathon.  It's not a matter of if you can, but if you will.


This marathon was never about winning to me, it was about pushing myself past limits I never knew possible.  It was about doing hard things.  When I started training I couldn't run to the end of my street without stopping, now I am a marathon runner!  I did it, and it feels good!

Friday, May 18, 2012

Marathon


This afternoon I went to the expo to pick up our race packet.  The energy was intense and I could feel the excitement in the air.  I tried not to stay long because I didn't want my nerves to get the best of me.  I attempted to go about the rest of my day as usual but the marathon was always in the back of my mind.  I had a few friends drop by with good luck treats and several people text and call. Any time I tried second guessing myself I was reminded of all the hard work we had done to get to this point.  Concentrating on everything I had done instead of everything else I shoulda, woulda, coulda, done to make it better.

One new pair of running shoes, approximately 470 training miles run, an incredible Under Armor sports bra, 1 stick of glide, 8oz of chamois butt'r, 3CD's of new songs added to my IPOD, running pants, 2 pair of Thor-lo socks, approximately 7 rolls of KT tape, lots of ice, 1 Costco size can of blue Gatorade powder, 6 months of Saturday mornings with my Dad, Orbit gum, tons of determination and dedication, sore knees, hurt achilles, scars, blisters, GI trouble, tears, and competition have all got me to this point.


So tonight as I painted my nails(gotta have something nice to look at for 5 hours tomorrow) I tried to differentiate between chest tightness from my hacking cough and chest tightness due to anxiety.  I'm sure it's a little of both; but either way it's on, tomorrow I will officially be a marathon runner!  And like my dad said, we will finish it together, or not at all!

Saturday, May 12, 2012

Today...

Jace told me not to kiss him because it is so sick.
Camden told me he really wishes I would just leave him home and go far away.
Jace asked if my nether region was bigger or littler than his.
Camden told me he was too old to work.
Jace told me I always eat his treats and never share.
Camden told me I don't understand how to match his clothes.

I love how hilariously entertaining my children were today, and everyday!