Bear Lake Half Marathon 2012

Ok, so remember how I was REALLY good at blogging for a while there while I was training? Well... I didn't keep up with that very well... But I am here now for an update! On June 9, we ran the Bear Lake Half Marathon. It was SO much fun to run with Nicole and Angie and accomplish something with both of them. Running with them definitely made the race go by so much faster. I can't even imagine having to run it by myself. We chatted (mostly) the whole time and were so excited and kept each other going. I think we all took turns going through the "just go ahead and leave me" phase... I actually felt really good though and did better than I thought I would.We were like a minute over our goal finishing time too, so I'd say that's pretty good. I mean, if you average one minute out over 13 miles, that basically means your pace was like 4 seconds slower than you'd hoped for. Can't complain about that... Haha  It was a lot of fun though and I was so happy with all of the support! Basically my entire family was there to cheer us on (Dustin couldn't be there because of school), I had 4 siblings running in it with me, my in-laws were there, and then Matthew and my sister-in-law Trisha ran in it too! Overall, it was such a fun race and even more fun because of the time it created for me to spend with my family.

Matthew and his sister, Trisha, after kicking trash and finishing the race. Trisha took first in her age group!!

Trisha was running in her very first half marathon as well, and she did SO good!! She was a collegiate cross-country runner at UVU, but has taken some time off from seriously running to have 2 kids (I know, she totally doesn't look like she has had 2 children! She looks amazing!!) Well, Matt decided he was going to run it with her to give her someone to run with and motivate her and everything. (That poor girl... he is a beast to run with!! Haha just kidding, I love him.) They did so freaking awesome!! They finished in like 1 hour and 42 minutes! Trisha took first place in her age group and Matt took third in his, which also means Trisha basically took third place in Matt's age group... Freaking awesome! What kind of a family did I marry into?? Haha I wonder that every day of my life... I have to work freaking hard to try to compare to them, that is for sure! But I love my entire in-law family. They are such amazing people and so supportive.

Angie, Nicole, and I coming up on the finish line. Haha I look like I'm going to DIE!!

After finishing the race! :)

When Nicole, Angie, and I were about a mile out, I saw Matthew running towards us. It was kind of nice to have him there for about the last mile. Nicole and Angie kind of got the "Will someone please tell Matthew to stop talking" theory, but that's what I trained with the whole time! That's what I have been used to, so I finally have started to feel like it is somewhat motivating... Haha It was nice to have someone tell us about how much further we have to go and where the finish line was. It was so fun finishing that race even though we all  got pretty tired at the end. The weird thing was, it was kind of an emotional thing after working SO hard for something and pushing your body to what you feel could be its limit, finishing and being done is pretty emotional. I feel so proud of myself and my family. After every injury I've been through in my life and making the decision to quit soccer to try to save my knees, it was so nice to accomplish something that seemed to big to me such a short time before. The longest I had even run before meeting Matthew... about 2 miles. The longest I had ever run before deciding to train for a half marathon... 5 miles. I never thought I could do it, but I did and I am so happy about that!! :) Now... Angie and I (and anyone who would like to join us!) are training for a FULL marathon... September 15th, baby!! Top of Utah Marathon, here we come!! Wish me luck, training thus far has been pretty brutal and I am pretty tired on my Saturday runs, but I might as well do it now while I'm already half way there. AHHHHH!!!!

All of the people in my family who ran (L-R) Matthew, me, Angie, Nicole, Ang, and Josh. WOOHOO!!

Like I said, it was so much fun training with a bunch of members of my family and having a goal we were working towards together. I remember Josh calling me after I told him to sign up for it... He had just barely realized how far a half marathon was ("I always knew a marathon was 26 miles, but I didn't realize this would be... half... that..." haha good one, Josh!). Then he proceeded to pull the "I'm not a distance runner, I was always a sprinter! Speed and power, not long distances!!". Yeah, I pulled that one too... Haha but guess what? Ang and Josh signed up too and they freaking did it too? And guess what else? I think they are addicted as well! Haha they are already looking for another race to sign up for... LOVE it!!

Matthew and I after the race. Love this guy!

I guess the last thing I have to talk about is my wonderful husband! Goodness, this guy is awesome!! I loved running with my family during the race and chatting with them while we were training... I loved the feeling I had crossing the finish line knowing I had completed such an awesome thing. I loved training and realizing that running is such a therapeutic thing and helped me really understand my body so much more.... But what I loved the most was finding a love for something my husband has loved all along. I loved going on long runs with him (he even woke up early to run with me on Saturday mornings). I loved sharing a common interest and finding something that we could spend time together doing. Sure, he is a MUCH better runner than me, he is incredible, but he still ran with me at my pace most days unless I went without him. He was such a support to me and has always told me he believes in me and he knows I can do it. Anyone can tell you that, but there is something about it coming from your husband that makes it so much more meaningful. A million other people could tell me that they are proud of me and that I did great, but as soon as Matthew tells me he's proud of me... THAT is what makes it all worth it. :)

Anyway, I think that's it! For now... I still have lots more updates to come! Hopefully today, so stay tuned! Moral of the story is, find something that makes you happy and do it. Find something that makes you work hard, something you never thought you'd be able to do, and do it! There is no better feeling! :) And if nothing else, find something that your husband likes doing that you think you hate, and do it with him! It is kind of fun and I think they have lots of fun teaching you how to do something they excel at. Anyway, off my soapbox!

Until next time!