26.2

Wow it takes me forever to blog these days. I apologize. 

Two weeks ago was the Top of Utah marathon in Logan. It was my first marathon...and I still haven't decided if it is going to be my last. My mom was nice enough to fly up from Vegas for the weekend so on Friday I picked her up from the airport and we drove up to Logan. We waited an insanely long time for a delicious carb-loaded dinner at Olive Garden, and mapped out the plan for my mini-fan club for the next day. 

That morning I got up ridiculously early (like seminary early) and caught a bus to a park where I caught another bus to the start of the race. The race started up a canyon, so spectators weren't allowed to be on the course until we were out of the canyon - 14 miles into the race. Meanwhile, Carson, Jess, and Drew got up super early as well and drove up from Provo just to watch me run. They even made these signs for me. Guess who made each one...

This one was Carson's...I love the outlining he did. Cute.

Jess made this one. Of course it's cute...she is the greatest.

And this one was Drew's. I love it. It comes from an old joke from when I used to run cross country.

The best friend, brother, and boyfriend ever (and best mom taking the picture). What more could a girl ask for. 

About two hours after I started running, I got to see my mini-fan club for the first time. It made me very happy, and (embarrassingly) slightly emotional.

The canyon was beautiful. The weather was beautiful. (That is me in the bright blue...number 2745...not very beautiful at this point.)  This one was at mile 14-ish. At this point I still felt great. I was loving the experience and the first half of the race had flown by.

This was around mile 17. I was a little more tired but still feeling great. I had under 10 miles to go! How could I not feel good??

This one was around mile 21. At this point I made a friend who helped me get through the toughest part of the race for me. They call it "hitting the wall." I hit it all right. Miles 21 and 22 were really hard. I wanted to stop. I wanted to fall over actually, but I couldn't. I was really so close. How many times in my life have I run 4 miles? And that was all I had left. I could do it (that's what I had to keep telling myself).

Right before the finish. I was so close...

The finish! 26.2 miles after I had started I could finally stop running. Since there were so many people at the start, I didn't actually start when the clock did so my time was 3:52:53. My goal was under 4 hours and I did it. At first I was really just happy to be done - happy to stop moving, but then I got really proud. I felt accomplished. 

I love these people for getting up really early on a Saturday and coming to support me. 

After the race it was a little difficult to walk. Or sit down. Or stand up. Forget stairs. That was a joke. A week later I was finally not sore anymore. I loved this experience. I had a lot of fun and I am proud of myself for accomplishing something that I have always wanted to do. 

I want to say thanks to everyone who supported me in this little endeavor. Thanks to my family and my friends. Thanks to everyone at the Top of Utah marathon that ran with me, even though we didn't talk or know each other, there was definitely a bond there. Thanks for all of the people running around Provo and Orem while I was training. You pushed me probably without even knowing it (and sometimes made me feel bad about myself when I wasn't going as fast as you) but mostly just gave me some company out there.   

Another marathon? Maybe in a year or so. We shall see...