Memorial Weekend and a Free 10K

Race #16 of 2013

Run of Remembrance 10K

1:10:42

This morning I was excited to run a 10K with my cute daughter and her husband.  I haven't run a 10K probably since this same one last year.  The race started at 8:00 am and for some silly reason I set my alarm for 5:15 am.  When I woke up I was baffled as to why I did that?  I must still be in the half marathon mode of thinking that I need to catch a bus.  I quickly set the alarm to go off at 6:15 am and fell right back to sleep for an extra hour.  So, then I got up and got ready and Mark got up to go join us as well.  He and Cooper would watch the cute little grand kids while me, Kali, and Wade ran.

This little precious face right here makes getting up early and going for a run totally worth it.  She was so thrilled to be out there listening to all the noise and chatter and had plenty of smiles for this grandma.  I love that little bow glued to her head.

He was having a good time too and was excited to be out playing with Grandma, Grandpa, and Cooper.  It was just a little cold, and a little early at the moment.  He sure loves his hoodies.

I'm so proud of my daughter, Kali, and her hubby Wade.  They have been starting running programs of their own.  Kali will be running the Utah Valley Half Marathon again this year.  Last year she was pregnant and really was challenged with that whole experience.  This year should be a difference experience.  Wade is excited about running a half marathon as well and is looking for a good one.  You can believe I sure gave him my honest opinion about races I love.  It's just so cool to me to have my family here with me.  I love that they are runners too.

The race started a little late but it was a free race so I'm not complaining.  They were trying to get the main road through American Fork shut down from traffic and then they moved us all out there and we started.  Kali decided to run the 5K due to some shin issues.  She is still trying to get that figured out.  She was very happy with her performance today and was able to run the whole thing, no walking!  Way to go girl!  This momma is very happy for you.

Mark was our photographer and didn't know when to expect Wade., so sadly no picture of him running.  He came in from the 10K around 55 minutes.  Awesome job! I should have tied a rope to him and hung on.

At mile 2 I immediately was feeling like this would be a disaster race for me.  For some reason these shorter runs play with my mind and I think they are supposed to be easier than a half  marathon.  Oh no......I was hurting from the very beginning and the first 4 ish miles of this race are uphill.  I had forgotten about that from last year.  I haven't run a race like this in ages.  It was a constant run, walk, run, walk.  I just couldn't seem to find my mojo.  Finally when we crested the hills I found my rhythm and was able to figure out what I was doing.  But by mile 6 the race was over.  What?  Crazy.  I had a good time though.  I was hoping to beat last year's time, since that was a goal I had made at the beginning of the year-beat each duplicate races time by a few seconds in 2013.  Well,  shoot.......you win some, you lose some.  I'm not going to stress it.  I came in 25 seconds slower than last year.  I'm going to blame the super hilly half marathon I had run only 2 days previously.  

The treats afterward, which is my favorite part were pretty sad.  Oranges and water.  What can you expect from a free race though right?  I was just grateful for a fun, family event and being there together.

We came home from the race and immediately Mark got to work on some projects he had started previously.  We had a pine tree on the right side of this window that had been hacked off when we moved here 3 1/2 years ago.  It was finally looking pretty sad and brown and so Mark pulled that out.  He also cleaned up underneath the other pine tree and took off a few branches.  Now I need to plant some flowers and get my pots filled up with pretty stuff.

Here is obviously an old photo, taken in December 2009, when we moved here to show that sad, crazy tree.

Mark had tilled the garden on Saturday and I went to Cook's greenhouse and bought all my plants and got the garden planted.  I can't wait for some delicious garden goodness.  I planted tomatoes, yellow squash, zucchini, eggplant, green beans, green peppers, broccoli, cucumbers, and spaghetti squash.  When the tomatoes are ready and you would like a tomato sandwich on some homemade wheat bread you are officially invited over to partake with me.  I love a juicy tomato sandwich!

A big project Mark and Cooper have been working on for about a month now is a new roof over our back porch.  The old one that was there when we moved here was basically a joke.  The roof was so low Mark would bump his head on it when we stepped outside.  There was chicken wire to enclose it all in and it was just built very Mickey Mouse like.  So down it finally came. ( I can't believe we didn't do this sooner, but projects take time)  I scoured through all of my photos and can't find one single photo of that ugly roof that was there before.  I wish I had taken a picture of it before Mark tore it down. 

I'm going to do a post later of the full project when it's completely done.  For now these photos show how amazing Mark is.  He's such a hard worker and a great guy!  So glad he's my hubby.  Cooper is a great boy too.  He helped out so much on this project as well.

By the time our day had dwindled away from projects it was getting dark and we wanted to go up and visit Porter's grave.  It's always quite an amazing sight seeing the graveyard covered in beautiful flowers showing respect and loved to so many deceased.  It's such a sweet place to just sit and reflect and remember.

Still miss this little boy of mine.  Always wonder what he's doing, and what he would be doing if he were still here with us. 

Jordan had to work a super long day and had already come up here on his own time.  I wasn't aware of that but was touched by his actions and thoughts for his younger brother when I found out. 

Brittany and Cooper

♥Love you Porter♥