Miles and the Bubbles

An expression of pure excitement!!  Could this child be any happier?  I think not.

This activity actually was my mother's 71st birthday party celebration and she loves going to the canyon for dinner. Each of us brought a different food item to share and enjoyed the cool evening together.  The boys set up the blongo ball and played that while the youngsters enjoyed the bubbles.

Born To Run

Just picked up this book from the library yesterday after being on a waiting list for about a month or so now. I've heard from a number of people what a great read it is.  I've read a few pages and am hooked already.  I'm anxious to see what I can learn from it, hoping it helps in my own endeavors.  I enjoy reading a lot but am doing good to get my scriptures, Ensign, and Prevention magazine read each month, so this will be nice to add additional reading material. I'm off to read, good-night!

Fourth of July Parade-Provo

(YES THIS GOES TO SHOW HOW FAR BEHIND I AM) 

Someday I'm going to do a blog book.  My friend Annaleesa had one made and it's the absolute COOLEST thing I've seen, so I need to get my photos and experiences put in here pronto!

This was Miles first real Fourth of July Parade and to be honest I had more fun watching him watch the parade than watching the parade myself.
We started the morning pretty early, getting up to go watch the hot-air balloons inflate but got down there and the weather wasn't cooperating so it didn't happen. So we hustled over to the parade route to watch the runners go by. That is always my most favorite part of the Freedom Days experience. I should probably just sign up and run with them next year, but then I wouldn't get to stand on the sidelines cheering and hollering like a crazy woman telling them all what a good job they are doing. I've been on the running side and I know how fun it is to have people cheer you on. It really gives you a little extra boost to keep going.

The rest of the day was spent relaxing and napping. Kali had to work and so Wade and Miles went with me and Mark to the fireworks display later that night that Pleasant Grove puts on each year. I love the fact that you get to be on the lawn at the Jr. High school so close to where they let them off. Miles was very scared of them and hid under a blanket the whole time. It made us all laugh. The scary part for me is when shrapnel started landing all around us. We had nice big chunks of cardboard hit us in the head and face. Maybe we were just a little too close?

My Number One Fan

Mark has always been my biggest support with this new-found love of running.  He has been to my races and cheered me on.  He will hop on his bike and go with me on Saturday mornings when I have to do a long run.  He carries the powerade, water, and oranges for me so I can be re-engergized with fuel at any given moment. He doesn't mind that signing up for races means spending money, and sometimes it means going out of town as well thus having to pay for a motel.
Well, he has run a little bit here and there on the treadmill but never going over about 3 miles.  Today he surprised me and said he wanted to go running with me.  My original plan was about 7 miles but I opted to shorten it so we could go together.  I'm so proud of him.  He kept going like the energizer bunny and we made it 5 miles together, going around the loop that I like to call the cemetery loop.  We get to pass right by Porter's grave.  It's the hardest part of the run, not just because Porter is buried there but because it's a pretty steep hill we have to climb. I just think about my boy and sometimes look over and wave as I'm climbing that hill and that carries me to the top everytime.  Then it's all down hill from there to home.
Way to go hubby!!!  I hope to do this again :)

Running, Career, Church Service, Family, Life!

I have been trying to decide what direction to turn with my blog.  I have been pretty consumed with this new found love of running since December of 2010 and find a lot of inspiration and motivation reading other runner's blogs. One thought was that I should just start a different blog about running alone but then I realized I don't really post enough about that, nor do I want one more separate thing to keep up.  After mulling the ideas around for awhile my thoughts just kept going back to what this blog is really about:  Life!  I want to be able to document what's happening in me and my family's life.  I'm not very good at keeping a journal and my scrap-booking hobby has almost completely died off.  I'm hoping someday to start that up again but for now this blog is the next best thing.  So, some days I may blog about running and health and fitness, some days about my family or friends, some days about my grandson (because he is just so blasted cute!) As of right now I am feeling really behind on my blog posts but they are in the works and will be coming soon.  

It's all about balance and trying to find it.  Is it possible?

Top Of Utah Half Marathon-August 27th

This was a completely different race than the Utah Valley 1/2 marathon I ran a couple months ago in June.  I felt like I had trained a little harder and went into this race with a different attitude. I also felt like I knew a little more of what to expect with the whole experience and was ready now to not only finish this race but challenged myself to beat my old time.

I need to back up though and start at the beginning.  Since I don't live in the Logan area and couldn't just wake up Saturday morning and head to the starting line, our family-Mark, Cooper, and myself headed up on Friday night after everyone was done working. (Jordan couldn't go with us)  Kali, Wade and Miles left a little earlier than us and headed up to Wade's parents house.  We stopped off at Subway and each got a footlong sandwich-so delicious! We ate them in the car on our ride up.  We went straight to the park where the finish line was to be to pick up the race packet and then checked into our motel.  I realized I had forgotten a jacket for in the morning when it's cool in the canyon so we met up with my good friends, Jody and Doran, and headed over to Walmart.  I found a cute, blue lightweight jacket and Cooper and mark bought some snacks.  Jody and Doran bought some race gu and energy bars, and then we headed back to the motel to hit the sack.

Saturday morning 5:00 am dawned bright and early, well, not bright yet.  It was still pretty dark.  I got up and got my gear on and ate peanut butter and banana, my very favorite morning food before a run.  Mark took me to the bus loading area and I wandered around in the dark hoping to find Doran which I did pretty quickly.  My friend Jody is still nursing an injury and so couldn't run.  Someday we will run a half together.  Doran and I got on the buses and rode the long drive to the starting point.

Blacksmith Fork Canyon is beautiful and surprisingly wasn't freezing cold like Provo Canyon was in June.  I was still glad for my new jacket though.  We got off the buses and walked around and I wanted to find another friend whom I heard would be running.  I only looked about 10 minutes and I found her, which is pretty amazing since there were about 2500 runners up there waiting to start.  Kristine Freeze is also from my neck of the woods and was going to be running her first half marathon.  She is one funny girl and kept me laughing while we waited to start.  I wasn't expecting to see her after we started since she already does triathlons and was hoping to finish this race in under 2 hours.

The morning sky gradually lightened up and the magic moment came when the gun went off!  My whole mind- set was to just push a little harder than I did in my first race but not too much to wear myself out early.  I had my headphones on and just ran and ran and ran enjoying the canyon breeze and the beautiful nature all around me.

After about 4 miles into the race I saw an older man ahead of me and decided I was in the mood for chatting.  I caught up to him and he wasn't listening to any music so I took my earbuds out and just started talking to him.  I didn't know if that was alright or not.  I haven't been running long enough to know the do's and dont's or any certain protocol to these races.  But what I did come to discover was that runners are super friendly and do like to visit.  It's a great way to help pass the time for these long miles.

This older man told me he was 70 years old and used to run a marathon every decade but then decided they are too hard to heal from and that he would rather run half marathons.  He said they are just too much fun and that's what I should consider doing myself as well.  He talked me into that pretty easily.  I have no desire right now for any full marathons.  After running with him for a couple of miles I had pressed hard enough and let him go on so I could slow down.

The next person I saw had some writing on the back of his shirt that said he was running in memory of someone.  That COMPLETELY piqued my interest since I've lost my own son, Porter, l7 months ago and think about him a lot during my runs.  I caught up to him and we shared stories of our passed away loved ones.  He lost his little brother a few years ago at the tender age of 15.  I knew his sorrow and aches and it felt nice to be able to talk about our beliefs in family, the hereafter, the Lord's plan, and running of course.  He is the one looking at the camera and smiling, just two people over to the right of me.

At this point we had just finished coming out of the canyon and this is where supporters can line the streets and cheer.  I was completely blown away by seeing all my family!  There was Mark, Cooper, Kali, Wade, and Miles cheering for me and taking photos.  I had not expected them to be anywhere along the race route and didn't plan on seeing any familiar faces.  I was so happy, I almost cried.  After I let out some of my own excitement in squeals and yelling "hi" back to them I told all the people around me "There's my family and my grandson!!!"  One girl looked back at me and said "You look too young to be a grandma!" That was very sweet of her. You can see my arm in the air as I was pointing back at them. 

After running a few miles with this person I needed to slow down again and let him go on without me.  About mile 10 we are now definitely into the city and once again I look up to find my family on the side of the road cheering for me.  Kali is right there in black holding Miles and I am once again so happy to see them and started hollering in excitement.  Miles wanted me to hold him but I couldn't stop yet.  I was still working toward my goal!

Here's good old Wade holding a sign for me :)

Having family support is a huge mental boost when you are so tired and ready to start walking.  I love them so much and appreciate what they did in being there to cheer me on.
I actually talked to a couple more people along the way to help pass the time but don't have any great stories to share.   

Around mile 11 and 12 came the infamous hill I was warned about.  It was mentally as well as physically draining and I was a bit disappointed in myself for having to do a walk/run combo for a lot at the end.  I was just completely spent of my energy but tried to keep fighting for my goal. When I later saw this photo that the race people took I just laughed so hard.  What a goofy face I'm pulling as I'm trying to trudge up this hill.  About a half mile left I see my good friend Jody and her husband Doran coming to get me to help me finish.

Isn't she just so cute?  I needed her at that moment more than I can say!  She just kept talking to me and kept me focused in finishing strong.

As I came to the finish line and looked up at the race clock my jaw dropped.  I had finished with a final time of 2:16:02.  My goal was 2:30 and I would have even been happy with 2:20 so to see that made me overjoyed!  This medal and a cool Top of Utah shirt was our prizes for completing the race and one I'm happy to have earned however.....

 

BELOW WAS THE BEST PRIZE OF ALL!!

LOVES FROM MY GRANDSON!!!

Kristine did awesome and finished in 2:07 and Doran is amazing and finished in 1:53.  

These are the cute signs Kali made

Now, you might think my day is over.  Oh no!  It has just begun.  Since we are in Logan and having a little mini vacation we decided to make the most of it.  After showering and checking out of the motel we headed over to enjoy some yummy lunch at Costa Vida.  Their pork salads are the best!  Then, Kali knows a cute place in Logan canyon that has a huge pond filled with geese and ducks.  We had brought a huge bag of old, stale costco rolls with us and went up to the pond and fed the animals.  As soon as they saw us start to throw bread to them they came swimming from every corner of the pond.  It was so fun.  They were quacking and honking and Miles was mimicking them.  I was having so much fun that I forgot to take pictures.  Then we headed over to the cheese factory and ate cheese curds and some other yummy samples of cheese spread and crackers.  We bought a bunch of little flavored milk cartons.  Have you ever heard of orange milk, rootbeer milk, cookies and cream milk, banana milk?  There were a few other flavors as well but those were the ones I purchased.  Sounds pretty tasty to me.  I can't wait to try them.  After the cheese factory we headed over to the little town of Hyrum where Mark's dad is buried.  We visited his graveside and wandered around the cemetery letting Miles enjoy some running around.  Then we said good-bye to Kali, Wade and Miles.  They were going to stay another day with his parents. We got in the car and headed for home.  We made a stop in Brigham City and checked out a huge fruit stand and then drove further into town to check out the new Brigham City temple currently being built. 

What a great weekend filled with many memories!

Mondays with Mr. Miles #7

Miles was definitely not a happy camper when his mama was trying life jackets on him. I sure love this little guy, more and more with each passing day.

"A grandchild is a gift from above ... one to cherish and to love."

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"A grandchild fills a space in your heart that you never knew was empty."

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"Grandparents and grandchildren are God's gift to each other."

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"You Put the Grand in Grandma."

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"Whenever I see you I have an uncontrollable urge to fling open my arms, excitedly shout your name and scoop you up."

Nathan's Art Work

I can't remember if I've ever posted this photo of Porter but it cracks me up every time I see it. It was so typical of Porter and his goofy humor to do something like this.

Well, we received a pretty nice gift from Porter's best friend Nathan Buhler.  He showed up with some awesome artwork to give to us.  He has been going to college down in Southern Utah at Dixie College and this large painting of Porter was his final project.  He came by to present it to us which we quickly and gratefully accepted.

I know I've said before how much Porter loved the band Keane. Nathan also knew of Porter's love for this band and so he also did this painting of the lead singer to give to us as well.

Last weekend was a tender time for me.  I started gathering things from all over the house that reminded us of Porter and put them in his room to fill it up and make it more cozy to go in there.  Up to this point his room has stood pretty empty with bare walls and just a bed and a rocking chair.  His clothes and other items had been safely put away in his closet.  Occasionally I like to go in his room and lay on his bed and read my scriptures and just think about him.  But it always feels so cold and empty.  I know it will always feel that way to some degree but this past weekend I, along with the help of the family turned that feeling around a little bit.
Cooper had Porter's bass and amp in his room and brought it back up.  We hung Nathan's beautiful art work on the walls.  I put a bookcase in the room and filled it up with everything 'Porter' related.  Now I love to go in there and sit in the rocking chair and admire so many things that Porter loved.  It has such a relaxing feeling in there.  I someday want to have a blanket made out of Porter's clothes, yet in talking with all the family about it they aren't sure they want to have his clothes cut into pieces.  For now we still find comfort in opening his closet and looking at the items hanging there and remembering how he looked dressed in them.

Postum Pals

Porter and Brian

I love this photo
I love the boys' smiles
I love that Porter has no clue how much sugar is going into his glass while smiling for the camera
I love all the tomatoes on the counter
I don't love all the dishes in the sink
I don't love that Postum can't be purchased anymore
(unless you want to spend 125.00 on Amazon)

Observation of Waving

There seems to be a feeling of camaraderie in the world amongst people doing activities of the same kind. Have you ever noticed when you're driving down the road and you see motorcyclists pass each other?  They usually give each other a little wave or a nod, yet they probably don't know each other.  And people out riding their bikes?  They seem happy to share a wave and a smile.  The same thing happens on my morning runs.  As I pass a fellow runner sure enough we give a little wave or a nod, as if to acknowledge that we understand that what they are doing is challenging.  Yet, I don't notice motorcyclists waving at runners, or bikers waving at motorcyclists, or runners waving at bikers etc.  It seems to be people doing the same activity.

Now....how come people in cars can't do the same thing?  Wouldn't that eliminate road rage if everyone just smiled and waved at each other?  Oh, what a happy world this would be :)

Have a lovely weekend and wave at somebody new.  It might just brighten their day.

Utah Valley Half Marathon

It came. (The Half Marathon)

I conquered! (13.1 Miles)

That's all that matters.

I am content with just the three above sentences posted about this race.  However, I feel I must expound for my own memory sake since I will want to remember this day for years to come and writing it all down will help me accomplish just that. So, this will be a long post because I do have many thoughts about it all.

June 10, 2011

I went to bed rather early so as to get as much sleep as possible.  I laid out my clothes, ipod, chapstick, gum, energy bar, etc so as to feel completely ready in the morning.  I remember tossing and turning most of the night waiting for the alarm to go off at 3:00 am.  I actually had a dream about Porter sometime during the night.  He was alive again and was home and I was so comforted with him being with me.  We were in a room with a lot of other people and he was standing by my side with his head resting on my shoulder.  I was trying to introduce him to people but he never spoke, yet I felt so much warmth with him just being there with me.  I felt like Porter was there to give me strength and encouragement to get me through what lie ahead.

June 11, 2011

3:00 am came all too quickly.  I awoke feeling excited, yet rather calm about the whole event.  I had trained to the best of my abilities and followed through with all the prescribed runs.  In looking through my records, out of the 40 training runs in preparation for the half marathon, I only had a bad experience with 2 of them.  So I felt as ready as I could be.

  A young college friend of mine, JaNae, was running also and her mother offered to drive us to the bus.  I was picked up promptly at 3:30 am and we drove to the Provo Town Centre Mall where we met up with Doran and Jody, some dear friends of mine.  Jody had some major owies going on and wasn't able to run this race. (Next one Jody :)  So she kissed her hubby good-bye and he hopped on the bus with me and JaNae.  We drove for what seemed like an eternity in the dark, on an old yellow school bus, up Provo Canyon to the starting line.  All along the way I kept thinking, am I really going to be able to run all this way back??  Yet, I still didn't feel nervous.  I kept wondering if this was normal that I was feeling so calm?

Doran, Jody, me

We arrived at the starting line somewhere before 5:00 am and had to wait in the cold for over an hour.  There were little fire pits with fires all around and we were able to squeeze in by one of them and enjoy the conversations and warmth going on around us.  I enjoyed watching the night sky starting to lighten and just enjoyed the beautiful surroundings of being in the canyon.  I did see two familiar faces in the crowds of people.  One was Susan, whose daughters take piano from me, and the other was Clint Friel who is a trainer at Gold's Gym and used to be in our ward.  I never saw either one of them again after the race started.  Someday, if I keep this running up I just might get faster.  I can only hope.

With about 15 minutes left until the race was to start I made one last stop in the port-a-potty and got my ipod turned on and headed further down the road closer to where the starting line was.  I didn't see JaNae or Doran after this point and knew I wouldn't since I'm a much slower runner than either of them.  That's o.k. though because I had my tunes and the morning air was beautiful and cool.     

Then it happened!  The race began and the throngs of people began moving down that canyon road.  I got a little emotional at that point and cried a little.  I think it was just for the fact that I now felt completely overwhelmed and couldn't believe I was here at this point in my life running in a race I never imagined I would be.  The tears dried quickly and I got into a nice comfortable running groove and ran and ran and ran.  

The first 6 miles of the race were all in the canyon and were absolutely beautiful.  When I passed Bridal Veil Falls I couldn't keep my eyes off of it.  I kept thinking of Porter and how he had climbed that mountain not just once, but twice, all the way to the top where the old burned down restaurant and dance hall were.  I think he would have said that was one of his most adventurous hikes!  Certainly one of his scariest!

There were many water and gatorade stops along the way and of course I took drink from each of them but never stopped running.  Around mile 6 we got a packet of GU.  I had never tasted one of these so I was kind of excited about trying it.  I was handed a chocolate one and WOW!  It was so delicious!!  I felt like I was sucking on a piece of fudge.  I savored it and ate it sloooowly as I continued running. I Probably enjoyed it for the next mile or longer.  I remember wishing I had a whole pocketful of those things.  Around mile 8 I pulled out a piece of gum and that kept my mouth busy till the end of the race.

Around mile 9 some very dear friends of mine, Annaleesa and Laurie, showed up on the road and started trotting along with me.  I say trotting because I really am a slow runner.  They made me laugh and chatted for a bit and totally buoyed my spirits up for what I had left to do.  They left me a few minutes later and I felt renewed and energized by their visit! 

Laurie, me, Annaleesa

Around mile 10 I had to do some self-talk.  I knew that 3 miles wasn't a hard distance to run and that I just had to persevere.  There were lots of spectators along University Avenue and that gave me a boost as well, even though they weren't necessarily cheering for me.  I saw a poster that kept me going strong to the finish.  It read "TOUGH TIMES DON'T LAST, TOUGH PEOPLE DO!"   Those words rang through my mind throughout the rest of the race.  I thought how true they were.  This race wasn't going to last forever.  I was almost done and I could finish proud!

Around mile 12 I was running past the Provo High School and I saw a car to my left driving by very slowly.  The girl inside had her window down and was waving at me and cheering me on.  It was one of Porter's friends, Katie Andrew, and I immediately felt rejuvenated again.  I started crying as I thought of Porter and how much I love him and how much I longed to be with him.  Crying while running is a bit challenging because it messes up your breathing.  I tried to dry up quickly and the next thing I knew I saw Doran, my friend who rode the bus with me.  He's not running to the finish line but running BACK to get me after he had finished his race and to help me finish my very last mile.  That made me cry again, but I was able to quickly get it under control. 

 In training for a half marathon the longest run you ever do is 12 miles and so this last mile to the finish line was a whole new experience.  I could definitely feel new aches and pains starting and I was so grateful that Doran was encouraging me and keeping me going.  I could see the huge big blue finish line down the road but it felt like 100 miles away.  I stayed focused though and ran proud and strong.  The first recognizable face I saw in the crowd was JaNae's mom, Heidi.  Then I saw my family, Mark, Cooper, Jordan, and Kali.  I wanted to cry again when I saw them.  I love them all so much.  This is my reaction when I FINALLY saw my family.

Jordan, Kali, Mark, me, Cooper

 Then I saw Jody, my great friend who has the great, supportive husband.  My daughter didn't get her picture in the crowd. I think she got lost.

Then my 2 dear friends, Annaleesa and Laurie standing by the black sign wearing blue.

I couldn't help raising my arms in triumph!  I was so relieved it was over!

My mother was out there in the crowd somewhere but she never found me until after I ran through the finish line.  She was disappointed but that's alright with me.  She was there and that's all that mattered.

me and my mama

After I ran through that finish line I felt complete joy!   It was over and I felt satisfied.  My final time on my chip was  2:38:02  of which I ran every single step of the way!

I drank a chocolate milk and ate a creamie and visited those wonderful people who came to support me.

A little while later we waited in a long line and got a massage, (so totally worth it) and then I hobbled to the car and spent a lot of my day resting. 

Now it's time to start thinking about the next race at the end of August. (Top of Utah-Half Marathon) My mind is motivated but now I just need to get my body to agree with my mind.