Mother's Day 2009

For the first time in a long time I got to spend Mother's Day with my mom! It was so nice to have Grandma here. We went to church and I got to sit with my mom in Relief Society. This is a big deal because I am the only member in my family and I feel sad about experiences I have that I never get to share with them. I was blessed this day because we sang 2 of my favorite hymns, one "love at home" and the other "Teach Me to Walk in the Light", this paticular song has special meaning because we sung it at my baptism and my mom was not there. So I got to sit by my mom and feel the spirit as we sang these songs. For me that was a great Mother's Day gift from my Heavenly Father. I will never forget it.

Post Marathon

I love this girl, Shawna she is my most hard core friend. I would have been so lonely through out my training and at the start of the race if it wasn't for this girl. I've talked her ears off and "copped a squat" so many times around her and she still loves me! We stayed together until mile 13 and met up at the finish, I think her time was 5:10 ish. This gal works full time, exercise instructor part time, has a social life and still managed to train for a marathon....she's awesome! Thank you Shawna for sharing this experience with me and being my friend. We drove home together stinky and sore. When I got home I had a sweet surprise.........

Ruthann watched the boys and helped them make posters and signs and hung them on the garage and in the widows. My favorite was in the front window" Our mom ran the L.A. Marathon today!" All my neighbors kept congratulating me which was kinda cool!

My boys were so impressed with my medal. Ruthann got me a really cool box to mount on the wall to hang my medal, bib, and race photos in! Then we partied up at the Fenske's, yummy food, Iwasn't all that hungry but my knees were in alot of pain.I iced them the whole day every time I would sit or stand for a long period of time they would stiffen up. I taught a spin class the next day and my class thought I was crazy but you wouldn't believe how good it felt to get my muscles warm, I kept the resistence low. It took me about 2 weeks to fully recover and feel normal again. One thing would stop hurting and then I would realize another new pain/soreness!

I ran 2 straight miles for the first time yesterday, I think I'm going to do a 10K on the 4th of July. I love to run! I used to run to be thin, not anymore f.y.i. you would think you would lose weight training for a marathon not me I gained 5 lbs! Mostly muscle my claves got gynormous and my quadsjust call me quadzilla! So I'm focusing now on losing muscle and getting lean! Always gotta have a goal!

L.A. Marathon 2009...I did it!

It feels amazing to accomplish something you've wanted to do for the past 3 years but didn't have the guts to go for it and just do it! I finally did it! For those of you that don't know I ran the L.A. Marathon on Mon. May 25. A marathon is 26.2 miles. There were over 15,000 runners so it was a slow start, it finally started to break up around mile 2. I was great until mile 20 when my knees, hips, and feet started to bother me. By 25 the pain was almost unbearable, my knees felt like they were going to buckle and snap, my feet were throbbing, and my hips were incredibly tight at this point it is all mental. It is amazing to see mile 26 but that last .2, the finish line seems so far away. The crowd lining the streets cheering you on feels incredible, like you are a celebrity. I crossed the finish line and cried not because of emotion or satisfaction but I've never experienced pain like that but it's worth it like the signs people were holding say "pain is momentary but glory is forever" It's true I'd do it all over again.
My time was 4:40, I'm a little disappointed I must confess I thought I'd do better. Maybe next time? I like awake at night wondering where I went wrong? What I could've done better and these are the 2 things I have come up with...I should have foam rolled out the night before, I should not have switched out my shoes 2 weeks prior but my old ones were done! Better planning and have 2 pair of shoes alternating while training.

Steve and my mom came down to support me. It was so great to see my mom's big hair and her cheerful face around the corner at mile 18, thanks for coming you'll never know how much that meant to me!
I just want to encourage you all if there's anything in your life that you've been wanting to do and it seems impossible.You've got to visualize yourself doing it and don't give up! You can do anything you put your mind and whole heart into!
Thanks everyone for your enthusiasm and well wishes!