we're back! and I ran 26.2 miles!!! ahhhhhhhh.

I've got so many events to blog I'm not even sure what to do!

I'm going to start with the most recent events and go backwards- so don't get confused :)

Post numero uno.

The Beast. aka the Marathon. what an experience.

I must start out by stating that I am 100% positive that I was blessed with two miracles. thank you for all of the  prayers.

#1- my hip made it through the race and didn't flare up terribly until the end.  It had prevented me from putting in my last two longest runs and was bothering me constantly.  The day of the race it performed like a champ :)

#2.  the weather.  The midwest was struck by a heat wave and was breaking records like crazy for temperature and heat index.  The entire week or two before my marathon was CRAZY hot and humid.  Some days were absolutely unbearable.  The day before my race- Carmel Indiana was 94 degrees with terribly humidity.  I do NOT do hot. and I guarantee that I would have NOT completed my race in those conditions.  Race day the high was 77.  The coldest day in weeks.  I know it was a miracle.

To make a long story short- I really wanted to run a marathon back in April with a bunch of friends I'd been training with since January-- but it was on Sunday (I don't work out/run races on Sunday because it's the Sabbath) and so I found this Saturday June race to run in Indy.  I'm so grateful that all of the conditions came together to make it possible- and I know it wasn't simply by chance.

We did have one minor mishap the night before my race that threatened to cause some problems- but that was fixed by a quick trip to the ER and a few staples.

At 10:30 PM our little monkey decided to climb out of his pack n play and then climb up onto the bathroom counter in the hotel where he proceeded to fly off backwards and gash his head open. There was a lot of blood and a gaping wound so something had to be done. Kent told Zeb and I to stay home and go to sleep and he took Ike to the nearest children's hospital. Little RASCAL.  This is his fifth visit to the ER/urgent care since he started walking/climbing/jumping.  He's a slow learner I guess.

The race itself was pretty typical - I'm assuming :) Long, hard, and exhausting.  I've never been so happy to be finished with something in my entire life.  The first half was great. I made some good friends- enjoyed the greenery and parks- and just had fun. I hit an unexpected mini wall at 14. The sun came out and was pretty intense- but then the clouds came back out it cooled down a bit again!  Miles 18-21 weren't as hard as I thought they'd be (especially considering that 18 miles is the longest I'd run in training!)- but 22-26 were brutal! one of the hardest things I've ever done for sure. the humidity was at about 80% by then and the sun was starting to shine so it was just plain exhausting.  and my hip was getting tighter with each step I took.  But I finished with a smile and it was a fabulous experience! 

 The last portion of the race I just kept reminding myself over and OVER: it is good to do hard things. The last few miles I wanted to just sit down and stop.  I just kept thinking- why does a marathon have to be 26 miles?!  can't it be 22 or even 24?!?  and honestly- those last few miles were as anxiety ridden and exhausting as dilating to a 10 and going through transition with no epidural during Ike's labor. And we all know how bad that was for me.  But that's how we grow. We do hard things and we get through them and we are made stronger through their accomplishment.

 Here I am talking to Laney right when I finished.  I just think she wanted to know my time. yes- she beat me (she ran the st. george marrathon a few years ago). By five minutes. I finished at 4:20:45. I was hoping between 4 and 4:15 but I am not disappointed!

After the race we went straight to our pals, the Dockter's, house. Thanks for the hospitality, Lindsay! I used her shower- we ate- and the kids played on the slip n slide. I thought I got some better pictures of these two pals- but no such luck.  They laughed and laughed all afternoon.

and then they cried when we had to leave! On the way home we stopped for a bathroom break (I drank so much powerade and gatorade and water I was peeing every hour for three days!) at the world's largest candle outlet.  The boys loved it!

I wasn't nearly as sore as I thought I'd be that night- or even over the past few days!  I may just do it again sometime :)