26.2

26.2 miles. It's kind of hard to wrap your mind around. Who in their right mind decides that it would maybe be fun/a good idea to run 26.2 at one time? Apparently we did, although I'm still not sure why. The 2012 St. George Marathon took place on October 6th and we officially finished!

When Chad expressed interest in running a marathon a month or so after Ryder was born, I felt the twinges of excitement. My Dad is kind of an intense marathoner having run quite a few marathons in the past and I've been able to go and be a cheerleader on the sidelines. This time, however, Chad and I decided that we were going to actually run it! After months of training and preparing (we figure Ryder has to have ridden at least 250-300 miles in his jogging stroller this summer), last Friday morning we actually loaded up the car and made our way down to St. George for the race. Here is the little guy before we left- he was so excited to see Grandma and Grandpa!

We met my family at the expo to pick up our bibs and enjoy all of the vendors. Luke was a little obsessed about surfing the different booths looking for any free shirts/giveaways and entering any kind of raffle that was available. It was mostly fun to mingle with other runners and start to get excited about the race on Saturday!

 Ryder isn't exactly what you would call a fan of loud noises or being startled so when we all started yelling about the free shirts they were throwing into the crowd, Ryder man got a little upset.

For lunch after the expo, we stopped by Pier 49 Pizza and were pleasantly surprised at this sourdough pizza restaurant. It was sooo yummy! Lucky for us, there is one in Provo too!

 

We stayed at a house in Ivins owned by one of my dad's friends and it was a great little place to kick back and relax. We made Ryder try on the tiger ears my mom brought up that go along with the tiger costume that I wore for my first Halloween.

 As per tradition, our marathon eve dinner was a pasta party- my dad's brother Seth along with my Aunt Tina and cousin Erik joined us.

 The morning before the race (at the start line)...

 I ran with my iphone (I always do- it acts as my ipod) and was able to snap this pic around mile 7 just as we were coming up on the Veyo Hill.

 As the race started to pick up and the adrenalin from the start line started to wear off, I focused my thoughts on just making it to mile 16, where my family waited to cheer us on. When we finally came up on the crowd, it made me tear up to see Ryder man, Kenna, Luke, and my Mom there yelling for us to keep going. It was really the boost I needed to keep going towards that elusive finish line.

 Here we come... turns out running a marathon is not exactly an attractive activity. Don't judge my double chin and scraggly appearance.

 Ryder man was once again not thrilled about the whole "cheering" and "yelling loudly" business.

 My dad finished in 2:59:38. His best time ever. He's a beast.

 Coming right up on the finish line.

 Finally done. Chad and I ran the St. George Marathon together and finished in 4:31:03.

 After the race, we headed over to Jimmy John's for our victory lunch where we met up with our good friends the Cummings. We finally got to meet Tommy's baby Sev! Two proud Grandmas with their babies...

Brad and Jenny Tucker from my parent's home ward had their friends make this huge sign to cheer on Annalee Austin, David Dowling, and my dad. What great friends! We had to go back after lunch so my dad could get a picture.

 It's hard work to run a marathon...

It was an amazing experience and such a fun weekend to spend time with our families. I'm still having a hard time walking and the whole "sitting to standing" thing is kind of a joke, but I have to admit that I really did discover some kind of crazy inner strength I didn't know I had. Those last 6 miles of the race were particularly brutal, but finding the willpower to keep putting one foot in front of the other was one of those growing experiences. Probably my favorite part of the whole thing was being able to run it with my best friend. Chaddy and I did it together! I don't know when or if we will run another marathon, but at least we will always have the memory of this experience. 26.2.