*Monday Memos* (Ogden Marathon [Half] Edition)

*MONDAY MEMOS*

   

 (If pictures are too small, just click to enlarge) 
Weekly recap of my rather crazy, insane, but fun and rewarding life!

dear catching up, yes, I am still catching up from the vacation.  Not sure why it seems like I used to be able to get more done in a shorter amount of time when I had five little boys running around and I had to take care of all of them as well, but now even without all that extra, I find it harder to get back on top of things.  Makes no sense, but true! Age?  Not sure?  I just am not as productive as I used to be!  I spent the day doing laundry and organizing drawers and unpacking the rest of the little things.  Dave is on call this week as well.

dear garden, Bryce and I helped Dave plant the garden on Tuesday.  He needed our help and we were both happy to do it.  I went over right after my run and it was a good thing because I would have needed another shower if I had not.  It was hot!  We worked hard and got all of it done but the potatoes.  I told him he needs to downsize the garden because we can never eat all that we plant and the only thing we can really preserve is the tomatoes.  He says he has the space and so he wants to keep it that size.  Once we have no boys around to help, he will have no choice but to cut it at least in half. It is very time consuming, but he doesn't mind.  I think it is his therapy.  

Crazy Bryce posted this ↓ on Snapchat of him working in the garden...

dear lunch with mom, I took my Mommy to lunch as part of her Mother's Day gift.  We went to Union Grill because it is going to be closing this summer.  Well, at least in it's current location.  It is going to move from the train station to 25th Street I guess.  We had a good time.  We ate WAY too much because we HAD to order the Caramel Bread Pudding.  You can't go there without ordering that.  I got the rice bowl with curry sauce and it was good but not very filling so I was totally up for dessert!  After about six bites I was so full I wanted to pop so I would feel some relief!  It was SO. DANG. GOOD!  It is one of the best desserts on the planet.  Mmmm.....  

We then headed to the mall and did a little shopping at The Quilted Bear.   We had a good time and got laughing about so many things.  I love hanging out with my Mom.  She is so fun to be with.  We need to do it more often. When I took her home, I went in and chatted with my Pa.  We also got laughing.  They are the funnest people to hang with.  They crack me up!  She sent me a text saying thanking me for taking her and how much she needed that. So did I!

We attempted a selfie...which obviously was a fail and so we had a worker take one for us.

When I got home, I ran Julie's birthday gift over to her and played for a bit with her cute grand kids.  Oh man.......I need some of them so bad!  haha  

dear sleepover, Taylor is always having one or two or three friends sleep over at our house and so I am going to start calling our place the BBB.  Boys Bed & Breakfast.  I made dinner for them tonight and breakfast for them in the morning.  I also went to the store and loaded up on groceries but it will all be gone in a couple days!  I joked with one of his pals that now that Taylor is back living at home for the summer, I have to buy enough food for another entire family because he eats so much.  That kid can put it away.  His buds all tell me that they can't figure out how he can eat so much and not gain weight.  Lucky boy!  He is seriously always hungry and is never filled up.  Good thing I like to cook when he's here.  Well.... maybe not "like" to but I prefer that to eating out and the cost of that!  hah

dear lunch with julie, I took my friend Julie to lunch for her birthday on Thursday.  She wanted to go to Hua Guan.  We were the only ones in there because she didn't get off until 2 pm and the lunch crowd was gone.   Our waitress didn't speak much English.  I asked her to take our picture and asked if she knew how to work an iPhone.  I think I offended her because she not only knew how but took my phone and showed us both how to do all kinds of things to edit photos.  She asked if she could take my photo and showed me how to edit it and then she took Julie's and showed her.  She was cute.   

The picture the waitress took of me and edited it.  I think I look like an alien!

dear thunder and rainstorm, oh my!  On Thursday I was back at the grocery store to buy more food to keep Taylor and his buds fed and as I was out, it just started to pour!  It was coming down in buckets!  I am not sure when I last saw it rain that hard!  WOW!  I ran into Kent's as fast as I could and I was soaking wet!  I was shivering!  It was crazy because half my ward was standing in the entrance waiting for someone to pull up close and pick them up.  Haha I was in there for a while because I ran into my friend Tracy and we got talking in the produce section and was giving each other hints on how to pick out produce.  She gave me some hints on avocados and apples and I gave her some on watermelons.  It was a hoot.  But informative!  lol  I then had to run back out into that rainstorm.  I had the bagger take my cart out for me because I had on sandals and didn't want to push it with those on.  Crazy rain!  But I love it!  It can rain all it wants as far as I'm concerned!  Unless I am running a marathon and it's cold.  Hoping that won't happen on Saturday again!

I made corn chowder because it was definitely a soup kind of day!

dear marathon packet pick up, I headed into O town on Friday to get my Ogden Marathon packet.  I signed up for the half this year instead of the full.  At the expo they said there was an 80% chance of rain at the start and 20% at the finish.  Hmm... Here we go again!  UGH!  I was so hoping for a beautiful nice day this year.  I've already rain two fulls in downpours on this course.  Guess we will see!

dear visit with mona, after I got my marathon packet, I ran over to see Mona in her new place.  She is staying at a nursing home for 90 days so she can qualify for assisted living.  She looked the best I have seen her in months.  Maybe a year!  She really looked well and was very together emotionally and so calm. She has seem really frazzled this past year but that was all gone.  She talked to me about some things and said things I needed to hear.  She even brought tears to my eyes a couple times because she is the sweetest and purest soul. I went to cheer her up and she is the one that fed my soul today.  She gave me some great advice about some things I have been struggling with.  I just love her.  

dear shopping with mom, after visiting Mona, I went and got my Mom and we went to Bella Me to shop.  We both got the same cute purple lacy vest.  It is so cute.  I also got a pair of shorts and a cute top for $9.99.  I wanted this dress they had, but I decided I better not spend any more money.  We then went to Kirt's Drive In and got a root beer float.  We saw a bad accident and a person laying on the sidewalk.  Hope they are going to be okay.  I took her home and went in and visited with my Pa for a while.  We had a good time again.

dear carb load, Dave took me out to dinner to carb load for the race tomorrow.  We first went to Pizza Hut and ordered breadsticks because we loved them on our vacay.  They were better in the airport.  Then we headed over to Wingers for a rice bowl but they have gone out of business!  Crazy!  So we went to Old Grist and I got their pasta.  Not my fave.  I had some of Dave's Turkey Bacon Pesto sandwich.  I could tell it looked like rain the next day.   We decided to have Dave take me and Robin to the start of the half instead of getting up at 3 a.m. to ride the bus.  I took a bag of dry clothes over to Robin's so she can leave them in her car and I can change into them after the race while we wait for Grant to finish the full.  I am not nervous for the race because I'm just running the half but I am nervous about the weather.  I really am not in the mood to run in a downpour again but it's looking like that is what it is going to be.  

dear ogden half marathon race report, 

I woke up to pouring rain.  Great!  This makes three of the last four years I have run swam the Ogden Marathon that it has rained!  Can I just say how glad I am that I didn't sign up for the full?  I just do not want to ever run a full marathon again in a downpour.  It's hard enough without that added in.  We went and picked Robin up at 5:30 a.m and headed over North Ogden pass to Eden.  We decided to stop at Maverick close to the race start to use the bathroom thinking it would be faster than going to the Porta Potties.  Probably not.  We stood in line for a good 20 minutes. Everyone else had the same idea.  We rushed from there to the race line up and everyone was lined up ready for the gun to go off.  Dave took our pix and then we ran to get to the end of the start line which seemed a mile long!  And we were on the wrong end of the start.  You can see those balloons way in the background?  That is the start and they were heading our direction!

The line was so long to the starting line and so we hit the porta potties again.  Then we found each other and got in line to start. We were almost at the very back and it was still a slow walking pace to get started.  

This is my favorite picture because it looks like we are under water swimming!  Oh wait!  We were!  #keeponswimming

Oh my!  It was congested!  I couldn't even run!  There were so many people it was like sardines!  I didn't get a photo of how bad it was once we got going.  It was impossible to run because as soon as I started I had to stop to get around someone again.  UGH!  I was going in and out trying to get some speed but it was futile.  The slow people and walkers were not on the right but everywhere and I was frustrated!  It took over a mile to be able to not run over people and even on the huge hill at mile two I was still trying to get through people.  SLOW RUNNERS ON THE RIGHT!  No one "got that" today!  It was frustrating!  My slowest split was mile one.  That's crazy!  It was raining from the get go.  I finally went out in the mud on the uneven side of the road and took off from there. Robin yelled, "See ya at the finish line!" and we didn't see each other again until the end.  It honestly took at least two miles before I felt like I wasn't running people over trying to pass them. I will never start at the back again!  Just not worth it!   

I felt pretty good and even thought maybe the rain wasn't going to be too bad until I hit mile four and it just started coming down hard.  I kept my rain poncho on and things were going fine and then about mile six, it turned into a monsoon with 30 mph headwinds!  The wind was blowing so hard and the rain was coming down even harder!  It was worse than last year.  Mainly due to the wind.  It was colder last year, but we didn't have as much wind. And by wind, I mean wicked wind!  It was crazy!  Head winds are the worse!  At mile six, I thought to myself if I had to run another 20 at that point, I would rather jump in that fast moving river I was running beside.  I was SO SO SO grateful I hadn't signed up for the full.  I couldn't wait to be done with the half!    

Even though it was brutal and definitely the worst running conditions I think I've ever ran in, I was mentally strong. Just knowing I had dry clothes to change into when I finished was a huge morale booster for me.  The scripture, "If ye are prepared, ye shall not fear." is truth!  Deseret News Half comes in a close second as far as bad conditions I've ran in due to the extreme heat.  Not sure which is worse....being frozen or over heated.  If you ask me today I would say being frozen is worse.  I was dripping wet.  The underground tunnel we run in had about six inches of water pooled in it.  We all just splashed our way through it.  At that point it didn't matter!  We were all as wet as possible.  I was cold and wet and tired.  I was just so grateful I only had to endure 13.1 miles of it instead of 26.2 like last year.  I really don't want to experience that again.   I decided this is good training for Boston because it IS a possibility I will have these conditions while running it.  

As we started down the canyon stretch, I couldn't feel my legs.  They were numb. I wasn't sure if I was running fast or slow or even running!   I had to keep looking at my Garmin. Then I would try and force my legs to go faster.  Downhill was best.  Even though I had my gloves on and a pair of surgical gloves underneath those, I couldn't make my hands work.  They were frozen.  I couldn't get to my fuel.  I only took some blocks because I don't usually need to fuel during a half, but I wasn't sure how I would feel with the weather, so I took some and I had a very hard time getting them out of my pocket, then out of the bag, and then into my mouth.  Oh the joys of running!  I knew at about mile 9 that I wasn't going to get a PR but I was totally fine with that.  I set a new goal to just finish with a sub two.  

The trail in the Dinosaur park was horrendous because once again slow runners wouldn't move over.  And it's very narrow.  I saw Lynn and Linda spectating watching for Tanae's fiance'.  His brother ended up winning the whole thing.  At mile 11 I decided with only two miles left, I was going to toss my rain poncho even though it was still raining because I didn't want to cross the finish line with it on.  The last two miles in a half aren't as bad as when running a full.  I even had some steam left to push it the last mile.  But I was so tired and cold and just wanted to be done.  

Once again my shoelace came untied at the exact same place on the course - mile 12 this year - mile 25 last year.....two years in a row!  This time I didn't stop and ask someone to tie it like last year when my hands were too frozen to tie it myself...instead I just ran with it untied.  This year, just the double tie had come lose and it was too long.  I was praying I wouldn't trip.

I didn't see anyone at the finish line cheering for me.  I wasn't sure if my parents were coming due to the crazy weather.  I finished with a 1:58:30.

After I crossed the finish line I got a space blanket they were handing out and then I really started to get cold.  I got some bread and then waited for Robin to finish.  I talked to Mike C and some other peeps and stood by the space heater that wasn't working and then kept walking because I was so cold.  I was miserable.  I almost called Dave to come and get me even though he was at work a half hour away (makes no sense I know- but my brain was also frozen!) because I didn't know how long I would have to wait for Robin to finish.  

I took my blanket off for this photo because TRADITION!  I have one every year standing by the finish backdrop but I was shaking!

While I was waiting they announced that a couple had stopped on the course to be married and they just arrived and he was carrying her across the finish line.  She was in a wedding dress....albeit a very wet wedding dress!  

Me and Robin finally met up after about a half hour later, by then I was really shaking and shivering and my teeth were chattering like crazy.  We took some photos and then headed to her car to change into our dry clothes.

If I hadn't brought those dry clothes, I am sure I would have gotten hypothermia.  Even with the warm clothes I was still chilled.  It was а riot trying to get out of our dripping wet clothes and into our dry ones.  We were laughing at each other.  Then Robin got a horrible charlie horse in her calf.  Almost immediately after, I got one in the arch of my foot.  They were bad!  My Mom called and asked where we were and said that my Dad was at the finish line.  I told her I crossed it about 45 minutes ago.  haha   My running clothes were dripping wet!  Brrrr......  I had a hard time warming up.  My parents found us and we had to tell my Dad to wait outside because wstill weren't decent!  We had to help each other pull our dry clothes on. It was hilarious!  Once my parents both got in the car, we chatted with them for a while trying to warm up with the heater full blast.  Robin was getting alerts for Grant's projected finish time and so we had to hurry and get back out in the cold to go cheer him on across the finish line.

We told my folks bye after a photo and walked back to the finish line wrapped up in blankets.  Had I known it was going to be so cold, I would've brought a winter coat!  At that point the rain had completely stopped.  The full finishers were dry!  Grant crossed at 4:00.  25 minutes past his goal time. I haven't talked to one runner that met their goal time or got a PR in today's race.  No surprise there.  This race was not about PR's or BQ's, but about overcoming something that was hard.  Much harder than expected.  We took some pix and then walked back. 

I found a penny while just sitting waiting for Grant.  That made me happy.  It truly was like it just dropped from the sky because we had been sitting there for quite a while and I had seen nothing, and there it was.  Thanks Tys!

We chatted about the insanity of the race all the way home while getting warmed up with the car's heater.  Felt so good to be warm again!  Ат the rain had completely stopped!  The full finishers were dry!  But they said it was such a brutal run! 

Final thoughts:  I was amazed at the volunteer's who came out and stood in that horrible freezing weather to help us!  They don't even get a medal for doing that!  And since they aren't moving like us, they have to be even colder!  It just truly inspires me.  And even though this run was probably one of, if not thee most miserable race ever, I have to say, I am still glad I did it.  Even with the chaffing.  I didn't even mention the chaffing...but there was chaffing.  Oh, was there chaffing! I do have to say that I am glad I train in bad weather because it makes it easier to race in it.  I also learned that trying to enjoy the weather and being grateful it wasn't worse really helped me through it.  I kept telling myself that I LOVE to run in the rain and so instead of thinking negatively just embrace the challenge and enjoy it!  That was a huge boost as well. When I do hard things I know I grow and become stronger.  One of my favorite quotes I saw along the course said:  "When you run - you become."  I agree with that.  Running has taught me so many life lessons that help me out in every aspect of my life and I would not be who I am today without it in my life.  It teaches me to push through even when I want to desperately quit.  It teaches me to not give up and to keep pushing because there is always a little more left inside of me than I think.  It has taught me that you reap what you sow.  If I train hard, I improve.  It has taught me that we have to sacrifice a lot if we want our dreams to come true.  It has taught me that hard work always has a payoff even if it's not immediate or I can't see it at the time.  I could go on and on......   Bottom line is even though I didn't exactly enjoy this race, if I had the choice to do it all over again, I would do it.  Yeah, that probably makes me certifiably crazy.  But we all knew that already anyway!  Either way, I am taking my scuba gear next year!

Another one of my favorite quotes on the course:  

What do RUN and FUN have in common?  UN
Definitely not SUN today!

This photo pretty much sums it all up.......

***If you want to read an inspiring story of this race, check out my Facebook friend's recap of her experience of getting hypothermia and being put in an ambulance at mile 17.  You can read it HERE.

dear sunday, I was a little stiff in the quads today.  Getting up from a chair and sitting down are the most painful things.  I even turned down saying the opening prayer in RS because I didn't want to make a scene trying to get up out of my seat.  haha  I told her I would do it next week instead.  We had our home teachers over and then we headed to Tyler's bday party in Corrine.  It was fun talking to Lynn and Linda about the race.  I guess Tanae's fiance' Denver had to quit at mile 13 due to a calf issue.  He said it was from sitting at the start in the cold and rain for over an hour and half waiting for the race to start.  His brother won the whole thing.  That is pretty cool.  

dear manic manikin, she's baaaaaaaaaaaaaack!   And with a vengeance!  

And look what I found while out running in the wild!  A domesticated bunny!

I tried and tried to catch him to bring him home because I know he will never survive in the wild.  Ew! It makes me so mad when people get bunnies for Easter and then decide they are too much work and so abandon them!  Okay, don't get me started on that.  But it is just so WRONG! 

This is good stuff!:

http://www.fastcompany.com/3059634/your-most-productive-self/your-brain-has-a-delete-button-heres-how-to-use-it