Accomplishment

It has always been a goal of mine to run a marathon.  I hate running so that goal seemed completely unreachable... even a half marathon seemed extremely daunting.  Well, I am happy to say that I have now conquered the half! In five months time I went from not being able to run 5 minutes without wanting to die, to being able to run a half marathon thanks to the help of friends and the encouragement of my sister!

The plan was to run the half marathon in Seattle in June 2011 with Jessica and Marcela.  Well, the Seattle race was too far out, so Jess found a race to do Halloween weekend in Utah and convinced Sean and I to do it as well.  Jess didn't feel ready, so she opted to wait to run it next year, but Sean and I braved the mountain and I am so glad we did. 

We left the house at 5:15am! This is me heading out the door scared to death because I had no idea what to expect in the coming hours.

We arrived at the Provo mall and got bused up to the start.  It was dark and cold, but they had a tent with heat lamps, so the almost 2 hour wait wasn't too bad.  The 2500 people swarming around also helped to keep it warm and the fun costumes kept the nerves in check.  It was a beautiful brisk Fall morning- perfect for a run! I couldn't have asked for better weather.  The run felt good... all 13.1 miles of it! The course took us down Sundance and Provo Canyon, so it was a gorgeous setting.  It was an extremely steep downhill for the first 5 miles and then a nice gradual downhill the remainder of the way.  I flew down the steep part... yep, my left calf is still reminding me of that!

It was so awesome to hear the cheer of the crowd as you run to the finish.  It was even more awesome that Mom, Jessica, and her cute kids were there to greet me when I finished.  That meant a lot and I'm so glad they came to support Sean and I.  You guys rock!

I crossed the finish line in 1 hour 46 minutes and 44 seconds! My goal was to come in under 2 hours, so I was extremely happy with my time.  Sean also beat his goal and did awesome! He came in at 2 hours 12 minutes! Such a great accomplishment for both of us.  Hmmm.... perhaps a full marathon isn't out of reach after all?

Since it was Halloween I got into the spirit of things and put orange, black, and purple streaks in my hair and put a ghost picture on my back.  Fun! Fun!  Here are some pictures from race day- taken after the race, a very happy Julie after knowing the outcome! 

The kids got to get all dressed up to go to the trunk or treat later that day after the race.  Here are the cute kiddos:

Tayler was a BYU Soccer Goalie- it will be fun when this dream of hers comes true!

Jayson wanted to be a scary ghost... yep he accomplished that!

Rylee is a BYU cheerleader- so cute!

Then, of course, Jackson is a cute little pumpkin!

It was a great weekend.  I'm glad I got to spend some time with Mom, Jess, Sean, and the kids.  I love every second I can get with them.  Great big thanks again to Jess for giving me the motivation to train and the encouragement along the way! Also, a big thanks to Sean for doing it with me- good times!

Last Saturday, October 23rd, was my good friend Megan's wedding.  I'm so glad I got to spend the day with her... the sealing, the luncheon, and the reception! The day was perfect and she looked amazing! Congrats to her!

Last, but not least, I wanted to give a happy birthday shout out to my Guardian Angel, my Dad.  He would have been 66 today.  Wish I could tell him happy birthday in person.  I sure do miss him!