Parker and I ran our first half marathon on the morning of July 4th. We got up at 4:30am and headed to the rodeo grounds to catch the bus that took us up the canyon that we would then run 13.1 miles from. I was nervous, cold, and my stomach was in knots. Here we are before the race...
I was surprised at how fast everyone took off and it made me really nervous and doubt myself. However, I got into my groove and ended up passing quite a few people. I felt great until about mile 8. Around mile 10 I started to hurt. The last two miles were brutal, I ran out of energy and my body hurt but I kept running! I walked through one water station but other than that I ran the whole thing! My awesome friend Becky met me at mile 11 and cheered me on. She even ran about a half a mile with me...in flip flops! It was much needed and much appreciated.
Here we are after the race...
I finished the race in 1 hour and 55 minutes...well under my 2 hour goal! I was super happy with that time and my splits were really good! I was nervous about the altitude, my sprained ankle, and that I would have to poo. Luckily none of those things impacted me too much. My ankle sure hurt after but I really didn't feel it during the race. I ended up getting 9th place for women. A lot of people tell me they don't understand the appeal of running. It is so hard on your body and so challenging but I love that I can accomplish hard earned goals. I can achieve certain times or distances and I feel so proud of myself after! I know I can do hard things...I can run 13.1 miles! The sky is the limit! :)
Parker ran it in 1 hour and 45 minutes...after only training on and off for like two months...he's amazing. I was super proud of him and loved that we could do it together (even though I barely saw him!). Parker placed 4th for the men.
My amazing father in law ran the race also, with a new hip even! He runs marathons so this was probably cake for him :) Although he had also just had his tonsils out so he was pretty weak from having no food! I appreciated all his advice though, as he's run this particular race many times.
After the half marathon there was a kids fun run, about 3/4 of a mile. Jack was speedy...
Josh...
Tyce surprised me! He ran pretty fast!
The whole sweaty family of runners...
Cole and Kate raced too! Cute running cousins...
All the runners...
After the race there was the Neola 4th of July parade! All the kids got to ride in Mater and parade around throwing out balls that said Vote for Bart! They thought it was pretty cool...
After the parade we went back to Morrills, showered, and packed up to head to Salt Lake City for my Grandpa Bybee's surprise 80th birthday! My mom had this great idea a few months ago to surprise my grandpa and it went PERFECT! He was totally surprised and the evening was fantastic. Here's the whole Bybee fam...my mom, Darin, Grandpa, Grandma, Mark, and Denae...
We had it at my uncle's restaurant (Pizza Pie Cafe) but instead of pizza he made pulled pork, roast beef, pasta bar, salad bar, etc. It was incredibly yummy!
Me and Darin...
We had a slideshow of very old pictures of my Grandpa and he narrated each one. It was very interesting to hear about his life...
The happy couple...can you believe they're 80 and 79? They're so healthy, fit, and full of life!
Me and Grandpa...
Linds, Jason, Luke, and Emma...
The birthday boy!
I made my grandpa a memory book with contributions from ALL his children, grandchildren, his brother, my grandma's sister (who is like my grandpa's sister as well), and my grandma. It was a lot of work but turned out BEAUTIFUL and he loved it..
After the party we headed to my uncle's house for fireworks. It was quite impressive, they were HUGE fireworks, timed to MUSIC, and we even had LIVE music! It was really fun and a little scary...some of the fireworks landed on us! My dad has the burn hole on his shirt AND undershirt to prove it!
It was a LONG, EXHAUSTING, and super fun day and evening!
More to come!
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