Oh yeah...btw...Marathon 12 - Check.

So it's May.  It's the end of the school year.  Life is crazy busy, right?  Time passes by way to quick.  And there's not enough hours in the day.  And it's Friday.  And I'm finally getting around to telling you....

I DID IT!!!!

MARATHON #12...COMPLETE.

12 MARATHONS IN 12 MONTHS!!!

I ran the Ogden Marathon last Saturday!!!  Building up to this race I had a few little set backs, (a bad ITB, a bad head cold and solid sheets of depressing rain for a week) which caused me to disappear for a bit from blogging.  So I went into this race a little quieter than I thought I would be.  I had pushed my hopes for a sub 4 behind me.  Kinda sad.  But, I was running my twelth marathon in twelve months.  Holy crap.  It was already here.  I couldn't even believe it, still can't....

It was an early start...I had to set my alarm for 3:15 am.  I woke up to some light rain showers but was praying they'd disappear.

Started the race with some friends...  Brooke, Trisha, and Natalie.

And then this guy tapped me on the shoulder and asked me if I'd take a picture of him and his friend.  When I looked at him...it was my friend from last summer!!!  We were in the Deseret Newspaper together...  This was John Bozung's 315th marathon!!!  Amazing.  And over the 2000 runners at the marathon start, he tapped me on the should.

The marathon start could not have been more gorgeous.  Rain had passed and the mountains looked beautiful.

  

The first three miles are so quick that it seems everyone is running in a sideways blur... ;)

We ran along the river the majority of the race and with so much rain in the past week as well as the snow melt the river was crazy high and moving like rapids.  There were a couple sections came up to the outer line on the road!!

My goal this race was to finish feeling happy and strong.  I wanted to hold back in the early miles.  Stay around 9:00/miles and hope that my knee would hold out.  It held out til 13.  But I still stayed in the 10:00 family and was ok with that.  It's so hard to be realistic and optimistic. 

I picked this race as my #12 for a reason.  It is just gorgeous.  The canyon we run through was cool, green and had a wonderful downhill!!  And it's a local race for me so I was able to see friends through the course.  My cousin Melanie ran it as a relay with her friends and I saw her at mile 7.  I saw my friend Jan around mile 20, she was running her first marathon ever and looked awesome!  I saw the friends I started with back and forth throughout the race.  It's nice to be able to exchange energy with familiar faces. 

My Garmin died at mile 23.  Crazy.  So the last three miles were all on feel.  I wish it would have worked, it may have helped me to finish faster, stay on a better pace. But no big whoop.

At mile 25 I came out of a secluded trail and as I looked around I saw one of my friends jumping and screaming my name!  I was totally in shock.  I had no idea anyone would be coming.  I looked around and saw my friends Anna, Suzanne, Robynn and Jessica.  They brought signs and gave just the boost I needed to finish out the last mile.  And I had a few salty tears too.  I wish I had a picture of them.  So awesome.

I pushed through that final mile feeling pretty great.  Official finish time... 4:23!!!  I'll take it!  Fastest race since last fall!!!  Yay!!!

It was such a crazy Saturday that my cute mom was the only one able to be at the finish line.  She's been such a great support through this whole year.  Well, really, for always.  : )

 As you can imagine, I have so much to write and talk about.  But for now...I did it.  I have so much gratitude for this amazing experience and feel completely blessed to have been able to run all these races and to have had the experiences I've had.

So definitely more to come!!!

Three Things Thursday in 5 Bullet the Blue Sky Bullets - U2 Edition

1.  It rained all day and the clouds parted that afternoon for a beautfiul night of U2 madness.

2.  I went with my best friend from high school.  So fun.

3.  At the end of 'All I Want Is You' Bono broke out the harmonica, I may or may not have had a single tear drop, and went into the chorus of 'Love Rescue Me'.  My personal favorite moment of the night...along with 20 other moments...

4.  And I have decided that Bono needs to market his own energy drink.  That guy at 50-something, rocked that concert like he was 22.  AMAZING!    Bonogizer anyone?

5.  Big post tomorrow...I promise... :)

How do you blog again? I can't remember....

Do you feel guilty about things?  I've been in outer blogger oblivion and seem to be completely out of touch.  I feel as if I need to apologize.  I'm not sure exactly what for.  But anyways...sorry.  I'm back in full affect.  Well maybe half affect.  I think part of my problem is I've had so much I've wanted to write about and it turned out to be a little overwelming.  So I did what I do with my laundry when I'm overwelmed.  I just don't do it. : )

So before I jump back into what is my running blog...  Guess where I'm going tonight...

Bono and I go way back.  U2 played the background soundtrack to my teens years, that I'm pretty sure were just yesterday... 

And really.  Who doesn't love U2?  I'm sure it's going to be amazing...And I have awesome seats!!!  Maybe I'll catch a towl, the Edge's guitar pick...something!!! 

Favorite U2 songs?  C'mon, let's hear em?

Three Things Thursday

1.  All I talk about is the 24.  Literally.  I can't stop talking about it.  I, like the rest of you, are waiting for all the details.  So if it's not posted soon I'm singing like a canary...

2.  I'm having a little ITB issue.  I think watching someone run for 24 hours was just too much.  It's like a sympathy injury.  Like when the husband gains weight while his wife is pregnant....

3.  It's finally Spring here!  Went for a beautiful outside morning run at 6 am.  Loved it.

Emily

I have been having a hard time putting this post together.  I mean, really, what do you say about something, someone that is beyond words.  One of a kind.  Superhuman.  Amazing.  Awe-inspiring.  I know.  It just doesn't cover it.

To have the opportunity to be able to witness first hand her greatness and awesomeness just leaves me stumped.  I will be forever grateful for the experience of being there.  Without getting all girly and mushy and emotional...on that corner, of that hot Phoenix city block, you could FEEL the love and amazing energy that is EMZ. 

Em was all about the run.  All about the Sojourner Center.  And doing all she could to raise awareness and funds for them.  Yes, she is the most physically fit person I have ever personally met and known.  She made that 100 mile run look like an easy downhill 10K.  But aside from the physicality, her determination, focus and dedication and heart was what was so amazing.  Running is hard.  Running at the 16 hour mark is crazy ridiculous hard.  Running at the 22.5 hour mark is a thought process of 'is this really happening right now, cause this isn't real'.  And in all those moments, her smile never left her.  Her energy never left her.  She talked and joked with everyone that came up to chat with her.  Even complete strangers that were in disbelief and had to ask her what the heck she was doing.  

Her family is full of strength and love for their wife, mother, daughter, sister, and aunt.  Everyone was ready to do whatever necessary to help and did.  But I expected nothing less.  With a one of a kind like Emily, of course her family would be just as incredible.

One of my duties was to be in charge of social media.  To not only be able to feel the support and love in Phoenix, but to feel all the love and well wishes across blogland, twitter, emails and texts was awesome.  I usually shared them in intervals, mostly because they came non-stop throughout the entire 24.  We laughed and teased the entire night.  You have no idea how much all those thoughts and comments of encouragement helped.  Thank you to everyone.  Even though you weren't physically there, we could feel your presence and happy/positive vibes/wishes/prayers.

The last two and a half hours was when we saw her sheer will take over.  This was the point where, yes she was in the downhill stretch.  She could have just walked it out til the end.  She proved her rock star status, she had this 24 hours in the bag.  But there was the second goal.  The 24 hr she knew she had.  But without the 100, she would have been disappointed.  Everyone said the number didn't matter.  But it mattered.  She pushed through those last two hours, still running.  Running close to the same pace she started at!  She bottled up all that pain and fatigue, put it up on a shelf, and ran.  When she closed in on 100, I wept.  I am fighting tears right now just thinking about it.  To see her conquer her goal and with 3 minutes to spare, was overwhelming.  There was not a dry eye on that block.  For all of us to see her give every once of her being to not only such a worthy cause, but to accomplish such a huge feat was nothing less than stunning.  It was her heart that got there.  Her resolve to not only start what she finished but to do it with grace, compassion, sincerity, style and barely a drop of sweat.  Extraordinary.

I would imagine you want details of the day.  How it went down.  What she did.  What she ate.  When.  Did she walk?  How fast was she running? I don't want to steal her thunder.  I'll let her share the details.  And if she doesn't cover all of her awesomeness I'll fill in the spaces... : )  Until then, I will continue to try to process this insane weekend.  One I will never forget.  The gratitude I have for witnessing something so special is immeasurable.  I am grateful to have a friend like her.  To even just know a person like her.

If you haven't had a chance to donate, there's still time.  Pop over to her website here.  Whatever donation you can make will make a difference in the lives of the those that the Sojourner Center serves.

And one post can not cover this event, so don't mind me if a I babble on and on about it for awhile... : )

Is It 6 AM on Friday yet?

I'm in taper mode.  Which still feels like I'm running crazy hard.  But no long run this weekend.  I ran 21 miles on the treadmill last weekend...in honor of....

I'm heading down to Phoenix tomorrow.  I'm taking it upon myself to entertain the crap right out of her.  Well not literally...but you know what I mean.

I've got my Vogue, Glamour, US, People, Real Simple mags all ready to go.  I googled some good running jokes.  My own personal playlists. 

I will bring Ultramarathon Man and Born to Run...to read exerpts when I deam appropriate.

So any suggestions?  What do you bring to a 24 hour run-a-thon?  What could keep her distracted from the crazy mileage that she will be collecting???

Oh and don't worry, I'm bringing my sneakers to get a few miles in too... : )