13.1

I ran a half marathon. Can you believe it? Honestly, had I not had the stiffening pain of post-half-marathon for the couple of days after it, I wouldn't believe it either. That and the pictures...those help too. Who would have guessed that the fat girl in elementary who was always dead last in EVERY race (that includes racing to the classroom, lunch line, playground & bus with her friends) would grow up to LOVE running!? But I do, I love it. It settles me, it calms me, it lets me release all kinds of frustration built up by just being a mommy of 2 boys, aunt to one 19 year old nephew and wife of Dave. To be frank, I always dreamed I would run one. But it was one of those dreams you think will never happen, like becoming a famous singer, super model, or gourmet chief. Stop laughing. I know, I'm NO WHERE close to any of those. Good thing those were never MY dreams! To be an athlete (or looking like one, at least) has been my 'dream'. So, I may never look like one, but I AM one now!!! Now some of you may be thinking, 'Cindy, running a marathon doesn't make you an athlete.' Really? Let me know how you feel when you're done with your 13.1 miles...we'll talk then.


Where was it you ask? Utah, of course! Seems to be the only place that offers Saturday races. We headed out for that great state on a Wednesday morning. We stopped at our good friends the Bailey's just outside of Vegas that night. (More on that visit at a later post) The next day we headed out to Salt Lake City. Now, if you follow my blog you know we are...um...cheap. So we opted to take our trailer with us and make it a camping trip too! Save money and fun for the boys! Great idea, huh?! Sure, until it started snowing on the way up there. Luckily it all melted by the time we actually got there, but the COLD sure was still there. Friday we spent the day seeing all the sights: Temple Square, Conference Center, Tabernacle, Cafe Rio, The Mayan, the Down East Basics Store. What? Down East Basics is a sight for me!! Friday also happened to be Dino's b-day so he went out with his friend Troy that night. We went 'home' so I could get a good nights sleep. Have you ever tried to sleep knowing you're going to run the furthest you have ever run in your whole life the next day. It's not easy. But it was needed. We had to be at the train by 6am.




5am came rather quick. I ate my pre-run breakfast (bagel with peanut butter & gatorade, Yum. ) and woke the boys up. They were all bright eyed and bushy tailed! NOT! But they were very good. We got to the train station and it seriously looked like it may have been the last train out of a war zone. There were SO many people there! We all piled into the train. Now, when I say 'piled', I'm not kidding. We luckily got seats, but most everyone else had standing room only. And everytime it stopped, MORE people got in! I doubted the trains ability to reach the top of the hill. I was pleasently surprised it did. The boys LOVED the ride. Good thing too, it took them 2 hours to get back to the finish line. They kept getting on the wrong train.

When we got to the University of Utah (GO UTES! That's for you Pugmires. All you BYU fans, ignore that) where the starting line was, we followed the heard of people. We had no idea where we were going but figured they all did and so many people couldn't possibly be wrong. Not in Utah at least. hehe. They weren't. After a brief photo opp Dino and I (oh yeah, Dino ran the race too) headed to the 'little runners line' Seriously the longest line for a bathroom I've ever seen. Luckily the race provided these cool electronic chips that you put on your shoe. They track the actually time of your race. It starts when you cross the start line and ends when you cross the finish line. So no need to be at the starting line right when the gun goes off. Good thing too, we were in line for 20 minutes!!! It was needed. Ever try running with a full bladder? No bueno.

See this is the line for the bathroom. Yikes! The starting line that we were NOT in. hehe.

We finally headed for the starting line and took off. Dino left me because...well, because his hips are as tall as my shoulder, so he runs faster then me. Alot faster. But no worries, I took my good ol' pal Ipod. We, along with Pink, Beyonce, Flo Rida, the Black Eyed Peas, Pit Bull and many others, started our voyage of a slight downhill run of 13.1 miles. There are pro's and con's to not being familar with the route you are running. Pro, it's not boring, new sites at every corner. Con, you keep wondering where in the world the finish line is...not around THAT corner! But before you know it you hit the 12 mile marker and you're in the home stretch. Now here's the funny part. Dave and I didn't agree where to meet after the race or where he & the boys would stand to watch me. So I had no idea where to look out for them. At mile marker 12 I started scanning the side lines thinking they would spot me before I spot them. Not so. I seriously start running past the oblivious 3 and had to YELL at them.."HELLO!!" David & Parker see me and start yelling "Mommy, GO!" Which totally pumped me up. After a few confused looks into the street of dispersed runners, Dave spots me and sprints to get in front of me to get a picture. I had to mentally tell myself to slow down so he could get the shot. Not that he couldn't have out run me, I'm sure he could have easily at that point, but my mind wanted to race him too. But I fought it until it looked like he got it.

Once I turned the last corner, I was ready for the yelling of all the supporters to carry me in. But there was none. No one was cheering for anyone unless they knew them! That sucked. So in my head, I cheered myself. Wow, my crowd is LOUD! (no surprise, I'm sure) I sprinted to the finish line to end up with a time of 2:18. Two minutes faster then my goal. Wahoo!!! Once I crossed, I saw Dino, who gave me a hug and caused me to cry. I don't know why I cried, but I knew I would even before I signed up for the race. It happened again when I saw Dave & my boys. Tears of joy I guess. One far fetched goal checked off. Two to go. Yup, two. There is a 26.2 miler in October with my name on it and a 50 miler somewhere A LOT further then that. Hey, every little fat girl has a dream.