St George Marathon.

Oct 2ND I was able to go to St. George and Run the 26.2 grueling marathon. It was so hot!! We started running at 6:45 am , at that time it was already mid 70's in the canyon. Once the sun came up it really heated things up. It was MISERABLE. This was the hottest year ever! Go figure, the year I draw out.. When we finished before noon the temp was 98 degrees. You could not get away from the heat. Runners were dropping like flies. The DNF Vans (Did Not Finish) were full every time they went bye. Out of 9000,00 Runners only 5640 finished and only 2600 were woman. I finished in 4:36:07. I was kinda disappointed about my time. I was really wanting to finish around 4 hours or slightly under. Because of the heat, I started cramping at mile 20 and couldn't maintain my pace to get me in at my goal time. I dropped back from my Awesome running partner ( Dave Astile) who kept me on track and busy with conversation to think of the pain I was in. My last 6 miles Was really hard. It took me over and hour to finish those last 6 miles. The finish line was AWESOME! There were people lined up everywhere to cheer you on. As soon as I seen the finish line I couldn't help but to cry. Its such an amazing feeling to push your body so hard, but at the same time your in so much pain that you can not wait to cross that line and be done. Its a love hate relationship.. I'm so glad I was able to push through all those doubts I had and finish. I won't be doing any Marathon's anytime soon. I will stick to half marathon's , they are much easier on the mind and the body. .

Dinner with my Sisters. We were all lucky to go down and enjoy some peace and quite a few days before the marathon.. It was nice. Might I add, we had been driving all day, yes we are aware that we look like CRAP!

The house we rented was So nice! This was the slide off the pool. Of course we all tried it, more than once, and yes we probably woke up the neighbors while playing! :)

You go first, No you go first.. I'll go after you. We had a blast. Not sure this was the best thing to do the day before the Marathon. Notice how nice and cloudy it was the day before? That would've been perfect running weather.

According to Dave this wasn't a smart choice either. Oh well, it's only 26.2 miles. The hot tub can't be that bad? Can it?

Thanks to Shane, we had a personal Chef. He cooked us the best meal the night before the Marathon. Your Awesome Shane. Thanks for putting up with 4 girls who thought they needed to be pampered.. You did a great job. :)

Finally done! Yeah, need to call my family and friends to tell them I'm alive. Notice the Ice on the knees? That's the first thing that happens when you cross the finish line. You get rubbed down with ice then Ice packs wrapped around your knees to try and help prevent you from being so sore. Doesn't really help. It took me a good 3-4 days before I was walking normal .

Such a great feeling!! We all finished. So glad I was able to go through this journey with my sisters. They are the best! I am so lucky to have them. Thanks girls, you ROCK!

My parents surprised us and came down with Randy the night before. It was a great surprise. It was neat to have them there, to watch us complete this. Specially my dad. He is so busy this time of year and was able to take time off from the harvest to be with us. Thanks Mom, Dad, and Randy. Your support was HUGE, for all of us.

The race crew. We are all sick and feeling near death but we can fake a smile for the camera cause WE DID IT! Dave, Alicia, Me, Shay and Dana. The Fab 5.

Nothing like a Kiss to say Way to go! Thanks for all your support, and for taking care of the everything while I did all those long runs each week. I'm lucky to have such a great and supportive husband.