Happy 4th of July

Thursday night we met Randy at Albertson's and traded Olivia and Ashley for Landon. Another cousin sleep over! This time we arranged for the overnighter because we had a race the next morning, and the girls weren't part of the plan. (Thank you Jill, it was so much easier not to worry about them) Landon, Mom, and Austin all ran the Freedom Festival's 5K race while Jared and I did the 10K. Here is a pre-race photo in the parking lot of Kiwanis Park. Both races started at 7 am. The 5K began on 8th North near the Crest station, and our 10K began right in the park.



Warning: This part is a report of the race for my own benefit. Do not read if you aren't interested...
So we said goodbye and good luck to them and waited for our race to start. I thought it would never begin, but finally the gun went off and we went. Jared and I had agreed to run at our own paces. I didn't mind b/c I really wanted to run at my pace and just do my best, not worrying about holding him back or anything. The course ran UP 9th East, down University Pkwy, across Canyon Rd to Provo High, then down University Ave to Center St (basically) then UP 9th East again. Good thing my regular runs have hills! I felt good running up 9th east, eased off down University Pkwy and across Canyon, and enjoyed the flatness of University Ave. Somewhere near Wendy's a girl in green fell in next to me and we ended up pacing each other the whole way. I didn't check my watch at all and purposely didn't wear a Garmin so that I wouldn't get obsessed with my time/pace. I wanted to just do my best and call it good. With about 2 miles to go I felt so tired. I just wanted to walk. I had to really push myself. Every time I saw that girl in green next to me, I mentally kept myself going. As we ran up the road toward 7 Peaks (where there was a turnaround) I saw Jared just ahead of me. This made me very excited! I know his pace is a lot better than mine, so I knew I was doing alright. However, this was seriously the most difficult point for me b/c I was really feeling fatigued and knew that I still had to run uphill to get back to the finish. Again the girl in green stuck next to me and I knew I had to push it and just get up that hill. I was telling myself "It's all mental, it's all mental." As we turned onto 8th North towards the finish, I had nothing left. I almost felt like I couldn't make it to the finish, but at this point I had to pee so bad that I was very motivated. Ha! I sprinted as fast as I could when I saw the finish line because I looked at the clock and saw that it had just passed 50 minutes (gun time). My personal goal was to finish in 50 minutes so I didn't want to finish a second over 51. I crossed the line about 50:30 and knew that my chip time would be better, so I was very happy. I didn't see the girl in green at the finish but a few minutes later she came up to me and thanked me for "pushing her". I laughed and said, "You have no idea. I wanted to stop." It's funny how we were both helping each other and didn't realize it. I asked her what our pace was b/c she had a Garmin and she said "about 7:48 per mile". I was really surprised and realized this is why I felt like I wanted to DIE!!

We checked the results today and it turns out my chip time was 49:41. Woo hoo! So I beat my goal. I placed 9th in my age division and 56 out of all women. It's not like I won or anything, I was 228th overall, but I was so happy with my time I may as well have won the race! Jared did well too. His time was 47:00. I think he was 21st in his age group. This was my first 10k and I decided that it is a hard distance (6.2 miles). A 5K is easy b/c it's only 3.1 miles. Almost anyone can run fast for a short distance. For the 1/2 marathon, you still want a good time but it's more about endurance- more slow and steady. The 10K was a challenge. I ran 12 miles this morning and it felt easier than the 10K.

Anyway, we finished up and met Mom, Landon, and Austin back at the car. I loved seeing their proud faces and asking them about their race. They had their medals on and were feeling good. They finished in about 35 minutes. We all piled into the car and headed to Ihop. It's sort of become our race tradition to go have a big breakfast afterward. It was delicious! Although it was pretty busy, being the 4th, we were seated after 5 minutes and had a good meal. We even saw a few other racers there.



We went home, showered and relaxed, then started getting food ready. At 1 pm my sisters and brothers arrived to have lunch, play games, and hang out. Jared set up the Slip and Slide outside, and the kiddy pool was filled. The kids couldn't wait to get out there and play. The adults all had lunch first- we find that it's pointless to try and feed the kids at the same time since they're so excited and distracted. I love this plan. We actually get to enjoy a meal while things are hot and fresh.



Later we got the kids their food and they finally got to go out and splash. They had a blast and were out there for hours. Meanwhile we started a game of Imaginiff among the adults. I think this game is fun, but it can be a bit painful to take... has anyone played it? What do you think? Sometimes hearing the answers other people give about you can be difficult. It's a little like Boxers and Briefs, if you have played that one.



About this time, Megan, who hadn't been feeling well all day, decided to let loose on the contents of her stomach. Amy had cat-like reflexes and scooped her up before any damage was done. So unfortunately, Adam and Amy had to leave. The rest of us decided to retire to the coolness of the basement and watched The Italian Job. I really like that movie. I don't remember what kids were doing then- Ashley was sleeping- so it was very relaxing and my dad even watched the whole thing with us. He usually doesn't watch a movie twice.

We made some grilled cheese for dinner and watched the fireworks shows on TV. By then, it was finally dark, so Jill and family left to catch the fireworks at Thkg Point. But after getting up early and doing our race that morning, I just wasn't up for it. Sorry kids! We did go outside and do some sparklers and little stuff, but that was it. They didn't seem to mind at all. I hope they aren't scarred for life.



Me, Mom, Lori



Austin and Olivia loved the sparklers. Ashley was a little nervous. All in all, I think we all had an enjoyable 4th of July. And let me say I am SOOO happy to be in the country this year! The past 2 years we were in Australia and I missed it a lot. God Bless America!