Last April during Track, I decided I wanted to run a Marathon as a way to avoid the Freshman 15, and to motivate myself to stay in shape. When I said that, I didn't fully realize exactly how long a marathon was (I was thinking closer to 14 than 26), nor the training involved, or the lovely beatings on my body :) I asked Natalie if she wanted to do it with me though, and she was game, even though she has never run a race before--ever.
Training began with runs, and then longer runs, then we picked out our Marathon for September 8th in Price, Utah. When it finally came, we couldn't believe it.
This week before seemed almost impossible. However, I have no doubt that my Heavenly Father was watching out for me. Natalie had overwhelming amounts of homework, and she wasn't sure how she would have time or energy for everything. Wednesday morning though she got up early to go to the temple, and she felt that she had more hours in a day than possible. My little miracle happened yesterday. For weeks, my hip and IT band have been hurting very bad. My running was off, and when I first came down to Utah my Dad told me not to run until I saw a massage therapist for my hip. After the massage I felt a lot better, but still not 100%. The pain went away for the most part though. Then yesterday morning I woke up for work, and stepped down off my bed. Immediatly pain shot up through my leg and hip. I stretched, drank water, did what I could to help but it was getting worse as I walked around campus. I called my Dad and he told me I needed to see another massage therapist ASAP. However, unless you are a student athlete and school, there are like no resources for injuries. I looked everywhere I could think of. Outside of campus, the closest was 3 miles away, and walking 6 miles pre-marathon when you hurt isn't ideal. Frustrated and worried, I said a prayer. Then I didn't know what to do, so I went to a club I had been meaning to sign up for. As I was turning to walk out the door, I felt like I should ask the girl who helped me if she knew of a therapist. She of course didn't, so I started to shut the door. As the door was about 2 inches away from being shut, another girl yelled "wait"! She quickly explained that her sister just became a massage therapist, and was an athletic trainer working with the women's soccer team. She gave me her number, and the therapist actually came to my dorm to treat me. It was my little miracle, and I know I would have been in a lot of pain without it. You could consider that all coincidence, but I have no doubt that it was answer to prayers from me, my family, and many friends.
So....after that,
Our wonderful friend Katie who loves us dearly drove us down from BYU Friday night to Price. We picked up our shirts and timing chips, and checked into a hotel. It was our first big kid trip, we felt like we were actually adults as we checked ourselves in!
We ate lots of pasta as we watched Pride and Prejudice, then went to bed. We woke up Saturday morning, the big day, at 4:50 to drive to the start of the race. Here is a picture of us stretching before: 
The race started at 6:30, and it was cold. Next time we are going to start out with a little bit warmer clothes. We initially met many people, who have done 80 or so marathons......that was mind blowing. Then they told us that they knew people who had run over 800 marathons...that's when I was wondering what in the world Natalie and I had gotten ourselves into...
Anyhow, we started about a 10 minute mile pace easily, we felt great.
We had another little amazing miracle though...
About three miles in we started talking to another lady, who was trying for 10 minute miles too, and it was also her first one. We all just silently agreed to run together.
Her story was truly motivating. She has gone through so much loss, but she started running as a way to emotionally and physically heal herself from the trials in her life. Natalie and I were inspired by her story.
When Natalie and I agreed to run a marathon, we agreed not to worry about time. We just wanted to start our marathon careers with one that we enjoyed, rather than killing ourselves. We kept good pace. Here are some of the sights we saw:
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| Cave drawings And then...the finish!!! All three of us crossed together, it felt so good! |
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| I am so blessed to have the body that I do. It is really easy to hate the body you are given, especially with how society portrays beauty today, and all the pressures to be so thin and perfect. Not every body though can run 26.2 miles, and take that beating. I am very blessed. |
I am also extremely blessed with supportive friends and family. During training my family helped me so much, whether it was running with me or making sure I had the right food--they were there. And I couldn't be more thankful for my wonderful friend Natalie. She stuck with me through and through, we helped eachother the whole way. I love her tons and am so glad to have her here at BYU with me. I am blessed to have so many friends who are always there for me!
So there you have it, my week was much more than just a Marathon, it was an awesome experience. I can't wait until the next one!
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