I ran the fastest half-marathon of my life!! I still can't stop smiling about this. I've been running for a long time so to get a PR is not something I ever thought I could do. But I beat my fastest time from twenty years ago and it felt awesome!
I've been training hard and stacked up the miles on my long runs pretty early so I've had a few extra weeks to really feel prepared. I've done all my runs on trails/roads around Sammamish which means a ton of steep hills so my pace has always been slower than what I'd like so I decided for my last long run I'd run along the race course which is a paved trail around Lake Sammamish and it's super flat. I ran the ten miles almost a minute faster per mile than what I'd been doing on my previous runs and still felt great. That's what gave me the crazy idea to go for a PR and not just try to run the race.
The night before the race I sat down and calculated that if I ran an 8:38 minute mile I could break my record half-marathon time of 1 hour and 53 minutes. I've gotten a 1:53 in two races but those were literally twenty years ago! Yes, those race courses weren't as flat as this one but who cares! Like a true pro, I wrote the times on my arm so I could do my best to stay consistent. I woke up feeling great and loved having a friend with me so I wasn't lonely at the starting line.
I wore an old race shirt to keep warm until the race was about to start, then tossed it in the trash before I started running.
I started strong and I finished strong. The weather wasn't terrible although it rained on us most of the race. At each mile marker I was within a few seconds of my predicted pace, which was so awesome to be that consistent. I stayed with the same group of runners until about mile 10 and then people started to drag. Right about then, my friend surprised me by showing up to cheer me on and took the photo above. It was just the motivation I needed so I cranked up my music, prayed, and picked up my pace. I felt Lindsey right beside me. She was always my favorite running partner.
My much younger friend Tami, finished about a minute in front of me and here's her cute family cheering on the runners.
At the finish and I was still feeling good but so glad I was done! I'd been following that girl behind me the entire race but she started to drag when I dug deep and passed her. Boy did that feel good :)
I got to ring the bell!!
Here's me at Target a couple hours later, sporting my race medal. Yes, I was that proud that I wore it all day! I wasn't even sore the next day and that felt like a huge win too. Hip, hip, hooray for old ladies doing hard things!
Marcus has been training with a running coach for almost a year and got to compete in the annual Simplot Games in Pocatello, Idaho. It's a huge indoor track event that has been going for 40 years. I had no idea how awesome it would be until we got there, although I'm biased because leaving my kids for a few days even if it was to travel to cold and snowy Idaho felt pretty dreamy to me.
Marcus and I flew to Boise with his running coach and team, then rented a car and drove three hours to Pocatello. The scenery was barren and brown but driving without little kids was awesome!
Heading into the arena for the first time
We walked into the huge arena and immediately felt the air buzzing with excitement. Marcus competed in three events: the 60M, long jump, and the sprint medley relay where he ran the 200M as the second leg.
I could go on and on about how fun it was just being at this meet but honestly, you'd just have to be there. There were former Olympic gold medalists there which was so inspiring. On the last day of the meet they had a parade of athletes similar to the opening ceremony of the Olympics. They had all the runners line up behind their State flag and walk around the track while the crowd cheered them on. There were athletes there from all the Western States, Minnesota, New York, and a few teams from Australia and New Zealand. How cool was that? We saw a new national record in the 60M get set by a junior from Oregon. It was amazing!
Coach bo and The Spirit of the Gods running team
My boy after he ran the relay in finals
The relay team with their golden baton and medals
Most of the runners were juniors or seniors in high school so Marcus was way out of his league but we knew that going into the meet. Coach Bo wanted Marcus to see what fast really looked like and get "the big fish in a little pond" mentality out of his head. Boy, did it work! Marcus was so nervous to run the 60M that he said his brain totally blanked and he was having a hard time even remembering what to do. He wasn't happy with the way he ran but I thought he did great and came in 7th of the twenty-five 9th graders. He didn't qualify for finals in the long jump (only 9 out of 100 jumpers did), but his relay team made it to finals. It was a nail-biter as we had to watch all the teams in the following heats try to beat them out of their spot and one of the teams came in at the same time and it came down to a thousandth of a second to determine who got what spot. It was intense! When they raced in the finals a couple runners fell right at the exchange and Marcus had to push one runner out of the way and hop over another so that was exciting and nerve wracking all at the same time.
The other cool part about this meet was seeing all the family supporting Marcus. Both sets of grandparents made the 2-hour drive to watch the races, April and Toby drove up for the finals, and my aunt and cousin came down from Idaho Falls to watch the finals as well. Basically Marcus had the biggest cheering section of anyone there and I wish I had gotten everyone's picture.
We so much fun hanging out with his team and coach and now I feel like we're all best friends. One of the highlights was sitting in my hotel room reading a book (it was heaven) while the boys decided to practice their hand-offs in the hall. At full speed. Luckily Marcus's coach intervened before anyone got hurt. Can you imagine stepping out of your hotel room and getting run over by a sprinter? Boys are idiots.
Marcus's first experience at Sizzler. He ate a steak, 6 tacos, and dessert.
Our hotel had a brand new casino in it and we had to walk with an escort through the casino to get to the buffet for breakfast.
We spent our last night in Boise so we made a quick stop at Grandma's house. It was so fun visiting with her, Lisa, and Dave.
Marcus's awesome running spikes. The one on the right still has the tape on it. His coach is a smart guy and had them tape up their shoes to help them not slide on the track. Runners were falling everywhere! It made their relay team look like a bunch of boys from the sticks whose shoes were falling apart but they didn't fall so it worked.
Boy, was I happy to get home and hug my other boys! Here is Parker talking to me on FaceTime so he could show me how he lost his first tooth! Oh, and this all happened back at the end of a week of snow days. I had made all sorts of arrangements for friends to take care of the boys and then school was canceled again and that messed everything up. I'm so thankful for Randy and all my good friends who took good care of my boys so I could enjoy a little get away. I definitely need to escape more often!
Marcus and Ethan got bit by the running bug. I love it! The cross country season ended with the finals on Halloween day. The weather was sunny and cool and perfect for a race. We arrived just in time to cheer Ethan on as he ran in the 1.8 mile course finishing 30th out of 128 runners. I'm so proud of him because football season and cross country overlap so he was doing double duty. On Mondays and Wednesdays he had cross country and football back-to-back, then followed by piano lessons or scouts. He was a busy kid! And tired. I suggested multiple times that he drop cross country but he refused so we worked together to keep on top of things. The best part for him was a noticeable difference in his speed on the football field. He became the fastest on his team and finished ahead of his teammates on all the running drills, and that's a good feeling! Even his coach noticed and started having Ethan play running back which is a very big deal because Ethan actually got to touch the ball for once.
Ethan running through the sand a mile into the race
Ethan half a mile left with a looong line of runners behind him.
Marcus is very particular about his pre-race music to get him in the zone and took his training very seriously. He made sure to save his "leg
day" at the gym for the day after the meets. If this boy was as
dedicated to his schoolwork as he was to exercise, we'd have another
Harvard graduate in our family. But maybe his dreams to run in the
Olympics will pan out and that would be cool too. For now, he's got the
cross country coach at the high school very excited for next year.
Here's the 7/8th grade boys lining up at the start. In the sand! Ugh!
The prettiest cross country course. Except for the sand.
Marcus battling it out for 3rd place and running a 5:15 mile
Marcus sprinting ahead to get 4th place out of 200+ runners and beating his friend in the process.
Marcus's friend Victor is a great runner and this was the only race Marcus beat him in all season
Marcus and Victor finished every race this way
Ethan and his friend Max
Randy sprinted through the parking lot to watch Ethan while I parked the car
Parker is thrilled this was the last race
The cool playground kept us busy while we waited for the runners and I actually documented Henry's first experience on a swing. Wish these swings were around for all my boys!
I could kiss those cheeks all day. Oh wait. I already do.
Heading home for some awesome trick-or-treating
And I love this pic of my boys at one of the earlier meets. Parker is good about going to all these events and Henry should start crying if he knew how many of these things he'll be going to in the next five years of his life. Poor boy.
Poor Marcus. He's been going to lots of specialists lately. A few years ago he was diagnosed with Klippel-Feil Anomaly which means he has 2 fused vertebrae in his neck. We didn't think much of it since it was discovered accidentally when he had x-rays done for a concussion and fall he had in Rhode Island. Our pediatrician recommended we have specialists look him over to determine the extent of his abnormalities and after going to a pediatric orthopedic specialist and then a pediatric spine specialist, the news wasn't good. We found out Marcus's skull is also fused on one side at the top of his spine. This means he's got less movement/motion which puts stress on the rest of his vertebrae and over time can develop into severe arthritic pain and numbness in his arms and legs. But the real kicker for him is that he isn't allowed to play football. For a kid who is super athletic, this news was really sad and he had a good cry over it. While he's got plenty of other things going for him, this all happened within days of football registration and skills evaluations for the fall football season. The timing was painful. Poor Marcus.
This was the morning of his track finals, waiting to hear the news about his spine while burning up with a fever
But Marcus finished up his track season and managed to do it free of serious injury. A major feat for this kid. Last year he missed competing in track finals because of his bike crash when he scraped off his face and got a concussion. This year he was determined to run no matter what. Unfortunately the day before finals he woke up with body aches and a fever of 102. I drugged him up and made him rest but he wasn't feeling any better the day of the track meet. We timed his medicine dosage so he'd be at the best of his worst during his races. Poor kid!
Here are some pics from one of his last track meets when I actually brought my good camera and Marcus wasn't sick. This photo overload represents weeks of daily practices and five track meets where I got to sit in the stands for 2+ hours watching him race. I'm so glad the season is over!
Marcus (lane 5) getting ready for the hurdles
This was the only time he wasn't in the lead
Here he goes over the first hurdle with his best friend right on his tail
Over the 2nd hurdle before anyone else had a chance to jump it
Running the 100 meter
This race was his first loss. He was devastated. I rolled my eyes. 2nd place is nothing to cry about
Getting in the zone before the relay
Now back to track finals, Marcus qualified to compete in finals in all 4 of his events and had
taken first or second place in every previous track meet. His first
event was the hurdles and every kid he was running against had lost to
him previously. The gun went off and Marcus and one other runner were
matching step for step. As Marcus jumped over the last hurdle he
tripped, and slid across the finish line like he was sliding into home plate in a desperate attempt to
beat the other runner. I died. He came in a close second, with bloody
knees and bruises and he still had three more events. I died again.
You have to watch this video of his hurdles. Watch how Marcus and the kid in the first lane are perfectly in sync. Then watch as he falls across the finish line (and I threw my hands up in horror so you can't see the gory fall) but look at the lady cringe next to me. Hilarious!!
I stood at the finish line for the next two hours watching my boy compete and out of all the hundreds of runners who were there, not a single other kid got injured. After all, track is a non-contact sport! Only Marcus could pull off an injury at a track meet! But his scrapes were the least of his problems as he fought the flu and gutted it out through every race. I felt so bad for him. He got 4th in the 100-meters, second in hurdles, first in the long jump, and his undefeated relay team took second. All really good races but I'm sure the results would've been different if he hadn't been so sick. He's already looking forward to next year with a goal to be free of injury and fever.
And this boy couldn't be happier that track season is over. Two hours sitting at a track meet week after week deserves a reward. I don't know how I'm going to manage this next year with a baby in tow. Heaven help me!
