The Moment We've All Been Waiting For...

I usually set the date on my posts to match the actual day of the run/race because I hardly ever write on the day of my run.  I decided to leave this one as the day I actual wrote it... One week after the Marathon!  

Where to begin.  I have been able to read over everyone's posts and now it's my turn to sum my experience up in a nutshell.  I was the lucky one because not only did I get to train with all my fishies, my best friend trained with me too, Bryant.  It was so nice to have him to help motivate me along the way.  Once school started I couldn't go on mid week runs with the other girls.  Him getting up in the morning and going for a run always motivated me to get my butt out of bed too.  

This was the sun rise on Friday morning... a beautiful sign that it was going to be a great weekend!

 Wore my necklace all day!

 A good luck from one of my students...

 yahoo I finally got hooked up with the other girls!

 Someone needs to document Becka trying to get her tripod for her phone set up...

So glad that I had my girlfriend from high school running this with me! Such an amazing lady!  I just love her!

 Then we get up to the start line and WOW there are SO many people, people were even laying on the ground wrapped up in blankets trying to stay warm.  

 It was cold and dark, but boy were we ready to run!  The bus ride up was interesting, we had the most annoying ladies behind us.  I was hoping that we could loose them after getting off the bus, we did!

 Cheryl and I

Bryant is Ready!

 I also found my really good from Diamond Valley, Allison, at the start line!  Wahoo!  So ready by this point to start running and enjoy what I had trained for!

Ya we were feeling good!

This was about mile 6 or 7!

It really was so much fun running with Cheryl... we talked, we laughed, I cried a few times, she gave me pointers on running form and encouragement when I needed it.  When I let her go at mile 18, it was hard, but I needed to get my head back into the game and she was feeling good.  I had THE worst leg cramps all up and down my legs from about mile 17 til the end.  So hard to run, but once I got my head back into it I knew I could finish.  So many times while I was running I would think, WOW I am running a marathon!  I even said it out loud once to Cheryl, it must have been pretty loud because all the runners around us cheered!  

The Veyo hill had nothing on me!  Totally ran the whole thing!  So proud!

The Dameron Valley hill was harder, it's just a bunch of steps and seems like it goes on forever.  I had put a song that reminds me of my grandma on my playlist to help motivate me.  I totally thought I could handle it and as soon as it came on I was blowing snot out my nose and crying like a baby.  Ya, we were near the top of the Dameron Valley hill, it gave me the boost I needed to make it up it.  I totally ran that whole hill too!  I was truly amazing myself.  I know it was because I had Cheryl with me!  

Then I hit Diamond Valley... my old neighbors that I love and miss!  I got to see the Mayoros' (Allison's family) and then I saw Lora, we both freaked out, I gave her a sweaty hug and off I went again!  It's amazing what seeing a few friends does for ya!  I was on a high!

 My true form came out in full force at mile 16, I was dancing and having a great time.  This is when I saw my other girlfriend from high school Angela (she came down as a cheerleader for Cheryl, and me too).

This is where I let Cheryl go on without me... mile 18.  Those first 18 miles went by in a blink of an eye!

 Then the road started to get lonely and my legs were killing me!  I texted April this selfy and said HELP!  I don't know if I can do this!  She sent me a great text telling me I was doing awesome, and that the Kanab girls were just at mile 20 I could do it.  The girls weren't at mile 20, or 21, or 22, but they were at about mile 23.5 and boy was I happy to see them.  I needed them so bad at that time!  

Rach saw me and came running up to be and gave me a big ol' hug!  I bawled, ran to the rest of them and gave them a big ol' sweaty hug!  Told them how much I needed them and then ran on.  Man is it ever hard to run while you are bawling!   

(I love this picture, even if I am doing the ugly cry)

(When Bryant passed the Kanab girls, check out Rach!  I love her!)

 Before the end of the race I saw some of Beckas family, I did a leap (shouldn't have done that I thought my legs were gonna buckle on the landing).  Then I saw my family, first it was my brother and his kids, my niece April came running out and ran with me, then I came up on my mom and girls, both my girls ran out and started running with me.  It was so awesome.  I loved having them with me, until the nice security man said they had to leave the course.  I tried really hard to pick my pace up so that I could finish before 4:15, but it just wasn't in my cramped up legs to do it.  I have never hurt that bad, ever!   I finished and there was Bryant, and my Dad waiting to see me come across.  Wahoo I had finished, I crushed my first marathon time and for the most part I was feeling pretty good.  I got to hug my girls and my parents across the fence, cry with them all for a min and then they were off to play with my brother and his kids.  

(ADD PIC OF MY PARENTS AND KIDS FROM MY MOMS CAMERA). 

I had to walk around for about 20 minutes without stopping so that my legs could relax and uncramp. Weirdest feeling ever!  

Then it was time to watch the other girls come in:  I loved cheering them on and giving them a big hug after they finished!  
I didn't get to cheer on Lexi across the finish line, she was done way before me, but I hadn't heard and I was worried that she had gotten hurt, no one had said anything.  Little did I know she totally ROCKED the course and finished with an amazing time of 3:28, which adds up to 13 if you add all the numbers up!  AWESOME Lexi!

 Me and Ebbi Lou! Ya, we cried together!

 Becka and Lexie! Go fishies!

 Wahoo Candi! 

We did it!  WE ALL DID IT!

Now that it's over and we have had a week, it's weird, we are all feeling at a loss... depression a little even, it's hard to have such a huge goal done, over... what's next... oh ya know signing up for the runners series so that we don't have to do the lottery next year!  Well, most of us are signed up... Lexi, Lexie, Ebbi, Me, and WJ (Bryant) are all in it for next year.  I bet we can talk the other two into as well!  

So long St George Marathon 2013!  You were a huge part of my life, I learned a lot, I grew closer to some amazing girls and I was able to do it all with my husband by my side!  LOVED IT!

Me too Becka, me too!

~MaryAnn

 (I am pretty sure I wrote too much and put too many pictures in...)