Provo Canyon Half Marathon

My training paid off! A few months ago I made a goal to run a 1/2 marathon and Aug. 7, 2010 I completed my first real race! My official time according to the chip was 2.01 (2 hrs. 1 min)

I would have to say, the hardest part was actually waking up at 3:30 am so I could get there in time to pick up my bib and board the bus with all the other runners. We arrived at the top of the North Fork of Provo Canyon where we waited for the sun to come up and the 7:00 am start time. Everyone paid several visits to the Honey Buckets!

The best part of the race was at mile 7 or so running past Bridal Veil Falls. Here we were looped back up the canyon and down again, so we passed by it 3 times. So pretty! I started to hurt around mile 10, but from there 3 more miles seemed do-able. I kept pushing through and before I knew it, I was crossing the finish line. My mom and Brandon were there to cheer me on, and it seriously made me so happy to have their support! My stomach didn't feel great at the end, but I did manage to eat some watermelon.

Apparently no one remembered to bring a camera, so I don't have anything other than a cell phone picture to prove I was there and did it! Oh well, pictures of me after running 13.1 miles are probably not ones I want around.

The best part of the day was when my mom took me to get a pedicure at Prestige Salon in Spanish Fork. My mom's good friend Nancy hooked us up with this heavenly treat and we got to chat with her while we sat in massage chairs and I had my sore feet worked on. Then it was time for lunch, a shower and a LONG nap back at home. I'm so glad I did it, and can't wait for the Moab Canyonlands Half Marathon in October!

River Rats

A few weeks ago we took a trip to Moab to float the Colorado river with our good friends Ashley and Steve...

We weren't on some commercial raft trip- we were on river rat inner tubes!

We had more fun than anyone on the river! We were cooled off by the water and jumped in whenever we wanted.

Passing by Castle Valley

Before Steve flipped over in some mellow rapids and lost his glasses and bandana.

The next day we took a hike finding some indian pictographs. Near this wall we happened to find tons of ant lion holes in the ground. We tried to provoke the ant lions by "tickling" the holes with a stick. Steve had never seen one before and he didn't believe they existed. Every time we called him over to see the little ant lion "spitting" sand back out of his hole it would stop. He thought we were all pulling his leg!

Cooling of at Faux Falls. A fun little side trip in Moab- perfect for a hot day!

4th of July- small town style.

There's something nostalgic about summer holidays celebrated in a small town. Pancake breakfast at the park along with a parade and carnival, and of course a big fireworks show to celebrate the 4th of July.

A boy and his dog.

We are lucky to have family to spend the holidays with in Mt. Pleasant.

BBQ on the patio, where we had an excellent view of the fireworks later that night.

Brandon spruced up the old bikes that had been hanging in the garage for years. We even got his mom to ride with us down to the grocery store to pick up some supplies to make s'mores. Yes, I was roasting marshmallows and making s'mores for everyone over the fire pit while fireworks went off above us.

Earlier in the day we took our mountain bikes and rode the "Skyline Drive" up Fairview Canyon. We had the most spectacular views and a nice cool 70 degrees!

I love my anniversary present- a new mountain bike!

The following day we took a drive over to Fish Lake and did a grueling 20 mile ride around the perimeter of the lake and up a steep mountain pass. By the end as it was getting dark and we were getting eaten alive by mosquitoes, we started to enjoy it a little less. The trail down the mountain descent was very rocky, so we had to walk or carry our bikes for quite a while. The dogs were troopers, but I've never seen them so tired in their entire lives!

It was a fantastic holiday weekend!