Fargo Marathon

Last fall I started thinking about races for the following year. One marathon I had seen and taken some interest in was the Fargo Marathon that would be held on May 19th, exactly one week after the Brookings Half Marathon. Well the cold winter weather kind of killed my motivation to train during the colder months. I didn't start running again until the end of March and decided that I just wasn't prepared and wouldn't run it this year. As the time got closer I started to regret my decision. I kept hearing how great the race was and had a couple people from my ward who were running the full and the half. I started to feel sad about missing out. After doing a couple half marathons and feeling pretty good, I got a crazy last minute idea to just sign up anyway and run Fargo despite my lack of training. The online registration was closed since it was only about 10 days before the race, but I emailed the race director and begged to get in. He was SO nice and let me fill out a form, send it 2-day mail and got me into the race.

After getting in to the race, I started to feel a little nervous about the decision. I'd done quite a few 13 mile runs, one 16 mile run in early April, but I had only done one 20 mile run, and it wasn't even a true 20 mile run. I had run the River Rat half marathon then added 7 more miles later in the day, and that was back in April. I decided that I would just slow my pace down, try to make it the full 26.2 miles, and enjoy the experience.

The next trick was finding a hotel room. I started calling around and could almost hear the hotel employees laughing when I told them the dates I wanted. The Fargo Marathon draws over 25,000 people between all the events and the whole city is packed. No one had anything. I finally found a couple places that had one smoking room left but who wants to stay in a smoking room?! I was so grateful to finally find a room online. We ended up having to pay $130, but it was a really nice King suite with a sofa bed in new hotel that was also only about a mile from the shuttle area so I could just walk over without waking Jeff or the kids. I was just so grateful to find an open room!

We made it to Fargo about 8pm on Friday night. Our first stop was to the expo/packet pick up. It was huge and awesome. The excitement in the air was palpable. I would have loved to spend more time walking around looking at everything, but after a long day of travel and everyone waiting in the car, I just quickly picked up my packet. 

After picking up a few things at the store, we finally got to our hotel and took the kids swimming. Even I was pretty excited when I saw the awesome pool. They had all sorts of fun slides, water spouts, and activities. We told the kids we could only stay for an hour, but ended up staying a little longer. We would go back just for the indoor water park.

 I'm pretty sure Matthew's favorite part was shooting everyone with the water blasters.

I don't think anyone sleeps well the night before a race. I finally went to bed at 11:30, but was up at 1:30, 3:30, and 4:30 before I finally had to get up for good at 5:15. The marathon didn't start until 8:10, but I had to take the shuttle to the starting line and the last one left at 6:30. I was ready and out the door at 6am, and walked a mile over to the mall where the shuttles were. On my ride over I met Lynda. She and I ended up being fast friends and spent the morning together while we waited for the race. She's 25 marathons into her 50 states and we're planning to meet up again for a race someday. It was so nice to have someone to hang out with. You don't feel so nervous when you've got someone to talk with and take your mind off the race. I will also say how much I loved the Fargo dome! Not only did we have a nice warm place to wait for our race, but there are tons and tons of flushing toilets. No porta-potties, and no lines. It was awesome.

 Finally it was race time. We dropped the rest of our stuff off and Lynda helped us both work our way up through the crowds. Friday night it had been 93 degrees in Fargo and we were prepping for some hot weather, but prayers must have been answered because a big storm system moved in and we had cloudy, overcast skies. It was a little windy-I about lost my hat a few times, but even the rain held off until later on.

As I mentioned before, I was a little nervous about the race because I knew my training wasn't that great. I figured I would just go out a little slower and see how I felt at the halfway point. There were about 2000 people running the full marathon, so it was a pretty good crowd. I actually ran into my friend from our ward, Rick Jensen, around mile 2. We ran together for a while, then he ran just ahead of me with the 3:35 pace group. The Fargo Marathon has been voted as one of the top 10 marathons in the US and it's pretty easy to see why. The course isn't necessarily known for it's amazing scenery- you pretty much just run through winding neighborhoods, but the crowd support is pretty amazing. There are people lining almost the entire course, and lots of cheering, music, bands playing, etc. My favorite were the people handing out ice pops-those are amazing during a race! It's also nice that Fargo is one of the flattest places you'll find- the entire course is between 900-950 feet in elevation. They also have free runner tracking so Jeff was able to see exactly where I was on his phone.

 I really felt great during the race. I started to feel a little tired about mile 9-11, but not too bad. I crossed the half way point at 1:48:20 and was still feeling pretty good. I started to think if I could keep it up, it would be a really great race for me. I actually started to feel my energy level pick up about 14-16 miles, and just kept running. I passed by both Rick & Lynda at a turn-around section, and it's always fun to see friends. I hit mile 18 at 2:28, and mile 20 at 2:45. At mile 22 I started to feel a little more tired, but at that point the end is so close that you just keep pushing on. I felt like mile 22 dragged on forever, I kept looking for that mile 23 marker, then all of a sudden I saw the mile 24 marker- somehow I missed 23, that's always a great feeling! Those last two miles were probably the most painful, your legs are aching and begging to be done. I noticed a little cramping in my quads just above my knees, but I think my body was in cruise control and I just kept running. Another victory in my mind was feeling like I had to use the bathroom right from the start- I would see a porta-potty and want to stop, but I just kept telling myself that I would stop at the next one. By the time I hit mile 24, I knew I was NOT stopping for a bathroom break. I was feeling pretty proud of holding out for 26.2 miles! (Especially because I knew a certain time of the month was near. I decided to take precautions, and found out after I finished that it was indeed that day! That could have been a disaster.)

I was so excited when I finally saw that Fargo Dome in the distance and really picked it up. I actually caught Rick right before mile 26, I gave him a big pat on the back and cheered him on. At that point we turned some corners and headed into the Fargo Dome. It was such a great moment to see that finish line! I crossed it at 3:36:40 and actually broke into tears right then- it was such an amazing experience for me. It almost felt like a dream. I had such low expectations going into the race, and almost couldn't believe that I had been able to push myself to run so well. After the Bismarck Marathon last year- when I finished in 3:36, but didn't feel like I had truly earned it- it was such a great feeling to know that I had run hard and really earned that 3:36! Luckily, there are all sorts of emotions going on at the finish line of a marathon, and I'm sure I wasn't the only one crying tears of gratitude and joy.

 Thanks to the runner tracking system, Jeff knew about when I was going to finish and met me right after I finished. It was so fun to see him and the kids. He pointed out to me, and I thought it was pretty amazing that my first and second half's of the marathon were the exact same down to the seconds! They were both 1:48:20. That's pretty unusual. I was pretty happy that I had been consistent throughout the race and finished it with an 8:17 average pace.

 Rick ended up finishing just 18 seconds after me. It was fun to meet up with him and Mindy to swap race stories, take pictures, etc. Rick is actually pretty amazing. He is an ER doctor, member of the bishopric, and just a couple years ago was pretty overweight. He decided he wanted to make some changes and started running. Over the past couple years he's lost over 100 pounds. He ran his first marathon last fall and finished just under 4. He has been so diligent with his training, running all through the winter, running five 20-milers, and really earned his 3:36:58 time. I think we were both just excited to be done at this point!

  
I'm especially grateful for a supportive husband and family. I'm grateful they're willing to come along for the fun. It will be nice to take a break on weekend trips for a while though!

The Fargo Marathon was such an amazing experience. I was so glad I decided crazy last minute to sign up. It's so gratifying when you can push yourself beyond what you think is possible and have such a great experience. It's such a mental boost- like you can do anything. I have more races in the future and I know they won't all turn out just the way you'd like, but it sure makes you grateful for the times that the stars do align and things turn out great. Fargo was awesome and I hope to be back again someday.

Caleb's Kindergarten Graduation

 Caleb had a special kindergarten graduation program on the last day of school. It was so fun to see all the songs and skits the kids had prepared. I can't believe Caleb has already finished his first year of school. He's already running around telling everyone he's a first grader. He's such a cute, fun boy. He is really going to miss his awesome teacher Mrs Brown. She has been so great with him and really appreciates his creative, outgoing personality.

 It was pretty cute watching the kids walk up to get their caps and 'diplomas'. When Emily saw Caleb she yelled out, "There's Caleb!" It gave everyone a good chuckle.
(I love how Matthew is totally enthralled with the baby in this picture- he absolutely loves babies)

 Caleb and his friend Max. These two are pretty hilarious together. Max is the youngest of three boys in his family and their personalities are so similar. It's a good thing we live just down the street from each other so they can play a lot this summer.

Last Week of Preschool

 Matthew had his last week of preschool in May also. He wasn't too happy about the idea, but I think he'll get used to summer vacation really quick. He's had such a great experience and such wonderful teachers. Lucky for him (and happily for me) he doesn't turn 5 until October, so he won't be starting kindergarten for another year and he will have the very same preschool teachers again next year. We love Miss Terra & Miss Linda.

During the last week, the class took a field trip to a nearby park. The kids had fun playing on the playground together. I love this picture of Matthew- totally being shy between two girls. He's really made some cute little friends that we will miss.

 Happy Summer Vacation!

Happy Mother's Day

 It was an absolutely wonderful Mother's Day this year, thanks to my sweet husband and kids. They kept up tradition with a delicious crepe breakfast and the boys presented me with all sorts of adorable books, pictures, and letters they had made. They were so excited they could hardly stand it. I adore the pictures they draw, the stories and letters they write, they are so precious to me. I am so grateful for a wonderful husband who treats me so well and teaches our children to do the same through his example. I feel so incredibly grateful.
 The kids sang a couple of Mother's Day songs in sacrament meeting. I was a little sad that I didn't get to see them because I was the one playing the piano, but at least I was able to listen. They sounded so great.

We snapped a couple quick pictures after church. Emily was a total crack-up. I love these pictures of her, and especially the ones with Jeff. Her little cheesy grin totally shows off her personality- sweet and cute but very spunky!

I am so grateful for the wonderful mothers in my life. Mother, mother-in-law, grandmothers, aunts, sisters, sister-in-laws, cousins, neighbors, friends, etc. I'm so grateful for their incredible examples and the part they play in my life, as well as so many other amazing, incredible women that inspire, uplift, encourage and support. I appreciate the examples they set that motivate me to want to continually improve myself in all areas. I know that I fall short and know that I am not perfect. I am also grateful for wonderful women, friends and family, who love me regardless.
I was talking to my neighbor and friend a few days ago about motherhood. I definitely think it is one of the most challenging, frustrating, difficult endeavors we will ever undertake; and yet I can't think of many things that are more important, satisfying, or eternally rewarding. Sometimes it's hard to figure out each individual child- their wants and needs, and just how they tick. But one thing I do know is that they are worth it, and I am so grateful for my children and the chance to be their mother.
My cousin had this quote on her blog from a talk given by Elder Ballard entitled "Daughters of God." I thought it was beautiful and just had to copy it. (Thanks Kendra)

"I surely know that there is no role in life more essential and more eternal than that of motherhood."

"What matters is that a mother loves her children deeply and, in keeping with the devotion she has for God and her husband, prioritizes them above all else."

"Recognize that the joy of motherhood comes in moments. There will be hard times and frustrating times. But amid the challenges, there are shining moments of joy and satisfaction."

"Pray, study, and teach the gospel. Pray deeply about your children and about your role as a mother. Parents can offer a unique and wonderful kind of prayer because they are praying to the Eternal Parent of us all. There is great power in a prayer that essentially says, 'We are steward-parents over Thy children, Father; please help us to raise them as Thou wouldst want them raised.'"

Brookings Half Marathon

On the second weekend in May, we took a trip to Brookings, South Dakota for another half marathon. It was fun driving through the town. Brookings is pretty small so all around town the stores and hotels had 'welcome runners' on all of their signs. This race has been going on for a number of years now and it's a pretty big deal to the city!
We made it to Brookings late Friday afternoon where we picked up my race packet, a couple items from the grocery store, and then had a fun night of swimming at the hotel. The kids have really enjoyed these trips and I have a feeling it's mostly because of fun pools and the big continental breakfasts! I really loved the happy, brightly colored curtains, carpet, bedspreads and paintings.

I love Emily's 'muscles' in this picture!

 This pool didn't have all the slides and toys like others we've been to, but the boys had a blast playing tag with Jeff and we pretty much had the place to ourselves.

 The race started at 7am on Saturday morning, so I was up early to get ready and eat. It's always fun to get ready in the dark and try not to wake anyone up. Luckily we stayed in the hotel with a shuttle service to the race starting line so I didn't even have to wake Jeff that morning.
I was out the door at 6:10, and waited out front with a big group of people for about 25 minutes. I got talking to a guy named Dave who was running the full marathon. We were swapping race experiences and stories for a while and finally ended up catching a ride over to the starting line with a couple other people because the shuttle service was taking forever.
I had just enough time to drop my bag at the drop-off location and take one trip through the porto line before they called everyone to line up. I actually prefer it that way though, I don't necessarily love sitting around forever waiting for the race to start.

Waiting for Mom

 It ended up being a perfect day for a race. The weather started out at 39 and warmed up to about 60 at the end. I started with gloves and arm warmers, but tossed the gloves about 5 miles in. The compression socks were great too, even if they do look a little nerdy.
The course was a little loopy and had tons of turns, but it was actually a pretty course. We ran through lots of tree-lined neighborhoods and parks and around the SDSU campus. There were a few small hills, but nothing major. I took my headphones with me but didn't turn them on until about mile 6.5, turned them off again after a half mile, and didn't use them again until about mile 10. The half marathon only allows 400 people, so it was a fairly small race but we also ran with the marathoners and marathon relay people until we split off at mile 11.
The first few miles went by really quickly. I met up with a cute girl around mile 4 and we ended up running together until about mile 9. It's nice when you find someone to visit with with during a run, it really makes those miles go by fast. I was really pleased with the planning and organization of the race. My only complaint was that I took a GU (a real GU, not some watery powerade gel) at mile 10 and there wasn't a water station from mile 8-11 so I had to chug that baby down without water. But overall, I was really pleased with the race and would totally do it again!

 During the week leading up to the Brookings half marathon, I had a crazy, last-minute idea to just sign up for the Fargo Marathon that would be the following Saturday. Knowing that I would be running a marathon the next Saturday, I decided to run Brookings strong but comfortable and not kill myself. I didn't want to be sore. I ended up running an 8:02 pace and finished in 1:45:14. (My 'official' time ended up being a 1:45:40 because I ran almost 13.2 miles) But I was pleased because I knew I ran it faster than the Yankton half marathon and I felt great. When I finished and Jeff and the kids came over, I felt a little dumb because I really wasn't even winded. I mean, it was still hard and I definitely had some moments during the race where I was feeling tired, but I was kind of wishing I would have just picked it up a bit to finish in the 1:44 range. Ah well, it was still a good race.
There were enough fast people that I didn't think I had placed. I found out later that I had actually placed 2nd in my age division, and because the girl who was 1st had placed 3rd overall, I would have been awarded the prize for being 1st in my age division. But I didn't find out until after we got home and they don't mail the prizes, bummer.

 My favorite part is seeing my cute kids at the finish line. I love hearing them cheer, "Go Mom!" I'm excited for the day when we can do this together. I'm especially grateful for such a supportive, awesome husband.  I love that we can take a little weekend trip as a family and have such a great time together.

 After the race, we let the kids play for a while at the park. They had some really fun old toys that you don't see very often nowadays. I think the favorite was the merry-go-round with animal seats. I can't even remember the last time I've seen one of those. I guess they fall into the 'dangerous' category now, but these cute little towns keep them around.

It was nice that the race had an early start. I was done before 9am and we were able to head home early and get some things done. It was a fun weekend trip.

Mommy's Little Sidekick

 There are a few hours each week when all three boys are in school and Emily and I have a few hours to get things done. Most of the time Emily takes her nap while I'll do laundry or other chores, but once in a while we'll skip the nap and run errands. Emily is still two and not always perfect-we've had our share of public tantrums, but most of the time she's as good as can be. She loves to say hi to everyone and she's quite the little charmer. She loves to run errands with me, and I love having my cute little sidekick.

Man Vs. Can

One Saturday in April, Jeff had a little face-off with a can lid and needless to say, the can lid won. I always, always, always put the lid in the can before I put them in the trash, but I was just getting ready to take the trash out, so I tucked the lid safely right on the side of the trash. Something happened right at that moment that caught my attention, so I walked away, leaving the trash can pulled out. Jeff noticed the trash can out and decided to just take it out. Of course, he had to push it down first and did it with a lot of force. I knew it was pretty serious when I heard him cry out.
He ended up with a pretty serious cut across his right wrist, and knew he would need stitches. I called our friend Ken Bassett who is an ER doctor, but they were out of town. So of course Jeff, being a doctor with all the supplies, and knowing how long it would take in the ER, decided to just suture his own wrist with me as his assistant.
Although I asked Jeff to just let me do it, he insisted on doing almost everything himself, with me helping with various parts. I was pretty impressed, it takes a real man to inject himself with lidocaine and then put in multiple sutures. He obviously couldn't tie the sutures, so I used his surgical tools and tied the surgical knots, then helped him use super glue to finish pulling the skin back together.
When Jeff was cut, he obviously knew he hadn't hit the artery, but he was a little concerned about one of the tendons in his wrist that he might have nicked it with the can lid. Everything seemed fine until a couple days later when he picked up something heavy and heard a pop. An MRI confirmed that a tendon had indeed broken completely through, and he would need surgery to repair it.
When Jeff met with the surgeon, we learned just how fortunate he had been. If his cut had been a few more millimeters he would have cut not only his artery, but the main nerve that supplies the feeling for his fingers. There is also a nerve for the palm of your hand that runs through the very same casing as the broken tendon that somehow avoided being severed. We were extremely grateful.
Jeff had surgery on a Monday-ironically in the very same surgical suite where he performs his surgeries. I told him it's a good thing he's always been nice to the surgical nurses. It was kind of funny to see multiple nurses say, "Dr Stevens! What are you doing here?!" I think Jeff definitely prefers to be on the other side of the knife.
My friend Shelly took the two youngest kids, and I was able to go be with Jeff. He had a blessing beforehand, and the surgeon seemed pleased with how the surgery went.  He was in a full cast/brace for 5 days, then they replaced it with a more free-moving, removable brace that he will wear for about 12 weeks. He's been really lucky that the whole ordeal hasn't been too painful, and he's been able to work and have almost full range of motion with his hand and fingers. He just can't flex his wrist, and he has to be careful not to lift heavy things. He's postponed his surgeries for a few weeks, but it won't be too long before he's even back to those. Through the whole ordeal, we've been very grateful that it wasn't more serious and that he's expected to make a full recovery. Everyone jokes with me now though that Jeff's taking-out-the-trash days are over!

Matthew's Spring Program

 Matthew's preschool class had their end of the year/spring program this month. It's always so fun for the kids but especially the parents. Matthew has been walking around our home singing, "my God is an awesome God..." for the past month, so I was really excited to see the song in action. You get some fun songs when your kids go to a Baptist preschool.

 This year has been such a great experience for Matthew. He's really grown and improved so much in so many ways. Miss Terra has been such a great teacher for him. Most of his friends will be starting kindergarten next year, but Matthew doesn't turn five until October, so he will have one more year of preschool before then. I'm actually really happy about that, and excited that he will get to have Miss Terra again next year.