Alpine Days 5k and Toddler Trot

Jonny (19:10), Melody with Julia and Gabe (24:55), Julia in Toddler Trot (4:55), Grandma, Dad!, Amber and Brady, Cami, Mike Baird

Alpine Days is always a favorite, and this year was no exception. We continue to love Alpine for only charging $5 for a perfectly simple and fun morning race. This year they gave medals instead of trophies, which take up less space in my house so I am all about it!

It was Dad's first summer 5k. Mom is in Maryland so she wasn't able to see him speed through the finish line at 28:52! He may just have beat her - at least it would have been a close race. Can't wait to run more with Dad in the future. He told us, "These are the first tenny-runners I've bought in 11 years." I have a feeling his new shoes won't last that long. (We also missed Drew and Julie. But they are in England so we just don't really feel too bad!)

Jonny and I were pretty sore all week from the half marathon last Saturday. But we woke up ready for a good run. My quads were tight toward the end, but we made it under 25 minutes and placed 1st in women 25-29. (a new PR for a loop course with the kids.) Jonny ran his fastest time for this race and placed 2nd in his division. But it doesn't end there: Grandma placed 1st, Dad so close to 3rd, and Cami 3rd. We brought home the medals alright!

Then came the really fun part. Julia had been looking forward to her big race all week long. I don't know how many times we had to look at the calendar and count the days until Saturday after she begged and begged, "Me just want to run the race right now." She even jogged to the fire hydrant and back every day after my run. (She would always stop and stretch at the fire hydrant. Hilarious.) Well, the actual event exceeded her expectations. She loved the big crowd, wearing a race number, being cheered on by her running idol family members, the horn that set them off, even the cars lining the road. Being awarded a big lollipop and a "first place" blue ribbon (for all the kids, of course!) was elating. And she was quite the runner. It wasn't easy, but she ran around that entire block. This afternoon as we watched the race footage together, I said, "Julia, you are a runner!" You'd think that was the highest compliment she could have received. She couldn't stop smiling and saying, "Yeah, I runner! I runner!"

And to cap off a great morning, we all reconvened at Kneader's for some delicious french toast. We may just have to do that again next year.

There are so many pictures from this race, a slide show seems to way to go. And since it was Julia's first race, some videos were necessary. But first here are a few pictures to stand on their own:

Provo River Half Marathon

Jonny (1:28:09), Melody (1:52:02), Grandma Julie (2:57ish)

This was my first half marathon and Jonny's third. (I'm pretty sure Grandma lost count years ago!) Man, it was no walk in the park.

First of all, the training was challenging and tricky to fit in with two little kids and a hard-working husband who leaves for the office early in the morning. But we both managed to squeeze in some extra weekly mileage and felt pretty prepared for the race. That is, until I had some sort of stomach pain all week. Seems like it was a mild case of the stomach flu. Whatever it was, I felt awful and didn't know if I'd be able to race Saturday morning. But I prayed that I'd feel well enough to run and fell asleep hoping for that. I felt a little sick when we woke up at 4:15 but by the time we were in the car on our way to Provo, my stomach was as calm as ever. A miracle? I think so.

The race course down the canyon and past Bridal Veil Falls was gorgeous. The first three miles were quite steep and went by very quickly. The entire course was downhill except for the turn-around where we ran back up the canyon passing other racers going the opposite direction. The wind was against us and our legs weren't used to the uphill. So that was pretty tough. Luckily I had David Copperfield on my iPod to keep me distracted!

There were several water/gatorade stops that seemed to show up just when I needed them. All the miles were marked, which was helpful. Around 6 miles I remember thinking, "Man, I'm not even half done. Can I really do this!?" Then at 9 miles I knew I'd make it just fine, even though I could feel my legs really tightening up at that point. Next time I will have to do more downhill training for sure.

I came in under 2 hours, so I was thrilled. I was also a little surprised because I felt I was going so so slow at times. Plus, I was passed often by other runners. I guess I kept a decent pace, though. I think my next half goal will be 1:45. With better training, I think that is realistic.

Jonny was a superstar, as usual. Not only did he fly in under an hour and a half, but he was in the top 25 men in the race of 2,000+. Seriously, wow. He said he felt great - much better than he did during his half last summer.

We were so excited to see Grandma coming in under 3 hours - her goal. There's nothing like cheering, "Go, Grandma!" at a half marathon. She is amazing. Running a half with her has been a goal of mine for the past three years. And it was so fun to chat with her at the beginning and celebrate at the end. Dad even came to cheer us on at the finish line! It was quite the event.

I really did miss the kids, as running a race without them is very rare. But they had a blast at home with Katy. Next Saturday we'll all run Alpine Days together - if our extra-sore muscles will allow it! Yikes. That was some race.

Here is Jonny and his Top 25 Men poster.

Here I am pretending I was in the Top 25 Women.
Hey, I did make it into the top 25 in my age division (21st out of 158 total). Not too shabby.

P.S. Not to put a damper on things, but the shirts were pretty lame. They are extra cheap-o t-shirts that look like an Easter egg, featuring a tortoise and hare. I don't know why a half marathon wouldn't provide a cool tech shirt.

P.P.S. See full results here.