Marathon Status

Well, I hit 800 miles today and am now just 7 weeks away from the Baltimore Marathon. So far my training has gone pretty well. I have experienced some bursitis issues with my hip joint (self-diagnosed from the Internet...I'm sure my doctor would be proud!!), but I can run through it without too much discomfort. My longest run up to this point has been 16 miles which seems like a long way to run, until you realize I still have to tack on another 10.2 to reach the marathon distance. Ahhhhh, what fun!!!

In honor of hitting 800 miles this year, I have decided to make a list of the things that I both love and hate about running, marathons, and marathon training. It may be a bit random at times, so consider yourself warned!!...

1. HATE: Chafing

#1 rule of long distance running: Anything that can chafe, will chafe! It can really be a downer to an otherwise perfectly good run.

LOVE: Body Glide

It looks like deodorant and before you run, you rub it over possible chafing areas (in other words, all over your body.) I have had no issues since using this miracle worker. LOVE IT!!!

HATE: Energy Gels

I actually have a love/hate relationship with these things, but since it leans more towards hate most of the time, I included it here. These things are nasty, gross and disgusting, but they do provide a much needed boost during those long runs and it's nice not to have to chew anything. (I hate chewing something even more than I hate gels, so that's why I stick with the much-hated gels.)

LOVE: Hats

I have discovered a new love for wearing hats when I run outside. They keep the sun out (for the most part) without having to worry about sunglasses that always seem to slide all over my sweaty face.

HATE: T-shirt logo "Pain is fear leaving the body"

Whatever...Pain is because you've been running for 20 odd miles and your body is tired. Period.

LOVE: T-shirt logo, "I run like a girl, try to keep up"

Running is so empowering for me as a woman. I'm definitely not the fastest runner around, but I can probably out distance more than most. I'm proud to run like a girl!!

HATE: Saturday morning long runs

Okay, I shouldn't say I hate these...they are critical for preparing to run a marathon. They just seem to consume your life sometimes. I seem to spend most of Thursday and Friday gearing up to run on Saturday (thinking, eating, hydrating, worrying, fretting, prepping, etc.) and then spend most of Saturday and Sunday recovering from them. Ahhh, the joys!!!

LOVE: My hydration pack

It's a fuel belt that holds 4 little bottles all around my waist. It stays snug, I don't have too much liquid bouncing around everywhere and I can fill them up with different kinds of liquid (water, gatorade, etc.)

HATE: Hills

Enough said!

LOVE: Music

I love listening to music while I run. I know, I know, nature sounds are great, but when you run for hours on end, nature just doesn't cut it. Oh, and my running playlist is nothing like what I normally listen to. I love running to upbeat, hip-hop style music (I try to find the edited versions of these kinds of songs...amazing what they cut out on the radio versions!!)

HATE: Doing more than 5 miles on a treadmill

Marathon training with kids is sometimes hard. It's nice that I have a gym that the kids love to go to in order to get in some of my weekly training, but man, running on a treadmill can be so boring sometimes. I will sometimes take the kids out with the jogging stroller too, but that thing is a beast, so I'm not sure it's much better than the treadmill. I do enjoy being able to go out on Saturdays without either contraption (while Jason watches the kids...thank you honey!!)

LOVE: Garmin Forerunner 305 watch

Tracks my speed, mileage, total time (and heart rate if I was so inclined.) I plan out my routes using Gmaps Pedometer so I know roughly where to go and then my watch does everything else. I never leave home without it (well, at least when I run!!)

Well, I'm sure I could come up with like a billion more things but I'm pretty sure I just lost all interest from my blog readers at this point (both of you!!) Wish me luck during these next 7 weeks!! (By the way...doesn't this list of oh-so-fun things just make you all want to start training for a marathon!! C'mon, it's fun, really, really it is, c'mon now...okay, so maybe not.)

My how our GARDEN grows...

After several failed attempts, we actually have a pretty nice little garden growing now. (I use the term "we" very loosely. Everything I started from starter plants is now dead. Jason has been the master gardener this summer and all of his dedication and care is now paying off!!)

We harvested our first pepper right before our vacation...

And have harvested several more since then (with many more still to come!)...

Our tomatoes are finally starting to ripen now too!!

We planted everything in pots this year since we are still renting and don't know when exactly we will be moving. We look forward to planting a real garden someday in our own backyard when we decide to buy a house!! (Although with this crazy housing market, we're not exactly sure when that will happen. We're still waiting for that "perfect" home in the "perfect" neighborhood at the "perfect" price. Any of you seen any of those lately?!?!?!)

Little Mower

Just so you don't think it's all fun and games around our house, we do a lot of hard work too!!

Like mowing the lawn (Jason and I both can attest to the fact that mowing half an acre with a tiny push mower is definitely a workout!!)

Abby likes to get in on the action too...

Of course she prefers to do her lawn mowing in pink highheels!! (Although I think pink heels may be a requirement if you have a pink lawnmower...)

Daddy and Abby working very hard together...
And the "Taskmaster" overseeing the job and making sure it is done right!!!

Jennifer's Visit -- Part 2

Since Jennifer had lived in D.C. for a couple of years as a nanny, she had already seen a lot of the sites. There were a few places that we decided to see though that none of us had yet been to. Our first stop was to Arlington National Cemetery. We saw where JFK and his wife were buried and also visited the tomb of the unknown soldier. We timed it just right so that we were also able to witness the "changing of the guard" in front of the tomb. (The changing of the guard is quite a process as we soon discovered. It took about 15 minutes to actually change the guard from beginning to end, and during the summer months they change the guard every 30 minutes!!!)

The tombstones stretched beyond what you could see, appearing to be never ending. A very somber sight indeed...

After getting lost a few times, we finally found Iwo Jima, a wonderful tribute to the Marine Corps...


We were amazed by how big the monument was. You can get an idea of it's size by comparing it to the size of our little family in front (and we ain't little people!!)


This video is mostly for my dad. We thought it appropriate for her to sing the Marine Corps anthem in front of this special monument...

Photo and video editing at www.OneTrueMedia.com

We were also able to visit the American History Museum. It was closed for renovations the last time we had made a tour of the different Smithsonian Museums on the National Mall. We were there for several hours and really only experienced a small part of what the museum had to offer. It was really good.

Unfortunately all good things have to come to an end, and we had to say goodbye to Jennifer as she headed back home on Tuesday. Thanks for coming to visit Jen, we loved having you here!!

Now it's time for my sales pitch...there's a lot to do out here on the East Coast, and we love having visitors (hint, hint!!) We promise you'll have a great time if any of you have the inclination to come!!!

Jennifer's Visit -- Part 1

Just a few days after returning home from our vacation, Jason's sister came to town for a very fun visit. We checked out the Dutch Market in town, played at several parks, hit the outlet mall, played games, visited both Baltimore and D.C. and generally just wore ourselves out by having so much fun!!

The kids really enjoyed playing with Jennifer at the different parks that we went to...

And Abby enjoyed putting on some pretty fancy fashion shows for Aunt Jen...

We spent Saturday in Baltimore, hitting up both the zoo and the aquarium. It was our first time going to the Maryland Zoo and I think it has now become our favorite zoo in the area. It is smaller than the National Zoo in D.C. but there's a lot more shade and the animals were a lot easier to see (probably because it was so much cooler). Abby really enjoyed the polar bears...

The rhinos...

And the elephants...

But her favorite animals of the day were the giraffes...

She even got to feed one!

It was fun to see them so close...

And a family portrait...aren't we too cute!!

Next up...our day in Washington, D.C.!!

Vacation Part 2 -- Wyoming

After spending a few days in Colorado with my parents, we headed up north to Wyoming for the main reason of our trip, a Cleveland family reunion at Martin's Cove. For a few hours, we experienced just a small part of what our ancestor's did by pulling handcarts across the plains in order to settle in the Salt Lake Valley. (Of course our journey was made much easier in the fact that it was only a few miles long, we had nice clothes, shoes and food to eat and we only carried a small load in the handcarts we pulled. Plus the temperature was a perfect 70 degrees outside so we didn't have to contend with bitter cold, wind and frostbite.) This was my third time in Martin's Cove, and each time I am left with a profound respect and appreciation for those early Saints who sacrificed so much in order that we may enjoy the fruits of the gospel today.

Abby and her cousins pulled a miniature handcart to start off our journey (my mom made bonnets, hats, shirts, scarfs and dolls to help create a somewhat pioneer look for us all. My sisters and I complained a bit about wearing the bonnets, but they actually were great for keeping the sun off our faces)...

Stopping for lunch. Landon was completely tuckered out by the whole experience, and he didn't even have to walk any of it!!

Martin's Cove...

My awesome brother-in-law Ben who ended up pulling this handcart by himself (with four kids inside, mind you) up this sandy hill...

Devil's Gate...

It was a great family reunion and it was great to be reminded of what an amazing legacy we all share in. After returning to Grand Junction, we had a couple more days to chat, hang out and just relax with my whole family. We had such a wonderful time out West and can't wait to go back again!!

V-A-C-A-T-I-O-N!!!!

After a busy and fun-filled few weeks, I decided to get back into the blogging world again. We had a great time on our vacation out West. Here are a few highlights...

We flew into SLC and had just enough time to visit with Jason's uncle Bryan and aunt Lynda before heading to the Oquirrh Temple Open House. Abby was quite fascinated about going inside, although she was pretty disappointed that she couldn't go swimming in the baptismal font!

It was a beautiful (albeit windy) day, and we were reminded once again just how beautiful Utah is.

We spent a few hours with Jason's brother Lance before heading over to Grand Junction to see my parents...

My parents were kind enough to watch the kids for us so that Jason and I could escape for a night to Snowmass Village. It was our first kid-free night since Abby was born and we had a great time together.

Snowmass Village was a perfect spot for us to enjoy. We went on lots of hikes...

And even spotted a few animals along the way...

We really enjoyed the beautiful scenery...

And discovered just how difficult running at 8300 feet in the mountains compares to running at sea level!!!

But most of all we enjoyed having some together for just the two of us. We definitely agreed that we can't let three more years pass us by before we do something like this again...

Stay tuned for more pictures from our vacation out West...