A Marathon of a Weekend (Quite Literally)

The beginning of this month (it is still October, I’m not that far behind) we had a very crazy, exciting weekend.  Unbeknownst to many (Chris kept it very quiet), Chris had been training for a marathon for the past year.  He signed up for the St. George Marathon earlier this year and didn’t tell a soul (except me of course) and started running as often as he could.  It had always been a goal of his- to run a marathon- and he was excited to make it become a reality.  I had my doubts at first but he kept on training and he would just amaze me.  He trained really hard and did a few long runs as the marathon got closer,  It was difficult to fit in many runs with his extremely busy schedule.   As it got closer he started telling a few people because he had more confidence that he was ready and that he’d be able to do it. 

About a month before the marathon I got a call from an office I had trained in Paso Robles, which is up in the Central Coast area and they wanted me to come do a full 8 hour day of training with their office.  The only day they could do it was the day before the Marathon.  Now St. George and Paso Robles are about 8 hours apart, with lots of nothing in between.  After further discussing it with Chris, I decided to take the training because with the full day and the per diem travel expense I get it was too good to pass up.  He told me that we’d just figure it out.  As we got closer to the marathon we tossed around a few ideas of how we’d accomplish both tasks but ultimately we decided we’d go together to Paso Robles, drive straight to St. George and he’d run the next morning.  It wasn’t ideal but it was the only way it would work.  He really wanted me and the kids there at the marathon and I wanted to be there too.  We both knew it was crazy but we are crazy and do crazy things! 

On September 29, during rush hour traffic we drove up to Paso Robles, stopping in San Luis Obispo for some delicious Firestone Grill Tri-tip sandwiches. 

Carter @ Firestone Grill

We arrived at our hotel at 10pm.  The next morning I walked over to the dental office I was working at (yep it was in the same parking lot, nice and convenient)  While Chris had fun with the kids, took them to eat yummy bagels, swimming and Target for some last minute necessities.  Once 5 o’clock rolled around, he picked me up and we headed for St. George.  Our drive was an adventure, lots of small towns in the middle of nowhere.  After what seemed like an eternity and just when it felt like we’d made some progress on our journey and we’d finally reached the I-15 we were only in BARSTOW! (about 1 hour from our home!)   It was 10 o’clock at night (Utah time where we were headed) and we both looked at each other like:  What the heck were we thinking????  We stopped in Barstow to get a late dinner and Chris made the comment, “Maybe we should just go south on the I-15”  We dismissed the idea right away, he was joking but partially serious.  I took the wheel so Chris could sorta sleep in the back.  Maddie rode shotgun to keep me company and we headed north.  She talked my ear off and once we reached North Las Vegas she dozed off (Gotta give her some credit it was REALLY late)  Luckily we’d packed a few Red Bulls since we knew I’d be driving and we didn’t want to add any more drama to our trip.  So I cracked one open and drank it.  I’d never had one before and BOY was I in for a surprise.  That stuff REALLY works.  I was WIRED and there was no stopping me!  I wasn’t even tired when we pulled into our hotel at 2 am.  The guy at the front desk looked at me like I was crazy when I told him my husband was running in the marathon in a few hours.  We put all our stuff in our room and transferred the kids.  They were GREAT!  They slept the whole way from Barstow to St. George and even went to sleep once they got in bed in our room. Chris and I got his things ready and he took a shower and literally laid his head down for 30 minutes before the wake up call came at 3:30 am.  Luckily our hotel had a shuttle for the marathon runners that left at 4 am.  Chris left and I drifted off to sleep.

I woke up at 7:30 am with a sense of excitement and nervousness.  I knew Chris was running and it made me nervous for him.  The race started at 6:45.  We’d made it this far, Chris was now running and he would soon finish a Marathon and complete a life long dream.  The kids slowly got up and we got dressed and enjoyed our free breakfast.  We went to Target to get posters to make for Chris and we got him some treats for when he finished.

The kids with their posters, Libby wasn’t cooperating and ended up ripping hers.  It said, I love my daddy!

Throughout the day Chris would text me how he was doing and I was giddy with excitement every time he’d tell me where he was at.  The kids were excited too, yet they had no idea of the magnitude of what he was about to accomplish.  We made our way to the finish line to wait for Chris.

We were a little anxious to see all the action so we got there early,  a little too early, 2 hours to be exact.   We watched the runners cross the finish line and it was so neat to see the joy and relief on their faces. There was such a sense of accomplishment on their faces.  The kids really liked watching the finish line but Libby was getting restless so we headed over to a VERY BUSY playground.  Near the end of the Marathon, Chris was in a lot of pain and was texting me every few miles. I was worried that he’d be hurt, that he wouldn’t be able to walk after but he was determined.  One of his texts said, “I will finish, even if I have to crawl across the finish line”. 

The time was near and he texted me that he’d be there in about 20 minutes.  We positioned ourselves so he could see us and we waited.  I was nervous we’d miss seeing him, after all it is a very big marathon with over 5,000 runners.

 Libby looking for Daddy

Finally Carter spotted him and we all cheered as he approached.  He looked great and was giving it his all.  He waved to us as he passed us and crossed the finish line where he got his medal. 

I looked over at Maddie and she started to cry, we both cried, we were so proud of him.  We hurried over to meet him on the other side and gave him big hugs. 

They were handing out ice cream and all sorts of goodies for the runners so Chris got some for the kids. 

When we got back to our hotel room Chris slept while I took the kids swimming.  He was pretty sore and tired but I was amazed he was able to walk.  Later that evening we went to Brick Oven (yes, there’s a Brick Oven in St. George, every bit as good as the original).

 Chris and Carter drank a lot of Root Beer.  Chris was thirsty and was free to live it up!

After dinner Chris took us on a drive of the route he ran.  We didn’t drive the whole thing just 3/4 of it but it was amazing to see how long he ran, I still can’t get over it.  It was neat to hear him tell us about what he was thinking at different spots along the race.  I wanted to know every detail.  (even about the woman he saw pull her pants down and go #2 on the side of the road!)  The next morning we watched a session of Conference and took our time getting going. After all the rushing we’d done on this trip we were ready to relax a little  

What at wonderful weekend!  I can’t even begin to describe how proud of Chris I am.  He ran 26.2 miles in 5 hours. And did it on very little sleep.  Also I forgot to mention it was 97 degrees when he finished the race!  I can’t even imagine that.  I can barely run 4.5 miles and that about kills me.  Chris is so crazy he wants to do it all again next year!  Next year we’ll do it the right way and come up a couple days early to prepare for the race.  Here are some pictures of Chris that were taken while he was running.  They’re pretty blurry cause they are just samples from a company that takes them.