WHO-O-O is one of my favorite artists?

Micah.  Love that kid!!

 

...the rest of the story (By Phil)

So here's the part she's not telling you...

All along we were being told that she was running the race just to see if she could still do it.  When I asked her what time the boys and I should be there, she said she was targeting 3 hours, 40 minutes.  But she said it with some indifference, the way she might announce what color dress she was planning on wearing to church this morning...

 

Race conditions were not ideal.  For those that don't know, in addition to running 26 miles for fun, these people get up at 4:00 AM to drive to the race site, clamber aboard buses and ride to the start line in the predawn darkness.  It rained from the time she left our house until we drove her home 7 hours later.  Between the concerns about her knee and the perpetual rain, I was very pleased when we looked up and saw her approaching, about 100 yards from the finish line.

 

She looked strong (very wet,...but strong).  I had looked at my watch and done the math and she was right about the time she had been targeting.  You can imagine my surprise as she got closer and I realized she was NOT happy.  She was as mad as I ever see her (which for the record, isn't all that upset for mortal people...but a lot for her).

 

 As all husbands know, when you see that your wife is upset, your first thought is:  "Oh no....what did I do?"  I did a quick mental audit and couldn't come up with anything.  (This certainly didn't mean I hadn't screwed up, it just lowered the odds a bit).

 

It wasn't until we caught up with her in the recovery area that I figured out what was going on.  That little stinker, who had developed an intricate plan on where and how I could pick her up half way through the race if her knee gave out and ran with a cell phone just in case...that little stinker had been trying to qualify for Boston again!!!

 

That line about, "Oh, I'm going to try and do it in 3:40..." just happened to reflect the qualifying time for the Boston Marathon.

 

And Jennie's final time was 3:40:45...forty-five seconds too slow!!!

 

  

And now for the rest, of the rest of the story....

  About three years ago, Jennie failed to qualify for Boston by a mere 18 seconds.  That was also when the knee troubles began.  Two years ago, the organizers of the Boston Marathon determined that they were turning away too many elite runners because they had reached capacity for the race.  To address the problem, they lowered the qualifying time for each gender/age category by 5 minutes and did away with the 59 second grace allowance that had been in affect (ie, if you were within 59 seconds of the cut off, you qualified).

 

Had they only done either one of those two changes, Jennie would have qualified.  Had they not lowered the qualifying time, she would have qualified with over 4 minutes to spare.  Had they kept the 59 second leeway, she would have qualified with 14 seconds to spare....in the rain, with a bad knee...

 

 

But as far as I'm concerned, she still an elite runner.
Let's look at the numbers, shall we:

She finished 427/2517...in the top 17% of every man, woman and college student who ran the race
She finished 120/1203...in the top 10% of the female runners
She finished 40/308...in the top 13% of the women in her age range

Sounds pretty elite to me.

But at least she has a story to tell.  How many people do you know who can say they missed qualifying for Boston by less than a minute...twice?

Oops...gotta go.  Jennie needs help getting down the stairs.

...and done!

On Sunday, Phil asked me to share with the boys what my favorite thing about motherhood is.  It was quite an easy question for me to answer at this stage of life:  I love watching my boys succeed.   Fall was long and hard for us and quite discouraging.  No one seemed to be enjoying life and it was work to get anyone to do any of the activities we had signed them up for.  Spring has been quite a different story.  I love watching Jacob get up to bat or strike someone out - things I didn't think I'd see again.  I love watching Micah all over the soccer field and finding ways to score.  I love seeing Ben try his hardest at soccer (without complaining - a big deal for us) and enjoying karate.  I love the school programs (that make me cry).  I love seeing them kind to someone who needs it.  I love having them stick up for something that is right.  I love seeing Micah ride his bike, or swing, or sing, pretty much anything! I live through my boys! (Phil is included - I could go on and on about his accomplishments, but that is another post!)

However, deep down inside of me, I have a selfish streak.  I have a need to feel that same rush and excitement for myself.  I have an indulgence that is all mine: running!  I love to run.  I love completing a hard run and feeling good about something I did for myself.  I love training and following a plan.  It is something I do on my own time, early in the morning, so I don't mess with anyone else's life and schedule of accomplishments.  But I make it happen. So as I finished my last training run this morning for my seventh marathon, the Ogden Marathon, tomorrow I am a bit emotional. 

It has been a long training season.  It hasn't been easy.  I have put in 727 miles over the past 18 weeks.  And my silly knee has fought me the entire way!  I have looked for some miracle cure.  Changed shoes.  Changed my stride.  Rubs.  Orthotics.  Knee bands.  Treadmill.  Not treadmill.  Stretching.  Icing (as in ice on the knee, not frosting). Foam rollers.  Anything but not running.  I am stubborn.  I went to see a sports medicine doctor in January who gave me several suggestions, then as I was leaving said, "You know if you didn't run, you wouldn't have this problem."  Thanks, but no thanks.  I'm afraid she was probably right.  I will be taking some time off after this marathon to try and figure things out.  But for now, I am ready to get this race out of the way and be done!

There are always doubts the final week of training.  I will be running the same amount of miles this week (including the marathon) that I ran last week, but wonder how will I ever be able to do this.  Luckily I have a sweet husband who was able to give me a blessing this morning to comfort and calm my worries.  He blessed me that I will be able to enjoy this time for me and the spiritual experience that these races have become for me.  I'm thankful for a Heavenly Father that knows and loves me and maybe, just maybe, enjoys watching one of His daughters succeed too.  Here goes!!!!
 

mother's day 2013

After being fed three of the best meals of my life today (I was spoiled for all three!), I got to go for one of my favorite traditions: pictures at Temple Square.  Apparently the nutella crepes caught up with Micah and he was on one tonight...we didn't get that many great family shots, but still a few cute ones!  Love these four boys of mine!

 

 

Fear the Beard (by Phil)

 

Remember Brian Wilson?

The eccentric closer for the San Francisco Giants?

 

 

 

He is best known for his trademark beard and the slogan that came to dominate the 2010 World Series, "Fear the Beard."

 

But like most major league closers, "The Beard" had some quirky behaviors:

 

In the 2010 All-star game, he debuted a pair of bright orange cleats which he continued to wear throughout the season.  When an opposing manager complained and MLB fined him $1,000, "The Beard" responded with the following:

 

"The fact that he (the opposing manager) thinks these shoes throw 97-100 with cut might be a little far-fetched. I guess we should probably have these checked for performance-enhancing cleats."

 

He later added that he was punished:  "for having too much awesome on my feet."

 

While never admitting to dying his beard, when asked about its dark black color, Wilson replied: 

 

"It's dark because we play a lot of day games. It's tanned. It's focused."

 

Well, the next generation for quirky, bearded pitchers is on its way

 

 

While Jacob currently lacks Wilson's speed, he has already struck out 25 batters, three weeks into the season, and has his share of quirks.

 

He has a pull-up bar on the entrance to his room and no one is allowed entry without performing at least one pull-up.  (Phil is getting buff, and Jennie misses her good night hug).

 

He checks the weather every morning, but only trusts the report on his I-pod touch.

 

He only eats plain pasta (no sauce) before games and always eats a blueberry bagel between the games of his Saturday double-headers.

 

He's one of the last people in America who owns  and is quite fond of his mounted singing fish.

 



 

fear.the.beard.

Happiness is...

There's a song in the play You're a Good Man Charlie Brown called Happiness is...  It is a cute song in which each of the characters list some of the simple things in life that bring happiness to them.  Last night I went to bed feeling happy.  Now I don't have the most depressed or sad life, but most of the time I just float through, just happy that I made it through another day.  Most of my joy was due to the fact that my eleven year old who wasn't ever going to play baseball again, let alone get up to bat, had a fantastic game last night.  I sat and watched him lead off on third to run home, after striking three out in a row and having a great hit, and was so giddy to be out there watching him.  Baseball deserves to have him playing the game!  But it's not just that.  As I thought about it, things are generally going well right now.  Lest I jinx myself, I wanted to make my own Happiness list so I could remember these days when I'm going to bed a little more depleted and worn out.  Though I don't find the happiness Charlie Brown does when finding a pencil, most of my happy moments are pretty simple too (and most involve my family!)

Happiness is:

• Watching one of Benjamin's bed time tooth brushing productions
• Seeing Jacob strike out someone swinging who is almost twice his size
• The thoughtful things Phil does to show that he listens to me when I have a worry, fear or concern
• A quiet house after an exuberant bed time routine
• Spotlights in primary - it's so fun to see them through their parents' eyes
• A perfect Saturday - 16 mile run ending at Ben's soccer game, watching Jacob play two baseball games, a little work in there and ending with the family watching The Cosby Show - bliss!
• Trying something new - I pruned our peach tree and trimmed the roses this year, certainly not perfect but fun to attempt!
• Phil's lunch time calls to check on me
• When my preschoolers call me "Miss Jennie"
• Looking at Micah's drawings (and all the boys for that matter)
• Spending time with my brothers, sisters, parents and their kids
• Planting flowers - finally!
• Walking down the halls at the elementary school and having kids know my name
• Watching the Middle with Phil
• Vacations - love them!
• When the boys all get along
•  Cereal before bed after racing around all night to get the right kid to the right practice/game at the right time
• When my kids work hard at something and see results
• Micah's desire to do things well
• Seeing my husband in my boys - this is happening more and more as they get older
• A clean house (Phil has never seen this phenomenon, it happens somewhere between the hours of 9-3 each day, but doesn't look that way once he arrives!)

I reserve the right to add to this list, but I'm grateful for all of the above.  What is happiness to you?