Thank Heaven For Finish Lines

Shortly after we moved to Philadelphia I started sending my dad links from active.com for marathons out in this neck of the woods. I figured as long as he was running a marathon a month, he should run one where we could cheer him on. He took my not-so-subtle hint and signed up for the Rivertowns Marathon on May 1^st. So, here we are on May 2^nd. Dad ran the marathon yesterday.

I am hoping to ride Little Red, a century ride through Cache Valley, with Shannon again at the beginning of June. In an attempt to prepare for that ride I have been running. Josh’s schedule doesn’t offer a lot of opportunities for cycling, so I decided to focus on getting aerobically fit first hoping the cycling muscles would develop quickly once school is out. Perhaps not the greatest training plan, but it was the best I could do. I can run with the girls, but pulling a bike trailer doesn’t do much for your cadence.

In a weak moment I decided it would be fun to run the half-marathon in Danville while Dad ran the full marathon. Then I further decided that Josh should run it with me. That was a stroke of genius. We have had a good time preparing together. Whenever Josh walks in the door we herd the girls into the Chariot and head outside for some exercise. The girls play together, I focus on breathing in for three counts out for two so as to avoid side-aches, and Josh keeps me going by telling me about school and things he has been thinking about. We stayed as close to our training schedule as graduate school allowed, trying to turn yours truly into a runner. Yesterday, Josh & I ran the half-marathon.

The course for the Rivertowns Marathon runs along the Susquehanna River through a couple rural PA towns. The scenery was certainly not lacking! The tall hardwood trees arched over the road. The river lazily flowed along beside us. The sound of birds was inspiring. And, occasionally, a “beautiful fly” would fly right by and almost kiss your nose. We ran across three bridges--one offering a great view of the river, one an old railroad bridge so picturesque it could have been on a calendar page, and finally an old covered bridge to cement in your mind that you were on the East Coast.

As beautiful as the run was, however, it was still a long hard run. At about mile 11 as we were running along a beautiful forest trail my heart rate suddenly sky rocketed, my breathing was labored, and I wanted to sit down and cry. That is the part when I was really glad I made Josh run with me. He told me to just stick with him and keep going and he chatted on merrily about something or other. We got back on track and ran the last mile and a half at our usual speed. Thank heaven for Josh and thank heaven for finish lines!

Yes, my father ran right past us and kept going another 13.1 miles. I was happy to be done. We went back to the hotel, ate a water ice, showered, and then went back with our cow bells to cheer Dad on at the finish line. I sent Kate out to run the last few feet with him, but she insisted on climbing on his shoulders like she used to when we were in Salt Lake.

This morning we went back and walked part of the route again. We wanted to see it when we weren’t in quite so much pain. ☺ We walked along the forest trail and crossed the railroad bridge. The girls threw rocks in the river. Grandpa taught them about the restoration of the Aaronic Priesthood while we stood right by the Susquehanna River. We saw frogs and even a beaver!

I am warning you now that I am going to try to convince as many of you as possible to come run the Rivertowns Half-Marathon (I have no desire to run a full marathon) with us next year. Start those wheels a turnin’ and think it over. You couldn’t ask for a prettier route.

We are excited to have Grandma Shelly and Grandpa Larry with us this week. Josh will be taking finals, but the rest of us are going to have a great time.

Kate was so excited when she woke up Friday and realized that Grandma & Grandpa were sleeping downstairs. She wanted to run down and wake them up immediately. I distracted her with other things for about an hour, but then there was no stopping her. I told her to go down quietly, climb up on the bed and give them a kiss on the cheek. Josh told her to run down and jump on them. She thought about it for half a second and said, “I’m following Dad’s example.” Off she ran down the stairs.

Jane talks up a storm these days. She has strong opinions about how things are and should be and now she is starting to express them. I made a great dinner one night. I was so excited about it because it was delicious and I had invented it myself. Josh--surprise, surprise-- was not home. The girls were not terribly enthusiastic, but I was loving it. I was praising myself as I ate and saying, “This is so good it could be served in a restaurant.” Jane looked at me with a scowl and said, “This is not resternaut. This is home!”

As long as I am openly saying what a great runner and cook I am, I may as well add one more story to remind you all of how beautiful I am as well. ☺ As we were driving out to Danville for the marathon Kate was singing quietly to herself as she often does. Suddenly she started singing a little louder so we could hear what she was saying. Imagine her high soprano voice (which she thinks is how a Princess sings) singing: “Dad, I love you because you are so cute. Dad, I love you because you are so cute...almost like Mom.”