Run Kendra Run (St George Marathon)

Before summer I entered the lotto to get an entry into the St George Marathon. I entered it on a whim. I was more than shocked when I found out I was selected and would run the ST GEORGE MARATHON! I called up a friend, whose sister in law is a running coach and had her write me up a training program (she is amazing if you want a coach and want to see results let me know and I'll give you her info). Training for this race was a P.A.I.N. Almost every Saturday morning was dedicated to waking up early and running and running and running. Every trip we went on I had to make sure to pack my running shoes. Caleb was for sure my biggest supporter. It really was extremely time consuming and he never complained once. Thanks babe! Well, I called my mom and told her I was running the race and she and my DAD decided to make a trip of it and come cheer for me! I knew my mom would come, but my Dad is super busy and it really meant a lot to me. I may or may not have cried when I found of he was coming!

My sister Katie drove down with us and I am so glad she did. I am really lucky in the sister department. I have three amazing sisters and friends. We ate at Brick Oven and chatted it up!This is me at 4:45 am getting ready to go! I was so very nervous so all I had for breakfast was a pepto and water.
Caleb drove me to the bus station, we got there around 5 and there was a huge line. Can you tell I am scared/tired?
The line in front of me. The line behind was insane!
I was worried we wouldn't make it to the start in time. I was lucky to get on a bus with that guy in front of me. I had enough time to go to the bathroom, walk around, drink, pray and get some nerves out.
This is my goodbye picture. I was worried it would be 5 or 6 hours before I saw my hubs again.
The course was amazing! I was glad I kept my jacket and gloves. I was freezing at the start. I told Caleb and my family I wanted to see them cheer for me at miles 7,12, 16, 22 and the finish. So at mile 7 I was shocked when they weren't there. But I was having a blast. I was doing 8:30 minute miles with ease. They say this is a "downhill" marathon and what they don't say is that there are HILLS you have to climb to go downhill. All the way till mile 22. Luckily I trained with hills, while pushing Porter so it really didn't kill me. I stopped to go pee at mile 12 and had to wait, in total that wasted about 5 minutes of my time. I drank at every aide station and took my gels at mile 9, 12, 15, 18, 22. I should have taken the caffeine one at mile 18. At mile 16 Caleb and Porter were there cheering for me! I was so happy to see them but was having a blast and felt great so I didn't want to stop! At mile 23 my mom and Katie were there cheering for me. They were jumping around tell me to run faster! All I could say was I love you guys! I was still feeling really great at this point. The course turned into a finishing shoot here. Way to mess with my head. They had to make it smaller (similar to a finishing shoot) due to the roads and traffic. Wish I knew that before. This course really was amazing. It was beautiful. I felt great and really this had the BEST cheerers ever! I didn't think my mom or sister would make it to the finish line in time so I was surprised when all of the sudden Caleb was running by me. I totally started to cry! Then he had to stop and I heard this voice screaming "beat the boys" and telling me to go faster and faster and harder. It was my SISTER! I really needed this encouragement and it was because of those screams that I was able to beat the 10 people in front of me. As I was coming towards the finish line I was cheering and screaming for myself! I was so happy and so proud.
This is me kicking it into high gear to beat the few people in front of me!
I crossed the line in four hours and two minutes! My goal was 4 hours. I am more than happy. If I hadn't stopped to go to the bathroom I would have been under four. But guess what? I did it. And I had those people that mean the most to me cheering for me!
I saw a Dad and his son running this race, I cannot wait to run with Porter beside me!
I totally wore my metal the rest of the day/night. Maybe I slept with it. After the race my mom and my sister hocked me up with a 70 ounce Rootbeer and a score bar( I don't drink soda but a rootbeer after a race like this is a must!) I took a nice hot shower/bath and we all got ready. Then we went shopping at the outlets. Then we had a delish lunch at smashburger and the hubs took Porter back to the hotel for a nap while us ladies did some more shopping. And then some more.
We went out for dinner and a bit more shopping!
And ended the night with sweet tooth fairy cupcakes! This is my "I did it shirt".
My mom and dad left really early the next morning and didn't want to wake me but this was outside our room. This race was one of the best experiences of my life. I worked really hard and it wasn't easy. Sometimes I hated running. But it paid off. Big time. I am so grateful my mom and dad came and cheered for me. It means more than they may ever know. I am so grateful my sister gave up 3 days with her family to come cheer for me. Katie, you've become one of my favorite race partners. Let's do a marathon together one day. I needed your cheers at the finish line. Thank you. Hubs, thank you for giving up your Saturday mornings, sometimes for four hours. Thanks for working around my running schedule, thanks for understanding when I had to bring an entire bag just filled with my running stuff on our trips. The one thing that would have made this race better would be to have done it with you. I really miss running with you. Porter, thanks for letting me push you all those miles this summer. I love running with you and cannot wait to run with you by my side. I tried to run fast so I could see you sooner. Now just trying to figure out which marathon to do next....