Our Race Weekend

On Friday afternoon, we headed down to Castle Dale.  Bri and I had big plans to run the Little Grand Canyon Race.  Bri would be running his first full marathon, and I would be running my second half marathon with my dear friend Lynn.  When we arrived at Shannon's my second mom Kel was there and ready to help out with whatever we needed.  Lynn was suppose to be arriving early that evening and then joining us for packet pick up and dinner.  At 6:00, Bri and I headed for Price a 30 minute drive, with the expectation that Lynn would be calling at any moment.  When we arrived in Price, Lynn still had not called.  We waited then called no answer.  Waited a little longer, when she finally called.  At this point she was so frustrated, she could hardly speak.  She told us to get our packets, as she still had 70 miles to go before getting to Price.  We picked up the packet and headed back for Shannon's.  We started eating dinner when Lynn called.  She had made it, but needed directions to get to packet pick up, Bri guided her there.  It was at this point that she confessed that she put her book on tape on and just drove.  When she saw the sign for Scipio, she knew that there was a problem.  At this point she had to turn around and head back north to get to Price.  She was steaming, so frustrate with herself, she checked in and just grabbed a bite to eat. 

The next morning, we met at the park, which was meeting place for the run.  Lynn had decompressed at this point and was laughing at the silly mistake she had made.  She told me that on the way to the park, she did not turn on her radio or book, so she was sure not to miss the park.  Brian load his bus as it was different then ours.  Lynn and I loaded ours and off we went on an adventure.  The morning was chilly, but not cold.  We got off the bus and waited for the race to begin.  I think we waited 40 minutes, WAY too long.  Lynn and I were freezing, but we knew once the race started we would be ok.    Then we were off.  The course was very pretty and the company was awesome.  I am really grateful Lynn came down to run with me, I am not sure that I would have made my goal without her.  We crossed the finish line holding hands at 2:30:04, just a mere 3 seconds off our estimated time.  I was so happy.  We had sno-cones and some watermelon at the finish line.

We then waited for Bri to come across the line.  He had told me his goal, as we sat there, Lynn and I became anxious for him.  Knowing that his goal time was quickly approaching.  We watched his goal come and go, then we were concerned that he would be ok.  Finally, I saw his bright orange shirt and yellow hat.  Here he was.  He crossed at 4:29:45 (we found out Sunday night that he took 3rd place for his age division).  WOW!  I was so happy for him, he did so well.  He was so hot and sat down in the shade, needing water, and food.  We got both in him and he started coming back to life.  After relaxing for a few minutes, we headed for the buses to head back to the park.  All in all, we were thrilled with our race day.  We hugged Lynn good bye, as she needed to get home, and we headed back to Shannon's. 

We got there and the house was busy, with 5 monkeys running around playing together.  Kate and Art had come down in the middle of the night and were joining in the festivities.  We had the best burgers after a nice warm shower.  Then just sat enjoying the company and family.  Shannon then sorted some clothes that she had been saving and gave them to us for the kids.  We then had dinner of pizza, Bri's favorite post race food and then celebrated Ashlyn's 1st birthday.  That food tasted so good.  We stayed up for a little while, but quickly gave up as we both were so tired.
Sunday, Bri woke me up to make breakfast.  We had fruit and German Pancake, it was a good breakfast.  Then Shannon and I started talking about bows, she makes the cutest bows for hair.  So, we went through boxes of ribbon to pick out some for bows for Lynnie.  After, we drew names for the Christmas exchange for all the kids.  Then the kids thought that it would be fun to dress Art up, then they wanted to dress up too.  After a morning of fun, we said our goodbyes and headed for Salt Lake.  I really had such a nice time.  I had a great run with a great friend and then a great time with my family.  Thanks again to everyone who helped Bri and I out this weekend we REALLY appreciated all you did for us.  I love you all.