Fruits of our labor

You've gotta love the iphone. It's very convenient when you have to search for directions or check email when you have no other email access. But yesterday morning while Dean and I were out, it became a bit of a burden. He checked my email and found a message about fruit for sale. A fruit stand in Payson was having a buy one get one free sale. When Dean sees anything like this he jumps right on it....you know, more to add to our food storage. We bought 3 boxes of peaches and two different varieties of apples. I don't think he realized the work involved in canning because at 8:30 last night he laid down on the couch and said, "You know I'm not a night person". We ended up canning 14 quart jars of peaches last night and 14 this morning......Dean says it's a 28 day supply. We'll use the apples for a very yummy recipe that I have for apple pie filling. I don't think I'll start that until tomorrow. Until then.....peach cobbler anyone?

26.2

I was beginning to think that I would never be able to give anything that title...but I finally did it! I completed the St. George Marathon on Saturday, October 4, 2008. Exactly 1 week after I turned 29 (for the 8th time).
It's so funny. I've had non-runners ask, "So how long was your marathon?" I ask, "You mean, how long did it take me?" No...they want to know the distance. I don't want to sound rude but the definition of a marathon (running race) is 26.2 miles
Anyway, the marathon...it was an amazing, emotional experience. I have been wanting to run one forever but finding the time to train and getting in the proper mental state took awhile.
But I did it!!! And I qualified for Boston! My official chip time was 3:36:18. I finished with more than 9 minutes to spare.
In the 32 year history of the St. George Marathon it has only rained twice....and wouldn't you know it, Saturday was one of those days. We boarded buses in St. George at 5 in the morning and were driven 26 miles up the canyon. Port-o-potties lined one side of the road at the starting line and camp fires were on the other. They handed out big, black trash bags so I fashioned one into a rain poncho and then found a plastic grocery sack to use as a do-rag.....a site for sore eyes I'm sure. Luckily there were no mirrors and it was dark. I ran the first 3 miles dressed as a human waste receptical. The rain seemed to slow a little so I threw my threads to the side of the road and settled in for the long hall. Aid-stations were set up beginning at mile 3 and then every 2 miles after that. I took some advice from a friend and broke the race into small runs between aid stations. I grabbed a cup of water at each station and pinched the top so that it wouldn't spill and I could drink it slowly. Just a few miles later, I passed the 3:40 Cliff Bar pacer. I was excited but I also started to question whether I was running too fast. My goal was to run each mile as smart as possible and have a negative split.....that means, run the second half of the race faster than the first half. At mile 13, I looked down at my watch and it had stopped. My dependable, water resistant, Ironman watch had gotten water logged. I had nothing to go off of (for time) other than the pacer that seemed to be breathing down my neck. It was at that point that I decided that I really don't like those pacing groups. They sounded like a herd of elephants and someone was always talking. I like it quiet. One of my big running pet peeves is noisy foot falls....when people's feet slap the pavement as they run.....wasted energy.
At mile 20, when I was expecting the wall (when your brain tells you you can't go on), it never came. I spent the last 6 miles or so singing a little chant in my head.....go Amie, you can do it...or something like that. I was determined to beat that wall! I was still ahead of the pacer and started thinking about my family meeting me at the finish line, about my finish time, about the very good possibility of qualifying, and I started to get emotional. I quickly learned that it is very difficult to cry while you're running and still expect to breathe. I sucked it up and focused on the final leg. The streets were lined with people cheering....a nice motivator. As I was coming to the finish I saw my family. They were all yelling....go mom....faster! As I came across the finish line....I cried. After putting so much time into training and wanting to qualify so bad...it all just seemed so overwhelming. I really didn't know if my goal was realistic and I hadn't talked about it much. I felt great the whole race, never hit the wall, and know that I could have done even better if I had pushed myself.
The morning of the race, Dean sent me a text message that said, "I am soooo proud of you. I know you can do it" It really meant a lot. I think the thing that made me so emotional about finishing so well is that I didn't really know what to expect from myself. I had never run this distance before and I didn't know if trying to qualify for Boston was a realistic goal. I'm so excited to run my second marathon in April 2009 in Massachusetts!
I'll post pictures of the race when I get them. Just keep in mind it was not a beauty contest, it was running (not jogging) for 26.2 miles.

Bishopric Widow

I was apparently not campaigning hard enough because Dean became the 1st counselor in our new bishopric today. I've had to keep this secret for 2 weeks so I joined in with all of the speculation going on.....who's it going to be?...give me your top 3 etc. I know Dean will do a great job. I officially began the long journey of sitting by myself in church and the kids now have one more "side of mom" to fight over. Who gets to sit by mom? Hey, at least they want to. The previous bishopric was called 6 years ago so if you do the math, Hailey will be almost 20 before Dean is released. Crazy!

Busy 3 Weeks

It's been a busy 3 weeks at the Ingram home. We started by taking a small family vacation to San Diego. We actually stayed in Oceanside at some condos right on the beach. A few other families from our area went also and the kids had a lot of fun playing on the beach and trying to surf and skim board. Hailey and Hannah mastered the boogie board and Harrsion and Hayden became expert shell hunters and hole diggers. What is it with sand and holes? After I (and my hair) acclimated to the humidity...I had a lot of fun too. One of the primary purposes for the location of the trip was the US Open. Dean had tickets for Thursday and Friday and on Thursday he took all of the kids but Hayden. It was hot but they got to cheer on Tiger Woods in person! Believe it or not, since being married to Dean I have become a golf fan. I was jealous! (and to think when we started dating I didn't even know what a "fairway" was) While the rest of the family sat in the bleachers on the 18th green, Hayden and I made the most of our 5 day passes to Sea World. I know what you're thinking....Five day passes to Sea World? They were actually good at the San Diego Zoo and the Wild Animal Park too. Anyway, we caught the sea lion and otter show which we had missed the day before and Hayden got to spend his $25 that had been burning a hole in his pocket. I think the kids had a good time. And by the way, I wouldn't necessarily recommend forking out the dough for 5 day passes. Oh, one thing that happened that was both very sad and very funny.....While we were at the Wild Animal Park, Hannah, Hayden, and Harrison went into a petting area to pet some sort of African deer. I think it was a dik dik. (Kori informed me that that is what they're called....you may not want to say it out loud)

Anyway, right after they petted it, they washed their hands well but that wasn't enough for Hannah. She began to itch almost immediately and by the time we got to the car her face had started to swell. We went to the closest gas station we could find (about 6 miles away) and bought her some benedril. By that time she looked like Will Smith's character on the movie Hitch when he eats the shell fish. She was miserable but we couldn't help but laugh. She was a good sport and let me take this photo. It took 3 days before she began to look normal.

The other two weeks were mostly busy for Hailey but I was kept busy packing, unpacking and doing laundry. The night we got home from California, Hailey left for a 5 day "boot camp" with her soccer team. They stayed at the coach's brother's house in Idaho Falls and spent one night in Jackson Hole. I think Jackson Hole was the highlight because the other days were spent training and playing games. They beat the U-14-18 high school team 5-1 and then a U-14 team 7-0. Not a lot of competition but they had fun.

Hailey was home for the weekend and then she and Hannah left for girls camp. Hannah's first year! yeah! I didn't get to go this year but from what I've heard, Hailey has an extremely crazy personality that only surfaces at girl's camp. Apparently it's been caught on video...we'll have to see. They seemed to have a great time inspite of all of the drama that goes with it.

Hailey came home from camp one night early and the next morning we left for basketball camp and Utah State University in Logan. I was under the false impression that all I had to do was get them there, make their breakfast on Saturday morning, and then drive them home. I had planned to explore Logan, go the the creamie factory, run, and maybe visit relatives. I was able to squeak in a run but otherwise I was driving girls to and from the house, to and from food sources, and to and from the emergency room....oh and watching endless basketball games while sitting on a hard wood floor. It wasn't all bad though. I was able to get to know the girls that will be playing with Hailey next year and meet a couple other moms. Hailey played really well. She'll be a freshman at the junior high next year but will most likely be playing all of the sports she enjoys on the JV or varsity teams.

While the girls were at girls camp, the boys planned their week-o-fun. On Monday we hiked to the "Y". When we parked in the lot at the base of the trail, the boys got out and commented on how easy it was going to be and how small it looked. Before we got to the first bend in the trail, Hayden was wondering how much farther we had to go. It was hot and steep but we made it! We climbed all the way to the top where they flexed their muscles and took in the view. On Tuesday, we spent the day at the water park. It was fun to be able to go on the slides with them and not have to wait at the bottom because someone wasn't big enough or was too scared. They even went on the rope swing where Harrison attempted a back flip and Hayden was definitely the youngest in line. On Wednesday we got a little crazy and decided to ride our bikes to lunch. Keep in mind, we live in a small community surrounded by farm land. Other than a golf course, there are no businesses in our town. In order to ride to lunch, you have to leave the zip code. The lunch trip ended up being 18 miles round trip. After 16 miles and the thought of 2 miles up hill, the boys were having a melt down. I called Dean's dad and he came and met us at the bottom of the hill and rescued the boys from the final leg. I was left to finish on my own. On Thursday, we worked in the yard, swam, and went to Harrison's baseball game. A week to be proud of I'd say.

I love being a mom and going on all of the little adventures with my kids. It's fun.

Blogspot not Bragspot

I've decided to make the switch back to blogspot because it's free! A good friend of mine uses typepad so that she can create beautiful banners etc. I thought I could try it too but I'm not very computer savy and with all of my kids' activities, I don't really have time to figure it out.

Anyway, it's been awhile since I've posted anything so here goes. Yes, I know it's blogspot and not bragspot but I wanted to share my most recent half marathon photo. I think the reason I feel so inclined to post about this is because I have surprised myself. In April I ran my second half for this year. My goal was obviously to finish and match my previous time. The marathon and the half marathon started at the same time and in the same place. Luckily, it was chipped because I didn't reach the starting line until about 2-3 minutes after the gun went off. The atmosphere was exciting. We started under the olympic bridge on the UofU campus with a gospel choir singing. As I passed the starting line my first thought was, "What was I thinking?" I felt like I was in a school of fish fighting my way to the front. It was hard to judge my pace because everything felt slow and I was afraid I would trip the person in front of me (I've done that before in a 10K...embarassing) I eventually found my way to the far left side and tried to focus. The wind was in my face and when we changed direction, it seemed to change direction too. A waste of time...I thought. I didn't feel as prepared or as good as I had felt in the Moab half.

The race finished at the Gateway mall in Downtown SLC. (The same location where David Archuletta was swarmed by all of the screaming girls...if you're an American Idol fan) The finish made it all worth it. My time ended up being 1:39:15....more than a minute faster than my last half. I came in 35th overall (out of about 2700) and 3rd in my age group!! The age group part was really the most exciting because I got a medal and felt special. I know this doesn't really mean much to all of you non runners but those that run might appreciate my accomplishment.

Here is a photo that was taken during the run. The photographer whistled to get my attention and caught a very rare mid-race smile. All of the other photos look fairly painful. I know this sounds like bragging but it's not. It might be the beginning of some sort of mid-life crisis or something. Anyway, I was just surprised. Thanks for listening to my self indulgence.