We had quite the eventful weekend, and I would love to tell you all abut it…

Well, we packed up the Denali to take the 3 hour drive down to Cedar City where my parents live, so that I could run the Spectrum 10k, down in Ivins, UT. The kids always get so excited to go down south to spend time with “The Uncles,” as they are referred to…(I have 7 brothers; 4 of which, still live at home, 2 others who live in Cedar, and one on an LDS mission in Japan). They will do almost anything to be able to go down there, including cleaning their rooms and being kind to each other…They will also do anything NOT to leave “The Uncles,” including screaming and throwing unimaginable fits. If you haven’t gotten the picture by now, they LOVE visiting my family.

"The Uncles" before Joel left for Japan. Our little Aussie is the one in the green beanie (in the middle of summer, of course).

…Moving right along…we left kind of late, making it so that we didn’t get down there until after 9 pm.

Ace and Aussie fell asleep immediately. Aussie insisted on wearing the goggles (safety first!)

My mom was so kind to allow me to eat a pre-race spaghetti dinner, and then let our three older kids run around while Adam and I took the 2 younger kids down to sleep with us. I slept pretty well, considering. Our kids woke up at 6 am, their regular time, and my parents were so good to get up with them so that Adam and I could get going.

The race was set to begin at 9 am, and we got down there in plenty of time to pick up my packet and get loaded on the bus. I was so glad that I brought my new, green arm warmers from Oiselle, so that I didn’t get pinched by a leprechaun during the race…;). Once the bus reached the starting line, I was able to run about a mile and a half to warm up. I met a few old friends up there, and it was a lot of fun!

A few minutes before the start, I got to the starting line, and was met by a lady dressed in a good amount of green from her head to her toe. She even had a gold chain with a medallion on it, that connected to her ipod…I think her earpieces were gold, too! It was pretty nifty. She was hopping around like a leprechaun too! She came up to me, and asked me what my goal time was for the race. I don’t like when people do that. Whenever they do, I always give them a slower time than I am planning on. This way, they think that I am really slow, and stop talking to me…I am not much of a conversationalist before races; it’s just part of my routine. I never ask people their times, because I don’t want them getting into my head, either. My plan worked, and when the gun went off, she shot out in front, and I just stayed a on her heels. She wasn’t worried at all about me, and I wasn’t worried about her, either. I passed her at mile 2, and didn’t see her until after the finish. 🙂

The first mile was a pretty good downhill. I tried to stay conservative, but still ran a 5:31. The second mile, we turned off the road, onto a paved path, where it started to have some rolling hills and windy turns, and it was into about a 15mph headwind. That mile was a 6:17. The 3rd mile was pretty flat with a little downhill, and I did it in 5:51. Mile 4-5 were flat and uphill and I did them in 6:07 and 6:23. Mile 6 was the toughest, with a gradual uphill, and I did that one in 6:31. I finished strong, with a lot more kick left than I had hoped, with my final time being a 37:37 (PR). I finished 8th overall and was the 1st overall female. It was great for the first race of the year :).  Here is the link to the results. Adam and I ran a 2 mile cool down together. He said that he is going to run it next year. I sure hope so, because he is the real fast one in the family, and I can’t wait to see how he does!

I even won some new kicks! Some bright orange NB Minimus.

They feel like I am walking on air! I can’t wait to try them out! I also picked up some new Unshoes from my friend (the inventor). I am excited to try them out on some grass runs when (if) it gets warmer.

So, after a wonderful day on Saturday, we got up first thing Sunday morning to make the trek home. Things were going so well. We had a DVD in for the kids. Adam and I were talking life, and then, all of a sudden, the car lost power. We were 20 miles from the nearest town, and it was cold and snowing. I immediately called my dad, and he contacted AAA, got us a tow, and then began his own hour and a half drive up to meet us. In the meantime, an off-duty cop and his wife, stopped to check on us. They were so kind and helpful. They gave us a ride to the nearest town (even going out of their way), to get us somewhere warm, where we could get something to eat. It is a true testament to us that there are kind and generous people out there. What a wonderful world we live in! We exchanged information, and are now Facebook friends!

Not long after, my dad met us and drove us home. I fixed him a spaghetti dinner…I know it wasn’t his first choice, since my mom was preparing a traditional Irish feast of brisket and potatoes. Hopefully he was able to get home in time to eat some before “The Uncles” devoured it.

My wonderful parents 🙂

This weekend was filled with some “luck” and some “not-so-luckiness.” I can blame the “luck” on my Irish heritage, and the unluckiness on that “other side,” but I know that we are truly blessed.