The Nelson Family: Logan Marathon

Sunday, October 14, 2012

Logan Marathon

Backing up a bit since my previous post....

The weekend before Greg got home, I ran a marathon. I never though I would or could do one, but I did. It was so hard but so wonderful. I would do one again. Life is a little different now, and I don't have the help that I did when I was living with my family, so I don't know when I would even train for one, but if I had the chance to do another one, I would do it.

Training for this race was hard and good. Hard in the fact that I had a few set backs with minor injuries, and honestly running 10+ miles is just plain hard. But it was great in the fact that I felt so blessed during my training. So blessed. I felt like my body was physically blessed. I am so grateful for that experience.

The night before I left for Utah, my dad gave me a blessing, and I received so much peace and comfort. I was suppose to run this race for some reason, and the Lord wold help me finish it. I knew that without a doubt. I was so nervous leading up to this blessing, and I felt confident that with the Lord's help I would finish.

I drove to Pocatello on a Thursday to meet up with my sister, Ashley, who was coming to Logan with me. We then went to Utah the next day, and spent the day having fun together. It was a great day!

The next morning, I was up at 3:30 to get ready to catch a shuttle to a park in Logan where they were going to bus us to the top of the canyon. It was a very early morning, but I was running on adrenaline and nerves. As we were going up the canyon, I kept thinking, the only way to get back to town is run back, and that was really nerve wracking! We drove forever it felt, and I had to run that whole way back!

It was freezing at the top; I think in the high 20's, low 30's. I had some warm clothes with me, but they had a place to drop them right before the race started so you could have them at the finish. 10 minutes before the race, I dropped off my clothes, and then waited to start. The race started 10 minutes late, so by the time we actually started running I was FREEZING. My fingers were frozen, and my toes were frozen. I wished I would have brought gloves, but now I know next time to bring gloves, so it was a lesson learned. I didn't warm up until mile 3, but after that I was warm enough.

I had had some issues with my feet a few weeks before my race, so I was nervous going into the race. I felt fine until mile 4, and then my foot started to really hurt. A mile or so later it felt better, but then around mile 13 it hurt again. I was not sure if I should finish the race with how it felt, but I remembered the blessing my dad gave me, and I knew I would be blessed to finish the race, so I prayed for my feet. A short time later, it felt fine again, and I was able to keep going. An answer to prayers!

I felt strong until mile 20, and then I was so done. My quads were hurting so bad, but I knew if I stopped, I wouldn't be able to go again, so I kept putting one foot in front of the other. Around mile 23-24, a pacer for 4:15, came up behind me and was really encouraging and they ultimately helped me to mentally get through those last few miles. At mile 25, my sister popped out of the crowd, and started running with me. I was so emotional when I was saw her. It was just what I needed right then. She was not allowed to finish with me, so she went as far as she could and then I finished on my own. There were so many angels on the course for me that day that helped me finish. I am so grateful for them!

My official time was 4:13. I am happy with that time, but now I have a time I want to beat :) The best part of that day, was seeing 3 of my siblings at the finish line waiting for me. I am so grateful they came to support me! I have the best family.

I am so grateful for the chance I had to run this race. It was an amazing experience. We are capable of so much, and with God's help we can go anything!

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Kids do and say the darndest things...

I don't want to forget all the cute things that my children have said or will say, so check back often to see what the Nelson family has to say!

March 26, 2013

Kayden: Do I still have my eyeballs or are they still at Grandma and Grandpa's house?

Me: I never knew they were there...

January 8, 2011

I was tired this afternoon, and I needed to nurse Kayden. I felt too tired to go pick up Kayden from where he was, so jokingly I asked Deagan if he would go change Kayden's diaper, nurse him, and then put him down for a nap.

He took it seriously, and said, "I have little boobies mommy! But do I have milk?"

Me: "No you don't have milk. I was just kidding."

Deagan: "But do I have water in my boobies?"

Needless to say, he did not follow through with what I said:)

January 6, 2009

*We went to Olive Garden for dinner tonight, and after the waitress brought us our breadsticks my son yelled after her, "Thank you lady!"

*My oldest loves to bring toys with him to bed. Tonight he had a couple of toy dinosaurs that he got for Christmas. The rule we have of bringing toys in bed is that the toys can't play, they have to sleep too. Tonight, he was having a hard time just letting his toys sleep, so I kept asking him to stop playing with the dinosaurs so he could go to sleep. He was getting really frustrated at me because of this and towards the end he started saying, "I am very mad at you!" It was so hard for me not to laugh at that.

January 4, 2009

He has done this for a while now, but whenever we are in the car he will ask, "Where are we going?" in a annoyed kind of voice. Later on he will ask really sadly, "Where did my house go?"

October 29, 2009

My oldest woke up really early this morning, and was whiny and impossible to please. At this point, I am dreading the day ahead and it is only 7 a.m. My oldest was sitting on his play table coloring and playing with his paint box (that was empty). He dropped the paint box, and began whining for me to pick it up. The conversation went something like this:

D: "Pick it up Mommy!"

Me: "It is right by you, you pick it up."

**Pause from Deagan**

D: "Michelle! Pick it up!"

I couldn't help but smile when he called me Michelle. Maybe this day will be better then I am expecting.

September 6, 2009

I think that wanting your privacy while going potty is a natural instinct that we are all born with and that develops over time. D is beginning to show signs that this privacy is a very important time when going to the bathroom. This afternoon I was making dinner and came in to the living room to check on him. As I walked into the room, he held out his hand and yelled, "No Mom! Go back!" I can always tell when he is done by him allowing me to stay in the same room with him.

August 30, 2009

D wants me to always watch what he is doing regardless of what it is. His new favorite thing to say is, "WATCH MOM!" over and over.

July 11, 2009

I was taking a bath, and locked D in the bathroom with me while I did so so I could keep an eye on him. During this process, D was very interested in his old nursing buddies (if you get my drift) and kept saying "Yummy!" "Yummy?" I asked him. "What did it taste like?" "HOT DOGS!" He replied!

July 8, 2009

D is a big help around the house. He puts things away when I ask him to, sometimes. He helps me fold the laundry, by that I mean he lays in the laundry. He is just a great help. One of his new things is to throw away his diapers after I am done changing him. After a diaper change this afternoon, he proceeded to pick up the diaper and head to the trash. His normal trash that he uses was out of reach, so I told him to go into the bathroom right off of the kitchen and to put the diaper in the trash right next to the toilet. I think all he heard from that was, "Put it in the....toilet." because that is where he put it. Like I said, very helpful! :)