Sunday, July 20, 2008

1/2 Marathon



A few months ago I decided to run a 1/2 marathon. It has been a New Year's Resolution of mine for many years to learn to like running. This year I decided to give it a go one last time. I thought that in order to really feel like I tried, I was going to pick a race to train for. I found one that looked fun and that was within a days drive. I invited all my family members who wanted to run it with me, you know, like a family bonding thing. I had just learned about families and recreation in New Zealand so I decided to put what I learned to the test.

It was so fun to train and talk about the run with my Dad, sisters Sarah and Betsy, and sister-in-law Andrea. Of course there was never any competition, it was just plain fun :). It was really neat for me to be able to do a few long runs with my dad and sisters. We talked the whole time and I think it brought us closer together.

Okay, race day. We all stayed in this cute cabin thing; one room, 3 beds. We had to blow up 2 more mattresses in order to fit us all in. No one got much sleep the night before. We woke up at 4:30 am and headed to the bank in Tropic, Utah. I was not really nervous about being able to finish, I was however, nervous about needing to go to the bathroom during my run. I knew I didn't want to stop at a port-a-potty and my friend said that she sometimes ended up peeing her pants during a run. That made me really nervous. Anyway, I didn't end up even needing to go while I was running.

The run was mostly down hill the whole time, so a little hard on the knees. It was incredible! I loved the feeling. I also loved reaching a goal, even exceeding it. I ran the race in 1 hour 55 minutes which is 15 minutes faster than I expected. Oh, and like a said, we weren't competing against each other, but I did happen to beat all my family members. :)

My running days definitely aren't over.

5 comments:

Hannah said...

Ohhh! Hearing about the race makes me SO BUMMED that I wasn't able to run it! :( You'll have to do another one next year and then I'll run with you. Great time!! You would have beat me by 15 minutes. What a fun experience! Good job getting the ball rolling with it.
PS- I love everyone's faces in that top picture.

Andy Porter said...

So, not only were you the first to finish the race, but you were also the first to blog about it. What is it about you and being first all the time sheesh. Nice job kicking our butts!! That was seriously fun. Are you sore?? My legs hurt when I walk down the stairs. I didn't realize how many times I actually have to do that in my house until today.

Valerie said...
This comment has been removed by the author.
Valerie said...

You're an animal Abby! I loved your pictures of everyone, you all look so cute in your matching shirts.

I hear you Andy on the sore legs. I could barely walk up the stairs at church today.

Jenny said...

Your friend peed her pants?! How embarrassing! So I've decided after reading the fun comments of your family members on every single one of your blog posts that I want to be a Porter. Are you sure you don't have any unmarried brothers? Or really old nephews?

I AM PECULIAR (this is a permanent post. If you have already read it, scroll down to see my latest)

Those of you who read my blog could probably make a list of all the reasons that you think I am a bit peculiar. No worries, I would be the first to shout an amen to everything you could think of. I know I’m peculiar; but let me tell you the number one thing on my list that I think makes me a peculiar person.

I know where I come from, why I am here and where I am going. I am a member of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. Some of you will know me as a “Mormon” although that is just a nickname. The word ‘Saint’ just means ‘member’ in this context. I believe in God the Eternal Father, that I am a daughter of God, and that He loves me and wants me to be happy. I believe in my Savior Jesus Christ who lived a perfect life, atoned for my sins, died and was resurrected all that I might enjoy the blessing of being forgiven of my sins, and having my body and spirit reunited after death. I know that just as God called prophets in the Old and New Testament times that He has in fact called a prophet to lead and guide us today. I believe that families can live together for eternity; death does not have to be the end of our relationships with the ones we love. Some of you may wonder how on earth I can know these things. As I learn more and more from the Bible and other scriptures and actually live what I learn I see the promises the Lord has made being fulfilled in my life, and I feel the Holy Spirit bear witness that these things are true.

I know, I’m peculiar, but thankfully there are over 13 million other peculiar members of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints and with each year that number grows. I feel so much joy and happiness in my life because of this knowledge. If you want to know more depth about anything I have said that makes me peculiar, visit www.mormon.org. This website explains in detail much of what I have just professed to believe and more.