Wednesday, September 23, 2009

Dear Marathon, I DID IT, Love Abby

Posted by Abby Marie at 7:15 PM

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Click the words VIEW IMAGE to see the lovely pictures of me running and then Scroll down to read about My marathon experience.

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Dear Marathon, I DID IT, Love Abby

Posted by Abby Marie at 6:53 PM

I couldn’t sleep the night before. I woke up almost every hour from 2:00 AM on. Finally it was 4:45 AM and time to get ready. I slept in my running clothes and set out everything I would need before I went to sleep. Betsy (who also didn’t sleep, just for me) and Hannah drove me to the park where I caught the bus. I drove what must have been 30 minutes or so and chatted with the nice woman next to me. This was her third marathon. I was trying to take my mind off how long we were driving, because I knew I would be running the entire way back.



The bus stopped and I ran to the longest row of port-a-potties ever. Even though there were around 40 or 50, the line for each one was about 15 people long. I waited and tried to warm my freezing limbs. I was trying not to think about how gross it was not only that I was going to pee in a port-a-potty but that I could see how many people had gone in before me to use the same pot. As I was trying to take my mind off my upcoming run, I began humming “tuppence, tuppence, tuppence a bag” from Mary Poppins. Talk about motivating. Then, inspired by a story Hannah told me on the way to the bus, I started saying in my mind: I’m a runner, a MARATHON runner, my legs are strong, my feet are mobile. Cheesy or weird as that may sound, this little sentence proved to be a strong motivator.



The race started and I practically flew down the canyon. I started out way too fast because my legs already hurt by mile 10. I finished 13 miles in 2 hours 3 minutes. My family was waiting for me at mile 17 where they took pictures and wrote my name in chalk on the sidewalk. When I hit mile 18 I started to struggle. I whipped out my ipod and sang at the top of my lungs. Also weird, but who cares, I was running 26.2 miles. I continued to repeat my motivator: I’m a RUNNER….my legs are STRONG. After barely surviving until mile 23, I finally started to feel the finish. I sped up and continued telling my self: MY LEGS ARE STRONG!

Mile 25 I went even faster and kept saying: I’M A MARATHON RUNNER..MY LEGS ARE STRONG, STRONG, STRONG. Only now I was almost screaming it. I turned the corner and raced to the finish line where my family was stationed once again. Thanks family, I love you guys. Stevie was there too! It was 3 years ago that I watched her cross the finish line of her first marathon…only she was much faster! Total time: 4 hours 12 minutes but you can bet I NEVER STOPPED. I loved it. My legs hurt like crazy but I’ll definitely run more marathons. I couldn’t wait to start running again and today my legs felt strong enough to go for a small run. YAY.








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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.