Morgan is at such a fun age! 14 is awesome!
She loves her YW class and has some great friends.
Braces are off!! What a beauty! 😍
Saturday, April 27, 2019
Saturday, April 20, 2019
Easter
I know we had a fun Easter, but this is all the pictures I have.... I wonder if more are on Mike's phone? Oh well! Just know we had a great Easter :)
Real Salt Lake
We aren't big soccer fans at our house, but when you are given tickets to the Real Salt Lake game, you go! Esp if those tickets come with access to a buffet and all the food and hot chocolate you want!
Wednesday, April 17, 2019
The 2019 Boston Marathon - A Dream Come True
I can't believe it finally came! I qualified for and ran the Boston Marathon! The entire weekend was a dream come true and worth the thousands of miles I had to run to earn a spot to get there. Grandma and Grandpa Beckstead watched the kids from Friday evening to Wednesday afternoon. They get the MVP for the weekend!!
Mike and I flew in Friday night and stayed close to the spot where they hold the Boston 5k race. I am so glad we did this. I knew I'd need a shakeout run, so I thought why not do the 5k with Mike (and 10,000 other people) and let Mike experience the last part of the marathon course. I love when I get any chance to run with Mike, and there was also the added perk of getting another Boston shirt and medal!
Then we hit the expo. WOW! It was huge. I guess it would have to be for a race hosting 30,000+ runners. Every year the marathon has a Boston Marathon Celebration Jacket. Some years it's hideous, so I was so happy when I saw the color of this years jacket. Aqua!! I wore it around all weekend and felt like a rockstar :) .
We met up with the Griffiths and Ralph for some pictures and to enjoy some of the excitement together.
I spend the few days before the marathon carb loading. We found a yummy pizza place, Gran Gusto, that was perfect for pre race fuel... Non-greasy pizza and lots of it!
My goal for this race was to train hard so I could do well, but I didn't want to all out race it. I know Boston is all about the experience, so I decided to just settle into a good pace I could easily maintain and then enjoy the run. It is a harder course than I usually run, so I wanted to be sure I had enough gas in the tank to run the entire way. There was no way I was walking one step of the way... I was at Boston after all... no walking allowed! It was so amazing. They say there are over 500,000 people that spectate at the marathon, and I believe it! Spectators are lined the entire way, usually on both sides of the street and sometimes they are up to 5 people deep. I gave about 500 high fives along the way and I even got a kiss at Wellesley College! Don't worry - it was on the cheek and it was from a girl :) It was the only time in my life where I felt like I was an actual rockstar.
Here I am running against the grain to give Mike a kiss.
I finished! I was worried about the weather, Boston is known for crazy weather, and rain was in the forecast... Luckily for me, the rain stopped as Mike was dropping me off at the start, and then it didn't start back up until right as I crossed the finish line. Then it started pouring. I was so glad I finished when I did. It was meant to be a perfect day!
We hunted all around Boston to find a Christmas ornament but couldn't find anything... Then I saw it... It was a little store tucked away called Christmas in Boston. They had these cute ornaments that they'd customize with your bib number. I LOVE IT!
I ended up running the race in 3:53:26 (8:55 pace). Not my best time, but definitely not my worst. I was thrilled with my time considering I wasn't running all out and it was a hard course. There are 4 hills between miles 15-21 when you're tired, and I was able to maintain a great pace on them without walking. I passed so many people on those miles and was so glad I trained on Bountiful Blvd hills. I was very happy with my result.
After the race we took Kirsten's recommendation and ate at Giacomo's. Good call!
My butternut squash ravioli was where it's at!
We ended the night with a cannoli (or two!) from Mike's Pastry... mmmmmm
I've literally run thousands of miles over the past decade, but without a doubt, this was my favorite 26.2 miles of them all.
This is my completed training chart. I may not be super fast, but I am very consistent and feel such a feeling of accomplishment afterward. "They say" that training for a marathon is the impressive part, and that the marathon is just the cherry on top. I agree.
It was fun coming home to the house decorated with love and support from the kids. Grandma and Grandpa did well! We couldn't have gone without them! Thanks for your help and support. I have the best family ever!
Mike and I flew in Friday night and stayed close to the spot where they hold the Boston 5k race. I am so glad we did this. I knew I'd need a shakeout run, so I thought why not do the 5k with Mike (and 10,000 other people) and let Mike experience the last part of the marathon course. I love when I get any chance to run with Mike, and there was also the added perk of getting another Boston shirt and medal!
Then we hit the expo. WOW! It was huge. I guess it would have to be for a race hosting 30,000+ runners. Every year the marathon has a Boston Marathon Celebration Jacket. Some years it's hideous, so I was so happy when I saw the color of this years jacket. Aqua!! I wore it around all weekend and felt like a rockstar :) .
We met up with the Griffiths and Ralph for some pictures and to enjoy some of the excitement together.
I spend the few days before the marathon carb loading. We found a yummy pizza place, Gran Gusto, that was perfect for pre race fuel... Non-greasy pizza and lots of it!
My goal for this race was to train hard so I could do well, but I didn't want to all out race it. I know Boston is all about the experience, so I decided to just settle into a good pace I could easily maintain and then enjoy the run. It is a harder course than I usually run, so I wanted to be sure I had enough gas in the tank to run the entire way. There was no way I was walking one step of the way... I was at Boston after all... no walking allowed! It was so amazing. They say there are over 500,000 people that spectate at the marathon, and I believe it! Spectators are lined the entire way, usually on both sides of the street and sometimes they are up to 5 people deep. I gave about 500 high fives along the way and I even got a kiss at Wellesley College! Don't worry - it was on the cheek and it was from a girl :) It was the only time in my life where I felt like I was an actual rockstar.
Here I am running against the grain to give Mike a kiss.
I finished! I was worried about the weather, Boston is known for crazy weather, and rain was in the forecast... Luckily for me, the rain stopped as Mike was dropping me off at the start, and then it didn't start back up until right as I crossed the finish line. Then it started pouring. I was so glad I finished when I did. It was meant to be a perfect day!
We hunted all around Boston to find a Christmas ornament but couldn't find anything... Then I saw it... It was a little store tucked away called Christmas in Boston. They had these cute ornaments that they'd customize with your bib number. I LOVE IT!
I ended up running the race in 3:53:26 (8:55 pace). Not my best time, but definitely not my worst. I was thrilled with my time considering I wasn't running all out and it was a hard course. There are 4 hills between miles 15-21 when you're tired, and I was able to maintain a great pace on them without walking. I passed so many people on those miles and was so glad I trained on Bountiful Blvd hills. I was very happy with my result.
After the race we took Kirsten's recommendation and ate at Giacomo's. Good call!
My butternut squash ravioli was where it's at!
We ended the night with a cannoli (or two!) from Mike's Pastry... mmmmmm
I've literally run thousands of miles over the past decade, but without a doubt, this was my favorite 26.2 miles of them all.
This is my completed training chart. I may not be super fast, but I am very consistent and feel such a feeling of accomplishment afterward. "They say" that training for a marathon is the impressive part, and that the marathon is just the cherry on top. I agree.
It was fun coming home to the house decorated with love and support from the kids. Grandma and Grandpa did well! We couldn't have gone without them! Thanks for your help and support. I have the best family ever!
Monday, April 8, 2019
Spring Break Part 3- Phoenix Zoo
Guess what we did...... We rode CAMELS!!! The Phoenix Zoo has camels and you can ride them!!! Mike was LAME and didn't want to pay to ride a camel.... SERIOUSLY! I am now so much cooler than he is.
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