Ogden Marathon (with strep throat)

Backstory

A year ago, my sister Rachael ran the Ogden Marathon. I went to support her and as I watched her cross the finish line I was so impressed at all the hard work she had put in to be able to run a marathon. Read her marathon story here, and her inspiring life-changing story here. I was 35 pounds overweight at the time and running a mile sounded difficult, so I was in awe that Rach had just done 26.2! I just thought to myself "I want to do that someday!"

Rachael, her husband Tyler, my sister Karli, and I ran the Disneyland Half Marathon last September (story) and when I got done, the first thing that popped into my head was "That was awesome! I want to do Ogden!" In the months following, my dear wife has put up with nightly hour-long runs and 3-4 hour weekend long-runs so that I could prepare for the big day. I'm so thankful for her patience and support, especially the last 6 weeks since Priya was born.

The Thursday before the Marathon, Porter and Meghann both came down with strep throat. Since I'm super susceptible to strep throat, Meghann had me go to my parents Thursday and Friday night to try to keep me healthy. I felt like a traitor leaving my sick family home, but Meghann insisted because she was invested in this whole thing, too, and was going to be super angry if I wasn't able to run.

The Marathon

I woke up at 4am and drove up to Ogden to catch the shuttle to the starting line. The farther we drove, the more I kept thinking "Am I really going to run this far?", but it also just made me excited. The starting line area was cold and muddy because of all the rain we've been getting lately. Luckily, they had fire pits set up to help stay warm. After what seemed like forever, they finally told us it was time to line up!

{View right before the start}

The first half of the race was great! Beautiful country, quaint little towns, and some great views of Pineview Reservoir. The best part was seeing Meghann, Rachael, Tyler, and Karli at the halfway point. They made signs and it was great motivation to start the second half with.

{Thanks for coming all the way to Eden to cheer me on!}

{Feeling good, half way there!}

At about mile 15, there's a decent uphill stretch for about a mile. Normally, this kind of hill wouldn't bother me, but I could feel fatigue starting to set in towards the top. I brushed it off and continued on. At mile 17, the course started down Ogden Canyon and lasts until mile 23. I was excited for the long downhill, but again was a little concerned when my legs still felt like they were pushing me uphill. Again I pushed on. At mile 23, we exited the canyon and started going down a running path. I started walking for a minute at one of the water stops and started getting dizzy like I was going to pass out. What is going on? I WILL finish and I WILL meet my goal! I pushed on.

The last mile and a half is a straight stretch right down Grant Avenue to the finish line. I felt like a zombie, but I could see the finish line way off in the distance. I can do this! I've done lots of training runs and never had such a hard time, what's wrong! My mental and physical state had deteriorated to the point that I was running on pure instinct and determination. All that mattered was crossing that line. I had dreamed of the "basking in the glory" of crossing the finish line happy and proud, with people cheering me on, but that will have to wait for another day. I kept my eyes on the finish line banner and put one foot in front of the other, willing my body to take me just a little farther.

Finally, I crossed the finish line with the clock reading 4:00:36. I was devastated. All of this pain and exhaustion and I hadn't met my goal of finishing in less than 4 hours! (I had forgotten in that moment that my time hadn't started until I crossed the starting line, and my official time ended up being 3:58:01!) As I started walking after the finish, I could feel myself staggering around, and I didn't know if I could stay on my feet for long. A volunteer saw me and caught me just as I felt myself heading to the floor. She helped me over to the grass and I sat there disoriented for a few minutes. At that point, Meghann hopped the fence and took over. I soon found myself in the medical tent with my feet in the air. After about 30 minutes, with the help of Meg and my dad, and some nice medical volunteers, my body regulated itself and I was able to meet my family that had come to support me.

{Obviously not doing great anymore}

{Yes, finally done!}

{Meg knew immediately that something wasn't right}

{Hug from Mom after the medical tent}

{Thanks for being there to help me, Dad!}

{I got a hug right after a punch in the shoulder for scaring her}

{Yay! Where have you been, Dad?}

{Tim, Megan, and Ava}

{Mom, Dad, and Porter}

{Rach and Tyler}

Later that evening, my throat started to get scratchy and everything became clear. I JUST RAN A MARATHON WITH STREP THROAT! No wonder it had been so much more difficult than expected! No wonder I almost passed out a few times during and after the race!

Regardless, I finished my first marathon and even met my goal, so I can't complain! Big thanks need to go out to my super patient wife for putting up with a sick cripple for 3 days until I returned to the living!

If you had asked me right after the marathon if I ever want to run one again, I would have given you a quick "No!", but now that I know the reason for the extra difficulty, I'm already itching to find out what kind of time I can get when healthy! I'm also starting to think that the endorphins and adrenaline released while running have the same amnesia affect as women have during labor. Otherwise, no one would do it more than once! Don't worry, Meg, I'll wait awhile before training again.

What's New With Porter, Porter

Our boy is still adjusting to life as a big brother and while the majority of the time he's awesome with her... sometimes he forgets. There are also days where if he gets to tired it's like WWF between me and him to keep him from getting to her. *sigh* But I try to focus on how amazing he is with her when he is and deal with his bad behavior when it comes up consistently so he'll figures it out. All in good time.

We saw a little halt in his development with the birth of the baby which we were told to expect, but this week he's started talking and using new words again so that's a very good sign. Here are some fun photos of what P's been up to at our house lately.{Aaron and the kids getting ready for Morning Prayer}

{Had to show you a close up of his cute attitude}

{this morning he was helping his dad pack lunch and started sampling things}

{P's hand accidentally got vacuumed up and his poor hand was mangled}

{He's such a tough boy and has been awesome about letting us treat it}

{He put Aaron in Jail to keep him from going to work. *evil laugh* I've taught him well.}

{One of Porter's favorite ways to love on his sister is to lean into the car seat with her.}
{He then smoothers her with kisses. It's DARLING!}

He's very nostalgic about his baby toys and whenever Priya isn't using them he is}


That's what's been up with our boy!

Mother's Day

I'm finding that while I enjoy the concept of Mother's Day when the actual day rolls around I'm SO not a fan. It's a broken concept because everyone has a Mother, Mother-in-law, wife, grandmothers, ect. I'm so grateful for these women and love them very much and it's nice to celebrate them. However, call me selfish, but this leaves no time for me. Aaron gets it (Probably from the, "Who's idea was this?" ranting) and does his best to celebrate me on days other than Mothers Day.

We had a hectic and exhausting Mother's day so my one request/tradition had to come a few days late, but I got my photos with the kids. There's a little hectic themselves but Porter didn't want to hold still and that's an accurate depiction of my Motherhood so I like it.{Classic Meg & P}

{He'd smile for me but not the camera}

{Supporting the newborn and the crazy toddler... maybe not the best idea. FYI: No one was harmed while taking these photos.}

{Me and the Princess Priya}

{My handsome boy. I can hear his little voice saying, "Bye, Bye" when I look at this photo}

I should show you the ones that didn't make the cut-- hehe, funny ugly photos.

All grumpiness towards the day aside. I am forever grateful for the opportunity to be the Mother of these beautiful children. I lay in bed at night grateful to have survived the day ;) and overwhelmed by the tremendous gratitude I feel to be so lucky to have my family. A family that loves each other and will be together forever! Really, there are no words adequate to explain how happy my role in life right now makes me!

Discouraged

Today has been a hard day for me. I woke up and realized my body was giving me warning signs of pushing myself too hard and possibly a complication with my recovery. I mentioned it to Aaron and no surprise he had picked up on the signs as well and just responded, "I was going to talk to you about that." He started asking me hard questions about keeping Porter with me, if I needed rest, ect. I'm really bad at honestly evaluating my health. I have a decent pain threshold and a stubborn disposition. Combine that with my fear of inconveniencing people by asking for help or my even greater fear of unknowingly asking for too much of friends and I just flat out lie to myself and others about how I'm doing. It also makes me feel like a bit of a failure not being able to care for my own children. I told Aaron I wanted Porter to stay with me and that I would call my Mom if I had a problem. He seemed okay with that and started getting ready for work then all of the sudden he vetoed my decision. He started looking for a place for Porter to spend the day and I started to weep.

This isn't the way it was suppose to go... I had decided 2 weeks would be enough rest, I could make myself ask for help that long, but after that I would be able to get back to normal.

We have a lot going on right now and we're all still trying to adjust. All I want is to make that easier for everyone. I spent the day in bed feeling sorry for myself. This evening as I was putting Porter to bed (the first time I really saw him all day) it hit me that I've got it all wrong. My body has been through a lot in less than 3 years: 2 pregnancies, 2 c-sections, nursing, and hypoglycaemia maybe it's just had enough abuse. This body of mine is what allows me to experience life, the weight of my sleeping boy in my arms, the soft cheek of my newborn on my lips, the warm tight embrace of my husband. My family deserves a woman who takes care of herself not neglects herself. It's so easy for me to just ignore myself to care for my family and it doesn't bother me a bit. Right now, however, I need to take care of myself so that I'm not jeopardising my opportunity to take care of them down the road. We have been the recipients of SO much service the last few weeks and it's so difficult for me. I'd much rather be serving, but I'll just have to remember to pay it forward when I'm able. So instead of waiting and seeing and hoping everything is okay we've asked for more help and tomorrow I'm calling my doctor.

{There is something about looking at my children that gives me hope and peace. Maybe it's because they're so much nearer to God than me.}

Thanks for letting me get that out. I'm such a lucky girl to have a husband who tries so hard to take care of me, which I don't always make that an easy thing to do. I just have to say this experience is teaching me that there are lots of people who will tell you they love you, but there are some people who really show you they love you. Those people have been selflessly serving us and I really am so touched. Thank You, if any of you are reading this!

Wordless Wednesday

Our Hospital Stay and Departure

{Priya is the sweetest thing!}

{Aaron is in Heaven with his little girl on his chest! This is his favorite part of having a baby around.}

After our last visitor left after Priya's birth we took a minute to soak in our daughter and then sent her off to the nursery. It was 2a.m. by that point and we were both exhausted. As soon as she left I got an adrenalin rush from, "Oh my GOODNESS... We just had a baby!" and couldn't sleep. I had them bring her back to me and after a little more time together I was able to relax, send her to the nursery and we all slept the next 5 hours.

Hospital stays are no fun and we spent 5 days there if you include the delivery. Here were the highlights for me:

• Visitors
• Crying when I jumped out of bed before my pain meds had kicked in... I seriously hurt myself and my nurse was up in my face (in a nice way) after that
• throwing pillows at Aaron to wake him up
• Aaron's special delivery of Olive Garden Ravioli & Gerber Daisies. He surprised me with this when I had Porter as well. It's a tradition I'm a fan of. :)
• Introducing the kids to each other.
• Porter flirting with every nurse on the floor and making friends with the twins boys next door. Or walking past the nurses station to see a cluster of nurses watching Porter on the security cameras in the lobby. It's safe to say having Porter around was a highlight, although a stressful and busy one.
  
• Mommy coming to spend my last night with me.{My window, word on the floor was we got the best room & view. Thank goodness for cheerful flowers and a picture of my boy, they brightened the place up.}

{It's dark but this is Mom with Priya. Mom was an amazing help to us. She dropped everything to come be with Porter and had him the whole time we were in the hospital. She cleaned my house, stocked our pantry, feed us, and helped us. I cried when she left because I was so overwhelmed by her service, generosity and just how much she loves us.}

{Proud Papa}

{Porter adores Priya! We lucked out because he definitely wants to keep her around which is so nice. We need to work on his understanding of soft and Priya being too little to play. He'll figure it out... we all will.}

{Sibling Love}

{Ready for the ride home.}

{She's comfortable at home.}

{I love having flowers around the house!}

We're not completely back to normal yet. I haven't been able to lift Porter so there have been people coming to spend the day with us or Porter has left to spend the day with loving friends. It's been hard to be away from him so much and not able to really care for him. I got the go ahead to lift him Friday so tomorrow is my first day alone with 2! I'm excited for this transition and so happy to be able to provide Porter with some stable predictable routines again. I know we'll have bumps, tears, and smiles from all 3 of us as we find our new daily patterns. I'm so excited to have these 2 beautiful children and I'm so grateful I'm their Mother!

I just have to say having Priya feels so natural. She's suppose to be here, she's ours, and she's so nice to have around!

On Delivery

Well Aaron brought you the delivery which I appreciate because I'm not great at reporting that part. I don't understand why people get so interested in the details. The only thing I'd like to mention that he missed was Priya had a short umbilical cord just like Porter. My doctor was removing her during the C-Section and after welcoming Priya and making sure Priya knew she was beautiful my doctor turned to us and instead of saying, "congratulations" she said, "Why can't you two seem to make adequate cord for your babies?!" After 2 pregnancies resulting in this the doctors agreed it's a genetic trait, all of our kids will have it. So, once again her judgement was correct about taking the baby via C-Section. While I was laboring I looked over at the monitor and just knew I'd be having a C-Section Priya's heart rate was doing crazy things. Lucky for me this time around I had enough time to process and know it was the right thing. I also knew what this meant for our family. Every birth from here on out will be a C-Section. I get a 2 year mandatory break... Aaron and I weren't planning on another for awhile anyways so we're good with that. I can carry one more child and got a "maybe" when I asked about a 4th but that's it. I'm okay with that too. I'm just so grateful I've got the 2 angels I do! If I were a pioneer woman they for sure would have died and I probably would have as well. Makes me so grateful to my doctor and the medical staff that saved my babies!