Jeff is Officially Retired!!

Here we are before the St. George Marathon.  Becca, Dad, Erin, Chel, and Jeff. After a couple of hours of little sleep we had to wake up at 3:15 am (2:15 Az. time) to get to the race. This picture was taken right before we got onto the bus. We felt overdressed at this point because it was very warm. Unfortunately that was just the heat wave before the storm. After our 26.2 mile bus ride, we sat around the staging area. We had a couple of hours to wait for the start of the race. I don't know who's smart idea is was to be on the first busses to leave for the starting area, but it did give us plenty time to eat breakfast, go to the bathroom, drink hot chocolate, go to the bathroom, sit around the fires, go to the bathroom and get ready. There were huge lines for the bathrooms because people were sitting in there to stay warm. It was kind of chilly up the canyon, until the wind started blowing and then it started to rain, then it was freezing. As the rain started coming down heavier, we were given black trash bags to try to keep dry. At the start of the race it was still raining, and it was hard to see the other runners who were around you because everyone was still wearing black trash bags. I have never seen so many people running in plastic bags, it was kind of funny looking. The bags were good and bad. The good: they made great tents to cover us girls, so we didn't have to wait in the 1/2 hour lines for the port-a-potties. The bad: as soon as you started sweating you got wet anyway, and made it feel muggy. It wasn't as cold through the first part of the race, but we continually ran against 20 mph winds, in the rain. The prediction of freezing came true. Everyone was soaking wet and cold. I was freezing and soaking wet. In fact i had to put Icy Hot on my legs to try to stay warm...and it worked a little. THe first several miles everyone avoided puddles, the last half of the race your shoes were so wet it didn't matter. We never once saw the sun, and the race planners weren't very prepared for the cold and rain, we got ice cream at the finish line. They also had a cooling mist set up, which no one went through. We also would have loved some tin foil blankets or hot chocolate. Dad finished the race first, taking 28 in his division. Jeff and Chel finished in 4:02. Here we are at the finish line. At this point our clothes weighed 30 lbs. more than normal and we were able to squeeze water out of them. 

We were smarter than some people in our running attire. There were a few girls who wore white running bottoms. Not the best mix with rain and striped underwear. There were also tons of guys who had problems with bloody nipples. Luckily no one in our group. It was fun to see cousin Frank cringe when he saw them. These pictures was taken to show just how wet it was. Our shoes were puddles. Notice the wrinkly toes? Yes, it really did rain on us the whole time. We heard that it was the first time it has rained during the St. George Marathon since 1983. And we were lucky to get to run in this historic down pour.

You can see that there are also a couple of blisters along with wrinkles on those toes. We had the most amazing group, as we all finished the marathon, and Jeff, Erin and Becca finished their first marathon ever in horrible conditions. Way to go! It was also nice to have a cheering section.  We spent the weekend with my cousins Kim, Frank, and Marissa (Thank you for sharing your house and time with us! It was lots of fun.)  They cheered us on along with my Mom, Gabriel, Thomas, Erin's girl Cyprus, , Bethany, Jeff's Mom and Dad, and sister in law Kari. It was fun seeing everyone at the finish line after a long, wet 26.2 miles. Now we are just a little bit sore. I am so sore (I think from freezing and then shivering after the finish), that I tried to get Marissa to let me use her crutches. Apparently she thinks it is harder to walk with a broken ankle, than with sore calves. Jeff is now retired, and Chel has decided to take up 5k's.