Annual Ogden Trip!!

The only way I can think to describe this weekend is to describe it like Christmas. You wait all year for it to come, you have all the build-up to it, and then it is over before you know it! This year was a little bit different for me though. I wanted to run the full marathon again and I had a few other friends on board that wanted to. We started our training months ago and were having the time of our lives...well if that is what your call it...and then I had a little episode where I passed out one morning running. I kinda had some other scary symptoms too so I decided I better head to the doctor to get it figured out. I had no idea that it would turn into such an emotional journey for me and still end up with no answers. My first doctor I went to said absolutely no more running and sent me for some tests. They all came back normal so he said ok go ahead and start running again. I still kept having the same symptoms so then I went to a cardiologist and he said no running and had lots more tests and they all came back normal. It has been an emotional roller coaster for me. To sum up all my tests, I have had lots of EKG's, wore a heart monitor, two MRI's, an echocardiogram, two ultrasounds, a stress test, and an angiogram. It is frustrating that everything comes back normal and I am still dizzy when I run. It is also frustrating that I trained so hard for the marathon and then ended up not being able to run it. But what is most important to me, and the very most frustrating, is that if something is really wrong with me I want them to be able to find it for by boys' sake. They are my world and I want to always be around to take care of them!!! It has been really hard for me hearing that something is really wrong with my heart, and then nothing is wrong, and then something is wrong, and then nothing is wrong. I am emotionally exhausted from all this and just want to have my normal, boring life back and feel normal!! So after my angiogram came back all clear, my cardiologist said to start back into normal things slowly and see what symptoms I still have...well ok then!!

So back to the annual Ogden trip...I still got to be apart of it and cheer on all my "running gals"!! Of course we stopped at the Cheesecake Factory for lunch on the way up...yummy!

Amber, Me, Tiff, Kim, Stacia, Darla, Marci, Dani, Dana

Awhile back while we were training, Tiff, Stacia, and me talked about running the marathon in honor of Stacia's mom Jill. She was just recently diagnosed with colon cancer. We had planned to write a message down the back of our legs for Jill. Even though I couldn't run the marathon, I still was running it in my heart. So the girls were still nice enough to let me be apart of things. This picture is right before we headed out the door to drop them off for the full marathon. I have to admit, it did feel nice to just be crawling out of bed to drive them to the shuttle and they had been up getting ready for their big race...ha ha!! I had been worried about how I would feel this morning because I was so sad I couldn't run. I was worried if I would be able to hold it together. I did, and I think it was because I was experiencing runner's gut and I wasn't even running. So, when I dropped them off, all I was worried about was getting back to the house...ha ha!! :)

Me, Tiff, Stacia, Dani, Darla

Ok, so I am not going to give much explanation about this sign, but that it came from a conversation the night before...ha ha!! I wanted to have a sign along the race route to cheer my "running gals" on and pump them up. I hope this did it! Oh, and I had a partner in crime...Kim...so I can't take all the credit for the encouraging message!!!

After everyone got to their race, I went to the bottom to wait for everyone. I was actually really excited to be on the other side of the race...to get to cheer everyone else on. But when I got down to the finish line and the big crowd was there cheering, and the sound of all the cow bells, and hearing the announcer, and the loud music, and watching all the runners finishing, my emotions got the best of me. Good thing I had my sunglasses on! I love the feeling of accomplishment from finishing a race...but I know there will always be another race to run! I loved watching all the runners and knowing that everyone has their own story. So many runners have disabilities or struggles in their lives that they had to over come to finish the race and it was super encouraging to watch them accomplish their goals!

All the delta girls finished their races and did awesome! I am super proud of all the girls that ran their first full marathon. It is a huge accomplishment...good job!

Lindsay (full), Dana (half), Darla (full), me, Tiff (full), Marci (full), Stacia (full), Dani (full), Amber (half)...great job everyone!!!

I am lucky to have such great friends! It is always fun to get away with the girls and to eat good food and have lots of laughs. And like Christmas, our trip was over just like that. I already can't wait for next year. I hope my running story hasn't ended and that I will be running next year!!!!