The Story Makers.

The Story Makers.

Tuesday, January 31, 2012

Voting Day in Florida......

whoohooo!!
Big day in Florida.
We pick our Republican Representative today.
I don't remember being as excited as I was today
....ever....(to vote that is).

We have had fun as a family following the candidates a little better
this go round.
It made all the difference.....duhhhh!!
It was awesome to have discussions with the kids about who we 
were supporting and why.
Discussing the talk we heard around town,
at the Club, school, and work.
Watching a few debates together...
(thanks mom and dad for starting that while we were out in Utah.)
Thanks Tina for alerting me to when they were on.
I am starting to get a little taste as to why T gets so excited 
around voting time.

I am starting to realize that when I (WE) are more informed, 
we are a PART of something big.
If you don't care, or don't understand, or know anything
about the different reps, what is there to be excited or,
scared or, 
PROUD to stand behind?
It is just another day.

I tell you what,
our early morning work out group certainly 
have strong opinions on the debates and different 
republican choices.
If you aren't following the debates....
you were a clueless idiot,
found that out rather quickly.
It was good to get on board and have a voice and an opinion
to share.

To make this day even sweeter, it is a gorgeous day out!
It isn't cold....it's not hot.
It is PERFECT!
Breezy, Balmy....
makes me love our state even more!

After riding bikes with the kids to school, 
I decided to get out and rock the vote early and ride over to the 
nearby church....or the 
114 Precinct where we cast our vote to be counted.

There is no way to get lost or turned around once you 
actually make it to the location.
I love how the volunteers are always decked out in 
their american apparel....
I tried to get a good shot of this american's tall Abe Washington hat,
but she looked up too soon and pretty much caught me.
 I appreciate how clear cut this vote is.
It doesn't have page after page of other stuff and amendments,
and garbled mumbo jumbo that you (I) am
not even sure what the question is asking me to vote on.
(I know, I know....research, study, learn).

9 names.
pick your man.
fill in the oval.
follow the foot steps to the exit.
insert your vote into the hightech counting machine.
apply your sticker.
walk away.
60 seconds to be heard.

 Have you voted yet???
How soon will we hear the results???
6pmish?
HB.....when is Utah's vote??
If I got to sing the National Anthem out loud, I would sing it like 
Carrie Underwood....
freeeeeeeeeeeeeeeEEEEEEEEEEE!
That is how I do sing it around the house for fun.
You?

Friday, January 27, 2012

Been biding your time.....?


It is the perfect time because I finally have Choffy on hand +
a ton of Choffy Presses!!!!
They are soooooo HOT!!
SLEEK, SHINY, SMOOTH!
I am loving these beautiful specimens.
I was rummaging around my favorite store last night....
Dillards!!
and came across this Mother Load.
I bought all of their presses.
I didn't even know they carried them!
Are you asking yourself.....
what in the heck is Choffy??!
Please click HERE.

A quick 30 second "Elevator Pitch"is that
Choffy is BREWED CHOCOLATE.
It is 100% ground, roasted Cocoa bean.
Prepared like coffee,
but much better for you.
It is delicious!
It is less sweet than hot cocoa.....because no sweetener is added...
no chemicals or additives of any kind,
you get to decide what to add and how sweet to make it.
HERE is a short clip from Dr. Oz on how fat is burned faster
with CHOFFY!!
My husband Kevin is a big fan of Choffy.
He severed a 2 year LDS mission in Argentina....many years back,
and this is what they drank living there....
only it wasn't called Choffy.....it was just the 
brewed Cocoa bean.

Do you ever wonder what to get your special someone for that crazy 
weird and kind of fake holiday known as 
Valentines Day???
Hmmmmm.....here's an idea!
You can nail it this year!
or who am I kidding....you can just get some for yourself.....
maybe you can share??
A quick run down - 
12 oz bags of Choffy - $15
Presses $28 - (these are 4 cup presses, in
3 colors, chrome, purple, or red)
You can save by purchasing them both - $40
OR
Host a tasting at your home or business 
(I will bring the Choffy, creamer, and cups.....you supply the testers)
and you can earn a press for FREE while I have them in stock!!!

Next weekend (Feb. 3 - 4), 
Tina and I will be at the 
Come and see us!!
It is open to the public. 
You can use this coupon, and get a big
yummy cup of Choffy to try!!
Plus a discount to use on any purchase.
Plus you can snatch up other sweet deals at the EXPO...
Chomps, Power Bars, Energy Beans.....Galore!!
at a much better price than any stores.
Plus it would just be super fun to see you!!

P.S. - I support Mitt Romney for President....
(Google ad has a negative ad on my blog,  I want it off, so I am stating my support.)

Noooo......is this really happening?

I was dying to get on and write about my experience 
yesterday
right after it happened.
It was fresh, and raw, and still felt like such a big deal.
Now today....eh.
What a difference 24hrs makes.
It is not the devastating blow I had imagined it to be.
I will still tell you about it though because you 
might find it interesting, and surprising.
This feels like gossipping....
about myself.

I taught my usual body sculpt class yesterday @ 8:30am.
I say usual, in that I teach it each week. 
Every week I vary it and change it up quite a bit
to keep it fresh, and to keep those muscles guessing.
We did a hard sequence of plank work,
(picture being up in push up position)
but I talked about ways to modify, and make it easier as needed.
We did lots of other stuff also.  

After class, which I thought went pretty well,
I went to volunteer at the desk for three hours like I always do
on Thursdays, only today, I was subbing for the 10:30 pilates class.

Around 10:25 I headed into the locker room to change into a 
different pair of yoga pants....freshen up a bit.
I was in the handicap stall on the end.
No sooner had I gotten in and changed, and was about to 
hurry off to pilates when I heard this,

Were you in Melissa's class this morning?
Yes.......NOT a fan.
I know, what was the deal with all of that plank work?
That was so ridiculous.
That killed my back.
I had to do something totally different.
She doesn't even count.
I do not like....
I can't stand....
I sure do miss Maria!
....on.....and.....on......

I was so frozen to my spot.
I knew I was going to be late.
I knew I needed to get out of that bathroom stall.
But I was so startled and taken aback.... and they just kept 
going on about their dislike of everything I do.

I finally could wait no longer.
I went out and over to them,
two middle aged women, maybe late 50ies.

I said, Hi, I couldn't help but over hearing,
I am so sorry you didn't get what you had hoped for from
my class this morning.
I hope you won't give up on it entirely, 
since I change it up each week.
I appreciate your feed back.
I will tell you what, 
how about I take it right back to basics next week?
Nothing fancy, or tricky, just a good hard workout.

What, oh no, you don't need to change it on our account.
We just need more modifications.....
.........
.......
......

Well, I hope to see you again.
Take care now.

I was three minutes late, instead of early like I planned to be.

That really messed with my mind all day.
Especially during that next class.
I was so paranoid....
who is hating this right now?
oh my gosh,
am I holding this too long,
I can't tell if that person is enjoying the class........

After I finished the class I went back to the front desk.
I was really wanting to tell someone about what I overheard.
Soooo.....
I told Jack and Pat in the office.
(there was no mention of who said it, doesn't matter)

That was probably not my best move.
I had just told Pat that hey, I never told you,
but my mom's name is Patricia also!
Then Jack was like,
hey, that is my daughters name.
We had this grand talk about how wonderful that name is,
went over all the nick-names that go along with it.
To include all of the middle names that our own Patricia's have.
We all like the name, 
and agree that it is totally "old school"....
pretty cool.

I didn't cry....but.
When I went back out to the desk they were like,
hey, why don't you cut out early today?
....get out of here.
You have had a long day already.
I said no, 
of course not....I have already put two hours down for the day.
They look at each other....
pst.
Like we care.
Go home and relax.
Jack says, I can finally read my magazine in peace.
When I read in the back office,
people say I'm not working....
when I'm up here at the front desk they can see I am working.
You are doing me a favor.

Off I went.
I did cry my eyes out then.
Cried and cried.
I have never been caught in a situation like that before.
I have no illusions that everyone likes me, or my classes....
or my hair.
But to overhear them going on and on was a rough ride.

The funny thing is the striking contrast between this post and 
my last.
Just like life.
UPS and downs.
That is what makes it so exciting.

People only see what they are looking for.
They don't know the consideration and time you put into 
what you do.
They aren't aware that you are already trying to work around
Judy's bum shoulder, Irene's painful knees, the metal in Holly's back,
Tina's week core, and V's spine fracture,
the fact that the class doesn't want jumping,
 but they want their heart rate up,
they want variety, but they don't like change.

You can't please everyone ever.
But you can please someone, sometimes.

Better make sure you enjoy the process enough yourself to 
make it worth it.

I do.

It is.

I just got my tax paper yesterday.
I have made $1060 teaching classes at Our Club.
Maybe that should be embarrassing,
but I was totally thrilled to see it.
$20 bucks at a time....53 classes.
Kev and I were like.....huh, that is pretty good.
The side bennies aren't too shabby either. 

Just a few random photos with the cousins,
 doctored up for fun.
 Bye-bye bunnies!
We will miss you little guy!


Sunday, January 22, 2012

YES!!!!

I have been in a bit dry spell for the past few days.
Not much to write about.

Our guests have come and gone....booohooo!
It was a thrill having my brother Jason and his wife Mel here 
in between their romantic cruise. 
As well as Amy, Lance, and their family here for a few days after our marathon. 
Some favorite photos of J and Elle.
We loved having them with us.
School has been back in for a few weeks now. 
Oh....here is something,
Ethan made the high school baseball team!
If I thought he was busy before....
that was nothing, I am not sure how the coaches tacked 
on more practice time, but they did.
They had a "mandatory" family work day at the field yesterday.
It is weird, it seems like the head coach says "mandatory" 
A LOT.
Tonight we were at the "mandatory" banquet.

The rest of us are great.
Here is a new skill Lawson found out he has recently -


I am finally starting to feel caught up and normal again.
I forgot to give an honorable mention to the 
CHOCOLATE FESTIVAL!!!
That took up a full Saturday and Monday.
Tina put a LOT of planning, money, time and effort into 
making our Choffy presentation a good one to over 4000 testers.
Wow!
It was a very busy few days.
Here are some delicious photos from the event.
I wanted to sink my teeth into one of those candied apples....
I resisted only because the thought of not having a tooth pick or floss was terrifying. 
Can you believe that cake girl?!
 The beloved Utah "CAKE POPS"....looks like we have them here as well!!
There is T hard at work.
The wind chamber experience.


I got excited to write today (yesterday now) because I got 
my FIRST real compliment from Maria....
the head of all the fitness classes at Our Club.
I taught my regular Thursday Body Sculpt class,
and then filled in for the 8:15 Pilates, and 9:00 a.m. cycling class 
this morning (Saturday).
I have been attending different cycling classes all week,
trying to get a better handle on what the expectations will be.
Have been tweaking and fine tuning my Pilates routine to 
shake it up a bit.
I couldn't help but wake up extra early this morning
partly from anticipation....but also a little bit of trepidation as well.
Wanting to get these classes over with,
but excited to do an excellent job with both.

I nailed my last pilates subbing opportunity,
but kinda blew my first cycling gig.
So....I had some making up to do.

I arrived plenty early, 
Our Club is known to have music and mic difficulties.
I wanted none of that.
I set up both rooms and was ready to go for it.
I am happy to report 
Sweet Success!
I had two well received classes.
I enjoyed teaching them so much.

Earlier in the week while I was participating in another cycling class,
I guess one of the ladies attending could tell I was digging 
around and asking questions for a reason.
She said, you know, some of my favorite classes are when the 
instructor goes around the room and lets the class pick their favorite
cycling moves.
That really eats up the time and guarantees a great class.
THANK YOU!!
This tip made a huge difference in my class today.
About 30 minutes into the 50 minute class I did just that.
Instead of just asking them to throw out a suggestion,
(I knew I probably would have been clueless as to what they 
were wanting to do)
I went around the room and 
turned the time over to each individual for a few minutes.
It even helped me lock in on their names!!
Michelle, taught us jumps! (killer!)
Kathy climbing intervals.
Mary - timed sprint work.
Don - two 90 second steep climbs.
Heidi - a mega jump series (so AWESOME!)
Annette - Isolation work, where you pedal w/ only one leg at a time.
I continue to be surprised at the variety of moves you can do on a 
stationary bike.
What a great workout!
(Thighs are burning today!!  Good sign!)
Anyway, later in the day when I was back home 
Maria had emailed saying that she was looking for a sub for the 
Saturday Cycling class again, as well as a Thursday Yoga.
I took a pass on the Yoga, not prepared enough for that, (yet)
but thought heck yes, I will volunteer again for the spinning.
She wrote back, 
:-)thank you..I got really nice feedback on you for today's classes!!! 
Yes, Thanks for subbing the 28th too!!!
Can you do the 10:30 Yoga class on Thursday morning the 26th?? 
 I will make it a Pilates for that week?
Yeah!
It felt good.  In the past she would not budge that Yoga class.
She would not even consider changing it for Pilates.
So that is a real compliment indeed.
(or maybe she is just in that much of a bind)


Lastly....Kevin has been working his brains out on our van.
Thank you my darling!!
It has had numerous problems lately, the biggest was the tailgate.
The door would not stay open anymore.
I can't tell you how many times I hit my head, or got
embarrassed about it coming down unexpectedly on an innocent
store clerk, etc.
But now.....It is as good as new!
Not to mention several other fairly large issues that made
the van feel like it was being held together by a piece of string.
When things are bad for a while and then they are fixed,
 it almost feels just as good as brand new!!
(I am guessing on this one).
I used to wish we had gotten the automatic back door opener....
Who cares about that!!!!
I am just so thrilled now that my tailgate stays open I could not
be happier!
My cup runneth over!

Wednesday, January 11, 2012

My Marathon experience.....

I have been waiting for a few minutes (HA!)
to compile my thoughts and all of our fun pictures from our 
Marathon this weekend.
I still don't have exactly what I need....but I really want to 
get moving on this and share my experience with you.
I am going to try and piece meal it together in little batches.
........................
It is 1:30 am = perfect time.
Here goes:

On Saturday morning our Team Neck & Neck girls,
met for a celebration brunch for those that had just run the  half
marathon, and a "get pumped" carb loading session for those of us running
the full the next morning at 5:30 am.
Yum!  Not sure if mickey mouse waffles, giant links of sausage,
bacon, eggs, fried potatoe wedges, and biscuits and gravy have many carbs,
but it definitely worked for me.

There was also an item of business that Tina addressed at this little feast.
That was the naming of the winner of the IPOD she had donated for
a little team motivation (competition).
It was so exciting!!
I was so nervous....I was not nervous for myself, because my sister Amy
had already earned way more than me.
I witnessed first hand how she earned it.
By sweat, toil, tears, and a huge slab of creativity.
She sold her craft wears at work, to family, friends, and any one
who was "buying for the cause"....
if you forgot, Thyroid Cancer.
She had a large group of happy takers,
which kept her extremely busy sewing and creating for several days
in a row the last few days before Christmas.

On one of these busy days my sister Keri and I were there sewing seams
along side Amy when
she got the call that her little daughter's dance recital was going on now!
Were they going to join the show!?
Whoa!
I am just saying, there was some heavy brain overloading going on.

Our team raised just under $3500!!!
Pretty dang good considering the number of dropouts we ended up having.
Tina was the bulk with a $1000,  in second place.......
drum roll.....
was AMY!!! 
with $465....She won the IPOD!!
I need to mention my good buddy Aubrey, whose efforts
brought her within twenty bucks of Amy!
It was "NECK & NECK" !!!
Way to go ladies!
Here is our Awesome team, we are missing a few girls, Barb and Holly.
As you can see, some people really get into their posing.
I won't name names.
After the brunch we got our packets at the Expo.
Then went to check out our sleeping arrangements for the night.
Amy's husband Lance was able to hook our families up with 
his employee discout at the World Marriott, a gorgeous hotel a few miles
away from our hotel, The Port Orleans Riverside.
Amy, Tina and I stayed here so we could have some quiet time
the night before the race and so we wouldn't wake everyone else up at 
3:10 a.m.

It was a smart move on our part.

We got upgraded,
 (don't you love hearing those words in any circumstance??)
to the newly refurbished section.
I will tell you they ain't lying.
When we opened the door we were greeting with the best new room
smell you could ever imagine!
It was so wonderful.
And talk about adorable....every detail was so much fun.
It was themed after the Disney Frog Princess movie.
Very woodsie and rustic.
We picked Tina up when Amy and I were finally able to break away
from our families around 8:30 pm.
Kev still had not made it in from Bogata, Columbia.
He had gone through the usual numerous flight delays and would not 
get in until after 10.
But I am so happy to report he did indeed make it.

It is GO TIME!
We had no trouble getting up at our designated time.
I wasted no time getting straight on my job as team historian.
(I was eating the BEST peanut butter power bar for breakfast!)
I took time to get my inspirational running list in place on my legs.
Tina chose to imprint her 26 miles on her upper arms.
I was like, pst, naaaaa, I think my thighs would make way more sense.
WRONGO.
Try running and trying to read your thighs at the same time.
Found out that was a NO GO.
Literally impossible to do.
Believe me, I tried many times.
We were off to catch our Disney transportation to Epcot.

Before we picked Tina up to come stay with us Saturday night,
she took a bath,
during which
this little note was slid under the door to her.
We made it to the race starting point.

This part is always the worst part of any Disney race.
This being my 4th run here, the other 3 were half marathons.
I find myself always questioning what makes people want to come here?
  It is freezing in the morning at 5:00 a.m.
There are thousands of complete strangers massed together,
and corralled like cattle in lettered gates.
You are herded along, again like animals.
I know I am not making this sound good.
That's because it's not.
It is a long wait, and a long walk and it seems to drag on 
FOREVER.

But then.... 
when your time comes.
When your letter is called,
and the fire works are going off just for you.
You forget about your misery, 
(just like child birth),
and you begin your run.
Couldn't pass up this shot.
Or this one...
heck, three of them, three of us!  
It was a no brainer...plus there was no line.
Now there was NO WAY I was going to miss my chance to get a photo 
with the cast of Chitty Chitty Bang Bang....

On our way to Orlando 
while I had Ethan searching for a cord I needed in the car,
he came across an old cassette tape I had recorded when the kids were small.
We used to listen to it all the time.
It has Chitty Chitty on one side, and Grammy winners 
from some year on the other.
We have been listening to it ever since.....ask Amy if you don't believe me.

There were times when were were excited about getting our 
picture taken with certain characters,
but we did not want to "damage" our PR 
(what does that even mean? Personal record?)
 to stand in line.
We found a way to get our pictures in a timelier fashion...
we would just stand off to the side.
I love the one of Amy and Tina up above with one of the ugly
stepsisters from Cinderella.
Way to out smart the system guys!
We nailed that shot!

Here I am on the outskirts of the Scary Villains scene.
Not bad.
One of the craziest things during a run....
when. you. stop.
Is the fenomenon of passing, and then being surprised again,
each time,
when you end up behind that person time and again.
This kept happening with this girl in the orange skirt.
We finally had to "get a shot with her".
OK....this 5:30 pace group was the bain of our existence.
This is the last pace group of the marathon.
In other words....the slowest group they would bother pacing.
There was NO WAY we were hanging with this crew.
Laters dudes.
See you on the flip side folks.
Good luck slow pokes....nothing against slow peeps.
Just saying.
That ain't our thang.
The only trouble was that we kept, 
somehow
ending up behind them!
It is that same fenomenon I just mentioned.
Only this one was real trouble.
It was not in any one of our goals to be included in the slowest
pacer group.

Amy had told everyone that her goal was to run a 5 hour marathon.
I had verbalized a 4.5 hour run.
Not sure about Tina...
oh yeah, she just wanted to finish so she could 
earn her medal.
Anyway, if you can't beat em....join em.
We finally just had to face facts.
This group was really pretty cool.

Hey, Hey....look it's the NASCAR Guys....
my boys LOVE NASCAR....Aim and I got this shot for them...
and only them.
The time came....surprising deeper into the race than the three of us
could have ever hoped for, when one of us broke away.
Sometime after mile 16 Amy pulled away.
I was happy she did.
Not because I wanted her to leave...but because I wanted her
race out come to be exactly what she wanted it to be.
We each get to choose how to run our race.

I loved the way we choose to count our miles.
We decided to count backwards for each mile.
So at mile one, we only had 25 miles to go,
at mile 10, we were already down to only 16 miles left to run....
and that is awesome....because we had all already run 
16 miles at least once in our training.
So, Been there - Done that,
 if you know what I mean.

I don't remember a trace of negativity.....well, except one time
when T and I were running up an overpass,
somewhere in the 20 mile proximity,
and she said out loud,
"will this ever end"?,
this helpful gentleman next to us pipes up,

"Oh yeah, all you have to to is get to Hollywood Studios, go around back,
then we come to a bend in the road, which doesn't last long,
go another mile or two and you will see Epcot, soon you will 
come to the choir and then you just have to run it out to the finish."
(maybe not his exact words)

Oh, OKay.....thanks.

But that was it....and that was nothing.

I am really not much of a Disney fan.
But I will say they do it up right.
The race is a feast for the senses....every time....I mean it,
every single time I finally went through the effort of getting my phone out,
putting in my pass code, 
getting to my music and getting it going and them back in my little waist sack,
I could hear something up in the distance....
wait, is that another band?
Hey, what song is that?
What I had on my personal head phones was never as intriguing as
what was just up ahead.
I did manage to completely run out the battery to my phone before the 
race was over though....between the pictures, texting, using MyRunning Mate,
etc.  It was dead....pretty lame battery life. 

Two of my favorite highlights of the race involve food....
wait, three of them do.
The first time they gave out bananas...it must have been before mile
16 cuz Amy and I split one.
I will say I have never eaten a more delicious specimen.
Then later when they gave out chocolate goo....several times.
Again, the first time was the best.
Usually I am not a goo fan, 
but the chocolate I have decided I am in love with.

It is exactly like brownie batter.
That is the sole reason I love to make brownies.... for the batter!
Lick the bowl, lick the spoon, smooth out the top with the spatula 
several times to get it just right
(only when I am making them just for my family),
then sometimes after the pan has been in the oven for a few minutes,
I will take it out again and smooth it a few more times.
Especially good with melted chocolate chips in the mix.

That is how good the chocolate goo was.
I have wondered a few times if it would be as good eating it not 
during the marathon.
I doubt it.
The other exciting food time was when they gave out 
miniature Hershey candy bars.
Don't mind if I do.
We had all heard they give away candy at some point in the race....
the anticipation and curiosity drove us mile after mile.
It was worth it.

Up until mile 23 I stayed with my training partner Tina.
Going into the race I was so worried that she was 
even running it.
Several times I suggested that maybe for her body's sake she should 
not run.
She had not been able to properly train for the previous two months
prior to our race.
She had been from doctor to doctor, from therapist, from shoe to shoe,
and so on and so forth.
The list seemed endless to me.
The pain in her hips and feet seemed constant from my perspective.
I could not understand why she would not just step down,
give in and say ok I tried, but now my body is telling me this is 
not the time.

She never once entertained the idea of not running her marathon.
SHE was the one who survived thyroid cancer.
SHE was the one who got us into this race to begin with.
SHE organized and got our team going.
SHE wanted her Mickey Mouse medal....even though she hates 
Mickey Mouse....I don't get it!

The evening before our race she got a priesthood blessing from her 
husband.  He taped her foot and leg for her,
(p.s. the tape is still on....it may be on forever),
and sent her off to us with a little bit of a concerned look on his face.

Before the race began I honest and truly thought she would have to 
walk the entire 26.2 miles.
I was so afraid for her.

We started at a slow comfortable pace.
We just kept at it.
Kept plugging away.
Excited and happy with every mile we pulled down.
I was flabbergasted that she continued to run.
I was thrilled, amazed, and surprised.
As long as she was able to continue to run I had no intention of
leaving my running mate.

We stopped a ton.
We sought every character sighting we could find....
suddenly every Disney character became our favorite.
We drank (at least I did) at every refreshment point and stretched every
mile towards the end.
I have no idea how our pain factor compared to one another,
I only know that when I run a slower pace it 
is a lot harder on my joints, especially my knees.
I was needing every single stop we made, 
to regroup, stretch it out and start again.
At mile 23 I knew we had both made it.
I told Tina....you got this.

IT IS GO TIME.....
I am going to power it up and try and catch Amy.
I was off.
I ran like there was no tomorrow.
Every trace of discomfort left.
I was weaving and bobbing looking for Amy's yellow visor,
and black tank.
It was a thrill.
I was certain I would catch her, I knew I could do it.

At mile 26, when you go around the bend....
there is the choir singing hallelujahs, 
you are on a running high.
Next, I somehow heard a yell, I looked and saw Ethan pop out of some trees,
then Ryker, then in the hoard of hundreds and hundreds of 
people I saw Kevin, Jason, Mel... then farther
down I saw Tina's family, Derek, Braden... and 
Barb's family cheering me on.
It was so fantastic.

I did not catch Amy..... 
I found her just beyond the medal
area wrapped in her tinfoil blanket waiting for Tina and I.
Wow.
What a day.
What an adventure.
I would change not a single scrap of it.
I will own my time 5:28.
Yep,
Amy whooped on me, I know I will hear about it forever 
more from my siblings and brother in laws, 
she came in under the dreaded 5:30 pacer with 5:25.
T was just behind us at 5:42.

After getting away from the Disney madness....
T went her way with her family,
and we headed for some R&R at the Marriot pools.
Talk about a perfect ending.
It was warm, slightly breezy.
Calm and happy.
Satisfied and content.
Back to real life now.
No running pressures.
Mementoes of the day are in their rightful places of honor.

Post Race:
Tina miraculously feels amazing.
Her feet do not hurt....she has whobbly knees (her words)
but can't believe her feet are pain free.

Amy probably has the worst of it.
The limping about is getting less and less....she just blood let
the blisters below her big toenail last night to let off some of the
painful pressure.  She will loose a few nails, not uncommon. 

I was expecting much worse.
Kev kept asking me when it was really going to hit me....
when would I be super sore?
I guess I will not be.
I could tell I had had a great work out, a little rickety and sore the first day,
but by day two....already felt exceptionally well like Tina.

I have saved this little "Day After the Marathon" video for a
solid year.  I think Tina may have shared it originally....not sure where
I got it from.
I had anticipated a little more of this.....
Enjoy.

Thanks for the wonderful marathon experience ladies!