The Towner Family

The Towner Family

Happiness Is Being Married to Your Best Friend

Sunday, May 17, 2009

The Ogden 1/2 Marathon



Before The Race. It was cool out side.
The Proud Ogden 1/2 Marathon Finishers
Finished: 02:00:36 Stacy

Finished: 2:04:32 Trisha
Finished: 2:42:51 Sharlena

Yesterday Me and my sisters Sharlena, Trisha and my friend Heather Tanner ran the Ogden 1/2 Marathon which is 13.2 miles. It was so sweet. We ran down Ogden Canyon, it was beautiful scenery running past Pine view Reservoir, the river and waterfalls. I loved it. It really was such a great experience, for a first 1/2 marathon. I am so proud that we did it. My goal was just to finish but then I set to finish in 2 hours and 1o minutes tops. I beat my goal, I finished in 2 hours and 36 sec. I was ranked in 23rd place out of 83 girls in my age group, not bad for my first 1/2 marathon. I am pleased with how well that I did. I am glad that I finished in 2 hours. I was hoping that I would and I did. It helped that the run was a slight decline the whole way. I could feel the gravity pulling me down the canyon and the wind was blowing behind me. It was such a beautiful day too, perfect weather. It was cold starting out, it was about 43 degrees but we warmed up quickly. The race started at 7 in the morning. It was nice to have Dave, Sharlena's husband there to drop us off, so we waited in the car for a bit so we didn't have to chill in the cold for an hour. I was flying at the start of the race, the first 5 miles went by so fast. I was trying to keep up with Heather, she was flying a lot faster than I expected. I later had to slow down, I didn't train to run that fast, we were running at about an 8 1/2 minute mile pace. I don't know what Heather was on. She was cruising. She finished in 19th place at 1:58. I was way impressed. Go Heather! I will catch her next time, and yes there will be a next time. I hope to keep doing this.Trisha finished at 2:04 and Shar finished at 2:42. I am so proud of us all. Congrats Girls!! This was quite an accomplishment for us. We have come a long ways. I am glad to be done, but look forward to next years. I recommend this marathon to anybody. Ogden does know how to do it. It has great food afterwards, water, gatorade and pick me up foods all along the way, the route is very beautiful, and it is very organized. Well worth it.

I lucked out and didn't walk away with any blisters. I was in pretty good shape just a little soreness. My left knee hurt a bit, but not nearly as bad as I thought it would. The race wasn't nearly has hard as I thought it would be either. I heard that this one is a good one to start with. It was really nice. The last three miles were the hardest for me, but I got through it. The last mile was the hardest by far and the finish line couldn't come soon enough. I wanted to pick up the pace on the last mile but it was so hard to find the energy. I finally sprinted the last 1/4 of the mile across the finish line. It meant a lot to see my Dad there cheering us on, on the side of the road. I saw him and Dave at about the 1oth mile. I saw my mom and Buck afterwards. We had great family support.

Afterwards My sisters and I had a day of relaxation and pampering. It felt so nice. We did a little shopping at the Mall, got a massage and a pedicure and then went to dinner at Tepanyaki, so yummy. We needed it, and it was all well deserved. By the end of the night we couldn't walk very well. I noticed that it hurt to walk down the stairs. We looked like we were in pain. Trisha made me laugh when I saw her walk. All of our hard work paid off. It was well worth it.
We are recovering. Today my knee is much better, but every muscle and every part of my legs are sore, but it is not a painful sore, which is good. I thought that I would be more sore than I am. I am relieved that I am not.

Friday, May 1, 2009

Graduation Ceremony

A UVU Graduate
The Proud Parents
Karlee, Trisha, and Sharlena
 The Health Ed. Girls with my Favorite Professor, Lori Richards

Tia Jones and I. 
I had a great graduation ceremony. It was a rememberable moment. It was neat to hear President Monson speak at the commencement. I saw Pres. Eyring and Pres. Uchdorft too. I enjoyed seeing my college classmates, friends again. It was good to officially celebrate. Now the real learning begins. I have a lot to look forward to and I am excited for what the future may bring.