Utah Valley Half Marathon

It happened over a week ago, but I still want everyone to know that I ran the UVHM! This was my second half marathon, and will hopefully be the first of at least three this year...assuming I can figure out what's wrong with my foot! During my final long run before the race, I did something to my right foot. After that, it hurt every time I ran -- but not badly enough to stop me!

On race day, I felt fine -- sleepy, but fine. I got up at 2:30 that morning so that Scott and I could be on one of the first ten buses up the canyon. One lucky winner on each of those ten buses would win a new pair of running shoes from 26.2. We didn't win, but it was still fun to get to the starting point early and watch the thousands of people arrive. It was seriously so packed -- what an adrenaline rush! Scott was using this race as a training run for his upcoming half Ironman, so he ran with a different (much faster) pacer than I did. The weather was perfect, and the scenery was beautiful...but the course was SO HARD (seriously, Becky, I am so amazed at your time for the full marathon -- I'd have died)! Maybe because I was running on the road, or because I need a new pair of running shoes, or maybe because at about mile six my foot started to feel like it was crumbling, but I'm not kidding -- this was WAY harder than the first half marathon I ran!

By the time I crossed the finish line, I was completely hammered. Scott had come in almost 40 minutes ahead of me and found me in the crowd. When he asked me how I felt, I almost started sobbing. I was that exhausted and in a ton of pain. It was several days before I could walk normally, and I slept for at least two with an ice pack on my foot. I had some x-rays taken, but the doctor said he didn't see any fractures -- just some swelling. It sure didn't feel like it was "just swollen"! We'll see what the coming weeks of training bring.

All in all, I guess I shouldn't be too disappointed with my finishing time of 2:27:32....but initially I was. This was about 20 minutes slower than I'd aimed for, and about 10 minutes longer than my first half marathon. There will be others, though. By the end of the year, I hope to do one in less than two hours!

Oh, and I only have one picture from the race. Scott took this one of me at the finished. I look super-angry, don't I? I think it was mostly just the pain and exhaustion, but I was pretty annoyed at the couple in front of me. They stopped running and started WALKING before we even crossed the finish line! Should have passed them when I had the chance...

Andi's Wedding Dress

So, my little sis, Andrea, got married two weeks ago. Ah, what a beautiful day...and what a beautiful dress she wore, if I may say so myself. I hope it's okay for me to be so pleased with (okay, proud of) my work. Though I've sewn pretty much everything under the sun, wedding dressery was uncharted territory for me up until then. Andi didn't want just any dress, either -- she actually wanted a two-in-one of sorts: a long, elegant, 1940s-inspired gown that could convert into a shorter dress suitable for swing dancing. And she knew how she wanted every last detail. It's super-tough to sew for someone who has such a specific vision but little experience with sewing/designing, but I think I pulled it off nicely.

I just wish I had good pictures to show you.

Good pictures -- that's what I've been holding out for. Steven's sister took a ton of pictures (like, official ones) at the temple and the reception, but is taking a while to get them to me. I'm kind of getting super-impatient -- one of my more prominent character flaws -- so, for now I'll just show you some random snapshots I took myself. I was just tagging along behind the photographer, so these are sorta lame pictures, but hopefully they'll give you an idea of what the dress looks like. I'll post some real ones later.







These just show the "long version" of the dress -- it's actually a knee-length dress with a long skirt over the top. I probably won't make another wedding dress for a while (I hope), but I am so happy with how Andrea's turned out!