I can't believe how time works. We had been anticipating our 6 month stay in Utah for over a year and a half, and now the time has come for us to leave it behind. It came and went...just. like. that. I really am so grateful for the opportunity we had to live with Devin's parents, Marianne and Richard, for that sweet 6 month moment in time. Priceless, really. When we first arrived last October, just before Halloween, I had to learn how to share a home with other adults; learn how to intermingle set in place routines of two different households...and now it is difficult to unlearn the combined routine that we created together under that same, one roof. They are fantastic people, That Richard and Marianne, and I learned much from observing their every day, run of the mill way of life. With us living away for Devin's Podiatry school, and now living away again for another 3 years for residency, have this special slice of time in Utah with family has been just the battery charge we needed. We are not sure when we will be back, as Devin doesn't get vacation for the next 3 years aside from a holiday here and there, but Utah, you will ever be missed!
On April 20th, I ran the Salt Lake City Half Marathon. Ever since I moved to Utah back in 2007, I have wanted to run a half there, but have been too intimidated by the hills (mountains). After I had Emily and started running more seriously, my desire to run a half in Utah grew and grew, and when we knew we were going to live there for 6 months, I also knew my opportunity to put a Utah half under my belt had arrived. I really am proud of myself for doing it. Devin's parents live right on the Wasatch bench up against the mountains, and the training was incredibly intense. I have never run more gigantic hills in my life. Each training run was a hate/love relationship. First the hate, as I anticipated each run and how hard it would be...then the love as I rounded the corner of their street sprinting my last 100 yards to the house feeling good about pushing myself one more run closer to accomplishing my long time goal. My training was right on par, and I felt good and confident once race day rolled around. Unfortunately the conditions of race day were horrible. It was raining/pouring the entire time. My head down to my soggy shoes were soaked, and it was cold. On top of that, I came down with my strange migraine symptoms on mile 8: blurred vision, tingly/numb hand and slight headache. The next 3 miles were absolutely miserable, but I pushed through knowing that if I just kept running it would all be over that much faster. I prayed...fervently...to regain strength and be able to end the race feeling better so that I would take away some sort of good memory from the experience. By mile 11 my symptoms subsided a bit and I finished really strong crossing the finish line with my best time yet; 1:51:33. Devin was waiting for me at the finish line, I got my medal, and we hurried to the car to warm me up and get me home. On the way home we got a flat tire which set us back another hour...and when we got home, I ran straight to the bathroom to throw up. Race day was actually terrible, looking back, but I accomplished that goal, and for that I am happy!
3 days before we left we had a big Tranter Family photo shoot at Draper Park, and this was our little family's shot.
Right after the shoot we all headed up to Deer Creek for some fishin' and weenie roastin'. The views were spectacular as was the company.
Devin borrowed Matt's float tube and fly rod and headed out on the lake. I am so glad he got that time to himself doing one of his FAVORITE things in the world on one of his FAVORITE lakes. Wish he could have more opportunities like this.
Sweet girl cousins saying goodbye. Emily still asks about Ray Ray (Reagan).
The day before we left, I wanted to try my hand at mom's homemade wheat bread recipe so we would have fresh bread for our drive. I feel the key to a tasty sandwich is the bread! From grinding the wheat to bagging and twist tying...I did it all by myself :) Her recipe makes 6 loaves!
We drove out of Utah on Tuesday, April 30th, Peachtree City bound.
No comments:
Post a Comment