I woke up at 4 am and got ready. The shuttle left at 4:30 to the finish line. It was really cold that early in the morning. They give you a bag to put your extra clothes in that they take to the finish line for you. They had a few fires going where people were huddled around. I met my running partner April at the start line. She said that she wasn't going to go for a pr and just wanted to run it with me. I felt a little bad that she would stay with me and not run her best but I also felt glad that we would stay together. My goal was 8 minute miles. We started off really good. Mile 2-6 was all downhill. It was beautiful. I was really hoping that the whole race would be down hill. At mile 9 I started to get really tired and had a hard time keeping my pace and it wasn't as much downhill as I hoped. I think my partner got a second wind at that point! She was really good to encourage me on. I felt strong, but tired. the last 3 miles were a killer. I wanted to go faster but couldn't. Luckily we were ahead of pace the whole race and ended up finishing at 7:47 min/mil. My finish time was 1hour 41 min 59 sec or 1:41:59. I came in number 13 in my age bracket and number 150 across the finish. I think there were 1500 runners. I was really happy to run around the bend to the finish and see my family cheering me on! I was especially happy to be done! It was a lot of trouble getting there and dragging our kids with us and I'm so glad that my husband was so good to support me, because it wasn't easy. I felt so happy to be doing something for my health and wellness after having 4 kids. I felt so alive and grateful.
We eventually made it over to Bryce Canyon. We stopped at Mossy Cave and did a very short hike and played in a cold stream. It felt really good on my legs, like ice therapy. We had a great time. We hung out while the kids worked on their junior ranger program packets. Its a free program for kids at every national park. They learn about the parks, how to respect the earth and wild animals and how to be safe. They collected liter and listened to a park ranger talk about geology. After they were done they get sworn in to be a junior ranger and was given a badge.
While the kids were listening to the park ranger about geology I was taking a nap with Bella in the motor home. Wade texted me a few times but I didn't notice it. He called to wake me up and said that Lydia really needed to go potty and for me to come get her. He said she was on her way. I grabbed Bella who was just waking up and rushed out to find her. The park was packed with people most of which spoke a different language. I kept circling the bathroom that had doors on both sides of the building, looking for her. I started to panic after I couldn't find her.I started praying, "Please please Heavenly Father don't let her get taken. Please help me find her." I texted Wade and he finally came over carrying sleeping Damon in his arms. We were both frustrated. We quickly went to the motor home to put Damon down when we saw the door open and Lydia who changed her clothes and went potty and was now coming out. We must have some how passed each other. I was so relieved and by that time Wade and I were ready to get home! It was probably a total of 10 minutes or so but they were long minutes! There is nothing more terrifying then not being able to find one of your children.
We thought about staying another night but wanted to get home to teach our church classes. I was so glad we did because I had an awesome lesson with my 7 turning 8 year olds about how the Holy Ghost helps us.
Love and Light~
