This was a BIG weekend... for 2 reasons

1. I cut my hair

2. I ran my first marathon

First, I have been planning for a while now to cut my hair short, pixie short.  I have never, ever gone this short, but I realized a couple years ago that I don't have hair that will ever look good long (tear), and therefore I need to just be happy about short hair style options! 

So here I am with super short hair!

Second, and bigger than the haircut:  Anissa and I ran the Provo Marathon!

This is my friend who helped me accomplish something I never thought I'd be able to do.  In truth, I don't love running... But... I do love the way I feel after I run, and I love having regular time with one of my best friends, giving me "girl-time" that I believe every woman needs.  I have been so blessed to have Anissa in my life and to have our schedules and running styles be so compatible that we could train together and accomplish the goal of a marathon together.  Anissa has a passion for helping people get into running.  I am not the first person she has helped train for a marathon.  Almost two years ago I asked if I could start running with her.  It was a time in my life when I desperately needed a distraction.  It was an answer to prayer, an answer I didn't fully understand at the time.  With that said, running with Anissa was the therapy I needed.  So grateful Heavenly Father knows what I need, since most the time I don't.  Anissa has helped me so much, and I am so very thankful for her. 

I flew in a few days early to hang out with Emily.   I am bugged with myself I have no pictures of our adventures.  It's been a really long time since we've had time together, just the two of us without the distraction of husband or kid.  The first two days were for her... helping out in her classroom and such... And the last two days were for me... getting ready for the marathon and relaxing after.  Em was a gem!  She was super supportive throughout the whole thing.  When I first signed up for this race, I called Em first to ask if she'd be there for me at the finish line.  At the time, Anissa was not running it with me, but I felt calm knowing that Em would be there for me at the end.  I don't need a lot of hype when I run a race, but I am so grateful she was there.  I felt so supported. 

Funny story: At mile 14 Emily was waiting with my favorite water bottle to give me, expecting the weather would be warmer and I'd need it... A mile later, Anissa and I stopped at a porta potty to take care of business.  Long story short, my water bottle fell in. 
Super gross.  I said a quick good bye and that was it. 

Run 13 is the company that put the race on.  I promise it really was 26.2 miles though. 

So many people wanted to know how fast I wanted to finish.  It got to a point where I was actually a little annoyed, since most people who asked had never run one themselves.  They would get really weird when I would tell them my time didn't matter to me.  I did have goals... My goals were to not walk, to not die, and to finish.  Now that I have a time on record, I can work towards beating that time, but wasn't it ok to just want to finish?

I am not crying, just blocking the sun and relieving my legs for a moment.

I have never run any other marathon, but I thought the Provo City Marathon was perfect!  The weather was perfect!  The scenery was fantastic!  With the exception of losing my water bottle, we didn't have a single problem.  Happy.