My Marathon Man.....

After a visit to Washington this past spring, Howie decided to begin training to run a marathon. His brother Jeff told him that he was coming down to Utah in September to run the "TOP OF UTAH" marathon held in Logan. Steve has always loved to run and decided to take his brother up on the challenge to join him in the run.

Steve was very diligent as he trained each week for months on end. Even while he was out of town for work he would run his required miles for the week. He did all of his training all by himself with no one around to push him along or encourage him. He had a great desire to accomplish this goal.

The time finally came for the big day.

Howie was working in Wyoming that week so he had to drive for 5-6 hours to arrive in Logan the night before the marathon. I met him at the hotel with all of his supplies for the race. He was extremely tired but very excited! (he only got 3 hours of sleep that night)

His little toes....all dressed up and ready to go!

Everyone met in the town center park at 5:00 a.m. to catch buses to go up into the canyon.

I had no idea how many people run in these marathons! There were rows and rows of school buses waiting to be loaded. I could not believe my eyes as I saw the massive amount of runners arriving this morning to begin their race. WOW !!!

I had originally planned to just return back to my hotel room and go to sleep after dropping off Howie. The race would not begin until 7:00 and no one was allowed up the canyon to cheer on their loved ones. I would not be able to see him until the 14th or 15th mile of the race. I figured I could catch up on some rest while I waited for Howie to make it down to the mouth of the canyon.

On the way back to the hotel I saw the road which led up the canyon. It was pitch black. They had not yet blocked it off to the public so I decided to drive up and see the actual route Steve would be running. The farther I drove the more emotional I became. I could not believe that the day he had worked so hard for was finally here. I was the only one on the canyon road that morning. The buses had not yet come. Fifteen miles to their beginning point was a LONG, LONG WAY!!!

As I drove I was remembering all of the many times throughout the previous months where Howie would return home from a long training run in pain, with blisters, sores and aching muscles. He worked soooo hard for this day. He was never discouraged....He never gave up!

None of our family members were able to come up to Logan with me to cheer him on. I wanted him to know how very proud I was of him. I wanted to find a way to encourage him throughout the race and to let him know how much he was loved. He did not have a running partner (which I think is very tough)

As I drove down the canyon and saw the buses coming up I decided to stick around instead of heading back to the hotel. I came up with the idea to make signs to hang along the route. I thought maybe these signs might help prod him along and encourage him to keep on going. I wish I had trained along with him so that he would have had a running partner for his VERY FIRST MARATHON! I am such a wimp when it comes to running so I guess the signs will have to do!

I went to the nearby grocery store and purchased markers, poster board and duct tape. I then spent the next hour or so hanging signs along the route. It was a lot of fun. By the way..... 26.2 miles is a LONNNNG distance. What was Howie thinking? It made me tired just driving around in my car hanging up these signs. Yikes.... HE IS GOING TO BE HATING LIFE IN A FEW HOURS!!!!

The country roads along the route on were so peaceful.

It was a calm, quiet morning.

A few hours later I was waiting for Howie to come by the aid station near the 17th mile and I looked up and saw Steve's brother Jeff and neice Megan running by. They said they had passed Steve just a few miles back and he should be there soon. I was so anxious to see Howie.

Jeff said it was a LOT tougher than he ever imagined it would be!

After some fruit and a drink they are off again....

I was able to see them once again at mile 23 and they are still plugging away. Megan ended up winning 1st place in her age bracket. I believe it was her very first marathon! Way to go Megan!!!

YEAH.... I SEE HIM!

It was so exciting to see Howie turn the corner as he approached the 17 mile marker. I could not have been prouder of him. He was really upbeat and seemed like he was doing fine. YEAH!!!

I love my marathon man!

This marathon was considered a downhill course but as I drove around I noticed a lot of hills that they needed to run especially toward the end of the race when they are the most tired!

Howie is still running his little heart out at this point. This is around mile 22. He is the one just beginning the climb up this hill (in the distance)

This group of people just in front of him were pretty funny. As they passed by me they told me how awesome my husband "STEVE-O" was. They said he was a GREAT GUY! (which I already know) They also asked how it was to be married to a bishop. I did not know what they were talking about. Steve later told me that when he met them at the beginning of the race one of them mentioned that he seemed like a bishop or a stake president. I think it is pretty impressive that people can see his wonderful qualities the moment they meet him. That is definately what happened the first time I met him. I saw all of his goodness bursting out! He is awesome!!!

I was just taking some country shots while I waited for Howie to pass by me..... What a pretty day!

These were kind of cool....

There was a beautiful butterfly on this fence post but it flew away by the time my camera finally decided to CLICK THE PICTURE!!!

Oh well... it kind of looks cool anyway!

I noticed as I was posting these pictures on my blog that I put a lot of his posters on STOP signs. What was I thinking. I did not want him to STOP!!!

Don't STOP....Keep running!

He kept plugging along at a steady pace....

Howie passing one of his signs..... Keep going!!!

When Howie hit the 23rd mile he started cramping up quite a bit. He had been warned about "HITTING the WALL" in a marathon. He was afraid if he cramped up too much he would not be able to complete the race. Three more miles to go. He decided at that point to just walk the rest of the way in. I kept bugging him to not give up. I am sure he wanted to tell me to SHUT UP and leave him alone (but he didn't)

"Fetchin' Nora....WHAT WAS I THINKING!!!!" is all he could say.

He was sure questioning WHY he thought this would be FUN!! He certainly was not having fun at mile 25-26. He even had nicknames for the little towns that he had to run through. Not very nice names, I might add! It was a crack-up in a way, because I have never seen this side of him. I just sat and laughed my head off. NOT A FUNNY SITUATION! I would get out of the car and walk along side of him and try to encourage him. We both would just laugh. He was in soooo much pain! OUCH!

Passing another one of his signs.

It got him to try once again but after a few minutes he was back to walking.

He later told me that it was so painful. His calves and feet hurt so much. He was just focused on finishing the race and not so concerned about his actual time.

When he got into town, close to the end of the race, I hurried and found a spot in the park next to the finish line so that I could capture him crossing it. I figured he would just be walking down the final stretch. When I saw him turn the corner towards the last lane to the finish line I noticed he was running. I started to BAWL!!! I had just left him 10 minutes earlier and he could hardly walk because of the cramping. I was the proudest wife around! Here he was in so much pain and he had endured to the end! When they announced his name I was jumping up and down with joy. He had accomplished his goal! He had succeeded in his very first marathon. YEAH!!!

(I had a video of him running the last bit of the race and crossing the finish line but I can not figure out how to compress my video so that I can post it on my blog. BUMMER! If anyone out there knows how to do it please let me know. I would love to put it on.)

It's finally over :)

He did it!

Me with my Awesome Marathon Man!

As I waited for Steve to finish I talked with a person who saw me holding one of his signs. She had run the race and her group said it was fun to look along the route to find another sign. They said it was like a WHERE'S WALDO activity. (WHERE'S the HOWIE SIGN)

I also heard several runners at the park say.... I wonder how HOWIE did in the race? No one knew who he was but one man said you could sure tell he was loved. AND HE IS!!!! I love and adore this man and I am so happy I was able to share in his marathon experience.

Finally off his feet.... Time to cool down and relax!

There was this ice cold water running down the gutter from the mountain run off. I talked Howie into taking off his shoes and dipping his feet into it. It was absolutely FREEZING! I could hardly keep my feet in it for more than a few seconds. BURRRR! Felt good though!

His first marathon is complete..... Is there more in the future?

Who knows.....

This is a beautiful picture of the Logan temple just across the street from the park we were at. It is so pretty just resting up on that hill. I love the inside as well. If Howie wasn't so tired we could go inside and do a session :)

NOT TODAY!!!!

WE ARE GOING HOME TO HEAL!

GREAT JOB, HOWIE