A marathon, a triathlon, and a half marathon all walk into a bar...

Forgive me readers, for I have sinned. It has been three events since my last blogging.

On May 30, I completed my 11th marathon, the Jordan River Marathon. This race was a big deal, because it was Jamie's last race to qualify for the Marathon Maniacs (which she did, in spectacular style, with cookies and everything).

Remember how the Ogden Marathon was so cold and wet? Well, this one was just the opposite. It was so hot for this race. By the first aid station, I was already pouring water over my head and dreading mid-day's arrival.

It may have been warm, but what a sunrise!

It was a pretty run along the river. I don't really run there much so it was nice to see some new scenery. The course was an out and back course, which I really didn't mind. The race was small enough that I was actually looking forward to seeing the other, faster runners on their way back. Plus, I got to go through my favorite aid station twice! I was happy to see that the aid station had Coca-Cola and ice. It was a little slice of heaven on a long hot run.

Not the worst place to be running.

For quite a while, I was pretty sure that I was in last place but it turned out that I beat 7 other people somehow... I really wasn't concerned about my pace, since I knew I had to run more after to get my 31 miles for the day. The only thing I didn't like was at the end, when I was very overheated and ready to be done, I still had to go past the finish arch and do a lap around the parking lot before I could be done. That was rough.

Commiserating with Jamie about the heat and having to go around again before I could be done.

FINALLY coming into the finish.

At the end of the race, we got free waffles from a very tasty waffle truck and then we were handed lots of extra stuff, hats, bananas, Dr. Pepper. We walked away with a nice haul of goodies, along with the sense of badassery that comes from completing a tough run.

Sassy, classy marathon ladies. 

The next weekend was our family triathlon, the Daybreak Triathlon, out in South Jordan. My brother, Alex, was our swimmer and my other brother, Jason, was our cyclist. We opted to tackle the Olympic distance and see how it went.

We got there with plenty of time to get marked and set up in the transition area. The lake looked nice and calm, but the dark clouds were ominous.

Getting ready to get in the water. Whee!

The skies did open up while the swimmers were in the water, but thankfully the rain had stopped by the time Alex was done and Jason needed to take off on the bike.

Swim! Swim for your life!

So happy to be done with the 1500 meter swim.

We switched the ankle timer and Jason took off!

 We got through the transition pretty smoothly and then set to work getting Alex peeled out of his wet suit. He started coughing up blood, which didn't seem like a good thing, so he went over to the paramedics. It turns out that he had gotten swimming induced pulmonary edema because the wet suit constricted his chest too much. They told him what to watch for and if it got worse, he would need to go to the hospital. Thankfully, it cleared up quickly and he's fine now.

I got all prepped and ready to run when Jason got back from the bike portion. The ride was supposed to be 26 miles, but his Garmin only showed close to 20... He followed the route perfectly and didn't miss any turns, so we don't quite know how it was so far off.

And he's back, time to switch the ankle timer and run!

It had actually warmed up considerably by the time Jason had finished, So I knew I would be running conservatively. Heat is my downfall. So I just set myself on cruise control and just focused on moving steady and keeping my heart rate from spiking too high.

Starting the first lap of the run. 

Because we had signed up for the Olympic distance, I had to do two laps around the lake to get the mileage in. It was supposed to be 6.2 miles, but the course was half a mile longer than that. I was pleased to see that my pace was dead on for the distance though. It's always satisfying when I can stick to a plan.

Finishing and happy to be done with another hot run.

Swim! Bike! Run!

It was another good experience for Team T-Rex and we're looking forward to doing more in the future. Alex is also thinking of doing some longer swim-only races, while Jason just registered for his first 60 mile bike event. It's safe to say, we're enjoying our chosen sports.

And lastly, yesterday, I completed my 65th half marathon, the Utah Valley half. I had done this one last year and enjoyed it, so why not again? It was a good last longish run before my 50 mile race next weekend. The best part of the race itself was the Boy Scout aid station. Those boy scouts put out quite a spread! There was a whole dutch oven meal if you wanted it. Since I've been training my body to eat during long runs, I've been getting so hungry during races. I was more than happy to grab up some dutch oven potatoes with bacon to help fuel me through the rest of the race.

I was also excited to meet two of my Daily Mile friends in real life, Jill and Wade. It's been so fun to meet more and more running friends through racing. We all had a good time yesterday and are looking forward to hanging out at more events.

I like running. Running is my favorite. 

Their slogan is 100% correct. 

So there you have it. Now I can fully concentrate of freaking out about the 50 miles I'm supposed to live through this coming Saturday. I've scheduled my massage, planned my drop bags, and had a couple of minor meltdowns, so I guess that means I'm as ready as I'll ever be? I'm really mostly worried about finishing in the time limit. I've pretty much figured out that I can go the distance, it's just a question of how long that will take me... And that's why timed events are my new favorite thing. Anyway, look forward to a detailed report of hopefully epic proportions in the near future.

Until then, happy running!