Two Wheeler!! (with training wheels!)

Sophie just got her first two wheeler this weekend for her fourth birthday and she's pretty excited about it.

Mark was putting shoes on to go outside to help her learn to ride it the first time and by the time he got out there, Sophie had already opened the garage door and taken it for a spin. Who needs Dad??

She's crashed several times, but just laughs and get's back on. She's always been pretty athletic and coordinated and it's just fun to watch her ride around and around on that bike. She sings while she rides too, which is pretty entertaining. Today she was singing about a 'princess biker' and yesterday it was, 'go faster, princess bike'. Every lap around was a new line. And periodically, she would stop and say, "Mom, Dad, thank you for the bike". Day two, and she's already doing the 'no hands' trick! And, of course, today she had to wear her new red sparkle shoes that Grandma Peggy gave her for her birthday while riding. She told me that she would be really darling cute if she rode her bike while wearing the sparkle shoes. And she was!! These are the 'pay-day' moments in parenting that make it all worth it!

TOU Marathon...We Conquered!

Everyone says that once you run one marathon, you'll be addicted and want to run more and more. Maybe we'll change our minds at a later date, but Coty and I are pretty content with just running this one.

Coty's bus got in at 5:30 on Friday night, and Grandpa and Grandma picked him up and came to Logan to meet us. Our friends, Ryan and Nikki Ostler (who were also running the marathon), drove the course with us so that we would know what we could expect. We then picked up our packets which included our shirts, bib numbers, timing chips, etc. And then headed out for a late pasta dinner.

After a sleep-less night (mine was anyway...I think Coty was able to get some sleep), we awoke at 4:00am in order to catch our bus. We ended up at the start line around 6:00 where we hung out in the warming tents stretching and relaxing for approx. an hour before the race started. We lined up in our supposed finish times and Coty was a bit modest when we chose to stand in the 3:30-4:00 area. He ended up spending a little time trying to pass everyone.

Coty will have to tell his next 26.2 miles of tales...he had aches and pains (including some hamstring issues), but needless to say he did AMAZING! He placed 1st in his division, which was 15-19 yr old males, and 39th overall. He ended up with a time of 3:08 (which is an average pace of 7:14 minute miles for 26.2 miles)...absolutely incredible! And his time was so good, he qualified to run the Boston Marathon. WAY TO GO COTY! He walked away with a great trophy and a $50. check. I think they left off a zero...it should have been $500!

As for my 26.2 miles...all-in-all it was good. Relatively speaking I felt pretty good. The first 17 miles are in a canyon that has slight rolling hills. To be honest, I thought that was going to be easy, but I guess there are no free handouts in running 26.2 miles! The canyon was beautiful and was full of changing leaves, so that made the time go by a little faster. I was already hurting by mile 17 when Mark and fan club met up with me. Mark ran and chatted with me for a couple of minutes and gave me the update on Coty, Ryan, and Nikki. Seeing them gave me an extra boost. About mile 19 I got this overwhelming feeling of exhaustion. It was all I could do to keep moving. I didn't dare look down at my watch to see my pace because I didn't want to be discouraged. I just kept telling myself to stay running. I took a Roctane GU which gave me a huge pick-me-up. A little past mile 21, Mark, Mom, Dad, and kids surprised me which was awesome. The first thing I saw was Sophie running toward me to give me a 'five'! Just the faces I wanted to see, and just what I needed to gather myself physically and mentally to finish out the race. Ryan and Nikki met me around 25.8 miles and ran with me until the final turn, when you see the finish line in your sights. As soon as I saw that, I just took the last amount of anything I had left and pushed as hard as I could for the finish. What an amazing feeling of accomplishment! I finished in 4:42, which was a 10:35 pace. I ran, sometimes very slowly, the entire way (with the exception of water stops).

I feel great about accomplishing a marathon, and pushing through when times were tough. It's an interesting test of your will. It's as much mental as physical, and I guess you have to be mental to want to run 26.2 miles in the first place!

They did it!!!!

Good Job Cori and Coty! For those of you who are on the edge of your waiting to hear how Cori and Coty did at the marathon....



They did it! They both completed the 26 mile run that was located in Logan Utah. I can't even imagine running that far, but I know they both put a lot of work and training in preparation for this big day. We are very proud of you both!

I am sure there will be pictures coming shortly as Cori's husband, Mark, and her kids along with Grandma and Grandpa Thomas were there to document it. So check back.

Top of Utah Marathon - dedicated to Cori and Coty

I found this on youtube. It is a home video of some friends who ran the Top of Utah marathon last year. I thought this would hopefully motivate and give them an idea of what they are in for. We will be rooting for you two. RUN LIKE THE WIND BULLSEYE!

Zoo Times!

We went to Hogle Zoo on Monday with our friends, the Bichler's, and had a great time! They have two cute girls, Addie and Ella, that Sophie (and the rest of us) absolutely adore! We learned some pretty interesting facts: 1.) Mark correctly guessed the rip-off price of the carosel ($2/ea.), 2.) giraffe's walk using both left legs at the same time, then both right legs, 3.) that thier knees bend backwards just like a flamingo, and the most interesting fact: #4.) Aimee informed us that they can kick the head of a lion/tiger and kill them. Those are some pretty powerful flamingo legs!! Oh wait...she meant the giraffe!