Prescott X2

Both Matt and I completed races in Prescott back to back this year.  Matt completed the Whiskey 50 for the third year in a row!  This year there was little twist in the weather:  SNOW, hail, rain, mud, cold, etc.  Many started-few finished! (with good reason).  Carter and I saw them off and then met them 1/2 way to "feed" them.  Carter was such a sweetie and was so excited to see her dad. She held his water bottle waiting for him to come for like 10 minutes and then right before he came it started hailing so bad that I had to put her in stroller with a blanket so it wouldn't hurt here!  I felt so bad she didn't get to actually hand Matt his water bottle.  Matt stopped to say Hi to her though so I think she was ok.  It took much longer than Matt wanted, but he finished!   We are so proud of him!

 Poor Carter was so tired by the time the day was over.  She crashed in Matt's arms waiting to eat.  By the time we were home she had a 101 fever and nasty little cold/croupe.

The next weekend, we went back to Prescott but this time for me!! 

For about year now I have had my eye on this race- The Prescott 1/2 Marathon.  The first 6 1/2 miles is up hill before you turn around and run back.  I thought it would be a great challenge and something fun to do.  Matt is always racing in Prescott and I'm always so jealous! :)  So I started training in November/December and have been running ever since.  I did the phoenix 1/2 in March to make sure I would be on target for this training. All was well until 1 week before the race.  As luck would have it Carter didn't sleep the weekend before at Matt's race, got a fever, ended up with Croupe and didn't sleep for another 2 nights, I got sick with a nasty fever/head cold and was in bed for 2 days, as I started to feel better, Matt got sick, I now am taking care of 2 sick children, he pulls it together to come to the race on Friday and we hit an accident on the Freeway that they said would take a couple of hours to clear, we turn around and go home to wait, we get back on the freeway 3 hours later and accident hasn't cleared and there's no getting around it, we finally realize there's a back way to Prescott so we take it-adding on an extra hour of our trip, we arrive and Carter decided she's wired for the night, we sleep for 3 hours and I get up to run the race!!!

  Needless to say at every single point in that story I was sure we would have to call it off.  I was just so determined because I had put too much time and money into it- I was going to do it...AND I DID!!!  Hooray!! I finished- a little slower than I wanted but I really didn't care.  I ran the whole thing and I'm very glad I did! :)  

 Before the race!  

 Finally!  My turn on Whiskey Row! 

 Waiting to start!

 FINISHING!!!!

And I just love the look on Carter's face in this one!

I did a lot of training on South Mountain which luckily had a great view.  If it wasn't the city it was a beautiful dessert in bloom!

I know Carter isn't old enough to read this but one day she will be so I have to make sure I praise this little girl!  She was such a little sweetheart while we trained.  Matt was guiding so much of this time that Carter had to run almost every run with me in the stroller--I think I figured she rode in the stroller about 300 miles and she was such a trooper.  She would eat her snack and drink her drink and if the run went longer she would pull her socks and shoes off and leave me picking them up along the trail and occasionally going back to find them!  :)  By the end of training she could barely look at the stroller without crying but she finished strong with me!! Love you Carter!