Canyonlands 1/2 Marathon: RECAP!

Although I don't have all of the pictures from my friend, I am anxious to document the story of how Dave and I ran our first 1/2 marathon.

Last November, Dave and I talked about doing something "different" for us; something athletic and challenging. Several of our friends had taken up running and had run several races while I was pregnant and with a new baby. The idea was crazy! Could we accomplish such a goal?

A race? Could we find the time to train with our young and very busy family? Could we finish a 13.1 mile race?

Dave. He is strong, athletic and determined. There was no question in my mind that if he chose to do it, he would race and finish with a great time.

Jody. Me. Not many people know the Jody from high school, the Jody who loved competition and thrived on self-improvement and goal setting. Those who know me or followed my blog during my pregnancy with Alyssa knows that it was the most painful experience of my lifetime. I remember feeling like there was a girl trapped inside of a huge body just waiting to jump out and run! And I HAD to honor the fact that I COULD run.

.......so we signed up to run the Canyonlands 1/2 marathon in March 2010! 13.1 miles.

Our preparation and training was going well up until we left for Hawaii during the 1st week of February. After we returned, our lives went nuts! Illnesses, busy work schedules, no sleeping with the kids etc kept us from consistently working out the last 4 1/2 weeks until the race.

On Friday, March 19th, we drove with Steve and Jen Johnston down to Moab. We met up with the DuJardins (Dana and Yolanda), Rueben and the Hults. We ate a pasta dinner and then went for our final registration.

At the final registration, I had my last opportunity to bow out of the 1/2 marathon and go for the 5 mile race, a far more realistic race for the amount of training I had done. The 5 mile would have challenged me! In that moment, I knew I had to go for the big one.....perhaps for pride itself! I just needed it at this point of my life, to feel as though I could do something which should have been way too hard to accomplish.

Dave and I signed up for the 1/2 and headed to our bed and breakfast for the final night's rest. Here is a picture of Dave in his running gear!(Steve LOVED this outfit on Dave! I thought he looked like a runner!)

The morning of our race!
Jen, Jody and Dave
We ate breakfast and then put on the layers as it was only in the mid-30s!

We met up with our party at their hotel near the buses.

Dave, Jody, Nate, Ruebs, Jen and Dana

YIPEE!!!!! The race is here!

Our friends ran the 1/2 in just over 2 hours. They were amazing!

Jen coming in! She is such a great runner and athletic!

Here are the Hults. Nate and Merideth!

Dave, finishing the race! He finished in under 3 hours. I was so proud of him. This man is incredible!


Dave came and met me at 12 3/4 miles to run the end with me. Here we are as I try to go over and give my friends "5" with my swollen hands!

We did it! We finished!

Jennifer and Jody!
Jen was so positive and proud of us.

Here are our travel buddies, the Johnstons. We shared a room with them at the Adobe Abode Bed and Breakfast. Had a great time!

The next morning, we drove up the canyon to where we began our race. I couldn't believe we had run it! Here I am jumping for joy!


What a great experience as a couple! While running, I thought about each of my children, Dave and about our future together. And yes, I CAN DO HARD THINGS!!!!! That is what kept on saying to myself. And I did it. WE did it! We both did it!

The journey was incredible thus making us already excited for the Utah Valley 1/2 Marathon in June.

Wanna join us?

Canyonlands 1/2 Marathon!

WE DID IT!!!!

Jody, Dave, Rueben, Steve (non-runner but most important athlete), Jen, Nate and Dana at the end of our race.

I kind of wanted to wait until I had all of my pictures to post this, but the rest of our story will come later! In a nutshell, Dave and I ran the Canyonlands 1/2 marathon in Moab last weekend. In case anybody has forgotten how far that is, it is 13.1 miles. That is like running from our home to the Maverick in Eagle Mountain. For us, it was a major accomplishment and we are both so proud of ourselves for finishing. I'll post our story later.

Incredible experience! Simply incredible!

Kung Fu Jijitsu Hong Kong

This post is dedicated to my Brazilian Jijitsu family! Dave gets all of these ideas about activities for the kids and himself...and this is his latest! He signed up the 3 kids and himself or Jijitsu. My favorite thing about it is that the kids have something to do each week with Dave, instead of mom toting them around to everything. They are all enjoying their new training and look quite darling in their new gyes (no idea how to spell that and I don't even have the desire to look it up right now).

Kung Fu Panda!

(Is it just me, or is there a 9 ft FOOT blocking the view of the entire picture?)

Wrapping up February with a slam into March!

February went out with two very busy weeks! After we got back from Hawaii, we had weeks filled with Parent/Teacher conferences (both as parents and teacher), Grandpa Hatch's funeral, sending mom and dad back out into the mission field, family in town, UVU meetings for my concurrent enrollment classes, visiting teaching etc. Busy is good, except that I needed to be home on the weekend to get caught up with the household and family needs. Here are some pictures!

Grandpa Hatch's Funeral

Here are two of my beautiful nieces, Jessica and Madison Hatch

The Hunsakers
Ginger, Joshua and Zoe

Cousin Leslie and my sister, Jenny (at 5 months pregnant, she looked amazing!)

My brother, Justin, with his oldest daughter, Jessica

Dave was so helpful with Alyssa during the funeral

My brother, Brandon and his beautiful family

Sydney, Charlotte, Sadie

Cemetery in Chesterfield, Idaho

Austin and his projects

Austin is fortunate to have the world's best ladies who watch him each morning while I teach! Julie and her daughters, Chantelle and Tiffany, put together a cool pre-school for the kids where they study different themes each month. Here is one of his projects that I just loved: a goat with its udders to feed the baby!

On his head, is his church ears to listen. Too cute! Thanks to his primary teachers too!

Jeff's Birthday

Since we were all up in Idaho for Grandpa's funeral, we celebrated Jeff's birthday with a dinner at our home the night before my parents flew back out to the mission field in New Jersey. Brandon and his family were there too. We enjoyed great food and conversation. Happy Birthday, Jeff!

Jeff and his darling wife, Nicole

Look at that Black Forest Cherry Cake!

March Betrayal

This is how March came in! On my last day off until Spring break in April, it snowed. And snowed. And snowed. I was upset at first, but we ended up having some fun in the snow with the kids. Here are some pictures of our yard.

Do we even have front steps?

The kids insisted on Abelskivers for breakfast and boy, were they delicious (as always!) Next time, I'm calling cousin Doug to cook some for me!

Beautiful Boys

My Jaxson- age 5

My Austin, age 3

Brothers and best friends

Tribute to Grandpa Hatch

Ammon Paul Hatch

A Farewell To A Beloved Grandfather And Role Model

This blog entry will be dedicated to Grandpa Hatch, the only grandfather I ever knew. He passed away a few weeks ago while Dave and I were in Hawaii. My cell phone rang at 3:30am (Dad, who had just arrived in the mission field in New Jersey, forgot the time change---but I didn't care) with the news of his passing. Grandpa Hatch was 100 years old. You might think that his death wouldn't have been so surprising for his grandchildren......yet it was. He lived independently, drove, shopped, read, etc, up until his final week on this earth. I think we all felt 105 was do-able!

When I attended the funeral, I was moved to improve my life. Grandpa Hatch wasn't perfect; yet he is one of the most influential men I've known. He was adored by his family and friends! He was respected and revered too. Here are some pictures I just love of my grandfather:

September 2009
Grandpa Hatch's 100th Birthday Celebration

Grandpa and Grandma Hatch

Our family at the 100th Celebration

Grandpa and Grandma were temple workers at the Logan Temple for many years.

Here is a picture of me, Dad and my grandparents in Auburn, Alabama.

Here is Grandpa Hatch's Family!

At age 90, he still rode his horse!

Grandpa, Dad, Jose and our family friend, Ben

Grandpa climbed on this steer in Fort Worth, TX, while visiting my parents on their first mission

Farewell to a modern-day hero. I love you, Grandpa! Thanks for the example, friendship and love! I am so proud to be your granddaughter. You have inspired me to live a better life for my own posterity.

Love,
Jody