Park City 1/2 marathon

Grandma and Grandpa Whiting came with the girls on a little Park City getaway. Thomas had to stay with his friend Mason, which was such a HUGE sacrifice :) so he could play in his soccer game; and Matt missed out since he was still in Africa :(

We were grateful to have Grandma and Grandpa there to watch Emily and cheer for us when Jacqueline and I came in from our race.

It was a beautiful day, perfect weather and beautiful scenery. I didn't realize how much the higher altitude would affect me. The first 7 miles were a gradual uphill climb. I struggled to catch my breath the entire time! Jacqueline felt great though :) After watching her go up ahead, realize I wasn't by her side, then slow down for me to catch up to her for the 20th time, I told her I loved having her by my side but since she was feeling so good and I could barely talk; I wouldn't mind at all if she felt like going ahead. She finally agreed at mile 7 and within 2 minutes she was out sight! She came in 8 minutes before me, passing 43 people along the way! She was on fire!!

When she crossed the finish line with 1:45 The announcer read, Jacqueline Heaps Lehi...then in shock read, 13 years old! She took 1st place in her age division and came in 60th overall!

When I finally crossed the finish line at 1:53 I was totally exhausted which seems so comical since my goal was to run a 7:45 pace. Instead it was an 8:45 pace! I felt better when I kept hearing other people talking about the altitude making it so much harder to run in.

The highlight of the day was being able to run with Jacqueline! She is a very determined and strong young woman! I love watching her take off with her long legs going so fast :)

After the race we went back to the hotel for a swim. This made coming up worth it for Emily! Even Grandma joined in the fun and almost drowned a few times when Emily would guide her to the deep end! It felt so great to soak in the hot tub and play in the cool swimming pool.

Before heading out we ate lunch at Cafe' Rio and just HAD to check out the Outlet stores. How can anyone go to Park City and not go to the "Outlet" stores? Grandma excitedly told us she wanted to go inside every store and this is exactly what she did!

We missed having Matt and Thomas with us but we definitely had a great time with grandpa and Grandma. They know how to make everyone feel like they are #1 in their book :) Thanks for being such wonderful Grandparents!