Craziness!!!

     So in my class we just finished reading Charlie and the Chocolate Factory.  We're now watching the movie and doing a Ven Diagram to compare and contrast the movie and the book.  (We're watching the 1971 version.)  I'm sitting there watching Wonka as he takes the children through the factory and being totally freaked out because I do a lot of crazy things he does....I can't even describe how crazy I feel after see the similarities between Wonka and myself.  Watch it.  See if you can see it too...

The Book of Mormon

This last week I finished reading The Book of Mormon again.  Once a year I like to read it in about a week focusing on a certain aspect of it or on a question that I have.  This time I looked at the women of The Book of Mormon.  I really learned a lot from these women and how they lived their lives.  There is not a lot said about the women in The Book of Mormon, but as I've studied what was said and taught about them I really came to admire their faith and example to me as a woman.

One of my favorite stories was that of the queen of King Lamoni.  When Ammon first preaches to King Lamoni, King Lamoni is overcome with the spirit and falls as if he were dead.  The servants take the king to his wife and his family mourns over him for two days and nights.  Before they take his body to lay it in the sepulchre, the queen asks for Ammon to come to her.  Ammon comes and inquires what she would like him to do.  She replies telling him what the servants told her that he was a prophet of God and that he had the power to do "mighty works in his name"(Alma 19:4).  She asks him to go see her husband because she did not believe that he was dead.  Ammon knew he was not dead, but under the power of God and that "the dark veil of unbelief was being cast away from his mind" and he had been overcome by the Spirit.  He goes to see the king and tells the queen that the king was not dead but slept in God and would rise the next day.  Ammon asks her if she believes his words and she readily tells him that she does indeed believe. Ammon then says, "Blessed art thou because of thy exceeding faith; I say unto thee, woman, there has not been such great faith among all the people of the Nephites" (19:10).  I really believe that for Ammon to say this was a great compliment.  He was the son of a very faithful king.  He personally knew Alma and was a great friend to Alma the Younger.  I'm sure he knew many faithful Nephites, but to this woman he says that her simple faith was greater that that seen "among all the people of the Nephites."  King Lamoni does wake the next day and the first thing he does is stretch out his hand to his wife and say, "Blessed be the name of God and blessed are thou" (19:12).  She listens to his testimony and then is herself overpowered by the Spirit.  When she awakens, she is filled with joy and bears her testimony to her people.  What an amazing example of faith!  She only had the witnesses of her servants and Ammon and she was able to have faith that her husband would awake. 

There are so many more stories of faithful sisters in The Book of Mormon and I can go on and on about them, but I'll let you learn about them on your own. :0) The Book of Mormon is another testament of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ.  I am thankful that I am able to read it and feel the Spirit testify to me of its truth and of the purity of the principles contained in it.  I know that Joseph Smith was a true prophet of God and that he was able to see God the Father and Jesus Christ in the grove of trees when he was only 14 years old.  I'm thankful that he had the faith and courage throughout his life to live the principles he was taught and to organize the true church of our Heavenly Father here on this earth so that I can have it in my life now.  I'm so thankful for my Savior!  I'm thankful that He took upon Him my sins and suffered for all the wrongs I do in my life.  I'm also thankful for His sacrifice so that I may have someone who truly knows of my sicknesses, my trials, my heartaches and pain, my hopes and dreams, and my love and joy.  I hope I can live my life working hard to be worthy of that gift!  I'm so thankful to my Heavenly Father for all he has blessed me with in my life.  I say these things in the name of Jesus Christ.  Amen.

Park City Half Marathon

So after Ragnar I should have kept training, but I fizzed out. What with my aching muscles and my training buddy having twisted her ankle during Ragnar...I pretty much had no motivation to keep running. So when August 21st came around I had done some running, but not anything longer than a 5K...We had to get up very early to drive up there because Kenz still had to pick up her race packet...We left at 4 a.m. and then I slept for about an hour in the car after we got there. I was exhausted after having spent the day at Lagoon the day before and not getting home until about 11 and then not being able to sleep.....

We went to the start line with the second wave and off we went...I meant to stay with Kenz, but she was having a hard time with her ankle. We ran the first couple miles and then Kenz needed to walk. I was just getting warmed up and into the rhythm of running, but I wanted to stay with her so we walked the next few miles....very slowly. Finally at about mile 7 I said good-bye to Kenz and ran the rest of the way. I couldn't believe how much my feet hurt! My shoes were made for running and not for walking and my feet were screaming at me! I kept running though. The last mile was pure torture and I finally had to start counting my footsteps. Run 40. Walk 20. Run 60. Walk 30....It helped me stay focused and to finish. My time was 3 hours 26 minutes and 31 seconds. I could have done better if I had just run instead of staying with Kenz as long as I did...but I wanted to be able to help her out...I swore never to do a half marathon again....but then again...I said that about Ragnar too, so who knows....?

I have pictures, but haven't been able to figure out how to e-mail them from my phone yet...but I'm working on it...

The Crazy Ragnar Adventure Part 2

After we get to the next major exchange we hand off the baton and jet to Morgan High School to take showers and naps. It is near impossible to get any sleep as we lay on blankets in the grass next to the Seminary. There are so many people and so much noise. Our van has to run through the night and having somewhere to sleep is not going to happen until about 4 a.m.



After getting pretty much no sleep we make our way to Echo Canyon where we grab the baton and start our night time runs. To keep us safe we are required to wear reflective vests, headlamps, and blinking LED lights. Running at night is one of my favorite things to do, so I'm totally stoked to be doing my longest run at night. Eleven o'clock rolls around and I'm grabbing the baton from Runner #7. Down hill in the dark seven miles! I was making good time. My team met me at about 2 miles to give me water....two miles later I'm wondering where they went to because I know I need more water, but I keep running hoping to find them.....Mile six rolls around and I'm starting to feel abandoned and worried about getting dehydrated....I get to the last mile marker and I hear cheering ahead of me! Finally my team!!! Oh....it's not my team, but people who are even better!!! My mom, Aunt Cindy and Beth!!! It was a great surprise! Beth ran with me for about a quarter mile, which was good because I had had enough and was ready to give up, but she kept me going. Finally I reach the exchange and pass the baton off to Runner #9. I made it!!! And I feel great!

I hop into the van and off we go...but wait....now I'm feeling a little nauseous....and my arms and tongue have gone numb...What is going on? We pull over so I can get out and walk around for little while. It helps and we get going again to the next exchange. As soon as we stop again, I'm feeling even worse and go puke up my guts on the side of the road. It was awful! I was so sick the rest of the night and I knew it wasn't good because I hadn't had enough to drink on that last run in the first place and I couldn't keep anything down...I was so dehydrated....We stopped at the next major exchange and slept on the cement in our sleeping bags. I was feeling a little better and had nothing left to get out of my stomach, so I slept okay.

The next morning we go take a quick shower and get ready for our last legs. I was feeling better, but still a little iffy. I didn't know if I could actually run my last 6.1 miles, but I was going to try.

We got to my exchange and I started out running the first two miles, but then started to feel sick again so I walked the rest of the way. At the last mile I was once again puking on the side of the road and wishing I could die because I hate puking...I would rather have any other sickness!!! I made it to the end though and that was great!

When we got to Kenz's last leg we got her going and then we had to leave her because she ran on a trail for most of the way...When we got to the next exchange we waited and waited and waited and then I started getting worried about her because she still hadn't come...it was way past the time she should have been there. Well we find out while we're waiting that they had to take another route on the run and it added 1.5 miles to their run.





When I finally found Kenz she was so tired and had twisted her ankle on the trail....but she made it!

We drop off the last runner and meet him and the rest of the team at the Canyons in Park City. I swore to never run Ragnar again because it was horrible! And thus ends the Crazy Ragnar Adventure...

At least until I got a call a few weeks later from my sister-in-law asking me if I would like to be on her dad's team next year....of course I said yes... :-D