Cotter, Arkansas

We took off for Cotter on Thursday afternoon. After a long drive with so many stops (!) we made it to Little Rock to spend the night with Grandma and Grandpa Pierson. After we finally got everyone to sleep and I got some good sleep we had a fun morning with the Piersons. Grandma made bacon and waffles which were a huge hit. 

The girls also made sugar cookies with Grandma. 

They loved decorating the cookies. We took them with us to Cotter. 

Carson was so happy to play around the house and explore. 

After Spencer's nap we took off for Cotter. The drive was very windy but man it was beautiful. Northern Arkansas is a very lovely place. 

We made it to our cabin. Our hunting cabin. :) Cotter is a big fishing and hunting place and our little house sure showed that. 

After we went to the race expo to pick up my bib we tried to get dinner but all the restaurants were a serious wait (small town and people in town). So Aaron took the kids over to the grocery store in town to pick out dinner. They picked out lunchables and chips and special drinks. They were thrilled with it! 

After cookies for dessert, the little kids went to bed and Carson and Camilla played checkers for a long time. They were obsessed with this game during the trip. 

Saturday morning it was go time. Aaron took me to the start and it was as beautiful sunrise morning. 

The kids woke up happy and ready to cheer on Mommy. 

Race day didn't turn out to be what I had hoped for. The temps were already over 70 at the start and it was a crazy windy morning. Aaron just told me to go out and have fun and do the best I could. I had a mantra to help me get through this. From my training log:

I heard this deena kastor quote yesterday something like she got 100% of herself on an 80% day. I just love that. That's going to be my thought. I can always give 100% of what I have even if it's not perfect. 

Aaron and the kids were amazing. They cheered for me like crazy and met me like 5 times during the race. I could never make it through these races without their support. Aaron has been incredible during this whole training cycle and makes all this possible. 

The girls did a lot of running around while waiting for me to come by. They flew through all the snacks and found a few other kids to play with. 

I am so grateful for their cheering, I spent most of the race counting down the miles until I could see them again. 

Here is a quick recap from my log: 

Sarah I won!! We were at over 70 degrees at the start so I just threw any time expectations out the window. Which was hard but the right thing to do. (The wind got up to 20 mph as well, the weather was just not going to cooperate)  I saw a lot of people really have a tough race that didn't adjust time goals. 

I went out conservative. 7:30 s and 7:40s at the beginning and then I just decided to turn my watch around and forget it (I didn't want to let it get me down) I took the lead around mile 7 and no one passed me the rest of the race. I felt very strong today. I never hit a horrible weak spot. My goal was just to finish strong and I did. 3:21 was my official time. I haven't looked at the official stuff but my garmin gave me 7:37 pace. I am just looking at my splits now. I ran pretty darn consistent. I hit some very tough miles 19-22 where the headwind felt like it was pushing me back and I got into some 7:50s but I finished back in the 7:30s after the turn and out of the wind. 7:11 at the end. (My kids ran into the finish with me :) 

It wasn't my dream day in some ways but I gave it my all. And all the hard work and training I did isn't lost it will just have to wait for a different day. But I'll ride this high for awhile. Winning a marathon is special no matter how small it is. 

The whole thing race I just kept reminding myself that you said it will feel so good to pick people off at the end. I tried to run that kind of race. 

My stamina was there and my legs were there. My husband kept saying that he had never seen me look so strong the whole way through. Zero miles were handed to me today, it just wasn't that kind of day but I didn't expect it to be. 

Running into the finish line with Carson while my kids watched is a memory I'll have forever. 

I got interviewed for an article in the local paper. I always make time for the press. :)

So happy to share this moment with these kids. They were so excited. All day, "mom got first place in her race."

I felt pretty good post race but I got awful blisters. Man did they hurt. 

By now it had started getting pretty cold (of course! 70s while I ran and made an immediate drop to the 50s after I was done). I wanted to do an ice bath in the river but I was just too cold and it was too windy. 

Then we made our way over to the post race party and awards ceremony. They had lots of yummy food and after we finished eating it was time to get the award. 

This is a pretty big trophy. Camilla wanted to keep it. 

After we got back to the cabin to put Spencer down it was time for me to ice those feet and blisters. It was SO cold! The things I do to be a marathon runner. 

We wanted to go check out the town and go to the store but by now it was very cold. We got the kids all dressed in winter clothes to head out. 

How adorable are these kids in their winter clothes? 

We decided to play at the playground but man was it cold. Millie didn't want to wear her coat so she was freezing and so we cuddled under a blanket while they played. Aaron didn't bring anything with long sleeves so he was pretty cold too. 

We had a lot of fun. 

That night we settled in to make dinner, Aaron grilled for us and watch a movie. 

More checkers. 

We had so much fun for movie night. 

Aaron grilled steak and asparagus and we roasted potatoes for my post marathon celebratory meal. It was delicious. 

We devoured it. 

After the littles went to bed we made cookies and had ice cream and played our new game. It was a perfect night. 

Then on Sunday morning we got up and got ready to go and then went to church in Mountain Home. It was a cold but sunny and beautiful morning. Our trip to Cotter was magical. We had such a great time in the cabin with the kids. We just really want to soak up time with our kids this age. While they love nothing more than to stay in a small cabin together as a family. Such a special weekend!