Housewives of the UC

This is what I woke up to out my window June 18th...and my first thought was...what young woman knows I'm doing this race?.... it was the flower that triggered that thought.... but sweet, sweet Hans did that after I went to bed around midnight. What a guy, he's my favorite.... read more to see why....
Oh yes, this is it...the hardest and funnest thing I have done to date! Got to some of my lowest lows, had to dig deep, shed a few tears, but also reached some of my highest highs and shed a few tears!

What made it so amazing was the team.... all girls.... all friends.... all crazy!
Here is our team number that we anxiously listened for at each exchange, telling us that our runner was coming in....
We met in the cul de sac, to pack the vans to caravan up to Logan. Our start time was 1:30pm but we didn't want to be rushed, so we met at 9:00 and were off by 10 after a lot of laughter and excited giggles!
Top Row
Leigh Anne Lovell (Attitude Spice), Laurie Pope (Partay Spice), Kathy Johnson (Zippy Spice), Gretchen Knell (Sporty Spice), Jill Murdock (Giggles Spice), Melissa Walker (Sunkissed Spice), Me (Gourmet Spice)
Bottom Row
Melody Walker (Lookin' For Luv Spice), Alyson Freedman (CoCo Spice), Jen Legas (Shugah Spice), Stephanie Higginbotham (Higgy Wit It Spice), Suzette Astle (Sunshine Spice)

Not pictured are our drivers, who were AWESOME!
WTF Spice (Lisa Holmberg) & Fab Spice (Stephenie Larsen)
Hans designed our logo.... and Jill's awesome neighbor put them on magnets for us.... very cool!
On the back of each van, we had our group picture all blown up, I loved it because you could tell which van was ours.... there were about 1,000 white vans, so our pink picture was awesome!
This is VAN 1!
I love these ladies, the Spice names are a crack up, too much to explain, but it sure was fun for us!
Up at the start we were loving all the huge Ragnar trucks.... it was finally here and we were for sure stand outs in our pink shirts!
Gretchen wasn't in my van, but I love this picture because she is the epitome of a HOUSEWIFE of the UC! No really, isn't she gorgeous! As Abe would say, "She's a babe I love her!"Orientation before the start.... Laurie's knee wouldn't stop bouncing and Gretch was biting her nails!
Capn' Jill was taking notes and looked very serious!
Alyson taking a little chill in a tiny bit of shade!
Suzette trying to contain her excitement! This girl had more enthusiasm than anyone! I loved it!
THE START!
Could Laurie be any cuter? What an awesome runner, taking on the longest leg and all with a darling smile on her face! I love that you can see Leigh Anne and some others cheering her on!
Next it was Jen's turn and it was HOT! We had spray bottles ready to cool her down!
Service Spices in action! We hit everyone else along the road too. So fun!
Cache Valley is so green and beautiful! Behind Laurie's head is the canyon we ran down last year for the Top of Utah Marathon....
My turn.... if you know me at all, you know I sweat! I sweat because I think my normal temperature is 100. I'm usually hot and when I run, I have a little problem with self combustion. Steph was saving my life with a cold sponge on the back of my neck.
Yeah, one down 2 more to go! This one was almost 6 miles. The high after each run is awesome because you know you have some time to rest!
Changed into dry clothes, and happy it is someone else's turn... I always handed off to Melissa, never more happy to see someone!
Waiting for Melissa to come in and Jill to go out! Jill cranked it up this forever dirt road. Then stud Steph H pulled it in for Van 1! Steph H was sick this whole weekend... a cough that sounded awful... but that girl did it... definitely a hero of sorts!
Getting ready for our night runs! We all had to wear a reflective vest, a headlamp and tail light. While we were waiting for Van 2, we ate and chilled. Then Laurie started to get nervous... then I started to get nervous... a sweet chain reaction!
Jen coming in, Me going out at about 1:00am! The temp was perfect and I had my best run of the race! Almost 5 miles. So fun to run at night! But man was I tired after that!
After Steph H's major canyon night run, we cruised to Kamas and tried to get a couple hours of sleep in a hotel. It felt like I got about an hour. To anxious about my last run.... 8 miles including a 4 mile hill. I've biked it before, so I knew it was going to be tough! This was us getting up and ready to meet Van 2 at the exchange.
Feeling anxious!
Already at the exchange... just waiting and waiting!
And waiting.... Jen came in fast and then I was off. 1 mile flat. 1/4 mile down. 2 miles flat and then 4 miles up, a little down and a little up. This portion was supposed to be unsupported, meaning the van couldn't hand me things because the traffic is going too fast. So I had talked to Hans about coming up for a ride since we both have biked this area a lot. I told him not to expect much. My van actually replaced my water bottle for me, and I was so glad, it was so nice and cold. He showed up at mile 4. It was perfect. I couldn't look him in the face, I just barked a few orders....
water on my neck....
I don't want to see you for a mile....
water on my neck....
He was perfect.
I pushed hard. I just wanted it to be over. I handed off to Melissa and walked over to the edge looking over Jordanelle and just burst into tears, so grateful it was over. I composed myself, Hans found me and gave me a huge hug and then we walked to see the team. Their faces put me into a tail spin again and this is what happened.....
I was seriously shuttering from exhaustion and gratitude for all of them. They are the best team mates, friends and husband ever! Thanks Jill for capturing this special picture, it is a treasure and evokes more emotion than I can tell! Thanks Hans Love!
Jill was up after Melissa and she had the coolest T ever! Perfect for our El Capitan!
This is how an exchange went. The person waiting puts out their arm and the one coming in has taken off the slap bracelet and straightened it out and slaps it on. Go Jill!
We are totally done! Van 2 has quite a bit more to go, but WE ARE DONE!We celebrated at Taramuhara in Midway and all of us felt sick after.... we were so hungry and our bodies just couldn't handle it.We had a few hours to rest waiting for Van 2 until we heard that their van broke down so we turned around to rescue them. Luckily it just got overheated and just needed some water and some rest. So we spent our time taking crazy pics....

In the mean time, Gretchen ran up the first half of the Ragnar hill (totally crazy steep dirt road) and handed it off to Kathy. These stud girls can do anything!

Here is Kathy showing some smiles..... but she was so happy to be done....
Leigh Anne welcomed her with open arms! I love this picture!
Leigh's leg was changed last minute and she had to do a ton of trail running. She had a little fall, but she is one tough cookie and kept going!
We rode the gondola up to the Canyons where we were planning to run across the line with Alyson to get our medals!
Steph couldn't resist the opportunity for a fashion shoot! That hair is awesome!
Here we are! We did it! Not only did we do it, we did it well!!! 127 all women's teams and we came in 18th! Are you kidding me? We had no expectations so it was frosting on the cake!

I have more photos to add...