Straight Outta August

(The events I skipped blogging about that I want to remember)

Lacrosse games that kept me sane! 

A baby triathlon with my dad

 Gavin came home from a 10 week internship in Dallas- and was offered a full time job once he completes his master's degree

 A trip to Tibble Fork

 A 13 inch haircut!

 Owen at the Cabin

 A stroll around Mirror Lake

 A pit stop at Provo River Falls

 Xanni came home from a faithful 18 month mission in Boston, MA

Owen's 9 mo appointment!

Reebok Spartan First-timer!

So long! posting things in a timely matter! Or even in chronological order!

A couple weekends ago, I ran the Reebok Super Spartan Race in Soldier Hollow. I signed up because it sounded like a good idea. As the date got closer, I was dreading it more and more. I kept hearing how hard those races are! I only had time to train a couple times a week. Even the day of, as our time approached, I was feeling so anxious!

Well friends, I ended up loving it! LOVING IT! It was an 8.5 mile obstacle race. Hiking through the mountains of Midway, 26 obstacles, and running. They have obstacles like rope climbs, wall climbs, cinder block pulls, mud pits, barbed wire, bucket carries, tire flipping, cinder block pulling, spear throwing- you name it! If you can't do an obstacle (and you only get one chance!) you have to do 30 burpees before moving on. I had to do 60. Messing up on 2/26 obstacles isn't bad, right. One of those was the spear throw. Sorry Reebok, I've never thrown a spear before! Give me another chance!

 ^^This was the only obstacle besides the spear throw where I had to do burpees. Stupid gloves! I desperately want to try this one again!^^

^^uneven monkey bars^^

^^crawling under barbed wire. I saw the camera man and panicked and threw up a peace sign like a freaking ____^^^

If you are ever thinking of running a Spartan, I have some advice for you! I don't know if it makes me more or less credible that I just did my first one. Probably less, but maybe it makes me more convincing if you feel like an amateur too! 

• Say a prayer. I said a prayer before the race that I would be able to feel the spirit and find opportunities to share the love of Christ. This totally gave me the right attitude! When it got really hard to hike, I saw flowers popping up in the mountains, and they felt like a motivational gift from my higher power. I also had my eyes opened to strangers who needed help with obstacles. I helped a lot of people over a wall while waiting for my teammates; I gave a guy who was cramping my Powerade for the sodium; and a guy's feet fell off the monkey rope but I ran to catch his legs before they hit the ground, and helped him get his feet back on the rope. This prevented him from doing burpees. I'm not telling you this to toot my own horn. I'm telling you this to convince you to say a prayer.
• Hike! I was nervous because I was only up to about 8 miles of running on flat ground, and I had heard that the Salt Lake Spartan contained a lot of hills. I didn't know that my love of hiking was preparing me for this race! There are parts of the race where you basically hike straight up and straight down. Nobody runs this part, and it totals probably 3 miles. All my hikes definitely gave me an advantage here!
• Climb! I have this completely useless talent that I can climb anything. And I love climbing everything! Climb trees, monkey bars, fences- whatever you can find! This will prevent you from having to ask for help on a lot of obstacles. It will save you from a lot of burpees too!
• I wore Nike hot shorts, a breathable tank (NOT cotton), and a water bottle belt. I believe I had a very accommodating wardrobe. I'm glad I wore the belt because they only have 4 water stations. I took my belt off for the mud pits then just picked it back up when I was done. I also brought gloves, but I think they hurt more than they helped; hence, my first set of burpees. 
• Take a gas relief pill before the race. This helps get rid of the pre-game poops. Or the running craps feeling. TMI???
• Clif gel energy blocks. You're going to need at least one whole bar. Take as directed. I credit me finishing to these gels!
• Something salty. I've heard that salt helps muscle cramps. Remember how I said I brought a water bottle belt? Well I filled up the water bottle with Powerade and salt, then just refilled it with water at a water station.
• Bring fans! The course weaves in and out of the starting area, so spectators can watch you do all the obstacles, and take pictures and cheer you on. The only person there for us was a guy on my team's mom, but I was glad she was there for moral support! She was so nice to help us all out even though we had just met her!
• Work smarter, not harder. Use your team mates to help. Ask strangers for help. There's no point in working harder than you have to.
• Do your research. The experts have great things to say! Just Google Spartan advice and you'll learn all the tricks of the trade!

Let me know if you want a team for next year. Like I said, I seriously LOVED it! I would do another one in a heartbeat!

Stunt Run

I like to blog about things a month after they happen. It's cool.

 I want to post a lot of updates on our month of June- the trips, the fun, the not-fun, and pictures of O. 

Until then, enjoy this video, filmed at the end of May. Oops!

Stunt Run from Madi McCleary Scott on Vimeo.

2 Months

• This stud got his 2 month vaccinations today. He screamed. I cried. 
• I went to In-n-Out after his doctor's appointment because I eat my feelings. In the drive through they asked how I was doing. I said "good, thanks", but I wanted to say "my baby just got his shots, can I get my shake for free?" 
• I deserve a trophy for making it two months of breastfeeding. Seriously. Go me. But no one gave me a trophy, which is why I justified buying myself the previously mentioned In-n-Out. (That and we have saved money by not buying formula, so I can spend some of that saved money on fattening shakes whenever I want, right Gav?). 
• Owen currently weighs 12 lbs 5 oz, and is 24 inches long! He's growing like a champ! The nurse measured him a couple of times because she didn't believe he was that tall (90th percentile). 
• Two times I have heard him belly-laugh crack up hysterically. Both times it has been while he is sleeping. What's he dreaming about???
• He has slept through the night for the past 4 or 5 nights! Proud mama right here! By "sleep through the night" I mean "he sleeps from 8:30 to 5:30 and doesn't like going back to sleep until 8:30 the next night", but we're getting somewhere!
• I've started working out again. I love being sore! It's encouraging and discouraging all at the same time, going to the gym. It makes me feel good, but it's hard to think about my workouts now compared to what they were 10 months ago. 
• Yoga. It's my new thing. I LOVE it! I'm sure if anyone were to watch me take a class or do a video, it would be a good laugh, but I don't even care. Positive Energy. Namaste.

Date Night

Total Cost: $11. It would have been $15 had we not brought our own rackets. The JL Sorensen rec center has some fun courts and you just pay for a day pass to use them. Gavin beat me every time of course. 

"Racquetball is the only sport where you can be staring at the ball and simultaneously it will hit you in the back of the head going 70 mph!"

I've Been Waiting for YEARS!

It finally happened- twice! Gavin let me teach him how to snowboard! He's picking it up quick and doesn't experience the same love I have for it, but we have tried out Brighton and Sundance. Hopefully we'll go again soon!

P.S. Wednesdays you can get buy one get one free Brighton night passes if you buy a combo meal from Arctic Circle!

SoJo Half Marathon

"It was either this or fat camp"
We did it! It was hard and 3 days later we still have trouble walking. I would recommend training thoroughly before attempting a half marathon. My time was somewhere around 2:20, Gav got under 2 hours. My only goal was to run the whole time, and even though I was slow, I made it and don't feel the need to do it again!

 

Also, thanks to everyone who supported A runner in the race. Your honking and signs and cheers helped us all! 
*held by a husband* Run faster, I left the kids at home!
*held by some kids* and you thought this was a good idea 4 months ago
*held by some friends* run like Channing Tatum is at the finish line... shirtless!
*held by some boys* your feet hurt because you're kicking butt!
*held by some girls* you look so skinny!