Running

Stacie loves to run! And the fact that I love to run is one of the things that interested her in me when we first met. I love running with Stacie and we have had some great experiences on the road together. Running together really encompasses many of the best things about our relationship. We support and encourage each other, we enjoy each other's company, we share and common interest and goal, we like being outside, we overcome adversity together and we have fun (sometimes!). And when we run Stacie impresses me with her beauty, her athleticism, her competitiveness, her incredible toughness and endurance, and her reliance on the Lord. And she's really fast! She was a top 800m runner in college and is still in great shape. She also ran on the team that won the Wasatch Back rely last month!

In December I decided to run the Ogden Marathon since I knew Stacie was running it as well. We decided to train for and run it together, which I was excited about. Our training started with running on adjacent treadmills in the gym when I was pretty out of shape. I remember Stacie would look over at my speed and try to secretly increase her speed above mine and hope I wouldn't notice so she could run farther. Eventually we were doing ten milers and more on Saturday mornings. In February we would have to research where we could do that long of a run and have the shoulder of the road be clear of snow. At one point the best option was to run along highway 89 between North Ogden and Brigham City. One day we even ran from Brigham City to Stacie's parents house in North Ogden! I get a warm feeling when I think of that road, simply because I spent so much time running along it with Stacie. I just love the feeling of running along with Stacie gliding smoothly and beautifully by my side, feeling her love for me. Those were some nice runs. I love to look over and see her running there--she looks so pretty, graceful and smooth running, I just have to stare at her sometimes. During our training there were also several runs when Stacie was injured but insisted we complete the run. I was amazed at her toughness and ability to gut it out--I would give her all the chances in the world to stop because I didn't like to see her hurting so much, but she would insist that we finish and I would be in awe at how strong she was. I went on a few runs by myself while training, and when I would pretend that Stacie was running with me I felt stronger and less tired, and more inspired. During the marathon I just felt blessed to have this great and beautiful woman to run with. And when I got dehydrated and almost couldn't finish, Stacie stuck with me and helped me make it through the last few miles. I just had to think about how touch she had been during our runs and feed off of that inspiration. I'b glad to be running the race of life with Stacie, and I love her deeply.