Woolston Summer Marathons

This past winter Ryan and I decided that this was the summer for marathons. Don't let me fool you though...neither of these marathons involved running shoes. But they did involve a lot of blood, sweat and tears. Take a look...

CHRISLYN'S MARATHON: The Natural Childbirth of Emma Jean
July 28, 2010
9 hours and 17 minutes

Dr. Hannele Laine, Emma Jean, THE COACH: Ryan, THE ATHLETE: Chrislyn

Years ago I learned about natural childbirth and ever since I knew it was something I wanted to try. Something I wanted to see if I could do for myself and my baby. I didn't really know what I was getting into, but now that it's over I have to say that natural childbirth is one of the most amazing and synergizing things I have ever experienced.

Ryan and I "trained" all summer long with the Bradley Method and our instructor Alyssa Cole learning the "husband coached childbirth" methods and amazing techniques of relaxation. I followed an incredible nutrition guideline based on 80-100 grams protein/day, and Ryan helped keep me training with daily squats, relaxation and other exercises to prepare us. I will admit that there were times that I wondered if this was really preparing us and or if we were going to get to the labor and forget it all and fail.

I am here to say though, that every bit of it made a difference and it worked!

My labor was right out of a text book, and I feel very fortunate to have had such a great first experience. I found myself being able to relax during the contractions and embrace the progress, rather than fear the pain. I have never had to use so much mental strength on something so physcially demanding. What an experience.

I never could have done it without my coach...Mr. W. What a champ he was. He took charge of the room and talked with all the nurses for me. He applied pressure on my back. He talked me thru contractions and gave me confirmation whenever I was slipping into doubt or fear. I was confident that he believed in me, which gave me the strength to believe in myself.

After the last push, the baby was lifted up and into my arms and i'll never forget looking over at Ryan and seeing him burst into tears. Sobbing, he and I looked at each other and said, "we did it!" It was the greatest sensation of achievemnt I have ever experienced.

And then I held the prize. All 6 pounds and 10 ounces of her.



And then the Coach held her. She LOVES her daddy.

And now almost 8 weeks later, it's just a dream. It's hard to imagine that we really created this amazing daughter of God and brought her into the world in such an unforgettable way. But we did. And I have to say, we are one pretty good team. WE ARE WOOLSTON.

RYAN'S MARATHON: LOTOJA Bike Race (Logan to Jackson Hole)

Sept. 11, 2010

206 miles of road
10 hours and 47 minutes

(Starting line. 6:45am. 40 degrees.)

The training started as soon as the snow melted enough to get on his road bike longer than 30 minutes without freezing. The team formed, the rides started getting longer and the races began. And they prepared mile after mile for the big one. Also known as "LOTOJA". And if you're a real cyclist, you pronounce it "LO-TA-JU".

Ryan loves cycling. We sometimes have to remind him that he won't be taking the bike to heaven with him. It's his outlet and recovery on a daily basis. It's his passion. It's what keeps him going. And we as a family LOVE to watch him succeed in it and have fun with it.

This was Ryan's second year to compete in LOTOJA and we have decided that if they gave out an award for most improved, he would have been at the top spot on the podium. Last year he went into it without even a fraction of the training from this year, and without a team as solid as Revolution Rio, and his time was over 12 hours.

This year he trained his heart out, had an incredible team, knew the course and finished in 10:47. Pretty amazing. Way to go, Tully!

(Sorry we don't have more pictures...unfortunately the new little one didn't think it would be a good idea to make this trek this year so we didn't get pictures of the finish line.)

And that's the review of our 2010 Marathons!