Race Week + Skye’s Heaven + St. George MUSTS & Meet-Up Info!

(Tank, shorts, shoes)

It’s race week!  13.1 is happening on Saturday, which will be the first time I’ve raced that distance in over two years.  Every time I race a half-marathon, it is usually part of the buildup towards a marathon which means I have no idea how to taper this week—> I would love some tips in the comments.

On Saturday I was able to do some speed with friends.  My foot held up pretty well, which made me very excited about this race.

When we see these triangles (put up by my old coach), we know it is time to work;).

3-mile repeats (part flat, mostly down) @ 5:49, 5:40 & 5:35.  Thank you to OOFOS (<— these are making the biggest difference for me) for making this possible.  Ten miles total for the day.

Let’s talk about the biggest event of the weekend.

A week ago, my sister invited us (Brooke and Knox were gone for the weekend) to go to a BYU football game with her.  I assumed Skye would be 10% excited when I told her, but I was very wrong.  She was 110% excited.  She carried Cosmo (the mascot) around with her every day, woke us up at 4 am to ask if it was time to go yet, put her outfit together days in advance, and it was all she could talk about.

This human’s life was made.

My brother-in-law gave us VIP treatment.

Which included so many treats.

And then he set up a time for Skye to meet Cosmo, and she was giddy.  Until she met him… and then she was terrified of him;).  Her love for Cosmo quickly turned to a strong love for the cheerleaders.

It was a night she will never forget, and it was beyond worth staying up 5 hours past our usual bedtime.

It’s Knox’s bday today! We cannot wait to celebrate with him tomorrow.  We will be playing Legos, eating pizza and whatever else he wants to do!

—————————————————————————————-

Hopefully, many of you are coming to St. George for the race in just a few days.  I’d love to meet anyone who is coming, so if you are around, want to meet up at the expo @ 3 pm on Friday (10/1) inside of the main entrance?  DM me on IG if you can’t see us right away so I can find you! I’ll be there for about 30 minutes and would love to pep each other up for our races and meet!

Don’t forget to read my race recaps here, here, here, and here if you want tips for the course!

While you are in town, I put together a list of a bunch of my favorites for you to do/see/eat!

Things to do:

If you have kids, Thunder Junction All Abilities Park is a must.  This place is amazing, and it even has a train that goes around the entire park along with a splash pad and a huge park.

*Another one for kids—> the Children’s Museum is amazing and only $5.  My kids spend hours there happily.  Get there when it opens because it gets busy! There is also a fun splash pad right outside of it.  The Grip is another fun and indoor activity for kids… it’s a trampoline/obstacle course type place along with a roller rink.

*Glitter mountain—> it is a big pile of dirt that contains a bunch of gypsum, making it super glittery looking, and you can take a small piece with you as a souvenir.

*M&S Turquoise.  They have amazing jewelry at wholesale prices.  There are a bunch of fun stores next to it too!

*Sand Hollow or Gunlock (where we got engaged) are gorgeous reservoirs.

*Pioneer Park is the most amazing red rock area that gives you the city’s best views.  There are so many places to hike around that are kid-friendly.  We highly recommend taking food up to the top of one of the rocks to eat while you watch the sunset.   You can also rock climb here, which is a blast.

*Snow Canyon.  You will see parts of Snow Canyon during the race, but if you go inside the State Park, you will be even more shocked by the views.  There are awesome bike paths, sand dunes, and hikes.  Do not skip this area!

*The Snake Hollow Bike Park!  They have sections for each level of bikers.

*There are SO many incredible hikes all over the place (check AllTrails), but the Dino Cliffs dinosaur tracks were one that my kids loved.  There are some dino tracks about .5 miles into the hike.

*As far as running goes, you will find that there are bike/running paths pretty much everywhere.  Check out AllTrails to find any trails near you, and Church Rocks are probably my favorite so far.

*You are less than an hour away from Zion, and I think that is a must!

To EAT:

*If you are in the mood for Mexican, you must go to Cafe Sabor.  The chips and salsa are marvelous, and so are the fajitas.

*Pasta Factory is a must for us (Andrew worked there for five years), and we love the breadsticks and Alfredo.

*VIVA CHICKEN.  My absolute favorite.  You will never experience better chicken in your life than from here:). Vegan and vegetarian options are offered too.

*River Rock Roasting Co.  The views are insane, and it is on the way to Zion if you are headed in that direction.  The food is perfect too—> pizza, sandwiches, salads, etc and I could sit on the deck all day and stare at the views.

*Sugar’s!  The desserts are insane, and they do things like serve burgers with donuts as the buns.

*Bear Paw Cafe for the best breakfast/brunch.  There is usually a bit of a wait!

*Dutchman’s for a pink sugar cookie (or two or three).

*Morty’s Cafe for scone fries and burgers.

*Our favorite place for a treat is Nielsen’s Frozen Custard!

*Farmstead!  We just discovered this one recently and will make a stop here every time we visit.

It’s the perfect spot for breakfast, brunch, or lunch.

—————————————————————————————–

Will you be in St. George this weekend?  PLEASE TELL ME!  Anything I should add to the St. George musts list if you have been there before?

Football games… Ever go to them?  Favorite team?  

Week of a half-marathon, give me your tips for tapering?  

What is your favorite race distance?