Running Withdrawls

Well, I finished my marathon and got through the dirty dash, now what? I'm sort of in running withdrawls right now. I've had quite the eventful year and I'm ready for my next adventure. But the weather has turned cold and there's quite a bit of snow on the ground right now. That makes running hard. I'm more of an outdoor runner. I can run on the treadmill, but it's not the same. There's something about being outside and it's not so monotonous. I guess I'll have to settle for a Thanksgiving 5K to satisfy my running urges.

My brother and I have signed up for the Salt Lake Half Marathon in April 2011 though. I told him I couldn't do the full because I can't train for a full marathon in the winter. That would be awful! Maybe I can talk him into doing the Top of Utah Marathon next year with me though. I really enjoyed that one. It's in September, so I had all summer to train outside, it was great! Yeah, I think I'll try and pursuade him to run that one with me. And by run it with me, I mean we would begin the race together because I can't keep up with him. He's too fast! I'm a slow runner.

The Dirty Dash

Back in September I had the opportunity to run The Dirty Dash! This was a 10K race, in the mud, with obstacles. It. Was. Awesome. I was a little worried, because it was only a week after my marathon and I was just hoping I'd be able to run the 6.2 miles after running 26.2 the week before. But not to worry, I finished and it was a blast! We have all said that we are going to do it again next year. The funnest part was the gigantic slip and slide near the end. I wanted to hike back up the hill, just to do that one again. The worst part was the ice cold shower at the end of the race to get all the mud off, which just kept coming! But we all had a great time.
This was the starting line, the area of mud was actually a pretty steep hill and they soaked it so your legs just got stuck as soon as you hit it.

This was the mud pool that we had to army crawl through right before the finish line.

Other obstacles throughout the course included jumping over bails of hay, crawling through giant tubes, climbing over walls, with mud pits at the bottom, running through a stinky swampy area, the giant slip and slide and of course the mud pool to finish us off.
And here we are after crossing the finish line. We actually look a lot cleaner than we were. While taking the cold shower you would turn and mud would just keep coming, I didn't know where it was all hiding!

Marathon

Well, it's been a month since I ran my marathon, so I figure I should give an update. I finished. That was my main goal. I didn't finish as fast as I thought I would, but I finished nonetheless. So, I was happy about that. I started off the race and I was feeling good. Other than being cold, I was good. I made it through the first half without stopping at all. I figured I wouldn't have much of a problem with the second half.

Well, I was wrong. Miles 14-17 were absolute crap. My legs started cramping up and these miles just felt like forever. Miles 18-19 were a little better. But miles 20-26 were spent walking. My legs were hurting and my feet didn't want to move any further. I was on the verge of an emotional breakdown the last 6 miles. I had put my body through more, that day, than I have before. The furthest I had run was 18 miles. My body was probably wondering what I was thinking and that I couldn't go any further. So, with my walking the last 6 miles, it took me about an hour longer than I had anticipated. But I was able to run the last 0.2 miles to the finish line and finish with a sprint. And yes, I will probably do another marathon in the future, but I will run more than 18 miles and hopefully not get sick 2 weeks before the race. All in all, it was a good race and I'm glad I did it. It's something I can say I've done.

Running update

My marathon is in one week. Well, technically less than a week because by this time next Saturday I'll either be dead on the side of the road or at home wishing I were dead because my legs won't move anymore. It's been a while since I've gone running. It was two weeks. I went backpacking and then I got sick and couldn't run because I wouldn't have been able to make it past the end of the street. I went out with my sister the other day and we usually go 4.5 miles. I didn't think I would even be able to make it that far, so we just went 3 miles. It was not my best run. Pretty sure this marathon is going to be the death of me. I guess I'll find out next week.

Backpacking

A couple of weeks ago I took a break from running and got to go backpacking with my dad, his friend and his grandson. Yes, I was the only girl, but my dad is still gracious enough to take his grown daughter backpacking with him, so I was excited. I guess it's not really considered a break from running because after hiking 6 miles with a 30lb. pack on my back, I basically feel the same as I do after running 15 miles. We left Thursday morning and set out for the Uintahs. We got to the trailhead and ate lunch before embarking on our journey. It's been 4 years since I've been backpacking, but I didn't remember it being quite as cool as we started off. The clouds were rolling in and I figured we'd get rain eventually, just didn't think it would be so soon after we started. We began our trek and about 45 minutes later the rain started. This is what it looked like.

This picture doesn't really do it justice. I don't know if you can tell, but it was raining in this picture, so we were hiking in the mud. There were a couple times that it just started pouring and we had to seek shelter under some trees to wait and see if it would let up. About an hour before we got to the campsite, it stopped raining. So, we didn't have to set up camp in the rain, so that was good. This is what it looked like when we got to camp.

That night was cold. 30 degrees. Yes, I said 30 degrees. I was shivering the entire night. My feet were still cold from hiking in the day before and didn't warm up until that afternoon.

Yes, that is frost that you see. It was a very cold night. The rest of the trip was great though. We hiked to a few lakes that day and they were gorgeous! I love the mountains. Here are some pictures:



My dad pointing to his GPS that is showing he made it to 11,000 feet.

Fishing at the lake by our campsite



And just to show that it doesn't always rain while backpacking, this is what it looked like as we hiked out on Saturday. It was a great trip. Thanks dad, for letting me tag along. Hope it's not another four years before I get to go again.

Cool mornings?

I haven't been running for a week and a half. I know, slacker! As I've driven to work in the mornings, they have been nice and cool. Around 65 degrees. And whenever I notice how cool it is, I think to myself, 'this would be a great morning to go running.' Well, it was my day off today, so I figured I needed to go out for a short run. Don't worry, it was already 83 degrees by the time I started, 7:30. What happened to these cool mornings we've been having. I guess that's what I get for not running for a week and a half. And I won't be going this weekend because I'm going backpacking! So excited. It will be great.

P.S. One month from today is the marathon! It's getting close.

18 miles

I went running this morning. 18 miles. Holy crap! And I still have 8.2 miles to go. I drove my route last night to make sure it would be 18 miles. I didn't want to short myself. It was a depressing drive, seeing how far I would have to go. Two more long runs before this marathon. I started early. I had seen lots of lightning in the southeast skies. I figured I would get rained on. But I had my phone with me, in case I had to have someone come rescue me. I was actually secretly hoping for a down pour because I really didn't think I would be able to make this 18 mile trip. It would have been a good excuse if I had been soaked and there was a threat of being hit by lightning. But to no avail. I had to go forward with my run. I got sprinkled on, but no hard rain. The first few miles were kind of tough for me. I guess I just didn't have my run on this morning. Or it was because I knew I had another 15 miles to go and didn't know how I was going to finish it. But once you're out, you can't really turn back. I got to about mile 14 and my legs didn't want to work anymore. My hips hurt, my feet hurt, my body was thinking I was crazy. I ended up walking quite a bit, but I did finish. I ran out of water around mile 13-14. There are no gas stations or anything like that in the last 4-5 miles of my route. So, I couldn't stop in and get some water. Needless to say, I was walking the last few miles. And also, I was hurting. I'm sure I will feel it more tomorrow. I hope I'll be able to walk. Next long run is 20 miles! Holy shiz.
And can I just give some driving etiquette for running weather:
-Runners usually run against traffic (so we can see the cars coming). If you are driving and coming out of a side street, please look both ways so you don't run us over. We'd appreciate it. We see you, but can't always tell if you see us.
-Asphalt is softer than cement. If there is a sidewalk, but enough room on the shoulder, we will most likely run on the shoulder. It's easier on the joints.
-If you see a runner waiting for a light and you want to turn, please wait for the runner. It's not fun when you cut us off because you are in too much of a hurry to wait a few seconds.
-Share the road! If there isn't traffic coming in the other direction, move over a little. It's scary enough to have cars come at you, but when you move closer to us, that's even worse. Especially on a narrow road. Watch the windy roads too! We try to be careful, but cutting the corner short, you may hit us.
-It's nice weather, there will be lots of runners out (at any given time of the day), please be aware of us! We will not win in a battle against a car.
Thanks for listening and please be aware! Bikers, runners, walkers, share the road!

Upcoming events

I'm signed up for a few more running events in the next few months. Obviously the big one is my first marathon in September, but I have signed up for my first 10K, in October, as well. Funny that I will have done my first marathon before I do my first 10K race. Oh well, I'm still doing it. I am also going to be running in the Las Vegas Ragnar Relay at the end of October. That is a 24 hour relay race. I did it for the first time last year and it was awesome! I'm looking forward to doing it again. It's so fun! Anyone want to join me for the 10K race? It's an all women event. It's going to be great! :) By the end of this year I will have done a triathlon, marathon, 10K and a ragnar relay! Maybe more if I decide to sign up.

15 miles

A couple weeks ago I went out for a long run. 15 miles. 15 miles is far! I wasn't too excited about it, but it had to be done. I hadn't been running all week, so I was a little nervous. I took my phone with me, in case I needed to have someone pick me up because I couldn't make it. This would be the farthest I've ever run. I've only done half marathons and that's 13.1 miles. So, I set off on a Saturday morning. It was already 75 degrees when I started, not ideal running weather for me. I knew I would be sorry later and that a heat migraine would probably settle in. I finished though. Not as quickly as I would have wanted to, but I finished. Hey, I hadn't been running all week, remember? Next long run is about 18 miles. Oh geez.

Bear Lake fun and 11 miles

I went to Bear Lake over the 4th of July with the fam. It's pretty much my favorite place. Sunshine, relaxation and that beautiful blue water. It was awesome! Carter loved the lake, but who wouldn't? Look how amazing that water is! Love it!

We had a great fireworks show from my brothers and then from the neighbors another night. Here's the damage, my brothers were getting ready for the show.

And here's some pictures I took of the fireworks.



And to keep up with my marathon training, I needed to run 11 miles while on vacation. I wasn't too excited about that part, but it had to be done. I woke up early saturday morning and started my run. Keep in mind this was going to be 3 miles farther than my last run and I hadn't been running in about a week. It was not my best run. I had the wind against me the first half. And when I got to the point where I had 1 mile left before I needed to turn around, that was the longest mile of my life. It took me longer than I expected, but I made it.

8 miles

I went running this weekend. I haven't been on a long run since I signed up for this marathon. I know, I'm awful. I was aiming for 7 miles, but I got to my landmark for 7 miles and decided to go a little further. I ended up going 8 miles on Saturday and did it a little faster than I was anticipating. I was pleased with myself considering it was twice as far as I've run with my "training," if you could even call it that. And I'm not even that sore today, which is surprising. I have to try and go 10 miles this weekend. Wish me luck. 12 weeks!

It's a beautiful morning!

I was on my way to work this morning and the sun was just coming up and I thought, it's such a beautiful morning. I think today's going to be a great day. The sun's shining, it's all good. I'm going on a hike this evening with the Relief Society, it's going to be awesome! How's your Tuesday going?

13 Weeks

My marathon is in 13 weeks. Am I ready? I don't think so. I haven't done so well with my training. I was supposed to run 10.5 miles last weekend. That didn't happen. So, next weekend I'm supposed to run 12 miles, if I'm to get back on my schedule. Otherwise, I need to run 10 miles this weekend and increase a mile a week in order to be ready for the big 26.2 miles in 13 weeks. Don't worry, I think I'll finish. It just won't be in a reasonable time.

Training.....not so much

Yeah, I'd probably run like that on the beach if I looked like that, but alas. Anyway.... speaking of running, my marathon training is not going so well. I'm supposed to run 10.5 miles on Saturday if I'm keeping up with my schedule. But the only days I've kept up with my schedule have been the short runs.

I got back from Yellowstone and went out to go running, planning on going 6 miles that day, but alas. My running route was blocked by construction. I tried to cut through neighborhoods and come back out on the other side of the construction, but a stupid overpass got in my way. You can't really cut through the neighborhoods if there's one of those freeways. Ugh! So, I have to map out a new run route and I have yet to do that. Awesome! This marathon really might kill me.

Suicide bombers

This weekend I spent some time with my parents and little sister, in the garden weeding. It's a pretty big garden and weeds just grow in anything. I've decided that the purpose of weeds is to annoy us. They spread like wildfire and will try and disguise themselves into something somewhat pretty so you think it's a plant and don't yank it out of the ground. But these weeds take it one step further. Since their life's mission is to grow in anything, I think they have decided that they will grow as close to the plant/flower in hopes that when it gets ripped from the ground, we will take some of the plant/flower with it. And that's why I have likened weeds to suicide bombers. If they are going to go down, they are going to bring something with them as well. Or at least that's their hope anyway.

Yellowstone

Last week I had the opportunity to go to Yellowstone with most of the family. Some couldn't come because of work and other conflicts, but they missed out. Games, walking around the park and let's not forget the lightning strike. That's right, I said lightning strike. More on that later. We left Monday morning and started making the trek to Yellowstone. We stopped in Idaho Falls to have lunch and stretch our legs. Isn't it beautiful? It was a gorgeous day at the falls. Stopped at a little diner across the street for lunch. Had to ask and make sure they were open because we were the only patrons there. Another table of people showed up shortly after us, no worries.

Tuesday we headed out to Yellowstone National Park for some boardwalking and geyser gazing. It was a little chilly (highs were in the 50s for this trip), but it was still great. We entered the park and just started driving and stopping wherever we thought we'd like a picture. Falls, paint pots, old faithful, buffalo, bears, oh my!

Well, it decided to rain on us the whole time we were there. But we weren't going to let a little rain get us down. Not at all. We trekked it through the rain to see the geysers. Tuesday afternoon we had seen Old Faithful and had lunch. We were going to make the rounds to the other geysers in the area. It started to rain again (no surprise there). Then it started to hail. At that point I was thinking it was probably time to go back because I didn't have a waterproof jacket and I was going to be soaked within a few minutes. All of a sudden we heard a huge CRACK! It took me a second to realize that lightning had struck 10 feet in front of us. And not just struck the ground, but struck a group of people. Two people were shot off the boardwalk and another was lying on the boardwalk, not moving. People ran to get the two guys that had been shot off the boardwalk. One wasn't all together after the strike, but they just kept trying to get him up. My dad yelled at them to keep him down to make sure he was okay. Then they were telling the group to go for cover under the trees. Umm...isn't it lightning 101 that you learn not to take cover under trees in a lightning storm? Apparently they missed the day they taught that valuable lesson. Keep in mind this was all within seconds that this all transpired. The lightning hit and all chaos broke out. Mom, dad, Brad and I told everyone else to run back to the lodge. Little children didn't need to be out in that any longer than necessary. We got over to the man that was lying defenseless on the boardwalk, wanting to make sure he was okay. A lady ran over, very intently, and stated, "I'm CPR certified!" and pushed everyone out of the way and immediately began compressions on this man. Didn't even take the time to assess him and see if he even had a pulse. My mom (the nurse) and brother (the med student) were there as well. My cute mom had taken off her jacket and she and my dad were holding it over this man so he didn't get drenched. My brother stated he had a pulse, but to no avail. The woman continued with compressions. My mom later stated she had her arm on this lady and was ready to pull her off this defenseless guy if she didn't stop giving compressions. No need to puncture a lung if you don't have to, lady. In the meantime, the rest of the family was on their way back to the lodge. A ranger came up the boardwalk, like he was on a sunday stroll. Honestly, someone was just struck by lightning, you'd think he'd have a little kick in his step, but no. He got to us and was on his walkie talkie, the ambulance was on it's way. By that time he told us that if we weren't family, we needed to go back to the lodge because we were still in the middle of the storm and at risk. They told us to walk to another lodge that was a little closer. By this time, the boardwalk is covered in hail, making it not so easy to walk fast. We are approaching the lodge and we see the paramedics coming with their defibrillator, gurney and one woman with a backpack (filled with medical supplies, I'm sure). The woman with the backpack was running and not 15 steps into her run, the hail covered boardwalk gets the best of her and she goes down like humpty dumpty. You saw the look in her eyes of "can I just go back now." It took her a minute to get back up because it was as if she was on an ice rink in tennis shoes, not a good combination. Another paramedic decided he didn't want to gamble with the boardwalk and just jumped right off and ran next to it. We got to the lodge and waited for the rain to die out so that we could go back to the other end of the park and meet up with the rest of the family. When we did, we were all a little shook up about the events that had just transpired. The reality of the situation had hit us and we realized that we were within steps of being struck ourselves. And that my friends, is the adventure of the lightning strike.

Brad, Mel, Jeff, Holli, Leah and I were playing cards that night and all reminscing about our different experiences and what we saw during this event. Mel asked, "what if you had been struck by lightning and thrown into a geyser." Jeff replied, "then someone really wants you gone." We really were lucky that we weren't close to any geysers at that point, because the situation could have been a lot worse. And poor Chloe, pretty sure that's the only thing she remembers about this trip to Yellowstone, that some guy got struck by lightning. And it made the Jackson Hole news. We picked up copies of the paper on the way back. The news reported that 8 people were hospitalized. I only saw 3 that were injured, but maybe they took the family members in, who knows. And it also stated people were waiting for Old Faithful to erupt. Pretty sure we were behind Old Faithful and we were walking in a hail storm, but I guess the paper wanted to make it sound more interesting or something.

Here are some pictures from Yellowstone:

Boiling geyser

Buffalo that was on the street. It always has the right of way. Considering it can run 30 miles/hour and can weigh up to 2000 lbs.

The falls

Love these guys!

Ready for a vacation

I'm so ready for a vacation. I've had lots going on at work with new projects coming out and trying to get things done. I'm ready for some time away from it! And it's coming. Thank goodness. Next week will be filled with family, fun and good memories, I'm sure. Anything away from work is a great thing, but this will be awesome. Last chance to see some of the fam before they head back home. I just have to get through tomorrow! I think it's going to be a long couple of days.

Run, Bike, Run - Tri

Well, I finished my first triathlon. I got up with my sister and we started making the drive to our race destination. It was cold and raining. We figured we were at least in for an adventure, if nothing else. The swim ended up being canceled and it was changed to a run, bike, run triathlon. 8:00 am and we were off. Got the first transition and I was feeling good...Then I got on the bike. It was cold and the wind was against us. Got to the first hill and my legs seemed to have forgotten how to pedal or they were against me that day, thinking I was crazy and shouldn't be riding in this. I was thinking, "I have to do two loops and I'm not even up the first hill. This is going to be a long ride."

I got through the second loop with much more ease than the first. Dropped my bike off at the second transition and it was off to another run. I met my sister at her bike drop off and we were off. Or so we thought. Our legs didn't want to run after just biking in the cold weather. It took a while, but we were able to do it. Even though the swim got canceled (which was what we had trained the most for), it was a great day. I had a lot of fun and am looking forward to my next tri event. Hopefully not in 40 degree weather though.

And now it's back to running. Need to get back to my marathon training schedule. 9 miles this weekend....

It's official

I've officially entered the blogging world. After my little sister began hers, she of course thought everyone should have one. Me, not thinking I have anything to write about decided to write about the thing I'm doing for the first time. My marathon! I've officially registered for my first marathon and my training has begun. Although, it hasn't been too successful thus far, it's in the works.

I just looked at my training schedule and I'm supposed to run 9 miles next weekend. 9 miles! This weekend is supposed to be 2.5, which will be included in my first triathlon. Yes, that's right. 2010 is apparently a year of firsts for me. My first triathlon will be this weekend and my first marathon later this year. Let's hope I survive this year.