I'm not crazy...I'm just bored!!

I thought by running the full on Saturday my family would want to back out of our traditional Onion Days race, because I wouldn't be able to race like I want to. But, all the kids were ready to go and even David with his leg brace on wanted to go! I guess I've converted them. Waking up at 5AM on a holiday to run...we're all crazy! Even my 6 year old said as we drove out of the neighborhood "we're the only ones out here!" My husband replied "yup. eveyone else knows that you should sleep in on a holiday!" He loves us :)

Got everyone numbered and ready for the race. Next year, I think I'm going to make Lauren run the 10K. She could do it if we trained for it. Yup. 10K next year.

With Pocatello on my legs I had no intention of placing. I would run what I could, as fast as my legs would let me, but c'mon. I had a marathon on them! But, I found out Jen was running the 5K and no one else I knew that was speedy from UT county was there. Where was everyone?!? Rachelle was there, but she is a young'un and I knew she would win anyway, so I wasn't concerned :) I figured I'd give it my all and just see what happened.

I waved to my family as I passed them as the 10K got started. Plugged into my ipod and just went for it. Lots of people passed me as I hobbled into the first mile. A warm-up might've been a good idea, but too late now. About a half mile in I was finally able to start moving. There were 3 ladies I could set my sights on to catch. I picked the one furthest ahead. She wasn't the fastest though, so I'd caught her and one other by mile 2, but that last one was a bugger to catch. Finally just before mile 3 I got tired of running 5 feet behind her and decided if I gave it one good surge I could pass her for good. I sprinted it out for 50 yds and put about 10 feet between us. She later said "yeah, and you came out of nowhere!" :) After the half way, you start your uphill trudge. Mile 3-4 is fairly flat and I felt like I was keeping pace with those ahead of me and maybe even pulling some in. Finally feeling the surge. BUT, then the hills hit.

The last lady I'd caught was being paced by a guy and she would be behind me and I'd see him just to my left. Dang it. Every hill they'd catch me, then I'd have to push on the flats to put the distance between us back. I thought occassionally about just letting her have it, but I stayed mentally strong. I didn't give up. Despite the snot and spit all over my face, I kept running and pushing myself trying to get that monkey (Pocatello marathon) off my back!

The last straight away (mile 5 marker) I could feel it. I was fading, but just kept doing what I could. My ipod and my Eminem motivation I'd been replaying for the last 2+ miles died. Crap. But, I figured I needed to hear the lady behind me coming anyway. She did catch up to me again, but I was able to surge a bit to put some distance between us. I knew I wouldn't have much more to sprint to the finish, so I had to do it now.

2 more turns and I was home free to the finish. I'm really glad no one was there to take pictures :) SO glad. I can't spit for the life of me or farmer blow. So, sometimes it just has to drip. Running is such a glamorous sport! I saw the clock as I came in say 41:21...HA! I knew I didn't run a 10K PR. I mean, I was pushing, but not that fast. I figured it was the 5K time that was a little slower. I was right. I looked at my garmin and I was 45:56. Well, certainly not a PR for the course, but a 7:25 average for a 10K push 2 days after a full?!? I'll take it.

TT: 45:56 splits: 7:26, 7:16, 7:13, 7:13, 7:48, 7:39, 7:04 (last .2) - can you tell where the hills are?!?

Waiting in line for the runner cards I chatted with the lady that came in after me. She was 42, so we had no competition for AG. Good...and SHE asked me how old I was, because she was worried. I'm glad I pushed and didn't have to :) She also said only 5 women were in front of us. Wow. I was surprised there were so few. Slim pickin's today at Onion Days. Then, I got my card. 6th overall and 1st in my AG. WHAT?!? I've run this course almost 3 minutes faster and gotten 4th in my AG. What the heck. 1st?!? Yeah, it all really does depend on who shows up. I was proud to take my silver dollar though. I feel like I earned it and pushed hard!

Lauren did a great job and ran what she normally does in a 5K (32:XX) She isn't the fastest thing around and doesn't really like running, but she keeps at it and can just keep going. I think she'd enjoy more endurance running than speed. Kind of like her mother. When she came up to me at the finish while I was waiting for my card, the lady that I was talking to asked "Is this your little sister?" "yes. yes she is. I'm 22 and she is 12" I love that people believe me and and I can get away with being 22! Lauren turned me in and told the truth though. Stinker :) Then the lady realized I had just told her I was 33. See?!? I can even tell the truth and people think I'm still 22. Ahhh, I loved it.

Craig and the boys had a rough start to their race. Nathan (6) got stung by a bee just as the race started. So, they lost a minute as dad took care of him and asked if they still wanted to do the race. Good for dad for remembering we'd forked out a ton of money to do this and they might as well get it done. So, he had 3 boys in the stroller for a while. GO CRAIG! He caught up to the sweeper vehicle and around 3/4 mile in Nathan got out and started running. David with his leg brace on (can't bend his knee due to stitches a couple weeks ago) had kind of a free pass to ride in the stroller and Adam (3) doesn't know any different although he was registered! David ended up running/limping in the last half mile and they all finished around 37:00 which for Craig is super fast! He is usually around 45:00 and I finish the 10K before him. He is awfully sore now, but I'm sure proud of him :) He rocked it like a bad A runner dad!!

We stayed for awards and raffle. It was great to see Jen and Rachelle get their overall and Rachelle's friend Julia took 2nd in her AG too. My little Adam wanted a medal so bad it hurt. When I took him with me to get my silver dollar he wasn't happy. He wanted the medal around his neck. Kids! Oy Vey. I won a Nathan water/fuel belt in the raffle. I've never had one, but I guess I'll try it now! $50 worth of free stuff...sure. Why not?!?

We then went to the parade, I got to see Marion for a minute at her house and the long, small town parade never disappoints. We all went home tired and happy. Another fun labor day in the books!

Back to reality on a Tuesday is always hard. But, I got up and did my Tuesday Ten with the Newtons despite having thrashed legs. They were nice and took it easy on me. We all ran together the last 6 miles and had some great funny converstaion. Fainting, child birth, vascectomies, deer nearly getting hit, crazy people...yup. The works :) Always a fun time with the Newtons. I finished in a decent pace knowing all my legs had been through. But they sure are tired now. I think tomorrow shall be a no running day.

AP: 8:28 splits: 8:33, 8:30, 9:29, 9:37, 8:19, 8:35, 8:03, 7:57, 7:44, 7:54, 7:59 (last .1)

Maybe my legs remember how to run afterall?

Yup. Sleeping in. no running. My body thanked me.

I took Adam on a bike ride up Rose Canyon. Man alive it is hard to get up some of those hills on a mtn bike with a 30 pound 3 year old on the back!! An older guy passed me and we chatted about it for a bit. I was only about 100 yds back from him when he got to the top. Take that road biker! This mama can do anything.

The way back down is always fun.

45 minutes of good cardio push before I had to be to the church. Happy light day of exercise.

Shaggy Mountain loop with the Newtons. Chad and Jonathan came and we had a nice little run. Despite the challenges on this course, it is always a good one. Leaves you wanting more.

AP: 8:57 splits: 9:08, 9:38, 10:32 (walk break!), 9:44, 8:33, 9:05, 7:33, 7:37, 7:14 (last .2) I love to see those mid 7's on a nice downhill cruise home chatting away. I did feel it a bit on the little uphill bump at the end, but other than that it was nice cruising pace!

Got home and decided to go on a ride with some ladies after getting kids off to school. I threw Adam on the back of my mountain bike and went for it. Keeping up with road bikers is hard work! Charlotte says she now has a new rule of riding with me: I have to be on the mtn bike with Adam to equal her speed on the road bike. :)

About 20 miles round trip. The longest I think I've ever ridden with him. Average speed was around 13MPH. Nothing wonderful, but good enough for who it is for :)

Slept in and took Adam in the jogger. A new little loop that worked out well for a jogging stroller loop. Lots of uphill, but I can't ever seem to avoid that around here.

AP: 9:12 splits: 8:46, 8:44, 9:59, 9:52, 9:31, 8:23 - like to venture a guess where the uphills were?!?

Another Saturday...another race! But, look at that time would ya?!?

You have one of two thoughts running through your head right now - WOW! She busted a move on that 5K and has finally learned how to run fast OR Hmmm, something is amiss...the course must've been short. One of these thoughts would mean you know me well, the other - wishful thinking! Yes, the course was short.

I woke up early and met Chad as he did his 20 miler along Shaggy Mountain and did the 10.5 loop from my house. I stopped my watch and didn't restart it until we'd stopped again (twice) so my splits and mileage are all screwed up. I referenced the mileage from when I'd done this before. A near perfect morning and I actually ran all of the mud hill on the far side of the loop! Only walked a couple times the whole route. That is saying a lot for me and my legs that didn't want to move and an uncooperative gut from eating Leatherbys at 11:00 the night before! (James Taylor concert! It was fantastic except for the part where we got cheated out of parking and downtown was crazy crowded and we ended up parking past the capitol and we ran the 1/2 mile downhill shoeless in our dresses to get to the concert before they closed doors! It had already started. But, it was worth it. Fun, memorable adventure anyway). The last couple miles downhill were 7:51 and 7:26. At least I have the good miles on the garmin :)

My friend came and picked me up for Charlee's Angels 5K. She was running it as her first 5K and since I had turned her onto the race and I didn't have anything else that morning I felt obligated to go with her. I told her I wanted to get some tempo miles on tired legs at the race, but that I'd come back and run her in. Charlee is a cute little 5 year old struggling with Batton's disease. When the race says they are raising funeral funds...how could you NOT contribute?!? So, Tania, Derek, Kristy (first timer) and I drove to So Jordan and got ready to race.

I saw Peggy Peterson there and it was great to visit for a minute. She'd just done her 20 miler (surprise, surprise) and was going to "just run" I told her I wanted to push some tempo miles so she could "just run" with me while I tried to kill myself :) We all got to meet Charlee (what a beautiful little girl and a heartbreaking story!!) and then we were off. It was quite a congested first 1/5 of a mile pushing through people even though I thought I was at the front when I started. Peggy took off immediately and I tried to follow...ha! I should know better than that. Anyway, I tried to keep her in my sights and before I knew it the first mile had ticked off and I was in 2nd for females. I'll play second fiddle to Peggy anyday! That lady is amazing!!! She was kind of my first running hero :)

At the turn around I KNEW we were not at 1.55 miles. It had been much too close to the 1 mile click. Oh well, everyone is running the same course. After the loop as I doubled back on the course I got to see some lovely friends and get some 5's and encouragement. I also saw Aaron and Michelle running and got a good "you suck" out to Aaron and one in return. Always good karma!

I finished strong and when I saw the clock ticking 20:XX I just laughed. Awesome time! I beat my nephew's XC time from the day before at Murray Park. I don't need to disclose that I ran 10% less (2.78 miles). Nope, not at all :) It was nice to visit with Peggy for a minute and then I ran back on the course, grabbed Kristy and brought her to the finish stretch then went back for Tania. She was walking, so I didn't get as many miles as I wanted to in afterward, but I had a great chat with her and saw Sonja too. How can you complain about great friends?!? Kristy finished in 28:XX Which is her fastest ever AP and she had a 9:20 mile for her first mile that is her fastest ever too. It is always fun to see people start to love running. If it wasn't for her knees that have had 2 surgeries on them I could probably turn her into a runner. (total 1.25 miles)

Went home and quickly showered and off to cub-o-ree to help supervise. I took Adam too since Lauren had been babysitting all the night before and all morning. Had a great time watching my boy in a splint (unable to bend his knee due to stitches from falling on his bike) climb rock walls, do stilts, feats of strength and run around. I don't know where he gets it from :) Back home, to a birthday party and as it started to rain we headed off for our SECOND race of the day. 

Jordan School District was doing their 1st annual 5K Dash for fund raising and for a family of up to 8 it was only $45. A nice evening of entertainment, food and shirts for all of us? ummm...YES! It was at Daybreak too, so it was close and the kids love 5Ks anyway. Lauren wanted to run at least 4 miles so that she could feel better about her 4 mile loop in the tri next week. I told her to run the course, then come back and find us and I could then tell her how far she ran extra by looking at my garmin. I figured I'd get another 4 miles in. Someone forgot that they are a single parent right now! NO husband to stay with the walkers. After the first quarter mile or so I looked back after a turn and the boys and I were nearly last. Only about 7 people behind us. At least the rain was letting up a bit. a bit. I made David sit in the stroller with Adam on his lap and encouraged Nathan to run. We made it about 1/5 of a mile before Nathan stopped. At least there were now 20 people behind us. A while later I told Nathan he should run again and he said "No. I'm saving my energy!" "for what?!?" "the last mile" Crazy kid! After I while I resigned myself to the fact that I was going to be walking this 'race' and not running. Which puts a little thorn in my side, but since the rain had picked up and we were all soaked to the bone and my kid with a splint on was keeping up and occasionally "running" (he calls it galloping) I just resigned myself to a nice walking in the pouring rain. Sigh. Lauren came back when my garmin said 2.10. Wow, that girl had done great! When she turned Nathan decided to go with her. That kid took off! I guess he really was saving it all for the last mile. Hop along (David) was trying to get him to slow down. PLEASE NO! Lets get this over with. They all stayed ahead of me and I actually got a little more running in. I'm giving myself a total of a half mile for the running I did in the race....more to just even out the number! David had a finishing gallop and Lauren and Nathan were done and across the street. I figured out Lauren had run 4.5 miles (the course was short, again 2.9) and I was SO proud of her! She did awesome. We hung around afterward, but didn't win anything in the prizes and Lauren was 2nd for female child and they only gave prizes to 1st places. Oh well. We loaded up on yogurt and granola bars and then went to the car and got in our towels. It had been a long day and we were all ready for dinner and bed...which is right where we went!

Did someone say sleep in?!? Why yes. Since the days are a bit cooler I like sleeping in and then taking Adam with me in the jogger after kids get off to school. Much better than the TM and paying for daycare.

I ran my new 8+ mile route with the jogger and it was good, except running up Juniper Crest Road. Running may be saying too much...fast walk/jog?!? But, if I go down then it is uphill both ways after that. So, I take the short uphill and 2 long downhills :)

I thought I was keeping a good pace and could possibly get fastest and longest time with a jogger. Nope. Those hills must've killed me. Plus, the flats take more out of you than you think too. I'll learn how to push a stroller sooner than later.

AP: 9:19 splits: 10:07, 8:58, 8:52, 9:56, 9:42, 9:08, 9:45, 8:18, 8:32, (last .22) I had a few good paces in there.

Man oh man oh man. I know I need to get some speed work/tempo in, so I decided to grab the bull by the horns and get it done (a bit) today. I asked Chad to pace me, after the first 4 miles of hills, at MP for the last 6. My legs were tired. I wasn't sure. If I hadn't have said anything the night before on the group chat I would've chickened out.

We stopped at the top and I just brought the HR down, grabbed a drink, then took off. I expected Chad to then just pull/push me as needed to hang on to MP. HA! He let me do the guiding (which in retrospect I'm grateful for!). The first mile was a 7:20ish,  and then it just got better. The next mile has flats and some hills in it, so hitting a 7:42 wasn't a surprise. I still didn't know what pace we were running. I was just pushing myself and trying not to doubt that I could run this for 26 miles! Then, a couple people turned onto the street but on the opposite side. They were carrying a pretty good pace, but I wanted to show them who was faster. My pride got the best of me. So, I surged enough to pull ahead of them so they could tell I was running faster :) No, I'm not competitive, why do you ask?!? Then the last 3 miles have a pretty good downhill slope. With about 2 to go I got out enough to tell Chad I felt like I was falling off the wagon. He laughed "maybe that is because you were never ON the wagon." Crap. Seriously? I was running that slow. Craptastic. Oh no. He told me that only the 2nd tempo mile had been above 7:20. WHAT?!? No wonder I was falling off the wagon. I was tired and my legs knew it. But, I tried not to let that play head games with me and just push through. I did pretty good, but probably let it get in my head more than I should've. I know had 'time' to relax and still hit the goal. pbbbttt!

Finished and ran home to catch my daughter before she left for school! Love that girl. Then, went back to bed!!! I'm tired.

AP: 7:56 (fastest time for this course!) splits: 8:20, 8:21, 8:54, 9:22 (yes...those last 2 were the big hills!), 7:21, 7:42, 7:11 (competition), 7:17, 7:17, 7:26 (flat and a little uphill home). The last 30 feet recorded it says were at a 6:01 pace...I like that!

Yes, I did the classic today. Yes, I stole it from someone. BUT, all  that said, I'm glad I did this. It was nice way to meditate and think of that day years ago. Listen to the planes overhead and remember when the skies were quiet for days. Pushing my 3 year old, but remembering holding my 9 month old as I watched in horror what played out on TV. Seeing the flags and remembering how seeing American flags on every doorstep 12 years ago brought me to tears as I drove to my MIL house to can tomatoes. Remembering. Honoring. It was my little tribute, if for no one else, my own therapy.

I did sleep in. I had a rough day yesterday and didn't get to sleep until 1:30 or so. I was awfully tired. Got kiddos out the door and then left around 9:20 for my first loop with Adam in the jogger. I also thought it was interesting that I did two loops of 4.5ish each to get to that mileage. Coinsidence? Yes, but reflecting on it I'm glad it went that way. 

I got home and grabbed my scriptures and a jacket and ran over to the church for our mid-week institute class. A nice break!

Then, I headed back out for my 2nd loop with Adam. I'm really starting to get used to and liking pushing the jogger!! I did a little different loop, but made sure to again finish at the cove to get a nice downhill finish.

The miles really flew by. I didn't feel fatigued or tired. A little hot, but it wasn't bad. I finished at noon too. I was ready to be done, but if it was cloudy may have gone for 11.9 :) just to be different.

AP: 8:41 (it was 8:34 after my first loop. Look at me! Near 'normal' paces with the jogger. I'm getting this down. Fastest and furthest journey so far with the jogger). splits: 8:29, 9:14, 9:07, 7:52 8:04 (last .54 on that loop); 8:29, 9:17, 9:22, 8:35, 7:37 (last .57 on that loop). It is nice to see some good paces with the jogger. What doesn't kills us...right?

Classic Urban Trail Loop with the two Newtons groups! It was great to have Kimberly there. I love having girls to run with :) No offense to the guys that kick my trash and make me work hard, but girls are just different.

I remember when these hills were hard...now that we do Shaggy Mtn on Thursdays These hills were a little easier than I remember :) Had just a great easy run, but since I screwed up my Garmin and stopped when we started and started when we stopped I don't know the AP. Just a great run with good friends...and made some new ones in the process too!

I mowed the lawn in the morning and then took Adam to pre-school in the jogger to get a couple extra miles in for the day. One there and one home. What is worse than pushing a jogging stroller? pushing an EMPTY stroller! The looks are incredible :) I wonder what was going through the minds of people watching me pushing an empty stroller with Lucy on the leash..."maybe the dog ate your baby" :)

Holy Heavens. This was the best of times and the worst of times. My mom took Adam for me so that I could meet Becca at the Legacy Parkway and do a long run together while she was in town for her BIL wedding. I was SO excited to run with Becca!! It was SO good to see her and have her back.

We had a great chat and run. The only problem was there were NO water stops along the parkway. Yes, it is flat, but it is exposed and next to the free-way. Not my favorite. We ran to a gas station in Centerville to refil water around mile 8. Crossing the freeway interchange was exciting! blech.

Both Becca and I were starting to lose it around half way. Well, at least I was. I was done. But, I knew I had a GU and at 11 we turned and headed back. I could do this. It was cloudy and cool. Only 9. Those Nine took FOREVER! I was draging and it was a huge mental feat to keep moving. We pawned some water off a guy starting his run. We asked if he knew of any water stops and he said no, but had some water in his car and refilled our bottles. We went through that too quickly and luckily we found a park a few miles down the trail. My back was killing me. I don't know why. It hasn't ever done that before!! I sat on a park bench and drank some water. I really didn't want to finish, but knew I needed to.

With just one mile left to go we stopped the last time. I sat on the bench on the side of the trail. My mind was more than willing to push on, but my body was just done. I think my fuel was just more than empty. It is a good thing I had to get back to the car and quickly to deal with kids and meeting Craig at home as he FINALLY came home after being gone for a month. Becca and I were so done that despite being a half mile from the cars once we hit 20 we stopped and walked :) Despite being done I was pleasantly surprised at our AP. When I turned at mile 11 we were at 8:24 and at the finish we were at 8:27. That really surprised me.

We went to 7-11 afterward and got our traditional slurpees. As soon as the sugar hit my mouth I got giddy! It felt SO good to have FUEL. Yup. I was low. I had my slurpee and a chocolate milk and on the way home started feeeling much better. Train low and race high, right? It was hard to say good-bye to Becca. I know it will be a long time until she comes back to Utah, but hopefully I can go visit her in TX and we can hang out there. I'll need a winter escape!!

AP: 8:27 splits: 8:27, 8:22, 8:16, 8:24, 8:19, 8:11, 8:20, 8:47, 8:24, 8:35, 8:26, 8:39, 8:30, 8:14, 8:22, 8:34, 8:28, 8:27, 8:47, 8:34. We must just like a nice 8:20-8:30 pace :)

Proud Mama! Yup. My 12 year old daughter has worked hard to get ready for her first full length (okay, extended length) tri! 1000M open water swim, 15.5 mile bike, 4 mile run.

It was nice that it was a later start time, but with mom forgetting her goggles (and having to go back) then forgetting her helmet (going back again) we got there a little later than I would've liked. But, still felt like we had enough time.

Checked in, started getting transition set up and they had you assigned by numbers, so we weren't together :( I guess I figured we had more time than we did. Bike pump was broken (thank you little boys) and so we had to take our bikes over to the Sheels tent to get them pumped up and then the pre-race meeting started. Crap. Got our wet suits on while they were doing the meeting and since it was Lauren's first time putting one on it took a little longer than expected. Getting a theme of the morning?!? They said they would shut down the transition area at 10 min to the start of the race and so I just kind of waited and did my thing until they kicked us out, but they never did. Hmm, we headed down to the water...what the?!? The pink cap wave was just starting...that was MY wave! CRAP!! I ran down to the water, but decided to just wait and go with the yellow wave (Lauren's wave). Well, I thought she was right behind me and then they did the count-down for the yellow cap wave and I looked back and she was just standing about 30 feet behind me. LAUREN! I started yelling at her to get in the water...this was her wave. She thought it was mine that was just before hers. I felt SO ill prepared and that this was NOT the way I wanted this to go.

Once she got that this was her wave her jumped in the water and took off. I couldn't keep up. Nope. Mama stinks at swimming and she is a little fish. Not only did she kill the swim, but mom had to be redirected TWICE by the kayak guy to get back into the main swim line, because I was SO far out. Then I went so far into the triangle that I could see the swimmers in front of me, but no bouy. I looked and looked, with no luck! Then I realized it was at like 7:00 behind me!!! ugh, too far the other way. I think I swam 1600M, not just 1000M! I finally got through the terrible swim (the first time I could FEEL waves coming over me), and despite being passed by 2 other waves, I at least got done and ran up to transition. Lauren was long gone. No where to be found! So, I got on the bike as quickly as I could and set out to find her, so that I could actually do the tri with her...like I'd planned :)

After a few miles and surveying the bikes in front of me, I figured she was SO far ahead of me I might not catch her until the run. I was a little bummed. The bike went around Pineview Reservior, counter clock wise, so if you've done Ogden marathon (or half) after the hill and then to the dam is where we started...going the opposite way of the marathon (we were at a beach about a mile from the dam). It took me until past the half start in Eden to finally catch Lauren! She had put on a biking jersey, so I was looking for a red tank, but never saw it. I was glad I'd finally caught her and although it was difficult to not break drafting rules trying to stay near her, she did a great job on the ride and averaged 16.0MPH for the ride! I was SO proud of her effort. The wind heading back to the dam was quite bad, but she pushed through and made it in good time. Such an awesome little girl!!! Okay, young woman :)

At the transition she was ready before I was (I'd brought crappy shoes I had to untie and tie) so I told her to go ahead and I'd catch up to her. We both knew I could :) It was fun as I chatted with some people behind Lauren as I caught up to her. They were amazed. One lady was only running as part of a relay and was impressed that a 12 year old in front of her was doing it all. There was a clyde that was near Lauren and I as I caught up to her and he had a good time razzing Lauren. Up one of the last hills before we took off onto a trail he said "yeah, don't let the fat old man pass you up!" You should've seen Lauren take off up that hill. It made us both chuckle...and the guy next to us. I was glad he was willing to give her some motivation.

Just before mile 2 we took off the road (again running the opposite way of the Ogden course) and went on a trail that parallels the road and started back to the beach. It was amazing to watch Lauren just work it like crazy on that trail. She wasn't into pushing the downhills, but she would push the little uphills! The trail was relatively flat, but did have some elevation change along the way. I started calling her a little mountain goat :) I motivated her to pass a guy that had been in front of her the whole time I'd been with her, but that she'd gotten closer to on the trail. She took the challenge and passed him. I loved it! She didn't pass anyone on the bike, but she took out a few good men on the run! Lauren just kept on running and pushing through. I was SO proud of her as she passed a group of boys walking (15-19). She knows how to do it. The miles were getting long and I could tell that she was getting a little tired, but she just kept pushing through and the last guy she had caught started running and gaining on her, but she wouldn't let him catch her. She has a little of her mama in her :) Then as we hit the last 50 feet of the run and pavement to the finish that girl just took off! I couldn't even keep up with her. She finished in front of me and I couldn't have been prouder to watch her from behind.

Lauren worked hard for this one and I'm SO proud of my girl! The run took her 42:XX and although I know it is no land speed record, you have to realize that this is about what she runs a 5K at! It was 4 miles and after swimming and biking. She is so resiliant and amazing. I love that girl! After grabbing some food, we checked results and she was 1st in her AG!! YIPEE!! So, we had to hang around for awards. We got some warm clothes on, I chatted with Ladies that I knew from TTT there and then waited for awards. They did oldest first (which is a nice thing to do!), but that meant Lauren was last as we were waiting in the cold rain. When they called her name, it was for 2nd place :/ I couldn't figure out why, but the girl that took first must've been in the wrong AG. She did finish a half hour faster than Lauren, but was at least 17yrs old (the AG was 19 and under!) and this was obviously NOT her first tri. I guess 2nd out of kids 5-7 years older than you isn't all that bad :) It was a little disappointing to not get the 1st place, but holy cow! 2nd?!? in that AG? For her first full length tri?!? umm, yeah!

Afterward I took her to get lunch and then run errands. She wasn't into eating much, which told me she'd worked her butt off! SO proud of my girl. SO proud.

After having nearly 2 days rest from the 20 I was ready for a new week. Taper it down baby! SGM is on its way.

Took Adam out in the stroller...felt good, but things still started out slow, as usual :) Did our bike loop, but backwards so I only had one HARD up. I think this is my fastest stoller run. I love that I'm getting some good paces with the stroller. Makes me feel tough!

AP: 8:28 splits: 9:33, 8:12, 8:08, 9:06, 8:33, 8:07, 8:46, 7:27, 7:45 (last quarter) I love the downhill finish!
 

I decided I wanted to try to do some MP miles on the downhill again, but didn't tell anyone :) I felt good as we started and despite the cruddy uphill kept a decent pace. Then the downhill came and I was keeping up with Dave and Chad. After a couple miles Chad said "hmmm, hitting some MP miles again" "maybe" I replied :) Dave took off with about 3-4 miles to go and just tore it up. About the same time we'd caught up to George (who decided not to stop at the end of the uphill). George kept up with us, and then pushed ahead. I just kept my pace and did my own run. It felt a lot easier this week than last! We did finally catch George with 1.5ish to go. His stomach was giving him issues and he had to slow down a bit.

It felt good to pull into the finish and see a similar pace to last week when I felt like it was a hard push! Not that this was easy, but it was comfortably hard. I also didn't feel like I was falling off the wagon at the end :)

TT: 1:20:09 AP: 7:57 splits: 8:28, 8:18, 8:48, 9:23 (I hate that Mt Ogden!!!), 7:40, 7:46, 7:15, 7:13, 7:13, 7:23
 

Another sleep in morning and then taking Adam out in the stroller. I saw Wendy just as I was about to turn onto the uphill of my 6 mile route. She said she'd come with me since I was going slow with the stroller :) What a great visit! I love that I get my gym friends out on the road occasionally too. We just chatted the run away and despite it being slower than I've done I was grateful for the company!

Went to institute and said good-bye to Wendy as she got her last couple miles of downhill home.

After institute I took the long way home and added a couple extra miles. I felt good and needed a little extra :) why not?!?

AP: 9:21 splits: 8:34, 8:36, 9:51, 10:02, 9:44, 9:36, 8:53, 9:25
 

Shaggy Mountain Loop with the Newtons. I had decided to do hill sprints. This is a great loop to do them on, but tough...very tough.

I used the 2.5 miles up the canyon to warm-up. Then, I hit it. I tried anyway. Those hills are tough. I used the downhill as recovery and then every uphill would push. Ugh. I was tired and breathing hard. The downhill certainly isn't as good as the uphill :)

I would always sprint past George on the uphill then he'd catch me on the downhill. It felt good to push out the hills! But, I was tired. Hard work!

Once we reached the top of the hills, I decided a good tempo pace down would be a great finish. I was surprised how well I was able to keep my pace low and it didn't feel like I was dying! A lot easier than the hill sprints! :)

This is my fastest time for this loop! I'm not sure I'll ever beat it, but I'll try :)

TT: 1:08:27 AP: 8:24 splits: 9:04, 9:25, 9:28 (true warm-ups! The sad part...2 hill sprints in there too!), 9:00, 7:58, 8:20 (a difficult long hill I didn't sprint, then the last killer sprint! pleased with this split), 6:57, 7:13, 6:36 (last .16) - yes sir you read that right! 6:57 for a mile. You should know that this includes flat/uphill. The 7:13 was better downhill, but I obviously pushed that hill :) I love it!

Nice little easy day. Adam in the stroller, of course :) I've got a half tomorrow I'd like to try to push MP miles in. So, I didn't want to do too much, but just enough.

AP: 8:41 splits: 8:41, 8:30, 9:14, 9:19, 7:43 - I like doing faster stroller runs! love the downhill finish...chasing the stroller :)

My friend in the ward told me about this race. Her husband organizes it (he is a firefighter for Sandy). She'd talked to me a lot about it and since it was a good cause, a good day to get some tempo miles in and an honest half (I'd come to find out just HOW honest!) I figured I might as well.

A couple weeks ago my nephew decided that he would run it with me as his first half. He has been doing XC and I've LOVED watching his meets. He has been running 8-10 for training days, so I knew he could make a half. He runs his meets a low 19:XX so I knew a 7:30-7:40 pace would be a good clip for him to handle for a half, but not kill him.

My friend Steph who is running SGM as her first half also got drug into running this with me :) Then to confuse y'all Steph is my friend from the ward who told me about it. They are both Steph H - so you'll just have to figure it out :)

At the beginning a guy came up to me and recognized me from Des News and asked me if I was pacing anyone :) Nope, just myself. Sometimes it is a blessing, other times a curse that people can easily pick me out of a crowd.

Aaron (my nephew) and Steph (SGM) and I lined up. How cool! They have you start in the bay of the fire station! It was awesome. But, no chip timing. I figured I wouldn't be anywhere near winning (they only do overall mens and womens - no AG), so I hung out in the back. It took a good 15-20 seconds to get started and out of the slow moving crowd. As soon as we hit the street I took off to pace and just kept it up, despite the first hill coming right away.

I knew Steph would be a bit behind me, but Aaron kept right at my heels. At mile one (he is good at checking mile splits) he noticed we were right on pace. I think he was hoping it wouldn't feel that hard :) We got a bit of a break before the hills started for good. This is a seriously tough half. I think probably the hardest I've done. Now, it is a loop course, so I guess essentially it is flat, but I certainly didn't feel downhills anything like I did the uphills! I would say there were only 2-3 good downhill pushes that were short. The rest was flat or uphill. But, then again, a half in Sandy that is primarily E-W and not very N-S would have to be hilly.

I didn't know how many women were in front of me and I wasn't really passing many people on the first few miles of uphill, but when I got to the top of the hills I passed one female and could see the pink lady not that far off. We got a HUGE downhill push, only maybe 50yds, but heck! I was taking advantage of it. I passed pinky and put some space between us as I caught some of the guys ahead on the flatter part. I was just feeling good and pushing along when the wind started...ugh! One burst blew my tank and skirt up! Aaron said he didn't see anything, just heard me scream :) It was a little frightening to have such a crazy burst of wind. It wasn't easy to push through.

Around mile 7 Aaron started falling back and I could tell I was needing fuel. We'd talked about gu before hand and I was a little hesitant to tell Aaron to use it, but I took half and gave the rest to the aid station volunteer (a fireman at the other Sandy station!) and said "give this to the kid behind me, tell him he NEEDS to take it." I also shouted back to Aaron, but left the instructions as well in case Aaron didn't hear or understand!

At that point I knew I was running solo and plugged into the ipod to be able to stop listening to my breathing. Before I knew it we were at mile 9 and on another downhill and I pushed past 2 guys I'd been following for a while. I wasn't feeling exhausted, but it certainly wasn't easy either. Comfortably hard. Just like it should be for MP tempo, right?

Then...Sego Lily Dr came. Luckily we had an aid station just as we started, but my 7MM quickly turned to 10MM...or it felt that way. The hills up this road were crazy ridiculous! Sasha had once asked me if on hills I kept up with others, pulled ahead, or dropped back. On races like this I try to pay attention (since I didn't know at the time). Well, I'm happy to say that despite being horribly slow, I passed 5 people on Sego Lily Dr! FIVE. When I passed the last guy as we turned and hit the last aid station, I couldn't see anyone in front of me. I was having to pay attention to the signs! It was a little weird for me. It wasn't that I was in first place, it was just that the race was small enough I couldn't see anyone in front of me. Crazy!

Just after mile 12 we hit the last good downhill. Oh, it felt good! I was just hitting a good recovering pace. I didn't feel like I was killing it, but just keeping equal effort from my uphill, but controlled breathing :) Then, when I turned R off that street I recognized where we were and I knew I only had this last little bit to the finish. Wow, I was done. I passed mile 13 marker and pushed into the finish and there was a good crowd cheering. Felt great! 

My goal for the race was 7:30AP...so 1:37ish. I figured that was kind of blown out of the water with the uphills, but I thought I'd at least be under 1:40. Nope. My bubble kind of burst. They told me I was 2nd place female and that was neat, but I was bummed with my time. Can I really hit my 7:30 AP goal at SGM? This was a 7:43AP which is better than my pace last year at SGM, but I want it closer to 7:30. Stink. I had a hard time reconciling this in my head. I'm still not completely all sorted out about it all, but I'm feeling a little better. Not like a fat, slow runner like I did after this race. It just stinks when you don't hit your goals. I don't care if I was 1st place. It is a competition with me...no one else.

Just a few minutes behind me I saw Aaron coming in. He had a good finish push and I was impressed that pinky hadn't passed him. I was the only girl that passed him (we never saw 1st place female at 1:36 finish time). I was going to tell him not to get chicked, but he has his pride and wouldn't let her :) He finished his FIRST half marathon (with no specific training other than XC) in 1:45:17. WOW! SO impressed. Then just a tad latter Steph came screamining into the finish. 6th overall female and 1:54 which is a great time for this course. I told her I'm confident she can hold that pace at SGM. She wasn't sure about that, but I am! Finally Steph (from the ward) came in around 2:10. She hadn't done much running, but is an aerobics/spinning instructor so she can bust out halfs with no problem. It was great to sit and visit with everyone afterward!

Gave Aaron some tips to strech out his ITB that was bugging him a bit and then grandma took him off to do banking stuff and we didn't get breakfast or anything afterward :( but, it was a great race! Aaron was 11th male and I got some earphones and a $15 road ID gift certificate for my efforts.

Now, it is time to settle down and settle in for SGM! Bring it on baby.

Oh, when I got home and looked up Allie's finish time for TOU....I started SCREAMING! My husband ran in the room and said "whats wrong?!?" He thought I was dying :) I was just SO excited! Not only had she won, but she broke 2:45!!! Oh man. That girl is amazing. SO proud of her. Way to go Allie!!!!

AP: 7:43 splits: 7:29, 7:50, 8:47 (200ft+), 7:30 (100ft+), 7:04, 7:17, 8:03, 7:43, 7:20 (100ft-), 8:11 (120ft+), 9:12 (200ft+), 7:40, 6:53 (130ft-), 6:37 (last .1 to finish).  If I didn't put an elevation +/- then it was relatively flat between the gain and loss. Well, less than 50 feet difference according to the inaccurate garmin.

I slept in...I was just SO tired! My hubby gave me one of his allergy pills, because mine have been really bugging me, and although he said it shouldn't, it knocked me out! I just couldn't wake up. Finally, I realized if I didn't get my butt out of bed and run then I wouldn't be running, because I had to work at 11:30.

So, I put Adam in the stroller and headed out on our classic 5 mile loop. Another decent pace for stroller pushing.

AP: 8:46, splits: 8:53, 8:41, 9:17, 9:11, 7:51

Oh taper week....everything starts to ache, the head goes berzerk, I think I'm getting sick...The madness is taking over!!!!

Newton Tuesday Ten. I wasn't into pushing anything (other than hills, because I'm still not quite over Saturday's failure), but I knew better than to kill myself, so I just relaxed and enjoyed the journey. Ended up being a lot faster than I'd initially anticipated! I actually hit MP miles instead of faster. Crazy. It felt good and relaxed. Well, not easy, but certainly not a hard effort. The good side of taper week!

AP: 8:07, splits: 8:51, 8:25, 8:48, 9:07, 7:53, 8:07, 7:35, 7:26, 7:30, 7:26, 7:31 (last.1)

Three good weeks on this 10 mile loop! Lets hope this is a good sign of things to come.

Holy wind and cold Batman! A storm is coming in, the wind is blowing like crazy and I'm feeling the cold...I don't like it! This means my stroller days are over and I need to start going back to the gym and the TM. stink.

Pushed Adam after bundling him up in the stroller around our classic 5 mile loop. I didn't have much time, because I had to get to institute. I was going to take the long way home again, but it was so windy and cold I chickened out and just went home the short way!

Please don't laugh at my pace...those uphills were nasty, because of course, they were into the wind! Can't have downhill into the wind, that would just be crazy.

AP: 9:01 splits: 8:35, 9:29, 9:54, 9:39, 7:45, 8:17 (last .75 - to/from the church)

First run in the snow...yes. snow. What the crap?!? Okay, so it was more like snow dust, but I could see the flakes in my head lamp and feel them on my face as I ran. Shaggy Moutain takes you into the foothills where you get all the beautiful love winter has to offer :P

A nice easy run and chat with George. Chad and Dave had their speedy shoes on and when they'd wait for us, they'd quickly take off again. George and I quickly decided the reason they run so fast is because they get to wait so long for us that they recover enough to push through the next section. That is my story and I'm sticking to it!

Had a great easy run and enjoyed it, even though it was cold! It wasn't as cold as I anticipated. A warm shower was all it took to warm up at home. Usually I'm shivering for hours after a cold run. So, I guess it wasn't THAT cold. I'm just a pansy.

AP: 8:52 splits: 9:12, 9:39, 10:26 (walk break!), 9:44, 8:14, 8:46, 7:22, 7:46, 7:28 (last .2)

Stroller run was cancelled today. I was trying to find someone to run 10 with me today, but everyone was busy. I thought a nice out and back on Lehi JRP would be perfect. I could push Adam and get my last "long" run in for SGM. Nope. Heavy rain and snow capped mountains put the kaibosh on those plans. I didn't want to freeze Adam out. So, since I'd slept in at this point, I decided it was time to go back to the dreadmill....ugh.

It wasn't as bad as it CAN be. Probably because I hadn't done it in so long. Adam was okay going in the nursery, but I only had one punch left...only 1 hour. I didn't want to buy more. So, I knew I wouldn't be able to get my 10 in, but if I took my extra time (they give you 15 min lee-way) I knew I could get 8 in before they charged me another punch :)

I'd already used 5 minutes just getting to the TM and ready, so I knew I'd have to bust this baby out, 1:05 was really all I had, because I wanted to cool down and then also needed another 5 min to get back down to the nursery.

I started at 7.0 to get the legs moving. Then, after about 15 minutes a good song came on and I just couldn't help kicking it to 7.5 as I listened to it twice :) Then, I went to 7.2 - felt nice and easy. I paused the TM at 31:00 min to grab a quick drink. Then, I pressed the 'finish' button so I could finish my workout. HA! That meant you want to finish NOW...not resume, like the other button said. I'm a little rusty on my TM skills. So, I now had 4.3 miles left. Easy Peasy. But, it took too much time to get the TM going again. I needed to hurry. I started at 7.2, then every 2 songs bumped it up .1 to just get done. At 7.5 I was getting tired and put the rise from 1.0% to nothing. Made the last bit easier :) I hit the last 1/2 mile hard and finished the last .1 at 9.0 - gotta get a good finish in.

TT: 1:05:00 AP: 8:08 - not too bad for a TM run.

Got back to the nursery a little late, but only because I stopped to chat with a friend running SGM next week while I was cleaning off my TM :) I don't think they charged me.

That is all folks...5,4,3,2 next week...then SGM. I wish I felt more confident of a PR. But, either way, it looks cool and I hope I have a good race. PR or not, I just want to finish feeling good!

Well, last year doing the Wicked Witch 70 mile bike ride worked well for a taper Saturday before SGM last year. So, I did it again. Okay, I signed up last year on a discount whim :)

It was a fun ride, not quite like last year. Not sure why, but it just wasn't quite as fun as last year. Witch's Hat seemed shorter and easier. The wind made the last 30 miles just miserable and they changed the finish...oh my rolling hills! I, like most others, was a little ticked off! Oh well, we got it done. Ate Jimmy Johns and went home.

Steph and I had a great ride and I certainly wouldn't do stuff like this on my own, so I'm glad I have Steph to do them with me. I can't wait to watch her finish SGM next week as her first full!!!

This is a pic of the TTT group at the ride. A bunch of fun girls. Steph didn't want to get in the pic :(

Steph and I were tired of doing witches so we went with a Dorothy theme and let all the witches chase us...and our little doggies too :)

Update on my travels to my sister's house...just outside of Louisville, Kentucky. I've got less than 600 miles to go; 43/week will get me there by the end of the year! Easy Peasy.

Oh the wind! My boys are off track, which is a blessing and a curse. Since my babysitter is in school I had to do my "treadmill run" up and down the street. But, I didn't have to push the stroller into the hurricane force winds! I don't know what the wind speed was, but it was more than I particularly like to run into :) If there are high wids at SGM I think I'll be ready for them.

I just went out and ran. No push of speed, just enjoying the run. I was pleasantly surprised at the results. I did one 2.0 mile loop by myself (changed from the TM route just a bit to do a loop at the end that got me out of the wind!), 2.0 with Lucy - got to get her out when I can! Then finished with the traditional 1.0 mile TM loop, uphill and into the wind the first half. At times felt like I was going backwards! I want to go do more...taper madness setting in!

AP: 8:01 splits: 8:20, 7:56, 8:51, 7:33, 7:29, 6:34 (the last .02 over the mile...love a fast finish!)