Running, Running, Running.....

One week out from my first half marathon and I feel great! I was very surprised at how quick my recovery was and although I did hurt a little on day two post race, I didn't hurt near as bad as I imagined I would.

Last week the kids returned from their vacation to Disney with Dad and I spent the week working out with weights, resistance bands and my trusty yoga ball, at home. Oh, and running.....running the kids to school, running to work, running to soccer games (yes plural), running to the grocery store, running home to make dinner, do homework and sleep! :) Unfortunately, I didn't fit in any real running this past week. But that will all change come Tuesday.

Tuesday will be my first run since the Suncrest half, and I am looking forward to getting back out on the road. This will not only be my first run since last week's half marathon, but also my first run training for my next half marathon. It will be a nice and easy run, probably 4 miles, but I can't wait to tie those shoes and hit the pavement!

And yes, I did say my next half marathon. As tough as the Suncrest race was while I was running it, the sense of accomplishment that I had afterward cannot be explained. And now, I think I have the "bug"! Just over a week out from Suncrest, I still have the adrenalin pumping through my veins, just thinking about the next race! :)

I have a few details to tie up, but my next half marathon will be the Snow Canyon Half Marathon in St. George, Utah on November 7th. I am very excited about this race and excited to start training. So, for the next six weeks I will have my eye on a new goal, to finish my second half marathon.....and set a new PR while doing it!

I also want to take a minute and thank all of my fabulous friends and family for all of the support and kind words that I have received throughout my training and after the race. My accomplishment was made all the more sweet knowing that I have such wonderful, caring people in my life. All of you are so important to me and I would never want to imagine my life with out each of you! THANK YOU!

To enjoy the flavor of life, take big bites.

-Robert Heinlein

Suncrest Mountain Race Recap

Race: Suncrest Mountain Race
Distance: Half Marathon (13.1 miles)
Where: Draper, Utah
Time: 3:01:49


Today was a fabulous day! My first half marathon, and what a half it was! This was a tough race to run as my first half, beautiful course, but tough. When I chose this race, I knew it was going to be challenging, but I think I definitely underestimated how challenging. After looking at the elevation map and seeing the difficulty of the race I was concerned that I wouldn't have a very good finish time and that bothered me. I tried to take the advice of all of my friends and not worry about time, but just concentrate on finishing the race, and if you know me at all, you know I wasn't very good at this. But, I had told myself if I could finish in under 3 hours I would be happy. Although some of this race was on city streets and through neighborhoods, most of it was run on mountain trails that were wide enough for one person and access roads that, while much wider, were not much better terrain than the trails.....pitted, washed out and rocky.



My day started early with a 5:00 am wake up. I took my time getting ready, grabbing a quick breakfast of yogurt, a banana, a Powerbar and of course started drinking water. I dressed and stretched out a little and left the house by 6:00 am. With an 8:00 am start time I wanted plenty of time to make the drive and warm up for the race. The morning was nice and cool at about 65 degrees when I arrived at the race site at 7:00 am. I felt great and surprisingly was not feeling too nervous at this point. I took the next hour to stretch some more and jog a little to warm up. I listened to my music and just tried to stay calm and focused and by race time I was feeling good.

After getting some great tips from my good friend, and an exceptional runner, Dane, I knew I didn't want to go out too fast and had to keep my excitement and adrenalin in check. Given this and the fact that I'm not a quick runner, I lined up at the back of the pack.

This race also had a 5K being run simultaneously and both races started at the same time and ran together for the first two miles. Because of this, I knew I couldn't judge my pace based on other people and kept telling myself to just run my race and forget everyone else. The first half mile or so was run on the city street and there was plenty of room to pass, but then it veered off onto the first trail portion. This was a difficult leg of the course because the trail was only wide enough for one person and there were very few areas that slower runners/walkers could step off the path to let others pass. Therefore, there was a lot of slowing down and even walking. This made it very difficult for me to keep a good pace and I was regretting staying at the back. At mile two the 5K runners split from the half marathoners and things thinned out, but the halfers stayed on a trail, still only one person wide. I was lucky, I was behind a woman who was running the race very close to my own pace and I was feeling good. A lot of this portion was downhill, so I was able to make up some time, but the terrain was difficult and you had to really pay attention to your feet to avoid stumbling on a bush, rock or tree limb. And, although my knee was feeling great, I didn't want to push too hard this early in the race and change that.

Miles 4-6 were much the same and I was still feeling great. There were a couple of pretty big hills and I did have to walk some of it, but felt good. And I knew that my biggest challenge was coming at mile 7, so kept pushing it knowing I would slow down tremendously when I hit this portion of the race.

At this point in the race the mile markers were few and far between, so after mile 4 I could only guess how far along I was based on my watch, although with this being my first half and the fact that I hadn't done a lot of training on this type of terrain, I wasn't absolutely sure of my exact pace. When we hit a monster of a hill and continued on what now turned into a hike instead of a run for me, I kept saying to myself "jeez, I hope this is mile 7!" :) It kept getting steeper and steeper and my upper hamstrings and tush were burning like they have never burned before! Note to self....do more squats! :) Then we came out of the trail into an opening and there was the sign....mile 9! Mile 9! Yes! I'm more than half way there! I can do this! And I was only an hour and a half in....I can do it in under 3 hours! But mile 9-12 was not much better than 7-9 as far as steepness and I was already burning from those previous miles. So much of the next 3 miles was spent alternating a very slow jog and a fast walk. I was getting tired and my glutes hurt! And at this point my fast walk was slowing to a "just keep moving" walk. But then I saw the sign for mile 12, just over a mile to go, and I started getting excited. I was going to finish this thing! But I was really hurting and I looked at my watch and saw that I only had 12 minutes if I was going to come in under 3 hours. I didn't think I was going to make it, but I was sure going to give it a shot. I knew that the last half mile was downhill, so I just needed to get there and then let gravity do the rest! So I started to jog and my legs started to protest! :) But I wasn't hearing it! And I jogged, slow, very slow, but moving. And I hit the top of the hill and even though I wasn't exactly sure how far it was to the finish I knew it was at the bottom of this hill, so I jogged faster. It was going to be close, very close, but I was going to push with all I had. And then I could hear it, the music from the live band at the finish area, and I picked it up just a little more. And then I could see it, the finish line! And I had done it! I finished my first half marathon and all I could think was....I did it!

Did I finish in under 3 hours, nope, just missed it, 3:01:49, but I finished! And I couldn't help but tear up a little, because I knew that that was the most important thing and there will be another race and another finish time. Today, I'm proud that I set my goal and saw it to completion! :)

Now I have my first PR in the half marathon distance and my next goal is to beat it! And I already have my eyes on the race that I am going to run to do just that. But more details on that later, right now I am just going to bask in the glory of this race. At least until tomorrow when I really feel it! :)

The Countdown Begins

I am now four days away from the Suncrest Mountain Race, my first half marathon. The nerves have started. I'm as equally excited! Still trying to overcome this knee pain, I have tried some different strategies with my running. And I think I have finally found one that might just work, incorporating a slow jog for about a quarter mile every mile or so. I did a nice four mile run last week and had no knee pain at all. So, we will see if it works for 13.1 miles!

This morning I had planned on doing a 10 mile run, but that did not seem to be in the cards. I overslept my alarm and upon waking up at 8:00 am (three hours later than planned) I had a sore throat. I do NOT want to get sick! So, after deliberating what I should do, I decided to go for a hike instead. It was a beautiful day, sunny with a slight breeze and I felt fantastic. I will do at least two short runs this week, just to keep the blood flowing....and my sanity, but other than that the next four days will be spent resting and staying healthy.

This race has taken on a little bit of a new meaning for me as well. This past spring I was able to take the kids to Michigan to visit our Granny and Gramps. This was a fabulous trip and one that will stay in our memories forever! While there, I would take my morning run....25 degrees on those brisk Northern Michigan spring mornings, in the middle of the "sticks". Every morning, once around the block....four miles.

On August 17th my Granny passed away. She was a very important woman in my life and I loved her dearly. It is a great loss, not only for me, but for everyone who knew her. She was a wonderful woman who touched the lives of so many people and was a very special person. She will be greatly missed! My Gramps is a very special man as well, and was by her side for over 57 years and right there by her side at the end. Always taking such good care of her.

This race, my first half marathon ever, will be run in memory of my Granny and in honor of my Gramps. So Gramps, the whole race, every time I think I'm tired I will just say to myself....."just one more time around the block!" I will only have to say it three times and I will have finished my first half marathon! You and Granny will be my inspiration, yet again in my life! I love you both with all my heart!

Big News

Another week of training comes to an end and my knee is still not cooperating the way I want it to! I am once again left disappointed in the mileage I was able to log this week, but still optimistic that I will complete the half in September regardless. And with another disappointing week I figured what the heck, I might as well sign up for my first full marathon!! And that's exactly what I did!

I am extremely excited to announce that I have joined with Operation Jack (operationjack.com) and have signed up to run my first full marathon August 21, 2010 in Park City, Utah. Operation Jack will be an attempt by Sam Felsenfeld to race at least one marathon a week in 2010 (60 total for the year) to generate attention that will raise funds and nationwide awareness for Train 4 Autism, an organization that works tirelessly to raise money for Autism charities.

After reading the story of Sam and his son Jack I looked at his schedule of races and noted that he was running two in Utah, one in Provo and one in Park City....I thought about whether I should commit to register and join a team with Operation Jack, for all of about one minute, and decided on Park City. And now I am an extremely proud member of the Operation Jack team for the Park City Marathon !

So as I continue to push and train for my first half marathon, I excitedly look forward to my first full marathon, almost exactly one year from now!

Set Backs Set In

This week did not go quite as I had planned. I ran my normal easy 2-3 mile runs on Monday and Tuesday and lifted weights both days. By Wednesday morning my knee was killing me! So, I popped a couple of Ibuprofen and decided to take Wednesday off from running. Thursday was supposed to be my first long run, but when I woke up Thursday morning I knew it would not be so. My knee still hurt terribly and the long run would have to be put off until next week.

Thursday afternoon I put a call into my orthopod to see what my options were at this point. We had discussed these the week prior to the WBR in June when he gave me my second steroid injection, but I wanted to revisit any ideas he had to keep me training. It looks like in addition to a regular dose of anti-inflammatories for the next five weeks, I have to have an MRI scan and discuss surgical options based on the results of the scan. This was very disheartening news for me.

I have taken two days off from running now and have digested the news. I will continue with my training and will run the half marathon in September, after being assured it was safe and it will just be a matter of tolerating the pain. I may be crawling over the finish line, but, I will finish! I am going to be as gentle as possible on my knee over the next five weeks and then may have to adjust some of my long term goals....but I already have that brewing in my mind! And I am very excited about the new direction this may just end up taking me, but I will save that for another blog. Right now I'm going to push forward and run my first half marathon. I am still extremely excited to continue with my training and see how the race unravels!

I would also like to say thanks to all of you for all of your encouragement! It keeps me pushing towards my goal and it is very much appreciated! I love you all!

Setting My Goals

With this new adventure of racing I have come upon one of my biggest challenges.....setting goals. You see, I have this personality flaw, I tend to not just think big, but think too big sometimes, and that can be detrimental at times. My two major problems with this 1) I tend to push too hard, which resulted in an injury for the WBR in June and 2) I compare myself to others and their accomplishments. Don't misunderstand me, I think it is a wonderful thing to allow the energy and ability of others to help us focus on improving our own abilities, but for me, keeping that focus realistic is challenging.

Over the past few days I have thought long and hard about the intricacies of training for this half marathon. How do I keep myself focused on pushing to better my running abilities and at the same time stay healthy and injury free? My solution? As hard as it may be for me, baby steps. Plain and simple. This is going to be my first half marathon, and longest run to date, and I have to come to terms with the fact that I am not going to be the best/fastest runner there. What I do have to focus on is finding a pace that works for me and running MY race.

To do this I have begun to take my training in a new direction, still keeping it simple, yet challenging. I have started to incorporate weights into my workouts, to help with strengthening, and I have changed my thinking on how I actually run. Before I decided to start racing I would just go for a run. I never had to think about being quick or pacing myself. I just ran. I still have days that I just run, but I have also started to add some speed workouts to my schedule and have plans to add some more hills soon. I also need to start adding longer runs. My typical run has always been between 2 and 4 miles. That distance is not going to get me into half marathon condition! So, next week I will run my first "long" run. (Stay tuned for that recap).

So, now, it is time to reel in my (too) big thinking and stay realistic! And to help with this I found this really great quote. (those who know me know I love a good quote).

I try not to dance better than anyone else. I only try and dance better than myself.

-Mikhail Baryshnikov

Sharing my adventures

Over the past few months I have played with the idea of starting my own blog. Many things have run through my mind as I worked with the idea, my recurring thought was twofold, what will I write about and will anyone really want to read a blog about me? The answer still eludes me, some may read it, some may not, but I determined that point is irrelevant in the writing. So here I am!!

Over the course of my life I have dealt with my share of challenges, as we all have. In the last couple of years I have taken many opportunities to evaluate my own strengths and weaknesses. I have found, and continue to find, strengths I never knew I had and have made peace with my weaknesses, even turned some of those weaknesses into new strengths.

A close friend has shared a very important lesson with me and I make it part of my thoughts every day....."There are many things in this world we cannot do. Trying is not one of them." And with incorporating this thought process into my life I have also reestablished my love for running. Although, throughout my life I have always run, I have never challenged myself to race. This year I ran my first race, the Wasatch Back Relay, a 188-mile relay from Logan to Park City, Utah, run continuously over the course of about 28 hours by a team of 12. And I fell in love with running in a whole new way. Was it my best performance? No. But, I challenged myself to race and race I did, even after being plagued with several setbacks in my training, including pneumonia and a knee injury just weeks before race day. Now, I have set a new goal that I want to share with all of you. This September I will run my first half marathon. I am very excited for this race and can't wait to set my first PR for a half marathon race!

And so to all of you who will read my blog, I invite you to come along for the ride and share my adventures as I set new goals and wake up every day "trying", believing in what I can do and changing my weaknesses to strengths! I hope in doing this I will, in even the smallest way, inspire each of you to do the same. And I give this challenge to you....

Engage others. Inspire all. Believe in you.