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!