St. George Marathon 2013 Recap

I wasn’t even sure I was going to run the St. George marathon until 9 days before I ran it. Four months ago I was ecstatic about getting in. But then the summer came with temps rarely under 70 even when the sun was down, which meant I was mostly running on a treadmill. At the same time, work picked up occupying a handful of my Saturdays making scheduling long runs tricky. I also prioritized a social life making early morning runs hard as well as having several wonderful visitors that allowed me to procrastinate long runs even more. All the sudden 6 weeks out I was looking for excuses not to run and usually taking them.

Then two weeks before the race I decided I wasn’t going to run it. I had skipped my last two long runs and was barely running once or twice a week. I was tired and stressed and sad and an easy, expendable stressor from my life was the marathon. I didn’t think I could run it for fun or give up my goal and just enjoy my weekend. I went as far as to tell my work I wasn’t running it and could work that Saturday and Ben even rearranged his work schedule back to normal since I had decided not to go.

But then I read this article and several more on marathon training.  I thought long and hard about not being at the race I had paid for, trained (most of the way) for and planned a weekend getaway with my husband for. And even though it was a difficult process to arrange our travel plans back from where they were before I went from not running a marathon in two weeks to running a marathon in one week.

We arrived in St. George by 4pm Friday and settled in at our hotel. We headed to the expo, which is always a good time. At dinner, I asked Ben how fast I should run the next day and he reminded me that I had said I wanted to start with the four hour group and see how I felt. Then I told him I felt like I was underestimating myself and he laughed and told me I was absolutely underestimating myself and not giving myself enough credit and he was sure I could beat my last time if I tried.

I didn’t have that kind of confidence in myself, but I asked him if he thought I should try my hardest the next day or if I should take it easy and that I was afraid that if I tried hard and failed that I would be more upset than not trying. He told me that I should give it everything and that I would be able to do it.

So at dinner, 12 hours before I was about to start my marathon I changed my strategy completely and decided to see if I could push myself to a 3:35 finish time or at least to beat my last marathon time.

After dinner I tried on my gear for the next day (I stupidly didn’t bring a long sleeve shirt so I had to wear the race shirt given to me at the expo since the temps were going to be cold). I also got my pep talk from form from my nephews Johnny, Brandon and Thomas and my niece Maddie. 

 

They gave me one before my Utah Valley Marathon too so I’m hoping it becomes a tradition.  I was asleep by 9 with no nerves or problems just visualizing running as fast as I could.

The day of:

I was up by 4:15 and ready by 4:30. Not without first flooding the bathroom during my shower though. My running clothes were 1/4th of an inch away from being soaked. 

Early morning selfie!

The hotel had breakfast set up early for marathon runners and even had a shuttle to the buses. I had two pieces of toast with jelly and a mini blueberry muffin for breakfast. The shuttle took a little while, but I was at the buses by 5:15 and headed up the canyon to the start line.

I sat next to a nice older gentleman named Gale. This was his 8^th or 9^th St. George Marathon, but he ran 2-3 marathons a year. We talked about our past marathons, our family and our favorite running spots around Salt Lake. He gave me some tips about the course, pointed out different landmarks as we drove to the starting line and also gave me a pep talk. I gave him the short version of my training blips and told him my last time at Utah Valley and he told me I could do it and it reaffirmed that I was going to try my hardest.  He said he had seen miracle times come out of this course and he thought I could pull one out.

The starting line was freezing cold -- about 30 degrees. They had fires, but they were packed with people and it was hard to get a decent spot at one. 

By the time I found a decent spot I heard someone say it was 6:30, which meant I only had 15 freezing minutes left until we started and before I knew it we were lining up. I tried to get as close to the 3:35 pacer as possible, but it was pretty crowded.  We actually had to all shuffle to the starting line and only started running once we crossed the mat.

The first few miles were pitch black and crowded. 

Not an actual depiction but pretty close

I was doing a lot of bobbing and weaving and was having trouble picking up speed. I was glancing at my watch when I could but it was too dark to see and right when I felt like I was getting faster there would be a small hill to kept me from speeding up again. I knew I could be going faster but couldn’t quite break free.

Mile 1: 8:32

Mile 2: 8:31

Mile 3: 8:01

There was some light creeping up so I could finally see my watch and assure that I was speeding up. I felt good and was making up for the time I had lost at the beginning and was sort of shocked that I was keeping up the pace I was.  I told myself to keep my head on straight until I got to the hills from 7-14 and not get ahead of myself, but it was still hard to not have stars in my eyes at how fast I was going (even if it was downhill).

Mile 4: 7:53

Mile 5: 8:01

While running mile 7 – my fastest of the whole race – I had an intimidating view of Veyo hill waiting for me at mile 8.  After 7 miles of mostly downhill with some small rolling hills Veyo looked like bad news. I had done my research before the race and knew that it was about a mile long and at its steepest point was a 7% incline and you climed over 200 ft in one mile.  I also knew that Veyo was only the beginning of a series of rolling hills for the next seven miles. 

Mile 6: 7:47

Mile 7: 7:39

And bad news it was. I did not do enough hill training. I only made it up halfway before walking and it KILLED me. I was gasping for air by the time I stopped to walk. When I started up Veyo I was about a minute and a half over my 3:35 pace. I lost nearly all of that cushion in the one mile it took me to get up it. 

Mile 8: 9:28

Races love to put photographers after a long hill. I think I faked the smile pretty well though.

When I looked at the St. George elevation map I saw a lot of down hill. I saw little tiny blips up every once and a while and thought “those are so tiny! Those must me the tinest hills.” What I didn’t pay attention to is that the measurement on the graph is in the thousands and not hundreds of feet and that one of those little blips could still be a 100 foot or more climb. Well that is what I learned from mile 9-12.

Mile 9:  8:41

Mile10: 8:44

I grabbed a cliff bar from an aide station around mile 9, but it was almost frozen solid and I could barely breathe let alone eat so I had to manage small bites. I was also guzzling water at each aide station usually taking two cups in addition to my own water bottle of Gatorade I was carrying.

Mile 11: 9:10

Mile 12: 8:57

In the zone trying to manage those hills oblivious to the camera

Miles 9-12 really showed the cracks in my training. Sure I could run my paces when I was going downhill or even over minor hills, but I didn’t run bigger hills at that pace during training. In fact I rarely ran hills and that was evident here. However, I knew the hills reign of terror would come to an end somewhere between mile 13 and 14.  The hills on mile thirteen were very minor and by mile 14 we were cruising downhill.

Mile 13: 8:25

Mile 14: 8:24

Mile 15: 8:08

Mile 16: 7:55

As I saw my mile times getting faster I still had hope I could make up for lost time. I knew there was another bigger hill between mile 18-19 and my legs were starting to feel all the wear and tear. While my quads took the brunt of the abuse during Utah Valley this time my whole leg was in pain. My calfs were in aching and my ankles were as well. I felt like one wrong step and they’d just snap. I was just very tired. Usually during marathon I think about what I want to eat after, but all I wanted in that minute was a big bottle of cold water, ice for my legs and a nap. 

Mile 17: 8:02

Mile 18: 8:12
Mile 19: 8:44

With the last big hill behind me I took a look at how much time had passed and reevaluate my goals. Unless I managed sub 8 minute miles the rest of the race I wasn't going to get a 3:35. It made me just a little sad, but I was still proud of how hard I was pushing myself in this race. I briefly thought about giving up. Walking for a while -- maybe even just not finishing. But just because I couldn't get a 3:35 didn't mean I couldn't still get a PR. So I turned my music on and kept pushing even though I was hurting.

Mile 20: 8:18

Mile 21: 8:13

Mile 22: 8:19

Mile 23: 8:23

We headed out of Snow Canyon between mile 22 and 23. The crowd support was nice, but I couldn't muster the smile and waves the spectators deserved. I was just trying to convince myself to not walk and doing mental math in my head to figure out how fast I had to go.

Mile 24: 8:09

Mile 25: 8:25

I must give a shout out to Beyonce, Robin Thicke and the one and only Britney for getting me through these 2 miles. I was actually struggling to lift my legs all the way off the ground at this point. I almost tripped a few times when they just sort of… stopped working. I thought about taking a walking break, but realized I was dangerously close to not coming in under 3:40 so despite my body's best interest... I tried to run faster.

Looking for Ben/pushing really hard

What I remember of my thoughts during the last mile: Don’t throw up. Don’t pass out. Don’t slow down. Don’t cry. You don’t need your legs again anyways.  Don’t trip.  Try waving to spectators. Nope, just run. Run faster.

Mile 26: 8:27

Sprint Lizz. Run as fast as you can. You have 2 minutes to finish. Try to smile at the camera.  Don’t pass out. Look for Ben. Do. Not. Pass. Out. Keep trying to smile. 

Mile 26.2

fin.

I couldn't have been happier to be finished. I didn't know my official time, but I was pretty confident I came in under 3:40. I went through some amazing water misters and stopped for my finshers photo and put on my best "I'm not in pain" face. 

Then I wandered around sort of aimlessly. Someone handed me a lemon scented rag to wipe my face down with and that was magical. Someone else handed me water and chocolate milk. Another person was walking around with ice cream sandwiches and I took one, but didn't open in. Eventually I found my way out of the maze of the finish line and tried to find where to meet Ben. But still being semi-delirious and accidentally walking up a small hill I wasn't sure how to physically get back down with my legs in their current state. Oh man they hurt. I know I've said it, but just one more time -- my legs really hurt. 

So basically I just stood at the top of this small hill I didn't know if I could walk down without falling hoping Ben would find me. And he did! 

I was so happy to see him. I wanted to get a picture of us together (even though I was a sweaty mess) so I made another asked another finisher to take one for us and we chatted for a bit. Then we walked what was probably another mile back to the car (okay it was only 5 blocks).

The rest of the day was pretty perfect. We went to lunch at a Mexican place we like in St. George, and then went for a drive. 

Next we layed next to the pool went to dinner, got junk food from the grocery store, went to see Gravity and basked in my new personal record! 

This marathon was such a whirlwind. I am still processing it all a week later. I felt like this most of the week: 

I could barely walk for three days after, but I am happy to say that I'm feeling a lot better. Out of my four marathons this was by far my hardest. I don't remember zoning out for even one second while I was running. It was three and a half hours of making myself move forward and it was exhausting. It was the first time I have ever sworn off running while doing a marathon or promised I would never put my body through that again. I expressed more than one four letter word while trudging up those hills and am pretty convinced my nightmares will now consist of running down a hill only to see it is immediately followed by a steep incline.

But I am so happy I did it. I can't wait to run St. George again some day with better training.

I don't have any races on the horizon until June though. I'm planning to try Utah Valley for a third time and finally nab my sub-3:35 and qualify for Boston!   

Thanks to the friends and family who told me I could run this race when I really just wanted to sit at home and feel sorry for myself. And especially Ben who told me to run fast.

Utah Valley Marathon 2013 Race Recap

Going into Saturday I had nearly no expectations. The past six months had been plagued by my fair share of health problems. However, after finally receiving a diagnosis that I was B12 deficient and starting a regimen of shots my health improved drastically and quickly all within the month preceding the race. So as the marathon grew closer and my training times got faster I had no idea what to expect. My last run the Saturday before the marathon I somehow clocked a 7:53 mile as my last mile during my 12-mile run and I started to let myself think I could maybe run this marathon faster than I had been planning. My really optimistic secret goal was a 3 hour and 45 minute finish (8:35/mile). 

I took the Friday before my marathon off work and spent the day getting ready. I felt the most relaxed I ever have before a race.

Carbo-loading at its finest.

 I dropped Ben off at work (he sadly couldn’t get time off to come with me this year) and headed to Provo. I quickly picked up my race stuff at the expo.

Then headed over to my friends Emily and Ryan’s to stay for the night. Emily and I used to be roommates in college so it was just like old times.

College Days. We are so painfully sober in this picture.

I FaceTimed with my nephews Johnny and Brandon before bed and asked them for advice on how fast I should start the race (since I still really hadn’t decided how fast I wanted to start). Johnny gave me some great advice that I shouldn’t start too fast and save my energy. It was a good reminder. I was asleep by 9:15pm, which is a little bit of a miracle since I fell asleep at 1:00am last year.

Alarm was at 3:15am. I was ready and out of the door at 3:30am. On the buses by 3:45am. Uneventful bus ride. Arrived at the starting line in Wallsburg at 4:25am. Had an hour and a half to kill before starting. 

I ate my bagel, drank Gatorade and huddled next to one of the fires they had going. I was freezing (which is why I took zero pictures). As the starting time grew closer I made my way to the line and decided to start with the 3:50 pacer. I head the pacer say he was planning to bank some time since we have a downhill start before hitting the hills. I figured it would help me start conservatively, but I could speed up if I felt good and if not 3:50 would be a time I would be happy with.  And we were off.

I felt surprisingly good at the start despite my ambitious pace. It was clear the people around me did as well because they were all chatting. I kept talking to myself to make sure my breathing was okay. For about the first half of a marathon you should be able to speak without sounding out of breath so I would say phrases to myself occasionally to see how I was doing.  Yeah I am sure I looked really cool and not at all crazy…

Mile 1: 8:34

Mile 2: 8:24

Mile 3: 8:22

It was incredibly helpful having run this race last year and knowing where the big hills were. The first 7 miles flew by because I knew the race wouldn’t REALLY start for me until the 3 big hills from miles 8-9. I spent most of the first miles visualizing the hills and lecturing myself on how it would hurt but that was just temporary. When I rounded the corner and saw them I made myself just think of it one hill at a time.

Mile 4: 8:27

Mile 5: 8:26

Mile 6: 8:30

Mile 7: 8:27

First of three hills via Google Maps. Makes it look far less menacing than is really is...

 The hills were tough, but then before I knew it they were over and I was in the canyon with beautiful scenery. The moment in the race I had been dreading was behind me. I knew those weren’t the only hills, but they definitely boosted my confidence about the future ones. To be honest they were kind of nice. I have grown to like hills (to a point), because what comes up must come down. And downhill we went...

Mile 8: 8:41

Mile 9: 8:41

Picture from Mile 10. I swear I'm not grimacing.

 Mile 10: 8:18

Mile 11: 8:22

Downhill was nice, but my legs started to hurt before I even hit the half. I was also getting a little bored. I didn’t want to listen to music yet so I just kept trying to reassess my goals. I had passed the 3:50 pacer before we reached the first set of hills and getting close to the half I realized I was on pace to finish under 3:45 and was still feeling pretty good.  However, passing the official halfway point I thought “my race is only halfway done, but my legs are almost all the way done”. They hurt. 

 Mile 12: 8:30

Mile 13: 8:27

Half Time: 1:51:32

I decided I would turn my music on at mile 16, but then pushed it back more because it still felt too early. There were a few small hills here and then one last big mile from 16-17. I knew that after that hill most of the race would be downhill. 

At mile 16 we passed Bridal Veil Falls. I didn't take any pictures while running so thanks to the internet for this one.

Mile 14: 8:27

Mile 15: 8:11

Mile 16: 8:19

Mile 17: 8:24

  

At mile 18 I could see the 3:45 pacer in the distance. I knew I had finished the half in a time that could get me under 3:45 so I didn’t know why they were so far ahead. At Mile 19 I knew if I kept up the pace I was going I had less than an hour left to go. My legs were in some pretty severe pain at this point so that thought helped. I texted Ben’s sister to let her know I’d be finishing a little earlier than expected and also finally turned on my music. Then, around mile 20, I caught up and ended up passing the 3:45 group. 

At around mile 20. Sore legs, but feeling happy.

Mile 18: 8:23

Mile 19: 8:17

Mile 20: 8:11

We headed out of the canyon onto University Ave. There were a few spectators, which helped a little but man did my legs hurts.  It was also incredibly hot without the shade in the canyon. So I was doing what I could to distract myself, which mostly meant singing and dancing along with my music, which the spectators liked. They would call out my bib number and tell me I was doing well. This section was also pretty flat, and I pick up speed pretty fast when it is flat.They had misters along this section (stations that would spray you with water) and on top of that I took an extra glass of water at each station to pour over my head.

Mile 21: 8:14

Mile 22: 8:12

Mile 23: 8:22

There was one last hill at mile 24. It wasn’t huge, but it was at mile 24 of a marathon. By some miracle I didn’t walk it. My lungs could care less about the hill and actually wanted me to go faster, but my legs were deteriorating. All I wanted to do was walk. I told myself that at this point I could walk and still finish under 4 hours. There was a guy with a hose asking people if they wanted to be sprayed. I gestured for them to bring it on and it felt fan-freaking-tastic.  After mile 24 though I could actually see the finish line and I didn’t want the spectators to see me walking so I kept going. I tried as hard as I could to not think about how much my legs hurt.

Mile 24: 8:36

Mile 25: 8:27

I ran through another mister, which helped a lot. I was very thirsty and just imagined something to drink at the end to keep me moving. My legs hurt even more than before, which I didn't think was possible. As I got closer there was more of a crowd and I looked around for Ben’s family. As soon as I saw them I got a burst of energy and gave it all that I could to the finish.

Mile 26: 8:26
 Mile 26.2: Didn’t stop by watch…

Second Half Time: 1:50:01

Official Finish Time: 3:41:34 (8:27/m pace)

I was very hot when I finished and a little out of it. They didn't have water at the finish line so I had to settle for Powerade. I went straight to get my finishers photo and the photographer asked me if I was ready and I asked her if I looked ready, because I felt pretty rundown (pun). In all seriousness I didn't feel great. Not sick, but just dizzy and a little overwhelmed.

I look... sweaty. I swear its mostly from the water I poured over my head...

I found Ben’s siblings pretty fast and met up with the rest of the family. They made me an awesome sign and we chatted for a bit. We waited to find out my official time and took some pictures.

I was SO grateful they came. Knowing they would be waiting made me push through my dead legs to finish without walking. I decided since my legs were pretty toasted I would wait in the enormous line for post race massages (took over an hour for a 5 minute massage, but it did hurt so good). Then I headed to Emily's to shower and then back home.

So that’s it. I ran a marathon and felt pretty great. I finished with negative splits and if my legs didn’t give out I feel confident I would have kept picking up speed and finished a little faster. Unfortunately, legs are required to run so that didn’t happen. I learned a lot about myself and having confidence in my running. I also learned I need to do a lot of lunges and downhill running to prepare myself for St. George… SO MANY people supported me through this and had more confidence in me than I did.

It is three days post-marathon and I haven't done anything more than a mile walk. My legs are still pretty useless. Stairs are my arch-nemesis. I plan to take it easy until the beginning of July and then start training hard for St. George and a hopeful Boston Qualifying time.

Mystery Solved

Six months ago I was not a healthy person. Despite makeups best efforts I still constantly sported dark circles under my eyes, every time I stood up I hovered on unconsciousness due to dizziness and blurred vision, my bones felt like they had been filled with cement and I couldn’t walk up a flight of stairs without needing to sit down and take deep breaths afterwards.

I never shared this photo is December, because I hated how sick I looked in it. And this was on a night I had put on make up and tried to look nice...

I was told by a (crappy) doctor that I was anemic and started taking iron supplements. Some of the symptoms stopped. I could gradually start to run again, but had a difficult time getting faster. I still had days that even after a full night of sleep it was impossible for me to get out of bed. I started using the term “anemia tired” to describe the difference between sleepiness and my body’s occasional inability to function. 

At this point I was “training” for a marathon. Sometimes having good runs and sometimes cutting them out altogether. Back when I first signed up for the race I promised Ben I would go back to the doctor when it was getting close to see where I was health wise. 

So I went to a different (better) doctor and he ran some of the same tests and some new tests and finally figured out what was wrong with me. First off, I was still anemic, but getting better. My numbers were substantially higher than December. Then the big breakthrough -- I was B12 deficient. Not only does B12 cause anemia because of the role it plays in creating red blood cells, but it also explained some of my other symptoms like the numbness in my toes and fingers and my recent forgetfulness.

While it solved one mystery it did open the door to another. Why was I deficient? MY doctor ordered several additional tests, but they all came back negative. At this time, my doctor thinks it is my diet since I’m not a fan of red meat (you can only get B12 through animal products), but I do eat all other meat as well as dairy products and eggs so I have a hard time jumping on board with that.

Anyways, after my diagnosis I received a B12 injection every day for a week. 

Picture I sent my sister after one of my shots. This one hurt super bad for some reason!

 Now I am getting them once a week and soon I’ll get them once a month until my levels are normal. I’ll be tested again in August to see if my body is absorbing the shots.  It has been such a blessing to have my health issues resolved. After having my doctor back in December tell me it was all in my head it was a weight off my shoulders to know something really wasn’t right and that there was a way to fix it. I feel like a real, happy person again! 

Now what has this meant for my running? Well -- basically -- B12 has given me superpowers. Over the past month I have gone from my comfortable pace being a 9:10 mile to a 8:45 mile. My last mile from Saturday’s 12 mile run was 7:53. For the past two weeks my average mile pace has been an 8:36. All of these things seemed like legend and myth for me 6 months ago.  I’m getting faster every week and am going through the motions with running. 

And about that marathon – I’m still running it and it is this weekend. I have no idea what to expect. I’ve improved so much in the past month getting my injections that I don’t know what a realistic goal is. I had an exact strategic plan when I ran the Chicago marathon, but for this one I’m confused. I ran a 22 mile run during training in the rain with a 9:07 pace and that was a pretty conservative run so I am optimistic, but really I have no idea. I have a secret goal of what I want, but we’ll see… 

Running is an Adventure

I owe an update on running and my health and all the the breakthroughs that were made in discovering what was wrong with me, but I had such an action packed run this morning I had to share...

I helped this dog and his friend find their owner this morning on my run. 

They came down the street out of nowhere soaking wet and covered in mud. I was a little afraid they were going to attack me since I've been attacked by a dog on a run before (and am almost always chased by unleashed dogs), but these two only attacked me with love (lots of licking). Luckily they had collars on but I struggled to calm them down enough to read their ID tags. While I was trying one of them ended up chasing a bus in the middle of the street and the other one followed, which nearly gave me a heart attack.

I called them back and eventually was able to get one of them to sit still long enough for me to read their tag. I got their owner on the phone and she said she had been up all night worrying. While we waited for her to arrive I had the challenge of getting two big dogs to not run away from me while cars drove by. Eventually they realized I was their ally and one curled up into my lap and I scratched the other dog's tummy. 

The black dog was literally in my lap so you can't see him well.

 I was muddy and wet and they chewed on my water bottle while we waited, but it was so worth it when their owner arrived! I wiped my fur covered muddy hands off in the grass and kept going on my run. I hadn't worn my GPS watch this morning, because I had wanted to keep this run light and easy since I'm getting over a cold. In fact I almost didn't run at all and/or was considering sleeping in or running later and I hate to imagine those two sweet dogs getting hit by a car.

On the "post-dog" portion of my it started pouring rain adding another layer to an eventful morning run. If I hadn't had my phone with me I might have just gone for it, but instead I stood under a tree until the worst of it had past. I still ended up running in some pretty significant rainfall, however.

This morning made me realize how much fun and/or weird stuff happens to runners when their out and about. Now I have a new motivation to get up when I want to skip my morning run -- curiosity of what I will see or encounter. 

Run and Fun

I went into this week pretty confidant I wouldn’t be able to get up for a single run. After waking up this morning to an alarm that started with a 4… I am happy to say I actually made it through. I have been having a lot of fun since last Wednesday, like real life non-running fun, but that also means sleeping less and not eating as well as I should. For me it isn’t about cutting out all the bad as making sure I get all of the good, which I haven't been doing at much... 

Anyways, here is a recap of some of my runs and some of the fun starting with last Wednesday.

Run: I did 12 miles. They were just “general anaerobic” miles, but I threw in a few hills and did the last mile at GMP. Lately in the mornings I’ve been watching Dogs 101 while I’ve been running. I could probably write a whole post about how awesome that has been. I want a dog more than ever. 

Fun: Ben and I went to our friend Jordan’s wedding!

Chase may or may not have been present.

Ben and Jordan have been best friends since High School and I’ve had the chance to spend a lot of time with him over the years. Just for some perspective on what an awesome friend he is he has not only helped us move before but also on a separate occasion used his parents SUV to pick up a couch for us. We were really excited for him and his new wife Katie! 

They had an awesome Ice Cream bar at the reception. I am pretty sure that day my food ratio was 50% normal food, 50% ice cream. 

Friday was another great day.

Run: I did 10 not so fun miles. They weren’t the hardest ones I had ever done, but I was verrrrry sleepy, which made them not enjoyable.

Fun: I left work a little early because of some extra comp time I had from doing weekend events. It was beautiful out so I treated myself to a diet coke, and planted myself on the couch for a while. 

This is the actual picture I sent my sister because I was so excited to get a Diet Coke. True story.

Ben and I ended up going to Wal-Mart to look at flowers to plant in our little garden area outside our apartment. Then in a spur of moment decision we met Ben’s parents for dinner! It was so much fun and something we should really do more often. They treated us to Outback, and while the service wasn’t the best, the company really made up for it.

When we got home Ben and I were craving something sweet (it was almost 10:00, which for me is practically 2am) and I made us some spur of the moment chocolate chip cookies. I only had 1/3 stick of shortening so I had to play with the recipe a little, but they turned out okay.

Saturday morning didn’t start out great, but it got better.

Run: Was awful. Worst. Run. Ever. I was supposed to do 15 and I barely clawed my way past 9. Not even watching Hitch could keep me going. I don’t think the fish for dinner the night before helped. I told myself I’d go back and finish my run later, but my body needed food and rest more than miles.

Fun: Visiting with Brooke and Remy! 

My sister-in-law and my lovely niece are in town (and my brother gets into town today!) so we met Brooke, her mom Rosemary and her brother Colton for Zupas – mine and Ben’s favorite. We went back to Rosemary’s after dinner and had fun sitting around, talking and catching up. We ended up stopping at our favorite pizza place on our way home to pick up a pie. Unfortunately, the place changed ownership and the pizza just wasn’t the same. Still good, but just not amazing like it was before.

Sunday was my dad’s birthday!!

My dad is awesome and wonderful and the coolest dad ever. Not to mention my run-spiration.

Run: I somehow pulled out the 15 miles I was supposed to do the day before. Thank goodness Mondays are my rest day, because I was more than ready for a rest.

Fun: The rest of Sunday was pretty standard. I bribed my Sunday School kids with brownies to make them participate, called my parents to wish my dad a Happy Birthday, watched too much TV and ate too much food.

This week I thought my runs would be really hard, but they have been going much better. Monday I rested – no physical activity for me! I had a great tempo run Tuesday with 5 miles at my 15k pace, easy recovery run yesterday and an awesome 10 mile run this morning with hills and speed pickups included.

AND I have another excited weekend ahead of me.

Run: Tomorrow is another easy recovery, Saturday is a long run of probably about 18-20 miles depending on how I feel and Sunday is another recovery run before my rest day!

Fun: Friday I am getting my hair cut and colored with Abby; hopefully either Friday night or Saturday sometime I’ll see my brother Philip, Remy, Brooke and her whole fam again; Sunday I am going to church with Philip and Brooke and to a reception for her brother, who is leaving to go on a mission for our church for the next two years in England. I’m also planning on some Ben time in there somewhere! 

What is something fun you did this past week?

The Good (and bad)

It’s been a while. When I last wrote I was struggling with an unexplained cloud hanging over my athletic ability caused predominantly by my anemia. I am happy to say that those problems seem to be resolved. I haven’t had a blood test or anything, but I have made drastic improvements in my fitness and am slowly clawing my way back up to where I was before.

I wish I could tell you exactly what helped, but I don’t know if it was any one thing. I have been taking iron pills, trying to eat more green and leafy things and just trying to eat more overall (more healthy things – eating more sugar was never a problem). I’ve been more conscious of getting rest that I need and taking a day off when my body or mind is too tired. I think more than anything I have just been DETERMINED. I love running. Even though it was hard I never stopped exercising and I think that has made bouncing back a little easier.  As with most things running has been a battle of good and bad. Here are a few running related items I’ve had some polarized feelings towards:

GOOD: I was able to have a REAL run outside for the first time this year. I tried a few weeks ago but most of the sidewalks were still covered in ice and snow so I ended up just running to the gym and doing the rest there. It was an enjoyable run and went much better than I expected my first non-treadmill run in quite some time to go. I did 6 miles in a little under 55 minutes (9:09 pace). I even threw two hill repeats in there! 

BAD: I tripped and fell a half mile into my run.

After falling, I got up, brushed myself off and kept running not realizing I was bleeding somewhat badly on my knee (I spared you the bloody photo). I also shattered the corner of my phone. So – that sucked. 

GOOD: My brother Philip is training for a marathon and is just doing absolutely amazing. He is hoping to run the Minneapolis Marathon in June as long as he doesn’t get injured.  I am so proud of him and so happy that I finally convinced someone to run a marathon. 

BAD: I won’t be able to run it with him like I originally planned. With the cost of a plane ticket and marathon entry as well as the time I’d need to take off work I just can’t make it happen. It makes my heart so sad that I won’t be there to see him cross the finish line, but maybe I’ll convince him to run another with me one day? 

GOOD: I ran 18 miles Saturday with a 9:21 overall pace. I was even able to go to a work event afterwards where I was on my feet for 3 hours and felt really good!  

BAD: They were treadmill miles and outside miles are so much better for training. Sometimes I feel like they don’t count as much when it comes to running that distance because really all I’m doing is watching TV. 

GOOD: Did you hear me throw in the bit about training? That is because I maybe just signed up for another marathon…

I ran this marathon last year and it was great. It is much smaller than the Chicago Marathon, but has just as much course support and an awesome finish line party (Creamies!!!!). I like the idea of running a course I know, because I can prepare better for it. Last year I thought the course was entirely downhill and was not ready for the few big climbers there were. Additionally, my quads were totally trashed after all the downhill running so I have to not only add it a lot of uphill running, but a lot of downhill running, too.

I should also mention that the decision to run this marathon did not come lightly. After watching me suffer through my running dry spell Ben was not anxious for me to start training again so soon. He saw me come home from the gym crying almost every day and complain about chest pains, difficulty breathing and dizziness. I’ll talk more about our decision that I would be ready in June later, but it was something we have been talking about for a long time before I registered.

BAD: I could say the weeks and weeks of insane training, early wake up calls and the actual running of 26.2 miles, but I’m looking forward to every second of it. 

Now that I am training for another race and have actually returned to training I am hoping I’ll be motivated to post more.  June 8 still seems so far away, but I know that in no time at all I’ll be at the starting line in Wallsburg, UT ready to run a marathon.