I started running in the fall of 2007. I truly believe I was inspired to start running and I have seen some very big blessings come my way because of following that inspiration.
Ran Boston Marathon 2013 & 2014. My favorite PRs: 2011 at the SG 1/2 and 5K where I ran the 5K in 22:22. 2013 Nebo 1/2 (downhill) 1:36:15
Short-Term Running Goals:
Long-Term Running Goals:
Running throughout life with Tom. Staying healthy and happy.
Learn from others, learn from myself, work hard, do my best, enjoy!
On running and on life.....
On occasion we need to make a second effort - and a third effort, and a fourth effort, and as many degrees of effort as may be required to accomplish what we strive to achieve.
~Thomas S. Monson~
Personal:
Going to St. George? Bag the hotel and stay in one of our condos instead!
Tom and I were all geared up in our minds to wake up to snow this morning. We heard the wind and rain in the night, but woke up to a beautiful, mild morning. Sorry to those of you who didn't get that. I was a good little student this morning and followed the right pace for my workout, which was the lower end of base pace. I have a hard time doing that alone because I get bored, but it was a nice little run today with Tom to chat with. We threw in 4 different 30 second striders.
Fun letter from our missionary this morning! He said this past week he has been able to experience more cultural experiences than any other time on the mission. He went to an old castle and tried on samuri, (sp?), armor. He went to a families house and ate fish uterus with eggs in it. (He had a brand new elder with him that got to enjoy some strange foods, good way to start off two years in Japan!) He ended up at some weird chanting session for some other religion that he was happy to get out of. He said the spirit definitely wasn't in that place. We get to talk to him on Mother's Day! Yeah!! For those of you who aren't LDS, the missionaries are out for 2 years and we only talk to them on Christmas and Mother's Day. Other than that it is only through letters and email. So we LOVE those two holidays even more than we did before he left!
Canyon Elementary Icebreaker (3.1 Miles) 00:24:46, Place overall: 5, Place in age division: 1
Easy Miles
Marathon Pace Miles
Threshold Miles
VO2 Max Miles
Total Distance
7.00
0.00
0.00
0.00
7.00
Pre-race morning: Ran 2 miles to wake the legs and brain up. I was very happy to get a better rest than I was expecting. Thank goodness for antibiotics and pain relievers for a cute little daughter with a nasty ear infection! I was in charge of the fruit for the race, so I took it up there at about 7:20 to cut it up. Was graciously helped by John A's daughter who jumped in and cut 50 lbs of bananas into thirds! Thanks Emily!
There were about 40 running the 5K and about 100 running the mile. Tom was willing to give up killing himself on this race and sticking with me to pace me. This is the first time I've had someone to keep me motivated throughout the race and I know it helped me out a lot. I think I may have wimped out here and there if I would have been alone. The wind showed up just as ordered! Blasting right down the canyon and into our faces! I love wind! It is good, it is great, it is wonderful! (I'm sure you are convinced with my love for the wind!)
Mile one: (8:17) Mile two: (8:15) Mile three: (7:51) Last point one: (.23)
Tom did very good at motivating and keeping me going without making me feel like punching him. It was good to have him there to remind me to breath and relax. It's funny how you can forget those kinds of things.
Anyway, I was hoping to get my 25:44 PR closer to 25 even. When all is said and done my new 5K PR is 24:46!
After the 5K I helped my little neighbor girl make it through the 1 mile. I would have ran it with my 7 year old if she would have felt better. Tom ran with our 10 year old, Tani. Our 13 year old, Jansen ran it on his own.
Mile results: Jansen #1 overall! (6:25) Not bad for running once a year. (Each Icebreaker fun run.) However, I think he may be seriously thinking of doing a little more running. He has great potential. Tani ended up 5th in her age group. Unfortunately there were a lot in her age group to compete against. She ran it somewhere between 10:00 and 10:30. Again, not bad for running once a year.
After awards and prize drawings Tom took the kids home while I ran home. He had already ran a bunch of miles this morning so he didn't need anymore.
Feliz Cinco De Mayo everyone! Enjoy some great Mexican food for the occasion! Our friends invited our family over to their house last night for a great Mexican spread! Gotta love Mexican food once in a while!
This morning the wind was still there, but the temps were very tolerable! I trusted Tom's instinct to wear shorts and was very glad I did! Shorts and a long sleeve mesh shirt was just right! We did the backwards river bottoms loop to end up with about 4.3. This time I went out for a few more while he came home. That would make me feel cool if it weren't for the fact he will be doing more and harder a little later at work! As I started out this morning my legs were needing a little more coaxing than usual, but the last few miles felt great!
Today is the funeral of a very dear neighbor. John McDonald of Old McDonald's Farm passed away a few days ago. He was 92. He and his cute wife, (age 90), celebrated 70 years of marriage in January. Last summer I was talking to him one day as he was watching his flowers grow. He said to me..."Ya know, I just want to live until January so Lillian and I can celebrate our 70th anniversary together. After that, I'm ready to go." They are such a sweet couple with so much love for everyone! They have a beautiful marriage and love for each other. They are truly an example to all who know them! I can't imagine all of the things they have gone through in almost a whole century of living! And almost 3/4 of a century together as husband and wife! He really did have a farm as a living and it was called Old McDonald's Farm. Thank you Old McDonald for a wonderful example to follow! We will miss you!
Today's run was meant to be very easy except for a little pushing on the hill repeats. 6.1 miles over all with 6 forty five minute hill repeats in the 3rd mile. Nice morning in the river bottoms. Dead raccoon became bloated raccoon and is now becoming decomposed raccoon. It will be nice when we don't have to see any raccoon at all as we take this route. Headed down BS Rools Road and back home. Looks like it should be a wonderful day here in our neck of the woods.
Last night was the last night of our daughter's play. Yeah! I don't have to fill two heads full of ringlets every night anymore! It sure was fun to watch them and see how much they both learned through this little production! Tani was Fairy Charity and Tia was a princess, a peasant and a firefly. Great job girls!
This morning's observations....Tom and I passed a huge, old tree! I can't imagine how old it is! I want to stop there sometime and ask the people if they happen to know it's age. The funny thing is, we pass that tree all the time! We pass it on foot and by car several times a week and we have never really looked at it! We also noticed the lilacs starting to burst out in purple and white! I love lilacs! The birds were all very welcoming today with all of their different little songs. We wished we could have our friend, Garebear, here to tell us what all of the different birds are. He is our cute, handicapped friend who moved away a few years ago. We sure miss having him around. The birds make me think of him and it brings a smile to my face and to my soul!
Afternoon: A very strange thing just happened....I had to take a check to a lady for a DVD of our daughter's play. She gave me the address over the phone. Guess where it ended up? At the huge tree! I went right to their front door to hand them a check and asked them about the tree. They said it is well over 100 years old! Na na na na Na na na na...(that's the theme music to the Twilight Zone in case you didn't recognize it!)
I was physically and emotionally drained this morning, so I didn't get out and run then. Tom was great and stayed in with me. Our sweet little girl who just got over a nasty ear infection now has the stomach flu. So I was up with her and home all day with her. When the other kids got home I decided to head out and get a few miles in. I wasn't quite sure how many that would be. I planned to do my 6 forty five second striders after a few miles of warm up. With the nice sunshine out there it didn't take long to warm up! I'm not use to that warm of a run. I'm not sure what the temp was. I know I need to keep hydrated better now! In the cooler weather I ran up to 14 miles at a time without water. I did my striders. I was suppose to do them at about a 7:30 pace. I had a hard time finding that pace. I usually ended up going a bit too fast. I got to my house at 5 3/4 miles and really wanted to stop and come in and get a drink. But I know that the block right by my house is exactly 1/4 of a mile, so I ran around it so I could end up with 6 for the day. I am very satisfied to have been able to get this run in today when I wasn't sure if even 2 was going to work out! Again, having the bloggers to report to and a very supportive family I was able to do it! Thanks everyone!
Just for my information, I just checked the temperature. It looks like it is 63 degrees.
Today is the day! Am I one of the lucky ones to get in on the lottery for SGM? I've been feeling quite antsy about it all! I really hope to see my name on the list! I won't be near a computer all day, so it's going to bug me wondering if they have the list up or not. On the home page it says it should be around 5:00. Good luck to all wanting in on it too!
Tom and I went 6 miles this morning and then he added a few more. It was a very enjoyable run. I have really enjoyed every run this week! I love the excitement of official training and learning. I am also trying to be more observant of all the beautiful things around me as I have the opportunity of getting out and doing something that so many people can't or don't do. I have also started to find little reasons to send a thank you card or a thinking of you card to others. It helps bring a great spirit of joy to your own life and takes your mind off of your own trials and struggles. I like a little saying that Tom reminded me of the other day. "Each day is a gift, that is why it is called the present!" Enjoy your "present" today!
Tom and I met up with the Spanish Fork group today. Lots of runners there and others along the way. At Junkmail I turned around with a couple people and Tom continued forward to pick up some more miles at a speedier pace. I was able to stick with some of the crowd much better than I have in the past.
Yesterday after I ran and blogged and showered I got such an overwhelming feeling of gratitude for life, family, abilities, health, etc... I think I had the runner's high throughout the run and it escalated when I got home! I have really enjoyed this week of running! I am still really bummed out about not getting into the SGM, but there could be so many things worse than that! Besides, we're going to keep working and see if we can find a way to get me in.
HAPPY MOTHER'S DAY TO MY MOMMY AND HAPPY BIRTHDAY TO MY DADDY! Isn't my mom lucky to be able to share her day with my dad?! He always feels a bit guilty when it falls on the same day. Also Happy Mother's Day to all you other mommies!
Our family was able to call our son in Japan today! What a great 70 minutes! He is doing so well and it was fabulous to hear his voice. It is a joy to have a missionary! He told me today that when he gets home he want to get ready and run a marathon with us someday.
Last week was such a great running week for me. Here's hoping for another great week for all of us in the running groove!
Stayed in and listened to the rain this morning instead of going out and getting soaked in it. Tom got some work done at home instead of running so he could get a few extra miles in at work. I'm glad I waited. The weather was much more enjoyable to run in when the rain stopped.
I always want to start off faster than I should when it's nippy outside. I want to get warmed up quick. I need to remember to keep it a bit slower though, especially after I had a 40 mile week last week. Right at the end of mile 2 I had to stop and stretch a bit as I was feeling quite a bit of tightness low in the left calf muscle. So my first 2 miles were about 9:25 but my last four were all very close to 10:00 each. It felt much better as I slowed down. At home I have iced it and it is feeling great at the moment. I'll have to evaluate it before the hill repeats tomorrow. I've learned that I want to avoid injury at all costs!
Beautiful, crisp morning. Three miles with Tom and then he went off to do some hill repeats that I chose not to do today. I finished up with 3 more miles to home. Same route as yesterday. Very zen like run today.
Tom and I are still looking at different options for getting into the SGM. We are quite disappointed that they have seemed to burn him again for a second year in a row. He was told he had a guaranteed spot for this year and now they are saying.. sorry, but no. Kind of bums us out. But there is still hope. The training continues no matter what! There IS a marathon in my near future, I just know it!
A little over 4 with Tom. We did 6 one minute striders after about a mile and a half. Then I added a few more. He will add more at his pace during lunch. Things are really feeling good for me with the running! I love running in 40 degree weather! I love when there is no wind or just a very slight breeze! I even love running in the morning! I have never been a morning person. I have to admit that when I am first getting out of bed it is sometimes a bit difficult. But things are just really going good for me at the moment. The only sad thing is not getting into SGM. But I still have hope. I would rather not run the marathon because I didn't get in than not run it because I was injured. So I am trying to count my blessings, of which I have many!
Yesterday our daughter, Tani, ran in the 4th grade track meet. She did great! I have an awesome picture I will try to get on here later. Her and Tia also had their dance recital last night. This morning as I was trying to get them to hurry to get ready for school Tani was saying how sore her legs are. They have reason to be! She worked very hard yesterday. She got to the semi finals on the 50 meter and 100 meter and ran the last leg of the 4 X 100 meter relay.
Lots to do today, starting out right at midnight! I got signed up as a volunteer for the WBR. Our son, Tyler, and I will be working at the finish line from 1:30-6:00. It's always fun to help out there. It will be fun to have Tyler there with me this year.
Nice morning, around 50 degrees! Wow! We aren't quite sure how to handle mornings like that! Tom gets more later at work so he went a little over 4 with me. We ran past John A a few times. He was pretty speedy as he passed by me close to his house at the end of his run.
Six is my new favorite number. I love to run 6 miles each day! It feels good, it feels great, it feels wonderful! Nice morning with a little breeze. Everything is so pretty and green. It is nice when Tom and I are able to get out together and enjoy the peaceful morning! He came home a little after 4 miles and I continued to finish my 6. There is one part of my run that I really don't remember. I have no idea how I got from one point to another. I must have been sleep running or zen running.
I'm hopin' and prayin' and wishin' and thinkin' and dreamin' about winning a golden ticket tomorrow at the Running with Angels 5K! Maybe all of you could hope and pray and wish and think and dream with me and all of our magic powers will bring it to reality! :-)
If you could see me now you would see a really sad face. :( No golden ticket for me today. Tom and I stuck around waiting forever until they were to announce the winner of the guarantee spot for SGM. In order to qualify for this one you had to submit a story of overcoming adversity. I had an email from the race director after entering my story that sounded promising. Then today I talked to the race director to find out when they would be announcing the winner and she sounded like I would want to make sure to be around for the announcement. I really felt encouraged because I knew there weren't a whole lot of people who had entered. Well, they finally got around to the big announcement. But just before they did it, the race director discretely came over to me and told me she was really sorry that my story didn't get chosen and she wanted to give me a $30.00 gift certificate for a hair salon. She said the girl who won was hit by a van at mile 21 of last year's Ogden Marathon. Another lady came over right after and asked when they would tell the winner and she said, "in just a minute." But she didn't offer any sympathy or gift certificates to her. I kind of wonder if they were planning on my story until a late entry by the winner and it made the race director feel bad for me or something. Anyway, I'm still on the lookout for ways to get in the SGM. I will not give up!
As far as the race goes, I planned to run this one at whatever speed my body wanted to without feeling yucky. I ran a 5K a few weeks ago and want to push hard on one next week too. So I didn't even wear the Garmin or a watch or anything.
Two very fun things to this race. 1. Very pretty throughout the gardens at Thanksgiving Point. And 2. I passed people all the way from the beginning to the end. And that was without an all out effort. Oh...I just remembered a third fun thing... Free Cinnabons and Ice cream bars at the end!
We were wondering if we would be running in rain this morning. Luckily it held off until the run was over. Tom needed to get his fast miles in this morning instead of waiting until lunch time. (He needs his lunch hour for our Coach Tom recommended massage.) So we decided on a 5 mile route to take. I started about 5 minutes before him, he caught up to me, (and passed me), about 1/2 way through and beat me home by 4 or 5 minutes. I then added one more mile on my own. the wind was going the opposite direction than usual. It hit hard on the last half of the 5 miler, especially the last 3/4 mile before home.
An exciting finale to American Idol last night! I'm looking forward to watching tonight. However, it will probably have to be on tape after it is over because of ballgames. Unless the rain keeps up and the games are canceled for tonight. So, will it be David....or David? I'm thinking it's going to be David! They both have a great career opportunity ahead of them! But I'm glad it's not my kid!
Rain: (Luckily I have a very committed running partner that made it easier to get out in the rain!)
Rodent: (Remember the mighty rodents they had to fight off in The Princess Bride? OK, maybe not quite that big, but a lot bigger than I like hanging out with!)
Really cute guy! (He's even cute when he's soaked through!)
This is one of those small town races where if you are lucky enough hear them say your time as you cross the finish line or you have a watch, then you know your time, otherwise you see or hear nothing about your time or anyone else's. No awards, except for the first two across the finish line.
I feel like I had a good race. I was alone all the way. Chicked a few 20 - 30 year oldish guys on the up hill! I don't think the one guy liked it so much, but there was nothing he could do about it! :)
Terry, Tom and I all had our garmins on and they all read between .19 and .22 for the last bit. So it was a bit long. And since both of them adjusted their times for the difference, so have I. My time quoted as I crossed the finish line was actually 25:26. So with the adjusted time it is a PR for me. Either way, I feel good about it.
Mile one: 8:37
Mile two: 7:49 (This was the up hill stretch! My hill workouts are paying off!)
Tom and I had to get our long run of the week in today because we won't be able to this weekend. We went out in the rain. It's hard to know how to dress for the rain. I don't like getting all hot and muggy under waterproof gear, but I also don't like to be drenched. It worked out fine though. The rain never really poured down on us so it was just a pleasant drizzle the whole way. We went down through the river bottoms and past the Hara Krishna, (sp?), temple, to the ball park, (where I was VERY grateful for open restrooms!), then back to the river bottoms. At mile 8 Tom was going to take off and get his last 12 miles at a faster pace. I ran his first 1/2 mile with him at about 7:50. That was enough of that for me and I slowed back down. I had to add BS Rools Road and some zig zags through the neighborhood to take it up to 12 miles for the day. AND NOW I AM MUCHO HUNGARIO! I WANT TO EAT, EAT, EAT!
Before I sign off I want to thank all of you who serve or have served our country. Also to all of you who have someone you love serving or have lost someone as they were serving. A big thanks to our nephews Ben Stilson and Matt Oliver who are currently away from their sweet little families! We pray for your safe return!
Mr. Wind was with Tom and I this morning. It wasn't too bad down in the river bottoms, but up in town it sure gets ya! Tom was only doing 4ish this morning. When I left to get a couple more I went straight into the wind!!!! What was I thinking? It got a little nippy on those last few miles. I was glad to get into the nice warm shower.
Now only 2 more days to get the kids going for school. It's always nice to have a break from schedules. But I am hoping to keep a little bit of organization in the kid's lives. The teenage boys think they are going to sleep until 11:00 every morning, but they are WRONG!
Tom and I were joined by John A for our hill repeats this morning. It was a beautiful morning to be out and about! Maybe a bit windy here and there, but so pretty! I did 6 ninety second hill repeats. They both did 8. It was fun to watch them from behind as they seemed to be effortlessly climbing that hill! They both looked great! However, I was happy to see that when they were at the top and ready to turn around they both looked like they had put a lot of effort into it and it wasn't quite as easy as it looked like. After I did 6 I ran the street at the top of the hill for awhile until they finished with their last two.
It was fun to run alongside 3 deer bounding gracefully in the lush meadow while waiting for the boys. There was also the neatest cloud formations. It looked like a giant staircase to heaven. The morning sun was just shining through and giving it a pretty pink glow! I really think someone special was climbing that stairway to heaven right then.
Today marks the 15 month mark for our son in Japan. Only 9 months left. I can feel like it's the beginning of a pregnancy again. (this is a pregnancy I can really run through!) Make sure you are all reading this correctly....I am NOT really pregnant, I am just comparing the rest of his time to a pregnancy! I'm afraid he will be a bit over due this time though. He left on Feb. 28 so it's likely he won't be home until March sometime.
Today while in the river bottoms I decided I want to write a letter to the mayor and see if there is any way the city would provide a few porta-potties down in that area. Necessity is the mother of invention! Was able to hold off until home at 4.5 miles. The block and a half before my house was at a 5:13 pace....bathrooms nearby can really speed you up! Tom was finished then and will add his 7 or so more later at work. I went back out to finish up my 6 for the day.
Tom and I really need a good night's sleep tonight! Tomorrow is our big adventure with the Race All Night. It is not a running race, it is more like the Amazing Race. It is a new Utah Valley thing with a grand prize to Cancun, Mexico. It is a 24 hour deal with a 3 hour rest period. I hope it turns out as fun as it sounded when we signed up!
Oh what a beautiful morning....Oh what a beautiful day! I've got a wonderful feeling....every thing's going my way! How's that for waking up and running with a positive attitude? I'm hoping it carries me through our fun, (but sleepless), race we will start this afternoon!
Tom and I did our 6ish river bottoms loop with six 90 second bursts mixed in. It was quite fun and exhilarating!
Wow! We definitely got a workout with this Race All Night! It was lots of fun, lots of running, lots of other things! I am going to write about it on my personal blog tomorrow or the next day, (when I can think a little more clearly). We are counting it as 6 miles. It was lots of fun and we were in the running for the grand prize but ended up a bit short in the long run. No regrets though!
