Work will win when wishy washy wishing won't

This definitely is not the plan I had for the beginning of a brand new year.  I have been sick and this awful air we have here has not allowed me to be able to get outside without coughing...even without running.  I have no TM and no gym membership but I don't think I could have even done things with those until now anyway with this darn cough.  I hope I remember how to run.  

Yeah!!!!  I finally got to get out and run again!  The air is still bad so I was nervous about my cough but it went well.  I ran with Tom for 2 miles then he took off faster and I finished 2 alone and then a mile walk with my dog!  I was even able to keep the four miles a bit under 9 min/mile. I was very happy!

Ok so I just realized the last two entries are on the wrong day.  So yesterday and today is together here.  I don't want to go back and fix it.  So the above info is for yesterday. (Tues)

Today (Wed the 9th) I was able to get out again and feel pretty good!  It was early in the morning this time, (yesterday was around 11:00).  My back was a little bit of trouble at the beginning but I warmed up and was able to get 5 miles in today!  I am so happy to be able to get out again!  I think I will take tomorrow off since I had a 2 week break and get out again Friday and Sat.  I don't want to be stupid now and come back and cause an injury.   

Tom and I met up with Kelly and Kay but the slippery, uneven surface made Kay nervous to run on with a bad knee.  So Kelly, Tom and I slogged through nine miles.  If felt like more than that!  Just glad we were able to get er done!  Looking forward to a quick trip to SG soon!

I have to say I am very lucky that I have a dedicated running hubby who can sometimes work from home.  We were able to get out when it was a nice warm 4 or 5 degrees instead of earlier when it was still in the negatives.  Not sure how easy it would have been on my own today.  I'm not going to miss this cold stuff when it finally decides to leave us.  

Did five with Tom today.  It was about 17 degrees or so.  Got hot and had to take the top layer off.

Yesterday I decided to run from the end of my hall, down the stairs, back up and down the hall 50 times.  I also went ice skating with the Young Women/Young Men group in our ward.   

Cold morning run with Tom and Kay.  Next run...Sunny St. George!  :o)

Oh what fun it is to pace races!  Had a great time in the awesome sunshine of St. George.  One lady by me from Bloomington Hills said, "We can tell who is here from the north because they are in shorts!"  She was freezing and I was loving life!  

I got to pace with Becky today.  She is a doll!  We started out with a pretty good size group! With about three miles left many of them had either pulled ahead or slowed down a bit.  At the finish line we watched many of them come in in the next few minutes.  It is always so fun to help them through.  

Thank you to Walter Brown and his American Flyers Race Pace Group!  So fun to be a part of it!

As I run out in this awful air we have here in Utah I think of my friend in Ohio who received new lungs this past summer.  She had a lung disease that required her to be placed on the donor list and get a transplant.  She has never smoked a day in her life but ended up with this disease.  She works so hard to protect her new lungs that were given to her from some unknown person.  It makes it a hard decision to know if we should be out in that stuff.  I looked straight into the sun as I was running...it didn't bother my eyes at all because it is so filtered.  It just looked like a great big full moon up there in the sky.  Blah....Inversion!

Went with Annette to the inside track at the HS girl's gym for four.  Then after the kids were off to school I went outside for four more.  

This was a crazy day.  Tom and I got up and out the door at 6:00 but it was so foggy and so icey there was just no way we were going to be able to get a good run in safely.  We saw a car just ahead of us and barely could see the lights.  We figured if it was that hard for us to see them, they surely weren't going to be able to see us!  Plus the ice was just everywhere.  So we did the only logical thing and went back in and went to bed for a while longer.  Only problem with that was that I had a jam packed day and knew I wouldn't be able to get a run in.  :o(

We got some more snow last night so we were running in all the ruts the cars have made.  I don't like the uneven stuff but at least it wasn't too slippery at first.  The last few miles were more slippery. I'm not sure if that is because it was warming up or because of the snow coming down. At least I know I have 7 for the week.  I'm hoping to have a better week to finish off January.  It hasn't been the best.

Six miles with Tom and Annette and a bunch of others who decided to come in on the hidden track that we had found.  Later a bunch of shoveling of the snow.  We have quite a few neighbors who are in need of assistance so it is nice that I can get out and give them a hand.

Five with Tom at Cottonwood Cove Park.  

Tom and I enjoyed a nice 12 miler up and down Snow Canyon.  It was a little chillier to start with than we were expecting.  But still shorts and not lots of layers....woo hoo!  Next week we gotta start getting these long runs longer.  Boston will be here before we know it!  

Broke down a bit on this run.  Needed it.  All is well.  

I have been managing to get out when there is some sunshine the past two days!  Vitamin D is very much needed and welcomed!  

Five outside in shorts and short sleeves before the snow started falling.  :o)

Today is our oldest son's birthday.  If only he were 14 years old I could say I ran a mile for each of his years in my life here on earth....but alas, he is 25 years old so I can't say that.  Not sure how that 25 years got away from me! 

Met up with several other crazy weather runners at 6:00.  We had a good size group.  Some of them started peeling off around 5 miles others stuck around a little more.  Chad, Dan and Doug kept with us even longer.  Then only Doug to help us finish things up.  I guess that is what we get when Tom, Doug and I are the only ones doing a spring time marathon.  

Our usual water stop was not available today.  Plan B was also out as the water is all off at the park.  So we had to go to Plan C which was the gas station at the mouth of the canyon.  Up the hill and into the wind and down their slippery entry way and parking lot to get a much needed drink of water. 

Got home with about .40 more to go so Rui was lucky enough to get a little run in with us too.  He gets so sad if we don't have the umph to take him when we get home.  

Up early and out in the falling snow with my hubby!  Beautiful way to start the Valentine week!  I love when I feel like I am part of a little snow globe!  Took the ever so anxious Rui out for a mile too!  He loved it!  He could have kept going.  When the temps were under 10 he didn't like being out there too much, but when we are in the 20s he is a happy little doggy!  

Started out with Tom while he was warming up.  Once he started his speed workout I carried on with most of the rest by myself.  Rui got to join in for about 1.7 miles.  I actually ran miles 4 and 5 faster than I have for quite awhile.  (8:30 pace).  I've usually been going around a 9:00-9:30 pace with this crazy start to 2013.

Nice, quiet morning run.  Three layers was a little warm.  

Fun to run with my buddy JaNae again!  Its been too long!  

With Tom and Kay in the early morning hours.  Nice and easy and enjoyable.  

Yay! I finally had a week like I really wanted in the year 2013!  Nothing to mess me up...no sickness, no inversion, no 0 degrees, no excuses!  

Today is an absolutely beautiful day here in Spanish Fork.  People in SG or other warm areas would disagree but the sun is shining and it is lovely!

Today's runners were Tom and I, Allison, Hal, Stephen, David and Chad. It was nice to have less miles to work on today.  The wind was there like it likes to be here in SF.  With the inversion we didn't have any wind.  We get one or the other.  

Six miles in the bitter cold with Tom and Kay and a beautiful full moon!

Drove out to the base of Harry's Hill and ran Pretty Little Road with Tom as a warm up for his speedy down hill work.  After the warm up I drove him to the top to start his fun.  I drove back down and ran up and down Harry's Hill for the first time this year.  It is always nice to have that done.  Then I finished up with another loop on PLR.  By then I was able to drive to Tom's finish point to be able to pick him up and head home.  It was kind of nice to do something a little bit different today.

Went out with Tom after the kids headed off to school.  The sun was shining but it was still a bit nippy starting out.  Later the sun and the muscles warmed me up better.  We went out and up the trail for a bit and back home.  I picked Rui up for his fun in the sun.  I was very angry as Tom and I had encountered 2 loose dogs and then Rui and I encountered 3 more!  One of them was a large dog and came at us quite menacingly at first!  It drives me crazy how many people let their dogs roam around!  

I think it was about 30 degrees when Tom and I went out this morning!  Nice and balmy!  I had to shed a layer while I was out!  

On the way to the church to meet others I saw a very bright falling star.  Love to see them. Started out with a pretty large crowd at the church today!  Lots of fun to have others to chat with along the way.  Most turned around at the 6-8 mile point because they don't have marathons coming up in a few weeks.  But Tom, Doug, Alan and I stuck it out the distance. Luckily Doug is doing SLC Marathon the week after we do Boston so he is wanting miles.  And Alan is just always along for the ride and willing to do whatever!  Turned out to be quite a nice morning.  A few cold pockets and some ice patches to watch out for but very nice.  Especially when the sunshine peeked its beautiful head up over the awesome snow covered mountains.  As much as we have to complain about in these cold winter months I sure do love what we get to look at while we run!  Couldn't ask for more beautiful scenery!

Tom broke out the shorts for the early morning run today.  I'm ok wearing longs for a bit still. But it was warmer out there.  The wind and some piercing hail attacked for a bit, but all in all a nice run to start the week.

Cold and windy!  Out early by myself hoping to find someone along the way.  Luckily I ran into Kelly and Bebe and was able to run most of the time with them.  

We thought we were going to be running the whole time in rain today.  Luckily that was not the case.  There were some scattered showers and some pelting snow showers here and there but it turned out to be quite a nice morning for a run.  There were about 9 of us for the most part.  Since the wind was from a different direction we did the Dripping Rock trail for something different.  It is a nice little diversion.  The 2 miles back down to Osborn's was kind of miserable though.  That is where the wind and snow got us the worse.  

Very dark on this new daylight time.  But that is ok.  I like the light it gives us later!  

I wasn't sure how 20 miles was going to work for me today.  Unfortunately my brother passed away very unexpectedly on Thursday.  It has been very emotionally draining.  I am just so sad.  But I am happy that it was a beautiful morning.  I needed it.  I was happy to have Tom and some of the rest of the gang out there with us.  We had at least one other person join in here and there until about 17 1/2 miles.  It is always good to have others to help keep your mind off the miles and things going through your head.  

Boston is one month from yesterday.  It is now dedicated to my big brother Kevin.  I love you!  

My brother's funeral.  :o(

For the first day of spring it sure was a nasty morning out there!  With that and the physical and emotional ride I have been on this last week I was happy to get a whole four miles! 

I was hoping to get 10 today but I am settling with 8.  This Utah "springtime weather"  was just crazy during my run.  Snow and wind was not my friend.  I am happy I got 8, I think it is 8 more than I thought I could do today in these conditions.  

Very low miles for a very low week.  Looking forward to stepping up again next week.

Tom and I went to Salem because I just couldn't handle the wind today.  It was nice to do something a bit different.  

Had a neat experience with the moon and thoughts in my head.  Family can read about it in my personal journal someday when I'm gone.  

Then I turned the corner right as some bright headlights came toward me and I couldn't see the dip in the road and fell flat.  Luckily no major injuries.

I was bummed...then I remembered my neat experience and I jumped up and moved along.  

A very simple four miles in Mapleton with Tom and Rui.  Getting ready for tomorrow's 20 miler.  Last long run until Boston.

Doug, Tom and I got our 20 miler in today.  Next time I run this long will be on the streets of Boston!  Starting to get kind of excited about the trip and the marathon!  

Tia's cast had their final performance of Babes in Toyland today.  We have had a fun time watching her this week!  We love having two little actresses in our family!   

My April Fool's joke to myself is that I only got 2.5 miles in today.  Got talking to a neighbor who needed someone to talk to and couldn't warm up to get going again. Oh well.  It was nice to talk to her.  

Six rainy miles in Sp. Fork with Tom.

Tom and I were up at Park City with our friends Scott and Marcia.  We all went out on the trail around 9:00 am and had a beautiful run in the sun.  Some very icy spots told us we were in PC and not SG.  

Six in the afternoon sun after driving home from Park City in the rain.

Wanted 10-12 today.  I wasn't sure if that was going to happen since I woke up with some back issues today.  It took longer than I wanted to get loosened up but it finally did.  Tom and I came back at 11 miles to pick up Rui for his doggy mile.  While here some tummy issues decided to show up so I decided to let Tom and Rui take the last one alone.  I was thrilled to be able to get 11 after what I felt like when I first started.

Four miles in St. George.  Four things describe this run.

1. WIND

2. Tumble weeds

3. Stink bugs

4. Fuzzy caterpillars

Back in Spanish Fork.  

Went out for a cool but sunny mid morning run.  Felt really good today!  

Five days till Boston!  Woo Hoo!

This is a long story you may not want to read it all but I want to have it for my information.  If you want to read from where we heard about the bombs go to the part in bold.

Tom is also writing his version of the story.  It may be very similar since we he ran with me.  But  he is usually better with words and I think he is adding the pics to his.  He is at tom.fastrunningblog.com 

So much has happened.  Sunday we went to the expo pick up our packets went to dinner it was highly organized. We also went to the finish line to soak up some of the excitement and take pictures. At the finish line area there was a lady from the Boston Herald who interviewed us and took pictures. It was kind of fun feeling like a celebrity!  I'm not sure if she decided to use our interview or not but she did like our story of being married for 26 years and running 26.2 miles together in Boston.

Monday morning we woke up from a very restful nights sleep. Even though the official race didn't start until 10 o'clock and the wave we were in didn't start until 10:40 we had to be out early to take the shuttle from the hotel to the buses.  It takes a while and a great deal of organization to transport 27,000 people to the start line.
We were thrilled to walk out to near perfect running weather! The day before had been quite chilly and windy.

When we got to the buses we realized the lines went all over the place snaking back and forth throughout the area. We were able to visit with two ladies, one named Kay and one Diana, during our line wait. m

Meeting them and sharing stories helped the line be quite enjoyable and help kick up the excitement level even more!

Tom mentioned somewhere along there that our only obstacle between us and the finish line was getting safely to the starting line. The bus ride took forever!    Over an hour!  I felt like he was taking us to Timbuktu. They must have had to go a round about way because a lot of it was on highway where we were going fast.  Anyway we finally made it to athletes village.  This is where Tom had stood in terrible rain when he ran in 2007. We were again very grateful for the perfect weather!

We decided to get into one of the long porta potty lines.  We had a chance to visit and share more stories and up the excitement even more!  

While standing there in the line they asked everyone to take a moment of silence for the victims of the Sandy Hook shootings.  I didn't think they could get that many people to realize what was going on and actually get silence. But they did and it was amazing.

After the POP we went to find a spot to sit it when I heard my name being called. I was so happy to see my friend Sarah Compas from Mapleton!  We snapped a few pics and wished each other the best.

After talking to Sarah we found an empty spot on the grass to do our final preparations.... writing our names all over us!  Gotta let the crowds know our names!

A while after that I overheard a runner by us who was on her cell phone. I heard her say something about an explosion and wanting to finish the race. Tom and I wondered if someone she knew had an explosion at their work or something... something that would have happened as an accident not something intentional. After awhile we saw policeman with very concerned looks listening intently to the radios.  We also noticed the demeanor of the crowds change. It wasn't all the excitement anymore. Then someone told us there had been two explosions at the finish line. We're thinking we were between miles 23 and 24 when it actually happened. Since we were not concerned about our time we had decided to leave our watches at home. So we really had no idea on time. 

As we walked through the Freedom Trail people would stop us and thank us and tell us they are happy we are safe.  Locals kept asking us if we would ever run again and if it would ever come to Boston again.  the answer to both of those questions is a great big YES.  we will do everything we can to be in Boston for the marathon next year!

What a week!  Last week at this time I was having dinner at The Pizza Factory with my family, getting ready to take the red eye flight to Boston.  So much has happened!  So grateful that the suspects are off the street!  I am glad we left Boston Wednesday because things started heating up again and I'm afraid we may have not gotten out as easily.

Yesterday Tom and I decided we had to cross a marathon finish line this week.  I went up to the SL Marathon Expo to see if we could get registered to run today's marathon.  They were very gracious and even gave us comps!  

So bright and early this morning we headed up to SLC in the pouring rain to run a second marathon for this week.  This is definitely something I have never done nor do I plan to do again.

When we decided to run it we were going to take it nice and easy again.  But we got caught up in all the excitement of running with the Boston crew who were planning on crossing the finish line at 4:09:43 in honor of the victims of the bombings.  I wasn't sure I could do that so we actually started with them but had a plan B.  Plan B was to cross at 4:15:13 which was the date of the Boston Marathon.  

The start line was exciting...there was a moment of silence and some Sweet Caroline and some fists in the air!  The weather did not dampen the spirits! 

We hung with the group most of the way but I could tell I was not going to be able to make it in with them.  I started doing a little looning out and the legs and back were not wanting to continue.  I also had to take a potty stop so I knew Plan A was out and even Plan B was looking grim.  But that is ok because the original Plan A was to just to cross the finish line.  So that  is what we went back to.  It would have been fabulous to cross with the others but it just was not in the cards for me.  Tom could have done it easily but he stuck right by my side the whole way through!

The last 10 K was pretty tough for me.  But some way I found the energy to keep going. When we reached the park I got the extra energy that the finish line can bring and we madae a very  good kick through the awesome finish line crowd to the end!

I kind of lost it as we crossed the finish line!  It is really hard to explain all that was going through my head at that time.  But it was amazing!  I was glad Tom was there to hold me up.  

As I walked my way through the chute and over to a place to sit down I was looking pretty pathetic!  I'm sure they want video of me at that time to help others have the desire to run a marathon...NOT!  I think I convinced plenty of spectators that they are much smarter than me by cheering rather than running a marathon.  I was so cold and so cramped up.  This definitely was the hardest marathon I have ever done!  But I guess that is ok.  

Oh....as I was coming home my friend informed me on Facebook that I actually got 4th in my age!  So that was kind of nice.  As I got home and looked at the results I realized that if I would have stuck with the 4:09 group I would have taken 2nd in my age.  Oh well..... that is not at all what I was out there for today.  Today was to cross a finish line and I did it! 

Three days in a row of absolutely perfect weather!  LOVE IT!  Tomorrow will come along and slap us in the face again though.  I think the temps are going to drop for a few days.  Oh well.  Love it when it's here!  Nice run on the river trail.

The last two times I ran I was out to run 26.2 miles.  Today I was just out on the 26th to run for 6 miles.  My birthday is on a 26th day and this year was my 26th wedding anniversary.  And just for interests sake there are 26 letters in the alphabet.  

With all this 26 stuff I decided to list 26 things off the top of my head that I am grateful for today!

Family

Friends

Heavenly Father

Jesus Christ

The Gospel of Jesus Christ

Health

Jobs

Education

Mountains

Running

Kindness

Forgiveness

Garbage Bags

Strangers who share garbage bags

Airplanes

Sunshine

Awesome co worker

Boston College students

Our St. George condos

Police

Military

Cell Phones

Photo Albums

My doggy

Chocolate

Family vacations

Have a nice day!  :o) 

Seven miles and lots of yard work.  Beautiful day for both!

I started the morning with my friend Anita who wants to help me out with some strength training. Today we worked on some squats and the dead lift.  Then I went out for my run in the sun.  It was quite warm and I could feel the need for sunscreen.  

I got home and got a call from a friend who needed some help in her yard so I went down and spent some time with her.  We planted some flowers in some very hard soil.  I'm not sure anything is going to be able to grow in that stuff but she really needs the joy of some beauty in her yard so I sure hope they flourish!     

Work out with Anita and then a nice 6 miler.  Actually "ran'' errands while running.  Needed to pay some money to the high school so made that part of the route.  

The gang today was Tom, Kim, Carolyn and Hal.  Later met up with a few others.  Some went one way others another.  Nice to always have someone going your way.  Ken ran up and down the trail with me and gave me a good three mile speed work.  

Today is my daddy's 69th birthday!  It was fun to have him and my mom wake up at our house and spend the day with us!  Happy Birthday Dad and Happy Mother's Day Mom!  Love you both!

SGM lottery results....Tom and Kim in!  

Mu Chan (the grand doggy) for 3 then Rui (the family doggy) for 1 and then finally some peace by myself for a bit.  Tending the grand doggy for the week.

Five miles with some heat and some hills.  Then with Anita for some cross fit type workouts.

Drove to the trail head on tree line road to run up the trail.  Headed up around the golf course for a 5 mile loop.  Very nice, no hot sun, no wicked wind.  Maybe a bit humid but we don't get that much here so I will take it.  

Came home to the news of sweet Sister Monson's passing.  Her hubby sure is going to miss her, as well as everyone else. 

To start off it was just Tom and Hal and Kim.  Down the road we caught up with Chad and Dan, (also known as Dad and Chan).  A little further we picked up Pat.  So it was me and 5 speedy guys.  I stayed with them until Osborne's and then headed off on my own so I didn't have the pressure to keep up and they didn't have the pressure of feeling guilty when they left me in the dust.  :o)  

The rain hit pretty hard for a bit while I headed up the trail.  It was ok for the amount of time it lasted, but I'm glad it didn't last the rest of the run.  

Today my brother would have turned 49.  :o(

Larger group today than there has been for a while.  And more GIRLS!  Yeah!  Tom and I started a bit earlier and then met up with everyone at 6:00.  We are heading to Ephraim for Scandinavian Days.

Lots of runners all around today!  Beautiful day on the trail and in the river bottoms.   

We have been lucky enough to have almost perfect mornings for running.  Maybe a bit chilly to start and the wind could be a little nicer in places but over all quite lovely!  

That was a great way to start the week!  Tom was nice enough to run the first 4 miles with me then I cut him loose and let him do his thing.  It was nice for me because it gives me something to keep my sights on but not the pressure to keep up.  At the top of the trail he headed up a bit further than me so I was the one in front on the way back down the trail.  It was nice to be the one being chased this time.  

After reaching 9 miles I picked up Rui for his doggy mile.  Perfect running morning! 

Hot and humid here in Florida.  Busy day at The Wizarding World of Harry Potter!  Lots of fun! 

Local roadkill:  Frog

Local running buddies:  Squirrel.

Ran at Little Mulberry Park with Tom.  We are at our friend's house in Dacula, Georgia.  What an absolutely beautiful area to run!  The humidity takes some getting use to though.  

Ran in the same park today.  Yesterday Tom and I stayed together for the whole run.  Today we both did our own thing for most of it.  Yesterday the geese didn't bother us.  Today when I was going through them alone they were hissing all over the place.  Luckily there were a few guys coming toward me and helped me through.  

Today was harder than I would like it to be.  I just didn't have a lot of ummph.   But I have a Johnny Rocket's burger and onion rings and chili fries in my gut that might help explain things just a bit.  :o) 

Last day in Atlanta.

Probably the last of the cool mornings here in Utah.  Very nice today.  

Very happy to run into Wendy S this morning and run a little over 5 miles with her!  It made it very easy to get 8 in without feeling like 8.  Thanks Wendy....I know you like to be a solo runner but it was great to run with you today!  

Early and alone so I can get off to girl's camp for the week.  Enjoyed hangin' with three teenage deer for a minute.  Yesterday I had seen 3 marmots.  Two of them looked like teenagers.  Fun to see the young animals. 

Five by myself on a frontage road in the middle of nowhere while at girl's camp.  I'm sure people on the freeway wondered why in the world there was a runner right there.  

Later learned that Tom saw a coyote right there as he left from his shift as a priesthood security guard for the girls.  Glad I didn't see the coyote...and better yet, glad he didn't see me! 

Was hoping to run a bit on Thursday at girl's camp but it didn't work out.  I knew I wouldn't be able to on Friday because of early morning packing and clean up.  

Today I was up bright and early with Tom to meet the Saturday gang at 5:00.  We were able to catch the last glimpse of the huge full moon before it slipped quietly behind the mountain.  Beautiful!  

So happy to see my friend Kim Hall at the church ready to run with us!  Other than her it was just the guys.  Not that I don't like them too...it is just nice to have another girl around.  Hopefully she will join in more often.  She was only out for an 8 miler but she ended up running further with us and probably got home with 11 or 12.

Tom, David Ludlow and I all got 18 for the day.  We included a jaunt up Harry's Hill to help get the miles.  So happy to feel good.   

Mostly solo miles today.  One mile with my doggy.  Beautiful morning under the Super Moon!  But also light from the long day's of June sun!  Not much to complain about on a day like today!

Tom and I went out to "third hill" to do some long hill repeats today.  There is always more traffic than I would like there, but I guess it IS a road and I shouldn't be bugged that cars use it.  

I did 6 repeats.  It always feels good to get a hill work day done.  When I got home I took my doggy out for a walk.  I ran into some neighbors (Marianne and Cindy) and had a nice visit with them for about a mile and a half.  Got the scoop on Kimberly (Marianne's daughter) and her upcoming wedding plans.  Very nice visit. 

Thought I'd run with JaNae an Jody today but they weren't at the designated meeting spot.  Did they not run today or did they ditch me?  That is the question.

Six miles around the hometown of Manti.  Came down with my youngest daughter, Tia and also Cynthia Clark and her daughter, Olivia.  We enjoyed watching the Mormon Miracle Pageant.  Tia stayed awake for the whole thing for the first time and finally understood what the story is all about.  

I woke up at 5:30 and went out for a fun run down memory lane.  Lots of people ran through my mind as I scoured the town.  I took time down around the temple and stopped at the cemetery to spend a few quiet minutes with my big brother that I really miss.  Very peaceful at the base of the beautiful Manti Temple though. 

Got home late last night so I wasn't looking forward to setting that alarm clock for 4:30 am.  But my head hit the pillow and I was alseep till the sound of the beep!  I felt refreshed but had a bit of an upset tummy.  

Tom and I didn't find anyone else at the meeting spot.....that is not good.  Tom is good at running long alone but I like to have company.  I knew he wasn't going to be running my pace so I thought I had a bunch of miles alone ahead of me.  He would go ahead quite a bit and then turn back to me and take off again.  Luckily down in the river bottoms we ran into Todd and he joined in with me.  He is a good talker and kept me going.

I got home with 13 and planned to take Rui for one mile.  Kay was out there and Rui and I joined her for 2 miles.  She does power walking/jogging so it wasn't a hard run but it was miles and they are mine!  Very nice to be with her again.....miss her lots! 

Tom and I went to the track for some speed work.  Plan was 3-4 x mile for me.  I ended up with 3 1/2.  The miles were each around 8:20 the half mile was 7:33.

In hot SG.  Last night Tom, Tani, Tia and I went to Tuacahn's Mary Poppins.  It was lots of fun and very well done!  The temps were 100-105 throughout.  Got back to the condo and in bed around 1:00 am.  Got up a short time later (5:30 am) to get out before the sun hits.  

One last hot St. George run before heading back home.  We were happy to have a nice cold drinking fountain at the hub of our run.  

Back in good ole Spanish Fork.  We had a nice rainstorm last night.   Very much needed.  It helped it feel a bit cooler this morning but it was very humid.  I was quite sluggish for the first half but felt a bit better as the time went on.  

I have eaten WAY too much this past month!  We went to Florida, Georgia, Girl's Camp, St. George and Fourth of July activities!!!!! I must change the way I have been eating or I am going to end up in the Filly division for SGM! 

So nice to have a larger crowd around again this morning...including one other girl!  Yeah!  She is Doc. Ludlow's daughter in law.  She was pretty quiet but still there! 

It was a perfect morning for a run.  The rain from last night helped keep it cooler.  We had a bit of rain here and there.  The wind was a little obnoxious at times but that is Spanish Fork.  

Today I decided to avoid "mile road'.  Sometimes I just get so tired of that road that I feel like I can't run.  I parked by my friend's new house that is being built and ran down middle hill and into the river bottoms.  I totally enjoyed the trail and up by the golf course.  I got 7 miles there and then jumped in the van and headed back home for one more mile with Rui.  

Today was the long hill repeats again.  I did them a bit different than I did a few weeks ago.  This time I went 3/4 up (last time all the way).  This time I did 8 to the 3/4 point and then one all the way up. (last time 5 1/2).  I got home with a bit over 6 miles and took my doggy out to finish to 7.  At the end of that I ran into my friend Kay and went out for 2 1/2 - 3 miles with her and her power walking.  So nice to be with her.  She used to run with me but because of bad knees is no longer able to do that.  

Every morning I get to run past my BFF's new home that is being built by the Pioneer Cemetery.  It is coming along so nicely!  I am so excited for her!  Too bad Tom and I are not buying the lot next to her to build our dream house on.  

Today along my visits with other runners I talked to Ray D who is soon going to be remarried.  He seemed very happy.  I also ran some with Donna W. and got to know her a bit better.  Her son, Willie and my oldest son are friends from high school. 

The loop with Doc Ludlow.   

I have to work tomorrow morning from 7- 11:30  so I had to get tomorrow's workout in today.  Luckily it wasn't a long run scheduled.  The plan called for a 10 K race.  I didn't have a race but I got my friend JaNae to run six miles with me.  

We drove to the top of  Canyon Road and ran a mile warm up to Jack Rabbit.  From there we started our six miles.  The rains started on us about mile 2 and poured on us good the whole way.  Kind of crazy when you get pruned fingers while you are not in a pool or tub!  

Here are the paces for the six miles.  I wasn't sure what to do...I mostly wanted to be around 8:15 ish.  

1.  8:22

2..8:11

3.  8:21

4.  8:20

5.  8:06

6.  8:05

Over all pace 8:14

After the 6 miles I had to run back up Canyon Road for 3 miles to pick up my van.  It worked out perfectly.  I'm so glad JaNae was along for the ride on this!  

Monday mornings are my day for an easy run that feels like a hard run for most of the miles.  

I drove to the Pioneer Cemetery and started down 'middle' hill towards the trail.  I struggled my way up the trail, around the park and up to Jack Rabbit where I started with a few speedier spurts.  The first mile was a 7:47 pace but that was with a few good down hills to help me out.  A little further down I did a 7:26 pace quarter and a 7:47 pace half mile.  

Looking forward to meeting up with JaNae and Jody tomorrow.   

Yeah for running with a group of GIRLS!  So nice to be with JaNae, Michelle and Jody!

Today was the first day of Payson Canyon down hill training!  I quite like it up there!  Ran with Michelle C again.  I finally found someone to run with good and she is moving away in a week and a half.  :o(  

I am glad there were lots of people out there today to help me with this 20 miler!  I was happy for every conversation and bit of encouragement along the way!  We started off with a large group and added more along the way!  

To get 20 miles we start at the church...head down to Old Bishop's Storehouse...up tree lined road...to Osbourne's and our Gatorade stop....down the mile to junk mail...up zepher...around pretty little road (decided to leave Harry's Hill out today) back down zepher...to junk mail...back up the mile to Osbourne's and another Gatorade stop.....past the parading peacocks...down the hill to the trail....up the trail to a drink at the park and up to Dripping Rock......down and around the golf course....back past tree lined road and to Osbourne's one last time for a tiny swallow of water as it was all but gone by this time.....back past tree lined road...up the switchback.....down to the church....over to our house to pick up Rui and around the neighborhood for a bit to take it to twenty!

I am glad I took yesterday off.  With Thursday's downhill Payson run I needed a recovery day.  Plus this is a pretty high mileage week for me.  I have a few others coming up that will be a bit higher than this.  We will see if this year I can get at least a 3:45 at SGM. 

About 5 of these miles were with Jody.  Nice company, nice and easy pace.  Just what I need today!  

Tom and I went to tree lined road to do some Yasso's today.  I like doing repeats there until the cars start coming...they sure seem to think they own the road.   

For my records: 

1. 3:55

2. 3:54

3. 3:59

4. 3: 55

5. 3:55

6. 3:59

7. 3:55

8. 3:56

9.  Messed up and pushed stop instead of lap.  

10. 3:47

I guess if Yasso knows what he is talking about that means I could do under 4 hours at SGM at this point.  I hope to bring that down with a few more months of training.  I think I could have done them a bit faster today but I didn't want to risk not being able to do 10.  

Down the canyon.  Sure going to miss Michelle C when she leaves me Saturday.  :o(

7 easy miles today.  About 4 1/2 of them with Jodie.  I feel much better today after Payson Canyon yesterday than I did last week after Payson Canyon!  

I love this time of year when there are plenty of people to run with!  It sure helps get through the Saturday run with friends to chat with along the way.  However the last few miles of today's 15 were just as bad if not worse than the last few miles of last week's 20.  

Ohhhh....today felt like a nice brisk fall morning.  Not too shabby!  

Two mile warm up with Tom and then we were both off on our mile repeats.  My plan called for 3-4 x mile @ 5 k pace.  After 3 I was pretty much done but I forced myself to do a 1/2 mile too.

1: 7:29

2: 7:26

3: 7:30

1/2 mile 7:26 pace

These fast runs are keeping my left hammie a little unhappy.  I will have to keep an eye on it.

Later took Tia and Lily to the Manti Temple for some baptisms.  Very nice day except I blew it by eating a steak and swiss sandwich and piccadillys at The Malt Shop.   

Since I am a little worried about my ham string issues I decided that today needs to be rest/recovery between some fast yesterday and some long, fast and down hill tomorrow.  I would like to see this issue getting better not worse.  I am going to sacrifice some miles this week in order to help that be the case.  I plan to take a double day rest on Sat and Sun.  Hopefully by next week I will see some improvement.  I really want to be able to do my best at SGM this year so I hate to deviate from my schedule, but if I end up injured the plan to do my best will definitely be out the door.  Hmmmmm.....trying not to cross that fine line of being able to do my best and not get injured.  

We are not going to be available to get our long run in on Saturday so Tom and I, along with Stephen A took our downhill run and turned it into our long run.  From the drop off point up Payson Canyon to the corner by my house is 20 miles so it works out perfectly. 

We dropped a few coolers on our way over to Peteetneet so we could have some water stops along the way.  The down hill lasts 8 or 9 miles then some rolling hills for a mile or two and then the rest was mostly flat-ish with a few more ups than downs.   

Tom did all that on 3 1/2 hours of sleep after getting home from the Rush concert last night!   Way to go Tom!   

Eight miles.  Some speed work at Frog Park in St. George.  We named it Frog Park today after seeing 3 frogs at the drinking fountain with us.

Tom helped me get 2 x 1 1/2 mile repeats in.  I love when someone helps me out with these.  Thanks Tom! 

Today was an easy day for me while Tom did his fast miles.

Most of today's run was along the Bunny Trail without bunnies.  

Five along the Bunny Trail.  

Tom and I were fortunate enough to snatch a ride with the St. George Running Club to get a nice long run in on our last day in St. George.  They took us up to the cute little town of Veyo and we were off.  Tom was awesome enough to run up and back to me several times so I wouldn't be completely alone.  He ended up with 22 miles doing that.  

Met up with Jodie, JaNae and Nikki.  Started with all but Jodie and I kept it a bit slower than the other two.  I have speed tomorrow...no need for it today. 

Tom and I were greeted with a stiff, cool wind this morning.  Our warm up route was straight into that wind for 2 miles.  But then we got to take advantage of the tail wind for our 2 x 2 mile intervals. 

I was able to hold a 7:45 pace for all four miles.  The first set was a bit easier because of the great tailwind and it being the first one.  The second one I had to do some ziggin' and some zaggin' towards the end and had to go into the wind and slight up hill a bit.  But I was happy with the pace.  

I'm looking forward to running Hobble Creek 1/2 marathon this Saturday.  The last several 1/2s that I have done have been as a pacer.  It will be good to see what I can do.  

I had plans to run this in 1:45 or under....even more like 1:42 is what I really wanted to do.  I knew the 1:42 was going to be quite a stretch but thought I would be ok with the 1:45.  It didn't happen but is ok.

1. 8:24  I started out with my buddy JaNae...weaving in and out of everyone trying to get to a good pace.

2. 7:40  JaNae told me to go ahead.  I was feeling good so I decided I will just go with what I feel I can hold.

3. 7:32  Going well

4. 7:40  Continuing well

5. 7:40  Still feeling fine

6. 7:45  Feeling good....came upon a lady going down (actually falling down).  :o(  There is no way I am going to let her fall and leave her there and ever feel good about any number I came in with.  A guy and I helped her down.  I stayed with her.  She was in pretty bad shape.  She couldn't see and needed help.  I was calling for water and phone as people went by.  She had a Gu in her hand. We got a bit of that in her.  A lady came by with a phone.  She called the race director.  A guy stopped with water.  I helped her get that in her.  She started acting a bit better.  A few others had stopped.  She started yelling at us to leave her there and finish our race.  I had to laugh a bit...there is no way we would just leave her there alone!  A friend of mine stopped and the girl down knew her.  The girl knew my friend was pregnant and not worrying about time for this race so she said..."You are pregnant(looking at my friend) stay....YOU....(looking at me)  Go".  At that point I saw JaNae again and I knew the lady was in good hands so I joined in with JaNae again.  

For a slight moment I thought of trying to make up the time.  But I knew it was already going to be hard in the first place so I decided it was now time to just run.I guess I had turned my Garmin off when I went to her because I noticed after a bit that it was not on.  That probably explains why I measured short.   

7. 8:43 The rest of the time JaNae and I just ran together.  I had a hard time loosening up after stopping to help.  My body was in a different mode now and things just felt different.

8. 8:28

9. 8:31

10. 9:17

11. 8:27

12. 9:00

13. 8:20

It got hot and I was really wanting some Gatorade.  Having just water was not my favorite. There was some electrolite drink at a couple stops but I really get a good help from my Gatorade.  So with the heat and the no Gatorade I decided that by stopping to help the other lady...she in turn helped me.  I'm pretty sure I would have really crashed the last 4 or 5 miles of this race had I continued on with my original plan. 

JaNae and I gave a good sprint to the finish line and were happy to be done.  I decided if I want to really race my effort for a 5K, 10K or 1/2 marathon it would be much more fun to do them in St. George in the winter.  

Just a Monday morning run with my friends JaNae and Jodie.   Nice morning.

Since I have found a few new running buddies it has been kind of hard for me sometimes when I end up running alone.  I was alone today and it was quite enjoyable.  I'm glad I can still do that sometimes but am so happy to have my friends!  

This afternoon I took Tani up to get her learner's permit.  She was excited to walk away with it in hand!   

JaNae, Jodie and Shelly.  Add in a visit with Doc Ludlow and a hello to many friends along the way makes for a nice start to my day.

My intention today was to go out in the sun and get a small amount of heat training.  It didn't work.  We didn't get much heat today.

Later I went to Manti to go to lunch with mom and dad and go to the fairgrounds to see the new Kevin Stilson Show Barn.  We are so happy that IFA and Sanpete County chose to name this building after him.  His love was Sanpete, IFA and the animals.   

About 25 runners met at the Salem Chevron this morning at 4:45 to make the trek up Payson Canyon in vans and down on feet.  Everyone went to the top but some took cars part way up here and there to get the mileage they wanted if they wanted less.  There was a good crowd that took it all the way!  

Love, love, love running this mountain early in the morning!  There are some beautiful things to see as the morning and the run progress!   My good friend JaNae and I always like to take time along the way for some good spiritual talks that give us a good mind set for the week ahead!  

Thank you to all running buddies who help make 21 miles fun and enjoyable!  

Tonight we get to go up Loafer Canyon (not running at all) for a fun night with one of the greatest families I know....David and Lesa....that is where I will eat the calories I burned this morning!  :o) 

Met up with JaNae and Shelly today.  They only went a few miles so most of my run was solo and with my doggy.  But it was great!  Feeling fabulous after the long downhill run on Saturday!  I hope I can stay feeling great as we approach the final weeks until SGM!

Today I followed Tom's lead in getting some uphill practice in again.  We have been getting lots of downhill in but thought we better brush up on the uphill skills again.  We waited until the kids were in school thinking we would get a bit of heat training in also.

When we first started it was still a bit chilly and we didn't think we would get any heat training but it changed and we did.  I did 6 long hill repeats.  Not fast up and not fast down....just did them.  The legs feel good but the lungs were tired.  

Finished up with Rui.

Thank you to Tom and Chad for helping this be an awesome downhill run!  And thanks to Tom for helping me be able to fit everything I need to do in this morning!  

About 9 or 10 of us met for our weekly Payson Canyon run.  I ran with Tom and Chad the first 4 miles at about a 6:45 pace.  At the Takasaki water spout we got a nice cold drink from mother earth.  Tom took off fast again and Chad and I took it a bit slower the rest of the way.  The pace for the last 4 miles was about 7:25.

I took yesterday off between my faster downhill Thursday run and today's long run. 

Last night I took my girls to see Shrek, The Musical in Payson.  It was so good and we had a fun time!  However I didn't get home and into bed until almost midnight.  That 4:30 am alarm was going to come much too soon!  I was able to get to sleep good and sleep well without interuption so that was nice.

I woke up with my back hurting.  It hasn't hurt for awhile.  Yesterday I did several things that I usually try to avoid, (weeding, carrying heavy things, leaning over to paint and sitting at the play without getting up and stretching).  It bothered me a bit here and there throughout the run but not enough to ruin things. 

I was the only she-male in the group yet again.....luckily all the guys treat me well and accept me and help me out!  I did most of my running with the 2 Daves, but spent some time with others including Pat and Kent.  I told them that I needed to write that in my journal that I ran about 3 miles with them.  :o)

Grateful once again to Hal (and also to Pat this time) for making sure we had fluid along the course!  Dave H was also good to keep my hydrated with his pack.  

Glad to have another 20 miler done.  I just look forward to running a marathon with a taper in front of it.  These past few weeks have been some of my highest milage weeks.  In fact, I'm pretty sure I have never hit a 200 mile month and I think I got it up to just over 200 this month.  I am looking forward to a bit of a rest week next week.

Wow...a new month.  Life passes so quickly.  

Nice to wake up a little later today and not use an alarm clock.  Tom and I each did our own thing.  We passed each other on the trail and gave a little high five.  Other than that it was pretty much just me and my thoughts.  Though there were several people out and about and it was nice to see lots of action.

Happy to see our buddy Karl G out today.  He actually had a heart attack and died at the finish line of AF 1/2 earlier this summer.  He really did die.  We are grateful he is alive and able to get out and start running again. He looked so happy to be out!  I chatted with him for a bit and he seemed to be doing things pretty smart for the most part.   

In the middle of this I did 2 x 1 miles (7:45 pace) with a .10 recovery between.  It will be hard to hold that pace at the bottom of Nebo 1/2 on Saturday.  We will see what happens.  

Fun stuff this morning!  I decided that since I run this canyon every week that I should use my home court advantage and go for a new downhill PR.  My previous downhill PR (1:42) was at Hobble Creek half about 5 years ago.  This year for Hobble Creek I was hoping to beat that time but it didn't work out and I got 1:48.  (had a few extenuating circumstance and lost the mental capacity).  So my plan coming into this race was to get low 1:40s and hopfully sneak down into the high 1:30s.

Since Tom is running Big Cottonwood full next Saturday he took this at my pace instead of his.  I also had Beth and Aub as the 1:35 pacers to help me out.  I loved not having to look at my watch and figure things out!  I was able to stay with Beth and Aub till about 10 miles then I just kept them in sight.  

I was nervous for a bit at mile 2 as my right leg was getting very tight on me.  But luckily after about a mile all was good.  The water stops were every 2 miles and they popped up so soon each time!  I was loving it!  

I knew the last few miles were going to be the hardest and I just kept trying stay focused.  I thought of Brayden Nielsen a few times when things were hard and heard a Booyah to keep me going.  (May Brayden rest in peace and may we all embrace his booyah attitude for life!)

I was happy to see my posse at Beer Can Flats!  Chad, Hal, Pat, Roman and Doug were all there to cheer me on.  Many of them ran to the mouth of the canyon with me.   

Looking back at my splits I had one mile that I got 8:01 the rest were all under 8:00 with an average of 7:20 overall.  My legs felt great the whole time!  My breathing is the thing that slowed me down.  

The timing system was all messed up.  Not sure what happened but if you look at the official report it will probably say I got 1:28.  That would be pretty cool, but it is wrong.  Everyone was off because of a timing issue.  They said that even though the timing was wrong the placings were correct.  Tom ended up 2nd in his age also, even though he was running with me.  There was like a 16 minute difference between him and first place.  So even if he would have pushed hard he would have still ended up with 2nd.  

Anyway, very satisfying!  I know I could not do this time on a flat course but it was sure fun to do it here today!  And I got a really cool leaf medal!  

I left Tom sleeping while I went out early to meet the Payson Canyon crew.  Tom is running Big Cottonwood full on Saturday so he took today off from his regular schedule.  Today was a fairly small group, just me and 6 of the guys.  They are always so kind to let me be part of the gang and not cramp their style too much.  It was mighty dark this morning.  I had a head lamp but the batteries died right as I turned it on.  I must get AAA batteries before our final Payson Canyon run next Thursday.  
I sure have enjoyed the canyon runs this year.  I am going to miss it.

I had to get my long run in today since I will be helping out at the Spanish Fork Half Marathon tomorrow.  I was lucky enough to do pretty much the whole enchilada on my own.  Glad to have it done and start the taper.

Yesterday I got out to run and was having some trouble with my right knee.  It was making me run very differently and I was afraid of doing something dumb so I decided not to run on it.  I am usually one who will err on the side of caution...especially this close to the marathon, so it wasn't a hard call for me to call it a day.  I iced, compressed, rested and Ibuprophined it through the day and evening.  I also wore a little band around the area which all seemed to help.

This morning I went out to try again.  I wore the band and everything felt alright.  While I am sitting here I feel it a bit but not like yesterday.

I decided to go ahead and try my Yassos for the day.  I planned to do them at a 7:20 pace just to see if I could.  I was able to do that 6 times.  All of them were 3:37 except one at 3:36.  However, I didn't have anymore in me.  Six about did me in.  I thought if I were to try 7 I would have had to be scraped off the road and thrown to the side with all the other road kill.  I thought of doing four more at a slower speed but knew I still had a few miles to get back home and didn't know if I would make it if I went for more.  

So for today I am happy that the knee felt better and that I was able to keep that pace for 6 repeats.  

Just four today.  

Sad that this was the last Payson Canyon run for the year.  I have loved my Thursday morning ritual!  Ran at a slower pace today and enjoyed the moment.  Beautiful full moon to light the way at the beginning but got rather dark as the moon set behind the mountain.  Glad to have a working headlamp with this week.  Also glad to have a long sleeve shirt as it was a bit nippy.  

I love these fall mornings!  I wish they could stay as long as winter and summer stay.  Tom got out again today for the first time since the Big Cottonwood Marathon last week that trashed his legs.  We went over and met up with the SF gang.  It was a bit nippy and windy at the beginning but a very nice morning for a 16 miler.  A few did a bit less and two of our guys did 23.  I'm glad I wasn't on their plan.

My knee was a little bothersom at the beginning but seemed to feel good the rest of the way. I tried to take it really easy on any down hill segments.  I hope it won't be a problem at SGM but it is possible that it might give me some grief.  That is ok though...I took that risk when I decided to run Mt. Nebo 1/2 a couple weeks ago. 

Sad to run into a running friend who has been battling cancer.  Just found another spot that needs to have a biopsy.  My prayers are with her and her family and doctors.  Those of us running after talking to her took our own health into perspective again as we left her.  Grateful for every single healthy day in our lives!  Which is one reason to run....because I can!

Today's plan:

7 miles (3-4 x mile, 5K fast pace)

Today's thought

6 or 7 miles (2-3 x mile whatever I feel like)

Today's action:

7 miles (3 x mile 7:23 pace)

Today's feeling:

Success!

The weather is changing on us.  We will have to bundle up way too soon I'm afraid.  But this morning was quite nice with just a small drizzle.

The cold and wind scared me into my longs today.  They were fine but shorts would have been fine too.  It was just Chad, Tom and I for most of the run.  Hal joined in for a few.  He decided to take some extra Zs and get out a bit later.  I was jealous at first but then happy when we were done and he still had to run.  

Tom and I both saw a shooting star....I think that means we are both going to have a great SGM next week!  

I'm kind of getting excited and a bit nervous.  I am going to be gambling a bit by trying to shave a big chunk off my PR.  I know I can run a PR this year....just not sure how much I dare go for.  Realisticly anything under 3:52 will be fabulous!  But I know I can see it in the 40s and possibly the higher 30s.  Here's to hoping everything falls into place next Saturday!

Five miles.

Five days till lift off!

Five kids.

Five dollar foot long.

Tom and I were both doing 3 miles at MP today so we did a 2 mile warm up together and then we were on our own.  It has been kind of fun this year to see our training...we have been about a minute/mile off of each other.  I am interested to see what our difference in time will be on Saturday.  It seems that it should be 26.2 minutes different.  We shall see....I'm goiong in pretty confident but not quite that confident.  

The pace for my three miles today was 8:00, 8:00 and 7:56.  But hopefully with down hill and race day magic that pace will feel a bit better on Saturday.  

Previous PR:  2012 SGM 3:52:xx

Goal for this year:

Good: Get a new PR

Better:  3:45:00

Best:  Sub 3:40

I would love to have sub 3:40 be my main goal but this is a place I have never gone before so it is hard to know exactly how to approach it.  If nothing else, this will be a time to learn to help me get there another time.  According to our 1 minute difference in training....if Tom can pull off a 3:05 I should be 3:31ish....That just scares me.  Where to line up?  Which to go for?  Crash and burn?  Go for it and do it?  These are all questions I have right now.  

Time to sit down and write about this year's SGM.  Absolutely no regrets.  I reached and tried for something that was possible but was not in the cards for this year.  I finished walking but smiling and saving my knee from injury that could have taken me out for a while.  I would much rather be ready to run again soon than to push it till I was out for months.

Mile              Planned pace         Actual pace             Thoughts

1                  8:24                       8:29                        Easier to weed through when I had lined up at the 3:35 than at the 4:00.

2                  8:21                       8:21                        Right on the money and enjoying the sound of feet in the dark.

3                  8:02                       8:03                        Not worrying too much about watching the watch...nice to be so close.

4                 7:51                        7:46                        A little fast but does not feel too fast.

5                  8:07                       7:51                        Hard not to go too fast at this point.

6                  7:57                       7:42                        Excited to be here...hard not to go too fast. Saw a friend pacing here...thought I'd maybe try with them...too fast, but got caught up in it for a bit.

7                  7:57                       7:36                       With Veyo ahead I got nervous that I was going to fast.  Let friends pass.

8                  9:06                       8:49                       A little too fast but feeling good.

9                  8:46                       8:36                       Feeling fine.

10                8:31                       8:47                       Realizing I can give myself a few seconds on the hill.

11                8:51                       8:55                       Glad to be getting done with the hill segment.  Wind coming at the face.

12                8:26                       9:02                       Needing a little breather, a little slower here.  Lo and behold, who do I see?  Tom....He had decided the legs didn't want to go fast so he was slowing and waiting for me to catch up.  Looks like I have a partner for the rest of the race.  He was not disappointed, he knew it was risky after his hard down hill marathon 3 weeks ago.

13                 8:12                     8:28                        I think I hit the half way mat at 1:50 and felt good about that.

14                 8:12                     8:34                        Hmmmmm....is Tom slowing me down?  J/K...not sure why I was slowing here.

15                 7:47                     7:58                        I had stopped watching the watch and was just running what felt good.  Hoping I was staying fairly close.  Decided to skip this water stop.  

16                 7:47                    7:57                         Looks like I was losing a few seconds each mile but still felt like a great PR was in store.

17                 8:02                     8:08                       Feeling the same...thinking of the hill coming up soon.  

18                 8:02                     8:44                        I think it was around here I started feeling the knee problem showing it's ugly little head.  Also a little stomach issue trying to make me hit the wall.  It was ok, but made me nervous.  Had a hill to think about and Batman running in front of me to keep the knee at bay.

19                  8:26                     9:29                       Looking forward to the water stop ahead.  Decided to try to get a Clif Shot down....not really pretty...most of it stayed down though.

20                  8:02                     8:59                       The down hill stuff coming that everyone looks forward to is now causing trouble with my knee.  I had to stop and stretch it a few times.

21                  7:42                     9:28                       Losing too much time to the painful knee.  Stretching helped it for a few seconds but not for long...stretch again.....making new plans....

22                   8:02                     9:08                      Still able to run but starting to feel too much injury coming on.

23                   7:59                    11:24                     Kind of hard to see hundreds of runners passing me.  Tom was trying to be encouraging by saying "10 minute miles can still get you a PR....but we aren't actually hitting 10 minute miles".  Realizing there is nothing to prove any more and saving my knee to run another day is now my priority.  I told Tom I was going to walk the rest of the way.  I told him to go ahead and run it in so he didn't have to walk past all the spectators but there he was walking right by me right to the end.  I think he was ok with the idea too since both our plans had blown out the window.

24                    8:07                    15:06                     Needing to stop and stretch my knee even though I was only walking.  I stopped and held onto a pole and my back locked up.  I thought I was going to be staying there for the rest of the day.  But I was still ok with all that was going on.  I honestly am not disappointed in anything that happened.  I smiled and talked to people along the way.  We thought it was funny as people try to figure out what to say to you as you walk by them at that point.  It is hilarious when they say..."You're looking good!"  At this point we are trying to figure out a new goal for this marathon.....how about our worst clock time at SGM....that is it!  

25                    8:07                     19:00                    These last few miles are not quite as pathetic as the pace makes it look.  I was able to walk ok so I didn't slow down quite to that point.  However, when we saw friends along the route it was fun to stop and say hello.  We don't usually do that on a marathon.  

26                    8:12                     18:07                  It would have been fun to give a little run this last while to please the spectators but it just wasn't worth it to me to run on the knee so we kept the walk till the very end.  I know it is not what the crowd would like to see and it is not what we would have liked to be doing but that is what happened on this particular day.

26.2                1:48                       6:42                   While we were going up here we saw several friends, both on and off the course.   Lots of fun hellos and explainations along the way.  On the side line was a girl holding a picture of a little baby that I had seen earlier in the race.  I wanted to know the story behind the little guy in the picture so we went over to talk to her.  I asked here about him and she said that he had died a few months ago after a really tough time on the earth.  Her hubby was out running for this little guy...it was her son.   She mentioned that Elder Rasband (her father) had mentioned him in his talk in LDS Conference.  We remembered that talk....http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5MwfYVne_Us ....this was the talk.  I was so grateful to stop and talk to that cute mom and have her share her story with us.  That would not have happened if I would have got a PR today.

Funny thing right before I got to the finish line I heard my name and looked around to see my friend Michelle Chapman right next to me.  We trained together this summer and we took our final step across the finish line together.  It was kind of funny that we hadn't seen each other the whole morning but our finish line picture will look like we ran it together.  

So that's my story.  I knew when I ran the Nebo 1/2 marathon a month ago that I was risking my SGM PR.  But it was a risk I was willing to take. (And I totally loved that 1/2 marathon PR!)   My knee started acting up after that and I wasn't sure I would have what it would take to reach a 3:35 or 3:40.  But I knew I had the training in my and I knew I had to try.  It was a perfect day for a Booyah attitude as everyone was celebrating the Booyah attitude of Braydon Nielsen.  

As I thought of the 11 marathons I have done (6 of them SGM) the only time I have had knee troubles is at SG.  There are three things I feel add to this....1. down hills...even though I was very well trained on down hill this year it is still just hard on my knees..... 2.  the slope to the side on the road through much of SG marathon.  I have a hard time when the road is not flat....and 3.  all of the other marathons I have ran just for fun with no pressure.       

Anyway, I am happy to have my 6th consecutive SGM behind me and congrats to Tom on getting into the 10 year club and getting us into the nice dinner on Saturday night.  

Gave myself a good full week off after the marathon.  Today's five miles had some walking breaks (mostly toward the beginning as I was getting back into things).  I have felt great since the marathon.  The knee felt great today.  I do not regret saving my knee from injury by walking the last three miles of the marathon.  It is kind of a bummer that I didn't finish strong but I am glad to be injury free right now.  

Started the 30 day squat challenge today just for the heck of it.  

Day 1:  50 Squats 

Five by myself up the beautiful fall decorated river trail!  Then one with my overly anxious doggy.

Squat Challenge:

Day 1: 50

Day 2: 55

Day 3:  60

Day 4:  Rest

Day 5:  70

Day 6:  75

Day 7:  80

Day 8: Rest

Day 9:  100

Day 10:  105

Day 11:  110

Day 12:  Rest

Day 13:  130

Day 14:  135

Day 15:  140

Day 16:  Rest

Day 17:  150

Day 18:  155

Day 19:  160

Day 20:  Rest

Day 21:  180

Day 22:  185

Day 23:  190

Day 24:  Rest

Day 25: 220

Day 26: 225

Day 27: 230

Day 28:  Rest

Day 29:  240

Day 30:  250

Five miles with Tom in the early, dark, star lit morning.  Best run since the marathon.  When I went to pick up my doggy for his mile I ran into my buddy Kay doing some power walking so the doggy and I went 2 miles with her.

Squat Challenge:

Day 1: 50

Day 2: 55

Day 3:  60

Day 4:  Rest

Day 5:  70

Day 6:  75

Day 7:  80

Day 8: Rest

Day 9:  100

Day 10:  105

Day 11:  110

Day 12:  Rest

Day 13:  130

Day 14:  135

Day 15:  140

Day 16:  Rest

Day 17:  150

Day 18:  155

Day 19:  160

Day 20:  Rest

Day 21:  180

Day 22:  185

Day 23:  190

Day 24:  Rest

Day 25: 220

Day 26: 225

Day 27: 230

Day 28:  Rest

Day 29:  240

Day 30:  250

Rerun of yesterday without the added Kay walk.

Squat Challenge:

Day 1: 50

Day 2: 55

Day 3:  60

Day 4:  Rest

Day 5:  70

Day 6:  75

Day 7:  80

Day 8: Rest

Day 9:  100

Day 10:  105

Day 11:  110

Day 12:  Rest

Day 13:  130

Day 14:  135

Day 15:  140

Day 16:  Rest

Day 17:  150

Day 18:  155

Day 19:  160

Day 20:  Rest

Day 21:  180

Day 22:  185

Day 23:  190

Day 24:  Rest

Day 25: 220

Day 26: 225

Day 27: 230

Day 28:  Rest

Day 29:  240

Day 30:  250

It has been nice to do a few miles with Tom this week.  

Squat Challenge:

Day 1: 50

Day 2: 55

Day 3:  60

Day 4:  Rest

Day 5:  70

Day 6:  75

Day 7:  80

Day 8: Rest

Day 9:  100

Day 10:  105

Day 11:  110

Day 12:  Rest

Day 13:  130

Day 14:  135

Day 15:  140

Day 16:  Rest

Day 17:  150

Day 18:  155

Day 19:  160

Day 20:  Rest

Day 21:  180

Day 22:  185

Day 23:  190

Day 24:  Rest

Day 25: 220

Day 26: 225

Day 27: 230

Day 28:  Rest

Day 29:  240

Day 30:  250

Tom had to go down to SG for our annual HOA meeting so I got up to meet the gang alone today.  Only Chad, Dave H and Hal to meet up with.  Hal came in his brand spankin' new 2014 truck.  

We ran into JaNae, Jodie and Nikki and they ran with us for a very short while before we split directions.  

Squat Challenge:

Day 1: 50

Day 2: 55

Day 3:  60

Day 4:  Rest

Day 5:  70

Day 6:  75

Day 7:  80

Day 8: Rest

Day 9:  100

Day 10:  105

Day 11:  110

Day 12:  Rest

Day 13:  130

Day 14:  135

Day 15:  140

Day 16:  Rest

Day 17:  150

Day 18:  155

Day 19:  160

Day 20:  Rest

Day 21:  180

Day 22:  185

Day 23:  190

Day 24:  Rest

Day 25: 220

Day 26: 225

Day 27: 230

Day 28:  Rest

Day 29:  240

Day 30:  250

Beautiful sunny mid morning run.  

Squat Challenge:

Day 1: 50

Day 2: 55

Day 3:  60

Day 4:  Rest

Day 5:  70

Day 6:  75

Day 7:  80

Day 8: Rest

Day 9:  100

Day 10:  105

Day 11:  110

Day 12:  Rest

Day 13:  130

Day 14:  135

Day 15:  140

Day 16:  Rest

Day 17:  150

Day 18:  155

Day 19:  160

Day 20:  Rest

Day 21:  180

Day 22:  185

Day 23:  190

Day 24:  Rest

Day 25: 220

Day 26: 225

Day 27: 230

Day 28:  Rest

Day 29:  240

Day 30:  250

Squat Challenge:

Day 1: 50

Day 2: 55

Day 3:  60

Day 4:  Rest

Day 5:  70

Day 6:  75

Day 7:  80

Day 8: Rest

Day 9:  100

Day 10:  105

Day 11:  110

Day 12:  Rest

Day 13:  130

Day 14:  135

Day 15:  140

Day 16:  Rest

Day 17:  150

Day 18:  155

Day 19:  160

Day 20:  Rest

Day 21:  180

Day 22:  185

Day 23:  190

Day 24:  Rest

Day 25: 220

Day 26: 225

Day 27: 230

Day 28:  Rest

Day 29:  240

Day 30:  250

Tom and I each seen a falling star down in the riverbottoms this morning.  Lovin' this time of year!  Sure wish it would last a few more months.  

Squat Challenge:

Day 1: 50

Day 2: 55

Day 3:  60

Day 4:  Rest

Day 5:  70

Day 6:  75

Day 7:  80

Day 8: Rest

Day 9:  100

Day 10:  105

Day 11:  110

Day 12:  Rest

Day 13:  130

Day 14:  135

Day 15:  140

Day 16:  Rest

Day 17:  150

Day 18:  155

Day 19:  160

Day 20:  Rest

Day 21:  180

Day 22:  185

Day 23:  190

Day 24:  Rest

Day 25: 220

Day 26: 225

Day 27: 230

Day 28:  Rest

Day 29:  240

Day 30:  250

Squat Challenge:

Day 1: 50

Day 2: 55

Day 3:  60

Day 4:  Rest

Day 5:  70

Day 6:  75

Day 7:  80

Day 8: Rest

Day 9:  100

Day 10:  105

Day 11:  110

Day 12:  Rest

Day 13:  130

Day 14:  135

Day 15:  140

Day 16:  Rest

Day 17:  150

Day 18:  155

Day 19:  160

Day 20:  Rest

Day 21:  180

Day 22:  185

Day 23:  190

Day 24:  Rest

Day 25: 220

Day 26: 225

Day 27: 230

Day 28:  Rest

Day 29:  240

Day 30:  250

Squat Challenge:

Day 1: 50

Day 2: 55

Day 3:  60

Day 4:  Rest

Day 5:  70

Day 6:  75

Day 7:  80

Day 8: Rest

Day 9:  100

Day 10:  105

Day 11:  110

Day 12:  Rest

Day 13:  130

Day 14:  135

Day 15:  140

Day 16:  Rest

Day 17:  150

Day 18:  155

Day 19:  160

Day 20:  Rest

Day 21:  180

Day 22:  185

Day 23:  190

Day 24:  Rest

Day 25: 220

Day 26: 225

Day 27: 230

Day 28:  Rest

Day 29:  240

Day 30:  250

I need to remember that I do not like to have any part of this race.  Too many problems every time!  Grrrr!  

Anyway, I paced the 2:10 with Doug B.  The first few miles were way early and we got off a bit there.  We were pretty much 2 minutes fast through the whole thing and then the course was a bit short.  So I feel good with the effort put in.  

The course had a change and it was the best part of the whole day.  Loved the course and the fun atmosphere.  Also love helping others and being with other pacers.  So I will try to just remember those good things.  Who cares that I was gone for 7 hours to pace a 2:10 half marathon that was only 25 minutes from my house.

Squat Challenge:

Day 1: 50

Day 2: 55

Day 3:  60

Day 4:  Rest

Day 5:  70

Day 6:  75

Day 7:  80

Day 8: Rest

Day 9:  100

Day 10:  105

Day 11:  110

Day 12:  Rest

Day 13:  130

Day 14:  135

Day 15:  140

Day 16:  Rest

Day 17:  150

Day 18:  155

Day 19:  160

Day 20:  Rest

Day 21:  180

Day 22:  185

Day 23:  190

Day 24:  Rest

Day 25: 220

Day 26: 225

Day 27: 230

Day 28:  Rest

Day 29:  240

Day 30:  250

I thought this morning was going to be yucky and hard to get out and run in.  Luckily I was wrong and it was pert near perfect!  

Day 1: 50

Day 2: 55

Day 3:  60

Day 4:  Rest

Day 5:  70

Day 6:  75

Day 7:  80

Day 8: Rest

Day 9:  100

Day 10:  105

Day 11:  110

Day 12:  Rest

Day 13:  130

Day 14:  135

Day 15:  140

Day 16:  Rest

Day 17:  150

Day 18:  155

Day 19:  160

Day 20:  Rest

Day 21:  180

Day 22:  185

Day 23:  190

Day 24:  Rest

Day 25: 220

Day 26: 225

Day 27: 230

Day 28:  Rest

Day 29:  240

Day 30:  250

Day 1: 50

Day 2: 55

Day 3:  60

Day 4:  Rest

Day 5:  70

Day 6:  75

Day 7:  80

Day 8: Rest

Day 9:  100

Day 10:  105

Day 11:  110

Day 12:  Rest

Day 13:  130

Day 14:  135

Day 15:  140

Day 16:  Rest

Day 17:  150

Day 18:  155

Day 19:  160

Day 20:  Rest

Day 21:  180

Day 22:  185

Day 23:  190

Day 24:  Rest

Day 25: 220

Day 26: 225

Day 27: 230

Day 28:  Rest

Day 29:  240

Day 30:  250

Five miles power walking with Kay and Alyson.  Nice change up.

Day 1: 50

Day 2: 55

Day 3:  60

Day 4:  Rest

Day 5:  70

Day 6:  75

Day 7:  80

Day 8: Rest

Day 9:  100

Day 10:  105

Day 11:  110

Day 12:  Rest

Day 13:  130

Day 14:  135

Day 15:  140

Day 16:  Rest

Day 17:  150

Day 18:  155

Day 19:  160

Day 20:  Rest

Day 21:  180

Day 22:  185

Day 23:  190

Day 24:  Rest

Day 25: 220

Day 26: 225

Day 27: 230

Day 28:  Rest

Day 29:  240

Day 30:  250

Absolutely beautiful day, beautiful course and totally enjoyable experience!  I was able to pace the 2:20 group with the lovely Molly Bitton.  We had a great time with several people along the course and were able to help many people reach the goal they had in mind!  Yay for pacing!  It is so much fun!  

Squat Challenge

Day 1: 50

Day 2: 55

Day 3:  60

Day 4:  Rest

Day 5:  70

Day 6:  75

Day 7:  80

Day 8: Rest

Day 9:  100

Day 10:  105

Day 11:  110

Day 12:  Rest

Day 13:  130

Day 14:  135

Day 15:  140

Day 16:  Rest

Day 17:  150

Day 18:  155

Day 19:  160

Day 20:  Rest

Day 21:  180

Day 22:  185

Day 23:  190

Day 24:  Rest

Day 25: 220

Day 26: 225

Day 27: 230

Day 28:  Rest

Day 29:  240

Day 30:  250

Went to meet up with the J-Dawgs but neither of them were there.  :o(  Oh well, it was a nice morning run with good feelings and good thoughts.

Squat Challenge

Day 1: 50

Day 2: 55

Day 3:  60

Day 4:  Rest

Day 5:  70

Day 6:  75

Day 7:  80

Day 8: Rest

Day 9:  100

Day 10:  105

Day 11:  110

Day 12:  Rest

Day 13:  130

Day 14:  135

Day 15:  140

Day 16:  Rest

Day 17:  150

Day 18:  155

Day 19:  160

Day 20:  Rest

Day 21:  180

Day 22:  185

Day 23:  190

Day 24:  Rest

Day 25: 220

Day 26: 225

Day 27: 230

Day 28:  Rest

Day 29:  240

Day 30:  250

This morning I went out for a 3 mile power walk with Kay and then went out for a 3 mile run.  

Since yesterday was a rest day on my squat challenge I decided to also give my legs a rest day on running.  It was nice and made today feel very good.  Went out mostly with the hubby, a bit on my own and a bit with Rui.  

Nice to see our buddy Paul C out after having surgery a few weeks ago.  

Squat Challenge

Day 1: 50

Day 2: 55

Day 3:  60

Day 4:  Rest

Day 5:  70

Day 6:  75

Day 7:  80

Day 8: Rest

Day 9:  100

Day 10:  105

Day 11:  110

Day 12:  Rest

Day 13:  130

Day 14:  135

Day 15:  140

Day 16:  Rest

Day 17:  150

Day 18:  155

Day 19:  160

Day 20:  Rest

Day 21:  180

Day 22:  185

Day 23:  190   Only one week left of my squat challenge.  It is going better than I anticipated. Day 24:  Rest

Day 25: 220

Day 26: 225

Day 27: 230

Day 28:  Rest

Day 29:  240

Day 30:  250

Five with JaNae and Jodie the birthday girl.  Tom joined in for a bit and I had one mile left to get home.  Nice morning.  Love the trail!  

Squat challenge is coming to an end soon.

Squat Challenge

Day 1: 50

Day 2: 55

Day 3:  60

Day 4:  Rest

Day 5:  70

Day 6:  75

Day 7:  80

Day 8: Rest

Day 9:  100

Day 10:  105

Day 11:  110

Day 12:  Rest

Day 13:  130

Day 14:  135

Day 15:  140

Day 16:  Rest

Day 17:  150

Day 18:  155

Day 19:  160

Day 20:  Rest

Day 21:  180

Day 22:  185

Day 23:  190   Only one week left of my squat challenge.  It is going better than I anticipated. Day 24:  Rest

Day 25: 220

Day 26: 225

Day 27: 230

Day 28:  Rest

Day 29:  240

Day 30:  250

It was fun to have a larger crowd out today and enjoy a beautiful, mild morning run.  It is always fun to have several different people to chat with along the way.

Squat Challenge

Day 1: 50

Day 2: 55

Day 3:  60

Day 4:  Rest

Day 5:  70

Day 6:  75

Day 7:  80

Day 8: Rest

Day 9:  100

Day 10:  105

Day 11:  110

Day 12:  Rest

Day 13:  130

Day 14:  135

Day 15:  140

Day 16:  Rest

Day 17:  150

Day 18:  155

Day 19:  160

Day 20:  Rest

Day 21:  180

Day 22:  185

Day 23:  190   Only one week left of my squat challenge.  It is going better than I anticipated. Day 24:  Rest

Day 25: 220

Day 26: 225

Day 27: 230

Day 28:  Rest

Day 29:  240

Day 30:  250

Thank you to all our past and current military service men and women!  And thank you to your families!  What a sacrafice you make for our country and our freedoms.

This morning was another perfect fall running morning.  LOVING the weather!  I will totally enjoy it as long as we are able to have it!

First I met up with Kay to do 3 miles of power walking then with JaNae and Jodie for 4 1/2 miles with a bit left for Rui at the end.

Today is the second to the last day of the squat challenge.

Squat Challenge

Day 1: 50

Day 2: 55

Day 3:  60

Day 4:  Rest

Day 5:  70

Day 6:  75

Day 7:  80

Day 8: Rest

Day 9:  100

Day 10:  105

Day 11:  110

Day 12:  Rest

Day 13:  130

Day 14:  135

Day 15:  140

Day 16:  Rest

Day 17:  150

Day 18:  155

Day 19:  160

Day 20:  Rest

Day 21:  180

Day 22:  185

Day 23:  190   Only one week left of my squat challenge.  It is going better than I anticipated. Day 24:  Rest

Day 25: 220

Day 26: 225

Day 27: 230

Day 28:  Rest

Day 29:  240

Day 30:  250

Only 2 running miles in today.  But I finished my 30 day squat challenge.

Squat Challenge

Day 1: 50

Day 2: 55

Day 3:  60

Day 4:  Rest

Day 5:  70

Day 6:  75

Day 7:  80

Day 8: Rest

Day 9:  100

Day 10:  105

Day 11:  110

Day 12:  Rest

Day 13:  130

Day 14:  135

Day 15:  140

Day 16:  Rest

Day 17:  150

Day 18:  155

Day 19:  160

Day 20:  Rest

Day 21:  180

Day 22:  185

Day 23:  190   Only one week left of my squat challenge.  It is going better than I anticipated. Day 24:  Rest

Day 25: 220

Day 26: 225

Day 27: 230

Day 28:  Rest

Day 29:  240

Day 30:  250

2 miles PWWK (power walking with Kay)

5 miles alone with my thoughts

ZERO SQUATS!  :o)

3 miles PWWK

6 miles run.  Maybe the last day of decent weather around here.  

Tom and I met up with a good group of friends (including 2 other girls!) this morning.  We had a nice, enjoyable run with the snow gently falling all around. 

Happy birthday to my mommy and our Grandma Aunt Betty today.  

Now I am off to my all day Saturday-go-meetin' for WW.

2 PWWK

5 with JaNae 

Happy brithday to my hubba hubba!  

Got the run done but kind of a blah day...hard to get things accomplished.  

Today I did things a bit opposite.  I didn't have anyone else waiting for me after my power walk time so I did 5 miles PWWK then 3 miles run.  

Happy GO Hug A Runner Day!  

Plan was to go with Kay at 5:30 then meet up with JaNae and Jodie at 6.

Actual: Woke up about 3 or 4 times in the night.  Finally got bugged and got out of bed at 4:20 and got ready to go out.  Laid down on the couch with my alarm set for 5:20.  Woke up and saw a text from Kay saying she was not feeling well so she was sleeping in.  I set my alarm for 5:50 and laid back down on the couch.  Woke up...drove over to meet JaNae and Jodie.  While I was waiting for them I got a text saying that neither of them were going to be coming after all.  So I drove back home, set my alarm for 7, laid back on the couch and went to sleep until Tom came in at 6:30 at which time I went back into my room to try to finish a sleep until 7.  

After all of that I wasn't sure I would get out after the girls went to school, but I got er done.