Going With The Flow

USA Half Marathon Championships

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Location:

Salt Lake City,UT,United States

Member Since:

May 08, 2011

Gender:

Female

Goal Type:

Local Elite

Running Accomplishments:

Unaided -  
17:16 OktoberFAST 5K (10/11)
17:23 BAA 5K (4/12)
37:10 Memorial Day 10K (5/11)
1:17:03 Long Beach Half Marathon (10/11)
1:17:21 USA 1/2 Champs - Duluth (6/12)
2:49:01 Philadelphia Marathon (11/11)

Aided -
16:52 Fight For Air 5K (6/11)
17:08 Provo City 5K (5/12)
1:17:52 Top of Utah Half Marathon (8/11)
1:17:54 Utah Valley Half Marathon (6/11)

Short-Term Running Goals:

Run consistently as I get back to 100% health. Stay patient!

 

Long-Term Running Goals:

Have fun training and racing.

Sub-17 5K
Sub-1:17 Half Marathon
Quality for the Olympic Trials in the marathon

Personal:

I am originally from Knoxville, TN and moved to SLC with Jake in 2010. I started racing in 2011 and had some great success before a major injury hit me in July 2012. I had athletic pubalgia surgery in May 2013...then again in Sept 2014 and am still trying to get back to my old self. Although running is my true passion, I love doing pretty much anything active outdoors - backcountry skiing, backpacking, biking, etc. 

I've been running for the Saucony Team since 2011. I enjoy representing the brand and really do believe they make the best shoes :)

I work as a Quality Engineer for BD Medical in Sandy.

Favorite Blogs:

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Miles:This week: 0.00 Month: 0.00 Year: 0.00
Skinning Miles (1000ft ~ 2.5 Miles) Lifetime Miles: 912.35
Hiking Miles Lifetime Miles: 10.50
Total Distance
191.50
Saucony Omni 8 Miles: 34.30Saucony Mirage Miles: 20.60
Night Sleep Time: 207.50Nap Time: 0.00Total Sleep Time: 207.50Weight: 116.91
Total Distance
8.40

AM - Easy 4.4 miles from home.

PM - 4 miles easy.  Kinda in a rush today, trying to get ready for wedding stuff.

Saucony Omni 8 Miles: 8.40
Night Sleep Time: 8.00Nap Time: 0.00Total Sleep Time: 8.00Weight: 0.00
Add Comment
Total Distance
8.00

AM - 8 miles in Dandridge before a long day of wedding festivities. Last mile 5:50. 

Night Sleep Time: 0.00Nap Time: 0.00Total Sleep Time: 0.00Weight: 0.00
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Total Distance
10.40

AM - Hilly run this morning. It's been two days since my last hard workout so I naturally was able to run faster (altitude change helps a lot too). 7:07 pace average, the last 5 all around 6:50 pace. Definitely could've done a workout today but didn't want to push it on a travel day back to SLC. My shins are really sore from wearing heels for hours yesterday.

Night Sleep Time: 7.00Nap Time: 0.00Total Sleep Time: 7.00Weight: 0.00
Comments(1)
Total Distance
10.60

AM - 6 miles easy with Jake. With the long day of travel yesterday and only 4 hours of sleep, I was not moving very fast today. On a positive note, I got $400 Delta voucher for giving up my seat on one of the flights :) Totally worth the extra two hours of being in the airport. As much as I loved being home for a week, I'm glad to be back in SLC. I missed my routine.

Jake's quote of the day - "man I just cant decide whether I want to be a miler or marathoner!!!"

PM - 4.6 miles around Sugarhouse with Jake. Legs are heavy but I think they just need a good night of sleep. 

Night Sleep Time: 4.00Nap Time: 0.00Total Sleep Time: 4.00Weight: 117.30
Comments(3)
Total Distance
6.00

AM - 4 miles easy. Track workout this afternoon - 5K efforts. Going to try out wearing spikes for the first time in 8 years and hoping that my hamstring will be good to go for Friday's race.

PM - 2 mile warm-up. Still jogging around the track and my hamstring twinged. Ughhhhhhhhhh. So no workout and today was the 10-days-out hard workout before the half marathon :o( It was cold this afternoon...that's the only thing I can thing for the problem before even starting to run fast. Not sure what to do about the 5K on Friday now....I'm afraid I'll completely pull my hamstring. Sad times.

Night Sleep Time: 10.00Nap Time: 0.00Total Sleep Time: 10.00Weight: 117.50
Comments(7)
Total Distance
0.50

AM - Showed up for JAJA run but only made it a quarter mile before I realized I was just causing more damage to my hamstring and turned around. It feels a lot worse than it has in the past after a twinge (and I've had quite a few). Usually I'm okay to run easy the next day with only a little discomfort, but that wasn't happening today. I'm sad because I wanted to catch up with the crew this morning....and discouraged because I know it's a terrible idea to race on Friday and try to hit sub-17. Bigger picture - the Half Champs are still my main goal so I have 9 days to heal up. 

After the running disaster I headed to the gym and did a workout on the recumbent bike. 22 x 45s on/45s off in an attempt to mimic something like 200s on the track. It was a hard effort but not nearly as hard as running the same workout. 38 minutes total. Then yoga for 20 minutes.

PM - 40 minutes on the elliptical. It seemed to loosen up my hamstring a bit. Hoping for the best.

Saucony Omni 8 Miles: 0.50
Night Sleep Time: 9.00Nap Time: 0.00Total Sleep Time: 9.00Weight: 117.00
Comments(16)
Total Distance
4.60

AM - Recumbent bike for 30 minutes, then elliptical for 25 minutes. Yoga for 20 minutes. Hamstring feels better today - icing, heating, and Jake's massage yesterday helped. Will try to run this afternoon. 

PM - Ran 4.6 miles, loops around the block. Felt tingly at first but loosened up on the run. Still very sensitive but better!

Some pics from the wedding, just for fun! Location was beautiful (yes that's a cow in the background), service was short and sweet, and dresses were a little too shiny :)

 

 

 

 


Night Sleep Time: 8.00Nap Time: 0.00Total Sleep Time: 8.00Weight: 117.00
Comments(6)
Total Distance
12.20

AM - Two laps around the block for 6.2 miles. Hamstring felt pretty solid today - not nearly as weak as the past couple days. 

PM - 6 mile out-and-back on the Waterfront Bike Trail. Really feel like I got the Portland vibe... running along the river, it started raining, dodging bike commuters, hippies everywhere, Subarus. Just a typical day in Portland :)

Wishing everyone the best of luck at Utah Valley tomorrow!! It's going to be a great day for racing. 

Saucony Mirage Miles: 6.20
Night Sleep Time: 7.00Nap Time: 0.00Total Sleep Time: 7.00Weight: 116.80
Comments(9)
Total Distance
14.70

AM - 12.2 miles on the dirt road of Leif Erickson. It was so lush and beautiful...really enjoyed it, although just a little too rocky for me.

 PM - 2.5 miles on the beach in Seaside, OR. The beach is COLD!

 

Night Sleep Time: 7.00Nap Time: 0.00Total Sleep Time: 7.00Weight: 0.00
Comments(3)
Total Distance
10.20

AM - Workout in Seaside. 5 miles easy, then 1 mile at MP and 3 miles at HMP. Splits were 6:19, 5:54, 5:51, 5:45. Jake was nice enough to pace me on the run. The effort was hard, but I've run quite a few miles the last couple of days so hopefully 5:52 pace (sub-1:17) will be realistic for next weekend. 

Afterwards, we went to Cannon Beach and Ecola State Park to see the sights. Lots of walking! The Pacific Coast is so cool.

Saucony Omni 8 Miles: 10.20
Night Sleep Time: 10.00Nap Time: 0.00Total Sleep Time: 10.00Weight: 0.00
Comments(3)
Total Distance
8.40

AM - Easy horsepark loop 4.4 miles. Check out Jake's blog for some great photos of the Oregon coast. 

PM - 4 miles in Sugarhouse. 

It's taper time!! Gotta find something to do with my extra time besides eating the entire pantry :)

Night Sleep Time: 0.00Nap Time: 0.00Total Sleep Time: 0.00Weight: 116.00
Comments(7)
Total Distance
8.60

AM - 2 miles around the block. Last workout this afternoon. 

PM - Pretty hot outside! 2.2 miles warm-up, then 4x0.75 miles at HMP w/0.25 recovery jog. Splits were 4:21, 4:21 4:23, 4:21. Not too bad, but I hope that pace feels a lot easier on Saturday!

Checked out the entry lists for the Half Champs...it looks like there are about 25 women at a similar level as me (only based on PRs). It should be the perfect race to be competitive and run fast. Weather temperature looks promising at about 60 degrees and just hoping for the best in terms of wind. I will post info. for athlete tracking later this week. Getting excited!!

Night Sleep Time: 9.50Nap Time: 0.00Total Sleep Time: 9.50Weight: 116.00
Comments(7)
Total Distance
7.40

AM - JAFA Run 7.4 miles, mostly talking about the Olympic hopefuls and standards...which has now gotten me interested in what the Oly A and B standard rules are now. Felt really good today and glad to catch up with at least two of the usual  crew. 

Anyone interested in TCBY Waffle Cone Wednesday tonight in Sugarhouse at 7pm? Jake and I were planning to go....will be fun!!

Saucony Mirage Miles: 7.40
Night Sleep Time: 8.50Nap Time: 0.00Total Sleep Time: 8.50Weight: 115.80
Comments(6)
Total Distance
5.90

AM - Horsepark loop 4.4 miles easy. No motivation to work today - so anxious for the weekend! The best workout of the training cycle is this afternoon.

PM - 1.5 miles with 2 x 0.25 miles at half marathon pace with equal recovery.

Tracking info here. Below are the splits of my PR - hopefully I'll be faster than that. I only freaked out about running 18:16 5Ks....well since I saw the splits. But I've done it before! :)

5K             18:16
10K           36:31   
10 Miles     58:46        
11.9 miles   1:09:57       
Finish         1:17:03

Night Sleep Time: 8.00Nap Time: 0.00Total Sleep Time: 8.00Weight: 116.20
Comments(12)
Total Distance
3.10

Shake-out in Duluth.

Night Sleep Time: 0.00Nap Time: 0.00Total Sleep Time: 0.00Weight: 0.00
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Race: USA Half Marathon Championships (13.1 Miles) 01:17:21, Place overall: 32
Total Distance
16.50

Race conditions: 63 degrees, 90-95% humidity, slight wind.

Leading up to the race - We have had this event on the calendar since December. As many know, I have not had the ideal training cycle for this race. It's really been a tough first half of the year in terms of injuries. As soon as I heal up from three months of unexplainable midfoot pain, my SI joints start acting up...that starts improving only to get hamstring tendonitis. Obviously, I have some work to do in terms of strength/cross training to prevent these problems. Anyways, I take it as a victory getting to the start line and being able to race.

The competition for this race was incredible. I have never been in a race with this kind of depth. Totally intimidating but exciting at the same time. I warmed up a mile or so followed by 4 minutes of marathon pace. All of us girls watched as the elite men took off 10 minutes before our race. At the last minute, I decided to wear only a sports bra as my uniform. That ended up being a smart move because it was quite warm and humid! I must admit that I'm a little nervous to see pictures :) I lined up a couple rows back from the start line.

The race - The horn went off, and there was an immediate gap between me and the super fast pack. There was a "chase pack" as well, but they were just 5-10 seconds too fast for me and only a couple spread out from there. A little disappointing because I was really hoping to be able to tuck in behind others. I came in the first 5K in 18:00 and felt pretty good - a little too fast but not bad because this part is very flat. The rolling hills started after this point.

I was keeping a pretty solid pace through the 10K at 36:15. Starting to feel the pace a bit...kept telling myself that I need to stay mentally focused to maintain the pace. The rollers on the course made it difficult to gauge how fast/slow I should be running. At around mile 8 I caught up to the (2:31 marathoner) Dot McMahon who was very encouraging and for some reason decided to pace me for a mile or so. This helped a ton because the wind seemed to be blowing significantly at this point. I went on ahead (although she ended up beating me by one second). This is where I really started to mentally struggle. The rolling hills were taking a toll on me because my splits seemed too slow and my legs were getting tired. 10 mile at 58:45. I was actually still right on pace to break 1:17.

The rest of the course is downhill to flat and I tried to take advantage of that. I felt like I was running a solid 5:50 pace only to see that the pace in the 6:05 range. I just couldn't get myself to push any harder. My hamstring started to ache at this point (Allison told me afterward that I was limping). I did my best and came across the finish line in 1:17:21. I lost quite a bit of time in that last 5K. I tried my hardest and know that I did the best I could today.

Analysis - I am very happy with my time today. Fell apart a little at the end, but that's what happens sometimes when you go for an ambitious goal. This is the 2nd best performance that I have ever had, and I can't be upset about that! I didn't feel like I "had it"...just didn't feel like I had my A game today. It's hard to get that perfect race (but it's really special when you do). I feel like I needed a little more mental toughness and endurance to really go for that sub-1:17. I told Jake that I would probably run a marathon this fall if I broke 1:17....but since I didn't, I get to chase after it again for the fall instead of the marathon! :) Probably a little too happy about that.

Overall, really glad we came to Duluth to run this race. I can't wait to come back next year. Huge congrats to Erik (Hamdog) on his new half marathon PR, DerekD for an awesome marathon, Allison (Derek's wife and my friend) for a 1 min improvement and right next to me in the half, and Jake getting 27th in the elite men's race. Now time to party!!!

Night Sleep Time: 0.00Nap Time: 0.00Total Sleep Time: 0.00Weight: 0.00
Comments(31)
Total Distance
5.00

AM - 5 miles on the Lakeshore Trail in Duluth. Beautiful morning! My hamstrings were super tight, but not painful. 

PM - 8ish mile bike ride, touring the area. Lots of walking around as well. 

Saucony Omni 8 Miles: 5.00
Night Sleep Time: 9.50Nap Time: 0.00Total Sleep Time: 9.50Weight: 0.00
Comments(1)
Total Distance
4.00

AM - 4 miles in Minneapolis. I wasn't planning to run today, but I hate to travel without a little exercise so went out for a slow jog. We were planning to get into Salt Lake last night but a delayed flight had us stuck in Minneapolis until this morning. Jake used his amazing bargaining skills to get us each $300 worth of Delta dollars, as well as a hotel and $80+ worth of food vouchers. Totally worth getting into Salt Lake a day late. Luckily, my boss is super nice and is letting me make up the time the rest of the week instead of taking vacation.

Hamstrings are still super tight. I have a lot unilateral pains....left leg is definitely more sore than the right from the race. My right hip flexor and groin are very uncomfortably sore. Other random stuff...all compensation for my bum right hamstring, I'm sure. No serious damage, though, just emphasis that I need to do a lot of cross training work on my down time. My goal is to take 4-5 days off from running in the next two weeks with other days just short and easy. I can do that, as long as I can control my food intake :)

PM - 7.4 miles easy biking while Jake ran. 

Saucony Omni 8 Miles: 4.00
Night Sleep Time: 7.00Nap Time: 0.00Total Sleep Time: 7.00Weight: 0.00
Comments(4)
Total Distance
0.00

AM - No running today. Had to get to work for an early meeting so only got in 15 minutes of the recumbent bike and yoga for 20 minutes.

PM1 - 30 minutes of step aerobics and 15 minutes of weights/hamstring exercises.

PM2 - 6.4 miles of biking, 40 minutes. I was running faster than that on Saturday!

Night Sleep Time: 0.00Nap Time: 0.00Total Sleep Time: 0.00Weight: 117.50
Comments(1)
Total Distance
7.00

AM - 7 miles cruising around Millcreek with the crew...probably needed 7+ more miles to get out all the Ragnar party-van stories, race recaps, trip reports, etc. Good times! Hamstrings achy by the end, but it felt so good to run this morning.

Let me know if you want to be on my team for the Wedding Bells Relay team. Right now it's me...and maybe Jake if he'll be seen on the same team as me. Not planning to break any records, I'm thinking about wearing one of my bridesmaids dresses for the occasion.

Saucony Mirage Miles: 7.00
Night Sleep Time: 9.00Nap Time: 0.00Total Sleep Time: 9.00Weight: 118.00
Comments(5)
Total Distance
0.00

AM - Recumbent bike easy for 30 minutes, then 15 minutes of strengthening/weights. Hamstring still achy.

PM - 15 miles cycling with Amiee and Jake up to Little Mountain from the zoo and back. I was pleasantly surprised to realize the gradient wasn't nearly as bad as I thought it would be. I am a total wuss when it comes to downhill though...Amiee put about half a mile on me within 5 minutes :)


Night Sleep Time: 9.00Nap Time: 0.00Total Sleep Time: 9.00Weight: 118.00
Comments(8)
Total Distance
6.90

AM - Recumbent bike for 30 minutes, then hamstring exercises.

PM - Ran with Devra in the Dimple Dell gully...she's been out with achilles problems, so I'm glad she's better and I have my running buddy again! It was SO HOT, we stopped for water several times. Those trails are not easy! My hamstring tendon hurt after 5 miles.

I'm so excited for the weekend - lots of fun stuff going on. Watching the Olympic Trials, Wedding Bells 5K, hanging out at the pool, Allie's wedding, rollerblading the JRP, Pfeifferhorn hike?, etc. I have been traveling on the weekends for the last 5 weeks so it's a relief to get a weekend at home.

Night Sleep Time: 9.00Nap Time: 0.00Total Sleep Time: 9.00Weight: 118.50
Comments(8)
Race: Wedding Bells Relay 5K (3.107 Miles) 00:15:11, Place overall: 1
Total Distance
6.50

AM - Had so much fun this morning!!! The race was awesome...wrote up a blog here and Jake and Allie's blogs have lots more pictures/links. 

Afterwards did a few laps with Devra and Kevin. Sometimes it's nice to just do whatever I want and not worry about training. Got to talk with Bonnie and Dean, Carina, RAD, Kam, and Kelli for a while too :)

A few of us are hiking up to Pfeifferhorn tomorrow if anyone wants to join (I'm planning to stop at the lake while others go for the summit). Let me know - we'll probably meet around 9:30am or so.

Night Sleep Time: 8.50Nap Time: 0.00Total Sleep Time: 8.50Weight: 117.60
Comments(5)
Total Distance
0.00

AM - Weights + hamstring exercises. 

Then we headed up LCC for a Pfeifferhorn hike with a fun crew. Jake made the summit while the rest of us just relaxed and enjoyed the outdoors. It's a beautiful area...I was wishing there was a little more snow for glissading (or tubing!) but that'll have to wait until next year. Jake made a trip report here.

Night Sleep Time: 9.00Nap Time: 0.00Total Sleep Time: 9.00Weight: 117.50
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Total Distance
0.00

AM - Weights for 30 minutes then yoga + massage. Felt lightheaded this morning - probably still a little dehydrated from being out in the sun all day yesterday. I'm actually kind of enjoying not running everyday. I must really need some mental rejuvenation. 

Some pics from James and Allie's wedding - 

 

 

 


Night Sleep Time: 8.50Nap Time: 0.00Total Sleep Time: 8.50Weight: 116.20
Comments(6)
Total Distance
9.00

AM - JAJAK Run...we moved it to Tuesday this week so we could run up at Alta tomorrow. It was a fun run, as usual, with the crew. Jake told me I was limping/favoring my right leg while we were running. This makes me really sad because I thought my hamstring was doing okay. I definitely don't want to cause another problem because I'm compensating. 

This is a great blog entry by Lauren Fleshman who is running the 5K at the Trials.

Night Sleep Time: 8.50Nap Time: 0.00Total Sleep Time: 8.50Weight: 116.20
Comments(5)
Total Distance
6.20

AM - 30 minutes of weights/strengthening exercises, then yoga. 

PM - Was going to run up at Alta but didn't want to feel out of shape today so opted to run with Devra at Dimple Dell instead. The hills at Dimple Dell are pretty brutal too!

Sweat Science article - Strengthening, Not Stretching, To Deal With IT Band Syndrome. Seems like so many injuries can be avoided with hip strengthening.

Saucony Omni 8 Miles: 6.20
Night Sleep Time: 9.00Nap Time: 0.00Total Sleep Time: 9.00Weight: 116.20
Comments(5)
Total Distance
2.00

AM - Really wanted to run because it was perfect weather outside but only got a little ways before my hamstring just felt uncomfortable. It feels different than before the half...not really better but different. I've been putting a lot of focus on my hamstring for the past two weeks with lots of massage, PT exercises, and strengthening. So hopefully the tendon is just a little weak and in the rebuilding phase. Devra suggested I massage with aspercreme because she has had some success with it. I'll probably take a couple more down weeks in regards to running and focus on other fun activities for a while. 

PM - Weight training class for 45 minutes...probably only 30 minutes of hard work. My inner thighs are going to be sore!

Make sure to watch the Trials this evening - 5K Finals! Plus lots more...

Night Sleep Time: 8.00Nap Time: 0.00Total Sleep Time: 8.00Weight: 116.30
Comments(3)
Total Distance
4.40

AM - Horsepark loop 4.4 miles. Felt good running and saw the cutest puppy at the park so it was a great start to the day. Today is a short day of work then VACATION!!! Brian Head, Cedar Breaks, Zion, Bryce....it's going to be awesome. Anyone have recommendations for fun adventures in those areas?

If anyone is interested in doing Tour de Run (3 stage race on July 13-14 - 5K, 10K, 5 miles), you can use the code wasatchreferral and it will only be $50. This seems like a pretty cool new idea, hopefully we can get a bunch of people to sign up... maybe even make a few teams from the blog? Jake wrote some more about the race on Wasatch & Beyond (blog link)

Night Sleep Time: 8.00Nap Time: 0.00Total Sleep Time: 8.00Weight: 116.70
Comments(8)
Total Distance
5.00

AM - 5 miles running on the dirt roads in Brian Head. 9600+ ft is hard! 

PM - 4 miles of hiking on the Ramparts Trail at Cedar Breaks National Monument. Beautiful area. Then lots of activities - horseshoes, bbasketball, ping pong, archery, etc.

Night Sleep Time: 8.50Nap Time: 0.00Total Sleep Time: 8.50Weight: 0.00
Add Comment
Total Distance
191.50
Saucony Omni 8 Miles: 34.30Saucony Mirage Miles: 20.60
Night Sleep Time: 207.50Nap Time: 0.00Total Sleep Time: 207.50Weight: 116.91
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