| Location: Draper,UT, Member Since: Jun 11, 2009 Gender: Female Goal Type: Local Elite Running Accomplishments: 5K- 16:37
6K CC - 19:55
4 miles- 22:10
10K- 34:38
15K- 49:57
Half Marathon- 1:12:03
20K - 1:08:38
Marathon- 2:35:49 Short-Term Running Goals: Stay fit and have fun doing some local races.
Get my youth cross country team, www.racecats.org off the ground. Long-Term Running Goals: Feel energized. Stay healthy and balanced Personal: Four awesome kids ages 4, 8, 10, and 12 years old. Love to run, play, and write. Married to entrepreneurial Aaron. Favorite Blogs: |
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| | Easy Miles | Marathon Pace Miles | Threshold Miles | VO2 Max Miles | Total Distance | | 81.30 | 26.20 | 10.00 | 0.00 | 117.50 |
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| | Easy Miles | Marathon Pace Miles | Threshold Miles | VO2 Max Miles | Total Distance | | 7.00 | 0.00 | 0.00 | 0.00 | 7.00 |
| 7 miles in 7:40 pace Achilles took a few miles to warm up but felt okay after I stopped to stretch. Two very large white dogs with black spots wandering around my neighborhood followed me home from my run. With no collar and no owner in sight I tried to get them into my backyard so I could call animal control and see if anyone had reported them missing. I almost had them in the backyard when my neighbor's small yappy dogs came over to the fence and started sticking their noses through the cracks and barking up a storm, scaring the two big white dogs away. So now they are still wandering free around the city. I hope their owner finds them soon, poor lost souls. | | Comments(3) |
| | Easy Miles | Marathon Pace Miles | Threshold Miles | VO2 Max Miles | Total Distance | | 8.50 | 0.00 | 6.00 | 0.00 | 14.50 |
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Met my team at Fairview High School for some track work. I was a few minutes early, so I jogged and stretched a little before everyone showed up. 20 minute warm up, stretching, strides 1 mile in 5:44 w/ 2 min jog after 4X800 Meters in 2:48, 2:46, 2:48, 2:46 w/ 2 min jog between each 1 mile in 5:35 w/ 2 min jog after 4X800 Meters in 2:40, 2:35, 2:39, 2:34 w/ 2 min jog between each 10 min cool down I felt really good today other than a little tightness in my right achilles and very mild tightness in my left hip. Plenty of rest, ice, and foam rolling is in store for the weekend.
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| | Easy Miles | Marathon Pace Miles | Threshold Miles | VO2 Max Miles | Total Distance | | 8.00 | 0.00 | 0.00 | 0.00 | 8.00 |
| 8 miles in 7:23 pace Did some strides mid-run. Achilles felt okay (at least not as tight as last Monday). I really really enjoyed watching General Conference (Church-wide broadcast for all members of the LDS faith) this past weekend. I heard lots of great reminders and experienced couple of big ah-ha moments. The most impressionable one being during a discussion I had with Aaron after he got home from the Priesthood Session Saturday night and told me about President Monson's talk on keeping the Sabbath day holy and the blessings of doing so. I think I've become a little lazy about my Sabbath day observance over the past number of months but when I heard what our Prophet had to say regarding this doctrine it was a good wake up call. Aaron and I had some very cool, meaningful discussion and made a resolution to do better at keeping the Sabbath day holy (in a myriad of ways) from now on. Then our decisions and resolutions were confirmed by President Eyring's Sunday Morning talk about Faith and the promise that the Lord will provide a way. I'm SO grateful for these inspired men and the guidance I receive from them. Looking forward to the November issue of the Ensign magazine so I can read and re-read these great talks and others. | | Comments(4) |
| | Easy Miles | Marathon Pace Miles | Threshold Miles | VO2 Max Miles | Total Distance | | 5.50 | 0.00 | 4.00 | 0.00 | 9.50 |
| Met my team at East Boulder Community Park 20 min. warm up, stretching, strides 4X45 seconds w/ 75 sec. jog between each (5:25ish pace) 3X3 minutes w/ 90 sec. jog between each (5:45ish pace) 4X75 seconds w/ 60 sec. jog between each (5:20ish pace) 5 minutes steady in 5:39 pace 10 min. cool down Felt pretty weak this morning. I got slammed with a sinus infection yesterday and experienced a long, miserable night of sleep last night. This morning's run loosened up all my congestion and I kept having to "clear my passages" which was obviously disgusting. My effort was there, but my body just wasn't feeling great this morning. | | Comments(7) |
| | Easy Miles | Marathon Pace Miles | Threshold Miles | VO2 Max Miles | Total Distance | | 5.00 | 0.00 | 0.00 | 0.00 | 5.00 |
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5 miles in 7:37 pace I'm taking it really easy today. The sinus infection still in full force and my achilles tendons and left hip are both pretty tight too. Its a good thing I still have 10 days to work out these kinks before the marathon. I finally went in to see Dr. Tim Lowney this morning after weeks of urging from Coach De Reuck. Dr. Tim does a type of deep acupuncture where he puts the needle all the way into your muscle and then twists to create a small tear in the muscle which initiates a healing response and in effect, releases the tension. Kind of like trigger point massage with needles. He did it on both of my calves and my left hip. It feels strange, like a dull achey muscle spasm as he's doing the work and now I my calves feel as soar as they would if I had just done a long track workout in spikes. He also did some e-stim treatment which could be adding to my calf fatigue as well. Hopefully my poor achilles tendons can hold out for 10 more days and come through for me in the marathon and then I promise to give them a nice break afterwards. I am considering getting shoulder repair surgery as soon as I start my break from running after Baltimore too. I have appointments to see two different orthopedic docs and get opinions about what ligament repair surgery entails and if it is a good option for me. Nine years ago when I first dislocated my shoulder I had two Dr's opinions about ligament repair surgery (basically stapling the stretched out ligament together to make it shorter and tighter) but decided not to get the surgery and instead try to keep my shoulder strong and avoid activities that dislocate it. But now that (despite my efforts to keep my shoulder strong) the list of activities that have caused dislocation has become quite lengthy, I'm reconsidering the surgery. Just off the top of my head I've dislocated my shoulder during all of the following activities: Falling while skiing (first time), rock climbing, swimming, throwing a baseball, tripping while hiking, tripping over my kids, sleeping with my arms above my head, kayaking, and last, but not least, lifting a cup to my mouth. The last one startles me the most and is really the reason I'm considering surgery. I am not at all a fan of surgery or any sort of invasive intervention though so there is a good chance I will decide not to get the surgery again. But I feel like I ought to at least know my options and MAYBE if there is a type of arthroscopic repair that is not too invasive with relatively quick recovery time, MAYBE I'll get it done. We'll see.
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| | Easy Miles | Marathon Pace Miles | Threshold Miles | VO2 Max Miles | Total Distance | | 9.00 | 0.00 | 0.00 | 0.00 | 9.00 |
| 9 miles in 7:40 pace My sinuses are still congested but the run helped relieve that a bit. The right achilles is still complaining a lot too. I went in for a massage after the kids were in bed. She mostly focussed on my back where there was some extreme tightness. | | Add Comment |
| | Easy Miles | Marathon Pace Miles | Threshold Miles | VO2 Max Miles | Total Distance | | 6.00 | 0.00 | 0.00 | 0.00 | 6.00 |
| 6 miles in 7:49 pace Achilles. Went in to Dr. Tim (deep acupuncture guy who is actually a chiropractor) again and he did some e-stim, laser therapy (don't really know what that is), ankle adjustments, and super deep tissue massage on my calf (ouch). He also examined my feet and fit me for some "good feet" inserts for my shoes (basically a lightweight, generic orthotic). The idea is to stabilize my heel as much as possible so as to get me through the next week with minimal achilles aggravation so I can be pain free on the marathon starting line. I'll also be doing some pool running, ice massage every day, and taking ib profen three times a day for the next week. We're pretty much pulling out all the stops considering the fact that I can't really lose anything from doing those things, but I could lose strength/health in my achilles if I don't do all those things. | | Comments(5) |
| | Easy Miles | Marathon Pace Miles | Threshold Miles | VO2 Max Miles | Total Distance | | 7.50 | 0.00 | 0.00 | 0.00 | 7.50 |
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Took the kids to Abe's soccer game this morning while Aaron did some mountain running. We both arrived home around 10:40 a.m. and I rode my bike for 20 minutes to the swimming pool while he ate breakfast and drove the kids to the pool to meet me there. For my workout I put on a flotation belt, tied an old, cut bicycle tube (aka resistance band) to the back of my belt (the other end to the wall) to keep me in place, and jumped in for some "aqua jogging" or "pool running" or "running under water" or "flailing my arms and legs like someone who never learned to swim" or whatever you call that weird cross training activity we crazy runners sometimes do. 30 minutes easy, 10, 4, 4 minutes at sustained effort with 2 minutes easy between each, then 18 minutes easy for a total of 70 minutes of aqua-rific fun. And I have to admit it was actually quite fun. Had I not gotten a hold of Aaron's waterproof iPod case it may have been dreadfully long and mind numbing but with the music I actually found myself smiling from time to time (and singing aloud even though the lifeguard may have questioned my sanity). Achilles feels great! Of course the only activity that ever causes it to hurt is actual running...so I guess I'll really know how it feels next week when I go for another run. (I'm putting my daily effort at 7.5 miles just to make my weekly mileage look nice and purdy).
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| | Easy Miles | Marathon Pace Miles | Threshold Miles | VO2 Max Miles | Total Distance | | 5.00 | 0.00 | 0.00 | 0.00 | 5.00 |
| 5 miles in 7:36 pace Had to get out and test the achilles after a couple of days of no pounding the pavement. Felt a lot better but still nagging. Taper week couldn't have come at a better time. I'm sure it'll feel even better by Saturday and I'll just race through any nagging that may exist on that day. | | Add Comment |
| | Easy Miles | Marathon Pace Miles | Threshold Miles | VO2 Max Miles | Total Distance | | 0.00 | 0.00 | 0.00 | 0.00 | 0.00 |
| Did one last workout, aqua running in the pool. 20 minute warm-up, 4 "strides" 4X4 mintues hard (my heart rate up) w/ 1 minute easy between 2X2 minutes harder (my heart rate up higher) 10 minute cool down for a total of 60 minutes of pool-tastica Waterproof iPod case (and the music it enabled) saved my sanity yet again. Went into Boulder this afternoon for one last appointment with Dr. Tim (e-stim, laser, and deep tissue massage on the calves). Also met up with Coach D to discuss race plan and other "stuff." It was a really good meeting. I'm getting PUMPED!!!!!!!!!! | | Comments(11) |
| | Easy Miles | Marathon Pace Miles | Threshold Miles | VO2 Max Miles | Total Distance | | 3.50 | 0.00 | 0.00 | 0.00 | 3.50 |
| Easy 3.5 miles just to get the blood circulating. Crunch time trying to get my house in order and sub plans written for my Mom to come into town and play "Mom" for 3.5 days. I never realized how complicated my daily routine with the kids is until I have to write it down and expect someone else to execute it perfectly. There are a lot of details! Luckily I have a Garmin Nuvi in the van so she can just type addresses and Garmin lady will take her where she needs to go (soccer practice, pre-school, soccer game, Church). I tried to plan simple meals that I know the kids will eat too. What a SAINT of her to do this for us!!! | | Add Comment |
| | Easy Miles | Marathon Pace Miles | Threshold Miles | VO2 Max Miles | Total Distance | | 0.00 | 0.00 | 0.00 | 0.00 | 0.00 |
| No run today. Plenty of "movement" though with vacuuming the house, mowing the lawn, changing and washing all the sheets, mopping the floors, cleaning toilets, cleaning kids rooms, packing, ect ect. Met Mom at the Airport at 2:00 p.m. where I gave her a quick tutorial on the Garmin Nuvi and sent her off with my kids. Aaron and I got on our 2:45 p.m. Southwest Airlines flight to Baltimore. We were not early enough to get seats next to each other so we both got stuck in the despised middle seat a few rows apart....oh well. Arrived in Baltimore around 8:30 p.m., grabbed a burrito in the Airport and rode the light rail to our hotel in downtown. Checked in around 10 p.m. and finally fell asleep around midnight. (10:00 p.m. Mountain Time). So much for adjusting to E.S.T. before the race....time adjusting is overrated anyway. | | Comments(7) |
| | Easy Miles | Marathon Pace Miles | Threshold Miles | VO2 Max Miles | Total Distance | | 3.50 | 0.00 | 0.00 | 0.00 | 3.50 |
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Slept in 'till 9:30 a.m. (7:30 a.m. M.S.T.). My race will be over half-way finished by that time tomorrow. So again, no E.S.T. adjustment but the 9.5 hours of sleep felt like heaven.
Aaron and actually ran TOGETHER today for the fifth time this year!. As we went downstairs to leave for our run we bumped into the Elite Athlete coordinator, Clay and his assistant, Steve. Clay walked us over to the race finish and gave us some race day info and directions. Just a couple of blocks from our hotel is the street that is the final few miles of the race and takes you all the way up to the finish line by the baseball stadium. The name of the street? A State that holds a special place in my heart as my homeland and stomping grounds of younger years....Eutaw. Spelled just how it ought to be spelled. :)
While walking down the quiet finishing stretch void of any spectators cheering and flailing their arms over the finish line railings my heart started pumping and I got a smile on my face as I envisioned the crowds and excitement in store for tomorrow.
Clay went into the baseball stadium for the Expo and we did a short, easy run with 4X1 minutes at marthon pace. Aaron kept commenting on how great his lungs felt and how easy 6 minute pace was. Gotta love sea-level baby!!
After our run we went to the elite athlete suite in our Hotel to get my race bib and say hi to Carolyn (good friends of the De Reuck's, she and her husband, Steve are Clay's friendly, helpful assistants). Carolyn is probably in her mid-50s and has personally run over 100 marathons!!
For lunch we walked over to the harbor and ate yummy sandwiches, took a couple of pics, and rented a bike so Aaron can pedal around on the course tomorrow and be able to take pics at multiple points along the course. As we were walking back to the hotel we bumped into two very fit, tiny ladies with matching Nike jackets (very likely my top competition for tomorrow). The conversation went something like this...
Aaron: "Hello, are you running the marathon?" Yes.
"Where are you from?" Krygyzstan. Russia.
"Have you run this race before?" Blank stare. Crinkled eyebrows. Some rambling about going to Europe.
"Well, good luck!" Good luck!
The temperature looks great for racing tomorrow morning. The start will be in the high 40s and it will get up to the mid 50s by the finish (perfect). The only thing that may affect any or all of the 2,000 marathoners and 18,000 runners in other race distances is the likelyhood of wind. Its been windy all day today and the forecast indicates steady winds all day tomorrow as well. The good thing is that there are sections of the race that go through the city with high rise buildings breaking up the breeze but it may get ugly out there on the harbor. Without knowing what kind of race pack is going to form and whether or not it will be within my pacing plan to run with a group of women, I'm hoping to at least find an unsuspecting male to tuck in behind and pray that he showered beforehand.
Ready or not, here I come! | | Comments(11) |
| | Race: |
Baltimore Marathon (26.2 Miles) 02:35:49, Place overall: 3 | | Easy Miles | Marathon Pace Miles | Threshold Miles | VO2 Max Miles | Total Distance | | 0.80 | 26.20 | 0.00 | 0.00 | 27.00 |
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I have a lot to be grateful for today! An 8.5 minute chunk out of my PR, $8K in prize money, and an Olympic Trials "A standard" qualifier in the BAG. Here's how it all went down.... Woke up at 6 a.m., ate some oatmeal, a banana, a bottle of Gatorade, and forced down another half of a bagel. Got ready and went to the runner suite around 7 a.m. to meet up with Carolyn and Steve. Walked over to the race start and tried to use the restroom in the Hampton Inn right by the start but was kindly turned away and then enthusiastically invited (by the pub owner walking by) to use the restroom in Pickles Pub next door (Hampton Inn could take a lesson in PR from their pub owner neighbor). Did a short, slow warm up, some stretching, and three additional potty stops. Lined up right behind the two ladies I met yesterady, Iulia and Olena. The race began and it was all smiles as a nice pack of 8-9 ladies went out together. 
The first three miles were the steepest incline of the race, so Coach D told me to go out no faster than 6:00 pace. Mile 1 - 6:05 Felt easy and comfortable. The slight breeze was negligible with the pack of women and a few men surrounding me. Mile 2 - 5:59 Little less steep, still very easy and comfortable. Legs started to warm up. Mile 3 - 6:12 Little more steep. Shared the lead with Olena Shurkno from Ukraine. About half-way through mile 4, the course flattened out and transitioned into a pretty good decline which lasted for a good 5 or 6 miles. Mile 4 - 5:47 Cruised on the flat, worked with the group. Grabbed a cup of gatorade at the aid station and took a few sips. Mile 5 - 5:36 Really tried to hold back down the hill as the pace felt super smooth and effortless with Olena on my heels and Everlyne Lagat from Kenya on my shoulder. Mile 6 - 5:50 Flatter with a little uphill. Everlyne took the lead and put on a few second gap. I opted to stay within myself and follow Coaches orders not to go out too fast. Mile 7 - 5:43 More downhill. I tried to resist going faster while a "chase pack" of 6 women took off down a steeper section to go reel in Everlyne and left me in the dust to run my own pace. 
Mile 8 - 5:43 Alone. I started to notice the wind more now. Funny, I didn't notice it much when I was running with the group. Picked up my first bottle around 8.2 and took two good swigs of EFS liquid shot (which was duct taped to the side of my bottle) and a few swigs of water. Mile 9 - 5:39 Tempted to just throw in a surge and go draft behind those 6 women and couple of men since they are just 10 seconds ahead and it would save energy to draft...but is it worth the energy it would require to surge? I decided no. Mile 10 - 5:51 A few men emerged and I attempted to draft behind them. This is where I started really noticing the headwind. Surely there had to have been some tailwind before this point that I was not fully appreciating because there was definitely headwind now. Mile 11 - 5:44 Stuck with the few men while I watched that nice cozy looking chase pack of women a solid 20-25 seconds ahead of me. I was unwilling to break my pacing plan to catch them and I was also unaware that Iulia was creeping up on me in the shadows. Somewhere in here I took a sip of water from the volunteers handing out cups. 
Mile 12 - 5:54 The synergy (and wind breaking) of the three men had dissolved. As soon as I hit the lap button I realized they were running too slow for my liking so I left them. Mile 13 - 5:45 Thats better. One of the guys came with me and we ran literally stride for stride for a mile or so. 
I picked up my second bottle and took a few more gulps of liquid shot and some water then I offered my bottle to the guy running next to me. He took some gulps and tossed it aside. We came through the half marathon point together and the clock said 1:16 (I assume it was high 1:16). Right after the half, Iulia Arkapove from Krygzstan (the course record-holder) came up on us and blew on by. Where'd she come from? She must have run a much more conservative first 10 miles and then started pouring it on because she had to have been doing 5:30 pace when she blew by us. Mile 14 & 15 - 11:38 (5:42 pace) Where'd the 14 mile marker go? No split there. The guy I had been running with fell off pace and I was back to my lonely self again watching Iulia pour on the heat and continue to pull away from me. Mile 16 - 5:52 Wind and lonliness. This is where my race began. Coach told me if I could stay in control and run within myself (no faster than 5:45 pace on on the downhills and flats and no faster than 6:00 pace on the uphills) until mile 16, I'd have enough in the tank to pick off a few girls in the final 10 miles. He was right! At this point I think I was in 7th place and already starting to see the 6th place girl coming back to me. Mile 17 & 18 - 12:09 (6:04 pace) I missed the mile marker again. The uphill began again as I passed Alice Ndirangu from Kenya and Yuhunlish Delelecha (do not ask me how to pronounce those names because I do not know) from Ethiopia. 5th place now. Mile 19 - 5:57 Hoping and praying for that podium finish I started to see two more lil' Africans up ahead and worked towards reeling them in. The wind was not in my favor though. Darn wind. Mile 20 - 6:12 I put my head down and pushed with all my might up the most brutal, steepest section of the entire course which just so happened to also bring a massive head wind with it. I finally crested the steepest part of the hill and overtook Everlyne, whose 85 lb., 5 ft. frame was nearly blowing away in the stiff headwind. Mile 21 - 6:02 The uphill relented a bit but not the wind. I threw an invisible lasso around Salome Kosgei from Kenya who also appeared to be blowing backwards an inch with each stride as I started tugging myself in. Mile 22 - 6:15 Now I was nearly blowing away as well and Salome was trying with all her might to stay on my heels. Not a fun mile. Grueling. I nearly came to a complete stop at the aid station with my last water bottle and liquid shot. I took as much as I could and kept pushing forward. 
Mile 23-26 (final 4.2 miles) - No splits. Garmin said 6:01 average pace. At this point in my race I was beyond caring about mile splits anymore. I felt pretty disheartened by that last 6:15 mile split so I decided to just keep my head up and maintain that 3rd place position. I realized that the other two girls in front of me had at least 90 seconds on me at this point and my wheels were falling of (or being blown off by the wind, rather). My right calf was becoming unbearably tight and my hip flexors and quads were nearing their maximum level of punishment for the day as well. Salome hung on to me until about 22.5 miles at which point I used the downhill to open up a gap. The final few miles were downhill but into the wind as my respiratory rate shot through the roof and I ran the fine line between maintaining my position in the race and passing out. Actually I don't think I was actually THAT close to passing out but at times I wondered if I was hyperventilating. Spectators were probably wondering why I sounded like a suffering wildabeast panting down the street. Once I got onto Eutaw Street it was just a few minutes to the finish line. All the cheering and energy near the finish gave me energy and I became pretty emotional and asthmatic in the final stretch. Within view of the finish line I looked up and saw 2:35:29 on the clock. In one last effort to keep it under 2:36, I threw a grueling surge and the next thing I knew I was finished, walking with wobbly knees and then being hugged by Carolyn Mather who said I ran 2:35:49! WAHOOO!!! 
I went right off to pee in a cup (drug testing) and then back to the tent where they had our bags. Got dressed, talked to a couple of newspaper guys, and found Aaron. We ate some BBQ brisket sandwiches and shrimp salad and drank LOTS of fluid. I texted Coach and a few other people, got some ART done on my poor legs, and went to the awards ceremony. As we were waiting for the announcer to announce us I talked to the ladies from Ukraine and Krygyztan (their friend, Lyubov Denisova from Russia knew some English and could translate to them). The funniest part was when Lyubov asked me if I have kids and I told her three. She translated that to Iulia and Olena and Iulia was like "OUGHMPH!!!" with the funniest jaw drop and shocked eyes. Hahaha. I told her she should have some too since they've actually made me run faster! She resolved to have twins next year. 
All things considered I feel really grateful for such an awesome race and huge PR. The wind was not in our favor but I was blessed with the strength to push through and hang on for a respectable time. On a flatter course with perfect weather I am certain I could run faster, so its encouraging to look ahead and feel optimistic about the future. I also see lots of room for improvement in my training and am looking forward to making the necessary changes for the next marathon training cycle. Aaron was a huge support to me this weekend (and this entire season) as he built up my positive self talk and confidence and today as he was out there on the course at many points cheering me on, checking to make sure my bottles were placed in clear view on the tables, and shooting pictures. Coach De Reuck (and Colleen) have been a HUGE asset and support over the past several months as they coached and encouraged me all along the way. I also really appreciate the support and encouragement from my teammates on the Running Republic team, all you FRB-ers, as well as my family and friends who send me positive vibes of energy with your thoughts and words. Also thanks to my Mom, Alyson for flying to Denver from SLC to watch our kids for the weekend, running them around to their various activities, being misguided by the Garmin and chasing after the kids through the mass of soccer fields while trying to get to Abe's game in time, and even juggling all three kids at Church! Impressive that she still has the energy and patience to do all that even at age 61!!! Go MOM! I promise we wont ask you again. :) Thanks, everyone!!! Aaron made an awesome post of the race in pictures here...check it out.
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| | Easy Miles | Marathon Pace Miles | Threshold Miles | VO2 Max Miles | Total Distance | | 0.00 | 0.00 | 0.00 | 0.00 | 0.00 |
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My decision to race in the Baltimore Marathon was made because of three factors. 1. Its a Saturday race. 2. The prize money structure looked favorable. 3. Our good friends, Ammon and Juliana Posey live there. Juliana is a former pole-vaulter track teammate of mine from BYU who actually introduced me to Aaron back in the day (my Junior year at BYU). Ammon is Aaron's good friend from high school and former roommate who started dating Juliana just as Aaron and I were whipping through our whirlwind romance and subsequent marriage (we met and married in 4 months). Ammon and Juliana were married a few months after us as well and the past 8+ years has brought three children and many unique life experiences and blessings into each of our homes. I scheduled our flight back home later (7:00 p.m.) on Sunday since that was the only day we could set aside to visit with the Posey's and I was really looking forward to seeing them. Juliana picked us up from our Hotel at 9:40 a.m. to attend Church with them which just happened to be a few miles from our Hotel in downtown Baltimore. We really enjoyed the wonderful spirit in their small, diverse Ward. Many of the members there are converts to the Church and have valiant testimonies and experiences to share. After Church we went home for lunch and to enjoy their adorable, friendly children who are very close in age to our three kids. We really enjoyed talking with Ammon and Julie, sharing faith-building life experiences as well as funny, growth-promoting experiences while catching up on the past few years. After a few short hours Ammon gave us a ride to the airport and we were back to our opposite sides of the country living our separate lives with similar values and themes. Long time friends like that are hard to come by. I hope we can hold on to our connection and friendship for many years to come. Thanks, Ammon and Julie for the wonderful Sunday!
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| | Easy Miles | Marathon Pace Miles | Threshold Miles | VO2 Max Miles | Total Distance | | 0.00 | 0.00 | 0.00 | 0.00 | 0.00 |
| After 5 or so hours of sleep, I woke up to take Mom to the Airport. Its always nice to chat with Mom. Thanks SO much, Mom for your service and charity towards our family! I always appreciate knowing that my kids are being well taken care of and enriched back home while Aaron and I are away. They are lucky to have such a wonderful, loving Grandma. I was pretty exhausted today. As soon as I got Breanne off to preschool I put Ali down for her nap and took a solid 2 hour nap myself. I was also ready for bed again by 8:30 p.m. My legs feel pretty good other than my calf being super tight and achilles inhibiting normal walking form. I'll go in for some treatment later this week. | | Comments(1) |
| | Easy Miles | Marathon Pace Miles | Threshold Miles | VO2 Max Miles | Total Distance | | 0.00 | 0.00 | 0.00 | 0.00 | 0.00 |
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Ahhh 10 hours of sleep last night did me a LOT of good. Went to see two Orthopedic Surgeons today to get opinions about shoulder surgery. After picking their brains and getting all the information I needed to make an educated decision I've decided to put it off for a while. Not only can I not afford to drop $12K+ on surgery right now but I'm also not willing to take 1-3 months of no, or limited running to let it heal. Another time, another year. I will go see a Physical Therapist one of the Docs recommended and get a refresher on some shoulder specific exercises I should be doing at home to strengthen the area an minimize simple dislocations. I may be kicking off my own new version of PU-PU-SU here again in the near future!
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| | Easy Miles | Marathon Pace Miles | Threshold Miles | VO2 Max Miles | Total Distance | | 0.00 | 0.00 | 0.00 | 0.00 | 0.00 |
| Rehab day As I was stretching this morning, something in my mid back spasmed. Pain when I breathe and tightness from my mid-back all the way up into my neck. Good thing I had already scheduled an appointment with Dr. Tim this morning. He adjusted my back, ribs, neck, hips, and ankles. He also did e-stim, laser, and some serious deep tissue massage on my right calf. And then after the kids were in bed tonight I went in for a fully body massage at Massage Envy. My favorite therapist, Agata got in a fight with the muscles in my mid back and beat 'em good. The good news is that my right calf and achilles are recovering well and I no longer hobble when I walk. I still have a few days of bodily recovery before I'll start running again though. Coach mandates that we take the entire week after a marathon completely off. Even the second week after the race he only wants us running 2-4 times. He and Colleen follow the same ritual. I think its wise to allow my body some time to recover and take a break from things, so I'm happy to oblige. | | Comments(1) |
| | Easy Miles | Marathon Pace Miles | Threshold Miles | VO2 Max Miles | Total Distance | | 0.00 | 0.00 | 0.00 | 0.00 | 0.00 |
| Its amazing how busy life can be even when I am not running a bunch of miles/hours per week. Aaron has been super busy this week also. That tends to happen when your full-time office manager and her part-time assistant (her Mom) are suddenly no longer working for you, leaving you in a lurch. Its a loooooooong story but I'll just say we're in transition. Options that never even crossed our minds a few days ago are now not only being considered but feeling very logical. One week ago we were (theoretically) hiking along this beautiful path that brought some pretty awesome vistas and rewarding summits along the way. We were very much enjoying the hike (having just reached an amazingly cool summit), feeling perfectly happy and content to keep hiking forth on that path and see what the next summit held. Now suddenly it feels like the Lord snapped his finger and directed our attention to the right where He has set forth a new, similar but unknown path for us and we are looking at it thinking, "Wow, that looks like a SWEET path....is that really where you want us to go? But what about where we've been? Do you really think we should leave that path? 'Cause it was pretty awesome too." So we're standing at this crossroads, praying for guidance and confirmation as we baby step towards the new path, realizing there will probably be rocks and steep sections ahead but hopeful that it may actually be a better, more rewarding path than the one we have been on. Only the Lord knows what is best for our family and business. I'm confident things will become more clear as we proceed in Faith. Sorry for the poetic confusion. I should be able to tell a less "theoretic" and more concrete account soon. | | Comments(5) |
| | Easy Miles | Marathon Pace Miles | Threshold Miles | VO2 Max Miles | Total Distance | | 0.00 | 0.00 | 0.00 | 0.00 | 0.00 |
| Slept horribly. My mind is too busy thinking about "the decision." | | Add Comment |
| | Easy Miles | Marathon Pace Miles | Threshold Miles | VO2 Max Miles | Total Distance | | 0.00 | 0.00 | 0.00 | 0.00 | 0.00 |
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Took the kids to Abe's soccer game and then to the Primary Program Practice (PPP). Then I came home and slept for two hours while the girls napped and Aaron took Abe to a birthday party for the lil' neighbor girl. I've been SO tired on account of having sleepless nights. Well, little sleep at night at least. I just cant seem to shut my brain off. And my body is not used to not exercising at all either. Monday morning I MUST get some type of exercise in. Rest week, it was nice knowing you...and now its time to bid you farewell.
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| | Easy Miles | Marathon Pace Miles | Threshold Miles | VO2 Max Miles | Total Distance | | 0.00 | 0.00 | 0.00 | 0.00 | 0.00 |
| Wow, what an amazing past 24 hours! Aaron and I both had some very cool thoughts and confirmations pretty much all day, and even more powerfully during Church and in our discussion after Church. Its official....we're moving to Boulder!!! | | Comments(8) |
| | Easy Miles | Marathon Pace Miles | Threshold Miles | VO2 Max Miles | Total Distance | | 0.00 | 0.00 | 0.00 | 0.00 | 0.00 |
| Got Abe off to school and then did P90X Plyometrics. Ahhh it felt good to move my body. My achilles still feels soar...I replaced some of the exercises for push ups and dips. After that I drove to Boulder to get some therapy on my achilles and acupuncture on my calf. There was a GORGEOUS double rainbow out this morning. Beauty. The remainder of my day consisted of driving kids around to their "things," grocery shopping, packing boxes for the move, corresponding with potential sponsors through email, cooking dinner while talking to a really nice guy at Mizuno on the phone, and having our new friend, Tyler McCandless over for dinner (a random Facebook meeting that turned into a dinner appointment to pick his brain about sponsor hunting). Tyler is a really cool guy and was super helpful with a LOAD of information and advice. Fun times! Change and opportunity ahead!! | | Comments(2) |
| | Easy Miles | Marathon Pace Miles | Threshold Miles | VO2 Max Miles | Total Distance | | 0.00 | 0.00 | 0.00 | 0.00 | 0.00 |
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The good thing about the heavy winds we have had for the past 24 hours is that I no longer have to rake my front lawn. The not so good thing is that we have to call someone to remove the uprooted tree in our backyard. This morning I packed/organized for a few hours before going to the gym and "riding" the elliptical for an hour. On the way back home I dropped off NINE garbage bags full of clothing/shoes that we no longer need/wear in a clothing donation dumpster. The label on the dumpster said the clothes will go to support the Colorado sled hockey team (kids with disabilities playing hockey on sleds). I have to wonder WHY in the WORLD we've been toting around NINE bags worth of extra clothing that we never wear or need??? These are clothes and shoes we've owned for YEARS and have probably followed us through three to five moves, yet for some reason we've hung onto them. It takes moving into a house with very little closet space and no space in the master bedroom for a dresser to finally snap us into the "shed" mindset. It sure feels good to have a much more manageable amount of clothing lined up in my closet though! Now back to packing.....
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| | Easy Miles | Marathon Pace Miles | Threshold Miles | VO2 Max Miles | Total Distance | | 1.00 | 0.00 | 0.00 | 0.00 | 1.00 |
| One mile and then P90X core synergistics. | | Add Comment |
| | Easy Miles | Marathon Pace Miles | Threshold Miles | VO2 Max Miles | Total Distance | | 4.50 | 0.00 | 0.00 | 0.00 | 4.50 |
| 4.5 miles in 7:18 pace In an effort to give my achilles time to heal completely before starting into a new training cycle, I had been cross training all week. Even though I had been exercising every day, I was just feeling sluggish and mentally a bit down. Running withdrawal symptoms. Yesterday I ran just one mile to "wet my whistle" and see how my achilles was feeling. Still a little tight, but much better than it was right after the marathon. Today I just couldn't handle it anymore. No amount of P90X or elliptical machine was going to satisfy my craving. I just had to do it. So I put on my tights, long sleeve shirt, running shoes, iPod, and gloves and headed out the door for a few miles. You may think me strange, but I was seriously crying tears of enjoyment!!! I was singing out loud (and probably off tune) with enthusiasm to the songs playing in my ears. My achilles was whispering to me to take it easy so I listened and resisted the desire to run fast or far but my body was just SO excited to be running again!!! The sunrise was unusually GORGEOUS. The Flatirons were glowing a happy orange color and the fresh, autumn air brought joy to my heart and lungs. There is nothing in the world that can brighten my mood and lift my spirits more than a run out in the fresh air on a cool autumn morning. Happy autumn running, everyone!! | | Add Comment |
| | Easy Miles | Marathon Pace Miles | Threshold Miles | VO2 Max Miles | Total Distance | | 6.50 | 0.00 | 0.00 | 0.00 | 6.50 |
| Aaron ran 20 miles early this morning and arrived home just in time to drive the kids to Abe's soccer game at 9 a.m. I ran there and met them for the final few minutes of the game. Ended up being about 6.5 miles in 45 minutes. My garmin was dead, but I had my trusty Timex. Aaron and I have been talking a lot about form and running efficiency lately. I decided to try keeping my arms more by my side rather than letting my hands cross over in front of my body as I run because I think I tend to twist my upper body too much. It felt really great to focus on not twisting so much and I think it improved my foot strike and helped me have better posture. | | Comments(1) |
| | Easy Miles | Marathon Pace Miles | Threshold Miles | VO2 Max Miles | Total Distance | | 0.00 | 0.00 | 0.00 | 0.00 | 0.00 |
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Happy Halloween! I am feeling happy about the fact that I didn't actually purchase ANY Halloween candy this year. I still had half of a bag of Halloween candy left over from last year which I gave out at our Church's Trunk or Treat party on Friday night. You may think that is rude to hand out old candy to unsuspecting children but I actually tasted a couple of pieces myself and I assure you it tasted completely normal. Makes me wonder about the ingredients they put in that stuff. Anyway, after my kids organized (you know the drill, lining up all the different types and stacking the multiples) and binged on candy for 24 hours, I asked them for donations from their abundant supplies and we filled up a bowl with enough candy to hand out to Trick or Treaters tonight. We stayed home and played games while the doorbell rang every few minutes for an hour or so and I smiled as I watched my kids hand out their own candy to other neighbors and friends. Now we're down to just a few pieces per kid remaining. Thank goodness.
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| | Easy Miles | Marathon Pace Miles | Threshold Miles | VO2 Max Miles | Total Distance | | 81.30 | 26.20 | 10.00 | 0.00 | 117.50 |
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