I'm not crazy...I'm just bored!!

A LONG, cold, windy bike ride! But, Sara did it! With never doing a ride in her life before more than a beach cruiser to the park she brought her clip shoes and conquered 34 miles on my road bike while I tagged along with Adam on the back of my mtn bike in the baby seat. 

We all had a good time...especially when the hail stopped :) 

SO proud of Sara for conquering a cardio challenge of 33 miles for her 33rd birthday!

I ditched the Newtons again, but for good reason :) Becca is in town! She came a little later and we ran the 8 mile Herriman Highlands loop...I know how much she has been missing hills. 

A wonderful morning! Running, chatting, laughing...I could spend all day with my running friends! 

AP: 8:53 splits: 9:01, 9:27, 10:09, 9:44, 8:27, 8:51, 7:44, 7:53, 7:28 (last .2 home)

Chad saved me from the dreaded TM today. I wanted to get miles in, but didn't want to go to the gym because it is SO nice outside. I actually woke up early and ran. Just a nice little 7+ mile loop. Slow to start and up the hills, but what else is new? :)

AP: 8:32 splits: 9:17, 9:05, 8:53, 9:20, 8:04, 7:50, 7:28, 7:24 (last .15)

2:00 pacer for the PCHM. What a wonderful run! A nice downhill course, but not enough to tear up your quads. 

Met Becca at the park and ride, then met the pacers at the bus to get packets. Got to sit by MCat on the way up! Fun ride and at least they had fires to keep the main chill off in the morning. It was SO cold!!! I didn't want to get undressed when it was time. Blech. 

Got to see lots of friends at the start...speedy UT county girls! Then lined up with my crowd and we were off.

Mostly an uneventful run down the canyon. I ran with Eric's wife the first 8 miles and around 7ish or so I picked up Earl. We chatted and just before the ever flowing fountain in the canyon he said he was going to have to drop, because his quads were tired. He hadn't finished under 2:00 for a couple years. Well, I figured it was time to pull out the big guns...the Boston story! Before he knew it we were at mile 11 and picked up another girl that was struggling because her boy pacer had run out of stories! :) I told her I'd just talk her through to the finish. I got them both to mile 12 and sent them on their way, because I was about 20 seconds cushioned that I needed to run out before the finish. Besides, by this point Becca had run back to get me and tell me about her awesome race! We slowed down and encouraged the masses on to a sub 2:00 finish! I crossed at 1:59:58.6 official time. Excellent!

Afterward Becca and I ran about another mile. I'd turned my garmin off, so I'm just guessing off her watch.

I loved finishing and having SO many people thank me afterward. Earl especially had to find Jonathan and tell him how awesome I was as a pacer. I truly love pacing! I could do it every weekend if I wasn't so selfish and wanted to race a few myself :)

Garmin Stats (remember, when pacing I use mile markers from the course...not garmin)

AP: 9:06 splits: 9:10, 8:52, 8:58, 9:06, 9:13, 9:12, 9:14, 9:10, 9:26 (walk a water stop), 8:53, 8:54, 8:55, 9:06, 10:11 (last .18 recorded) The course didn't have markers miles 2-8, kind of frustrating honestly! But, we got back on track quite easily.

Nice little 4 miler at the gym to get the week started. Becca wants to run a mid-week 20, so I don't want to push too much! 1 on the track with Amy then 3 on the TM in 25:00 AP: 8:20. Not too shabby. 

Then I biked for 60 minutes to get a little extra cardio in! Plus, I need to finish "Life of Pi"

Easy 10 mile route with the Newtons. Chad slept in so it was just George, Curtis, Ronnie and me. Since George and Ronnie are tapering for Ogden we didn't do the hilly route and everyone was happy just taking it easy. It is SO beautiful outside! The sunrise was gorgeous and totally worth the early wake up call.

AP: 8:30 splits: 8:23, 8:19, 8:14, 8:33, 8:45, 8:37, 8:23, 8:35, 8:18

Went to the gym and did a little more bike time (45 min) before having to jet off to music rehearsal  with baby.

Decided to put some miles on my Nikes that I have to wear in Fargo. Becca wanted to get her long run done mid-week so she could practice pace with me on Saturday at Vigor, Big Cottonwood Half. 

It was my middle boy's 6th birthday today! So, I got him breakfast and off to school then Becca and I took off, because Dad was home with baby...yay! :) We did the Newton 20 mile loop. That thing is dang stinkin' hard! Especially after a 10 miler the day before and when it is SO hot! It was probably around 75+ at the finish and it didn't help that we'd started after 9AM and finished after noon (due to stops and slow poke-Rachel and having to stop at home for birthday stuff). 

Overall it was a wonderful run and I'm glad I did it! I want to do the HOMM challenge next month which is a trail half Friday and a hard full Saturday. I needed this to prove to my brain that I can handle it. I may be slow on Saturday, but I will finish...and probably in the top ten females. But only because there will be less than 10 women running the full! :)

We were lucky to have my friend JoLynn drive past us on the hilly dirt road and offer to get us some water...oh blessed friend!!! It was the best gift ever. I owe that girl big time!! We were only at mile 13ish, but man was it hot...and I was tired :) Becca was a little mtn goat about all the crazy hills and pulled me up each and every one. That girl is ready to tackle UVM like a BOSS!

The final downhill miles to my house were nice and I figured I'd probably have to stop to take birthday cupcakes to the boy, but somehow we got started a LOT later or something, because he was already home from Kindergarten :( I'd missed it. What a bad mom! Dad had tried to call, but I was so confident that I didn't bring my phone. Stink. Oh well, we made it up to him the next day. I did stop and get him his special birthday lunch on the special plate taken care of though :)

The last 4 miles after leaving my house were SO hot and hard for me. I just kept dreaming of the slurpee I was going to go buy! This was by far the hottest run I'd done since September/October. I'm not used to the heat, that is a given.

Becca was nice and patient with me and we finally made it back to the park/car where we started and we went and got that slurpee!! YUM. I've never loved a Dr Pepper slurpee SO much before...heaven!

I was glad I got a wonderful long, mid-week run in with Becca and the birthday was even a success as well. Glad to have it done :)

elevation gain: 2373 ft (according to Garmin) AP: 9:19 (with all the walking up the crazy hills I did, I'm not embarrassed by that pace!) splits: 9:09, 9:02, 9:20, 9:33, 8:33 (downhill? umm...yes!), 8:58, 9:07, 9:55, 10:17, 12:32 (walking? yes!), 9:12, 10:30 (more walking), 9:16, 9:32, 8:21, 8:19, 9:05 (starting again after stopping for 20+ min at my house...a little rusty), 8:48, 8:41, 8:23

I was going to run with the Newtons, but my hamstring just above/behind the outside of my knee started giving me issues Tuesday and was just really exasperated on Wednesday's uphill 20 miler. So, I decided to play it safe and give it a couple days of recovery before pacing again Saturday. 

75 min on the bike at the gym...reading, talking on the phone and FBing :) 

Tired of the bike, hammy not much better, was going to go hiking outside in this beautiful weather, but got cancelled on so I'm back to the gym :( almost decided to just stay home! But, Kelli at the gym was appealing enough I decided to join her! Hadn't seen her in a while. 

TRX (a little bit of a mistake before a downhill half! My legs were a little sore :) ) a great class and good time visiting with Amy and Kelli. 

Then I went up and did some bike...again. Bike is getting old, but I still have to finish that book!! :) Amy also showed me some really good exercises to help my hammy. It really helped!

Oh my word! What a downhill course! I mean this thing was NOTHING but downhill. Okay, so there were about 30 stairs you had to go down, but other than that and maybe a couple flat spots this thing was screaming downhill...and my quads paid for it :)

Pacing the 1:45 group

I'd never paced faster than a 1:50 before so I was a little nervous. I knew it was downhill, but still nervous. Becca was coming to pace with me and the buses left at FOUR AM! Oh my word...seriously. So, I was up at 2:45 AM to get ready and meet Becca at I-15 and head up in time to meet the pacers.

Becca wasn't feeling well and I felt horrible! She thought it was nerves until she remembered her sister had had the flu :(  She made the good decision to NOT run, but that meant since we'd carpooled she had to sit in my car for 4 hours waiting for me while she felt like CRAP. I felt SO bad and wished I could've done more. Poor girl!

The buses took you up to the Solitude resort and you got to sit in the lodge while you waited. They had hot cocoa and coffee too, but the cocoa was watered down and gross, I had a couple swallows and that was all. We ate PB pretzels and chatted by the bathrooms until they kicked us out to go WALK the mile to the start line. At least the bag drop was there so we could stay warm until then...it was only SIX AM!

Lined up and before I knew it we were off. I had one girl with me and it seemed like she was breathing easier than I was :) Holly had never finished a half under 2:00 and remembered me from PCHM last week...crazy! I told her she was doing great and we chatted for quite some time. Around mile 6ish we picked up Sunny, a 15 year old running her 2nd half! Her other half she'd finished in 2:20...so another PR! She was running strong and I kept her talking and going until just before mile 11 where she had to stop and walk. What an awesome young lady!

At each mile marker I was picking up a few seconds. I tried to slow down, but it was hard. Especially having others around me, because I would just keep up with them! Then I'd have to look at my garmin and slow down. Crud. But, mile 11 all of a sudden I was 40 seconds late! What the crap?!? I was hoping the sign was just misplaced.

We then went down the stairs...weird! And I tried to hit some 7:50's just in case I really was that far behind, but not too much in case I wasn't. Just before mile 12 someone asked me if I was on time. I told him my predicament and that I was waiting until mile 12 to be sure. Shortly after that we passed mile 12 marker. I was 1:36:00! Pace band wanted me at 1:36:10...perfect! So, I told the guy who was just a few feet behind me that I had 10 seconds to spare. Just pull a nice even 8:00 and we will achieve perfection :)

The problem came when I crossed 3000E and saw the finish arch...and I was at 1:41:54!!! What the heck?!? I looked at the distance...12.72. Oh, I get it! Jonathan was running towards me and I asked what I should do. He said to wait, so I did. Just stood there for about 2+ minutes until I could run slowly to the finish and come in on time. 1:44:57 was my official finish time, not too shabby for a SHORT course! :( blech. Whatever. I hate short courses. Downhill and short will take away from anyone's PR or race that they'd put SO much into!

The finish line was great, "medals" stunk, but Jimmy Johns and raffle prizes already labeled with names were really nice. I grabbed some food and water, hit the pop and found Becca in the car more than ready to go home.

I was glad all the other pacers had the same issue I did with the short course. Frustrating, but I got plenty of people in by 1:45! Even Sunny ended up coming in while I was waiting! So proud of that girl! Holly is running UVM as her first full and I'm pacing 4:00 with Jonathan and that is what she wants to finish in, so I'm excited to see her again in a couple weeks!

Overall it was a nice race, but a few things could definitely be improved. Since we walked DOWN the canyon to the start it could easily have been the correct difference. They had some weirdo UFS or some kind of stuff that tasted like salt water instead of regular powerade/gatorade stuff, which for me didn't matter, but for racers may have. Also, the stairs...just weird!

AP: 8:10 splits: 7:58, 7:50, 7:55, 7:45, 7:50, 8:02, 7:52, 7:51, 8:09, 8:22, 8:25 (trying to keep Sunny inspired and knowing I've got some time to burn), 7:53, 10:39 (last .83 recorded) total descent on garmin: 3454....

QUADS ARE SO SORE!

Forgot about Kindergarten Parent's day this morning. Was going to make up that hike, but then I had to ditch...crap. I really want to go hiking :( Nothing. But, with sore quads can't complain too much. Stairs STILL hurt!

Ran a nice little 7 mile loop with the tapering Newtons. It was a nice 4 mile uphill and 3 mile downhill course. I was impressed with how well my legs ran...AND that my hammy didn't bother me. YAY!

Chad and Curtis pulled out on the downhill and my quads weren't quite ready to PUSH downhill, so George and I hung back and discussed Ogden strategies. 

Felt cheated that I found out later it was Chad's birthday! Should've brought donuts :( Must remember this next year! I'll make it up to him next week...after Ogden. We will have lots to celebrate then. 

AP:  8:05 splits: 9:00 (a little rusty start), 8:29, 8:17, 8:35 (for those hills that I hate I'm impressed! Didn't seem too horrible!), 7:33, 7:29, 7:18, 7:16 (last .15)

Went to the gym and did spin bike for an hour while I read, read and read some more :) almost done, but biking is the only time I read. Then I took Adam to his Tuesday swim class that he loves, but had to miss for music for the past year. He was VERY excited and I had a great time hanging out with the little guy :)

Becca and I met Smooth for lunch which was another treat! I'm really going to miss that lady. Three years better go quickly!

Didn't want to go to the gym. Didn't want to run. I wanted to sit in a corner and cry. Lots going on in life right now and my brain isn't coping well. Honestly, it hasn't been right since Boston. Not just because of Boston, but a gazillion other personal things too.

Thankfully, when I walked in I saw Amy. We both really needed each other today! I decided to run just one mile on the track with her to get myself moving and stop the pity party.  A nice slow warm-up mile, then we went to the TM.

I had to still start out slow, because I'm not even kidding that my quads are still tender! So, I started at 6.7mph and just went up from there. Amy left for a quick bathroom break and I decided to do a little extra speed while she was gone. I got up to 10.2mph for just a tenth of a mile, felt good! :) I then went down to 7.2 mph and then did the last mile progressive and finished off with that fast push at 10.2 again. I like it when legs start coming back to life!

5 miles @ 1% TT: 42:00 AP: 8:24 - not too bad for starting as slow as I did for a couple miles.

We then walked a couple cool down laps around the track and I got to vent a bit. I'm telling you... it was really nice to have a friend to lean on this morning. A lot better than sitting in a corner and crying for a couple hours :)

I finished up with some stretching and strengthening stuff (for the hammy to keep it happy, still no big issues with it again!). Then went and ran errands before Kindergarten got out.

Finally getting blog all caught up! Whew! I miss you guys....

Picked up Becca and met the Newtons (okay, just Chad...everyone else dodged out!) at Daybreak lake to run a loop. With them on taper, it is easy week!

3 miles around the lake in 8:08 pace. I took a 'short-cut' one way and so that forced Becca and Chad to do some speed work to catch up to me. Bad Idea! Those legs didn't want to slow down after that. a 7:41 finishing mile proves that it was a bad idea :) 

then 5 more with Becca wandering around the Daybreak area. We got tired of the bugs at the lake so we went by the temple. Beautiful views! Then back at the car Becca took off to run back to her brother's house, but I had to get home for kiddos. So, I dodged the last 2 miles of our 10 miler. I'll regret it later today when I've been sitting in a car for 8+ hours on our way to Fargo...yes, that will only take us half way. Sigh.

Fun weekend ahead!!! Long drive, but with good company, then a fun Saturday hanging out with peeps in Fargo. Not sure pacing the 4:20 crowd is going to be easy for me...4:10 at SLC after Boston was hard to slow down. 9:55 pace means walking through water stops :)

AP: 8:20 splits: 8:31, 8:14, 7:41, 8:44, 8:18, 8:43, 8:14.

6AM leave time from Cowley, WY for a 10 hour drive to Fargo....

Not as bad as anticipated :)

Expo and dorms all wonderful! Found the best shirt:

"I've been to Fargo...really!"

I LOVE LOVE LOVE LOVE LOVE sleeping right outside the start of the marathon. With an 8:15 start time, it was a wonderful morning to sleep in! Met 30 min early to line up as pacers and get our crowd ready to run. It was supposed to rain all day off and on and not get more than 70...HA!

Had a good crowd to start with and a few newbies in the crowd. Had a moment of silence, Prayer, Canadian National Anthem, US National Anthem and then we were off!

Flat, flat and a little more flat...Stuff my body isn't used to, but I was pacing 4:20 so nothing is really a big deal for me at that pace now. Anyway, we chatted and picked up more groupies, had a good time, got the crowd involved and just enjoyed the miles. The runners loved it when I told them that this was a 20 mile warm-up for our 10K race. I had a few of them laughing multiple times with my crazy antics!

They had great bands along the way (some in garages in the neighborhoods) and the crowd support was really fun too! A great marathon if you're ever in the area. I'd recommend it hands down. The shirts was great the medal was nice and the organization was good as well. There was a few stretches down these beautiful tree lined streets...a beautiful tunnel of trees!! It was breathtaking. I guess it was the best scenery in Fargo :)

I did get tired of the turning and the out and backs...I swear nearly every mile after 8 there were people headed back towards you. I got tired of it. I loved it at first, but the flat flat flat and having to wonder where the turn around ahead was and to have to see all the people in front of you...man alive, it just got to me after a while.

Then around mile 10 the sun came out...and stayed out. It got HOT and HUMID! Two things I am NOT used to! I'd decided to ditch my undershirt and just do the thin tank and I was SO glad I had. What I wasn't so happy about was that I had neglected sun screen...still paying for that one. Anyway, people had hoses and ice out for us and it was SO nice. Man, it was hot. I'd drench myself to cool off, but it never dried...darn humidity! I kept drinking because I was hot and thirsty and that was a mistake I paid for as well. The pace was fine for me because it was a lot slower than I'm used to, so I was able to still keep up and pace people along, but man alive...I was getting drained! Just exhausted. Not sore or anything, no cramping, I just was fatigued.

I lost and picked up some of the crowd here and there, but I was unhappy to see Lindsay (Rachelle's friend) drop off around 17...then my crazy companion (that did a side of the road pee stop) drop at around 21...then her friend we'd caught up to a few miles before fell at mile 22ish over a cone! Road rash on her shoulder :( I helped her up and got her brushed off and she went over to a hose to wash off. I'd now lost them all. Then, Becca was coming back on one of those out and backs with Rachelle! YAY!

First thing I did was hand Becca the sign. I was SO sick of that thing. After I handed it to her people kept commenting on the awesome pacer (spectators) I decided I needed my sign back :) So, just before mile 25 I took it back. I was really struggling. SO hot at this point and with the late start it was after noon and between the heat and humidity and miles I was spent. I was really happy to have Becca there to help me keep pace so that I could encourage people I passed and that were walking! I let her do the numbers (just keep running at a steady pace I could follow) and then tried to encourage anyone I passed.

Just before mile 26 as we turned in front of the Fargo Dome my stomach seized. Maybe it was seeing the grim reaper with the sign "The End Is Near"? I threw up. I didn't feel sick, my body just had too much liquid. I started running again...I felt it come on again. I saw a sewer grate in the gutter. I made it there and threw up a nice generous quantity of liquid :) Then, jumped back on course and finished. Just in time! Pacer Jim likes a perfect finish for a full at 30 seconds under pace, so I was a little 'slow' but acceptable times are anywhere a minute under time. Anything over time is death for a full pacer :) So, despite chucking my guts, I still had a pretty perfect pacing day. Oh, and I hate flat and humidity...yup, that is what I learned. But, I'd do this one again!

I had perfect splits on the mats through the race and my crazy runner came up to me and gave me a big kiss on the cheek and thanked me for 22 miles! She was only 4 or so minutes behind me, but that heat and humidity killed a lot of goal times. I also got to watch the girl that had fallen finish and Lindsay - who ended up with a 25+ minute PR! YAY! What a great pacing day.

Walked back across the street, got out of my soaking wet clothes...I could still wring out my shorts!...and laid on my bed. No one to answer to. No where to go. I could just sit and do whatever I wanted :) That was kind of nice after a marathon too! No family or anything, just me and my bed and a shower when I was finally ready.

Finished off the night with dinner at Rhombus Guys with Rachelle and Becca. A GREAT place I would certainly go back to again if I'm in Fargo! Then went to the HUB for the "Mile 27 party" a concert with Pop Rocks (a cover band) and Firehouse. Oh, what fun Becca and I had dancing and making fools of ourselves. If you want to stick out in a crowd, go to the bar at a club and order water....

Cindy that roomed with Rachelle, Becca and I was a wonderful lady that has a daughter that lives here in SLC. I think we shall be running soon, and seeing Cindy again soon as well! I really just had a great time and met some wonderful people. Totally worth the 2 day drive to get there and the humid flat race I endured!

Back to the dorms to pack up and sleep a few hours before driving again....

18 hours in the car.

Left Fargo at 4:30 AM...5:30 their time. Drove through all of ND...Then Montana...Cut through W Yellowstone and into Idaho. That was a beautiful drive! Finally through Pocatello where we thought we might stop overnight with Lowell if we were tired, but pushed through to SLC! Made it in almost exactly 18 hours including stops from Fargo to Becca's door. 

Rain storm galore! It was sincerely frightening. White knuckle driving, hydro-planing, flooded underpasses that were closed and then having to drive over a flooded on-ramp to get back on the freeway. I was more scared than I'd ever been in my life driving through that moving water! But, we got through it safe and sound. I even saw a dingo in ND...but Becca thinks I was seeing things. She didn't see it run across the road!

Bozeman, MT was my favorite little city we drove through! I could seriously live there...yup, true story. In Yellowstone we saw a bald eagle eating a dead deer carcass on the side of the road, a coyote cross the road, a squirrel run into the road and SO much beautiful scenery it took my breath away...when I could see it through the rain :)

Grateful that we got home safe on a long and scary drive. That storm we drove through is the one that just caused all those tornados in OK! It was a doozy, that is for sure...and I'm glad I didn't have to drive through tornados!

This was definitely the best road-trip ever and I honestly didn't want it to end :) I could've driven a few more hours before dropping Becca off. I'm glad we get to do it again June 1st for Thelma and Louise half in Moab!!!

50 minutes on the spin bike. My hammy has come back to tell me it isn't happy with me. It isn't terrible, but something that I need to pay attention to now and take care of or it is only going to get worse :( So, since it went away after Big Cottonwood half, I'm going to do the same treatment and cross my fingers that it is gone in a few days again.

Finished up with 2 on the track. Not a lot, but enough to warm-up and since I didn't make a reservation at the day care I couldn't get in until 10:00, so my workout could only be an hour 15 min max...and I was out of time.

Stretched and rolled at the gym with the boys. We played a fun zombie game Nathan made up in the racquetball courts beforehand too...I think that counts :)

Met the Newtons at Daybreak Lake for our usual Tuesday after the marathon walk around the lake (3 miles) and chocolate milk and donuts. It was a great recap of the race at Ogden and I told them the fun at Fargo :) I was going to run before and after, but my little hammy just told me that if I don't want things to get worse that I need to give it some time and rehab. So, I opted out and decided to just do the gym.

Oh spin class...how I have missed you! Allison gave me a good butt kicking which is just what I wanted and needed today.

After spin I wanted to run a bit and do some circut training. So, I did :)

one legged weighted bridges, hammy rehab on the ball and with the band. Squats with the band, monster walk, push-ups then I would run a mile, afterward I did reverse sit ups, elbow up flys, overhead presses - repeated 4X

first mile easy on the track, 2nd mile pushing a little more (8:30ish pace), 3rd mile on the TM starting at 8:30 then progressive to 6:00 AP: 7:50; 4th mile on the TM starting at 7:56 then going progressive to 6:00 AP: 7:10

picked up the kiddos then did rolling and stretching. Feels good to have a good workout under the belt...small, but good.

Such a slacker lately. I think I'm just needing some recovery...hopefully the mojo isn't gone, just recovering. I was supposed to meet Becca for an early morning 10 mile run, but I woke up with a still achy hammy, headache and gut ache so I weasled out of it and went back to bed.

As karma would have it, my friend that was supposed to hike with me this morning cancelled. I had told the nursery at the gym that I wouldn't be there and that Adam was getting a break, because he'd been a little turd the past couple days. So, I couldn't go to the gym. I finally decided to just take my boys and Lucy up the canyon anyway. I packed Adam (3) on my back with the water bag, hopefully that helped the calorie burn. Nathan (6) walked himself and we let Lucy run around and just enjoy a nice little hike out.

It was a BEAUTIFUL day! Just perfect up the canyon, a little wind, but nothing horrible. We hiked an hour up and made it to the 2nd set of picnic tables in Yellow Fork and then took a break, ate some swedish fish and pretzels, then packed up and went back to the cars. Two+ hours out on the trail just loving life! I was really glad I got out and was able to enjoy something other than the gym walls with my boys. A morning I don't regret!

Yesterday I worked in the front yard all afternoon and today it was the back yard. I'm only 1/2 way through it, but there is always tomorrow. I'm exhausted from so much crazy yard work! I guess I shouldn't have put it off so long, but I'm loving the way the yard looks after I get through a flower bed :) Now I just need another garbage can! I'm out of space...

Shaggy Mtn loop with the Newtons. I am still a little fatigued and sore, but I figured since they were off their goal marathon in Ogden Saturday I'd still be able to keep up...nope. I was dragging behind as usual :) I felt okay on the run though and only took one walk break for about 30 feet. Not too shabby for that loop! My AP was 9:19, but my last few splits were 7's - goes to show you how slow my other miles were :)

It was COLD this morning. It took me a long time to defrost after the run this morning. Even turned on the trusty heated blanket, haven't done that in a long time. I was still cold when it was time to get kiddos up for school. Even with gloves my hands were just frozen.

After I got kids off, I made a last minute decision to just get my butt out the door and do spin class. I knew it would kick start me again for the day, and I was right.

Heidi had a great spin class and I was sweating buckets and I loved the cadence push at a little higher resistance. I need help with hills on the bike, so any little bit helps.

Then, I was back outside all afternoon to try and finish up the yard. Got lots done, but now it is time for spring planting....I need a kneeling pad! But, my hammy feels better with all the stretching it gets in the afternoon. My arms look like a cat attacked me, compliments of moving the honeysuckle vine.

don't bother me, I'm tired and ornery and took my baby to "Day Out With Thomas" up in Heber City. Excuses, excuses...

Got home and headed up to Snowbird for a fun overnighter with the family!

I know, I know, everyone is surprised NOT to see a race here! I had a weekend off and I've been ditching my family so much for running lately that this was THEIR weekend. So, I stayed up at Snowbird, slept in, had breakfast, went on what we could of a walk/hike with the skiers and snow (thought maybe I'd see Krong and North out enjoying the spring ski!). 

Then we came home and got to painting/staining our 6 year old redwood playground. It was a family work day/activity. It was nice to see everyone working together making a mess and loving it! Something we don't always get around our house :) I don't think my boys will be destroying it now that they've put so much work into it. Ahhh, the joys of a good work ethic. 

Since I've been a complete lazy butt and haven't run forever, I decided I needed to get out. I figured I'd feel all nice and rested and tapered...HA! Nice try Rachel...nice try. 

I met Becca down in Lehi and I got to go on her extended boyfriend loop :) We also made a split through the cemetery while they were setting up for the program. A beautiful morning!! I was just sucking it up big time. I'm honestly really worried about pacing 1:50 at the Thelma and Louise half this Saturday, sad, huh? 

The hilly course was good, but not horrible and despite having to take a couple drink breaks it was a good run and Becca had lots from her trip to CO to tell me about, so I didn't have to talk either :) Perfect beginning of a great day!

AP: 8:46 splits: 8:31, 8:31, 9:24, 8:46, 8:38, 8:31, 8:13, 9:06, 9:32, 8:31 (can you find the uphills and those uphills INTO the wind?!? It was nice and windy out today!)

I was SO tired when I got home (and everyone was still sleeping anyway) that I got my stinky blanket and curled up for a nap. An hour or so later baby boy was up and it was go time. Hubby had already finished a lot of the 2nd coat of paint on the playground, but I went out and helped touch up a few areas with the boys. Then it was yard work...again.

Finished weeding, edging, mowing (kids got their first lesson of how to mow!), transferring a bunch of strawberries that had overgrown in the garden to a space they could fill in and go wild, clearing and tilling the garden, then planting our garden full of corn and just a few tomato plants, sunflowers planted, trees planted, everything cleaned up, quick BBQ at my BIL's house out here, then conditioning and fertilizing the grass. Whew! I tell ya. Hard work ALL day. I never stopped. I was really glad I'd had that nap earlier in the day. The kids worked hard all weekend too on our 'no electronics' weekend! Nice to have it mostly done. I now just have 2.5 flats of ground cover to plant...

Happy Memorial Day! I hope everyone got the chance to remember and cherish the freedom that we have thanks to all of the brave soldiers out there!

Modified Newton Tuesday Ten. I was tired, I know...common theme lately, huh? Just exhausted tired and fried from sun yesterday. I didn't want to get up early, but knew this was my only chance to run today. So, I did a modified loop with the Newtons. Since the 10 miler runs right by my house I figured I'd sleep in and meet them at mile 6 then run down to Chad's and turn around and run back home. I get to sleep in, get time with the group and less miles :) Perfection. Yes, I'm being a big weenie lately!

Got out of the house a little earlier than planned, but sometimes those guys HAUL and I didn't want to miss them. I ended up having to run almost 2 miles before I ran into them, oh well, less uphill home! I still could hardly keep up with Chad, George and Dave, but Ronny was okay to take it slow so he got to run slow with me :) We had a nice little visit for 3 miles, but then I realized I was at mile 5 and nearly 3 miles away from home. So, I cut off early and turned back home. If I would've gone to Chad's house I would've ended up with 10...a lot of good a 'modified' loop would've done me, huh?!?

The climb back home was as brutal as I've always remembered, but I better get used to it, HOMM is coming up and I get to run it in the teens of a marathon, nice. Then a canyon afterward, even better.

AP: 8:42 splits: 8:58, 8:57, 8:05, 8:01, 7:47, 9;18, 9:40, 8:51 (can you find the 3 miles I ran with the Newtons?!?)

Eight exactly to my door. Wonderful morning out there today! Now I just hope the rain stays away long enough to get Sara out for our long awaited hike!

6 miles on the TM after an amazing little Kindergarten program :) I only had an hour left of daycare, so I just got those miles in. I've been SO tired this week, I wasn't going to get up early and do it either. Lazy.

I decided to go for pace that I'm going to be pulling in Moab on Saturday at Thelma and Louise to make sure my legs would handle it. 1% and 8:20 miles. I got tired of the pace the last 1/2 mile or so, so I sped it up just to get it done. Finished in 49:45, so I only made up 15 seconds that last 1/2 mile.

A good confidence booster that I CAN run this 1:50 Saturday...hopefully.

Shaggy Mountain Loop with the Newtons. I was going to just keep up, buy I just can't anymore. Legs shot. Oh well. Once that was out the window I just figured I would keep going and not stop on the hills. No stopping or walking, so that I could do :)

Always dragging behind and I feel like crap making everyone always wait for me, but I just have to keep on keepin' on and hope that someday my legs come back to me.

8:48 AP - not sure on the splits, I'll post them when I download the garmin.

Later went to the gym and did spin class and then ran another mile+ with some friends on the track. No one was keeping track :)

Afterward I did a short weights set: back, shoulders, triceps, lower back and hamstrings/core -3X; then some good stretching.

Nothing. Just a ton of housework so that I could leave a nice clean house when I drove down to Moab with Christine, Becca and Rachelle. A GREAT short trip :) Everything is short compared to Fargo.