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

Want to run a marathon for $10? well... you can! My friend posted these codes for the Utah Marathon 10/13 (yes, week after SGM), that makes the prices for ALL events only $10. Yup, true story. Paid $10.84 for a half registration. Can't beat that! PLUS you can run on the Fast Running Blog team that Jake set up.

I'm going to run the half that starts at 7AM, then meet the family (I'm assuming I can run a sub 2hr half at a recovery pace the week after SGM) for the 5K that starts at 9AM and run/walk with them. Fun family time...for CHEAP!

Here they are, I don't know when they expire. I did it today hopefully it will still work when you sign up! Come have fun!!

Marathon: FAMILYMARATHON

Half: FAMILYHALF

5k: FAMILY5K

Bike: FAMILYBIKE

Kids: FAMILYKIDS

Beautiful birthday ride with my friend Heidi! Rose Canyon climb to start it out, then out to Redwood via 12600S and out to Saratoga, then back home through Bluffdale to cut out some of the major road crossings. Dropped her at her home, then rode the last little bit home. Finished up with 54.5! Garmin died at 22miles, so no pace...just a great day!

Don't forget to look at the $10 codes for ALL races for the Utah marathon I posted yesterday. Who can pass up a $10 race?!?

I don't want to swear on the blog, so I won't. I'm sick of not feeling it on the run...sick of it! I just want a nice, easy, run again...just one, is that too much too ask?

FABULOUS run this morning. Chad, Ronnie and George. I need to stop running with them, I'm just too slow lately and I feel bad holding them back while they take turns waiting for me/running with me.

At 2 miles figured out I didn't change my garmin from biking. Whatever. The AP for that section was 8:16 - things started out well.

The last 4 miles I just wanted to puke. Should've just done it. Then I could've stopped at 7-11 and gotten a slurpee and walked back to the cars. Oh well. Pushed through and finished, not in good fashion, but I finished.

Got in the car and took off...got turned around and had to pull over at the round about to puke. Ahhh, a good couple minutes of violent puking always makes one feel better.

THEN I stopped at 7-11 on the way home and got my Slurpee! The best part was seeing Kelli on her run and pulling over to chat...30 minutes later my husband called wondering if I was coming home. Ooops. Sorry Kelli, you had to warm-up all over again!!! Thanks for the vent session though. I really need to get a run in with you so I can vent more :)

AP: 8:48 splits: 8:16(avg for the first 2 that were on bike mode), 8:28, 8:53, 9:07, 8:56, 8:30, 8:34, 8:59, 9:09

Someone please tell me how to get back to my normal running self, I'm SO depressed and missing it!!

Okay, okay...before you go worrying about the miles, let me explain.

First off, I throughly got put in the dog house yesterday and I'm going to try this rest thing again. poo. I hate, hate, hate seeing no miles!! But, I really think my foot will heal better and faster this way. Yes, I'm still doing PC...how can I not?!? :)

So, last night at RS a group of ladies in my ward that are the running recruiters (everyone must be too scared of me, so no one will run with me!) in the ward finally asked me to come run with them. They never ask me to come run, I tell them I can keep up with them (they are slower - 11-12mm), but they just laugh and honestly sometimes it hurts my feelings that I am a runner, but no one in the ward will run with me! I understand my pace and miles are intimadating to them, but still - sometimes I just like to run for the social aspect and I don't care about pace. So, since I finally got my invitation to the 'elite' running group of the ward I couldn't turn it down. Besides, they were only doing 4 miles at an 11-12mm - no biggie :)

So, we started around 9:30 and our first mile was around a 10:30mm, not too bad for them and I was just enjoying the company. Well, at 1.6 miles one of the ladies had a HUGE sugar drop (she's had a few of them this week) and she all but passed out. She laid there on the grass and I was the only one who had thought to bring water. In my handheld water bottle I always keep jelly beans, chomps or something of the like incase I end up near dead on a run and need something. It is how I use all the free samples I get :) So, I had some OLD carb boom chews (they're HARD and rip your teeth out if you try to chew them!), but it was all we had. So, I gave her 2 and she said she'd never felt the sugar recover SO quickly - even with skittles. Good endorsement, huh? :) At that she still laid there for about 20 minutes recovering until she felt ready to walk. Thankfully, it was at the bottom of the big hill up to the Middle school and around to the Park, so we got to walk the hardest part of the run! Score.

When she was finally ready to run again, the pace was closer to a 12mm, but I just jogged along with the crowd enjoying the chatter and friends. We finished running 4 miles right by my house, so we walked down to Natalies house at the end of the street, made sure Amber (the one who had the crash) got home safely, then I walked with Lori back to my house. It was 11:30!!!

Holy Crap, longest 4 mile run ever. But, it was better than just sitting and watching Shark Week :) The total running time for the 4 miles was 46:00, so an 11:30AP. I'm certain that this isn't considered running...for ME. Jogging, yes. Running, no. So, see? you can't get mad! I wasn't running :)

Took me an hour to unwind and feel ready for bed. Thankfully, Wed is my sleep in day.

Rode the mtn bike with Adam (baby) on the back to the Rec center this morning. Did a wonderful sweaty spin class, then jumped in the pool for 1500yds (60 touches). Did each 500 in 12:00, 11:30 and 11:00. Nice progressive swim. Not as fast as I once was in the water, but not horrible. I'd like them to be 10:00.

Picked up baby and miracle of all miracles...guess who didn't go to timeout ONCE?!? Oh yeah! A good day in the nursery. I can hardly believe it! He certainly got a treat after we rode home. When we got to the house, I got off the bike and I said "did you have fun on your ride?" He looked at me and said "more?!?" that kid! I tell ya, he loves to be outside. Always has. Even as a newborn he would only calm down when we'd take him outside and rock or walk with him.

So, no more running this week. I need commando points :) I will put my body on an important list and try to heal up this foot. It has gotten to a point where it has stopped getting better. Not worse, just not better...and it ain't gonna cut it for SGM. I will keep up fitness/cardio with bike and ellip and then some swim. I can do this, I just need to be healthy, and it isn't worth rupturing my PF, right?

Bike ride with Adam to the rec center

sweaty pools in spin class

1500yds in the pool (10:20, 10:30, 10:10) improvement from yesterday

no time outs for Adam in nursery again! Even helped a little guy that got hurt. bike ride home and he asked for more :)

What an awesome race!

Rode up with Kelli, met Smooth and Karen and waited in the lobby to avoid the cold!

Foot felt marginal, but I knew I'd be fine - all taped up and ready to go.

No National Anthem or anything this year...we were just off. Catherine came up and said hello (she is running the slam this year!) and we ran for a mile+ together, then I waited at a corner for Smooth and Karen. 

Chatted away the miles from 2-13 with Smooth all about my crazy life and how to deal with everything that seems to be drowning me lately. What an amazing friend and mentor she is. I just don't think I can ever say enough about how much I love and respect that woman!! Karen had found her cousin in the crowd and the 4 of us were just peas in a pod running along enjoying the day.

Somewhere in these miles I found the real reason why I love marathons so much. Marathons are actually BUFFETS! SO much candy, pretzels, fruit!! All you can eat!! You just have to run from table, to table, to table :)

Saw Maynard and Scott on our way up to Deer Valley, did the loop and missed our wet wash cloths! boo.

Just before going over the pedestrian bridge, there were a bunch of people sitting around a fire pit (not lit) and cheering us on. I said "mind if I sit a minute with you?" they just laughed...until I sat down. HA! You should've seen the looks on their faces...priceless.

Then came Empire St Hill. This is my Queen of the Mountain push on this race. I never walk it! So, I ran my mini hill sprint up the mountain and felt like a million bucks! :) Then, I waited for Smooth and Karen. Nice little rest break.

The downhill wasn't as nice to my foot as I would've liked it to be, but I got used to it after a couple miles. The foot really prefers the uphill. Maybe this is a sick joke to make me run hills...and like them!

At Park City Resort aide station (by the Alpine slide) we passed Larry Macon...not Bacon, but close. He has run 903 marathons and is over 70 yrs old. Awesome. When we stopped at the aide station Smooth's hubby Larry brought us a cooler of ice! Oh sweet heaven! With my bra and shorts full of ice we ran off...then the COLD water dripped down my legs, yikes! Made me stop and laugh for a good few minutes and Smooth and Karen were laughing too. We just had way too much fun!

Along the golf course Lowell called from Hobble Creek, Toby finally texted me back about how she did, my neighbor doing her first tri texted me and we chatted with Larry Macon. When we ran this with Kelli last month I told her "I don't remember any of these hard hills around here!" Well, guess who didn't realize they were running up and down hills again? Yup. Too much fun and excitement. Especially at the yard sale where we stopped to shop for a bike :) didn't have one, so we kept running.

Just before the barn we passed our broken leg friend for good. We'd chatted on the way up to Deer Valley and he said he had a SF in his femur. He was from SC and I told him to come to my birthday part at Myrtle Beach Marathon in 2014 (all invited...open invitation!! Marathon on your birthday? doesn't get any better!). We also finally passed the girls who were from BYU. One was running her first full, with never running more than a half for training - crazy girl! The other took up running ultras after breaking up with a boy that was an ultra runner. I told her she should've told him "I can do that...and better than you!" Well, she said she did :) awesome. She'd signed up for the same ultra he'd done, stalked his time from the year before and she had totally beat his time! woot woot! I still think she should've printed out the result and sent it to him on his mission for a little closure :)

After the barn I walked a bit with a guy who was dealing with his 4th full with ITB issues. Poor guy. I feel his pain! Smooth and Karen had left me in their dust. So, I decided to pick it up and push the pace for a bit to catch them. It felt great to open it up to 7:20ish pace for a good 1/3-1/2 mile! Then I ran with them and texted a bit more, and decided at the next aide station I needed to stop at a pop. So, I ran ahead to gain some time, used the pop, ate at the buffet table, then pushed the pace again to catch up. After getting some speed in them my legs protested a bit about the slow. Should've just stayed with Smooth! But, I wasn't going to leave her the last 2 miles of the race!! No way! We'd come this far...I was finishing it out with her.

Larry (Mr Smooth) met us with about 3/4 mile to go and ran in with us! It was wonderful to have him by her side. A Perfect ending to a good comeback marathon for her. We all encouraged and reminisced along that last windy path to the finish, grabbed hands and with Karen's 2 sweet girls crossed with arms held high! Okay, so I couldn't raise one of my hands too high, because I was holding Smooth's hand, so it was like at my shoulder :) hehehe.

After some chocolate milk and a final buffet table, a beautiful medal and quick good-byes we met Kelli, Amy and Scott (Kelli and Amy rocked it!) and then I got in the car with them and took off for home. Right away I took off my shoe and stretched my foot. It didn't feel nearly as bad as I had anticipated...almost good.

I kept waiting and waiting for the foot to feel bad, but even in the morning Sunday and today it feels good! Seriously. It hasn't felt this good since before Des News! I guess I just had to run it out of my system :)

I had a wonderful time at the race, and although this is the longest I've ever spent on a marathon course, it certainly takes rank up there with some of the best times I've ever had with my running peeps! Sometimes it isn't all about the finish time, sometimes it is about the journey.

No more running until Half IM - even though my foot feels okay. I want to hit training for SGM hard after Labor day. I know it will be a short push, but I want to be 100% by then!!!

Thanks to all my peeps who made this race the most wonderful morning a girl can have!! Totally worth the 4AM wake up call :) SMOOTH, KAREN, KELLI, AMY...and Scott for the ride and enduring the stink and chatter of us 3 girls in the car! Oh, and Larry!! I can't forget Mr. Smooth...the ice?!? Oh SO wonderful! He got my favorite person of the day award for that!! Can you do that again next week at the half IM? I'll be running that half marathon about noon!!