May 5 - Conquer Covid-19 Virtual Marathon (5:49:07)
May 16 - Clear Creek Canyon Half Marathon (2:32:15)
May 25 - Utah Valley Virtual Marathon (5:33:110
June 9 - Independence Run Virtual Marathon (5:55:22)
Long-Term Running Goals:
Run happy and healthy all the days of my life. Be an example and inspiration to my family.
Personal:
I'm 64, retired RN, happily married, nana to 14 beautiful grandchildren, mother to 6 children (1 daughter, 5 sons) who are kind, hardworking, caring, wonderful people! Wish they live closer!!! :) :) :)
Picked up running in 2005 at age 50, to stay healthy so I can take care of my husband who had endocarditis resulting in AVR and MVR in 2004, end stage renal failure in 2014, kidney transplant on Dec 30, 2015. Six months after the kidney transplant, we discovered that he has a rare auto-immune disease that was probably triggered in 2004 with then the undiagnosed infective endocarditis. The doctors had to make up a name for this rare disease, Monoclono Gammopathy with Renal Significance (MGRS). It is not curable. After desperately trying different chemotherapies, the doctor finally found one immuno-therapy, Daratumamab, that works to treat the MGRS. It is a miracle!!!
Grateful for the gift of life, blessings, dear friends and loved ones!!! Thankful for the ability to move, walk, jog, and yes run!!!!
Got up dark and early to drive hubby to dialysis. After getting him settled in; I changed into running clothes at the dialysis center bathroom and headed out on the JRP with a heavy heart. First mile was slow, sluggish, battling swarms of gnats...wanted to find a secluded spot to sit and cry! Once out of the park-like area and passed the 11400 S. bridge, I began to pour my heart out to my Heavenly Father... tears flowed freely as I ran south under cool breeze and the sun hidden behind a big fluffy cloud!
It's been 5 months since that eventful day of April 15 when hubby had an emergency craniotomy at the prime of our mission service in Sydney! I asked not why, what, nor how...only pleaded with the Lord to strengthen us through this trial. At times it was hard to feel God's love; yet I felt many times the power of faithful prayers from family and friends sustaining me and comforting me. I felt helpless and wanted desperately for my husband to be made whole, to be healed completely. It is heart-wrenching to watch him deterioate, withering before my eyes! He has gone through and is still going through so much!
I pleaded to feel God's love and approval as I trudged along with heavy heart and tear streaked face. Then in my mind's eyes, I saw the suffering of the Savior in Gathsemane; how much more heart-wrenching and painful it was for the Father to watch His only begotten Son suffered and died for us. I then was filled with immense gratitude and instantly engulfed by His love. I thanked Him for His tender mercy, kindness and love. I thanked Him for granting me life, yes even the very breath that I take. I thank Him for His Son's sacrifice, for giving me a wonderful eternal companion and family, for dear friends and loved ones, for the ability to run, for the very earth that I run on. As I looked yonder at the cat-tails marshland and meandering river, the amber alfalfa fields and South Mountains ahead, the song "Lilies of the Field" flooded my mind:
Consider the lilies of the field, how they grow, how they grow.
Consider the birds in the sky, how they fly, how they fly.
He clothes the lilies of the fields. He feeds the birds in the sky.
And He will feed those who trust Him, and guide them with His eye.
Consider the sheep of His fold,
How they follow where He leads.
Though the path may wind across the mountains.
He knows the meadows where they feed.
He clothes the lilies of the field.
He feeds the birds in the sky.
And He will feed those who trust Him,
And guide them with His eye.
Consider the sweet, tender children
Who must suffer on this earth.
The pains of all of them He carried
From the day of His birth.
He clothes the lilies of the field.
He feeds the lambs in His fold.
And He will heal those who trust Him,
And make their hearts as gold.
He clothes the lilies of the field.
He feeds the lambs in His fold.
And He will heal those who trust Him,
And make their hearts as gold.
Oh, these comforting words lifted my heavy heart and feet. I saw these words painted on the pavement: "Triathlon Mom Turn Around" then looked at my watch to see that I've gone 3.5 miles so I turned around and headed back with much smoother and lighter strides. I now know what I need to do! I will have more courage to do His will. I will be kinder, be more loving and patient. I will be more grateful. I will not mumur but sing praises to Him whom I trust and depend on. I will listen more. I will ponder and search the scriptures for daily guidance. I will serve with pure heart and hands. I will cherish the time I have with my husband, take care of him and love him more deeply. I will go to the temple often. I will cling to the sacred covenants I've made. Then I saw a man on a motorized wheelchair and his small canine companion, I greeted him with a smile...I will lift others' heavy hearts and cast my own burden on the Lord.
Today's run reminded me of my first run some 25 years ago when I "ran away" from home. I was suffering from post-partum depression after the birth of our 5th child; my husband was called to be the bishop; my mother had died from complications of diabetes in HK. I felt alone, trapped, the burden of caring for 5 children under the age of 10 was too much. I wanted to run away after I put the babies to bed. I kept running and running until I reached the edge of Utah Lake where I knelt among the tall cat-tails and poured my heart out to God. Again I felt God's encircling love; and with gratitude got up and ran home to my five sleeping children who to this day remain a source of joy and blessings in my life. It wasn't until 15 more years later after that "running away", that I picked up this sport of running when the children grew up and I needed to take better care of my body so that I can take care of my husband who suffered a near death heart valves replacement surgeries. I will run and pray for as long as I live!!! :)
Wendy and I ran around the hood to tape invitations door to door while Karen and Leslie walked along. Then took hubby to AF Hospital for transfusion. Then walked to do visiting teaching.
Got very little sleep last night...hubby's PD cather exit site was bleeding...a few dressing changes...he was restless and paced the floor. Nights are so hard for him.
Did a short run on MCT west to 1500W and back. 4.8 mi. TT: 45:13 AP: 9:24 (10:38, 9:33, 9:00, 8:53, 8:50)
After the run, I changed into some jeans and long sleeves top to mow the lawn. It's my first time learning to use a riding lawn mower...it was scary at first...but I got the hang of it and felt so proud that I could mow our humongous lawn all myself! :) :) :) The only "injury" was my forehead got scraped up by a tree branch.
Babysitting Skylar tonight....I love her...she brings me such joy and delight! :)
Spent the morning getting hubby ready for dialysis and prepared food for him. Then quickly packed an overnight bag with race gear.
Tobby picked me up at 2pm and off we went to Logan. We got there before the Expo was opened so we drove to the mouth of the canyon and traced the course by following the pink arrows and orange mooses from Hyrum to the finish so Toby got a pre-view of the many twists and turns of the last 12.2 miles of the course. Didn't realize there were so many darn hills! :) We both wondered out loud, how in the world did Allie run this crazy thing and won it so many times!!! :)
We got back just as the Expo was opened and picked up our packet/bib. Then went next door to the Firehouse Pizzaria for dinner...yummy!!! Then drove to the hotel and talked and talked till time for bed!!! I just love Toby and her darling family! :)
Top of Utah Marathon (26.2 Miles) 04:18:33, Place in age division: 4
Easy Miles
Marathon Pace Miles
Threshold Miles
VO2 Max Miles
Total Distance
0.00
26.20
0.00
0.00
26.20
51st marathon, 4th TOU!
Did not sleep well worrying about hubby during the night! Got out of bed before the alarm at 4:05am. Went through the motion of getting ready and felt rather fuzzy minded. Good thing I had Toby there to keep me alert and ready to go! :) Toby and I talked about our "goals" for the day. I felt SO relieved when she told me last night that 2015 Boston's registration was closed, that means the pressure of trying to run a 2015 BQ (sub 4:10) is lifted. Now I can focus on the attainable goal of a 2016 BQ (sub 4:25). Yep, I will be 60 years old for Boston 2016 which gives me an extra 15 min!!! :) :) In reality, I've only been back to running since middle of May; four months is simply not sufficient time to train for a BQ.
In 2011 and 2012, I ran TOU 5 min. faster than Pocatello (4:06:07 and 4:01:07; 4:24:19 and 4:18:50). So based on my 4:28:34 finish time in Pocatello three weeks ago, I felt confident that I can run in the 4:23 neighborhood! :) I printed out a 4:20 course specific pace band, but the numbers are so small that I decided I wouldn't be able to read it anyway. So instead I wrote down the elapsed times on the odd miles (aid stations miles) and taped it to the bottom of my bib. We took the 5am shuttle to the Park and got on one of the earlier buses! I ate a yogurt, small blueberry muffin and banana on the bus ride and drank about 20 oz. of sport drink. Toby got a little car sick because of the many turns in the canyon! We had sufficient time to use the p-o-p twice. Got in the tent to stay warm. Saw Sasha and congratulated him on his new baby. Then it was time for bag dropoff and walk to the start. We high-fived Allie and wished her luck! To me TOU and Allie are one and the same! Both home-grown Utah pride with world class caliber. I always feel her awesomeness as I run in her "footsteps"!
A quick selfie before the start! :) Isn't Toby a beautiful girl!!!
The mountain men fired their riffles and the speedies took off. Toby jumped in after the 3:55 pace group ran past and I wished her a good run. Then the rifle fired again as I jumped in between the 4:15 and 4:30 groups. I said to a fella next to me: "I hope no one got shot! :)" It was pleasantly cold, clear sky and no wind! I reminded myself of my motto: "SMOOTHFASTRONG", run SMOOTH in the canyon miles, run FAST thru the small town miles and finish STRONG in the Logan miles.
What a beautiful Fall day with the gorgeous red, pink, orange, yellow and green gracing the canyon. I ran with a nice girl, Tami Asbell, from Pleasant Grove and her husband, an ultra runner who just ran Wasatch 100. It was fun chatting with them. I checked my splits around mile 5 and told them that we're running a bit faster than I should so I bid them a good run and let them go. (I later passed them at the 22nd mile and finished 3 min. ahead.) Most of the runners around me had someone to run with, a boy/girl friend, husband/wife, or had ear buds on so I didn't strike up any conversation with them. I encounter something I've never seen before, a big girl smoking cigarette while running a marathon. I smelled it when I ran past her and then when she passed me I saw her exhale a billow of smoke...eeek...so I passed her for good!
I focused on smooth strides, quick cadence on the downhills and doing the tangents, lots of crossing the road. I think I must've annoyed the motorcycle cops! :) My Garmin's mile is at constant 0.04 ahead of the course mile markers. My elapsed time would come in couple minutes ahead of the pace band so I'd walk and take my time to hydrate adequately at each aid station. Came through the half in 2:07:35 (pace band is 2:08 at mile 13). I drank gatorade at every station, Gu'ed with water at mile 7, 13, 17 and 21.
As we exited the canyon onto Hallow Rd, my mind was flooded with memories of years past when I'd wait there to run with friends to the finish. So great to have spectators here to cheer us! I really miss my hubby who isn't able to come to any of my marathons since we came home in May. Saw a guy in red polo and kaki and pretended it was hubby cheering me and gave him a high five! :)
Loved the occasional cooling breeze and shady trees through Hyrum, Nibley, Melville and Providence. I had to stay focus to not get lazy. I thought I was running fast but the mile splits showed otherwise. But I was still on target or couple min. ahead the elapsed times taped on my bib! I took two ibuprofen and a salt cap at mile 17. I only walked once at mile 19 to take couple puff of inhaler! My quads were getting a bit tight on the incline and my shins were vascillating on the decline so I'd change my strides a bit. I concentrated on reeling people in. It wasn't hard as there were quite a few people walking. At the mile 24 aid station, a lady looked at me cheering and said: "Look at you... still smiling, and still has your lipsticks on!" Ummm! smiling yes, but lipsticks no, I don't wear lipsticks, it must be the gatorade! :) The uphill on Main street to 300N. is not as long as I remembered, still a bugger though with inhaling the motor's exhaust fumes. When I got to the top, I gave a thumbs up and said thank you to the traffic cop. At the last aid station, I took a cup of water and dumped it on my head. With one mile to go, I figured a sub 4:20 is possible if I don't cramp up and stay above 11mm.
This year the finish is moved to the east side of the park so we had to run one more block before turning north; but then the finish line is within sight, 0.2 mile ahead. I was so happy to see my watch ticking away at 4:15:xx and 4:20 is well within my reach. I finished in 4:18:33; 10 minutes faster than Pocatello; good enough to take a mini moose home to keep the other mini moose company!!! :)
Toby waited for me at the finish with a huge smile...only I had to keep jogging around! I forgot to warn her that's what I do to keep charlie horse from sudden attack. I called hubby immediately and found out that he's been changing bloody dressings and putting compression on the PD cath exit site. I felt so bad. He was happy to hear that I had a good run! After gathering our bags, we sat on the grass and waited forever for the shuttle bus to take us back to the hotel. The hotel shower felt heavenly! We had lunch at Cafe Rio. We both had a fun time and great run; did not feel any dark moments nor any issues at all. Toby is such a wonderful friend, great driver and travel companion; not to mention an AWESOME mother, wife and daughter! :) :) :)
So glad they let me pick up my moose before the award ceremony! :)
One last selfie while waiting for the shuttle! THANKS Toby for a GREAT TOU weekend! You're the best!
I'm pretty proud of how well I ran the tangent with my garmin showing 26.23 miles! :)
