My Report: 99 Yoga Classes

In August 2014 I decided to act upon the advice I'd received from several practitioners and try yoga, like for real. NOT using DVDs I would do until the phone rang or I got sick of it (i.e. ten minutes.) NOT taking a class every five years  But really giving yoga an effort that would allow me to determine if yoga was something I would want to have a part of my life in the future. I decided 100 yoga classes in a year would be truly immersing myself into the practice.

Since today is November 8, and I'm only at 99 classes so I didn't quite hit that goal. But I am ready to sum up my results.

Most of the yoga classes I did were Bikram, which is a hot yoga. The room is heated to 105 degrees and you go through a series of 26 specific poses two times each, holding them for one minute the first time and then 30 seconds the second time with breaks in between some of them. The Bikram classes work every bone, muscle, ligament, tendon, and system of your body. It lasts 90 minutes and at the end I am drenched with sweat--like dripping-from-my-elbows-drenched-with-sweat:

What was hard:

• My studio is 20 minutes from my house, add a 90 minute class and minimum 30 minutes to get showered and ready after it's done and you're looking at almost 3 hours. You can't NOT shower after a hot yoga class, and the studio I go to is the closest one to my house and furthest north studio in the state of Utah. Working 3 hour blocks of time into my weekly schedule was so hard. Every week it was hard. Never got easier. I set countless goals to do a class 5 times in a week and it never happened. The most I ever did was 4 classes and it required many other things put on hold.
• I'm not overweight, and I didn't do this simply to try to get "hot" (no pun intended) but I expected that working this hard would drop 10 pounds in a year (maybe 25 :-)). The classes are hard sweaty work--cardio and strength training--so I expected some weight loss as a bonus. I did notice some changes in my body--which I'll put in the "what was good" portion of this post--but I did not lose even five pounds that stayed off through the year. Yes, I may have added muscle, but remember that my pants are still fitting the way they did when I started. And, no, I didn't make significant changes to my diet so that certainly was a factor, but still.
• I think I had a semi-unconscious expectation that yoga would mellow out all my anxieties and mood spikes, that the practice in and of itself would "fix" certain feelings and emotional overloads. It did help, but it did not turn out to be a magic pill for me. Perhaps because I didn't take on all these other lifestyle aspects of yoga, but regardless the emotional change wasn't as significant as I hoped it would be. 
• The classes are stressful for me. Stressful to get to, hard for me to focus in, hard for me to enjoy. I loved the accomplishment, but I never got to the point of feeling excited that I was able to go to class. I'm saddest about this "con", because I wanted to love yoga with my whole soul.
• I never experienced the emotional release that I hear many, many people have with hot yoga. I don't know if this means I'm too uptight or what, but I really thought by the end of my goal I would have those moments of insight and release I've heard a lot about.
• I have been doing long distance running for about six years, but struggled off and on with back, knee, and arch issues/injuries. I started training in the summer for a fall season race and since I'd been doing yoga for about 8 months I felt pretty confident that I was in good shape and would avoid injury. But I messed up my knee, and my arch, and ended up with six weeks of weekly chiropractor visits to deal with them enough to run my race. I know that yoga isn't a fix-everything, but I was disappointed to still have the injuries when I had felt as though I was working my body in a way that would avoid exactly that. That said, I am getting older and maybe I'm just not meant to be a runner anymore. 

What was awesome:

• Yoga was absolutely good for my body. Although I didn't lose weight, I have gained flexibility I did not have before. Little aches and pains I often felt in my hips and back have disappeared. I have had a rounding of my upper spine--early kyphosis--that has been remedied to the point I can see the change in my posture and no longer get upper back pain after writing. The tightness in the left side of my neck that kept me from being able to turn my head all the way to right is gone. I've never been flexible, and to anyone else I probably still don't look flexible, but I am more agile than I have ever been in my life. The "work your whole body" aspect of yoga has been great for me and something I absolutely feel in the days after a class. 
• On the nights I had yoga, I slept better. On nights I didn't have yoga I would still struggle as I have for the last few years. When I cut out artificial sweeteners in September, sleep got even better. I have slept better the last six weeks than I have for years. A good night's sleep is priceless.
• Prior to these classes I had some intermittent numbness in my hands, not surprising for a writer, but concerning. I would also have my hands swell up from time to time and get pain in my forearms, especially my left. One of the first improvements I noticed was that the achiness went away after just a few classes, and I honestly have not had numbness or tingling even once since starting my practice. Lotus pose works specifically on your arms, elbows, and wrists and I think it made a significant difference for the health of my hands. I hope it will help me to avoid carpal tunnel that afflicts so many other writers I know.
• I found quickly that the poses I was best at were those that were strength-based, like chair pose. As I continued with yoga I got even stronger and the shape of my body changed. My shoulders are more defined, I can see the outline of my biceps, my waist is a bit smaller and my legs are more defined. If I had lost ten pounds and fit in my pants better I could better appreciate this :-) But I do feel and look stronger than I did in the beginning. 
• I am a naturally competitive person but yoga is competitive only with yourself. At first it was really hard not watch everyone else in the class and judge myself accordingly, but I learned that every body is different. The guy who can't get his leg up in tree might have an amazing camel. Someone might have a tight spine, but great flexibility in their joints. It was good for me to forgive myself my limitations, take confidence in my strengths, and not feel competitive with the other people in the room. I eventually didn't even feel competitive with myself; if my head-to-knee was better two weeks ago, I was okay because I knew I was doing my best that day. 
• I feel more gratitude for my body than I have in a long time, even without the weight loss. You watch yourself in the mirror throughout class, which was hard for me at first because I would be so critical. In time, however, I have gained acceptance and gratitude for this body I have and the things I can do with it. Seeing so many other body types in class was also very validating in the realization that taking care of my body isn't only about how it looks, it's how it moves and works and how it will take care of me thirty years from now. 
• While yoga didn't fix my mood swings, I am definately more emotionally centered. I feel that I better cope with stress than it did, and I learned breathing exercises which help me to physically calm myself when I need calming outside of class. Even though yoga itself is often stressful, I do feel the mental/emotional benefits stay with me long after the class is done. 
• Other than a couple of classes where I was not hydrated enough and came home trashed, I didn't have anything more than a minor cold for an entire year. I'm not someone who gets sick a lot, but a few times a year I battle strep or some respiratory thing, but I didn't this year. Yoga is said to boost your immunity and I think in my case it did that. 
• I would often use my savasana (laying on your back with arms at side, palms up) to pray. It was not so formal as most of my prayers and though I didn't have the emotional breakthroughs I had expected, I had some spiritual meditation that I had not expected and which was very sweet to me. I grew closer to my Savior through this meditation and had moments of great peace and relaxation during which I felt wonderful communion with Him.

My final answer:

This was a good experiment for me. I don't think I'll ever be a true "yogi" whose life centers around the practice, but I do plan to take a class every week for the good of my body, my mind, and my spirit. If anyone is interested in trying hot yoga for themselves, I recommend that you plan to take 5 classes before you decide if you want to continue. No exercise is a quick fix, but it took me about this many classes to recognize the benefits in my day to day life. Know that there are all shapes and sizes--some days I felt like the oldest fattest person there, and other days I was the youngest and trimmest, usually I was one of many middle-aged people like myself that aren't going to be on a magazine cover any time soon but are learning to love what they have more than they have. I also recommend that you read THIS article from O Magazine and check out Luisa Perkins BLOG where she blogged about her 60 classes in 60 days, which is amazing!

Goodbye 2012, Hello 2013!

This has been a crazy year for me, lots has happened, but you wouldn't know it reading my blog :-) Still, I do like to check in here and I do have things to say--just not a lot of time to say it. I published three books this year and wrote three more, by far this is the most intense 'writing' year I have ever had. I presented at numerous conferences, attended my first out-of-state conference, and had a couple of trips to Southern Utah. Lots of work to be done, lots of great opportunities, lots of fabulous people I got to meet and talk to.

And amid it all, I had some goals I set this time last year. So, here is my report on how I did, how I feel about it, and what I plan to do this year.

Report on 2012:

1--Run a 1/2 marathon in 2:10--Smoked it! I ended up running 2 half marathons under 2:10, with my fastest time being 2:03.

How do I feel about that?

I am beyond thrilled by the accomplishment of this goal, it is the result of hundreds of hours and miles run and I was really glad to see it pay off. HOWEVER, I finished that last half in August and have run less than 10 miles since then. In part this was because I had two really intense deadlines I had put off, but in part I feel like I burned myself out on running. It had become such a focal point that it wasn't really fun anymore. I'm hoping this will change next year, but I'm not pushing it.

2--Sit down meal twice a week. --Nope. For the, what, fourth year in a row cooking for my family did worse than ever.

How do I feel about that?

I hate this but feel as though I have tried all kinds of things to do better and they just don't stick. I'm at a loss of knowing what to do now. I have tried calendars and schedules and meal plans and having-stuff-on-hand but with my kids schedules, my schedule, some eating considerations, and my lack of ambition I have been completely unsuccessful. I made dinner two to three times a week, and then we eat leftovers or have cereal or whatever. I don't know what to do about this.

3--Take a crochet class. --Nope. I looked into a few but the timing was bad and they were 30 minutes from home and I couldn't make it work.

How do I feel about that?

That said, I did more crochet than I have done in the past and have made a lot of dish-scrubbers out of 100% cotton yarn and taught myself a new stitch/patterns. I have a very hard time sitting still or just watching TV or whatever, so having something to do with my hands is stress-relieving for me and allows me to be still. I wish I had taken a class but I'm glad that I at least progressed.

4--Journal once a month. --Nope. I did journal seven times.


How do I feel about that?

I'm glad I did more than I'd done the year before, but frustrated that I didn't find one time every 30 days to write in my journal.  I'm a writer; I love words. I'm frustrated that I didn't complete a goal that used those gifts and abilities.

5--Attend the temple once a month. --Nope. Fail on this one too.

How do I feel about that?

Frustrated. I went five times, which is better than I did in 2011 but not even half of the goal I set. I know part of it is because there was no local temple for much of the year which meant I had to go to Logan or Bountiful. People who live farther away than I do are surely rolling your eyes--go for it--but it won't change the fact that I am used to having a temple within 20 minutes and I don't anymore and it's hard for me to make the extra time. No, that's not a good enough reason, but it's the truth. I have no good excuse for not having even attended the new Brigham Temple yet, other than time and hassle to make the phone call necessary for a session. Again, not a good enough reason, but it's an honest answer. And yet, one of those five times I attended resulted in one of the strongest answers I have ever had to a personal situation. It's not something I will ever write about in a journal, but it involved a physical reaction and a very strong impression of exactly what to do. I've never experienced anything like it, and, honestly it was a little freaky, but very, very good. I did as I was told and experienced a rush of relief and assurance that I had listened right. I'm very grateful for that experience and my goal of going once a month is part of why that happened, which I'm grateful for as well. So, in a nutshell I had a positive result from this goal and I'm glad for that.





6--Be nice.--I did better.

How do I feel about that?

Good. I think being nice is important and I made a conscious effort to do this. In the process I found myself more empathetic of others and less judgmental. Though I have a long way to go in regard to judging others, I do feel like I made progress and I'm glad for that. I found myself reminding myself over and over again that "Christ would be nice" which helped me to take a breath and calm down. 

Overall, I think I can say that I accomplished 2 of the 6 goals I set, which is discouraging to me. I believe that confidence is created by setting goals we can accomplish. I think when we do this, connections are made in our brain that make us feel strong and successful. And I did not fulfill 4 of the goals I set. I am glad to say that I improved in 3 of those 4 areas, and that is good, but they weren't ridiculously difficult goals to accomplish.

And so, 2013 . . .  what will I do with you?

My answer. Nothing. Yet. I need some time to ponder and evaluate and decide in what ways I want to become a better person. And I need to set goals I know I can accomplish. So, I guess that means I'll blog at least twice this year.

To be continued . . .

Top of Utah Half Marathon 2012

As I look over my last 12 months of posts, the only thing I've consistently posted about are my half marathons. But why mess up a good thing? I like having a record of my runs and this is where that record is kept.

In July I ran the Hobbler half. A very nice run I was not ready for, but I was okay with that and got to run with my wonderful sister, Crystal. During that run she told me about a freind of hers who trained for a marathon by running intervals 5 days a week and then her long run. This freind got her best time ever. SOLD. By the time we finished that run I was committed to that plan for a few reasons 1) I have kind of hated running these last few months.  2) Because of my hating running, I loved the idea of doing less of it. Intervals take about 30 minutes a day. 30 minutes vs. 1 hour? Not rocket science.

So, this is what I did--three or four days a week I did the Body for Life cardio interval run which consists of 3 minutes of walking warm up. Then running one minute at your '6' (on a scale of one to ten, what pace is a 6 for you? Not MPH) then one minute at a 7, one at 8, and one at 9, then back to 6. You do this set of 6,7,8,9 four times and on the fourth set you add an additional minute at your '10'. then you do 3 minutes of cool down. The whole thing, start to finish, takes 23 minutes and it's brutal, but it's over with quicker than an episode of Spongebob. I usually add a couple minutes of walking to either side, but still, it's 30 minutes, it's indoors (for me, you can do it outdoors too), and I got to do it at the same time my husband did his exercise which was fun.

Then, on Friday or Saturday (usually) I would do a long run. Most of the long runs were with my friend Cory Web, and that was awesome. We would meet at a trail half way between our homes and run and talk and run and talk. I looked forward to those runs because she was there, and that made it possible for me. I was able to work some long runs with other partners here and there as well and I did a couple by myself, which were only tolorable because I only did them a couple of times.

My longest long run was 10 miles two weeks before the race. I meant to run 12 the next week but didn't make it work so the Tuesday before the race I ran 9--this is not recommended, to do a long run the week of the race, but I didn't feel I had a choice. I by no means pushed it in my training--not for speed, not for distance, not for terrain--I just did what felt like the minimum amount I could do and still expect a decent result.

Then came race day, the ultimate test. Lee and I went to Logan the night before and had dinner and went to a movie--I'm loving this new tradition of ours, makes the races even more fun. I got my packet nice and easy and while I love the design of the shirt, it's black. I hate running in the heat so there was no way I will ever wear that shirt in the sun. I took two 3mg Melatonin to help me sleep, but they didn't help too much, I was tossing and turning most of the night. The next morning I was up at 4:15 and waiting for the shuttle from the hotel by 4:35. The Shuttle was almost 30 minutes late, which was annoying but it gave me time to drink a bunch of water and eat my PB & J sandwich I'd brought from home.

I took the shuttle to the main pick up, hooked up with my friend Holly, and got in line for the buses. I took half of my 5 hour energy and saved the other half for later. It was really cold and while I was uncomfortable until the race started, I was encouraged by the idea that it woudln't get as hot as last year, which was 87 degrees by 8:00 in the morning. Holly is much faster than I am so she took off soon after the race started and I hung back a little bit, started up my iPod and jumped in about half way through the pack. I really hate running with the pack and will probably wait for the end in the future. It's annoying to be dodging people for the first six miles, until things thined out.

I made great time down the canyon, 8:50/miles and pulled out my 5 hour energy at mile 7, waiting for a water stop so I could wash it down. No water stop until mile 9 (where the course also starts going uphill), then I spilled half of it when I grabbed my cup. I was feeling it by then and ticked that I'd forgotten the spacing of the stops. I did this exact thing last year and really hope I remember to take it next year at mile 6. Anyway, by mile ten my pace was down to 10:10/mile. I'd been watching my Garmin at each mile and for awhile had entertained the idea that I could come in under 2 hours, but by Mile 11 I had given up that dream. I was hoping now to simply beat my PR (Personal Record) and come in before 2:07. I was able to keep my feet moving and crossed the finish line with 2:02:56.

Could. Not. Be. Happier. Not only am I thrilled with my time, but TOU was a really miserable race for me last year and so conquering it was awesome. Knowing that my interval training method worked was also awesome. Having Holly at the finish waiting for me was another awesome tidbit. She, BTW, did awesome and took 1st place in her age category! Inspiring.

Despite how well it went, however, I'm not doing another 1/2 until January at the earliest. I am frustrated with my weight right now, which continues to creep up on me, and am looking to impliment a different work out plan for a little while in hopes of building some muscle and increasing my metabolism. Running, for all the good it does, seems to make me hold on to the weight and it makes me very hungry so I'm going to try something else and then see what the new years holds.

BUT, this run also helped me check off another of my yearly goals--run 3 half marathons. I am very happy about that and feel good about changing things up a little bit.

All in all, a very good run. Now, on to the next adventure.

Hobbler Half Marathon 2012

On July 7th I ran my 5th half marathon. Wow, that is surprising to even right that. Five years ago I hated running and yet here I am. Go figure.

I didn't train very well, my longest run was 9 1/2 miles and it about killed me. Spring is always crazy busy for me and this year had a deadline and my oldest daughter graduating high school thrown into the nutcase. It was intense and therefore I didn't get serious about my training until about four weeks before the race. The schedule I WANT to stick to, involves moderate runs 3 days a week--one of them an interval run--and then a long run. I ran twice a week and my long runs never got that long. I've put the weight I lost back on (yeah aging metabolism!) and, as I said, things were just crazy. Having run through the winter, running in the heat feels out of the question for me so it required getting out the door by 6:00 to get my runs in and that's hard and blah, blah, blah. Anyway, I didn't train well.

The upside of not training well is that I wasn't going to beat any times. I was just running it, and proving to myself that I could. And that was nice. Packet pick up was smooth the afternoon before, at Trapnell Orthodontics in Springville, though parking was limited. The shirts were awesome. After we got our stuff, I went to dinner with my sister, Crystal, her sister-in-law, Jenny, and my friend Marion Jensen. We were all signed up and carb loadiing and since we were in Utah county we hit the buffet at Brick Oven. I think it was a good choice and we got to talk running and get pumped up. My husband Lee had come with me and we were set up at a hotel, so after dinner I went back to the hotel and realized how much stuff I'd forgotten--my iPod, my visor, my jacket, my morning protein shake, and my chapstick. Good thing there was a Wal-Mart close by. We did some shopping and I took my Tylenol PM so that I'd for sure get some sleep.

At 4:45, I was up and raring to go. By 5:15 I was at the pick-up spot waiting for Crystal and Jenny. There were port-a-potties but since it was dark you couldn't see well--and the potty I chose was disgusting, which was awesome to figure out in the dark. Anyway, I finally met up with Crystal and Jenny and we got on the bus, only to find that Marion had beat us onto the same bus. He had a great seat. We were at the back with the cast of Jersey Shore who succeeded in completely annoying us through the 20 minute drive to the starting point.

I had heard this was a good course and mostly downhill, but was pleasantly surprised to realize that while it was overall a downhill course, it had rolling hills and texture to the course. We were on the highway for a little while, but eventually ended up on a running trail. The canyon breeze was perfect. Since neither my sister or myself were going for a time, we ran together which was so much fun. We can talk about anything and everything and so we kept up the chatter throughout the whole race. They had GU packets, but since they hadn't told us they were going to have it, we'd both brought our own boosts--mine was a 5 hour energy which was nice and hot by the time I drank it at mile 8. Not yummy.

It didn't get hot until the last mile and a half--but it was really hot and the heat just sucks the energy right out of me. They had people positioned with hoses, which was awesome, but that last mile was rough. Crystal and I walk-ran it but then were able to run the final quarter mile and into the finish line which we crossed at the same time. We came in at 2:21, which is my second fastest time which I liked very much. It seemed to prove that even though I haven't been training as I'd like to, I have built up my foundation well. I liked that validation a lot.

The after-run snacks were awesome. They had Creamies and Gatorade and water right there at the finish, and Magleby's had brought their awesome french toast for all the runners as well. There were tickets for drawings, or so they said, but though we were there for 45 minutes, they never drew a ticket--instead they made people do dance competions and things. I HATE that kind of stuff and it annoyed me enough that I finally gave my ticket to someone else and decided to go back to the hotel where Lee was waiting for me.

My recovery was great, I was barely even sore the next day, and I wasn't completely wiped out energy-wise either--another testament to the foundation I've been able to build. This was the second run I've done with my Altra shoes and I just love them. I don't get sore arches or knees or toes with them and I love that.

So, it was a great race with great company and I felt great afterwards. And yet, despite all of that, I'm really hating running right now. I've decided that I actually put on weight when I'm training--and no, it's not all muscle--and I'm tired of that. I also hate getting up so blasted early and I'm just not enjoying it like I did last year or the year before. I'm frustrated by that and not sure what to do. I can give it up, but then what do I do for exercise? Even if it isn't helping with weight loss, it's good cardio. I have a class I do in the mornings now and then, but I have a hard time doing that regularly and I don't love it either. I have one more 1/2 I'm signed up for, Top of Utah, next month and I'll run that and see what I think but I'm not sure I want to keep running like I have been this last year. I'm not sure it's as enjoyable as it once was. Maybe I'm in a phase--I hope so, because I've worked hard to get where I am. It's helped to have running partners that give me a reason to get out there and help take my mind of how bad I hate those runs :-)

Anyway, all in a it was a very good race and I'm glad I did it. Assuming I am still running next year, I'd like to run it again :-)

St. George Half Marathon 2012 Report

Today, January 21 2012, I ran the St. George 1/2 Marathon. This was my first time running this particular race, but the second St. George race I'd run (the first was Snow Canyon 2011). I think I really like St. George races. Because I live in Northern Utah, I'm almost convinced that coming down in elevation helps me, since my more northern races have been slower than both of these Southern Utah runs, but I have no scientific proof of this. Anyway, here's my recap.

I have never run in the winter. I enjoy running spring through fall, but I always stop running when it gets cold, then pick it up again in the spring. This year, I wanted to keep up my running throughout the winter specifically in hopes of getting faster. I have no doubt that running with my friend Holly Freeman made a HUGE difference in my speed. She is passionate about fitness and fitness goals and she and I have run about once a week since October. She runs faster than I do, much faster, but her slow runs are my fast ones and keeping up with her, learning to do intervals, and braving hills was a huge help to me. I only ran about 10 miles a week until early December, when I began increasing my runs. I didn't follow a set training schedule, I just tried to run 3 or 4 days a week, usually 3-5 mile runs and then a longer run somewhere that week. I didn't get over 20 miles a week until the two weeks before the race, then tapered to 4 miles Monday, 3 miles Tuesday, and 2 miles Wednesday the week of the race per my friend Jaime Theler's advice and reference to Hal Higdon's training schedule.

I'd been in Cedar City for some promotional things and presentations the days before the run, so Friday night my two favorite Crystals (I have a sister and a sister in law named Crystal--they are both wonderful) came with me to St. George where I'd rented a hotel room. We went to the Dixie Expo Center first to get my packet, where I had to serpentine through all these booths and such to get to where I picked it up. Brilliant to make us walk through the expo to get to the end. After I got my number, we went to a movie (Tower Heist) where I ate 1/2 a jumbo tub of popcorn and then went to dinner at Olive garden where I finished the carb-fest. We got to the hotel a little after 10:00 and I took a Tylenol PM. I slept pretty well and woke up at 7:45 to get ready. My sister drove me to the Dixie Expo Center, where the race started. It had rained during the night and was still sprinkling when we got to the race. I ate 3 shot-blocks for energy and drank some water before she dropped me off, then stayed inside the Expo Center and stretched--ran into Jill Dallon from Brigham City--and waited for the race to start. I had worn my long sleeved running shirt, a jacket, gloves, and a hoodie, because it was cold, but I peeled off the jacket and hoodie right before the race started and began looking for a place to put my drop bag. None of the volunteers knew where it was, none of the runners did either. I ended up stashing it under a tree next to some other ones. My cell phone was in there, as was $80 worth of gear, so I was nervous, but I didn't feel like I had a choice. The next clothing drop wasn't until mile 2.

The race put "pacers" into the race who held signs proclaiming how fast they were running so you could run with them--I'd never seen this before but really liked it. I started with the 2:10 crowd, but passed the pacers about 2 miles into the run in hopes of catching up with the 2:00 pacers, but I never even saw them. It was sprinkling, but just barely and the temperature was perfect--about 35ish degrees, I think. The first 8 miles was a lot of uphill, I was so glad I'd trained on hills with Holly, but they weren't steep, more of rolling, and wound through neighborhoods. The streets were well "manned" by volunteers and barricaded off, if felt very safe. I took the 5 hour energy I'd hidden in my secret pocket at about mile 6--I was feeling good but didn't want to burn out. At about mile 7 1/2, a seasoned pro passed and told us that it was all downhill from that point forward. Thank goodness! Around mile 8 I met a gal named Erica, also running alone. She and I talked and ran together for about 3 miles, which was wonderful. We were pretty evenly paced and conversation is always a welcome distraction. The race went from roads to a bike path that followed the river, very nicely paved with beautiful views into St. George. At mile 11 I was feeling good so I sped up a little bit. The rain increased about this time, but it wasn't obnoxious, I just had to keep wiping the water from my face. At mile 12 I was still feeling good so I sped up even more. I had hoped to come in close to 2:10, and was thrilled to come in at 2:07:10 instead.

At the end of the race they snipped off my chip, gave me a medal, and the finish line led right through the after-run snacks. I came through the snack line to find my sister waiting for me, which was wonderful. She's a great cheerleader.

I decided not to wait around for the awards, I was soaked, or my official time. By my GPS watch I was 7:29, but I had set it before I crossed the line. My stuff was still under the tree, so I picked it up and got back to the hotel in time to take a shower before out late check out was over with. Once back at the hotel, soaking wet, I realized I hadn't brought a change of underwear--I wear LDS temple garments and somehow left all the clean ones at my sister's house. Luckily, they sell them in town so I took an extra long shower while my sister picked me up a pair. I'd run in the ones I had and there was no way I could wear them twice. I was very grateful that it worked out as well as it did. I felt good enough to go shopping and get lunch and enjoy our free time before we had to return to Cedar.

In summary, I really liked the course which was a challenging one for me in regard to the hills, but definitely doable. I liked the organization of the race as well, all the information I got leading up to the race was well stated and easy to follow. The after-run snacks were good, the weather, though I was worried about it, was quite perfect. My training was really good and I had a great experience over all. I purchased some Altra shoes before I got serious about the training in December and feel like I can now proclaim how much I LOVE them. I've put about 80 miles into them and have had no knee or arch pain since using them. They are barefoot running shoes which are supposed to make your body move more naturally, and I am converted. You can find more info at www.zrunning.com

What I didn't like was that the volunteers I interacted with weren't super in-the-know, they seemed to know their job, but not much else. I never found the drop site before the race and would have liked to have put my stuff in a safer place. The shirts were men's cuts, and the small is big on me so I will probably never wear it, which is a shame because it's very well designed. I have also accepted that I must get better running pants. The ones I've been running in are cotton and with the rain they were soggy and heavy and stuck under my shoes by the end. I definitely need new pants.

I had a really good day and now have a new PR to beat at my next race, which is still up in the air. There are a few I'm looking into, but none that are "singing" to me just yet. I'm sure enjoying running right now in my life, I think it might be my version of an antidepressant as I just feel better when I'm consistent with it. Thanks to everyone who's been such a support to me, I appreciate it very much.

SoJo 2011 1/2 Marathon Re-cap

This was the first time I've done the SoJo, in fact I had never even heard of it before a friend told me about it. After that, I did see it listed on some running sites, but if I weren't looking for it, I wouldn't have realized what it was AND even when I was looking for the website, it was really hard to find in google searches--often not coming up on the first page of results which would make me re-enter criteria in an attempt to find it. In fact, that was my biggest complaint about the event, the website lacked good SEO and the writing could have been tighter and more clear in explaining things. Actually, that's my only complaint because other than that, it was awesome and if I had to choose one detail to be off, it would be the website. Here's how it went:

First, I signed up for this race because I was unable to do the Snow Canyon 1/2 marathon on November 5th and felt like I needed another race after Top Of Utah to keep me from sitting on my tush after I finished that race. I mentioned this in a facebook group I belong to (Buns of Steel) and one of the other members, Alison Taylor, gave me the race info. Honestly, SHE was the very best thing about this race. I had a ton of things going on and she kept checking in with me and helping me stay connected to the event. She was absolutely fabulous.

I ended up signing up via the paper registration option on the very last day the event was open to early registration--Sept 15. I had only done short runs after Top of Utah and it wasn't until I mailed in that registration that I started doing longer and more consistent runs. In the four weeks between registration and the race, I averaged running 20 miles a week until this week, when I only ran 4 miles. I hit this weird "I hate running" bubble and could not get myself out the door. Because of that I really worried about the race today. I had only gotten back up to 11 miles on my long runs and just didn't feel like I'd trained the way I would have liked to, but I hoped that it wouldn't be too bad.

A couple days before the race, I decided to get a hotel room. I was going to stay at my sister's house in Sugarhouse but worried about sleeping on a couch and waking up everyone else when I had to get up in the morning or being late to the start so I found a reasonably priced room at the Sleep Inn in South Jordan which ended up being about a mile away from the finish line. My son and nephew were both running the 5 K, which started and finished at the Marathon finish lines, so I picked Chris up from school and picked up Trevor in Salt Lake on the way to the hotel. I dropped them off, then drove down to Alison's house where she drove me through the course which started at a school in Daybreak, and ended at West Riverside Park in South Jordan. I have this idea in my head that the west side of Salt Lake is downhill from the East side, so coming from West Daybreak up to nearly I-15 would be uphill the whole time. Totally not true. There were two small hills but other than that most of the run was either flat or on a very gentle downgrade. I was really glad we did that, it made the next days run much more familiar to me.

Driving the course brought us to the finish line (surprise, surprise :-) and we got our packets nice and easy--they included a vinyl decal which was awesome--the volunteers were great. I was back at the hotel around 7:30 and took the boys to Sweet Tomatoes to carb up. Turned out to be a great choice (Thanks Alison for the suggestion) and I had salad and soup and pasta and dessert to my little heart's content. The boys were able to eat and eat and eat as well. We got home a little before 9:00 and the boys went swimming while I obsessively set out my stuff. I took a melatonin for fear that I wouldn't sleep and by the time the boys got back at 10:30 I was ready for bed. I slept great and though I was in and out after 4:00 a.m. it was the best pre-race sleep I've had for any race so far.

This morning, we got up at 5:50 and got ready. The boys had the complimentary breakfast the hotel provided and I had a protein shake--my breakfast of choice before long runs. We headed for West Riverside Park, where the boys were going to wait on their own. The weather was a bit nippy, but not too bad. I left the boys in the car and waited for Alison and her husband to pick me up. This race allowed runners to get dropped off at the start, which was great because it meant we didn't have to wait for the bus which meant we didn't have to be there so early. Alison picked me up around 6:45 and we went to Riverton where we picked up her friend Carrie and then Alison's husband, Mark, took us to the start. I'm not sure how many runners were registered, but it was a very reasonable number. The potty lines were great and there wasn't a 'congested' feel to it at all which I liked a lot. Top of Utah was packed and I enjoyed the extra elbow room.

They called us to the start almost 15 minutes before they actually started, which was kind of annoying but not that big a deal. I like to start at the back of races, being in the 'pack' makes me kind of anxious so I left Carrie and Alison to run with the wolves and went to the back of the runners. I had time to put my jacket in a gear bag, it wasn't that cold at all and I didn't want to bother with it later. They started with the release of some balloons and a confetti pop, which was fun, and we started moving. In the other races I've done the start line is a carpet covered strip that activates your 'chip' and I kept looking for that but didn't see it anywhere. I thought we were heading toward the start line for over a minute and then realized I must have missed it. I found out later the start was two thin wires stretched across the road. Had I been at the front of the race, I'd have probably heard that :-) So I didn't start my watch until 2 minutes into the run. I also started the audiobook I'd purchased for this race--Variant by Robison Wells. Turned out to be a great choice, I might audiobook every race I ever run from here on out since it distracted me just enough to keep me from obsessively tracking my distance. And it's a great book.

The sun was up within fifteen minutes of the start, which worried me due to how lousy the sun was for me at TOU, but the morning chill made our relationship must better this time around and it wasn't a big deal. The course went through Daybreak, then in front of the Oquirrih Temple--hill number one--and around some other neighborhoods. The mile signs were awesome and easy to find, the aid stations were fabulous, they had police directing traffic at all the intersections, there was variety in the 'view' as we ran, there was a lot of shade, the road was clearly marked off, the potty stops were excellent and without lines--honestly the course and the resources set up around it were fabulous. The full marathon used the 1/2 marathon route for the last 13 miles, so each mile mark had one sign for the 1/2 and one for full. They had extra snacks for the marathon runners, like pretzels and de-fizzed Coke, and several other things. I'm sure if I'd taken some they'd have let me, but I didn't need it. There were people here and there along the route cheering on the runners, which is always fun.

I was worried about burning out like I did with TOU so I didn't push things but kept pretty consistent at 11 1/2 minute miles. I had taken a 5 hour energy 20 minutes before the start and took a GU pack at mile 6, following it up with some water and rinsing my mouth to make sure I didn't get sticky-mouth from it, like I did last time. They provided Poweraide gels but since I'd never tried those, I was nervous about taking it so I passed. I only took one potty stop at mile 8 and there was no line, which was sweet. By mile ten I was still feeling really good and I considered really speeding up but didn't dare so I kept things steady. At mile 11 we entered a trail area which was awesome, very pretty, shaded, smooth, and I always like getting away from traffic. At mile 12 I finally felt confident enough to speed it up. At mile 12 1/2 a guy about 50 yards ahead of me collapsed. I feel bad I didn't stop, but a couple of women already had. He was trying to crawl forward and they were trying to convince him to sit. I felt bad for the guy--he was so close, but I ran right past cause I'm compassionate like that, and sent a little prayer in his direction, then laid it on even thicker.

There were lots of people lined up along the last 100 yards and they cheered and clapped and just really kept the energy up. This was the first race I've done where they called out your name as you crossed the finish, but it was awesome, and there were people all over the place clapping and cheering for me. They handed me my medal and removed the ankle bracelet timing chip (which I thought I would hate, it looked horrible, but I didn't even feel it as I ran) Great finish!

They had the best after-race snacks I have ever seen! First, the station was RIGHT behind the finish line so I didn't have to look for it. Chick-Fil-A was the main sponsor and they had chicken sandwiches available (if you like chicken, which I don't but the boys loved) They also had Fat Boy ice cream sandwiches, yogurt parfaits with granola topping, Winder Dairy Chocolate recovery drink which tastes like chocolate milk, water, Gatorade, fruit, multi-grain bagels--honestly it was awesome and the boys had been waiting there for two hours and were therefore stuffed by the time I arrived. People milled around but it wasn't congested.

My time ended up being 2:28.05 which was probably slower in actual run time than TOU (which was 2:30) because my one potty stop was so quick on this one, and about 5 minutes at the other one. However, I felt good at the finish and hadn't trained really well and so I'm very happy with how it worked out. Trevor placed 2nd in his age division--he ran a 5K in 20 minutes. Holy moley! Chris shaved 4 minutes off of his 5K PR, coming it at 30 minutes. I was very proud of both of them and they were wonderful sports about all the waiting around they did.

I will definitely run this race again and suspect it will quickly become one of the more popular 1/2 marathon's in the valley. As I said, my only complaint was the website and maybe the ankle chip but that didn't turn out to be so bad. The time of year worries me because it COULD have been rainy, and yet today's weather was absolutely perfect. It was cool, but not cold, the sun was out, but not hot. I thought they started it at the perfect time (I think TOU could have started 1/2 an hour earlier) the course was great and the overall planning and organization was the best I've ever seen.

All in all, a very good race--my favorite of the three I have run. The only thing that would have made it better would be to have had my sister, Crystal, there with me. She's been at both the other races and is just great company. Alison made a fabulous replacement, however, and was beyond supportive and helpful to me. She really did make this possible for me. I'm am blessed to have great people in my life!

I somehow managed to not take a single picture. Lame! If a race photo ends up half decent I'll post it later.

Top of Utah 1/2 Marathon 2011 Report

On Saturday, August 27th, my sister Crystal and I ran the Top of Utah 1/2 Marathon in Cache Valley Utah. It was my second 1/2 marathon. Because I had surgery in June, my training was affected (Yeah, yeah, that's it, nothing else like laziness got in my way. Certainly not). I started running again in mid-July and was back up to 7 miles by August. I ran between 12 and 25 miles a week for the next three weeks and did my last long run (12.5) 9 days before the race. I felt ready.

Crystal came up from Southern Utah two days prior and that was great too, she is so much to fun to hang out with and we really enjoy our time together. Friday afternoon we drove up to Providence and stood in line for our goodie bag with our number, some coupons and our shirt. The shirt was AWESOME. It was a woman's fit and I absolutely love it. I didn't know what I was going to wear until I got it, and then I knew I would be wearing that shirt. I've worn it for every run since then and am considering buying a second one if I can figure out how.

Friday night we carbed up on spaghetti and salad and ice cream. I over-hydrated myself which meant I was up every hour most the night to use the bathroom--not sure I will do that again. I did not sleep great and finally took 1/2 a Tylenol PM. I slept about four hours, but I felt good when I got up. We left my house in Willard at 4:50 and stood in line for a good 20 minutes waiting to get on the bus. At one point we both popped out of line to use the bathrooms, but that was scary cause it was dark and there were two thousand people there and we got close to losing one another, but we reconnected, got on the bus, and headed up the canyon and drank our 5 hour energies.

It was getting lighter by the time we arrived and since we are girls and we were nervous, we got in line for the bathrooms again. They had lots of port a potties which was so appreciated. Just as we got up to our 'turn' in line, they told us to start lining up. We are seasoned pros and therefore smirked as people took off from the lines they'd been waiting in for the potties to get in line. We knew there was still a good ten minutes. We took our second pit stop and mosied over to the starting line. TOU put up signs that helped the runners 'seed' themselves based on how fast they expected to be. This was a great idea, I thought, and we got in line but then spotted another bathroom and thought 'what the hell' let's go one more time. It was a chipped run, meaning you have a microchip that's activated once you cross the starting line. Until you cross the line, your clock doesn't start. We used the bathrooms and because of our time-takingness we were the very last two people to cross the line. But this is brilliant, in my opinion, because you only pass people for the first little while.

The canyon was awesome. It was beautiful, only a few annoying cars that couldn't figure out how to pass 2,600 people (losers!), downhill but not a steep grade. For most of the canyon part there was a breeze that was just right. At the six mile mark I stopped to use the potties (Yes, I'm paranoid) and made squinty eyes at all the men who would just hop of the trail for thirty seconds and then hop back on. Not fair, but I can buy cuter running clothes so I guess it all works out.

After that pit stop, which took about 6 minutes, I set my cap to catch up with Crystal and was feeling pretty dang good. The sun came up over the mountain at about mile 8. I no like running in the sun and I could honestly feel my energy begin to plummet after that. We entered some neighborhoods at the base of the canyon with blessed shade and at mile 9 I took a GU packet and some water. I caught up to Crystal at mile 10 and didn't feel like the GU kicked in. By mile 11 I was really struggling. I was starting to feel sick to my stomach and the blasted sun was killing me. We'd been running for two hours by that point and I was barely getting my feet off the ground. Thank goodness for Crystal. She kept me talking and reminded me to lift my knees and keep my arms moving.

At mile 12 we caught up with a friend of Crystals who had slowed to a walk. Crystal cheered her on too. She ran with us until the last 1/2 mile when she finally had to walk again. I was seriously sick by this point and although I could see the finish line, I did not know that I was going to make it. It was the hardest mile I have ever run. Crystal was a trooper though and just kept pumping me up. Finally when there was only about 200 yards left I told Crystal to go and she was able to move ahead. I hope I wasn't holding her back. I don't know that I've ever been so relieved when I finally crossed that finish line. They handed me the snazzy medal and Crystal was there to hug me. She's fabulous. then we went on the hunt for water. We could see people with cups but couldn't tell where it was, which was really frustrating. There were two thousand people milling around this tiny area and it felt like it took forever for us to find the water and food station. They had some fruit and rolls and fat boy ice cream sandwiches. All I wanted was a banana and lots of water. I was really feeling icky.

They did prize drawing for an hour. The prizes were awesome, and they were running it quickly, but it was still an hour and I felt like absolute garbage by the time they finished. The trophies were awesome--little native American metal cut outs on natural stone. I didn't even come close to winning one but they were cute and unique.

After the prizes (of which neither of us won) We headed to Jamba Juice for smoothies and Einstein's for bagels. Yum, Yum. We ate and rehashed the race and figured out everything they needed to do to improve it while agreeing it was still a good run. Then we headed home.

Now, as a little aside, my dad was a track coach when I was younger which meant as a teenager I had no choice but to hate running because he loved it. I also hated avocados and artichokes for the same reason. I grew up, love avocados and artichokes and ... running. When he was track coach at Taylorsville High he created what he called the Buick club based on the fact that when someone throws up, they make a sound kind of like the word Buick. He made up t-shirts and when one of his runners ran so hard they pukes, they got a shirt. It was very cool.

I have never run hard enough to buick. Never. There's only been a time or two that I ran hard enough to feel queasy. However, on the way home from the run the queasy I'd felt since mile 12 started getting worse. I tried to ignore it but about the time we came around the bend and I could see Mantua reservoir I knew I was not going to make it home. I announced my situation to Crystal and then started pulling over. I made it about ten yard off the highway before I lost my smoothie and bagel into the sagebrush. I had officially joined the Buick club. It wasn't nearly as cool as I thought it was when my dad made up those shirts, though.

Crystal drove the rest of the way home and shortly thereafter Lee took all our kids to the pool in North Ogden. The goal was to shower and sleep while they were gone. The shower part was great, but though I laid there for an hour, I couldn't sleep. Instead, I got myself a coke Slurpee on my way to the pool to relieve Lee (He's working on his Master's degree and has homework all the time). I stayed at the pool for a few hours while Crystal cleaned the house for a BBQ (certainly my being gone wasn't part of a bigger plan :-) We had a great BBQ and then we went to bed. I couldn't sleep again, but took another 1/2 a Tylenol PM and manged to get a little bit.

I had an awesome Sunday nap, though.

So, all in all, it was a good run on a great course. I wish I'd trained better (I only ran three times a week) and I wish it hadn't been so hot. I wish the water station had been easier to find at the end, but other than that it was great. I would like to run it again. My time was not great, 2:30:29--8 minutes slower than my time at the Snow Canyon 1/2 last year, but I'd only had 6 weeks to train after my gall bladder surgery and I'm 5 pounds heavier.

Crys and I are trying to find another 1/2 to do this fall/winter and I'm working hard to improve my time.

BUT I can officially say "I ran Top of Utah and I have the shirt to prove it!"

NY Resolutions get a Bad Rap

It seems there is something for everyone on the spectrum of resolutions; some of us take it seriously, some of us don't want anything else to feel guilty about and ignore them completely.

As for me, I think I fall somewhere in the middle. I have written out resolutions in the past; I've broken them and been hard on myself. Sometimes I just think them, and forget them eventually. As we entered 2010 and I wondered whether to do them or not, I had a thought, why NOT set goals?

I mean, yes, there's the chance you won't fulfill it, but isn't working toward something, even if it's only for a little while, and even if you don't fufill it perfectly, isn't the 'journey' toward being better or accomplishing something worth it? Isn't the mere WANTING of something better a good thing?

I think it is.

So, here are some of my resolutions from LAST year, and how I did on them:

1--Lose 10 pounds: I did lose ten pounds, but I didn't keep it off once November rolled around. I'm officially six pounds lighter today than I was this time last year.

How do I feel about that?

AWESOME. I'm six pounds lighter, AND I learned a lot about myself, about food, and about how to feel good. I might not have accomplished my goal, but the journey was worth it and I feel primed to truly accomplish it in 2010. I fit in my jeans, and that's awesome.

2--Run a half marathon: Not only did I not run a half marathon, I didn't get even close. I ran one 5K in 2009. Not long after that I started having trouble with my IT band on my left leg. I eventually got a brace, but it was uncomfortable and being in pain takes a lot of the fun out of running for me thus I didn't train as well as I wanted to and I didn't even attempt another 5K, let alone a longer race.

How do I feel about that?

Okay. I mean, I did run, and I even kept running after my knee started hurting. I had some great mountain runs with my husband, which were times I truly cherished. I got out of my house, pushed myself, and while I didn't accomplish what I wanted to accomplish I still accomplished something and I'm stronger because of it. I also ran my personal longest distance 6 1/2 miles, which was awesome!

3--Establish a new relationship with a certain family member: I'm not really at peace with where this 'relationship' is, but as the year progressed and certain drama came up, I was able to pull myself out of it better than I ever have before. I came to realize there is no quick fix to this situation, it's one I've dealt with a long time and will continue to deal with a long time in the future.

How do I feel about that?

Optimistic. I have room for improvement on my part, lots of room, but I did make some important 'discoveries' in regard to this this year and I believe I can continue to improve things little by little if I continue to ask the Lord for help, continue to evaluate myself and my actions, and continue to WANT something better than what I have right now. I'm very glad I set this goal and gained the insights I gained.

4--Read more books. I had hoped to read a book a week. For some people, that isn't very many. There was a time when this was a paltry amount of reading for me, but over the last the five years life has become such that reading has gone by the wayside. In 2008 I think I read less than 20 books, which is almost embarassing. I did do better in 2009, and I think I read closer to 35 or 40 books.

How do I feel about that?

Really good. I would like to read at least 50 books a year; it keeps me up to date on the market and also helps me with my own writing. I also think that it's a good 'break' for me, and I give myself very few of those. I'm glad I set this goal because otherwise I wouldn't have pursued reading the way I did.

And now we are 2010--and here are my goals:

1--Lose 5 pounds (this will be easier than it was last time because I did it before and know how to do it again, now that the holidays are over I can get back some of the control I've given up. Hopefully I'll be able to maintain it through he year this time. We'll see.)

2--Run a 10K (this will be tricky, but not impossible. I need to sign up for a race so that I'm forced to train for it or risk losing the money)

3--Love better (I beleive that Love is the key to both forgiveness and acceptance of other people. It's hard for me to give sometimes, but I've learned a thing or two this year about myself and want to be more giving of the love I feel, but sometimes hesitate to share)

4--Read 50 books. (that's not even a book a week. Reading the Whitney finalists alone will get me halfway there. Thank goodness for the online library option where I can hold books from home)

5--Cook dinner. (Making changes to my eating took a lot of fun out of cooking and I've gotten to where I make an actual meal only once or twice a week. I find that pathetic and am determined to do better this year. I've pulled out a couple recipe books and marked recipes that I'm interested in. I've invested in $20 worth of cool spices I had to order online. I'm shooting toward at least one new recipe a week and at least 4 actual meals a week.)

6--Write at least 1 hour a day, 6 days a week. (So far, I'm 100% on this one :-) and have written 4,000 words in the new year. I love timers, so timing helps a lot. I'm worried for how it will work when the kids are back in school and I'm back at work, but if I can keep to it, I'll avoid the stress of deadlines from last year. I will reward myself for every 15 days I write 1 hour; a hair color, pedicure, massage--things like that.)

So, it's your New Year too--how did 09 go and what are you planning for 2010?

Complicated, complicated

Anyone that knows me knows how much I LOVE complications. It just gives me the chance to shrug my shoulders and say, "Hey, it's a new adventure."

Whatever.

I hate complications. I hate it when things don't work. I take little satisfaction in fixing things that should not go wrong in the first place. I can't stand it when things go wrong, especially when it's my fault. With that, here is my day:

7:45--get up, eat, get kids syked for the race we're running in Tremonton today.
8:15--Wake up husband, make him eat breakfast, run around the house trying to find shoes while grumbling "Why can't you guys just put your shoes away when you take them off, then you'd know right where they are!" In my 15 years of motherhood I've said this about ninety-seven thousand times. You'd think they would figure it out!
8:45--Print of flier from internet about the race, quickly review the time and place. Herd kids to car.
9:20--Arrive in Tremonton (30 miles away) and decide RIGHT THEN (not half an hour ago) to read the details of the race. Notice it says November 10--not November 8. Shake my head and talk about how important it is to proofread. Idiots.
9:21--Pull up to the Senior Center where the race is supposed to begin only to find it surrounded by red ski netting and the whole building a pile of debris.
9:22--make husband drive to city park because of course that's where they moved the race to since the senior center is being demolished. Ignore questions on why they would put the senior center on the flier if they knew it was going to be demolished.
9:23--Go into the library to look for a notice about the race change of location. Their community bullitin board sucks and has no information.
9:25--Pull into a gasstation, buy a local paper, give have to the husband who finds out the race is on the 15th--next weekend. Look at my flier and realize it's from LAST YEAR!!
9:27--Head back toward home, trying to blame the city for keeping an old notice on their website. Explain to boy-child that he now has to go to dance practice.
9:37--Grind teeth as boy-child cries and tells us how much he hates dance.
9:40--Get boy-child to shut up by promising him a Slurpee.
9:42--Get youngest child to shut up by promising her a slurpee too.
9:50--Pull up to high school where dance rehearsal is supposed to take place.
9:52--Take boy child inside only to have him tell me that practice is at the dance studio today, they told him last week and he forgot to tell me alllll week as well as the last 15 minutes we've been discussing it in the car.
9:58--Drop still sulking boy-child off at dance studio.
10:05--Stop at 7-11 for water and potty break. We decided to go run at the high-school track rather than drive home while son goes to last hour of practice.
10:07--Wait behind an overweight family of 9 filling up on $30 worth of nachos, slurpees, donuts, pop, and hot dogs. They paid for it with food stamps. I had to scrounge up quarters to buy water bottles.
10:15--Get on track, stretch out, get ready to go only to have youngest child tell us she needs to go Pee. We JUST left 7-11. Husband and I exchange those looks that say "Why did we have children?"
10:20--I told husband to run, I'll take youngest child to a bathroom.
10:25--Sneek youngest child into high school swimming pool bathroom.
10:30--Return to track, run 1.75 miles while stewing in my own negativity.
10:50--Leave track to pick up boy child
11:00--pick up boy--I'm so ready to go home--and get reminded that we owe him a Slurpee which means we have to go BACK into Brigham City before going home.

Luckily--it got better once we got home and now I get to do yard work. Let's hope next week it goes a bit smoother.

Fast, but not Turkey Fast

When I was growing up, my dad let all of us kids know that in high-school we were required to do a sport. There was no if-ands-or-buts about it--we would all be athletes because athletes learn discipline and work ethic and it kept kids out of trouble. My oldest sister did track, which was what my dad did in high-school and what he coached now that he was a teacher. He was quite pleased, even more so that she went on to BYU where she earned her bachelor's degree in psychology. The next sister did Swimming, which my father approved of as well and she went on to get her teaching certificate and serve a mission in Chile. My dad went to Guatimala--so, yeah, she proved his point as well. I tried cross country as a sophmore until I heard about this thing called tendinitis where your tendons get inflamed and it's very painful. I then used this tidbit of knowledge to get out of cross country. See, you can't spot tendinitis on an x-ray. I hated running and pretty much all other sports as well and managed to have tendinitis long enough that I was unable to be on the cross country team. In my defense, I think I really did have it . . . at first.

Anyway, I then went on to prove my dad right--if you didn't do sports you got into trouble. My poor father. A man of such ideals that I single-handidly crushed. The sports thing was picked up again a few kids later, but I bucked the system and took on lame boyfriends and bad grades instead--go me! I got married not quite a year after graduating high-school (with a tattoo) and dropped out of community college.

And yet, here I am, twenty years later, and running. I've run here and there the last few years and am just non-athletic enough to be all kinds of impressed with myself when I hit milestones.

"I ran half a mile without puking, wahoo!"

"I ran a whooooooole mile! Someone buy me a cheeseburger!"

"I ran TWOOOOO miles without taking any performance enhancing medication--Just call me Jackie Joiner."

Because I have never accomplished much in the way of athletics, everything I do accomplish is like super-star--in my own mind anyway. I know I'm not fast and I know I'm not all that disciplined--but still. A girl's got to have pride in something and since my oldest two kids are teenagers now, I have a lot of failure-complexes to overcome.

Two weeks ago I ran my first 5K. I was so nervous. I had gotten to where I could run four miles as I trained for it (Yeah, FOUR) but I'd never run with anyone but my friend Tiffany. To run with a huge group, and many of them dressed in coordinated warm up suits--whew, can you say intimidation? So, imagine my self-celebration when I came in at 28:39--which meant I ran my miles at about 9 and a half minutes. DANG good stuff for me!

And just in case I'm not impressed with myself enough, my husband is shocked. I think this stems from comments I've made over the years like "Running sucks" and "I stop exercising when it hurts or I can't breath very good." Now, I'm sticking to a schedule and pushing myself. He likes it. He likes it so much he decided to run yesterday's race with me. After last week's mix-up neither of us were all that pumped for yesterday but we were very glad it wasn't snowing and so we went ahead and did it.

We drove about 30 miles north (again--see last weeks post if you missed out on that thrill) and participated in Tremonton's annual Turkey Trot. The first place winners in each age/gender category win a frozen turkey and the second place winners win a free pie. Lee talked about how great it was going to be when I won the turkey. I laughed. I might be delusional, but I'm not THAT delusional. Still, I let him live out his little fantasy cause it made me feel good anyway.

My goal was twofold--beat my time from two weeks ago and keep breathing. I am pleased to say that I accomplished both of them! I came in at 28:28--11 seconds faster than my first 5K--and I managed to breath the whole way. I also killed (that's when you pass someone) 8 other runners after the first mile, and yes I am counting that little nine year old girl at a mile and a half AND the lady pushing the stroller that I passed about 20 feet from the finish line. No one killed me. I came in ninth in my age division which was 25-38 and I was number 43 overall, out of about 85 people. I also beat my husband by almost 30 seconds.

Unfortunately, coming in ninth does not win a Turkey, but my daughter came in as the 2nd girl at 8:49 in the kid's 1 mile and won a pie. My son came in third with a time of 7:40. Maybe I need to start running with him.

So anyway, I have caught the bug. Brigham City has a Thanksgiving race and I'm determined to beat my time again. Both my youngest kids are pumped up at their success and want to keep doing it to. Lee is shrugging off. He really hates running.

And who knows, maybe I'll invest in one of those coordinated warm up suits one of these days :-)
Unfortunately, I have to buy my own Thanksgiving turkey--and I don't eat turkey. That's totally not fair, but whatyagunnado? Fast but not turkey fast--I guess I can live with that.