Just a quick post from my phone

Isn't it cool that you can write a blog post from your phone?

So, today we decided to go with J
on an over night work trip to Reno. I thought I'd find a local high school track to run at, but when we got here it was a different story. Reno is SCARY! (Sorry to anyone who lives in or likes Reno to run in.) There is no way I am going to run alone here. I'll just have to make up my run tomorrow when I get home.

That's how today went. I would have gone this morning before we left, but that would have meant that I needed to get up and run at 2 on the morning and that wasn't going to happen.

Anyway, things are good and we're having fun. :) I hope everyone else had some fun runs today.

Today, today...

I don't think it really counts as "running" cause I didn't "run" the whole time, but today's 4 miles was an "easy" 4 miles. It was easy running wise, but the effort it took to get the kids back up the trail was TOUGH. J and I took the kids down to McDonald's and Harmon's (grocery store). We walked down and walked back up with a heavy bag of groceries. It's about 2.15 down hill and then 2.15 back up plus the walking we did around the store. But, I did run. B and I raced up the trail and then C and I ran to catch up with J & B. I even wore my running shoes....So, do you think it counts as my 4 mile training run? :)

Tomorrow J & I are taking B & A somewhere special. There will be some fun pictures. Tomorrow's 8 mile run is going to be done around a track. Any tips for running a long distance around a track? I'm a little nervous to do it that way, but I don't know the area I'm going to be in and I want to make sure to get my run done.

This Week's Runs!

This week's going to be fun!

My momma and papa are coming to town on Wednesday cause my sister's gonna have a baby sometime in the near future (hopefully!). Plus, this weekend my mom and I are going to run the Salt Lake Crack of Dawn 10 miler. I can't wait! It's so fun to run with my mom. :) She's such a  tough woman and I'm so proud of her. She's going to be running her first half marathon this June at the young age of 59! How cool is that?

J was so funny today. He asked me what time the race was and where I wanted him to stand at the finish line on Saturday. He was so upset with himself for missing the finish and I have to admit, I gave him a hard time for a little while when I found him after the race. But, I forgave him quickly cause he's a good man and I know he tried to be there. Like Amy said, "On the plus side, J just didn't expect you to be so dang fast! :D There are worse reasons to miss a finish." The funny thing about that...he said the exact same thing and it's so true. I was just emotional after running that far, ya know?

I love ya, J. You're such a great man! Thanks for being there and supporting me in this crazy running hobby. I couldn't do it without you!

So, my runs this week are going to be:
Monday: 4
Tuesday: 8
Wednesday: 4
Thursday: 5
Friday: OFF
Saturday: Salt Lake Crack of Dawn 10 Miler + 2-3 miles warm up/cool down or double day.

My goals this week are to take it easy, go one day at a time, enjoy my family, and have a fun race with my momma.

The Riverton Half Marathon

So...... I ran my first Half Marathon in 2.21.38!! Not too bad for my first official half! :)

Ok, so here's how it went:

It was a little chilly at the start. The car said it was 31º and the wind wasn't blowing much, it was a little cloudy though. But, when we were getting ready to start the sun came out and the weather was GREAT!

Miles 1-2: I started out pretty good. I wasn't TOTALLY warmed up, even after running a 1 mile warm up. It takes me about 2.5 miles to get in my groove when it comes to running long distances. I started out with my warm up jacket on, but I knew that I would ditch it at the first water stop. When I was getting close to mile 3 we were running down hill and I was sweating bullets. I don't know why, but I had sweat in my eyes and everything. Everything was flat until mile 2.5 and then we started going down hill.

Mile 3-5: I hit my groove, I ditched my jacket and I even did it while running. J got me a camelbak to run with since I HATE having things around my waist while I run. So, when I ditched my jacket I had to take off the camelbak, my jacket, and my watch all while running. Why you may ask? Cause I'm weird like that. I can't say "I ran 13.1 miles" if I stopped. SOOOO...I did all that and put the camelbak and watch back on threw my jacket at the water stop and kept going. We went down hill for a little while, went up a couple little hills, and ran flat for a while.

Mile 6-7: This is when it got fun. Mile 6 was nice and flat and then I see the mile 7 sign and look up.....HOLY CRAP! You want me to run up that?! It was a pretty steep hill. I kept on and figured that if I didn't look at the hill it wouldn't be so bad. So, I kept my head down and took it one step at a time. I reached the top of the hill and it was flat for a little while and then a little down hill.

Mile 8: Yay! The mile 8 sign and what's that? ANOTHER MASSIVE HILL! This one was even bigger than the last. Head down, one step at a time, made it up without stopping. Things leveled out and went down hill a little.

Mile 9-10: MORE FREAKIN HILLS! Up a BIG hill, leveled out, down a hill, then another BIG hill, leveled out again, and then down another hill.

Mile 11: There's a water stop, I grab a water and run with it. It's not easy to drink and run at the same time. I hear a guy tell his girl "One more hill and then it's pretty level from there." A little past the water stop and you see the hill. There's a sign that says something like "Welcome to the "S" hill! The "S" hill can stands for more than one thing. It's the "Oh, Sh....Hill" "Satan's Hill" "Stupid Hill". It was a hill that was "S" shaped and VERY steep! I had to keep my head down on this one. There was no way I could look at the hill and keep going. I made it up without stopping. When I reached the top it was level for a second and then went up a little bit more and then leveled out again.

Mile 12-13: I felt GOOD! I kept a great pace the whole time. There was a lady who used me as a pacer. She came up to me at the end and said thanks for the help. the last mile was flat and easy.

The last .13: I picked up the pace and finished at 2.21.38! While I was approaching the finish line I look around and J's NOT there. So....no finishing picture. I don't know if there was anyone taking pictures at the finish I couldn't find anything online.

I looked around for J, called my mom to tell her how I did, and then saw J waiting at the finish line looking for me.

He snapped a picture and this is my "I'm trying to fake a smile while I tear up on the phone cause J missed me crossing the finish line" photo.

This is my "FINE! I'll fake another smile, I don't care" picture.

Hey, it's REALLY emotional running that far for that long without stopping and then finishing and having no one there to see you finish. I was wanting an awesome "CHECK ME OUT!" photo for the finish. I was going to take Mel's advice and ham it up for the photo. I thought about it the whole time I was running. It ended up that he missed me crossing the finish by about 5 minutes. Oh, well.

Anyway, after a massage at the massage tables and getting some food in me and talking to my mom some more I forgave J for being late and missing out on a special moment.

They gave us a cool little towel and a nice metal. My first! :) I can't wait to collect more!

It's heavy too!

All in all it was a great race, I felt great, my muscles aren't too sore, just my thighs from those hills. I'm glad I did it. I can't wait to run the 10 mile race with my mom next Saturday, it's going to be fun. :)

1st Half Marathon Giveaway!

I'm SO excited about this giveaway! There's no better way to celebrate my first half marathon than by giving away some awesome gear to the people who help encourage me and cheer me along.

So, lets get down to business...

The great people at Sugoi Gear (and Outside PR) are giving a Sugoi Verve 3/4 shirt to one lucky winner.

"The Sugoi Verve 3/4 is a great looking piece, but is also performance-oriented. The flat seam construction and neck tape make it super comfortable and it has great little details like mesh inserts in the shoulder and sides and a hidden zip pocket. The Finotech material is super-wicking and comfy, too."

But wait! Not only do they get the shirt, the great people at Ryders Eyewear (and Outside PR) are including a pair of Ryders Drill Sunglasses!

"The Drill have optically-correct, shatterproof, scratch-resistant polycarbonate lenses that will protect your eyes from 100% of UVA, UVB and UVC rays. They have ultralightweight TR90 frames with low profile , high-strength pinned hinges that will survive the harshest treatment. And to keep them on your face- where they should be- these sunnies also have non-slip, hydrophilic nose pads and temple tips that actually get tackier (in a GOOD way) as you get sweaty. These sunglasses are tough as nails but light as a feather -perfect for running in any type of weather. Ryders are super-premium, high performance eyewear with a pricetag that loves you back."

Pretty cool, huh?!

Oooh, I can't forget! Just because you guys are so great, one lucky runner up will also get a pair of Ryders Drill Sunglasses.

Ok, so how do you enter? Leave a comment for EACH thing you do.

1. 
   
   Go to Sugoi and check out their gear and tell me what other cool stuff you like on their site.
2. 
   
   Follow me or let me know you already do! The more followers the better!
3. 
   
   Check out Ryders Eyewear and tell me which sunglasses you like.
4. 
   
   Link this giveaway on your blog, twitter, or Facebook. (Comment for each one you do.)
5. 
   
   Tell me about your favorite race/run that you've ever run. I love hearing people's stories, it's very motivating!

The winner will be announced next Saturday!

Thanks for all the support!!!

I did it! I did it!

I got my run in!

Ok, so, today I'm all about the exclamation marks cause that's how I'm feeling right now. Things are going great. I'm feeling awesome and I can't wait for my first half marathon on Saturday!

I went out to do my run after C got on the bus to go to school.

 It was kinda weird, it was sunny, but very windy and I could tell that any minute the clouds would be coming in. I went around the lake today and when I'd run one direction it was freezing, but when I'd turn the corner it was hot. I wore my North Face Women's Windstopper Jacket (LOOOVE IT!) and a Champion tank under it that I got at Target. I'd stop for a second and take the jacket off when I'd turn the corner and burn up and then when I'd reach the other side I'd stop and put the jacket back on. If it wasn't so windy I could have just worn the tank.

(Don't mind me, the wind was blowing and I look like a major dork.)

The thing about the tank...I've never just worn a tank running before. I kinda felt like a "real" runner. It wasn't too long ago that I didn't have any technical shirts and I'd wear old cotton race shirts to run in. I felt so weird wearing the tank, but I really liked how cool it was. Plus, when summer comes I'm not going to want to have a major farmers tan so I'll have to get used to it. Which by the way...I'm getting a capri tan from my capri length running tights and that means that I'm going to have to start wearing my running skirts the way they were meant to be worn, but that means I'm going to need to get some of that BodyGlide stuff so I don't rub my legs raw.

Anyway, the run went well, my knees were a little sore, but nothing to complain about. I did 6.16 in 1.05 and came home and ate this...

YUM!

Today's a good day and I'm feeling great! Ooh, and I have 30 "official" followers now! YAY! All those in the wood works come out and play, I won't bite. :)

Tomorrow I'm going to be posting a pretty awesome giveaway in celebration of my first half marathon so keep a look out!!!! Exciting!

Life Happens

So, today was a crazy day and I didn't take advantage of running early in the morning, so I missed out on my run. Tomorrow I'll run 6 in the morning and then I'll do an easy 3 on Friday before my 1/2. Busy, busy, busy!

Keep an eye out, I might have something special to celebrate my first half. :)

Double Day.

I got up at 7 and got running before I had to get B to school.

This is what I woke up to and what I ran in. The funny thing is I'm being such a sissy! I ran through 10x's worse snow in the winter so why is it so hard to get my butt out and run in the snow in the spring time? Anyway, I got out and ran in the snail (snow/hail). I kept a pretty even pace and finished in 46 min just in time to get B to school.

What a difference! By 3 the snow had melted and the temps went up. The crazy thing though...one side of the valley was CRAZY stormy and the other side looked like this...

Weird. Spring really needs to make up its mind.

The wind was blowing the storm away from me which was nice. I ran this 4 in 44 min. I felt like I was going insanely slow, but I was going a lot faster than I thought. I felt good, the only thing I would change is I wouldn't run in my old shoes again. They need to be retired. I gotta stick to my new ones. It's so crazy though...the shoes don't look THAT old.

Oh well, today was good. Tomorrow's 8 miles. I'm just gonna take my time and go slow.

Blah, blah, blah...

So, I missed today's run. Maybe I'll do a double day tomorrow, we'll see.

Today was a very busy day and the whole daylight savings thing is still throwing me off.

I'm going to bed now and crossing my fingers that I get up and run before the crazy day starts.

This Week's Runs!

This week's going to be fun. I get to run my first half marathon!! Exciting!

I would have never thought a year ago that I would be running a half marathon. It's just nuts! So, I'm not really going to be "racing" this half marathon. It's more of a "run through" of how it's going to be when I run my marathon in June. I'm just planning on taking my time and running at an easy pace. I'm going to take advantage of the water stops and stuff like that. I'm guessing I'll finish around 2 hours 30 min. If I'm faster than that then AWESOME, but I'm not expecting to be under.

This week's runs are gonna be:
Monday: 5 miles
Tuesday: 3 miles
Wednesday: 8 miles
Thursday: 4 miles
Friday: 2 miles
Saturday: HALF MARATHON! + 1 mile warm up.
Sunday: OFF

It should be pretty easy. I just gotta take 1 day at a time and it'll all work out.

My goals this week are to eat right and get my runs in. I'm not going to make a ton of goals and then fail. So, eat right and get my runs in should be more than good. Well, I wouldn't mind winning a few of the giveaways out there, but I can't do much about that. Maybe I can bribe someone or something...lol

Anyway, I hope everyone out there has a good week this week.

OH! I read on someones blog somewhere about a group that you can join if you run a certain amount of half marathons in a certain time frame, but for the life of me I can't remember what its called. Anyone out there have a link or know what the heck I'm talking about? :)

Sometimes I forget...

Sometimes I forget how far I've come with running. Today while I was running my 7 miler I passed a lady pushing a stroller with 1 kid in it and 1 kid running along side her. She was going at such a pace that she might as well have been walking. When I passed her I flashed back 3 years ago when I would take both kids in the stroller across the street to the local high school track and run laps while pushing the kids. I would go SOOOOO slow, the kids would fuss, and people would look at me like I was nuts. But, I was out there getting it done. I knew it was something that I had to do to better myself and I would do anything it took to get out there, even if that meant that I would have to push 2 fussy kids in a stroller. I feel so proud of people like her. People who do what it takes to get things done. It's nuts that in 3 years I have lost weight, gained weight, gone from running 1 mile and thinking that was the hardest thing to running 7 and thinking nothing of it.

Today's run was good. It was windy and about 1/2 way through the temps started to drop. There were some HUGE storm clouds moving my way. I finished right before it got over head. I kept a 10.49 pace...NICE! I felt good!

I love life. I love running. I love what running has done for me and my family. I am a much happier person. Tomorrow's my weigh in day. I am REALLY hoping that I lose that .4 that will take me to 50 pounds lost total. 50 lbs is a LOT! After that I have 5 to go and then I will have reached my goal! YAY!

Busy, busy, busy...

I got up, got the kids ready for school, took them to school, came home, started cleaning, picked up B from school, came back home, made lunch, cleaned some more...then cleaned some more...and then some more, then C came home, and I cleaned some more. I cleaned and cleaned... Hey, have I told you that I cleaned? Yeah, I cleaned. I cleaned the whole freakin' house. I cleaned it from 9:30 am until 6:30 pm. Then I prayed and prayed that the kids wouldn't undo everything that I did. All the while I kept hearing "You've got 7 miles to run...You've got 7 miles to run..."

So, after dinner and after laying 2 of the 3 kiddos down, I handed off little A to Gma T and went for a little run before the sun went down. Have you noticed that there's a difference between the darkness at night and the darkness in the morning? When it gets dark at night it freaks me out and I don't like running. There's a buncha weirdos out at night. I figure all the psychos are asleep at 5 in the morning so I don't mind running then at all.

Anyway, I got 4.60 miles done before it got too dark. So, I'll switch today's run and tomorrow's run, no big deal.

How was your day today?

Riding with my girl on St. Patty's Day.

HAPPY ST. PATRICKS DAY!!!

The breakfast of champions. YUM! You like my green milk? It was GOOD.

Today I thought it would be fun to take B with me on my run. She really enjoyed it. She talked the whole time, telling me about her dream last night, and asking why there were things like dragonflies. It was kinda fun listening to her little mind wonder while I ran.

The weather was perfect and we went 4 miles. Her little legs biked her up and down hills, over bridges, and through the dirt. She was so proud of herself. I asked if she liked riding while I ran and she said "Yeah, cause you're my best mom!" :)

I felt good the whole time. No achy muscles. No sore feet. Tomorrow's a 7 miles and I'm confident that I'll feel great again, lets just hope this great weather keeps up.

Rest

I got up early this morning to take my man to work and my knees ached going up and down the stairs. My thighs and calves didn't hurt at all, just my knees and that muscle right above my thigh and right below my hip. Anyway, I feel good today. I had 2 scheduled, but I took today off to relax. But, Princess and the Frog came out and I had one of those $10 off coupons so I ran around to 2 different Walmarts and 2 different Targets before I finally convinced a lady to hold it for me so I didn't have to run through another Walmart and find it not there. So, even though I didn't "run" I ran about 2 miles through 4 different stores. The things mommas do for their kids. It was worth it, I got a $30 Bluray combo for $15.

Oooh, so since I'm not running today I've been looking at some races for the next couple months and I am SOO excited to run this 4th of July race. It's going to be my first post marathon race and I'm really hoping to get Jason and his bro Jon to run with me. I think it would be a fun family race. They are gonna have some great race shirts PLUS you get a finisher's metal even for the 5k. Cool, huh? I love it!

Wow, this is some really salty popcorn... LOL! Sorry...random thought.

I'm excited to see how I feel tomorrow morning during my run. Just an easy 2-3 miles. My thighs are starting to ache a little, but I think it's cause of all the stairs I've been climbing.

Well, today's a good day. :)

I had to do it....

I had to run the 14 miles!! I couldn't help it. 11 wasn't going to do it for me. I was looking forward to it all week last week and then to get sick and not being able to run it on Saturday really bummed me out. Plus, I wanted to try out my new shoes.

(They felt AWESOME, by the way.)

So, I started out planning on doing 11. My plan was to do laps around the lake and each time I'd reach a certain spot I'd stop for a minute and get a drink and get some GU. Lap 1 was fine. I felt strong and had a great pace going on. I made it around, got a drink and went on for lap 2. Lap 2 was just like the first. There were a couple of guys that kinda weirded me out, but there were also a lot of couples with strollers and stuff walking around too so I felt safe. I stopped again, got some water and GU and went on. Lap 3 was good. I passed by a couple of guys for the second time and one of them said "Hi again!" I went around to get some water and some guy was sitting right where I was hiding my water. I grabbed my water and went down a little ways to drink it. I stashed it in a new place and went on. So...Lap 4, I started making my way around and my right thigh started aching. I pushed through and made it back around to where I stashed my water and SOMEONE STOLE IT! Someone stole my freakin' water bottle...it made me MAD. But, that was my decision point. When I made it around I had gone 11.5 miles and was going to decide whether or not I was going to continue, but since my water bottle was stolen...stinkin' water bottle thief...I thought I'd head home and finish the lap which would give me 14 miles. I didn't get a water break and my thighs were aching so my last 3 miles were  slow, but I did it!

I RAN 14 MILES!!

This is my "I ran 14 miles!" face. :)

After running 14 miles my legs felt sooo weird. It was like my brain was saying "Let's go!" and my legs were saying "Are you CRAZY!?" My legs were completely dead. It was such a weird feeling. Like they hurt, but it wasn't painful...it was annoying. (If that makes sense.) So, when I got home I "iced" my legs. Ooh, and I don't have any blisters and my feet feel good.

Frozen bags of chocolate chips are SOOO great  for icing your legs. Just make sure they aren't open that way you don't undo everything you just did. :) Not that I would eat 1900 calories worth of chocolate chips anyway... Butterscotch chips, now that's a different story!

Anyway. I'm SOO proud to say that I ran 14 miles! Next time I'll have a better hiding spot for my water or I'll use a camelbak or something and I'll take some more GU with me.

Tomorrow...I'm taking it off.

Oh, and the weather today was PERFECT for a 14 miler! It was about 50 out and not a cloud in the sky! I might need to invest in a hat for my next long run.

Guess who's feeling better!!

I AM!!

It's so nice to be feeling better. I can't wait to try out my new shoes tomorrow and I can't wait to run my long run! I talked to Mr. Trainer man, Adam (aka little bro) and asked him what my runs this week are gonna be like. So, no 14 tomorrow. I'm scheduled for 11 and I'm tempted to do 3 more so I can do 14. I can't wait to reach my new distance goal but, I also have to keep telling myself I gotta follow the plan. It's important to follow the plan.

This week's plan is:

Monday: 11 miles

Tuesday: 2 miles

Wednesday: 3 miles+fartleks

Thursday: 7 miles

Friday: 4 miles

Saturday: 5 miles

Sunday: OFF

My goals this week are to get LOTS of sleep. Eat well. Run well. And most of all...BE HAPPY! :)

Sick+Snow=No 14 Mile Run

I'm still not feeling 100%. I'm probably about 70%. I woke up this morning and thought about running 7 miles and then having Jace pick me up at the half way if I couldn't go the whole way, but when I stood up out of bed....WHOA! There is NO WAY I can run 7 miles let alone 14. So, I slept in for a while, went and weighed in really quick at WW. Lost 4.8 lbs thanks to being sick and not eating for 3 days. I need to get food in my tummy I am completely empty and I don't have the energy to run. Going down stairs is hard enough. Maybe when I get food in me and lots of water I'll feel great. I'm hoping to get my 14 miles in on Monday.

About an hour after going to WW, it looked like this outside....

Yeah, I don't think that would mesh too well with a sick momma trying to run 14 miles.

The video doesn't do it justice...those were HUGE flakes!

PS. I have some new Sauconys that I can't wait to try out. I love Saucony shoes!

101.7º

Yeah....so I have a fever. I've had one all night. The weird thing, when I first went to bed last night I took my temp and it was 96.2º and I was shaking soo hard. Jason said I was freezing. After a couple hours my temp jumped to 101.7º and heaven knows it got even higher than that.  Right now, I have a temp of 100.5º and I look like I was hit by a train. I wonder if I ran if it would kill this thing cause it is NO FUN. Will I be better for tomorrow? I hope so. Even if I am better should I run? We'll see.

I don't feel good...

It's crazy. I woke up this morning at 6 when little Mr. Man had to go potty. I felt fine. I even debated if I should go run, but I decided to sleep in. 30 minutes later I wake up for good and it feels like I was hit by a train. You know the aches and chills  you get when you have a fever? Yeah, I had those really bad. So, needless to say I didn't get in my 4 miles plus sprints today. Even though I had a couple hours during the day that I felt like I could muster up enough energy to run, I thought It would be better to rest. I just really hope that I feel better tomorrow. A 24 hour bug would be nice...well, not nice as in I like having them, but nice as in I don't want it to go longer.

So, in some happier news. Miss Ma'am has been inspired by my running. She wanted to run on the treadmill. She did .5 miles in 7 minutes. :) She was so proud to be running like mommy.

Then she wanted to do push ups. She wanted to do 5 cause she was 5.

Then she wanted to do sit ups. Again, she wanted to do 5 cause she is 5.

I love my girl. She's so excited to exercise like mommy and she keeps asking if she can run a race too. There's a cute little Cookie Chaser race for Girl Scout Cookies that I thought she would have fun with.

Anyway, at least one of us got some exercise today. :)

I love my man...

You wanna know why? Because he kicked me out of the house, locked the door behind me, and told me I couldn't come back in until I ran 7 miles. :) How's that for support! I went through the usual routine of setting the alarm for 5:30, hitting snooze until 7, then getting dressed and not running until 9:30. He had to head out to work at 11:30 so he told me that if I didn't get out and get running then it probably wouldn't happen and that I would end up dreading it all day. So, he pushed me out the door, locked it, and told me to get it done.

It was COOOLD this morning and I wasn't as prepared as I would have hoped, with ear warmers and all that jazz. I even tried to use that as an excuse to get back in the house and he opened the door a crack and says "Start running and you'll warm up!" Hahaha! So, that's what I did....I started running.

I did a couple laps around the lake. It kinda sucks that it takes me 2.5 miles to get into my groove, but that just means that I will always have negative splits. I ran the 2nd half 5.5 minutes faster than the first. Crazy, huh?! My first mile was a 12.04 minute mile and my last mile was 9.04. I love it!

The whole time I was running I couldn't stop thinking about how awesome my man was for kicking me out of the house. He knows it's getting to crunch time and he doesn't want me to quit. He's such a great man.

Thanks, babe for being there for me and supporting my running!!

Now, I've got some sore feet and tired legs. Time for a nap! Oh, and things are so far so good for today's food. I even took a Reese's Egg (MY FAAAAVORITE!) that I was saving and gave it to my daughter so I wouldn't be tempted.

Sometimes...

Sometimes I hate food. Am I the only one who feels that way? I hate when I eat a meal and almost immediately regret eating it. I hate eating a meal and then realizing that the 4 miles I ran earlier that morning was for nothing. I hate feeling like I'm going no where in my weight loss journey. I know that's wrong to think that way, but after a 3.5 lb weight gain last week, it's a little frustrating. I really gotta figure out the key to running and eating and I really need to watch my portions and cut out all the candy. It's not good for me physically and mentally. I just don't want my weight loss this far to be to waste. I don't start bad habits and start over eating again.

Anyway, onto happier things. I got up and ran this morning!! I did 4 miles with 4x100 sprints. I felt strong and confident. I love when I have an awesome morning run. It's a great start to the day. Tomorrow's 7 miles, I'm kinda excited for it, but I'm also nervous. I'm not sure why. It's not like I haven't run 7 miles before.

18 more days until my first 1/2 marathon, the Riverton Half! EXCITING!!! :) I'm not really going to be racing for a fast time, but it's still good cause it'll be a test run to see how the the real thing will be.

Perfect

Running at 6 in the morning is the perfect time to run! It's so nice starting out in the dark and finishing while the sun is still rising. It makes such a difference in my day too. I went out and ran my 5 miles all around home. I felt good. I wasn't concerned about going fast. I don't need to be fast. Right now, I'm just concentrating on finishing.

This weeks runs...

Monday: 5 miles
Tuesday: 4 miles + 4x100s
Wednesday: 7 miles
Thursday: 4 miles + 4x100s
Friday: OFF
Saturday: 14 miles!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Sunday: OFF

14 miles!!!! I can't believe that I am going to be running 14 miles this Saturday! It's going to be so freakin' awesome to be able to say that I ran it. Exciting!

This weeks goals:  No skipping runs. Work my hardest. Go to bed early (starting tomorrow). LOL! Wake up early. Eat right. Watch the sugar. Watch the salt. Drink LOTS of water. Take this week one day at a time.

Here's to an awesome week!

Run for Red 5k!

(Here I am at the start feeling all optimistic.)

My goal was to run it in under 30 minutes....Did I do it? Did I?

I ran it in.....

28.50!!!

YAY!! I was am so excited to have beat my old PR. The crazy thing....I was 10 minutes faster this year than last year. Isn't that nuts? There was this chick Kara who stuck with me for the first 2 miles and then had to slow down towards the end. Her goal was to do it in under 30, I think she finished in 34 or something. It was kinda nice having someone running next to me. She was cheering people on the whole time, it was pretty cool.

When I turned the corner towards the finish, I picked it up and finished strong. I felt like I was going to puke, hence the not so pretty picture. lol!

I am so glad to have met my goal! My next few goals are to run the 5ks 1 min faster each time. That would be cool. :)

Oh, I weighed in today at WW and gained 3.4 lbs. I'm not surprised. The TOM plus, lots of salty pistachios and a BIG Cafe Rio salad for dinner last night...yeah, I could have figured. It just means next week I'll lose 3+.

Road ID Winner!!

WINNER!!!

The winner is TEAMARCIA!

A special thanks to everyone who entered the giveaway and to Road ID for being such a great company and taking care of all of us runners out there! :)

Another race

The alarm went off at 5:30, I got up and looked outside and saw....SNOW....lots of snow...snow coming down in big flakes. Ok, so here's the silly part, I got out  and ran all winter long, snow, ice, whatever, I ran. Today I saw the snow and thought "There is no way I'm running in that!" So, I turned off the alarm and went back to sleep. LOL! The crazy thing, all the snow melted by 4, but by then life had taken over and I wasn't able to get my run in. I did race my little girl on her bike a few times. She wanted me to run as fast as a could. It was fun. The joys of being a momma. :)

Tomorrow is March's race. Run for Red 5k! This race, 3 years ago, was the 2nd 5k I had ever ran. The first was in high school and doesn't really count cause I walked 95% of it. I really enjoy running this race just to see how much faster I can run it each year. This time I'm hoping to run it in less than 30 minutes. That will be my fastest 5k yet. Maybe resting today will give me an even better chance to run it in under 30. Is it weird that I still get nervous for 5ks? The REALLY crazy thing...I have my first 1/2 marathon in 3 weeks! CRAAAAZY!! I remember thinking that all those people, including my little bro, running the Provo City 1/2 were NUTS. But, this year, before July, I will have ran 3 5ks, 2 10ks, 1 10 miler, 2 Half Marathons, and 1 WHOLE marathon! Crazy.... I would have never thought I could do that last year. It's amazing what losing almost 50 pounds can do.

Today's food was pretty good. I had lots of veggies. :)

Isn't it weird?

Isn't it weird how something so good for you is soo hard to do? It was really hard to wake up this morning to run especially since today the kids sleep in because there's no school on Wednesdays. It's the perfect day to sleep in. I got up, got dressed with my eyes closed, and ran my 4 miles. After that I felt SO good! It was so nice not to have to worry about getting my run in the rest of the day.

My run was good. I felt great. I took my time and enjoyed watching the sun rise. Tomorrow's an easy 3, it still feels weird saying that...I'm hoping to go early again. It's pretty cool watching the sun come up.

Today's food was pretty good. I still need more veggies.

Much better!

Ok, so I went out and did my 8 miles. It was TOUGH! It was as if I hit EVERY hill and I was running INTO the wind the whole time. At one point I was running my 1/2 mile at a 9:15 pace (fast for me) and I turned the corner and the last .25 was all up hill and the wind was blowing SOOO hard. I wanted to quit and walk so bad, but I didn't I pushed hard and finished strong.

So, even though I've hit some sort of wall, I'm glad I got out and did my 8 miles. Tomorrow will be good. I've got to do it early. There's no time to do it later in the day.

Things are good. My food was pretty good today. I wasn't too hungry and I did good staying away from sweets for the most part. :)

A Wall...

I still haven't gotten my 8 mile tempo run done today...I'm hoping to get it done in the next hour or so, but you know what, I feel like I've hit some sort of running wall. I've lost my motivation and it's SOOO hard to get out the door. Maybe its because its the TOM or maybe cause I'm really getting into the bigger miles of marathon training, but I hit a wall and I hit it hard. Let's hope things change after my run, if I ever get my butt out there to do it.

Yep....

So, my 5 miler ended up being only 1.25 because I was procrastinating and didn't end up running until about 5. Plus, I've been wearing some new shoes, not a fan...I gotta ditch them. My arches and muscles weren't enjoying them. Tomorrow's run will be awesome and I'm REALLY REALLY hoping to get it done early.

I was really happy with my food today. Lots of good food! Oatmeal, Buffalo Chicken Wraps, and Taco Rice...YUM! Oh, the planter's NUTrition Energy Mix....YUUUUUM!! I love the chocolate pieces, and that's coming from someone who's not a chocolate fan.

I hope you all had a better run than I did today! Here's to a better day tomorrow. :)

Don't forget to enter!

Don't forget to go HERE! and enter the Road ID giveaway!!!

What a BEAUTIFUL day!!

Today was SOO gorgeous! The sun was shining, there were barely any clouds in the sky, the sun was nice and warm, and I didn't have to get all dressed up in a million layers just to run. I hope that means spring is here and it's going to be gorgeous like this for a while.

(The trail around the lake.)

Today I was scheduled to run 4 miles. I had my alarm set for 5:30, but I hit snooze until 7:30 and then waited until 1 to do my run. My wonderful man, Jason, said he wanted to run with me today. He used to be on the cross country team in high school, but really hasn't run since then. We started out good and he kept asking if I was going slow cause of him...nope....I'm just slow the first few miles until I hit my groove. :) So, he lasted until 2 miles and that's when his old running shoes started giving him shin splints. So, I thought since there were no kids, it was a great way to be with just him and talk. So, we walked the last 2 miles and had a great time talking.

When we first met we both lived in Mannheim, Germany and we would walk around this awesome park. We called it Buffalo Park. It was the coolest place ever. Too bad I wasn't a runner back then cause that would have been great to run out there. Trees everywhere, lots of trails...everything a runner could want. Anyway, today's run/walk made us think of back in the day. Good times!

(I got the picture HERE.)

So, even though today wasn't a big "run" day, it was really great and I enjoyed my time with my man.

Tomorrow's 5 miles and if tomorrows as nice as today, I'll have to run it during nap time cause the weather was AWESOME!

(Today's food...I thought I ate more than that....)