This Week's Runs + An Update

Now that it's 2 weeks from my marathon it's TAPER TIME!!

Exciting!!

This week while I was gone from "blog world" I was able to run  all my miles + a 17 mile run on down the Provo trail.

I saw waterfalls and a beautiful river.

About 80% of the trail looked like that. The weather was perfect and my legs felt good. It was a nice run. When I got out of the canyon I got lost for a little bit, but after about 20 minutes I was able to get back onto the trail. It was a pretty uneventful run other than a guy stopping and asking how many miles I was running and another guy yelling out of his truck, when I was lost, and scaring the crap out of me. I would totally run the Provo River Trail again, it was really nice.

I think I'm ready for the marathon. I know I'm not going to be fast and there's no way I'm going to do it in under 4 hours, but I'm going to do my best and keep running and finish. :)

This weeks runs are going to be easy & simple:

Monday: 4 Miles

Tuesday: 3 Miles (My 28th Birthday Run!)

Wednesday: 5 Miles

Thursday: 8 Miles

Friday: OFF

Saturday: Crack of Dawn 6k with my momma!

Sunday: OFF

This weeks goals are to run all my runs, have an awesome Memorial Day weekend, enjoy my 28th birthday with LOTS of family, and have a fun little race this coming weekend without hurting myself. :)

I hope everyone has a great week!!

I'm alive..

I'm alive and still running. My laptop died and is in the shop and all my photos are on it. I really need to learn to back that thing up more often.

I've run all my scheduled runs and tomorrow I'm thinking I'll do my 17 miler! I new distance record, I can't wait to tell you guys all about it. :)

This Week's Runs!

Ok, so yesterday was just a drama day...I feel better now. :)

19 days 'til my first marathon!!

I can't wait! It's going to be SO exciting and I'm going to rock that marathon.

This weeks runs are going to be good. I'm excited to run them because it will put me well over 100 miles this month and I'm already at 506.84 miles for this year!! How awesome is that?!

Here they are:
Monday: 4 miles
Tuesday: 6 miles
Wednesday: 4 miles
Thursday: 3 miles
Friday: OFF
Saturday: 17 miles
Sunday: OFF

This is my last big week before tapering. Fun, fun!

My goals this week are to take it one day at a time, get my runs in, lay off the computer, play with my kids, and enjoy family time. :)

I hope everyone has an awesome week this week!
Thanks for all the support guys!

I have tired lead legs...

Ok, so eating a Gyro from Mad Greek 20 minutes before a long run probably wasn't the best idea, but I did it and now I've learned my lesson. I'm glad I have a stomach made of iron cause I hate puking. The only issues I had were stomach cramps and a couple of side cramps from the food. The other thing I learned was waiting too long to run isn't the best. I should have gone earlier this morning rather than waiting until 1 in the afternoon. I was really hoping to run 20 today (I know it wasn't scheduled.) just so I could do it before the marathon in 3 weeks, but it doesn't look like that will happen. I started out my run thinking that I'd do a 5 minute walking warm up so I wouldn't get hurt, but that 5 minute walk ended up being 1 miles worth of walking, then I ran a little and my legs were EXTREMELY tired and felt like lead weights...ugh...it didn't feel good.

So, I'm run/walking around by the copper mines feeling like I have cement blocks tied to my feet and feeling sooo down because I know there's no way I'm going to do 20. I get tired of all the traffic and the lack of a shoulder for me to run in so, I called J to come pick me up. I ended up doing a little more than my scheduled 12 at 12.84, but for some reason I feel SOO completely defeated. How can I one week run almost 17 and feel awesome and the next week feel so defeated because I ran 12.84?

I know, I'm weird...I've been having mood swings, my legs feel like lead, and I've been feeling light headed. I think I need to get more sleep and drink more water. I wish the next few weeks would hurry up so I can run my marathon. I just want it to be here already.

I think my IT band injury has thrown everything off for me mentally.

A new friend...

Yeah!!! I did it. I saved up and sold stuff on ksl.com and bought myself a BOB Revolution Duallie today. I LOVE IT! I went on a 4 mile jog around the lake with J and the kids. Oooh, I don't know what I did without this baby. It's such a smooth ride.

I love that it didn't feel like I was pushing a ton of weight like the old stroller. It's my first jogging stroller and I'm SOO glad I have it and I can't wait to do more runs with it!

Tomorrow's run is a 12 miler! Yay! I love long runs. :)

Are you serious Bob?

Before I start to rant lets get that Le Creuset winner announced...

The winner is Michele over at Run Michele Run!

Congrats Michele, email me your mailing info at runmommatwitchrun (at) gmail (dot) com and we'll get that right out to ya!

Who watched The Biggest Loser last night? I can't believe Bob and Jillian. It's so frustrating, I just don't know what to say...I think Tall Mom says it best. I don't know about you, but I haven't lost any weight while training for my marathon. I've gained 5+ pounds. I just think they were WAY out of line for going off on Daris like that. I think it's even MORE reason he should win. I was SO mad last night about it all. They aren't setting a good example of weight loss.

Anyway...yesterday I got out and ran 6.75 miles in the pouring rain.

Don't those clouds look like fun? Haha!

About 2 miles into my run it started pouring on me. Other than it being a little chilly it was really refreshing. I enjoyed myself. Today I have 7 to do, but I'm going to have to walk/run it cause yesterday my leg was acting up some and I think it was cause it was cold outside.

COME AND EAT!!

Shrimp Fra Diavolo!

This is one of my favorite pastas. It has a nice little kick to it because of the red pepper flakes, but not so much that it takes away from it, ya know?. I could eat this all the time. Yum!

Ok, so you're going to need:

1 pound large shrimp, peeled, deveined
1 teaspoon salt, plus additional as needed
1 teaspoon dried crushed red pepper flakes (more or less depending on how hot you like it)
3 tablespoons olive oil, plus 1 to 2 tablespoons
1 medium onion, sliced 1 (14 1/2-ounce) can diced tomatoes
1 cup chicken broth
3 garlic cloves, chopped
1/4 teaspoon dried oregano leaves
3 tablespoon chopped fresh Italian parsley leaves
3 tablespoon chopped fresh basil leaves (or you can use dried)


1.Toss the shrimp in a medium bowl with 1 teaspoon of salt and red pepper flakes.

2. Start boiling your water and add some salt to it, it'll help flavor the noodles later on.

3. Thinly slice your onion.

4. Heat the 3 tablespoons oil in a heavy large skillet over medium-high heat. Add the shrimp and saute for about a minute, toss, and continue cooking until just cooked through, about 1 to 2 minutes. Transfer the shrimp to a large plate; set aside.

5. Add the onion to the same skillet, adding 1 to 2 teaspoons of olive oil to the pan, if necessary, and saute until translucent, about 5 minutes.

6. Mince your garlic and get ready to add them to the onions. Mmmm...garlic...

7. Add the tomatoes with their juices, chicken broth, garlic, and oregano. Simmer until the sauce thickens slightly, about 10 minutes. If it doesn't thicken enough sometimes I'll add 1/4C of tomato sauce to it just to help it along.

8. While the sauce is thickening add your noodles to your salt water and cook them until they're almost done. You don't want them soggy, but you also don't want them under done.

9. Chop your parsley and basil.

10. Return the shrimp and any accumulated juices to the tomato mixture; toss to coat, and cook for about a minute so the flavors meld together.

11. Stir in the parsley and basil. Season it with a little more salt, to taste.

12. Add your sauce to the drained noodles, mix it up and ENJOY! YUM!

I serve mine with a nice salad and some garlic bread.

Proud of myself.

Today I got up, got dressed and went for a run when J got home from work. Sometimes I have to convince myself to get out and run, but today I just did it. I love when that happens. :) 4 miles done...kinda slow, but at least I did it. Tomorrow's 6 miles, I gotta get it done early.

This Week's Runs!

You wanna know what my new favorite is?

Mmmm...they are GOOD! I had some with me on my run yesterday (Thanks Tibet!) and I forgot to mention them in yesterdays post. They make me think of my favorite candy in the whole wide world, Haribo gummies. They taste like the little frogs to me. They make me think of when I lived in Germany, where I met J. :) I'm totally gonna stock up on those babies for my marathon. 

This weeks runs are going to be about normal. No major distances, as much as I would LOVE to run 20 this Saturday, I'm going to take it easy and recover. I really would love to run 20...I love, love, love my long runs. I'm weird like that. Haha!

Monday: 4 Miles

Tuesday: 6 Miles

Wednesday: 8 Miles

Thursday: 4 Miles

Friday: OFF

Saturday: 12 Miles

Sunday: OFF

I'm feeling good today, a little sore, but nothing to really complain about. I'm still excited about running 16 yesterday. It's pretty cool that I could do it. While I was running yesterday I kept thinking that 16 is nothing compared to some of those Ultra runners. I bet they look at 16 like I look at 5.

I hope everyone has a great week running this week!!

Don't forget to enter my Le Creuset Giveaway!!

The more the merrier!

A new distance!

I ran

16.25 miles

today!!!

For the first 8 miles this is what I looked at. Too bad it wasn't that flat the whole way there. There were so many hills, but it's all good. It helped me work on my posture and using my abs more, which is what the PT said to do so I wouldn't have pain going down hill. Amazingly enough she was right, I had no pain, no aches, I felt completely fine, other than my sore muscles from yesterday's hike.

After going so long on the open road I turned the corner into Herriman and passed by a few farms. It was really nice, the only thing I didn't like was the fact that there were a few little turns that had no shoulder for me to run on, so I had to be really careful. After going a few more miles on that main road I got into the main part of Herriman and ran out of straight road once I got to the little splash park. Too bad it wasn't on, I would have loved to run through the water.

J was waiting with the kids at a playground and I had about 3 more miles to go. Since I ran out of straight road I had to turn my brain on and remember where I was going in the neighborhoods. I got lost a couple times, which added the extra 1.25 to my run.

So, the pluses about my run: I felt great and could have gone longer had I not run out of straight road. I feel great about the marathon, I'm gonna do awesome!

The negatives about my run: I ran out of straight road, I lost my road ID, and I wish my distance could have been longer. I was tempted to do 20....:)

Hike to "Y" mountain

This morning J's dad, bros and I hiked up to the "Y" on Y Mountain. It's a tradition of theirs to hike it each time they come out to visit. So, since J's pop is so impressed with my running that he invited me along. This hike is pretty nuts. It's only 2 miles total, up and down, but it is CRAZY steep. We started out J's bro, Ant is in ROTC so he hiked with his 50+ lb rucksack, and was ahead of everyone for the first little bit, until he started getting tired and then I passed him and everyone else.

 

I beat all these tough guys up the mountain and had to wait for them for about 5 minutes before they finally got to the top. Then...I beat them all down the mountain. How cool is that, all these tough guys were beat by a girl! Haha!

The view from the top. Pretty cool, huh?

The last time I hiked up to the Y, it took me FOREVER and I was huffing and puffing up the whole thing. It was pretty pathetic. I'm glad I could do it this time without any problems.

The only bad thing about doing a hike like that is my thighs and butt are SOOOO sore...not the best thing to have right before a big long run the next day. No worries though, I'm going to run it with no issues. I can't wait!

My wanter is broken....

I want, I want, I want.....

After missing yesterday's run because I procrastinated and because there were no baby-sitters home, I've decided I want one of those babies! A BOB Revolution Dualie Stroller...I want it SOOOO bad. The only thing that sucks is the cost...maybe if I have it for 20 years it would be worth it. I gotta save up for this baby. Maybe it'll be a Christmas present to myself this year.

Today I didn't wait until the last minute and I got out and got my 9 miler in. I felt good! There weren't any aches, but I could feel myself tightening up so, I stopped a couple times to stretch. It's crazy to think that my marathon is only 30 days away! Oooh! It's happening, it really is. I can't wait to see how I do. I really like racing the half marathon, it's my new favorite. I wonder if the marathon will become my new favorite distance after this race. Tomorrow's going to be an easy 5, I think I'll get it done early so I can enjoy the day.

Whoa...I never thought there would be a time that I would say, "I'm going to run an easy 5 miles today." It's SOOO cool to be able to say that and mean it.

J's dad flew in today. He's back for some R&R from Iraq. He ran a marathon and was on the cross country team at BYU in his hay day, so it's fun to be able to talk running with him. He even wants to run a couple runs with me while he's here. Fun, fun!

COME AND EAT & A Giveaway!! (Giveaway Closed!)

I'm going to start posting a weekly recipe on here for you guys. Exciting, huh?

Today's recipe is
chicken salad sandwiches.

YUM!

First you'll need some chicken breast, grapes, shredded carrots, green onions, celery, almonds, an apple, mayo, a couple croissants, and salt & pepper. I try to make it as low fat as possible so I use fat free mayo and boneless skinless chicken breast. The croissants on the other hand are a different story, they aren't low fat, but they're good. You could always eat this as a lettuce wrap if you don't want the extra calories and stuff the croissants give ya.

First boil your chicken. I added a little salt to my water this time just to give it a little flavor and it seemed to help give the chicken a good flavor. You could always grill your chicken and then chop it up, but I like to boil it in this case just because it can cook without me having to watch it and  I can get all my chopping done at the same time.

So, while the chicken's boiling chop up your onion, carrots, celery, grapes, apples, and your almonds.

When your chicken's done chop it up and add everything to a bowl and mix it up. I only used about 3Tbs of fat free mayo, I'm sure you could use more, but I'm not a big mayo fan. I use just enough to hold it together some.

Slice your croissants, add your filling, and you got a yummy lunch. Mmmmm!

Chicken Salad Sandwiches

6oz boneless skinless chicken breast

1/3 cup chopped grapes

1/4 cup chopped carrots

1 green onion chopped

1 celery stalk chopped

1/8 cup chopped almonds

1/3 of an apple chopped

pinch of salt and pepper

3 Tbs fat free mayo

4 croissants

Boil your chicken until done then chop. Mix chopped ingredients with mayo and salt & pepper. Slice croissants and add filling. Enjoy!

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In honor of my first recipe post I am happy to be giving away a pair of Le Creuset baking dishes, thanks to the awesome Jessica with csnstores. Their set of 200+ websites have everything ranging from track lighting to jogging strollers. It's pretty cool!

One lucky winner will win this set of Le Creuset stoneware.

To enter the giveaway:

* Check out csnstores.com and tell me what you think.

*Follow my blog or let me know that you already do.

*Link the giveaway on Facebook, Twitter, or your blog (one comment for each thing you do).

*Tell me your favorite kind of food and why.

*Tell me what kind of food you want to see in future posts.

Giveaway ends on May 18th and the winner will be posted on the 19th.

This Week's Schedule.

5 weeks to go!!!

I am SOOO excited!

This week is going to be a fun one. I have a 15 miler this weekend. I can't wait to see how I do with it. It's going to be my longest run yet. I'm going to do some easier stuff this week with a couple days off, that way I can prepare for my long run.

Monday:  OFF or maybe an easy 2

Tuesday: 5 Miles

Wednesday: 9 Miles

Thursday:  5 Miles

Friday:  OFF

Saturday: 15 Miles

Sunday: OFF or maybe an easy 2 mile walk with the family

Fun, fun!!

My goals this week are to follow the plan, eat right, and keep the house clean.

I hope everyone has a great week this week! I can't wait to read about it.

Run to Walk Family 5k

Today's race was FUN! I'm telling ya, it's such a great thing running as a family. Sure, everyone finished at different times, but it was fun to talk about it when we were all done.

Hayley and Adam were amazing. She did it in 26 and Adam did it in 19. I could only dream to do it that fast. I can't believe this was the only picture I got of Adam today. Lame...

Mom and pop before the race. :)

Mom was 2nd in her age group and did it in 34 (I think.). Dad did it in 36, but I'm not sure. All I know is he finished WAY before we did. He kept saying, "I had to do this every day for 34 years and now I'm paying to run!?" Hahaha. The joys of being in the Army. :) At least he's retired now and doesn't have to do PT if he doesn't want to. I think he enjoyed it.

Here's Mr. J before the race started. He was all ready. He screwed up his back a couple weeks ago and his PT told him he couldn't run, so he walked... He's such a tall guy that his walk is my jog. So, while pushing 3 little kiddos in a stroller and putting up with one of them getting in and out of the basket in the back while he was still going.  B got in and out of the basket and ran about a mile of it.

Poor guy, he's not used to going that fast for so long. The last time he did a 5k was a year ago with me. He just laid there on the ground for about 15 minutes. It wore him out!

It's all good. I still love him! :) We walked it in 44.02, not bad considering he was pushing over 100 lbs in a non-jogging stroller. He puts up with so much. I'm glad I have such a great man!

Before the race I ran 4 miles around the riverwalk and then did the 3 miles with the race. Good times!

6 miles!

This is my "I just got done running 6 miles and feel great" face.

I felt great. I waited a little too late to run, but I got it in before the sun went down. I even went a different route. B had a t-ball game tonight so I figured I'd run to the t-ball field. I thought it would be at least 6 miles away, but it ended up being only 3.4, so I finished up my 6 going around the neighborhood. I love that I'm feeling better. I love that I'm even getting back to my regular pace. Yay! I really need to do my stretches more often, it's just so hard to do it. Ok...so it's not hard, I just don't make time for it.

Tomorrow's going to be an easy day. Today was a great day. I can't wait to have a great one tomorrow. :)

Winner, Winner!

The winner of the Wireless Walkman is #56 Alinda!

Congrats Alinda! Email me your mailing info at runmommatwitchrun (at) gmail (dot) com.

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Sorry, I've been a little MIA. You can always tell when I skip out on a run. I tend not to post cause I don't want to admit that I skipped. Hahaha. :) I ran today though!! I went around the lake and had a pretty good run. I need to remember to warm up before I run, my legs were achy today, but I did it. I'm getting SO close to marathon time. It's crazy. I need to re-excite myself about it. It's so tough when you get hurt.

Oh well, tomorrow's a new day and I'm getting back on track with eating and running.

Tomorrow I'm going to answer some of the questions you guys sent me. Comment and ask some more I love hearing all the questions. :)

Happy MAY!

I can't believe it's May already! This year is going by SO fast. So far this year I have reached over 410 miles and I've run 2 Half Marathons. I would have never thought last year that I would have been able to do that. It's amazing what you can do when you put your mind to it. It gives me SO much hope for my future in running. I think it would be really cool to run 2+ half marathons a year so I can get 50 before I'm 50. I think that 13.1 may be my new favorite distance to race.

This week is going to be fun!! My little bro, Hayley, and Little Miss are coming to visit!! Plus, my mom and dad are coming too! So, here's the cool thing...on Saturday 6 of us are going to run a 5k as a family. I LOVE it! I love that we're a bunch of runners having fun together as a family. :)

My goals this week are to get back on track when it comes to my running and have lots of fun with the family.

This weeks runs:
Monday: 4 miles
Tuesday: 6 miles
Wednesday: 8 miles
Thursday: 4 miles
Friday: 3 miles
Saturday: Family Run to Walk 5k + 9 miles (maybe)
Sunday: OFF

I think I'll throw some swimming in there and also some walking with my man. It's gonna be awesome! Adam and Hayley are MUCH faster than me, but it'll be fun running together. :)

Have fun running this week and congrats to all of you who ran races this weekend!!!

Provo City Half Marathon

Sore, sore, sore...my legs are sore!

I did it! My 2nd half marathon is under my belt! I saw my friend Sue at the start. It's so cool that we're running all these races together. The next one we're going to do is the Utah Valley Marathon. She runs the 5ks and I do the longer ones. She's an awesome lady! I'm glad I was able to meet her through the blog.:)

I was able to run the whole thing and it wasn't until about mile 11.5 that my knee REALLY started hurting and that was only because there were these little hills that took us under bridges on the river trail. Each time I went down the hill it was painful. I pretty much had to hop down the hills. The crazy thing though, was when I went back up the hill there was no pain and I felt fine. I was able to run it in 2.33.38, not bad considering it was snowing, hailing, and raining the whole time and I had a bum knee. I was drenched when I finished. J missed the finish again, but it's all good. I tried my best to not give him a hard time. I know he tried. It was really nuts out there today.

Right now I feel good other than being sore. I can't wait to see how I do with the full marathon. :)