NEBO!!

Jason, the kids, and I made this race a little vacation. We went down to Provo and stayed in a hotel over night. The kids thought it was tons of fun. We ordered Pizza and had popcorn. I got up early and headed down to the race. I was planning on staying with Becca the whole time. The goal was a sub2 hour half marathon. We started the race strong. We were on goal to be way under 2 hours.... well, that was until it leveled out around mile 9. UGH! That's when your body says "Hey! wait! Where'd the momentum go??" That's when we started to crash. I ended up running it in 2.05.09! SO close!! I was SO exhausted at the end.

Temple to Temple Steeple Chase

Jason and I got up early and headed over to the church to meet up with my mom. We were about to run the 5 mile temple to temple run. It would be from the Oquirrh Mountain Temple to the Jordan River Temple. I ran this one last year with my mom and we kept it at about a 15 min pace the whole time. This year I'd be running with Jason and then catching up with my mom after. 

 When I woke up I got a text from my mom that she was wearing her Return With Honor shirt. I totally forgot about that, so I went through my drawer and found the one I wore last year. Holy cow! It was HUGE on me. I went through the kids drawers and found my 8 yr old's shirt. Haha! It fit!! I was so surprised! Talk about feeling good. 

 We started out and mom said to go ahead without her. This was Jason's first 5 mile race since high school. The goal was just to run and have fun with it. He did awesome! He tends to start out too fast and then slows down towards the end. Around mile 3.5-4 he was saying sorry for slowing down and I told him we could walk if he needed to and he said "Twitchell's don't walk!" He did amazing! We ran the whole way and finished in 52.09 minutes! After we crossed the line he said his knee was bugging him so, we walked around for a minute and then walked to meet up with my mom. She wasn't very far behind us. 

 I was so impressed with her. She ran it with at a 12-13 min pace! I love that woman! She's so amazing. Go mom! Go mom! 

We all got some popsicles at the finish and took a couple pictures by the Jordan River Temple. I love being able to run with my family! I hope to be as awesome as my mom when I grow up. I'm so proud of Jason. I think he's starting to catch the running bug. :) I love it! He's such an amazing man. I'm blessed to have him as mine. 

Porter's Half

I got up at 5:30, got ready and headed up to the Porter Half finish. While waiting for the bus to come I met one of the ladies from our running group, Marisa. She's a great lady. They bused us up to the start and I met up with some other friends and started the race. 

 I started out WAAAAY too fast. My first mile was 8:59. Haha! After that mile it was all down hill. Well, kinda. When I was signing up for this race I looked at the elevation and it totally looked like a nice gradual down hill. I thought it'd be super easy and nice. Yeah... not so much...

 It was hilly and level. It was a tough course! I'd rather have all down hill or flat, but not that. Around mile 8 I was really feeling it and by mile 9 I was doing a lot of walk/running. Mile 12 was a 14:22 mile...Ugh. Oh well, I felt really good in my legs, but it was a real mental game. I need to get out of my head and just run. Anyway, I ended up finishing in 2.25.23. Not bad! That's my 3rd fastest half. It's amazing how far I've come in the past 8 months. 

 One of my running friends, Robert, was getting pictures of people from the group crossing the finish line. That's my picture. I look SO much different from the start of the year. It's really amazing how far you can come when you work hard. 

 It was a tough race, but it was great to be there with friends. :) Next weekend I'm running The Nebo half. I'm really hoping for a sub 2 hr half. We'll see what I can do. There's going to be a lot of us from the group running that one and a few of us aiming for a sub 2. 

 After the race I thought it would be a good idea to have fresh legs for Nebo, so I picked up a bag of ice from the store on the way home and took an ice bath. Sooo cold, but it really helped! 

My calves are a little sore, but I think they'll feel good on Saturday. 

Fastest mile

On Friday I decided to run fast. I ran the first 2 miles around a 12 minute pace and then decided to run my 3rd mile as fast as I could. My fastest miles have been going down the canyons during a race and they have been in the low 9's and I really wanted to prove to myself that I could run a mile on a normal course (not down hill) in the same pace. I really surprised myself! 

 I ran it in 8:44!!!! What?! I haven't run a mile that fast since elementary school when they had us run the mile for the presidential fitness test. I even felt like I had some gas left in the tank to keep going. This week I'm going to go farther. I'm thinking a mile and a half. I really want to get stronger and faster and to do that I have to practice going fast. This course even had a couple up hill spots! 

Don't worry about a thing.

This mornings' run was about telling myself that it's ok to run after a bad race. Yesterday I tried to run. I took about 10 steps and said, "Nope... not today..." I kept telling myself that I didn't want what happened on Saturday to happen again. I didn't want to get sick and I didn't want to run sick, but I wasn't sick on Monday. I was fine. I rested the rest of the day Saturday and all day on Sunday. I felt fine. I felt like I was recovered, but mentally I still had that half weighing on me. 

So, this morning I got up and saw how beautiful the sunrise would be and got out the door. I walked down towards the temple and the skies were almost purple. It was so pretty! I told myself I'd walk the first bit and then start running. I wasn't aiming to run any particular amount of miles. I just wanted to get my legs going. I started out after I got some pictures of the sunrise and the temple. There was a lady walking behind me and I didn't want to do the whole walk and her catch up to me and then I'd pass her and she'd pass me and all that, so I ran. Those first 10 steps almost made me stop, but I kept going. I don't care what the pace was and it wasn't going to bother me that I wasn't listening to any music. I just wanted to move. The first mile came pretty easy actually. I just trotted along. Then the second mile came and I felt stronger and mentally I thought, "I can do this... What was I worried about?" The 3rd mile felt great! I was running laps around a little section until my mom came, but I didn't see her so I went off looking for her. I was a half mile in and thought that maybe I'd just run the full 5 miles. I was almost at 4, so what's another mile? I was feeling great. Then I saw my mom and finished the last 1.4 miles with her. 

My goal every day is to get 5 miles in. It doesn't really matter to me the walk to run ratio as long as I get those 5 miles and hit my 10,000 steps on my Fitbit early. Haha! This morning when I got home, Jason and I got to work on our 30 day challenge workout.  

Last month we did a 30 day ab challenge and it REALLY helped with my running. I could really tell that I was becoming a stronger runner because of it. So, when our friend told us what the new 30 day challenge was we were all on board. This month's challenge includes squats, planks, push ups and crunches/sit ups. I can do all of them easy except the sit ups. I know it says crunches, but they do nothing for me. I've challenged myself this month to do sit ups instead and the goal is to do them with elementary school standards. Haha! You know, when you were in elementary school and everyone had to do the Presidential Fitness Test. That one... No using your arms to help with sit ups and no bouncing off the floor for momentum. That kind of sit up. It's not easy not using your arms to give you a little boost. I'm the one who usually starts with my hands behind my head and then ends up using them to get up. Haha! Not this time though! I'm on day 6 so far and I did all 45 sit ups today without using my arms. 

All in all today I'm feeling really good about everything. :) I just can't let a bad run keep me down. 

Timp Half Marathon

I woke up at 3 AM with a major headache and thought nothing much of it besides a bad nights sleep or something. I took some Motrin and I ate some banana bread cause I was out of my normal oatmeal that I have before a race. I had my normal race morning nervousness.  I met up with Joy at about 4:15 at the school where the buses were to take us up to the start. On the bus ride up my headache felt like it was getting worse, so I kept my eyes closed the whole ride up. 

We met up with some great running friends at the start and hung around until the race started. 

Me and Joy at the start. She was freezing and I was trying not to puke. My nausea just kept getting worse. Joy's first thought was "maybe you're pregnant..." NO! I am not... hahaha. I just chocked it up to having a root beer float the night before. 

There were a good amount of people there today. It was really great. They also had an early start for walkers and the marathoners. I love it when races have an early start! I didn't take it this time just cause I figured I would be fast and would make it in 2 hours 10 min or so. 

We got in line behind the 2.10 pacer, Sonja. I really was hoping to hang out with her for a good part of the race. My goal was anything under 2.16 (my last PR). 

I started out great with Joy and she left me around mile 4 to use the Honey Bucket, and I kept going. I knew she'd catch up with me some time, but I didn't know when. Each aid station I'd get some water, but didn't drink much of it because of my stomach. I ate a couple chomps at mile 5 and mile 8, but I couldn't take as many as I wanted. I got to mile 8 before I started crashing. My stomach was KILLING me. I seriously felt like I was going to puke my guts out. My miles dropped from the 9's...

Joy caught up with me around mile 8 or 9 in the neighborhoods and passed me up. She was on track for a 2.10 half. I kept wishing I could stay up with her. I saw the 2.20 pacers pass me and I could only stick with them for a couple hundred yards before I had to walk. Then towards the end in the last mile the 2.30 pacer, Susette caught up to me and I tried running with her for a half mile or so, but I just couldn't do it for the full mile. It was so great to see her though, she's always a big encourager. I finally made it to the track where we finished the last quarter mile. I walked in and finished the last .10 running. I was so out of it. My stomach was killing me. I just kept thinking "I shouldn't have had that root beer float!" Joy got a video of me crossing the line. I was pretty amazed how strong I looked considering how I felt. 

Joy kept telling me to get something to eat, but the smell of the Chick-fil-A at the finish and the sight of the food just made me want to throw up even more. We picked up her drop bag and I got my Run The Slam medal for the race. I made it to the parking lot and had to sit down for a second. 

Joy got to her car and I sat in mine for a minute or two before I started to drive. I just wasn't sure if I would make it home without throwing up. I got out of the parking lot and to the stop sign where I pulled over and waited a minute before driving across the street to the gas station. I found an empty spot by the grass and dry heaved a few times before I felt like I could drive home. 

I ended up getting about 5 miles from home when I had to pull over and throw up. I felt SOOOOOOO much better after that, but I still had a pounding head ache and I think I even had a bit of a fever. I came home and slept for 3 hours off and on. My Annabelle brought me this bell when I was laying in bed and said "Ring this if you need me, ok?" She's such a great kid. I ended up eating some chicken noodle soup for dinner and went to bed by 10. 

I slept for 10 and a half hours last night. I think I had heat exhaustion on top of the whole root beer float and stuff. Next time I'm going to get a LOT more rest and drink a LOT more water the week leading up to my race. I don't want that to happen again. 

The awesome thing about this race though is the fact that even with crashing like this I was able to still run it in a GREAT time! I remember this year when running a 2.30 was HARD and today I was able to do it on a really rough day. Earlier this year I would have easily done it in over 3 hours if the same thing happened. I've really reached a new level and I love it! 

I think the nervousness I get before races is that when I bonk like this that I'll end up falling back to the 3+ hour races, but yesterday proves that I won't. I'm doing good and I just have to trust in my ability.  

Hobbler Half

I woke up at 3:15 on Saturday and ate my oatmeal. Mom, dad, and Joy were coming to pick me up so we could head down to Springville for the Hobbler Half marathon. Mom and I were going to do the relay and Joy was going to run the full thing. My plan was to run the first half with Joy and then at the meet up with my mom, I'd walk/run the rest of the way with her. 

 Dad's such a good sport, getting up super early and driving us down there. He shakes his head at our crazy running adventures, but he's proud of us. He wears his "Wow! My wife and Daughters run marathons!" shirt every time. We need to add an S to that shirt. When we had the shirt made it was just me and ma who ran, but now my sister is in on it! 

We picked up our packets and numbers before catching the bus. Joy and I were on one of the first buses and mom and dad drove up to the meet up point for the relay. There were a good amount of people at the start and it was a little chilly, not too bad actually. It felt really good. I went to use the honey buckets before the race and boy did I get the wrong one... I've changed a TON of poopy diapers in my life, but this porta potty was smelling HORRIBLE! I almost threw up. 

Joy and I got lined up and ready to run. We were between the 2:10 and 2:20 pacers. By the time we crossed the start line we were more in line with the 2:20 pacer and stuck with them for the first mile before we warmed up and ditched them. We were running really good at about a 9:45 pace for the first 5 miles. The relay point was about .75 miles early, so from mile 5.5ish-12.95 I ran/walked with my momma. I kept going back and forth on going ahead with Joy (I could have PR'd again), but I felt like I needed to stick with my mom. Plus I'll be running Timp this coming Saturday and that's the one I'm going to PR on. I kept thinking of this one as a training run. While running with my mom I discovered it's MUCH easier to run fast than it is to run slow for a long time. Sure, it takes a lot of effort to run fast, but to run slow you have to endure for a long time. 

Momma did great! We finished in 2.46! Go ma!!

It was great to run with my mom and sister! I'd love to be able to do it again one day. :)

I felt amazingly strong this half. I've been doing one of those 30 day challenges for abs and I've been killing the sit ups. I REALLY think it helped a TON in this half. I could really feel my posture straighten out and my core stay strong while I ran. I felt like I was running with my legs vs my whole body, if that makes sense. I'll have to make sure to keep it up even after the challenge is over. Today I did 120 sit ups and 190 crunches and a 2 minute plank! I was amazed. :) 

Utah Valley Half

Utah Valley Marathon was my first Marathon. I really enjoyed it and wanted to run the half this time around. My mom was going to run it with me, but had to defer it for next year because she wasn't feeling too well after the Provo City half. And then it turned out that she wouldn't have been able to make it anyways since her mother passed away a couple days before. I ran thinking of both of them the whole time. 

I got up super early and headed to catch the bus at the Provo Mall. I got on one of the first buses and was up at the start before a ton of people arrived. They had little fire pits set up for everyone. I'm so glad that I brought my giant sweater to keep warm. It's was really cool in the canyon. I met up with some running friends before the race and was planning on sticking with London, the one in the middle, who was going to be the 2.10 pacer. 

I started down the canyon with her and got about 3 miles in before I fell back. I didn't want to push too hard too soon and bonk at mile 6. I wanted so bad to PR, but I also wanted to finish and finish strong. 

I felt awesome going along and all the way til out of the canyon. I discovered that I do better when I hit an aid station and dump some of the water on my arms. It's an instant cool off and I feel like I can still push strong. 

I brought some GU chomps to take at mile 5. I really like them. They're easier to get down than just regular GU, especially in the heat. I only ate a half a pack of them the whole race. 

I finish strong in 2.16!! Amazing!! I felt great and I got a new PR!! After the race I went back home, showered, and got the kids ready for the kids 1k. 

They were so excited to run. The older 3 ran, while the younger 2 stayed with me. 

                                   

Jason ran with them while I waited at the finish line. The oldest 2 were so fast I didn't see them pass by. 

Caleb ditched Brianna. He said he wanted to go FAST! So he ran hard. I saw Jason and Annabelle finish and got a video of them. 

                                     

What a great day as a family! The kids were stoked with their medals. I'm telling ya, if you want a great race for your kids to run the Utah Valley Kids 1k is totally it! They get shirts and medals and it's FREE! 

Girls On The Run 5k

For a couple of months Brianna has been going to Girls on the Run every week. It is a great program that teaches girls to be positive, confident, and all that great stuff while training for a 5k. Brianna is great at running short distances so, this was a fun experience for her. She had a practice run before today and ran the first quarter mile before having to walk because she went out way too fast. Today was a different story. 

With Girls on the Run the girls have a running buddy and I got to be Brianna's for the 5k. 

There were a TON of people there. Brianna, Jason, Caleb, Annabelle, and I all went. It was at the Sugarhouse Park. It's a beautiful park. There was all sorts of fun things to do. Face painting, hair coloring, food, everything! Brianna had fun getting her hair colored green, pink, and purple. 

We started out and with in the first 20 feet she was complaining of her legs being super tired. "We just started!" I said. Haha! We kept going and walked at the top of the hill. We did a walk run thing for the first lap then on the second half is when she really got into it. She ran really well and stopped at the aid stations. At the last corner that took us to the finish, she booked it down the hill passing everyone! I had to sprint to keep up with her! She ran hard and finished her first "official" 5k!! She did a great job! I'm really proud of her.

Brianna showing off her FIRST medal! I think she likes it. She's been going around showing everyone what she earned. :)

Me and Brianna! Annabelle was so excited to see all the fun and she can't wait until she's old enough to do the Girls on the Run! 

Provo City Half

I got up at 3 am, got ready, and caught a ride down to Provo with my mom and dad. My mom and I were planning on running the Provo City Half. She was going to take a little longer than I was so, after standing around for 2 hours (we caught the first bus) in the cold trying to inch our way into the circle of people around the little fire pits we parted ways when they were about to start. I was planning on going with the 2.30 pacer as long as I could like I had been doing with the past races. Mom was going to start at the end of the pack and was aiming for around a 3 hr half. 

 I made a last minute decision to run with the 2.20 pacer when I saw it was my friend Susette who was pacing it and Josh was with her. I figured I could always drop back if I had to. 

Things started out great and I was really surprised at how well I was feeling considering I was struggling the weekend before at the Thanksgiving Point half with all those hills. I'm sure it really helped that there was a big downhill with running in the canyon and all. 

Around mile 2 Susette had to hand off the pacing sign to Josh and we ran together until Susette caught up a couple miles later. Talk about tough! I don't think I would have been able to do what she did. I think if I had to fall back like that I wouldn't have been able to run and catch up! Josh did an amazing job at pacing. He has an amazing story and is such a great guy. It was really nice running with him. He's so much taller than me so, it made me have to lengthen my stride and what I noticed was, it's SO MUCH EASIER! It's easier to run with a longer stride than the normal little trot I do. My legs felt good, my lungs felt good, and mentally I was totally in it. There was nothing holding me back... until mile 10ish.

Josh had to drop back around mile 9-10 and I was running along with Susette. We were on pace to be in a little before 2.20, but the mile markers were off by about .25, so we weren't 100% sure how much early we'd be in. Around mile 10 my legs kept telling me to walk. I pushed it until mile 11, where I walked through the aid station and continued running. I was warn out, but I could see the finish line and I knew I could make it under 2.30. Susette had gone ahead around mile 10 and I tried my hardest to keep her in sight. I knew I'd only be about 5 minutes behind her if I just kept moving. 

When I came up close enough to the finish line to see the clock I was shocked to see it was 2.18! I was totally going to get it under 2.20!!! I pushed it and finished in 2.20.22!

I PR'd!! I wasn't expecting to PR at all. I didn't go into this race thinking that I'd do anything other than stick with the 2.30 and hopefully the downhill would help me a little, but I wasn't expecting a PR at all!! 

It was a great race with great friends. Josh had me promise him when he dropped back that I'd PR and sure enough, I did!! 

I called my mom when I was at mile 6 and she was at 4 and feeling good. 

Somewhere around mile 9 she hit a wall and it took her forever to finish the last 4 miles. I think a lot of it had to do with the heat and her not being dressed for it. She was dressed for the cool of the canyon, but not the hot of the road when you came out of the canyon. I was there with my dad, Jason, and a couple of their missionaries waiting on her to come in.  She ended up finishing in 3.17.58. She was so tired and exhausted. She was going to run the Utah Valley Half with me, but decided to push it back to next year, which is a good idea. She'll be totally prepared by then. :) 

My next half is the Utah Valley Half. It's about the same course so, we'll see if I can PR again. I'm debating to running with the 2.10 pacer this time. We'll see what I do...

Thanksgiving Point Half Marathon

This morning I got up and headed over to Thanksgiving point to run the Thanksgiving Point Half. I wasn't really sure what to expect since I haven't run this race before. I heard that there were some hills, but I had no idea. It was pouring rain and in the 40s so I knew I needed to stay warm unlike the Saltair Half where I about died because of the cold and rain/snow. I heard from some people that wearing a black trash bag was a great idea when it was cold and rainy. I didn't have time to run to walmart for a poncho, so a trash bag would have to do.

Aren't I pretty. Hahaha!

 This was at the very start. HUGE rain clouds that poured on us the whole time. 

I figured I'd stick with the 2.30 pacer as long as I could since that is what I had been doing for the past few half marathons. I did good sticking with her until about mile 5 when the hills really kicked in. I couldn't keep up, so I went at my own pace. Hill after hill....after hill....after hill..... HOLY HILLS!! There were SO many and they weren't simple little hills. They were steep both down and up and they where TOUGH. I stuck with it, walked when I needed to, and made little goals for myself. I wanted to get to 10 miles as close to 2 hours as I could. I figured if I could do that I'd beat my last half marathon time of 2.48.30.

This was around mile 5 of the race. I thought it was really fitting considering it was POURING rain. 

I made it to 10 miles and then I could hear the finish line. I couldn't see it, but I could hear it! I kept telling myself that I have done 3 miles before, that's nothing. I can totally run the last 3 miles. As I got closer and closer I kept telling myself to just keep going. I turned the corner and could see where everyone was turning into the finish. I ripped off the trash bag and finished the last mile feeling STRONG. I felt like I had a lot of gas still in the tank. 

I finished in 2.41.00. Not bad! It was a tough course and super rainy so, I was proud of my time. 

Riverton Half Marathon

 My mom, dad, and I got up early and headed over to Riverton to run. I was running the half marathon and my mom was running the 5k. It was a really beautiful day. There was a bit of a wind and it was a little chilly, but it wasn't too bad. 

 Dad and mom at the start. My dad got that shirt when I ran my first marathon and my mom her first half. 

My mom and I before the race. It was a little chilly so I had my jacket on. 

I met up with some new running friends before the race and figured I'd run with whoever was sticking with the 2.30 pacer. I met a new friend, Catherine and stuck with her and the 2.30 pacer until about mile 5. 

 Pic from around mile 4 or 5.

The mile markers were off by about half a mile so after a while it was really getting to me mentally. It was a really tough course for me just because of the markers and because I didn't really train for it. I walked and ran off and on for the last 8 miles. My little brother, Adam called me about mile 6 not knowing that I was running a half and was surprised. 

I ended up finishing in 2.48.30. It was really challenging for me and I was glad when it was over. 

My mom got 1st place in her age group in the 5k! Haha! She got a BIG purple plastic medal. Haha! I love being able to run with my mom now that she's close by.