My first run post marathon...

...not bad, not bad. Considering I didn't eat before I went. I shoulda... I guess those are the things you learn when you run while pregnant.

I felt good besides my legs being drained of energy. My arches felt fine, my thighs were a little achy, and my IT issues didn't act up at all. I ended up going about 2.41 miles which wasn't bad. I made myself not look at my watch cause I didn't want to focus on pace or anything, I just wanted to get out there and run. It kinda sucks going these short distances cause it takes me about 2 miles to warm up, so I tend not to enjoy the first couple miles. It's all good though, at least I'm out there running, right?

This morning was the perfect morning to run. I loved it! It wasn't too warm, there wasn't a breeze, and it wasn't too bright out either.

I was able to get in another 10 minute run today, I don't know how far I went or anything, but I'm teaching B to ride a bike, so I ran beside her the whole time and felt great. I need to bring water next time, but other than that, it was fun being able to run along side of her. Heaven knows last year at this time I was still getting winded while running. It's amazing how you can improve when you keep on keeping on. :)

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. :)

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.

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!

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. :)

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. :)

This Week's Runs!

Ok, so after watching Avatar I think it's an alright movie. The last fight sequence was the best part of the whole thing, maybe it would have been more amazing if I saw it in 3D.

Anyway.... This week's going to be fun. I'll be running and I'm going to start back with swimming. I used to be a lifeguard when I was a teen and I would swim a 500 every day. The goal was to swim it in under 14 minutes and by the end of the summer I could do it in under 7. I wonder if I can do that again.

I'm thinking swimming will be good cross training for me. I used to LOVE swimming. The only thing I have to do now is get past the whole stretch mark + swimsuit + pale white legs with a funky capri tan line thing. Hahaha! Naw, I don't really care about that. It'll be fun. I can't wait. :)

So, here's this weeks schedule:
Monday: 2 miles (walk) 4 miles (run) +  500 meters swim
Tuesday: 2 miles (walk) 6 miles (run)
Wednesday: 2 miles (walk) 4 miles (run) + 500 meters swim
Thursday: 2 miles (walk) 2 miles (run) + 500 meters swim
Friday: OFF + 500 meters swim
Saturday: Provo City Half Marathon!!!!!
Sunday: OFF

Ok, so it looks like a LOT, but here's the thing.  I'm going to do double days. I'm going to walk and swim in the morning and then run in the afternoon or the other way around. I'm also planning on doing a walk/run for the Half. I don't want to hurt myself so I'm being careful, but I also want to be strong and ready for my marathon, so I know I need to get this stuff in.

Yep, this weeks going to be a good week.

Here's another cool thing, B started T Ball and she's the ONLY girl on her team. I thought there would be more, but it's all good. She's awesome at T Ball and she can't wait for her first game on Tuesday. :) I love my sporty little girl.

My goals this week are to take my time and not hurt myself. I'm still going to listen to my body and I'm going to stop if it tells me to stop. I'm going go watch what I eat and I'm not going to eat 2nd helpings of strawberry shortcake. Haha! I love that stuff. I'm going to clean the whole house and get it all ready for my little bro and his family. I can't wait!!!

I hope everyone has a good week!

YAY!!

Guess what....guess what!!

I RAN 6 miles!! Isn't that awesome! 6 miles of NO PAIN. There was a little bit of dull ache during certain points, but if I payed attention to my posture and the way I landed I felt great. I wanted to run more, I could have gone longer, but I kept thinking that I should save it and build back up rather than do it all now and hurt myself again.

I got up this morning and I planned on running only 4 miles, but after doing a 2 mile warm up and then being 4 miles into my run I thought I'd go as far as 6 miles. The first 2 miles my legs wanted to run, but I held back until it was time and then I ran. I took my time and I ran. It was SOO nice.

This morning was a good morning. I followed it up with an hour or two of working in the garden with J and my sister. Fun, fun! I love Saturdays! :)

Now that's what I'm talking about!

I just got home from the gym where I did 30 minutes on the bike and then did 30 min run/walk around the indoor track. It's a 1/16th of a mile around the track (I think) and I did 3 laps running/2 laps walking for 30 minutes. There was no pain, but I could feel it tightening up and walking 2 of the laps seemed to help a lot to loosen it up before running again. I think that's what I'll end up doing for my 2nd Half Marathon on the first. There's no way I'm going to miss out on that thing. I paid for it, I have to go. I may not run it, but I'm going to be there and I'm going to cross the finish.

Today I felt great. It was nice getting a good workout in. The bike wasn't so bad either, once I figured out how to use it right. I even got in some hip exercises on one of those machines. I feel really good and I can't wait to see what the PT says tomorrow. Hopefully she gives me the green light to keep on training. I'm really feeling positive. I think I'm going to be fine for the full marathon in June.

You gotta have faitha, faitha, faitha....BABY....

That song is STUCK in my head. I gotta find it online or something and listen to it to get it out.

Anyway...that stuff works, you wanna know why? Cause today I did a set of 6 sprints with NO PAIN. Yup, I ran today with no pain when I did sprints. Not one tinge of pain. The only time I could feel any kind of hurt was when I would run slow. Maybe that means I've got to become a sprinter. Hahaha, yeah right. I enjoy long runs. Today I walked/ran/sprinted 4 miles and I feel good. :)

Here's how it went this morning. I started out walking at my usual pace. I turned a corner and something in my head said, "Ok, Cathy. I want you to sprint to that pole." So, that's what I did. I sprinted as hard as my little legs would take me. When I got to the pole I walked for a minute and while I walked I heard, "Ok, there's no pain. Let's do 6 sprints total. You've done one and here comes another. When you get to that corner sprint until you get to the next corner." I listened and did it again. I got to the end and walked to recover. Then I heard, "You're doing great. This time we aren't going to sprint we're just going to run at a fast pace from the corner to the bridge." Ok, that's a longer distance, but I got this. I ran, no pain other than my lungs getting used to breathing like that again. It kept going like that until I had done 6 sprints without any problems. When I got to the playground I heard, "Ok, we're going to jog at a normal pace now. It may hurt a little, but we're kind of looking for that and I want you to run through it for a couple seconds." So, I ran around the corner and under a bridge until I  heard, "When you get to that sign, stop." I stopped when I got there and stretched out my legs some and felt that I should do some kicks. I walked some more around a little loop that took me up to a bridge. When I got there it came again, "Sprint over the bridge." I did it and felt fine. I walked some more. Took a picture and heard, "Now jog home." I jogged home. The aches I felt were less than what they were when I jogged by the park and under the bridge. I did 4 miles 6 minutes faster than I did last week, I'm sure the sprints helped. :) I felt good other than getting used to breathing again while running. I even came home and did my stretches and exercises right away. That foam roller thing....PAINFUL! I don't know how people like that thing.

So, I'm on the right track to be better by Monday if today I'm feeling 85-90% today. I just gotta keep on keepin' on. :)

Today's trails around the lake.

A little blah & a TON of faith.

Blah.
That's all there is to say today.....


Ok, so not really. Today was a GREAT day for everything in my life other than running. I'm just getting jealous of everyone out there running, that's all.

I just gotta have faith. Here's me having faith...ready?

I am going to run this marathon and I'm going to be 100% by Monday of next week. YOU HEAR ME? I'M GOING TO BE 100% BY MONDAY. I AM! You wait and see.

Not bad for a Monday.

I got up at 6:45 and went for a 4 mile walk around the lake. I felt good. No aching, other than a blister between my toes from wearing new flip flops over the weekend. I stretched  and did my exercises.

My cross training consisted of hoeing, weeding, and rototilling a big garden for about 2 hours. (That counts right?) I had fun watching the kids play in the sprinkler and run around in the yard. Don't you just LOVE spring?

I also found out that my best friend and sister-in-law, Hayley has a running blog now, Beautiful Exhaustion. Go check it out and give her some love. Today's post is HILARIOUS!! She's such an awesome chick. We were best friends in high school, she moved away and about 5 years later she and my little bro met up and got married while they were in college. How cool is that? She's prego with her 2nd and having fun running while doing  it. :)

I also got a new toy to play with! I can't wait to try it out and see how it works.

Tomorrow will be busy, but I'm going to get my stuff done. I hope everyone had a great day today!

Well, I tried...

I tried to walk, really I did. But, something in me wouldn't let me. I took about 10 steps past the start and had to jog/run/trot, whatever you want to call it.

(Here I am at the start. There were so many people for the 5k that it took them more than 10 minutes to get everyone out of the shoot.)

I woke up this morning with pain in my knee. I was thinking that it was just sore from using the foam roller for the first time at the PT office and from all the stretches & exercises I have been doing. I was nervous that I wouldn't even be able to walk the 5k. Last night was a rough night, I just kept thinking negative thoughts and I wanted to quit. I wanted to quit everything, the training, the marathon, the 5k.  But, when I was getting ready this morning I told myself I would do as much as I can do....and that's what I did. I ran. I ran without pain for the first half and then I started to feel it coming on after a little while, but I found that if I landed a certain way or if I didn't bend my knee as much as I usually do than it didn't hurt. I did take a couple of walking steps here and there, but I listened to my body and did what it wanted to do. If it said to keep running, I kept running. If it said to slow down and walk, I walked.

(Almost at the finish...I wonder if I could say I was walking in this picture...I'm not sure the PT would believe me. lol)

I made it across the finish line in 38.04, not bad for having a bum knee, huh? The funny thing is, last year at this time my average 5k time was 47 minutes. Even with a bum knee I'm faster than I was a year ago. J even said this was the most excited/happy looking he's seen me at the finish. He said it looked like I was really enjoying myself. :)

Right now, about 6 hours after my race, I have NO pain at all. My muscles are sore, but that's to be expected. I feel like I'm 100%. I am being careful though. There is no way I'm going to jump back into running 8 or 10 or 15 miles any time soon. I'm still going to walk and cross train and strength train next week and I may throw in a minute or two of jogging every once in a while during a walk, but I'm being careful. I want to heal and I want to be 100% for my marathon. :)

Oooh, I also went and weighed in today and guess who's down 2 pounds!! It pays off when you track your food. I'm only 5.6 pounds from my goal weight. Go me!

7 miles and no chafing

I did it! I wore my running skirt outside without capris!

Ok, so I'm no TMB I could only wish, but I was proud of myself for getting up the guts to go out and do my miles in my awesome running skirt, crazy capri tan lines and all.

Holy cow, I didn't think my legs were that white. I knew my tan line was bad and I figured that this would be the best way to get rid of it, plus fat looks better tan...right? lol! Oooh, and you know what I'm a BIG fan of...Body Glide. That stuff works! My thighs rubbing together for 7 miles, you'd think there would be some chafing, but noooo. I wasn't sure it would work, but it did!

Since I decided that I would do my miles walking rather than running for the time being, that's what I did. I went 7 miles around the lake and guess what...NO PAIN! No aches, nothing... Isn't that nuts? I'm hoping to find out something tomorrow at my PT appointment about what causes the pain. Maybe it's the way I run or land or something.

I was proud of my walk. I did good keeping at a fast consistent pace. I'm proud of myself. I feel like I'm doing good keeping with my marathon training.

Anyway, maybe I'll jump on the P90X bandwagon and get some muscles and then I will totally rock a Black Polka Dot Athletic Skirt or an Orange RunningSkirts skirt. They are SO comfy. They don't roll up or slide down. I even had my iPhone in my pocket the whole time and it didn't pull the skirt down. That's a good skirt! :) I've been trying to get a RunningSkirts skirt for a giveaway with no luck. Maybe I'll call 'em up and order one. You girls would want one, right? We'll see what I can do to celebrate my 2nd half marathon in 15 days.

Go Speed Racer!

Ok, so it was more like, "Go Speed Walker!" Hahaha! I felt like Hal on that episode of Malcolm in The Middle. You know which one I'm talking about. (It was freakin' HARD to find a clip of that episode online or even a picture of Hal in his weird outfit. So, the one website that I found is full of ads and crap. Sorry!)

Today I decided that I'd rather walk than bike. I want to go the miles. I'm getting to the point that I'd rather go 12 miles speed walking than not be able to go the miles at all. Here's the crazy thing...when I run it HURTS. When I walk...NOTHING...nothing...not one ache, not one pain, NOTHIN'. So, this is the conclusion I came to tonight: You know when you were little and everything was about being obedient? Well, I haven't been very obedient. I haven't been listening to my body, my coach, my soul, my doc...you get the picture. Today was tough. The workout wasn't tough, I felt silly, but it wasn't tough...the part that was tough was listening to my body. It's been YELLING at me, "Hey! Stop running on me, I need a break!" and I keep telling it, "Hey, listen up. I'm in control and you're gonna do what I tell ya." but, little did I know my body will make me listen.

So, today I listened. I walked, I didn't run and you know what, it paid off, I was able to go the distance with NO PAIN! Another plus about my 4 mile walk, I went right before the sun went down and it was beautiful around the lake while the sun set. It totally felt like spring. I LOVE it!

(It looks a million times better on my phone.)

For the rest of the week I'm going to speed walk my miles. I'm going to do my stretches, ice my knee, listen to my body, and do what I know is right. I'm still going to the race on Saturday. I won't PR and I probably won't even run the whole thing if at all, but I know if I let myself heal now then I will be in great shape for my marathon in less than 60 days! :)

8 miles before 6:30AM

Go me!! I got my 8 mile run in this morning! Little Miss A woke up at 4:00, I gave her a bottle, and figured I might as well get my run done early. While I was getting dressed my little bro, aka Trainer Adam, sent me a text at 4:28 saying, "Get up go run!" Great minds think alike, eh? :)

I thought I'd listen to something different this morning while running. I don't know about you, but if I listen to my ipod during every run it tends to lose it's effectiveness. So, rather than listen to the same old music I thought I'd take my mind off the running with Harry Potter book on tape. It was pretty cool. It kept my mind off of my pace and the distance I had to go. It felt like I was running just to run. The only thing it didn't keep my mind off of after mile 6 was the pain shooting from the top of my right butt cheek down to the top of my calf. It feels like a pinched nerve or a strained hamstring or something. Anyway, I think I went too fast after having 2 days off. Oh well, tomorrow I'll make sure to take it easy and on Saturday I'll go as far as I can go. Hopefully I can reach 16, but if not it's ok.

I'm proud of myself for getting out there and running this morning before anyone was up. I did see a lot more runners than usual today. Usually when I go this early there's maybe only 5 people, but I saw at least 10 people out running. It was kinda fun seeing everyone out there.

Today's a good day. I have a ton to do around the house before J comes home today, let's just hope I don't make things worse by going up and down the stairs a TON today. :)

Things I learned today while running

1. Eating Split Pea soup 30 min before running 4 miles isn't the best idea. It's an even worse idea to eat it if your planning on running on a treadmill in the living room while everyone's watching Dancing With The Stars. It's not like running outside, you gotta hold your gas in. LOL!

2. Next time I'm gonna open a window and turn on the ceiling fan. Cause I sweat like a pig on the treadmill and I coulda used some cool air.

3. If I'm going to run on the treadmill I'm gonna need 2 towels. 1 for covering the numbers that stare me in the face the whole time and 1 for wiping my crazy sweat cause it's no fun getting it in your eyes.

4. Running on the treadmill is a mental game. I noticed today that before I got on and while I was running I kept saying, "Ugh! This is so tough! Why is it taking so long? Am I done yet?" I bet that if I were to run on the treadmill tomorrow and I went into it thinking that it was going to be easy and that I would finish quickly then that's what would happen. It's all about thinking positive.

5. Next time I'm wearing a tank top and shorts or something cause I was WAY too hot in my capris and tee.

6. I'm gonna put some Body Glide on my foot cause my right foot's "ring" toe is getting a nice little blister on it.

7. It's amazing how fast you  feel when you go from running on the treadmill to running on the road. I felt like it was SO hard to go at 5.8 on the treadmill, but when the treadmill died on me at 3.71 miles and I went outside to finish the last bit (in the snow) I felt like I was flying. I was going at an 8 min mile pace and it was SO easy.

8. Snow + freezing cold air + sweat soaked tee = the best feeling! It was SOO nice after running so long in the hot house. I'm sure the 3 big guys standing by their truck in the dark thought I was a weirdo running around the block in the snow in just a tee shirt and capris. 

9. Running in  the morning is SO much better for me. I really need to get back into the routine of going early.

10. Short miles are really hard for me to run, but long miles like this weekend are easy. Sometimes I dread going 4 miles, but this weekend I am SO excited to run 16. How weird is that?


Today's run was hard, but I did it. Even if it was at 8:20 at night and on the dread...I mean...treadmill. :)