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. 

Around the lake

This morning I got up and ran 4 miles around the lake with my momma. Today is weigh in day at WW and I'm hoping to lose some weight this morning, but you never know what will happen. I've worked out every day this week and I've hit over my 10, 000 steps every day for the past 9 days. You'd think it would make a difference today when I weigh in, but you never know.

The sunrise was beautiful this morning and I enjoyed the time with my mom. She's doing really well and picking up her pace. She finished with 6.3 miles today. She's such an amazing lady! I'm really proud of her. I hope that when I'm 63 I'm still out there running.

I'm getting to the point now where my body is naturally waking up around 6 every morning. I love that I'm getting to that point. It's really helpful when you know you should be out there running. If your body is naturally wake there's no way you can sleep in. My mind starts going and the angel on my shoulder always beats out the devil when I wake up naturally. On Saturday I was thinking I'd just sleep in, but the more I thought about it the more the angel on my shoulder kept saying "No! You need to get up. You NEED to get out there. You need this!" So, I got up and I went. It always feels good to get my exercise in. Plus, It's nice to get 3-4 miles in and see that you're already close to hitting your 10,000 steps for the day, so any more steps are just extra.

Even though I didn't want to...

Last night I was debating on not going out to run since I was so tired, but I kept my alarm on anyway. I went to bed early and by 5:45 this morning I woke up to a little baby boy screaming cause of a bad dream. I figured it was close enough to my alarm going off that I'd just stay up and get dressed to run. I didn't really feel like it today. I was super tired and I was having some major cramps, but I went anyway. I switched up my route a little today and caught up with my momma halfway into my run.

It turned out to be a good thing that I went anyway because my mom was thinking the same thing. She wanted to go back to bed, but saw me and decided to run rather than go back to sleep. She was able to hit a 12 something mile today! She did awesome! I ended up running 3 miles this morning. I'm glad I went out there and got it done. It's not going to make a difference in my heath and weight if I don't make it a habit and it won't become a habit unless I get out there and go even when I don't want to. If I didn't go today I would have made an excuse the next time and the next time and the time after that until I wasn't running anymore.


I came across this blog yesterday that really got me motivated. She's lost 100 lbs in a year by exercising and eating right. I was doing that back when I started in 2009 and then had 2 babies which threw me off. But, now that I'm done having babies I can FOCUS on running and getting healthy. I can lose the weight I need and be the healthy, happy Cathy I deserve to be. I've been losing the same 5lbs since before October, something's gotta change and I'm going to make that happen!

So far I've done great this week. I've gone out and exercised every day this week. I've upped my mileage by .25 each day. It's feeling good. Now, I need to throw in a little speed work here or there to help me progress. I know I can do the miles, it's a matter of making them quality miles and not just miles.

Yes.

I watched this video about running and it made me remember why I ran. Why I'd get up early in the morning before anyone was awake and run more miles than anyone would normally think about. this morning I got up at 6 and headed out. I knew I wouldn't be able to do as much as my mind thought I could do, and I knew I didn't have the time to try anyway. I walked the first .25 and then ran the rest only stopping to get a picture of the sunrising.

It felt good to just run. My legs felt great and my mind felt great. The time seemed to just pass as I ran. I didn't run fast. It was nothing more than a 14 minute mile, but still, I ran. I moved. I know my body  and mind NEED to run. I know they NEED the exercise. It's my time to just think. Sometimes I'll use music, but today was a "talk with the Lord" kind of run. Everything is so silent it's easy to just listen. Early morning is the best time It's not always the easiest time to run and sometimes (most of the time) it doesn't even happen then. But, I know for me early morning before anyone else is awake. That's MY time. 

New Years Revolution Run

I got up and headed out to the Olympic Oval to run the Revolution Run. This race is pretty different from any race I've ever done. This one was inside on a track! Your bib had a chip on it, so every time you passed through the start your lap would be counted. I had my nike+ going at the same time since I figured I'd lose count after some time. This was a really easy going run. I took my time and ran around and around and around for 48 laps which equaled a half marathon. I think if I had to rank ways to run the treadmill would be the worst, then the track would be alright, and then outside would be the best.  I like outside cause mentally its SO much easier than the treadmill. The track was nice cause the laps went fast, but the thing that's hard to judge is if your running on the outside lanes vs the inside lanes. If you're on the outside then you go farther per lap than those on the inside. 

Anyway... it was a good race. They had really yummy Swedish fish at their aid station, so that was a plus! I tried to meet some people, but I think I'm a little too quiet at first... Oh well. Would I do this race again? Probably not. If it's the only January race I'd do it again, but I wasn't a HUGE fan. 

 I thought this sign was funny. I wouldn't want to get run over by a zamboni. :)

 My finished time! Yay!! I felt great! I was glad it was over though, cause my legs were aching! 

Pretty cool medal. :)

Don't think too much about it.

I was up a lot with the kids last night so I decided to sleep in a little bit, plus it was another snowy day so, the sun wasn't shining into my room like it normally does in the mornings. The day went on like normal. Normal mothering tasks like calling the school, feeding the babies, changing diapers, running children to the bathrooms, etc. My momma came over and visited a little bit in the morning. It's always nice to see her. After taking my oldest to Activity Days for church I laced up my shoes and got on the treadmill. I was already in my bumming around clothes from painting so, I didn't think of anything else besides getting my running shoes on. I knew if I thought too much into it and changed my clothes into "real" running clothes I wouldn't have done as much as I did. I would have only done a couple of miles and called it a night. Rather than thinking about it too much, I just went down to the basement and got my run done. 4 miles. I ran 2.5 and walked 1.5. It felt good. I know that I feel better when I run. I know that each run will pay off one day. I also know that I'm being an example to my children. When they see me exercising even when I don't really want to. 

Tomorrow I'm planning on running 5 miles. It'll be rough on the treadmill, but I'll get it done and it'll have to be done first thing in the morning.