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. :)