Adventures in Running

More Draper Trails

2012-01-16T20:25:00.001-07:00

Due to the wind and snow this morning, Leslie Peterson and I bagged our plans to run in Park City and instead met up at the Draper City Park. We did an out and back for a total of 7 miles on the Draper Canal Trails. I did one or two miles on the equestrian trails to get some trail time in. It was snowing pretty well and the trail got a bit icy at times. I was glad I had on my hobnail running shoes.

Leslie called it quits at 7 miles and I continued around the park. I had seen a new trail at the back of the park that I wanted to investigate. I was prepared to run another three miles at the most. The new trail is called the Willow Creek Trail. Guess what – it parallels what I think must be Willow Creek. The trail runs between subdivisions on the one side and farms on the other. The paved path only lasted about .75 miles and then I went a little bit further on a concrete trail that seemed to be petering out. Turned around and headed back to the jeep. It seemed to be getting colder and I was glad to be done. Nice to get in 9.25 miles on a snowy and cold day.

Dimple Dell Parkway

2012-01-16T20:21:00.001-07:00

On Saturday, January 14^th, I took a long run down to the paved Trax trail and then over to the Dimple Dell Parkway.

Every time I run it I think back to the first time I hiked this trail. I don't think we had moved to Utah yet from Illinois, but it was near my sister's house in Sandy and I went hiking there. Totally blistered my shoulders and love the quick ability to get away from the city without leaving the city.

I need to run these trails more. This last week I did a few short stints on the DDP.

Entered the parkway by the Trax station and headed East. I ran up until the big hill for the culvert/tunnel under 1300 East. I have to admit I have never actually run under the road on 700 East. I always went up to the park and over the road and down – I guess I hadn't realized it was possible.

It was a sunny day. I'm not sure it was particularly warm, but down in the gully it got fairly warm with all my layers on and I ended up running with just my lower layers and then down to a long sleeved running shirt on top. After I started down the hill from 1300 East back to 700 East I had one of those magical moments. I don't get them very often – and love them when they occur. Even though I was already 5 or 6 miles into my run, things just flowed. For one beautiful mile I was not tired and running was smooth and a total joy. I didn't have this feeling most (if not all of last year) and it was great. These moments make all the hard training moments worthwhile.

Ended up with almost ten miles on my run. It was a lot colder when I got back on 7^th East and I had to put all the layers back on. I was sure glad it was a sunny day out. So were all of the bicyclists that passed me.

It's been a weird winter – but I can't say that I have minded the ability to get on trails still in January.

New Year’s Revolution Run

2012-01-04T11:25:00.001-07:00

Leslie Petersen convinced me to sign up for the New Year's Revolution Run. This race was held on the track around the speed skating track at the Olympic Ice Oval in Kearns. I have run there plenty, but this was my first race at this location.

The group that put the race on (this was its first year) was hoping for 500 runners. I was hoping they wouldn't meet that goal because that is a lot of bodies on a fairly small track and would have been very crowded. Luckily only about 250 people registered.

Another running friend, Rachel Moody, was really bummed because she broke her right foot the day or two before Christmas and was 13 miles short of her running goal of 2011 miles in 2011. I encouraged her to find a knee scooter and one of her neighbors had one that she could borrow – so she ended up coming after all.

We picked up our packets around 7 a.m. on December 31^st. Back to the old style leg chip to count laps, but I brought along my lap counter because I wanted to know how many laps I had done. My goal was somewhere between 16-20 miles in the four hours the race would be open. The purpose was to see how many laps you could run in a four hour period.

Shortly after 8 a.m. the race started and the gerbil imitation got going. I was passed a lot, but also passed other people. For the first hour I pretty well ran non-stop except for one lap walking with Rachel. She was using a lot of new muscles on the scooter and would scoot several laps and then walk a lap to give her muscles a break. I thought it very admirable that she was even trying to get her mileage in.

I'd say hi to Leslie each time I passed her and we would usually run a lap together (or walk it later on). After the first hour I would run 4 laps, then walk a lap and each hour I dropped the number of laps prior to walking. I could feel the hard surface of the track tightening up my back as the time dragged on, but kept on as best I could.

It was interesting to watch Seth Wold run by me constantly in his Altra's. He ended up doing something like 115 laps – incredible! When I mentioned prior to the race that I had two pairs of Altra's – he gave me a shirt and I wore it during the race.

Other than two long bathroom breaks for stomach issues, I kept going the entire time. Ran the last 30 minutes in socks to give my feet a break from shoes. I ended up with 63 laps for a total of 18 miles. Nice way to end out the running year.

Taking an idea and "running" with it

2011-11-22T16:02:00.003-07:00

Thanks to Jim Kern for a great idea!

While volunteering at the Pony Express Trail Run in October, Jim Kern showed me his organizer for running supplies. I thought it was brilliant, so created two small versions of the same thing so that I can keep one in my car and have one as a backup. They have similar but not identical contents.

Container: Tool box

Top Layer: Container for holding S Caps, eyedrops, lap counter (for Olympic Ice Oval), emergency headlamp, blister pads, corn pads, alcohol wipes, ginger chews, S Caps, Ibuprofen, small lubricant packs, emergency electrolyte tablets.

Layer 2: Roctane gus, regular gus, shot blocks, kleenex.

Layer 3: handwarmers, various sizes of coban wrap, various types of tape, emergency water bottle, electrolyte powder, KT tape, bag of emergency TP, doggy waste bags (useful for dog and other purposes)

Antelope Island 50K - I gave up

2011-11-05T19:59:00.002-06:00

I participated in the Antelope Island 50K race today. I knew going into this race that I was not as trained as I should be, but there was a large time limit and I figured I could easily walk it in.

The weather took a turn for the worse during the week. One week earlier it was sunny and warm. By Saturday it was cold, snowy and miserable.

I drove out to the race on Antelope Island early on Saturday morning and shortly before dawn, a bunch of crazy ultrarunners headed out. (We were not the craziest - because the 100K had started 2 hours earlier). After less than a mile, the first few miles became a series of uphill switchbacks. I was power walking well on this section and passed several other people. I was able to run a lot of the next section and then once again walked the painful section up past Lone Tree to Elephant Head. Here is a picture of me at Elephant Head - enjoying a fun day on the trails.

After Elephant Head, we ran down into Death Valley and then started up the next set of switchbacks. Still feeling fine and walking strong. At the top of the switchbacks (around mile 8) we dropped down into the back section of the island onto trails I had never been on before. I would be on these trails until about mile 17.

Around mile 9 I started to get the first inkling of troubles. The left IT band started bothering me a bit on downhills so I took some ibuprofen and hoped it would help. There were several really rocky sections and areas of deep sand and I started to feel like I was losing energy faster than I should. I went from feeling really strong to feeling totally week in about a one mile period. While I was still enjoying the sights of the back of the island, I started to think it was going to be a longer day than I had planned and my hopes for a PR went out the window.

As I started up Sentry Peak, I looked up the steep incline and really got mentally depressed. Time to put my head down and soldier on. The problem is - I bonked really badly. Tried to put more food into me - but it wasn't helping. I slowed down considerably and was passed by three of the four people behind me. When I got to what I thought was the top of Sentry Peak - I realized it was only halfway up and just wanted to lay down by the side of the trail and quit. The hike up Sentry Peak was from miles 12-14 and I just got slower and slower and couldn't recover.

The temperatures dropped significantly and the wind picked up as we neared the top of the peak. I was so glad to see the aid station tent. I told the volunteers I needed to regroup and sat in the tent for about 10 minutes drinking a lot of fluids and eating what I could. I then realized I hadn't been drinking as much as I thought during the race. Probably because of the cold. I vowed to drink every mile after that.

While sitting in the tent, the last place person passed by - putting me at the back of the pack. Bummer. I decided it was time to get moving again, and headed out at a trot - mainly to stay warm. It was nasty up there! After the long hike up, there was a long run downhill and as I started into the downhill, the IT Band started screaming at me and I found that I could not run the downhill sections anymore. This was a real bummer, because if I had been able to do so, the next few miles would have flown by.

At this point in time, I had been cold for over four hours, was tired, had little energy (although it was coming back), could not run downhills, which meant I would soon not be able to run flats either. I faced a long day and I was just not able to think about continuing. I had cell phone service and found my sister willing to drive out to the ranch and pick me up. I still had three miles to go to get past the ranch and just kept putting one foot in front of the other and running whenever my leg would allow me to.

As I approached the ranch road, there was a lone buffalo on the trail and he was heading in my direction. I approached slowly, hoping he would give way - but I ended up about 15 feet away before I chickened out and headed off onto another trail. He continued sauntering up the road and was determined to take the easy routed this time.

Marcia picked me up at mile 18 and we drove to Nine Mile Gate where I officially DNF'ed. I should have been devestated - but I was not. I just gave up mentally and physically and that was that. I made a lot of mistakes and could have toughed it out - but at that point in time, it was just not worth it to me.

I accomplished what I set out to do - run trails that I had never run before. I didn't wimp out and not show up to the race. Now I have to get over the feeling of defeat and move on with my running career.

Pony Express Volunteer

2011-10-29T20:48:00.001-06:00

I volunteered a week ago at the Pony Express 50 and 100 Mile Trail Run. I was so excited to be out there again – even bought myself a tent and sleeping pad.

I arrived Thursday afternoon and talked to Davy Crockett for a while. He was pretty bummed because his van had died a few miles pack and that was messing up a lot of his race plans. He said talking to me helped calm him down – so at least I was a little useful.

We set up a start corral and I was trained in the maintenance of the port-a-potties. And these were very portable potties. Emptying those was one of the highlights of the next morning (insert sarcasm here). Can I just say – I couldn't believe that: 1) someone actually took the liner out without replacing it with a new one and 2) people continued to use the potty after that and didn't seem to notice pee dripping all over the tent.

Enjoyed visiting with campers/runners as they arrived and had a nice reunion visit with Jim Kern, who I ran with for 15+ miles during last year's race. Jim and I helped hand out packets and tried to make ourselves useful. I then proceeded to lose my Jeep keys down the back of my dashboard – which resulted in several hours of frustration until Jim Kern and Craig Lloyd retrieved them.

Had a nice visit around the campfire that night. Some people had a longer visit since they got drunk and told loud stories until Davy finally kicked them off to bed late at night.

The next morning I was up at 4:15 and we started handing out race packets. There were four races starting at 6, 7, 8 and 9 a.m. We would give a little pre-race speech and then send the runners off on their respective races.

Jim and I broke down the starting line (with the help of some other volunteers and race crews) and headed out for a day on the trail. Jim was trying to find one group that rented a satellite phone and had forgotten to pick it up. I cheered racers on as I passed them and then worked at Simpson Springs calling off race numbers and directing runners for a couple of hours.

The rest of my day was spent driving back and forth checking on runners and trying to motivate them. I did some chauffeur duty for a woman that forgot to fill up on gas and needed to get her sons out on the course as pacers. I gave words of advice. I admired runners for their fortitude.

It was a great day and so much fun to volunteer for the race. Ultrarunners are a different breed – but such a nice group of people to hang around with.

Halloween Half Marathon

2011-10-29T19:54:00.001-06:00

I agreed to run the Provo Halloween Half Marathon with Leslie Peterson on October 29, 2011. Luckily, Leslie picked up my packet at the fiasco they called packet pickup. And Harold drove us up the back side of the Alpine Loop to the start at Aspen Grove and we were able to sit in the warm car until the race started.

Leslie ran the race as a clown and I was a running ladybug. It was a lot of fun seeing all the runners in costumes.

We took it easy on the first five miles which have a lot of steep downhill and didn't want to blow out our legs. It was a beautiful day up the canyon and we enjoyed running past Sundance Ski Resort and then down into Provo Canyon. A couple of miles on the highway, then they moved us over to the Provo River Parkway.

My legs were feeling strong and I was running fairly well. My endurance improved a lot the past month or so.

About mile 9 Leslie started struggling and told me to not wait for her, so around mile 10 I took off and ran alone the rest of the race.

I finished in 2 hours 35 minutes. Not racing at all because I had a 50K the next Saturday - but just enjoying a beautiful fall day with a great running friend.

Vehicular Fun on the Pony Express Trail

2011-10-24T20:38:00.001-06:00

Last Thursday afternoon I headed out to the Pony Express Trail to help volunteer at the Pony Express Trail 50 and 100 mile races. I ran the event last year, but was not in shape to do it this year and wanted to be part of the fun.

As I pulled into the campground, I saw the race directory, Davy Crockett (also known for running incredibly extreme and crazy distances) sitting surrounded by two tents and a bunch of gear. I asked him where his vehicle was and he mentioned it was the van that was broken down on the side of the road about 3 miles back. Apparently some hoses were not fully tightened when maintenance was done on it and the bumpy roads caused the oil to drain out and ruin the engine. Not only did he have that stress added on to all his other duties that weekend, but had to run in to the camp and get friends to help him transport all the race gear.

After setting up my new tent and campsite, I helped Davy with some of the starting chute setup and visited with other runners and race staf as they arrived. When it started getting dark, I went to change out of shorts and into sweatpants and threw my keys up on the dashboard of my Jeep. Imagine my horror as I watched the keyring start sinking into the corner of the dashboard and grabbed futilely to try and save my keys. No luck. Everyone wants to be far away from civilization with no way to start their vehicle – right? Jim Kern (my racing companion from the year before) had some tools and I tried in vain to take apart my dashboard. Jim tried again later and was more persistent than me. Prayers were answered when he finally somehow found the keychain wedged in a metal compartment (they would have never been visible). More prayers were answered when Craig Lloyd was able to get his skinny fingers in there and unwedge the keys.

Of course, my stress level was very high because I had called a neighbor to see if they could find my spare key and he looked in the places I asked him too and could not find them. My sister was willing to help me out by searching and driving me around as needed, but I was glad I did not have to do that. Imagine my chagrin when I got home on Friday night and opened the first drawer I had asked the neighbor to look in and saw the spare key laying out in the open. (Never ask men to look for something – but they are great at being willing to help out).

Friday morning, once the race started, Jim Kern put my dashboard back together (I only have 8 screws missing a home now) and we were taking down the starting area to move the materials further down the race course. Jim tried to start his truck and the battery was dead. It took him quite a bit of work, but he finally was able to get the truck started and he drove off wondering if it would start again when he needed it to.

Final bit of fun – I was driving back and forth on the road and had told myself I would turn around for good when my tank got half empty. (75 miles back to the nearest gas station). My blood pressure was once again challenged when I noticed my gas indicator had dropped from just over half a tank to one quarter tank in a five mile stretch. Did I have a hole in my tank? How was I going to get back to civilization without running out of gas? I drove on to the 50 mile finsh/turnaround to see if I could bum some gas off of anyone and Brad was able to give me a couple of gallons of gas. Of course, it turns out my panic was unneeded because the gas gauge was acting up and the two gallons of gas actually put me back to ¾ of a tank.

Ah – the fun of vehicle problems when you are out in the middle of nowhere….

Sweeping the Mountain View Trail Half Marathon

2011-10-19T13:56:00.001-06:00

On Octboer 15, 2011 I was able to volunteer at the Mountain View Trail Half Marathon on Antelope Island as the sweeper. I think sweeping is fun in races for a variety of reasons:

You get to start late
You are expected to finish last (or near the end)
You avoid the crowds at the start of the race
Volunteering helps you appreciate Race Directors and the volunteer efforts

Actually – if you have never volunteered for a race and have run in several races, can I just say, "Shame on you!" I think volunteering should be mandatory for every 5 or 10 races that you participate in. People who never take any effort to thank the volunteers as they race by need to quit thinking of themselves and do so. (Note: If you are winning the race at the moment, you can do this later. Since I will never win a race – this is not an issue for me.)

Beautiful drive up to the island. It was going to be a nice, sunny day. The race started at 9:00 a.m. and I got there a few minutes before to hassle Jim Skaggs about his Buffalo cap. (A treasure I found up in Yellowstone and felt was totally appropriate for the RD of the Buffalo Run). Once the race started, I waited about 12 minutes and headed out myself.

The race starts with a loop around the White Rock Bay campgrounds and then cuts over to the trails by the buffalo pens. After a bit on the jeep trail and some bushwacking, at mile 3 you turn onto the Mountain View Trail and follow it out to the Ranch. I started out running 3 minutes and walking 1 minute and figured I would probably catch the last place runner by Frary Peak. The trail was reaping the benefit of a wet spring and summer and was pretty overgrown. Some of the grassy sections has grass over my head and it was like running in a tunnel. A neat feeling to be totally surrounded and you basically could only see a few feet ahead. The sunflower sections were more painful and I was surprised I wasn't really scraped up when the race was done. They were pretty – but I could have used a little less pretty.

Nice sunny day, great temperatures and the legs felt strong. At the first aid station at mile 5 I asked where the last place runners were and was told they were 2 miles ahead. Mentally, that let me know they were probably less than a half mile ahead. Volunteers rarely get these things right – unless they say 20 seconds or something like that. When I reached the next aid station at Frary Peak, I could see a couple about 100 yards ahead – so knew that my guess was much closer. Talked with the volunteers at the aid station for about 5 minutes to allow the runners to get farther ahead and then headed out again.

About one mile from the finish I finally caught the runners and they asked me to go ahead. Since they were looking strong, I took off again. I finished sweeping the half in a little over 3 hours. Not bad considering how many times I stopped to let the runners get a head start.

Ate some hamburger, then switched over to driving a bunch of runners back to the start in Karen Skaggs' pickup truck. Helped take down the course and then Jim dropped me back at the start. It was a wonderful way to spend the day. Out of cell range, in the sunlight, outdoors and no buffalo scares.

To finish off the day, as I drove out of the campground, an antelope slowly sauntered across the road about 10 feet in front of me, so I just sat there and enjoyed watching it.

Struggles

2011-10-04T17:30:00.001-06:00

Everyone has struggles in life. That is what makes life interesting. I will admit that when I am "struggling" I really wish I wasn't. Aren't we all that way?

I have struggled with running this year. Last year I could run 13 miles without walking. I was doing 10-11 minute miles easily. I ran several marathons and completed a 50 mile race. While I was not in top physical condition, I was pretty proud of myself and had all sorts of goals for improving speed and conditioning in 2011.

Then I got sick. Running the Goofy Challenge (half marathon + marathon in 30 hours) while dealing with bronchitis and other infections was fun – but I paid for the fun later. My lung capacity decreased. I felt awful for a couple of months.

I decided a full-time job plus marathon training wasn't enough. I added a part-time job on top of that. Add on the fun of many stressful 70+ hour weeks at my full-time job and I quit running for a few months.

Oh – did I mention the tendon problems in the right ankle? And spending time in boots, braces, tape jobs?

Needless to say, 2011 has not turned out the way I wanted it to be.

However, I also have a dream. It is a dream I have had for many years. That dream involves completing a 100 mile race. I want (okay – I covet) a 100 mile finisher belt buckle. Is it because I think belt buckles are cool? NO. It is part of the dream. To finish 100 miles means I will have conquered myself mentally and physically. I will have done something that an extremely small percentage of the world's population has done. It will take time. It will take suffering. It will involve struggles.

So – while right now I wish I wasn't struggling – I am dreaming of voluntarily putting myself through serious struggles. I can't explain it – it just is.

My current struggles include depression. After weeks of "just not feeling right" and insomnia – it finally dawned on me that I had forgotten about my ongoing battle with depression and that it was time to get back on medication. I hope that between medication and working out – that I will get back on track really quickly.

Why?

Because I signed up for the 48 Hour Race at Across The Years in Phoenix, Arizona starting December 29^th. That belt buckle is going to be mine! Wouldn't that be a great way to end the year and start a new one?

I have not forgotten

2011-09-11T13:42:00.001-06:00

Today marks the 10^th anniversary of the 9/11 attacks in New York, Washington and Pennsylvania. So many lives were lost and so many have been changed forever as a result of the terrorist attacks of that day.

I remember being a student at Weber State University and sitting in my car waiting to head to class when the reports of the first plane crashing into one of the Twin Towers was broadcast. And the sadness that hit at that moment, not even fully realizing that it was not just a horrible accident.

Then, sitting in my class, browsing the Internet and seeing another plane crash and then the collapse of the towers and the other incredibly sad and poignant events of that day.

Going home and watching the events occur over and over again on the television. Feeling pain at so many lives lost. Wondering how I could explain this to my children. Crying with my children over the horrors of the day.

While I did not personally lose a loved one in the attacks that day, there was an incredible feeling of sorrow at the cruelty of these attacks. I cannot say why it is more horrific to have man-made attacks take lives than cruel acts of nature, to me the events of this day hit home and changed my life forever.

Ten years down the road I look at how my life has changed. I never envisioned one of my children joining the military and I never envisioned them becoming a military spouse. Yet my daughter fell in love with an Army sargeant and I have since learned how being in the military affects not only the person but also their spouse, children, parents, brothers and sisters, and even in-laws.

My son-in-law sacrificed many years of custody of his children and time with them in order to serve his country. He and my daughter will both have to deal with loneliness and challenges when he is on deployments. How many of us do not even appreciate what these men, women and their families deal with in order to protect our country?

As I led the closing song in church today (America the Beautiful), I had tears streaming down my cheeks thinking of how proud I am to be an American and also how proud I am to understand better the sacrifices that are made for this great land.

Thank you to all the men and women serving in the Armed Forces and to their families for the sacrifices and service they make. Thank you also to the members of the Police and Fire Departments throughout this land who put their lives on the line every day for people they have never met.

Suncrest Half Marathon 2011

2011-09-10T16:07:00.002-06:00

I saw signs advertising "Conquer the Mountain" and Suncrest Half Marathon last weekend while running the Porter Rockwell Trail. I decided to check this race out and signed up this week.

Right from the moment I checked out their site, I knew that this would not be a half marathon that I raced. It was going to be a matter of survival and a training run (or walk or crawl) more than anything.

The elevation profile for the race says it all - it was going to take my breath away.

Since I have never been in the Suncrest area before this race, I will be taking a lot of the course descriptions from the PDF document.

The race started at 7 a.m. with the half marathoners heading down Suncrest Drive to some trails and a fire road that lead to the Richmond Homes Development. At this point there were only a couple of other competitors behind me - so I figured I could just sit back and "enjoy" the race. The mile markers were totally off for the race, so I relied on my Garmin. Mile marker 1 occurred at 1.5 miles and mile marker 2 was at 2.4 miles - I was worried it would be a long course. Near the end they were occurring every .75 miles or so and it actually ended up being a little bit short of 13.1 miles (not that I cared).

After a couple of miles on trail we headed up the road again (there seemed to be a lot of "heading up" in this race) through a subdivision and then onto another jeep road and some single track. This portion of the race had some nice views of Utah county to enjoy. I probably should have stopped and taken some picture - but I was too busy struggling to breathe.

The uphills continued for a few miles until we passed the Deer Ridge Drive Bridge. This aid station actually had gummy bears and M&M's and I loaded my pockets with fuel.

We ran on the roads in the subdivisions for a few more miles - this time with some pretty views of the Salt Lake Valley. You really couldn't enjoy the downhills too much - because they meant that there would be more uphills ahead of you. On this side of the mountain there was a really enjoyable stretch of singletrack that I was able to cruise down and made the entire race worthwhile.

Unfortunately, the end of the trail meant a long climb back up Traverse Ridge Road to the start of the race and another looping section. After a few miles of road we were sent on the Suncrest Trail back up to just above the gummy bear aid station and the final section of road to the finish.

It was a nice race - small and well organized. The aid stations were well stocked, there were only a few turns where you had to wonder if you were going in the right direction (usually on roads) and they had lots of volunteers.

Will I do it again? Probably not. It was enjoyable to see new trails, but it is the hardest half marathon I have ever entered and not one I can even run half of. Still, all in all, I'm glad I took a chance on it.

Guardsman Pass and Sheepdog Trials

2011-09-05T18:05:00.002-06:00

I was thrilled when Leslie Petersen called me yesterday and suggested a running adventure for Labor Day. I've been feeling sorry for myself because it seems like I have very few friends and am too often alone - so having someone to hang with on a holiday cheered me up.

I drove over to Leslie and Harold's house at 7 a.m. and we loaded up their SUV. Harold drove us up to the top of Guardsman Pass and Leslie and I started the run down. I worried the first half mile because it was pretty steep and I was having to use the quads fairly heavy to 'brake' myself, but then the downhills eased up.

We were able to run most of the time - I think we started throwing in occasional walk breaks around mile 5 or 6. I'm sure our quads will complain tomorrow, but it was great downhill training for Leslie for St. George. We had planned to run between 9-13 miles, but Leslie decided she wanted to get to the second part of our adventure while it was still overcast, so at 8.65 miles we called it quits. We had just reached Midway at that point in our run.

Part 2 involved the Grand Championships of the Soldier Hollow Sheepdog Competition. These dogs and their handlers are pretty amazing. The dog is totally controlled by whistling commands and a few verbal commands. They had 24 minutes to gather 2 different herds of 8 sheep each, put them through various gates and other maneuverings. A very tough workout. The last two teams we watched ended up taking gold and bronze in the competition - so we got to see some of the best.

I'm going to hold off taping my foot again until Friday when I run part of the Wasatch 100 course to cheer on runners. Some skin came off with the tape today - so my skin definitely needs a break.

All in all - it has been a great weekend.

Building up mileage

2011-09-03T17:59:00.002-06:00

Since I have decided to do a 50K in November, it is time to build up my long run distance again. I have to admit that it is actually easier to consistently run longer distances than it is to build up. I think the body adapts to the longer distances and you get less inflamation and soreness as a result.

I was too lazy to get up and run early in the morning, but it is cooling down a little earlier at night, so around 5 p.m. I packed up my running gear and headed to Draper. The plan was to run two loops of a 7 mile route on the Draper Canal Trail and the Porter Rockwell Trail and then run around the Draper City Park for the last mile as a cooldown.

First loop I went out on the Draper Canal Trail to the big bridge and then back on the Porter Rockwell Trail. Draper Canal Trail this way is a very gradual uphill and the Porter Rockwell Trail is rollers that eventually work their way downhill. Lots of hills on the Porter Rockwell Trail.

Second loop I went out on the Porter Rockwell Trail and then back on Draper Canal Trail to give myself the gradual downhill when I would be most tired. I did remember to grab a flashlight for this loop so I wouldn't have to focus on not running into the trail gates.

The body and legs felt good. Since my endurance is not where I want it to be, I ran 3 minutes followed by a 2 minute walking break. I was tired at the end - but not too tired, so I hadn't pushed too hard. I didn't tape my foot for the run and it felt fine.

Thanks to my daughter for calling and talking me in the last mile.

Posterior Tibialis Tendonitis

2011-09-02T17:52:00.002-06:00

I first went to see Dr. Royall (a podiatrist) about 10 days ago and he did a lot of checking on my feet. He said that my feet are very strong (guess all the running paid off) and that it appeared that my right foot pronates just a tiny bit. Based upon my mileage (and that nasty thing called AGE), the pronating was causing my poterior tibialis tendon in the right foot to be inflamed.

His remedy was to do a taping technique on the foot and ankle called "Modified Low-Dye Strapping". You do a basket weave of tape around the foot and ankle to support the foot and then follow up with three strips of a stretchy support type tape under the arch of the foot. I was supposed to use this technique until he saw me again and not do any icing, ibuprofen or other treatments to see if the strapping worked.

The great thing is, I was able to run again. The tendon on the outside of the right ankle has been a bit painful (nothing serious) because the strapping was focused on supporting the inside of the ankle - but within a day or so I had no pain when running on the formerly inflamed tendon.

I saw Dr. Royall again today and we decided that the strapping proved I needed some orthotics, so was casted for and ordered a pair of them. He also did an ultrasound of the tendons and showed me the inflamation that still exists around them. It will take a while to fully heal - but I am on the mend!

Little + Big + Ouch x 2

2011-08-13T16:05:00.001-06:00

Needed to burn off some stress, so headed over and did the Little Cottonwood Canyon Trail last night after work. My Garmin kept losing satellite reception for some reason, so just turned it off after a half mile and ran free. The mind and legs did better on the downhill and I am getting back to being able to pick my way down rockier sections again.

My right ankle has been hurting me a lot for the last week or so and I think it started after my run on this same trail a week or so ago. Maybe the uphill sections and downhill sections were aggravating my tendon injury from the previous year. I considered bagging a scheduled run the next morning, but decided I wanted to do it too badly and would go to a doctor afterwards, if needed.

Early this morning I met Leslie and Harold Peterson and some of their family (some who had never run trails before) and we went up to run the Wasatch Crest in Big Cottonwood Canyon. We ran from Guardsman Pass to the spine, then down to Desolation Lake and over to Mill D. A great 9.3 mile run. My ankle hurt each time I started a new uphill section, but then would quit bugging me.

After dropping Leslie off at her car, I then headed over to Brighton Ski Resort and did another 1.3 miles around Silver Lake and a little towards Twin Lakes, but the ankle was bothering me – so I decided I had better quit before I did something seriously wrong to it.

As I neared the bottom of Big Cottonwood Canyon I came around a corner just a few seconds after a bike crash had occurred. I used my Jeep to block the lane since the bicyclist that was seriously injured was laying half on the road and half on the gravel shoulder. Several people stopped to help until the ambulance arrived. I had blankets in the back of the Jeep that we used to pad her where the gravel was digging into her. Her name was Jennifer and she had done a double flip on the bike and had smacked her head, had road rash all over (probably the worst case I had seen) and was worried that she had broken her hip when it impacted the pavement at about 40 mph or faster. She wasn't bleeding seriously, so we tried to keep her talking and assess her condition before the Fire Department arrived. By the time they came we had a physician who was riding his bike up the canyon and a nurse who had been passing by also assisting. Poor woman – she was going to be hurting something awful. Her fiancée had wiped out trying to not crash into her, but he was walking around, although I had scraped off most of one butt cheek when he crashed. They are getting married next Saturday and she kept telling him she was sorry she had hurt him and that she would be injured for their wedding. We were all just glad she had a helmet on and had survived the crash.

Later this afternoon I got up to walk around the house and my ankle was hurting a lot – especially on stairs – so went by the After Hours clinic. They recommended I get an appointment with a podiatrist and put me back in my boot for at least a week. Probable tendon injury. Bummer.

Draper in the Dark

2011-08-05T23:11:00.001-06:00

I decided to do my long run tonight instead of tomorrow because of some plans I have for the day, so waited until a little after 7 and drove to Draper to run the Draper Canal Trail (paved) out to Point of the Mountain and back. It took a while to get there because of major holes in the road from road destruction and backtracking. I started late enough that it was cooling down and only the first hour was ridiculously hot. It got dark just as I reached the turnaround point. I had underestimated the lighting on the trail (none) and did not bring a light of any kind, so decided to do an out and back instead of a loop onto the remaining portion of the Porter Rockwell Trail because I had seen where all the horse and dog droppings were and that there weren't any major cracks or limbs on the path I ran out and did not want to risk injury. It was so nice and quiet and peaceful. I really enjoyed running in the dark. It is a good thing I am a slow runner because a couple of times I almost missed the bars that prevent vehicles from getting on the trail and that would have been painful to slam into them at waist height.

Little Cottonwood Trail

2011-08-03T22:11:00.001-06:00

I was in the mood to run trails today since Leslie Peterson and I had planned a long run before she decided to go to the 'Beach House'. I was not sure how well I would do since I had a hard time falling asleep last night and was functioning on only 4 hours of sleep time.

After work I changed and headed up to the Little Cottonwood Trail at the mouth of Little Cottonwood Canyon (what a coincidence). I have not done much hill running this year, so this was a good way to jump in. The trail is 3.25 miles each way and climbs about 1200 feet in that distance. Last year when I tried to run this trail I found a lot of it washed out from spring floods and actually went past the closed signs and had to balance over washed out bridges.

This year the trail and bridges have been repaired. The trail is in great shape and they have done a lot of work digging diversion ditches and placing 'speed bumps' on the trail to ensure it won't get washed out in the next few years.

Since it has been relatively hot and humid this year, I decided to run 100 steps/walk 100 steps on the way up. This year I have had so many runs where I am almost blinded from the sting of sweat in my eyes and it occurred again today. I reached the top in 58:02 and sat on a rock for a few minutes to get my heart and breathing under control. The ground under me was soaked with sweat after just a few minutes. Plenty hot out! Ran the entire 3.25 miles down to the Jeep in 45:01. I want to track this every few weeks to see if I can improve both the uphill and downhill times. I could tell my 'route sensing' abilities are not where they used to be – so need to spend more times on trails to improve that. If you run trails enough – you get a sense of where to pick a path that has the least chance of providing you with catching a toe or face plant opportunities.

I can tell tonight that I need to do lots more hills. After sitting here working on documentation for a Kindle app for 2 hours, I stood up to go downstairs and was so stiff I could hardly walk. Ah – the joys of getting in shape.

One sign of progress – my son, Kevin, told me tonight that my legs are looking fit. He's a good critic – so I accept his kind judgment.

Increasing Mileage

2011-08-02T21:51:00.001-06:00

I have several ambitious plans bouncing around in the back of my head for 2012. A lot of them depend on getting in shape, losing weight and increasing my mileage again. So – as of today I increase my race plans for the remainder of 2011 from one race to three races.

September – Dirty Dash – a 10K at Soldier Hollow involving running, wallowing, obstacle courses, and lots of fun.

October – Mountain View Trail Half Marathon – I've volunteered at this race on Antelope Island – this year I will run it. And maybe I'll turn around and run it back to the start when I am done. I would just have to figure out logistics for having fluids and gu available. Maybe just carry it all on my back?

November – more fun on Antelope Island. Jim Skaggs started a 100K last year and this year added a 50K option. This includes trails I have not yet run on the island. With a 12 hour cutoff – I could walk the course and finish in time.

Pipeline Trail again

2011-07-30T13:12:00.001-06:00

I had plans to run the Pipeline Trail weekly this summer until I started hearing tales of rattlesnakes being seen on single track. Since I am slow and usually run alone – it worries me that I might run into one and get bit – so have stayed on either roads, paved trails, or wider trails.

A bit cooler and overcast this morning – so I headed back up to run the Pipeline Trail. I just love it up there (once you get past all the cars doing to the cub scout camps). Lots of runners, hikers and bikers on the trail. Most of them were pretty gracious. I did get frustrated with one group of 5 mountain bikers that had one rider who either had lousy gears or was lousy at gearing and they would stop and wait for her to catch up – about the time I caught up and passed them and then had to give way for them to pass me again. It was getting annoying, but I think she dropped down at Church Fork since the other four passed me before then and I never saw her again.

A great day for running. Overcast and even slightly drizzly until 6 miles were down. After that the sun came out and things started heating up.

I moved up to 3 minutes running/1 minute walking for my long run today. I'll increase it to 4/1 in September. I am in no rush – just want my endurance to get back to where it was. I can feel the legs and the lungs slowly coming back. It wasn't a struggle today like it was when I ran the trail in June. And the last couple of miles I even put some speed on during the downhills. Nice to see a bit of progress.

As I was finishing up, I starting thinking of a song that expresses my love for my mountains and trails. I don't have a ton of happy memories from vacations as a child, but there was one song my mother taught us that we sang on trips that puts my sentiments out there:

I love the mountains,

I love the rolling hills,

I love the fountains,

I love the daffodils,

I love the firesides,

When the lights are low,

Boom di ada, boom di ada, boom di ada, boom di yay,

Boom. Boom. Boom.

Jeremy Ranch Road

2011-07-24T16:00:00.001-06:00

I had lots of good thoughts about running Jeremy Ranch Road up in Park City this winter. Every time I wanted to attempt it – we got snow. And I knew that it would not be packed enough to run.

I finally had a chance to run it yesterday – gave me some time to think of my daughter on her 24^th birthday.

This road is a nice way to get some trail running in without actually being on trails. The road is either hardpacked dirt or gravel. Lots of uphills and downhills to challenge the legs. Lots of nature and not too many cars.

I think I might try to run this every 4 weeks or so during decent weather. I am a little chicken this year after hearing about all the rattlesnakes people are seeing on trails and worry about them because I almost always run alone.

During my run, I remembered (or thought of) the following:

Nature heals me. I need the mental refreshment it brings.
Pushing my limits is worth it. I get tired of sitting so much and love the challenge of pushing my muscles and lungs and heart. The aches and pains afterwards (and sometimes during) are so worth the outcome.
I really need to appreciate more the fact that I can move and run and walk with very little pain. I don't know where I would be without this physical release – but am really grateful I can experience it first hand.

Endurance builds slowly and star-gazing during the day

2011-07-16T14:43:00.001-06:00

One of the hardest things about coming back to running is gaining endurance. It is very frustrating to see how far I had 'fallen' when I think of running a marathon of 26.2 miles and an ultramarathon of 50 miles in a 13 day period in October and then a half marathon and a marathon in two days in early January. Now, to struggle to run 5 miles and know that I have to take walking breaks just makes me feel pathetic and out of shape.

However, two weeks ago I was able to run 5 miles non-stop on the treadmill (granted at about 4-4.5 mph) and have done that a couple of times since then. Last Saturday I did my first long-run in several months and made it to 8 miles, but was pretty tired after that. Today, I set out to run 10 miles and was feeling pretty good, so ended up doing a total of 13 miles. I am currently running 2 minutes and then walking 1 minute on my long runs, but the fact that I am in double digits for the first time since the first week of March and have done long runs two weekends in a row makes me feel like the endurance is coming back and that I am making progress.

I had a really neat experience on my run this morning. I ran down to the Jordan River Parkway and then ran north on it to my turnaround point (5 miles based on the planned 10 mile run). Right where I turned around there were a bunch of telescopes being set up. I had to admit it was pretty unusual to see telescopes out in the daytime (it was a little after nine on a bright, sunny morning) so I wandered over and asked what they were doing. The owners were thrilled to show me. One said he was star-gazing. Of course, then it clicked on me that the sun is indeed a bright star. With the filters they had on you could see solar flares and all sorts of awesome features. I think I will try to run that way more often on Saturdays to see it again (they say they are out there about once a month).

Running time again

2011-06-26T19:09:00.001-06:00

I have let my running slip (a lot). Work has been consuming my life and I let a lot of exercise go by the wayside (except for getting Twilight out). Since I was heading to Georgia for a family vacation for a week, I decided it would be a good time to start running again.

One slight problem with that equation – 100+ degree heat each day and close to 100% humidity. Running was very hard. Most days I settled for running two minutes, walking one minute for the length of the run. It was hard to breathe and I was soaked with sweat. I tried to get out early each day – but the heat and humidity still drained me. However, I persevered and most days ran between 4-6 miles and walked anywhere from 1-3 miles more.

Now that I am back in the land of "it's a dry heat" – I need to maintain the running and get out early each morning. It was a mistake to let my jobs consume my life so much and I think I will probably be more effective if I workout each day. Me time has to be a priority or everything else suffers.

In the back of my mind I would really like to do a lot of trail running next year – the Buffalo Run 50 Mile in March, a Rim To Rim To Rim of the Grand Canyon in April, Squaw Peak 50 Mile in June, and Pony Express 50 Mile in October. If I am going to do that – I need to get my daily mileage up to around 8 miles a day at least 4 times a week (plus a long run) and lose 20-25 pounds. Still, having a goal might get my focus where I want it to be.

I'll keep you updated (whoever you are).

Trail Therapy

2011-06-10T07:44:00.001-06:00

I've been working lots and lots of hours lately. Combine those hours with working two different jobs and there hasn't been as much free time for working out as I would like.

So many times I have told people that they will be more effective at work if they take some time to work out and get their minds clear. I must admit I am guilty of not following my own advice. I think that needs to change.

Anyway – I had worked from about 6-9 a.m. yesterday and was starting to feel frazzled, so asked if I could take a few hours off to go running. I changed clothes and headed up Millcreek Canyon to run the Pipeline Trail. The weather alternated between being sunny and sprinkling on me – but it was so nice to be back on trails. There is nothing like being back in nature to allow your mind to clear. Especially on shorter runs when I don't turn on music and force myself to detach from electronics (except my beloved Garmin, of course). 9.25 miles and 2 hours and 15 minutes later, I was refreshed and ready to go back to work and be productive.

As close as I live to trails – I really wish they were even closer. This so beats running on roads in any way, shape and form.

Biking to Work

2011-06-10T07:35:00.001-06:00

I've been meaning to start riding my bike to work when the weather was good. The problem is – I started to wonder if the weather would ever be good. How many days in a row do we have to have rain? I don't remember moving to Seattle!

Anyway – the rain finally eased up for a few days and my son has been having car problems, so I have ridden my bike to work two of the last three days. A bit chilly in the morning – but it is a good way to get the blood flowing and I only live 2 ½ miles from the office.

A couple of issues the first day – found one of my brake cables was not working on the way in. Luckily the back break was working and I didn't do a face plant. And on the way home my backpack strap got caught on the seat so I couldn't get up into the saddle. But I now have a nice new helmet (not one of the old bucket ones) and I am in the groove – so hopefully this trend will continue and I can get more exercise and save on gas.

Depression and the weather

2011-05-20T08:38:00.001-06:00

I was very proud of myself this winter for being able to wean myself off of anti-depressants after several years of requiring them. Winter is probably the worst time of year to try and do this (unless you happen to reside in Arizona or Florida) because of the lack of sunlight. However, between my usual working out a lot and switching over to using a regular Magnesium supplements (I had read several books that suggested this as a possible solution) – I was able to continue functioning without the usual side effects.

Things were going fine – until a week ago. Then the rain started. And the rain continued. And the rain seems to never want to go away.

I can tell that depression is lurking on the edges and wanting to pull me into its nasty little grasp.

I could never live in Seattle. I need (make that NEED) sunlight way too much in my life. Running outside can often help bring my mood back into its happy place. And running in the rain can be peaceful and leave you with a clean, calm feeling. But not every single day. That just makes you cold and wet and more depressed.

So – the light box is going to come out again. It helps with Seasonal Affective Disorder (SAD).

And maybe several doses of chocolate…..

Being in shape is not the same as fit

2011-04-18T07:33:00.001-06:00

Since running a half marathon and a marathon two days in a row in January while suffering from bronchitis and other bodily infections, I have struggled with my running. At this point in time I can hardly believe that I ran a marathon and a 50 mile race in a two week period in October. I am still able to run, but I think my lungs were weakened by doing the Goofy Challenge while sick.

This has led me to thinking about my healthy.

I am the first to admit that I went from being in great shape in 2008 to letting myself gain weight and lose muscle and being in not-so-great shape in 2011. I could kick myself for letting this happen. In fact, I have mentally kicked myself most days for letting it happen.

Compared to a large portion of the population, I am in good shape. I am slightly overweight, but I am not obese. I exercise regularly. I eat somewhat healthily. But am I fit?

The answer to that question (at least in my opinion) is NO.

I was working out with my trainer the other day and he kicked my butt in a matter of minutes with some of the exercises he gave me. I can run and walk for hours on end (at least when I am trained for it). I can lift weights sitting at a machine and get strong and push myself hard. But going through a series of functional exercises requiring me to use different muscles one right after another and balance and tighten my core left me ready to pass out.

So – I am on a course to get fit in 2011.

What is being fit to me? Fitness to me will consist of the following:

Eating healthy and breaking my addiction to junk food for once and for all (see previous post). This does not mean giving up junk food. I like it too much and I think it has its time and place in my life.
Getting my body fat percentage down below 20%. I was down to 22% in 2008 and have let it get back up to 32%. Again – I am kicking myself – but it is what it is and there is no denying it.
Pushing myself with a variety of weight training methods so that my body can handle not only static exercises at machines, but balancing, plyometrics, and movement related exercises. I want to be able to jump on benches, box, etc. without it taking a toll on me every time.
Using a variety of cardiovascular type exercises instead of focusing on running alone. Start riding my bike to and from work, swimming, rowing, stair climbing.
Break that elusive 10 minute mile base for running.

Now – I need to eat my breakfast consisting of Dancing Berries cereal, almond milk, an apple and a hard-boiled egg.

Eating Healthy is Hard Work

2011-04-18T07:20:00.001-06:00

Today marks day 7 of eating healthy. Here are some thoughts on the subject:

It takes a total mental refocus to eat healthy. It is not going to happen unless you really want to make the change.
It is a lot of work to eat healthy.
Eating healthy requires planning. Meal plans, shopping lists, etc.
Eating healthy requires cleaning junk out of your kitchen (and spare room - and office drawers).
Unless you are independently wealthy – eating healthy requires cooking.
Cooking requires extra time. But – you can cook multiple things at once and prepare for several days in advance, so not too much extra time.

I am 50 years old. I have been reading a lot about nutrition and the body. I have also been reading about body weight and aging (sad to think that aging applies to me). I have let junk food and my beloved friends chocolate and sugar control my life for too many years. (Don't worry friends – I am not the type to turn my back and abandon friends entirely). If I want to live many more years to torture my children and grandchildren and enjoy myself while doing so – I need to make these changes.

Some of the changes needed:

Remove sugar and fat as major parts of my diet. (sniff, sniff, sob)
Lose at least 20 pounds and possibly 30 to get my body to where it should be to handle the fact that aging causes muscle and bone loss unless you prevent that.
Incorporate fruits and vegetables into every meal I eat (this is a hard change).
Plan meals and menus in advance.
Grocery shop.
Pack my breakfasts and lunches the night before.
When I slip or eat junk – make sure it is what I want and that I at least am enjoying myself and not stuffing my face mindlessly.

Just call me Cap’n Mo

2011-03-27T14:31:00.001-06:00

I had quite the running adventure this weekend and it didn't involve me running a single step.

I have been involved with the Buffalo Run on Antelope Island since its inception in 2006.

2006 – signed up for the 50K. First year of the race and the race director, Jim Skaggs had a 4 hour cutoff for the first 25K loop. I was about 5 minutes over the cutoff and knew there was no way to finish the race in under 8 hours (even though Jim said I could continue since I was so close) – so dropped down to a 25K option.
2007 – raced and finished the 50K. This is the year that I met Leslie Petersen and protected her from her fear of a buffalo stampede.
2008 – raced and finished the 50K.
2009 – signed up for the 50 Mile. I ended up with serious IT Band issues and had to DNF at mile 28. I will be back to conquer this beast.
2010 – signed up for the 50K. Ended up in a cast on my right ankle. Volunteered for most of the afternoon and the finish line.
2011 – inception of the 100 mile race. Volunteered to help out. Was asked if I would run an aid station overnight at the Ranch. Agreed to do so.

Once I contacted the volunteer coordinator and agreed to do anything they need – I got more adventures than I had planned. Britta asked if I would be willing to camp at the Ranch. It sounded like a lot of fun so I agreed. Then I suggested it to my sister and (brave person that she is) she agreed to camp out with me. I have to admit – my sister is very game and willing to support me in a lot of my idiocies.

As the race drew nearer I found out that I was an aid station captain. This also meant getting all of the gear across the island and setting up my aid station. This was not going to happen in my little Jeep, so we involved my brother-in-law, Gary, who was willing to bring his truck out on the island and move gear for me.

The week of the race we all started watching the weather. Rumors of extremely cold temperatures and possible wind, rain and snow had the racers and volunteers all adjusting their expectations and gear for the race. And yes – volunteers do need to have gear.

Friday morning I loaded up the Jeep with food and essentials for two days. This also included extra camp chairs and lots of blankets for runners because we knew that we potentially might have cases of hypothermic runners to deal with – especially if the conditions were wet. It was pretty discouraging that as I headed through Salt Lake and into Davis counties I was facing almost white-out conditions, but as I drove out to Antelope Island, the skies cleared and the snow stopped.

Marcia, Gary and I all headed out to the Start/Finish area and loaded up the pickup with our supplies for the Ranch aid station. The 100 mile runners would be coming through this aid station at Mile 38 and again at mile 82. The 50 Mile runners on Saturday would hit the aid station at mile 32 – but I would be long gone before that occurred.

We had our aid station setup by around 2:00. Lindsay Lauck arrived to help me for the first few hours and Marcia and Gary headed off the island. As with any first year race (and this was the first year for the 100 mile option) – there is a lot to be learned. Lesson number 1 – this aid station does not need to be set up until after 4:00 p.m. We sat and we talked and we sat and we talked. I finally headed back down the road to get an idea of where the leaders were. I came back and told Lindsay I saw two runners just past Frary Peak and that they would probably cover the 4.5 miles and be to our station around 4:45. I was right.

Dan Varga came bounding in first. All he wanted was to have his water bottle topped off and he was out the door and back on the course. A few minutes later, Karl Meltzer repeated the same request and handed me a pocketful of garbage to dump. These guys were cruising. Over the next hour we had three more runners – Mark Tanaka, another runner, and Davy Crockett. We had been waiting for Davy and sang him in and cheered him on.

Lindsay left for the night a little after 5 p.m. and another family showed up that had never volunteered or ran in a trail race, so I told them what to expect and what to do. Marcia came back out for the night around 5:30 and we settled in. More and more runners started coming through. All of them had struggled a bit more because of the wet conditions on the first half of the course and all were covered in mud. The mud had definitely added some extra work for them to run through.

Before it got too dark, we changed into our heavy duty winter clothes. My right piriformis area was really hurting me – but once I got into my thermals and snowboarding pants, the pain eased up considerably and I eventually forgot about it. As it got dark our volunteer family left for the night and Marcia and I started setting up for a long, cold night. About 11:00 p.m., the last racer came through on the first lap and we started predicting when the leaders might come through again.

We hunkered down in the tent. Marcia had a folding chair and a sleeping bag and blankets. I had a reclining lawn chair (that was a life saver) and my son's sub-zero sleeping bag and blankets. Marcia had also brought a propane heater that helped to keep us a little warmer. We put up a blanket to block the worst of the cold on the front flap of the tent and just talked the night away.

We had predicted the runners would come in around 1:15 a.m. and suddenly, about 12:50 Marcia said, "Runner!" Dan Varga was wandering around the tent trying to find a way in. We filled up his water bottle and he raced out of there. Karl Meltzer came in at 1:00 a.m. and also was quickly on his way. It was awesome to see the speed these runners were putting in. Davy Crockett had told us he expected to be in around 4:00 a.m. at the earliest, but we knew there were two more runners in between him, so we left the tent door open and turned on a lantern we had left out by the gate to help show the way in.

I ended up dozing off around 2:00 or so and suddenly Marcia whispered something about being surrounded by buffalo. She could see the silhouette of buffalo crossing in front of the lantern. We then started being pretty scared. I could see a lot of buffalo eyes reflecting off of my headlamp, we heard buffalo snorts and woofing that sounded like they were within 10-20 feet of the tent. We would then hear a lot of buffalo feet stampeding down the road that was not far from our aid station tent. I will admit that two women all alone with no radio or cell contact with the race directors and quite a ways from the next aid station left us very scared for a couple of hours. We kept talking because we think our talking earlier had kept the buffalo away.

It was after 4 a.m. before the next wave of racers started trickling in. Ultra runners are such a great group. They all tried to joke around even as tired as they were. Everyone was positive and thanked us for being there. Davy was in third place at this time and about 8 minutes in front of another runner and racing to keep his position. With no radio contact we had no idea whether runners had DNF'd earlier in the race.

One runner that had us a bit concerned was Mark Tanaka. He had been in third place Friday afternoon and came in after 6 a.m. He was extremely cold (but not hypothermic) and extremely tired. We ended up putting him in my subzero sleeping bag, piling several blankets on him, putting hand warmers in his gloves and pouring chicken broth down him to try and help him recover. We put back the lounging chair and he dozed for quite a while. He was determined to finish and felt that sleeping would help him get some energy back. I think he ended up being in our aid station for about 70 minutes, so we had a good visit with him before we wrapped him up in a space blanket to help him get warm before the sun fully came up and sent him out the door.

It was blissful to see the sun come up. We were tired from not sleeping and tired from the cold and anxiously awaiting the backup captain to arrive on Saturday morning.

It was a great afternoon and evening and quite an adventure. Right now I am a bit scared about the idea of being there overnight again because of the Buffalo. It might be that if we can come up with a better lighting system and a way of making some automatic noise that I will be less fearful and ready to repeat the adventure. But probably not for a few years.

The reason – the 2012 Buffalo Run 50 Mile Race has to be conquered. I cannot let that 50 mile DNF be my final attempt at that race.

A final thanks to my sister for being there for me and being a good sport.

Antelope Island - Then and Now

2011-03-07T07:56:00.001-07:00

I've been walking and running on Antelope Island since about 1996. When I first started going out to the island, hardly anyone would ever be there. I would say this lasted until 2006 or so. I would be pretty well alone on the island with the buffalo (aka bison), antelope, rabbits, birds and "no see-ums". In fact, I would often worry that if something happened to me out there (attacked by a buffalo, fell off Frary Peak, etc.) that it could be a long time until I was found.

In 2006, Jim Skaggs started the Buffalo Run. This was a 25K and 50K trail race in March on some of the island trails. Since then, the Buffalo Run has expanded to include 50 mile and 100 mile options and Jim has also added in other races during the year and training runs.

Now, anytime I go out and run on Antelope Island – the crowds are there. In addition to horses and riders and mountain bikers (and those pesky Boy Scouts), there are always runners on the trails. While it is nice to see the island being used well and comforting to know I will quickly get found if I was injured – I kind of miss the solitude of the trails.

Last Saturday I needed some outdoor time, so I grabbed my gear and headed up north and out to the island. It was the final training run before this year's Buffalo Run, so between 75-100 runners were on the trails, in addition to other outdoors enthusiasts. I was able to push my mileage, get in some great mud and trail running, and breathe some fresh air. Nothing beats being outside and pushing the limits of your body. These are the days that make all the other days worth while.

Anemia again?

2011-02-27T17:25:00.001-07:00

The last few days I have been incredibly tired. No energy when I run or try and work out. Today I have been freezing no matter what I wear or eat or how high I turn up the thermostat.

I am thinking I got sloppy about taking my iron pills lately and that my anemia has come back. I'll take them regularly for the next week and hope that they symptoms go away.

Athlete the movie

2011-02-27T17:22:00.001-07:00

One of my co-workers let me borrow a movie called Athlete. It is the story of four endurance athletes and some of the challenges they face and overcome. One is a blind athlete running with the Achilles Track Club in New York, one is a cancer survivor competing in marathons and other endurance events and the other two are twin sisters preparing for and competing in Ironman Triathlons. It was a really neat motivational movie and reminded me a lot of Spirit of the Marathon.

Paul's sister was in the movie – so that made it fun to watch for. She was one of the guides with the Achilles Track Club. I loved how he said I would know it was his sister because she is the one who calls someone an 'a$$hole'.

It is always inspiring to see other athletes conquer an event or comeback from incredible challenges.

Also – the movie reminded me of volunteering at the St. George Ironman last year and the incredible athletes that were there. In the back of my mind I still want to do an Ironman – but not until after I complete a 100 mile run.

Speed Work

2011-02-16T07:42:00.001-07:00

As I mentioned earlier, 2011 is the year I am bound and determined to get my running speed up to the point where I don't feel like I am 'jogging' all the time (not that there is anything wrong with jogging). One of the reasons I want to do this is to speed up my average workout. Running 60-75 minutes a day is a lot less stressful on your body than running 90-105 minutes a day doing the same mileage and if I ever want to achieve some of my marathon goals/dreams, I need to get so that I can run 8-10 miles 3+ days a week (plus a slower and longer 'long' run).

Towards this end – I have been trying to have Monday be my 'speed work'/intervals day, Tuesday be a tempo run, Wednesday be an easy/recovery run, Thursday be a tempo run, Friday be another easy/recovery run and Saturday be the long run.

It is going to be interesting to see how much my lack of speed is attributable to heredity or body type or 'gifts of God' and how much is just from not pushing my comfort zone on a daily basis for years on end.

I have been doing my speed work on the treadmill. Eventually I will move it to a track in the summer, but for now, it makes my mind a little happier to be on the treadmill. The first two weeks I was alternating 8 mile per hour (mph) pace for 30 seconds at a time alternating with 4 mph recovery pace for about 60 seconds at a time. I found that I was able to do this for a couple of miles without me allowing my mind to take over and force me to slow down. A lot of speed work (at least for me) is a mental game and I am going to have to work on building up those mental skills. This week I changed it up a bit and did 7.5 mph intervals for 60 seconds alternating with 4.3 mph recovery for 2 minutes.

My current goal is to eventually get the 8 mph segments up to 60 seconds in length and the 7.5 mph intervals up to 120 seconds in length.

As far as the tempo runs go, I am still trying to find out what works, but I am already seeing that my body is adapting to a faster pace based upon the speed work. Some of these runs are on the road, some on the treadmill (mainly it depends on how windy it is when I am ready to run). I have been trying to maintain sub 11 minute miles (mm) when running on the road and actually find my pace is getting down towards 10 mm. The legs like to give up the last mile or on more uphill routes, so at those points in time I will let myself cruise for about 25 steps every time I cross a road and it seems to allow me to conquer those mental break points.

Yesterday was a windy afternoon, so I hit the treadmill. I worked on starting out at a faster pace and then decreasing the speed .1 mph every tenth of a mile until it started getting comfortable and then cranking it back up again.

It's a work in process, and I think the first half of the year is going to be the hardest as I work on conquering the mental hills ahead of me and also on building up my daily mileage, but I am looking forward to seeing the changes I can accomplish.

You should read this – Unbroken

2011-01-25T18:54:00.001-07:00

Last Saturday I was glued to the couch half of the day reading "Unbroken" by Laura Hillenbrand. This is the true story of Louis Zamperini – an Olympic runner that had the potential to be the first person to break the 4 minute mile barrier but was called off to serve in World War II as a bombardier. Life takes a drastic change for Louis Zamperini after his plane crashes and he survives 40+ days at sea near death in a life raft and then years of torture in Japanese POW camps.

Without giving away the story, I will say that I was touched, cried, and felt like an absolute wuss for complaining about being hungry, tired, overworked, etc.

As a teenager I read every book I could find about survival in Vietnamese POW camps and this brought back all those memories and made me realize the potential we have within ourselves that usually remains untapped and the ability for God to help us every day in our lives. I was also left with renewed gratitude to the many men and women who are willing to serve in the Armed Forces throughout the world and the sacrifices they and their families make.

Various Images of Disney Fun

2011-01-14T09:58:00.005-07:00

These are some images of the neat Toy Story characters around our hotel at Disney World:

Mickey going down in strawberry syrup:

These are various topiary plants in Epcot center. I passed them in both races, so was glad to be able to go back on the Monday after the race and actually take some pictures of them.

Christmas part 2 in Georgia

2011-01-12T07:55:00.001-07:00

On January 5^th, I flew from Salt Lake City to Savannah, Georgia to spend some time with my daughter, Jennifer Merkley, and her family. Since my grandchildren, Elise and Brad, had spend Christmas in North Carolina with their mother, the decision had been made to hold the holidays when I flew in to visit them.

After three flights and lots of hours, I finally arrived in Savannah. Jeremy and the kids met me at the airport and took me by Jenn's work so that I could visit with her during her lunch break. I also picked her up at 11 that night and we did some final shopping.

'Christmas' morning was fun. It is kind of boring when I am alone or with my grown son. Let's face it – children and teens make Christmas a lot more interesting. Anyway, we all enjoyed our stockings and opening presents together. I think everyone was really happy with what they got. Elise had asked for my old guitar and so I toted that out here and bought Brad a multi-tool that he has been dragging out for any possible purposes. It was a lot of fun to spend the day with them (although Jennifer ended up working that afternoon and evening).

I made my favorite spaghetti sauce for Christmas dinner and it was a big hit.

Some new presents I received were:

A 'peacock feather' ornament to go with the peacock stained glass window I bought on my last trip
An Amazon gift card to buy more kindle books
1000 places to see before you die desk calendar
The book – Midnight in the Garden of Good and Evil (set in Savannah)
The Last Dragon DVD

The Wizarding World of Harry Potter

2011-01-11T11:31:00.004-07:00

On Sunday, we went over to Universal Studios Islands of Adventure to see The Wizarding World of Harry Potter. This is about all we saw because we were both wiped from racing.

Castle:
This was our first glimpse of the castle. We both got all squealy upon seeing this.

Jennifer waiting in line to go in to the castle for it's ride.

Hogwarts Express:
This is just inside the entrance to the Harry Potter section of the park. Wish we could have taken a real ride on it.

Sorting Hat:
The sorting hat was talking at various points as you approached it.

Tracking House Points:
Sure glad I had flash on my camera. The inside of the castle was appropriately dark and you missed a lot of details without seeing it from the flash of a camera.

Dumbledore's Office:

Reflection Bowl:

Gallery Photos:
I tried to take photos of some of the talking pictures - but the flash just wiped them out. So got some gallery photos instead. A lot of the pictures were talking to each other.

Gryffindor Fireplace:

Stairway to Harry's Room:

Harry's Closet:

Potion's Classroom Door:

The Mirror:

Other Castle Images:

Hagrid's House

Flying Car:
Cauldron Shop:

Honeydukes:

Quidditch Ball Set:
I couldn't capture it in a photograph, but the snitch is flying around in the back of the store.

This was well worth the $80 we spent for only being there 3 or so hours. The rides were fun. There are only 3 of them - 4 if you count going on the Dragon Challenge twice - which you really need to do to find which dragon ride you like best.

I could have gone through the castle several times taking in the sites - but was a bit tired. It is fascinating. Watch out for the spiders spitting at you on this ride. :)

Hogsmeade and Diagon Alley were also awesomely done and gave a good sense of the books. I did spend quite a bit of money and got the following loot:
- Hermione Granger Wand
- Gryffindor patch (I am going to make my own cape - I couldn't see spending $100 for a black cape, but will sew on the patch to make the outfit complete)
- 2 Gryffindor mufflers (one for my son)
- A chocolate frog
- A chocolate wand (already consumed)
- Triwizard cup

Now I have to follow through on the urge and reread all of the Harry Potter books as soon as I get back to Utah. I can practice spells with my wand while doing so.

Disney World Marathon 2011 + Goofy Challenge

2011-01-10T09:28:00.000-07:00

Sunday, January 9, 2011 was part two of the Goofy Challenge, the Disney World Marathon.

The prep work for this actually started the day before. As soon as we got back to the hotel, I downed some recovery drink and started getting protein and carbs into my system in order to be ready for the longer race the next day. Usually I don't sleep well the night after a race and rarely nap, but was lucky enough to be able to nap for about 90 minutes that afternoon. I also did a cold water soak in the tub before going to bed at night.

Once again, my alarms both failed to go off in the morning. I've never had that happen before. Luckily, Jennifer has set a backup alarm that got me up and moving. I didn't get up as early this morning because I knew that I had more than enough time to get to the race without being cold as long. I did not bother with a drop bag because it was pretty useless the day before and the weather was supposed to be good (just a bit cooler than the day before). In addition to my regular race gear, I was wearing a second pair of throw away gloves, my arm sleeves, a pair of yoga pants that Jenn said I could throw away. After I got to the race venue, I asked a custodial person for a garbage bag and used that to keep the upper body warm until the race started.

Only about 18000 people in this race meant that the waves started every 4 minutes instead of every 7 minutes, so I was able to get across the start line before 6 a.m. (the first wave started at 5:35 a.m.).

A bit worrisome when my ankles were hurting the first couple of miles, but once I warmed up, the pain went away. I decided that the first 10 miles I would run 4 minutes, walk 1 minute. My plans were to basically run the marathon like an ultra – walking any uphills (not that there are many on the course) and not pushing myself too hard. A lot of the first half of the course was very familiar from the half marathon, but more winding around and back through Epcot before heading off to the Magic Kingdom. A lot of people doing the Goofy Challenge were struggling a lot more than I was – I'm not sure what it says about me that I was happy about that.

Laurie Pope had recommended I take some pain meds during the full to help the legs deal with pain. After 2 hours I took a leftover lortab from my kidney stone and my legs felt a lot better for a while and I had about 9 miles of easier and pain free running.

They had some neat 'Sharpie' education signs after you left the Magic Kingdom that gave some nice reading. I was really glad I had bought a new running belt at the expo to hold all my gus and gels because at the two aid stations that were supposed to have some available, the first had totally run out and the second only had mocha available.

The second half of the marathon does a lot more running on the main roads and also heads through the Animal Kingdom. Not too bad – except for the running by the waste water treatment facility. They had lots of lovely educational signs about recycling and water treatment, but not anything we enjoyed – especially since the area was pretty smelly.

The legs were pretty tired by the time I headed into the last two park runs. It was just a matter of hanging on. We were all doing a lot more walking – I couldn't believe how bad some people looked. Hunched over and really sad. I was hurting – but not that bad.

Crossed the finish line at 5:49:25. My goal had been to try and do sub 3 hours on the half and sub 6 on the whole, do with a cumulative time of 8 hours 53 minutes 56 seconds for the Goofy Challenge, I met that goal.

After getting my aluminum foil blanket and Donald Duck Medal, I headed over to the Goofy Challenge tent and received my Goofy Medal.

Met Jennifer and headed back to the hotel. Since our plans were to head over to Universal Studios, I took an ice bath while she fetched lunch.

I went to Disney World in 2011 and all I got was three races shirts and three race medals.

Disney World Half Marathon and packet pickup

2011-01-09T08:40:00.000-07:00

On Friday, January 7, 2011, Jennifer and I headed down to Orlando, Florida from Richmond Hill, Georgia. It was about a 4 ½ drive to where we were staying at Disney World. Jennifer had arranged for us to get military pricing at the Disney All Stars Resort and she was thrilled that we were in the 'Toy Story' complex. I'll have to admit it was pretty cute – the stairs were encased in "Buckets of Soldiers" and there were some big Toy Story characters in the courtyard. Plus, there were Toy Story posters on the walls and bedspread. Disney knows how to do things right. Jenn was alternating between being thrilled to be at Disney World and terrified at the idea of her first race (a half marathon no less) the next morning. I was just thrilled to be at Disney World and excited to be at the race (and hoping I had some lungs and legs after being sick most of December).

We caught a bus over to the ESPN/Wide World of Sports park to go to the packet pickup and expo. The race is so large that the packet pickup is in one building and the race expo is in another building. Jenn got in the half marathon line to get her bib. I got shuttled around from line to line until someone told me I need to go upstairs to the Goofy Challenge section. The race weekend is geared around several races. There is a 5K and diaper dash on Friday, half marathon on Saturday, and full marathon on Sunday. If you sign up to do the half marathon + full marathon, it is called the Goofy Challenge.

Once we made it through the lines, we headed over to the expo. Jenn picked up her goody bag with her race shirt and I picked up my goody bag with my three race shirts. There were nice long-sleeved tech shirts for the half and whole marathons (Donald Duck on the half, Mickey Mouse on the full) plus a dark blue 'Goofy' shirt for the race and a half challenge. We then wandered the expo and picked up some neat gear. I bought a few rolls of KT tape, a headband, another pair of compression socks. Jenn bought a couple of headbands and a new running bra that was pretty awesome since it does a good job of controlling 'bounce'.

We laid out all our gear and ate an early dinner and then tried to get some sleep. We knew we had to be up at 3:00 a.m. in order to get on the race buses over to the half marathon start at Epcot Center.

Saturday, January 8^th started way too early. I had forgotten to actually turn on my alarms, so it was a good thing Jennifer's went off. We got dressed and walked next door to catch our bus to the race start. They had plenty of buses available, so we instantly got on one without waiting in the cold. Disney World has this whole race thing down, but it was different from many other marathons that I have done, so I was glad to have Friday as a trial run for Saturday.

Once we got off the bus, we had to walk a ways to get to what we thought was the start of the race. Nope. After a POP stop, we sat on the ground for a while and then realized we had to go through tents to drop our 'drop bags' and then walk some more. My tent took forever! This seemed kind of silly to me, because if you had to put your warm clothes in the drop bag that early – what was the point of a drop bag? Luckily we had some throwaway gloves on and sleeves to help keep us warm.

Once we dropped our bags, it was about a 30 minute stroll to the corrals. We were in corral F (H was the final corral) based upon Jenn's projected speed. Our goal was to aim for 3 hours for the half marathon. Jenn thought she could maintain the speed for this, and it wouldn't push me too hard so that I would be too tired for the marathon the next day. Lots of runners had dressed in costumes for the race and they had some huge screens available to watch some of the goings on. It was kind of emotional for us both when they showed one woman who had arranged with her husband's duty station in Afghanistan to run a corresponding half at the same time and have each of them run the same pace.

After the national anthem, the race started. Sort of. There are actually 8 starts to the race. The wheelchair start, then each wave start of the seven waves. It was pretty cool that they had fireworks going off with the first waves and lots of excitement in the air.
Jenn was fairly buzzing with excitement as they moved our corral up to the starting line.
I hit my Garmin start as we crossed the line and we set off on our great adventure together.

Only… to have it end pretty soon. After about a quarter of a mile, the foot injury Jenn had been experiencing started to flare up and she was forced to walk. And then walk with a limp. My heart was breaking. I know what it is like to DNF and I didn't want this to happen to her. I was praying as hard as I could that a miracle would happen and that after a few miles her foot would loosen up and the pain would end. Nearing the three mile mark, Jennifer forced me to move on. She knew she was going to have to drop and didn't want to ruin my race. We were both crying as I hugged her and set off. I didn't think she was going to make it very far and expected she would drop at the next medical tent.

Mile 1: 15:06 Mile 2: 16:03 Mile 3: 15:12

You really don't need to run with music on this course. They have bands all over the place or else piped in music. People watching was also a great thing to do. So many runners and so many people around cheering you on.

After a couple more miles, we entered the Magic Kingdom and started working our way around the park. This is not a race to try and PR in. Too many runners and walkers. I got a lot of practice shooting gaps and avoiding collisions, but at places the course narrows down so much that you cannot even run because racers are blocking the path. Plus lots of turns within the parks themselves. And people pulling over to get their picture taken with Disney characters or taking pictures of various sites. It was pretty neat to see Cinderella's castle up ahead and then they looped you around the park and back through the castle before winding your way out of the park and back onto the main roads.

About mile 8 I was so happy to get a text from Jenn. She had made it to the halfway mark before dropping out. She was determined to get through the castle, but also wanted to DNF before getting caught by the sweepers that were pulling people off the course. I was so proud of her for gutsing it out that far because I know how much she was hurting.

Mile 4: 13:33 Mile 5: 13:10 Mile 6: 15:17 (winding around the park) Mile 7: 13:16 Mile 8: 13:09

I was maintaining the pace I wanted – between 12.5-13.5 minute miles –in order to have some legs and lungs for the next day. I could tell that I was still not recovered from being sick, but could also tell that I had enough miles in the bank to be able to push myself through both races.

It was a little scary right before mile 10 when an ambulance went racing down the wrong side of the road and at the mile 10 aid station, we were all pushed into one lane to keep us away from the emergency. The EMT's were doing chest compressions on a runner – so it looked bad. Still haven't heard if the runner pulled through. After that, we looped up onto an overpass to head back towards Epcot.

Mile 9: 14:45 (just resting and bathroom break) Mile 10: 12:53 Mile 11: 12:54

The final run through Epcot was fun. They circled us around and through a lot of areas, so speed slowed down. I also kept myself from pushing because I knew I had to go into immediate recovery mode for the marathon. I was trying to encourage some other runners around me that were struggling and help them to the finish line.

Mile 12: 12:44 Mile 13: 13:12

I high-fived Donald Duck and Goofy before crossing the line.

Final time: 3:04:31

Once I finished, I received my Donald Duck medal (first half medal) and then contacted Jenn. She had just got to the finish line before me, so was waiting after I picked up my drop-bag. She had had her good cries and talked to Jeremy and was better able to handle her disappointment at this time. They had given her a half medal as a souvenir – but I think she was happiest with the warm fluffy blanket they had put on her in the medical tent to stop her from shaking from the cold.

We took the bus back to the hotel and got cleaned up and ate a late breakfast. It felt kind of weird to be over with racing for the day by 9 a.m.

We took another trip over to the Wide World of Sports to get a few more items we wanted and to have Jenn's foot taped by the KT tape people. That seemed to help her not limp as much. Wish we had tried it the day before – but it was a little too late to think about that.

Napped for a couple of hours – then took another bus over to Disney Downtown where we wandered around and did some shopping and just relaxed and had fun.

Potential exists in 2011

2011-01-01T16:31:00.001-07:00

I'm not sure if these count as New Year's Resolutions, but I do have several fitness goals in 2011. I plan to do a follow-up quarterly to see if I stick to my plans.

Overall Health:

I'm ashamed to admit it – but I allowed myself to get overweight again. I started off today at 160 pounds. I plan to make it down to 135 pounds before the end of the year. I think that will be an ideal weight for racing and also set me up for the weight I should be maintaining as I work on middle age.
Weight training – get back in the habit of weight training and do a minimum of one upper body workout per week, one lower body workout per week, and core workouts at least twice a week.
Break my addiction to sugar.
Eat Clean. For the first half of the year I will allow myself two cheat days per week, then get down to one cheat day per week the second half of the year.
Cook a minimum of one new recipe per meal time per week. (One breakfast, one lunch, one dinner).

Running:

The nice thing about turning 50 last November is that I am in a new age group category. So – I intend to set a new 50-55 PR in every race distance I run this year.
Run 2011 miles in 2011. In order to do this – I have to train sensibly and stay healthy.
Take a year off of marathoning after running the DisneyWorld Marathon on January 9, 2011.
Complete The Goofy Challenge – DisneyWorld Half Marathon on January 8, 2011 and DisneyWorld Marathon on January 9, 2011
Run a half marathon with my daughter
Build up my base speed on training runs (not including warm-ups and cooldowns) to 10 minute miles or better. Currently I average about 11.5 minute miles, so have a lot of pushing ahead of me.
Break 2 hours 5 minutes in a half marathon (9.5 minute mile average – current PR is 2 hours 28 minutes)
Break one hour in a 10K (9.67 minute mile average – current PR is 1:05:21), THEN
Break 55 minutes in a 10K (8.87 minute mile average)
Break 26.35 minutes in a 5K (current PR is 27:54), THEN
Break 25 minutes in a 5K

Learning about Christmas

2010-12-27T16:02:00.001-07:00

One of the hardest things I have experienced the last several years has been being along most of the Christmas season. Christmas is typically a very family oriented time of year and it is bad enough having no little children in the house, but being alone just plain stinks.

This year I have been able to successfully avoid holiday depression and have learned a lot about the Christmas and the birth and death of our Savior. I think it was truly a blessing that I was asked to write the Christmas program for church. I started doing a lot of research on the topic back in early November and was able to immerse myself more in the actual meaning of Christmas than worry about missing the family celebrations that seem to surround the season.

While researching Christmas topics, I read about a book that Charles Dickens wrote for his family called, "The Life of Our Lord." This was basically his way to teach his children about Jesus Christ and I obtained a copy of the book and am going to make it part of both my Christmas and Easter celebrations in the future.

I also took the time to dig out my copy of "The Story of Christmas: Story Book Set & Advent Calendar." Jennifer received a copy of this as a Christmas gift many years ago and I was thrilled to find a copy for my own. There is a little ornament for each day in December up until Christmas and each ornament is a mini book that contains the Christmas story. Twilight and I read these stories aloud as I hung the ornaments on the tree.

I had never really read the entire story of "A Christmas Carol" by Charles Dickens and took the time to read that while I have been laid up in bed for the past week or so. Another book that will become part of my Christmas celebrations since it points out how we often overlook the joy and meaning of our lives while focusing on the negative in life.

My Amazon Kindle is one of my all time favorite geek toys in the world. Amazon often offers free books and some of the free books I have been reading this past week have made me appreciate much about the holiday:

The Christmas Story from the Family Reading Bible – it is always educational to see how other religions view Christmas and gain knowledge from their perspective
The Case for Christmas: A Journalist Investigates the Identity of the Child in the Manager – a fascinating look from a journalists perspective as he tries to find if Jesus really was the Savior and if the Bible stories are true
25 Days, 26 Ways to Make This Your Best Christmas Ever – steps to take each day in December to better enjoy the holiday season and make Christmas more meaningful in both secular and spiritual ways
Stories Behind the Best-Loved Songs of Christmas – made me appreciate Christmas carols and hymns so much more. I never knew that The 12 Days of Christmas had spiritual meaning behind each days gifts.

And – not to forget the best – lots of time spent reading Old Testament revelations about the birth of Christ, the stories in the Gospels of the New Testament about Jesus, and the scriptures and story of His birth in the Book of Mormon.

While I have been pretty miserable for the last 10 or so days as I have struggled with illness, I am really grateful for the opportunities I have had to learn and understand even more about the real meaning of Christmas.

Illness impacts training

2010-12-27T15:46:00.001-07:00

One of the benefits I have found since taking up marathon running is that I am rarely ill for more than 24-36 hours. Prior to that, it seemed like the cold or flu would hit and drop me down for days on end.

I have been steadily running 5-6 miles daily for my short runs and working my long runs up in anticipation of The Goofy Challenge in January. My daughter and I are planning to drive down from near Savannah, Georgia to DisneyWorld on January 7^th for a couple of races. Jennifer has been diligently training for her first half marathon event and I will be pacing her and enjoying the challenge of watching her complete the DisneyWorld Half Marathon on Saturday, January 8^th. Then, on January 9^th is the second race, the DisneyWorld Marathon. By completing the 39.3 miles in two days, I will be able to have said I completed The Goofy Challenge. This is going to be my last marathon for a year while I take a break to try and focus on building up my base speed.

Everything was going well with my training until December 16^th. I came home from work and started feeling miserable. The next few days I felt worse until finally, on Sunday I had to go to an InstaCare and get seen by a doctor. I had not been able to run since the last Wednesday and my face hurt, my ear hurt, I was coughing like crazy, had a sore throat and could barely sit up without wanting to pass out. I was diagnosed with ear infection, sinus infection and bronchitis and put on some medication.

Just as an indication of how lousy I felt, I not only missed the Christmas program I had written for church, but was too ill to go out and celebrate my son Kevin's 20^th birthday on December 20^th.

The medication helped some, but not as much as I hoped and it wasn't until last Thursday that I finally hacked my way through a pitiful 3 mile run. Eight days without running during the time I should have been doing my last long runs was not what I had planned. I did manage to get 10 miles in on Christmas Eve Day, but was already starting to wonder if the antibiotics were actually working.

Back in bed on Christmas Day and back to the doctor the next day. Now I am on a stronger antibiotic and hoping this one will actually kick the illnesses out of my system. At this point in time, I can only hope for the best in the races and just plan on having a good time and finishing.

Christmas Program 2010

2010-12-27T15:37:00.001-07:00

I was asked to write the Christmas program for our choir's Sacrament Meeting presentation this month. The following is the basic program:

Choir Number: He Who Built the Starry Skies

Narrator 1: The Christmas season is season for giving. Gifts are abundant at this time of year and our hearts and souls are open to the spirit that guides us to give more freely of ourselves, our time and our talents to those we love and those who are in need. Let us listen to some of the words of our prophets as they speak about the gifts of the season.

As President Thomas S. Monson said, "If we change but one word in our Christmas question, the outcome is vastly different. "What did you give for Christmas?" prompts stimulating thought and causes tender feelings to well up and memory's fires to glow ever brighter. Giving, not getting, brings to full bloom the Christmas spirit. Enemies are forgiven, friends remembered, and God obeyed. The spirit of Christmas illuminates the picture window of the soul, and we look out upon the world's busy life and become more interested in people than things."

Narrator 2: Henry B. Eyring expressed the message of why mankind is more open to giving to those in need when he said, "God sends those messages to us with more confidence at Christmastime, knowing that we will respond because our hearts are more sensitive to the Savior's example and to the words of His servants."

Christmas is a time for giving. Someone once said he couldn't think of what to give for Christmas. The next day in the mail he received an anonymous list which read:

Give to your enemy forgiveness,

To your opponent tolerance,

To your friend your heart,

To all men charity, for the hands that help

are holier than lips that pray,

To every child a good example,

and to yourself—respect."

Narrator 1: Often, when we think of Christmas, material gifts and presents under the tree come to mind. Stores and the media constantly ask us to spend, spend, spend and we often tend to express our love by going into debt or giving only physical items. However, the true meaning of Christmas is not in the material gifts, but in the gifts that we can give without taking out our wallet or putting ourselves into financial debt. These gifts we should really give are the gifts that were given at the first Christmas.

Elder Mark E. Petersen talked about this day. "This was the first Christmas. There were no tinseled Christmas trees, no family gatherings, no children at play. But there were carols, the greatest ever sung. The angels of heaven joined in a great chorus rejoicing at the birth of God's Son. Now the redemption of the world could take place. Salvation could come to all mankind. Death would be overcome, for this little child, when he became a man, would bring about the Resurrection. All mankind could then live again."

Narrator 2: President Monson, in one of his Christmas messages asked, "I wonder if each might profit today by asking himself, what gift would God have me give to Him or to others at this precious season of the year?"

He then suggested, "May I answer that question and in all solemnity declare to you that our Heavenly Father desires each one of his children to render unto him a gift of obedience so all will actually love the Lord our God with all our hearts, all our minds, and all our strength. Then, I am sure, he will expect us to love our neighbors as ourselves.

But He asks us to be selective and choose those gifts which will last. Said He:

"Lay not up for yourselves treasures upon earth, where moth and rust doth corrupt, and where thieves break through and steal:

"But lay up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where neither moth nor rust doth corrupt, and where thieves do not break through nor steal:

"For where your treasure is, there will your heart be also" (Matt. 6:19–21).

Open your hearts to the gifts God would have us give as we think of the peace of that first Christmas night.

Choir Number: On This Still, Silent Night

Narrator 1: What a precious gift was the birth of our Savior. This is a birth that was foretold many times in the scriptures as ancient prophets spoke of the coming of the son of God.

In Isaiah we read, "Behold, a virgin shall conceive, and bear a son, and shall call his name Immanuel." "For unto us a child is born, unto us a son is given: and the government shall be upon his shoulder: and his name shall be called Wonderful, Counsellor, The mighty God, The everlasting Father, The Prince of Peace."

How can we show gratitude for this the knowledge and blessing of having the Savior in our lives? Spencer W. Kimball suggested, "One of the things we can give at Christmas time, that no one else can give, is our thanks. There is so much to be grateful for. I give my thanks to our Heavenly Father and to all of you. This is a time when we ponder our blessings and when we also prepare for the new year, for which we should make new resolves and set new personal goals. This partial inventory of our collective blessings should help us to be ever more grateful and ever more determined. Please do the same within your families. Count your blessings, and express your gratitude to your eternal partners, to your children, and to your parents for all that they do."

Narrator 2: When we think of Christmas, we often think of lights. There are lights on our homes, lights in our windows, lights on the trees.

The Prophet Samuel foretold how light would be a sign of the Savior's birth when he said, "And behold, this will I give unto you for a sign at the time of his coming; for behold, there shall be great lights in heaven, insomuch that in the night before he cometh there shall be no darkness, insomuch that it shall appear unto man as if it was day."

"Therefore, there shall be one day and a night and a day, as if it were one day and there were no night; and this shall be unto you for a sign;.."

"And behold, there shall a new star arise, such an one as ye never have beheld; and this also shall be a sign unto you."

As President Henry B Eyring said, "There is another glimpse of heaven that becomes easier to see at Christmastime. It is of light. Heavenly Father used light to announce the birth of His Son, our Savior (see Matthew 2; 3 Nephi 1). A new star was visible in both the Eastern and the Western Hemispheres. It led the Wise Men to the child in Bethlehem. Even wicked King Herod recognized the sign; he feared it because he was wicked. The Wise Men rejoiced because of the birth of the Christ, who is the Light and the Life of the World. Three days of light without darkness was the sign God gave to the descendants of Lehi, heralding the birth of His Son.

We remember at Christmastime not only the light that announced the birth of Christ into the world but also the light that comes from Him.

Such light will be visible in our heavenly home. It will bring us joy then. Yet even in this life you have been blessed with a part of that wonderful experience, through the Light of Christ. Every person born into the world receives that light as a gift.

That light is easier to discern at Christmastime, when we are more likely to pray to know what God would have us do and more likely to read in the scriptures and so more apt to be on the Lord's errand. Our worship of the Savior and our service for Him brings light into our lives and into the lives of those around us."

Narrator 1: The humble songs of our Primary children express so perfectly the story of the birth of Jesus. We would like the Primary Children to come up and join us on the stand at this time.

Coralyn: Softly play Away In a Manger while the children come up.

Once children are quiet – Narrator 1 continues…..

Narrator 1: The story of the first Christmas is given to us in the book of Luke: And it came to pass in those days, that there went out a decree from Caesar Augustus, that all the world should be taxed . And all went to be taxed, every one into his own city. And Joseph also went up from Galilee, out of the city of Nazareth, into Judaea, unto the city of David, which is called Bethlehem; (because he was of the house and lineage of David:) To be taxed with Mary his espoused wife, being great with child. And so it was, that, while they were there, the days were accomplished that she should be delivered. And she brought forth her firstborn son, and wrapped him in swaddling clothes, and laid him in a manger; because there was no room for them in the inn.

Children: Once Within a Lowly Stable

Children: Picture a Christmas

Primary children are excused.

Coralyn: Softly play Silent Night while the children are seated.

Narrator 2: And there were in the same country shepherds abiding in the field, keeping watch over their flock by night. And, lo, the angel of the Lord came upon them, and the glory of the Lord shone round about them: and they were sore afraid. And the angel said unto them, Fear not: for, behold, I bring you good tidings of great joy, which shall be to all people. For unto you is born this day in the city of David a Saviour, which is Christ the Lord. And this shall be a sign unto you; Ye shall find the babe wrapped in swaddling clothes, lying in a manger. And suddenly there was with the angel a multitude of the heavenly host praising God, and saying, Glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace, good will toward men.

Narrator 1: And it came to pass, as the angels were gone away from them into heaven, the shepherds said one to another, Let us now go even unto Bethlehem, and see this thing which is come to pass, which the Lord hath made known unto us. And they came with haste, and found Mary, and Joseph, and the babe lying in a manger. And when they had seen it, they made known abroad the saying which was told them concerning this child. And all they that heard it
wondered at those things which were told them by the shepherds. But Mary kept all these things, and pondered
them in her heart. And the shepherds returned, glorifying and praising God for all the things that they had heard and seen, as it was told unto them.

Congregational Hymn 207 – It Came upon the Midnight Clear

Narrator 2: In order to feel the real spirit of Christmas, we need to try to follow the example of the Savior.

President Howard W. Hunter suggested, "This Christmas, mend a quarrel. Seek out a forgotten friend. Dismiss suspicion and replace it with trust. Write a letter. Give a soft answer. Encourage youth. Manifest your loyalty in word and deed. Keep a promise. Forgo a grudge. Forgive an enemy. Apologize. Try to understand. Examine your demands on others. Think first of someone else. Be kind. Be gentle. Laugh a little more. Express your gratitude. Welcome a stranger. Gladden the heart of a child. Take pleasure in the beauty and wonder of the earth. Speak your love and then speak it again."

Narrator 1: President Monson also suggested that "Giving, not getting, brings to full bloom the Christmas spirit. Enemies are forgiven, friends remembered, and God obeyed. To catch the real meaning of the "spirit of Christmas," we need only drop the last syllable, and it becomes the "Spirit of Christ."

When we have the spirit of Christmas, we remember Him whose birth we commemorate at this season of the year. We contemplate that first Christmas day, foretold by the prophets of old.

If we are to have the very best Christmas ever, we must listen for the sound of sandaled feet. We must reach out for the Carpenter's hand. With every step we take in His footsteps, we abandon a doubt and gain a truth."

As we give of ourselves and think of others during the holiday season, it is calming and easier to think of those in need when we remember the humble circumstances into which the baby Jesus was born.

Choir Number: JESUS, JESUS, REST YOUR HEAD

Narrator 2: Think for a moment and ask yourselves, What is the best Christmas present you have ever received?

President Gordon B. Hinckley expressed this best gift so well when he declared,

"He came as a gift of His Eternal Father. "For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life" (John 3:16).

On Calvary's hill He gave His life for each of us. "O death, where is thy sting? O grave, where is thy victory?" (1 Cor. 15:55).

We honor His birth. But without His death that birth would have been but one more birth. It was the redemption which He worked out in the Garden of Gethsemane and upon the cross of Calvary which made His gift immortal, universal, and everlasting. His was a great Atonement for the sins of all mankind. He was the resurrection and the life, "the firstfruits of them that slept" (1 Cor. 15:20). Because of Him all men will be raised from the grave.

Christmas is more than trees and twinkling lights, more than toys and gifts and baubles of a hundred varieties. It is love. It is the love of the Son of God for all mankind. It reaches out beyond our power to comprehend. It is magnificent and beautiful.

It is peace. It is the peace which comforts, which sustains, which blesses all who accept it.

It is faith. It is faith in God and His Eternal Son. It is faith in His wondrous ways and message. It is faith in Him as our Redeemer and our Lord.

We testify of His living reality. We testify of the divinity of His nature. In our times of grateful meditation, we acknowledge His priceless gift to us and pledge our love and faith. This is what Christmas is really about."

Choir Number: Remember Christmas

Closing Remarks: Bishop Anderson

Hymn 203 – Closing – (Choir and Congregation) Angels we Have Heard on High

Gerbils and Crappy Air

2010-12-04T02:58:00.001-07:00

Usually I do my long runs on Saturdays (because I have a lot more free time on Saturdays than workdays) but decided to do my long run on a Friday night this week since I have several things to do on Saturday.

Right now the Salt Lake valley is experiencing an inversion. The air quality is deteriorating and they declared today a "red burn" day which means we should cut down on driving and avoid burning fuels and exercising outside unless it is impossible. So – I burned lots of gas driving out to Kearns to run at the Olympic Ice Oval.

I was pleasantly surprised when I arrived to be told that on red burn days they only charge runners $1 to use the track, on yellow burn days it goes up to $2 and on green burn days it is the normal $3.

The run started at 3:30 and I had figured correctly that there would not be many other runners that early. I started out in my Vibram Five Fingers and did the first six miles in reverse direction from the way the track normally flows. The Oval was built for the 2002 Olympic Winter Games in Salt Lake and has the speed skating track surrounded by a four lane running track and the 'short track' oval inside the larger oval as well as a hockey rink. The building is cool, but unless you are on the ice it is not cold, so we are always able to run in shorts and t-shirts (I usually use a long sleeved shirt). The running track is slightly less than 3.5 laps per mile. I wanted to run 16 miles, so knew I would have to run 56 laps. I have purchased a lap counter that I carry to help me keep track of where I am.

After 6 miles, I switched to the normal flow of the track. A few more runners had shown up by then. No skaters yet on the main speed skating track. The last time I had run here was prior to the Vancouver games and I was able to watch Apollo Anton Ohno and other skaters prepare for the 2010 Vancouver Olympic games. After 7 miles, I switched over from wearing the FiveFingers to Crocs and used them for the remainder of the run. It is nice to have my long run done for the week. Now – if only I was still asleep in the middle of the night.

Much to be thankful for

2010-11-25T16:14:00.001-07:00

Today is Thanksgiving Day in America and I was able to celebrate today with my son, Kevin and my father, John Miles. We had a non-traditional meal of giant steaks, large baked potatoes, and lemon meringue pie. Kevin wanted steak – and he got steak. I bought three steaks that were each about 1 1/3 lb. in weight. Between the three of us – we only finished off 1.5 of the 3 steaks. Of course, that allowed me to meet my goal of lots of leftovers for my favorite college student.

Thanksgiving is an often forgotten holiday in between the craziness of Halloween and the over spending of Christmas. I wish we could place more emphasis on it. I love getting out my Thanksgiving decorations. I love the idea of being grateful for all the many things we have been given. I think we all need to show more gratitude and have less needs and wants (including myself).

Some of the items I am grateful for today are:

My wonderful daughter, Jennifer and her husband, Jeremy.
My awesome son, Kevin.
My cool grandkids, Elise and Brad – and getting to know them this last year.
A great sister who is also my best friend.
A father who is still healthy and strong.
Lots of brothers, brother-in-law, sisters-in-law, nieces, nephews, mother-in-law, aunts, uncles, cousins, etc.
A great job and some supportive co-workers.
Twilight – the wonder dog.
A good relationship with my ex-husband.
Good friends.

Since this is my running blog, some running things to be grateful for are:

Finishing my 50 mile race.
Marathon running.
The ultramarathon community.
Running friends.
Being able to have a good supply of running gear.
Being able to run.
A strong body.
Potential.

There is so much more, but I will call this good for now. I am most grateful for a loving Heavenly Father and his son, Jesus Christ, and the knowledge that they know me personally, love me, care for me, and want me to be able to do better each and every day.

Snow + Mud + Slush + Ice = Fun

2010-11-17T07:30:00.001-07:00

Saturday morning I met Leslie Petersen at the Pipeline Trail up Millcreek Canyon for a beautiful fall run. We ran together for the first three miles and caught up on all sorts of things – especially the miracle recovery of her dog as they were taking him in to have him put to sleep. I have never been up the canyon this late in the year and was surprised at the amount of snow and ice at the start of the run. Luckily, I had on trail shoes, but didn't think to bring my winter pair with the hobnails. However, the ice wasn't too bad, so I made it through okay.

We split up after a while since Leslie wasn't planning to run much more than six and my body appeared to be recovering from donating blood a week ago and I wanted to do the entire portion of the trail.

I ran to the overlook without needing to take a drink. About 1.5 miles before the overlook it started to snail (snow + hail) and I was enjoying running in that. At the overlook I drank most of my handheld bottle full of water and decided to see if I could do the entire run without taking in my emergency Gu. I learned a lot on the 50 miler, most especially that the body can handle a lot more than we give it credit for.

It was so nice to be back on trails and enjoying nature. The views were totally different than in the summer since you could see much farther without all the leaves on the trees. What could be better than to start the day out with a 9+ mile trail run?

Notes from Get-Fit Guy’s Podcast: How To Run Faster

2010-11-06T10:21:00.001-06:00

Lose weight
Increase your cadence (more steps per minute). 90 steps per minute is ideal.
Use a treadmill (also allows you to focus on proper running form)
Run hills (allows you to achieve high intensities without as much joint impact)
Plyometrics (once per week). Hopping onto raised surface, explosive jumps.
Consistency (running a minimum of every 48-72 hours)

Your Monday Laugh

2010-11-01T10:39:00.001-06:00

Ok – so I am technologically advanced in a lot of areas. But when it comes to TV's – I rarely watch mine, so am pretty dumb there.

And – if I need another excuse – I've been stressed between work and training for ultramarathons this summer and fall.

Now for the laugh…

Background: I hardly watch TV. I've probably not turned on my TV since the last Biggest Loser finale show. So, I decided it is stupid to keep paying for DirectTV when I never use it. Sometime in September I cancelled my DirectTV subscription. The company sends you a box, you pack the receiver and remote in the box and mail it back. Ta Da! The first box they shipped to my house was stolen. I requested another box be sent to my office. Stupid company sent it to my house and I was in a rush to get the receiver mailed back, so shipped it off as soon as I could.

Since then, I have watched a couple of shows on the computer, but didn't have any antenna hooked up to the TV, so didn't bother with that. I did try to play the Wii one day with no success. And I tried to watch a movie on my DVD player when I was recovering from the 50 mile race. No luck with both of them.

My brother-in-law put up an antenna in my attic on Thursday night, so now I am trying to get the TV to work. I asked my son on Friday night to get the Wii and DVD player hooked up. A few minutes later he calls me into the bedroom.

Stupid move #1 – I am missing the Wii AVI cable. Apparently I threw that in with the stuff I shipped back to DirectTV.

Stupid move #2 – My son pointed out that I still had the DirectTV receiver on my dresser. Apparently I shipped back the DVD player instead of the DirectTV receiver.

OK – now that you have all had your laugh, I am crawling back into my technologically unsavvy hole.

Pony Express Trail 50 Mile Race

2010-10-17T10:53:00.032-06:00

October 15, 2010 was the big day. The Pony Express Trail 50 Mile and 100 Mile races. I had been training for this all year and had a score to settle after my DNF in 2009 at the Buffalo Run 50 Mile race. I really wanted to finish a 50 mile race before I turn 50 in November.

Thursday afternoon my sister came by and we loaded up her van with all my accumulated race supplies and headed out to the Pony Express Trail. We camped for the night near the pet cemetery and visited with Davy Crockett and some of the other runners and crew. This is probably my first race where the Race Director hand delivered the goody bag.

We painted some motivational messages on the van and my daughter, son-in-law, and grandchildren sent some messages from Georgia that Marcia would rotate out. Marcia also added some messages of her own during the race.

Lookout Pass on Thursday evening. This was right above where we camped and where the race would start the next morning.

Spent some time going over race plans and directions with Marcia and then we set up the van so we could sleep in the back for the night. The sky that far from civilization was gorgeous. We laid one of the sleeping bags in a clearing and stared up at the sky. I had no idea there were that many stars out there. We even saw some shooting stars.

A little before 5 we walked over to the trail and cheered on the early start 100 mile racers. Some of them were already walking - only in a ultramarathon will you see that. Introduced ourselves to Jim Kern and then went back and finished getting ready. As I put on my designated racing shoes, I realized the laces were too tight and had to adjust them. This should have given me a clue. I noticed a week or so before that the insoles had worn out, so had placed my heat fitted insoles in the shoes. I've run with these insoles before with no problem.

We drove the half mile up to the starting line and Davy gave a little speech and someone joked about singing the national anthem and at 6 a.m. the 50 mile early start was off. The first half mile is a steep downhill, so held myself back. Jim and I ended up visiting and running together for the first 16.6 miles, so it was nice to have a companion. We ran with headlamps and flashlights for the first 6 or so miles until it was light enough we could run in the dark. I think we were all enjoying the cool of the morning because we knew it would heat up soon. One of the support crews flew a UFO to entertain us (a remote plan with LED lights) and that was fun. (If you expand the picture, you will see me to the right of center with some blue flashing lights and lots of reflective gear on).

Marcia was going about 4 miles ahead at this point and mainly pulled over so we could strip off layers of clothes and get sunscreen sprayed on us. It was nice that Jim and I were maintaining the same pace. I wanted to hold off using my iPod as long as I could, so enjoyed getting to know Jim and hear about his running history. At one point we could see these red and green signs flashing in the distance and I wondered if Marcia was waving the signs, but it turns out she was just over a rise and the wind was catching the posters and fluttering them to let us know where she was.

About mile 10 we hear this yell behind us and it was Davy Crockett bounding along looking strong. He started an hour after us and had already caught up. Within a matter of minutes, he had zoomed by and disappeared in the dust. That was pretty humbling. It does help that he set the course record for the 100 mile race that day.

At mile 14, Craig/Jun also passed us and gave me a hug. He looked fit and strong. He had run this race the previous year as his first 50 mile race and was now going for the 100 mile race. What I wouldn't give to be as fast as these guys! (But then again, I'm not sure I have the motivation to give that much).

After a long uphill we pulled into Simpson Springs and reported in our numbers. I grabbed new water bottles and Jim stopped to fill his bottles and that is the last I saw of him. I was glad my brother-in-law had taken me out on the trail a few weeks earlier so I could see the sights like the Simpson Springs cabin and such because I didn't really want to sight see during the race.

Shortly after Simpson Springs, the course takes another turn back to the west and you enter one of the toughest sections of the course. Not necessarily physically, but mentally, because the road goes on forever and you know you have to reach the mountains and they never seem to get any closer. When I stopped to get supplies at mile 19, I mentioned that I hadn't seen anything of Jim for quite a while and was a bit concerned. There was nothing I could do, but I knew that Davy had a rule that if we got up to 5 miles apart, Jim would have to drop out.

About mile 21, Marcia passed me and Jim was now a passenger. He had to DNF at mile 19 when he stepped on a rock and felt a pop in his foot. I felt bad for him because I know how devastating my DNF was and because he was using my crew for his crew, he was stuck with us all day. But it was nice having an additional crew member. I got really spoiled. Marcia said that his ultrarunning perspective would help them determine when they needed to stop sooner and what items I might need.

I was maintaining a 8 minute running/2 minute walking routine for most of the initial portion of the race - except for walking the uphill into Simpson Springs. At this point I was on the long straitaway where you could see the road ahead of you for miles. It was already seriously hot and I was doing the best I could to take in fluids and foods and keep cool. I was enjoying the new posters my sister put out and it would make me smile each time she drove by with a new message on.

I think I passed the halfway point at 5:49 and marathon distance around 6:15. It was about the 25 mile mark when I started to seriously suffer. I could feel my legs still somewhat heavy from St. George 13 days earlier and the heat was zapping my insides. Took some Immodium to settle down the intestines, but the stomach was now bothering me. Nothing serious, but I couldn't tolerate the thought of eating many foods. Some things would appeal to me for a short period of time, but often I would start to eat something and then spit it out because it started to gag me.

Starting around mile 25, I just focused on getting to the 50K mark and then trying to regroup. I was seriously down and concerned about my ability to finish for a while during this period, but would shake myself off and turn on some music or books on my iPod to help me take one step at a time.

I called a 10 minute sit down break at the 50K point. I set a new trail PR for that distance during the race at 7 hours 26 minutes. Sitting down felt so good. I really wanted to just have the entire cooler of water dumped on me. This heat made St. George Marathon look like a picnic. Marcia and Jim were helping me to clean up and wash my feet, change shoes, etc. I could feel some serious hot spots on my big toes and wondered if they were from the harder edges of my insoles. It turns out they were. A couple of decent blisters on each one, plus another blister on the bottom of my right heel that had Marcia concerned. We taped my feet up and then Marcia massaged my left foot. I had felt 'cramping' for 10+ miles in that foot and it turns out it was my neuroma flaring up - again I think that had to do with the insole because it had not happened before. The new shoes and socks felt wonderful and I was glad I traded them in.

Rest breaks were now down to every 3 miles or so. I wanted to make sure I got my walking poles for the hills up Dugway Pass. I thought those would help me power walk up the hill better. As I headed up Dugway, I had my head down and was just focusing on step at a time when I suddenly heard a rattle. I looked up and there was a rattlesnake about 2 feet in front of me. He was smaller then me, but I decided to cross the road and give him the right of way.

Marcia and Jim had stopped right before the Pass narrows and I was able to get some more fluids in me. I had been drinking lemon-lime Gatorade Endurance formula, but that wasn't cutting it anymore. I couldn't stand the thought of drinking another sip of that. I had thrown a few bottles of G2 in the cooler and suggested we try that. Since I was able to guzzle an entire bottle down before heading up the pass, that was a good choice. (Few calories, but water and electrolytes were needed).

On the way up the pass I thought it was interesting that I struggled more on the less steep portions and felt pretty good on the steep sections. I'm really glad I had the poles along. My legs were so tired and the addition of the upper body to the mix was very helpful.

One more sit down break at the top of the pass and then I headed down the downhill. By this point in the race I had given up on solid foods. I pretty well couldn't even handle Ensure any more and had spit out all the beef jerky, peanut butter sandwiches and pretzels. I was able to occasionally force down a Gu, but even struggled with that. Water was about it.

The downhill hurt my stomach muscles incredibly. I almost started to cry from the pain, but decided to soldier up and get down the hill as fast as I could and just endure. Up until then, I didn't know how tired my abs and lungs were. Had to battle a bit of nausea, but since I didn't have much in my system, what little I had drank stayed down. I was able to run nonstop for a while and the different muscles used on the uphill and downhill enjoyed getting used (although enjoyed is not what my entire body was doing right then).

At mile 41 I received another boost as my Jeep pulled up alongside me with my son, Kevin, in it. He had come out to cheer me on in my great adventure. We talked for a minute or so, then I sent him on ahead and asked him to walk back and push me along at the next break. I was still running more than walking, but not for more than 2-3 minutes at a time. It really touched me that he had taken the time out to come on this long trip and support me.

With three people in my crew, I was really rocking the spoiling. I decided to try the walking poles again from 43-45 and actually got a second wind that allowed me to run almost that entire section. I think I was smelling the barn door at that time. I sure wish it had lasted longer, but it was a great feeling while it laster.

Miles 45-47 were another struggle, so I tried the poles again and they seemed to help me run more. I would use them to help me count 200 pole plants running, then 100 pole plants walking. It was between miles 46 & 47 that I started feeling some pain and discomfort in my left knee and hips. Not bad for the entire day. I had expected them a lot earlier, so was really pleased that they had held off that long. Plus, I knew that I would finish no matter what at this point in time.

It was a beautiful site to see Blackrock. Unfortunately, you have to go past Blackrock for .6 mile and then come back. I was soooooo tired at this point in time, and ready to be done. I touched the turnaround sign and headed back. It was a long way back. I bawled most of the way and had a big stupid grin on my face. I had requested my crew to come out and join me and we ran the final steps in together. Marcia put my finishers medal on me at my request and then we all hugged each other. What a day. Final time was 13:07. I was next to last, but couldn't care less. I have now accomplished another one of my dreams.

It is impossible to describe all of my feelings about this race. My first marathon was incredible, but my first 50 mile finish is beyond incredible. I pushed my body past its limits and I learned a lot physically, mentally and spritually.

A couple of thanks need to be made:

Marcia - I really couldn't have done this without you. Not only did you sacrifice your time, vehicle, and energy to helping me through this race, but your support over the years has meant more than I can possibly express.

Jennifer, Jeremy, Elise and Brad - Thank you for your support, the care package, and the signs. They made me feel so loved and helped me through some dark spots during the race. (I really like being a grandma - by the way!). Jenn - wish you could have been there, but I know you were in spirit.

Kevin - So glad you were there for me. To have you come out as sick as you were and cheer me on is causing me to tear up even as I write this.

I have an awesome family!

2010 St. George Marathon

2010-10-03T19:18:00.001-06:00

What a difference two years made. In 2008, the St. George Marathon experienced its coldest running in history and I survived the wet and cold and PR'd at 5 hours 9 minutes. In 2010, they experienced its hottest running in history and I hung in there to finish at 5 hours 29 minutes 33 seconds.

During my training this year, I was tempted to PR at St. George, but when I heard that the city was experiencing temperatures this week in the 100's, I threw that idea out the window and just planned on having fun and breaking 5:30. I knew I only had 13 days to recover and be ready for my 50 mile Pony Express race on October 15^th. That was the main goal and I had to keep that in mind.

Wednesday evening I went over to Tina's house and she KT taped my left knee and left IT band from mid-calf to upper hip. I was very colorful. She has taped my knee a few times in the past and I was worried on the hills about both the knee grinding and slight IT band irritation. I will have to say – it works! No knee pain, no IT band inflammation. I will be begging her for a repeat taping before the 50 miler.

Thursday I started serious hydration. Downed probably close to 140 ounces of fluids and by evening felt that my hydration was where I needed it to be.

Friday morning, I picked up Leslie Peterson and then my sister, Marcia, picked us up and we started our 'road trip'. We dropped Twilight off for a play date with her doggie cousin Joey and headed south. We had fun visiting on the drive and teaching Leslie all about the musical Wicked. (Marcia and I have a history of playing Wicked on our road trips).

Once in St. George we stopped at the expo to pick up our race packets and shop. This is the first time St. George used the new bib chips, so didn't have to pick those up in addition to our bibs and shirts. The shirts were deep red and black this year – nice. I managed to control myself (for once) at the expo and bought some coasters, sunglasses, and a pair of pilates shorts. While at the expo I saw Clark Hirshi and family, Kelli and Scott Stephenson, Vic and Judy Mason, Tina, and KO Murdock.

The three of us gorged at the spaghetti dinner and then Marcia and I dropped Leslie off on our way to see Tarzan the Musical at Tuacahn.

Saturday morning came awfully early and I got up at 3:30 a.m. Decided I wouldn't need running pants or a watch cap at the start this year due to the expected heat. Vic Mason picked me up at the hotel at 4:15 and we drove over to the start and rode up on the bus together.

This is the first time I have got off the bus at the start and not immediately felt the cold and headed for hot chocolate. That was a bit scary because it meant we were going to suffer in the heat during the race. One new change at the start – they were handing out space blankets, so we each grabbed one and headed for the back fires. We saw Leslie at the fires and I introduced her to Vic and we settled down for the 1 hour 45 minute wait until the start. Poor Vic – he was battling food poisoning and having serious issues.

Saw Rachel, Tina, John & Kristin Wojechowski and some other runners I knew at the start. One long wait in the POP lines and it was time to throw my gear into the trucks.

Les and I were planning on running in the 5:30 pace group area. I could tell even before the start that this leader was a noisy and entertaining type. Not my idea of fun – I like to focus. Later on I also found out she was a lousy singer and songwriter. After the anthem, the race started. And we stood there. And stood there. And took a few steps, then stood there. The race started at 6:45, we crossed the line at 7:00. Thank heavens for chip timing!

Once we started running, we settled down to enjoy the dark and cool while it lasted. I started to run 8 minutes, walk 2 minutes for my plan. We kept remarking how painful the first few miles are. All that training and your legs hurt and are stiff and you wonder how you will ever run 26.2 miles. It took until about 5 miles, but our legs finally warmed up. We built up a few minutes extra time in advance of Veyo Hill.

As we came into Veyo, I started looking for Marcia. She was going to drive up there and cheer us on. I saw her just as we passed the downtown and enjoyed her cheering and the sign she had made. Vic had planned on a 4:30 race, but she told me he was only a few minutes ahead – which worried me because it meant he was having a really bad day.

On Veyo I turned on my iPod and blasted Rocky songs to get me up the hill. I started noticing that the aid stations were not providing GU like they usually do. I was really glad I had decided to carry all my GU with me and not rely on them. They did have oranges and bananas at a lot more stations this year and I relied on them a lot.

Around mile 11, Leslie remarked that her new compression socks were bothering her knees and I suggested she roll them down a little bit. Hers came up farther on her legs than mine. I thought she would catch up in a few minutes like we had both done all morning, but never saw her again.

During mile 12, I saw a familiar figure up ahead and started working my way up. (It's amazing how we can recognize people from behind. Probably from all the years I stared at Vic's backside while training with him.) Vic and I walked together for about .25 mile and he told me that the food poisoning was causing him to feel miserable and take lots of bathroom stops. I was hoping he would be able to push with me, but he told me to go on ahead.

During mile 14, I had a 5 minute POP break for stomach issues, but felt a lot better after that. The day was getting seriously hot and I was forcing down extra liquids and poured water on my head a lot. The race had extra vehicles out picking up runners and about mile 18 I was actually tempted to hitch a ride for a while – the heat was just brutal. But – I forced myself to continue.

No real pushing on the downhill stretching – I was in survival mode and just trying to finish. It was not as enjoyable in this section as other years.

Finally had the diagonal in sight and looked forward to seeing my sister again. I was disappointed after going through the misters to not see her in the crowd, but just kept on running. About 14.25 I saw her Tarzan shirt up ahead. She had a frosty Gatorade for me and a cup of ice to fill my hat with. What a blessing! That made the last couple of miles much more bearable. I had so much ice in my hat I shared it with other runners and a couple of them said that with that they felt they could finish. Turns out she saved a lot of runners – she had two bags of ice and had been handing it out to anyone who wanted some.

The last couple of miles you could see how much the other runners were suffering in the heat. We just all focused on getting it done. I saw Judy Mason waiting around mile 25.5 and she got very excited to see me and then took my picture. She was very worried about Vic and asked if I knew where he was. I said he was struggling and probably 30-60 minutes behind. That made her start crying, so hugged her and talked to her for a minute or two to cheer her up. Then I told her I had to push to make 5:30 and would come back and wait with her.

It is always so great to turn that last corner and hear the increased noise of the crowds. When we were about 2 blocks away from the finish chute I started encouraging the runners around me. I told them that they needed to run it in and several of them finally started moving. Then when we hit the chute, I started yelling at them to finish in style and push it in. Saw Marcia yelling and waved to her and hit the finish line at 5:29:33. Made my goal. Handed my iPhone to a race volunteer and stood under the misters until I was pretty wet. Got my medal. Another race under my belt!

Vic actually was coming in as we made our way back. Leslie was shortly behind him. They were both within 20 minutes of me and I was proud of both of them.

Tarzan

2010-10-03T12:04:00.003-06:00

I love Tarzan of the Apes. I can't really explain it, but I have wanted to be Tarzan when I grew up for as long as I can remember (still do).

I'm not into tattoos – but if I ever got a tatto – it would be something like this:

One of my all-time favorite books is Tarzan of the Apes. I have owned and read the entire series by Edgar Rice Burroughs. But the book shown below I have read probably close to 100 times.

I have Tarzan toys. Tarzan movies. Tarzan radio broadcasts. My online name is usually either Tarzan or some variation on that name.

While my sister and I were volunteering at the Ironman St. George Triathlon on May, she noticed that Tarzan the Musical was going to be playing at the Tuacahn Ampitheater the night before the St. George Marathon. We immediately made plans to see this show.

October 1^st finally came. We made our road trip down to St. George, Utah. After our visits to the marathon expo and spaghetti dinner, we headed off to Ivins to find the Tuacahn Ampitheater and see Tarzan. I had my picture taken in a Tarzan cardboard display. I set off to find any Tarzan marketing items. Major score! Since the show was in its final days, I was able to get a t-shirt and cap for 50% off!

Marcia had got us second row seats. They were awesome. We got a close-up of the entire production – but most of all Tarzan! (sigh). I loved the entire show. It was different than I expected, but really worth it. Probably even more awesome outside because the special effects with water flowing over the stage and Tarzan swinging in from way behind the stage and the side sections of the play while they changed scenery were incredible.

Tarzan was cute as a kid and a hunk as a grown-up. I still want to be Tarzan.

Oh – and as a benefit – Tarzan and all the apes wore Vibram FiveFingers!

Ultramarathon History

2010-10-03T11:32:00.001-06:00

50K:

2007 Buffalo Run 50K (8 hrs. 56 min.)
2008 Buffalo Run 50K (8 hrs. 35 min.) – Current Trail PR
2009 Sandy to Provo Training Run (6 hrs. 55 min.) – Current Road PR

2009 Buffalo Run 50 Mile – DNF'd at 27.19 miles – 6 hrs. 39 min. 49 sec.

2009 Logan Peak Trail Run (28 miles) – 9 hrs. 14 min. 16 sec. (toughest run ever)

Sandy to Provo Training Runs (35 miles – self supported):

2009 February Run (7 hrs. 40 min.) – cold weather run
2008 July 24 run (8 hrs. 56 min.) – hot weather run

Half Marathon and shorter race times

2010-10-03T11:22:00.001-06:00

Since I was listing my marathon times in the previous post, I thought I would add my half marathon and shorter race times. It is nice to have a history of these:

Half Marathons:

2004 Provo Half Marathon (2 hrs. 49 min.)
2005 Provo Half Marathon (2 hrs. 46 min.)
2006 Provo Half Marathon (2 hrs. 41 min.)
2007 Striders Winter Racing Series Half Marathon (2 hrs. 45 min.)
2008 Provo Half Marathon (2 hrs. 28 min. 59 sec.) – Current PR
2009 Red Hot Pink Chick Half Marathon (2 hrs. 29 min.) – Training Run
2010 Red Hot Pink Chick Half Marathon (2 hrs. 33 min.) – Training Run

25K:

2006 Inaugural Buffalo Run (4 hrs. 2 min. 59 sec.) – OK – this is longer than a half marathon

10K:

2006 Provo Freedom Run (1 hr. 17 min. 21 sec.)
2007 Striders Winter Racing Series 10K (1 hr. 19 min. 33 sec.)
2010 Payson Onion Days 10K (1 hr. 5 min. 21 sec.) – Current PR

8K:

2008 Snowbird Xterra 8K (1 hr. 30 min.)

5K:

2006 Rock –n-run 5K (35 min. 22.7 sec.)
2007 Striders Winter Racing Series 5K (36 min. .7 sec)
2007 Run Wilde 5K (31 min. 38 sec.)
2007 Wheeler Farm 5K (32 min. 32 sec.)
2008 Provo New Year's Run 5K (27 min. 54 sec.) – Current PR
2009 Provo Groundhog Day 5K (27 min. 56 sec.)
2009 Midnight Moonlight Run 5K (29 min. 10 sec.)
2009 Cottonwood Heights Thanksgiving Day 5K (31 min. 17 sec.)

Marathon History

2010-10-03T11:08:00.001-06:00

Someone asked me one day how many marathons have I run. I honestly couldn't remember because I have done several races and training runs longer than marathon distance. However, I decided to officially determine my marathon finishes.

2004 Ogden Marathon (6 hrs. 10 min.)
2005 Ogden Marathon (5 hrs. 56 min.)
2005 St. George Marathon (6 hrs. 18 min. – knees gave out)
2006 Ogden Marathon (5 hrs. 53 min. 36 sec.)
2006 St. George Marathon (5 hrs. 49 min. 6 sec.)
2007 Ogden Marathon (5 hrs. 58 min.) Grand Slam
2007 Deseret News Marathon (6 hrs. 7 min. 25 sec.) Grand Slam
2007 Park City Marathon (6 hrs. 18 min. 47 sec.) Grand Slam
2007 St. George Marathon (5 hrs. 24 min. 54 sec.) Grand Slam
2008 Lost Dutchman Marathon (5 hrs. 33 min. 36 sec.)
2008 Park City Marathon (5 hrs. 24 min. 6 sec.)
2008 St. George Marathon (5 hrs. 9 min. 12 sec.) – Current PR
2009 Utah Valley Marathon (5 hrs. 14 min. 45 sec.)
2009 Park City Marathon (5 hrs. 34 min. 36 sec.)
2010 Park City Marathon (5 hrs. 50 min.)
2010 St. George Marathon (5 hrs. 29 min. 33 sec.)

So – I have run 16 actual marathons to this point in time. Now we all know.

Curt Brinkman and the Will to Win

2010-09-15T07:29:00.001-06:00

I was reading ksl.com this morning and noticed an article about Curt Brinkman. I have always admired Curt and actually ran in a race with him back when he was at the top of his career. I was saddened to read that Curt had died on September 7^th at a relatively young age.

Curt Brinkman was an athlete. Curt Brinkman was also a wheelchair athlete. Injured by high voltage electricity as a teenager, his life was saved by amputating both of his legs. Rather than give in to the monkey wrenches that had been thrown at his life, he chose to use his changed body to its optimum capacity and to inspire others.

Curt became a wheelchair racer. In 1980 he won the Boston Marathon and became the first wheelchair athlete to break 2 hours in the marathon and also beat the entire field of runners.

How many of us whine when we have nagging injuries or feel sick? How many of us just give in to excuses and give up? Curt Brinkman chose not to do this. Maybe we should all be more grateful for the strong, healthy bodies we have and see just how much we can do ourselves with what we have been given.

What was I thinking :)?

2010-09-06T21:11:00.002-06:00

On Saturday I agreed to pace Tara Workman Tulley in next weekend's Wasatch 100 race (www.wasatch100.com). This is a race that starts at the Wilderness Park in Kaysville and runs over (and up and down and around) 100 miles of mountains and ends at the Homestead Ranch past Park City.

I met Tara at a Women's Conference the night before she was going to put in a full day's effort on a treadmill (my 3 miles seem pretty wimpy in comparison). She put out a call for pacer's on Facebook and I talked with her on the phone and agreed to pace her the last 25 miles from Brighton Ski Resort over to the Homestead Ranch. I am excited at my first attempt at pacing, but a little scared at 25 hard miles in the mountains. It seems pretty wimpy compared to the people pushing for 100 miles – but is still intimidating to me.

Anyway, since I agreed to do this, I revamped my running plans for the week. Did not push as hard in my 10K today and I had originally thought I might and will adjust my running so that I have fresh legs on Friday night/Saturday when I will spend between 8-12 hours pushing Tara along.

After the event is over, I will enter another blog post to let you know how it went.

My friend Leslie Peterson is also going to pace Tara for 10-12 miles of the race.

My friend Vic Mason is planning to pace his daughter Christy over the same 25 mile stretch that I will be pacing. I hope I can meet up with him for at least a few minutes on Saturday.

It beats actual labor…

2010-09-06T21:04:00.001-06:00

Of either the work kind or the pushing out a baby kind.

Today I ran the Payson Onion Days 10K race. A lot of the members of the Fast Running Blog get together each year to run this race and eat an awesome pancake breakfast afterwards. I have missed it the last two years due to being out of town, so was happy that I was able to participate this year.

This is only my third official 10K. I have two previous efforts to claim: the Pioneer Day 10K in Provo in 2006 and the Striders Winter Racing Series 10K in Ogden in 2007. The Provo race provided my previous PR of 1:17 (that's one hour and seventeen minutes). I had just started adding in some running splits and was still mainly race walking then. I remember my niece Cherie was in the race with me and finished long before I did. The other 10K was the next winter and I was alternating running and walking pretty evenly. However, it is a very hilly course and the uphills trashed my time.

I have a dream of doing a sub 60 in the 10K. (Less than one hour). I actually did a training run last year where I ran a 10K in 62 minutes, but I have not really done any speed work this year until the last week or so. I did have thoughts of trying to break the hour mark today, but changed those plans last Saturday (more on that in the next post).

Instead I went into the race with the following goals:

A plan – maintain an 11 minute mile pace or better during the race (1:08:02)
B plan – maintain a 12 minute mile pace or better during the race (1:14:04)
C plan – PR (personal record) and avoid walking at all during the race

I set my Garmin to alert me if my pace went over 11 MM.

Race started and I headed out a little faster than I planned, but within a quarter mile started slowing down to the appropriate pace. I had no idea of the race course contours, so didn't want to push too hard. I did not want to be in a puke zone at all – just run this as a solid tempo run and push myself mentally. The pace was comfortable and I was able to slowly start passing other runners in the second mile. Luckily, every runner I passed after mile one stayed passed. I knew that consistent pacing usually pays off against other runners who start too fast.

I skipped the aid station at mile 3 and then we turned a corner and headed back into town and into the sun. Miles 4 and 5 were net uphill and I had to keep pushing myself when the pace alarm would go off. A couple of times I couldn't get it back down until I got out of the grip of the uphills. Still – I was able to maintain my overall pace goals. In a quarter mile stretch on the new road I passed the yellow shirted guy, pink tank top girl and black shirt girl that I had been following for three miles.

Took a quick sip of water at the aid station near the 5 mile marker. You can tell when volunteers are not runners themselves. They fill the cups too full. I immediately dumped most of the cup of water, took a quick sip to wet my throat, and started the final push into town.

I saw Michele Lowry (female winner) and Lily out running a cooldown during the last mile. The pace was starting to feel hard and I was happy when Kelli Stephenson came out and met me at 5.75 and pushed me in the last little bit. I tried to surge and pass two runners ahead of me, but didn't have the energy. I was able to do a bit of a kick in the finish chute – but not much before then.

Crossed the finish line in 1:05:21. This was 74^th overall and 7^th in my age group and a 12 minute PR. I beat my A plan (this is a 10:32 mm average) and am more than happy with that.

Next year – that 60 minute mark is going down!

Park City Marathon - 2010

2010-09-03T14:02:00.001-06:00

I did the Park City Marathon on August 21, 2010 as a long training run. Overall, I was relatively pleased with my endurance, not very happy about my speed. At the end of the day, I decided it was time to start pushing speed in my workouts.

I saw Luz in the Fieldhouse this morning and then met Smooth and Teena. Teena was nice enough to KT Tape my left knee for precautionary measures. It has been a little twingy on runs, but nothing I was worried about. I had a wrap for my ankle in case I need it because it has been a bit sore at times lately, but I keep finding that it never hurts when I run, so ended up not needing to wrap it.

The contact was removed from my eye the day before and I debated putting another emergency contact in that morning. (My Recurrent Corneal Erosions flared up again a week or so earlier). I am starting to dreading sleep because that is usually when I feel the skin on the cornea tear. The eye bothered me all day - probably should have put the lens in - but I used medicated eye drops instead.

Anyway - back to the race. Park City is so low key compared to other races. They had the anthem right before 6:30 and then we headed out. I kind of wish they would start the race at 6 to try and beat the heat up there more. I knew I wouldn't have any speed because I haven't done any speed work or altitude work this year. I had said hello to Mike DeWaal and his wife before the race - he is my mailman from work. This was his first marathon post heart attack and they were aiming for 5 hours as a long run too.

Shortly after starting out I saw one marathon runner just quit the course and then about 1-2 miles out saw a couple of half marathoners realize they were on the wrong course. Talked with Ken, one of the bike paramedics and we would joke with each other throughout the race. I actually geared myself to be in last at the beginning and was comfortable not pushing myself. I knew I would start passing people after a while.

Around mile 4 I passed my first runner. She was talking about the hills and I mentioned there were about 17 miles of uphills on the course. She then said, "Good thing I am only doing the half." I mentioned she was on the wrong course and she said that she had a brother and other friends also running the half that were up ahead. After the race I mentioned this to the RD, Jolie, and suggested she post a sign around the corner by the Fieldhouse to let half marathoners know they were on the wrong course. Never saw that runner again. Hope she got a ride back.

At mile 6 I passed two runners. Easily pulled ahead of them and then didn't pass anyone again until mile 12. I was just enjoying listening to an audio book and really didn't pay attention to the mile markers, but noticed they were usually 1/10 of a mile early compared to my GPS.

Starting at mile 14, I was able to pass 2-4 or more runners each mile and only one ever passed me back for good and that was at a pit stop. Took advantage of any water hoses that people were using to mist people and had my lower body cooled down.

The course was a little different coming back through Park City. I think they had events with the Tour de Utah and had to keep us out of the downtown area. After Empire Avenue, I found they did a better job of marking the course in the neighborhoods and didn't get off course like a bunch of us did last year.

One bossy little girl was really cute and giving out ice water at her house. I gratefully took it and then put all the ice in my cap. It felt good to have that melt over the next few miles.

One disadvantage of running near the back - all the food was gone when I ran by the big barn. PC uses Hammer Gels, so had to carry all my own gels since those made me sick. (I found out later that no one got the deluxe spread they usually have at the barn this year).

Overall - it was a good race. I like the new disposable chip system and thought the race was well run. I did like the food at the end - they gave you a disposable bowl with 3 banana chunks, two types of bread and some pretzels. Now if only the chocolate milk was not all gone (one of the disadvantages of being near the back of the pack).

I had plans to run more later that day, but the altitude and hills took a toll on me. Just did an ice bath and lounged around wearing compression shorts and socks.

Believe It, Be It – Thoughts on the book

2010-09-03T13:46:00.001-06:00

This last week I read 'Believe It, Be It' by Ali Vincent. She was the woman who became the first female winner on The Biggest Loser. I found the book interesting and worth the investment I paid for it. I highlighted several sections in the book, but some of the following really caught my attention and made me think.

When you don't set goals, you deny yourself opportunities to succeed and celebrate. It's important to set realistic goals for yourself and rejoice when you achieve them.

I have always liked to focus on goals and set challenges and/or resolutions for myself. I like her take on the subject of goal setting and also on recognizing when you have succeeded at that goal.

Quit mothering your mom. Rescuing my mom was not the answer to my problems—or hers.

Wow! This statement and the sections around it really hit me like a ton of bricks. I had never really thought of my behavior when my mother was alive as my trying to rescue my mother from her unhappiness with life, but after reading this section, I realized that was exactly what I was always trying to do.

Consistency is key when you're trying to make big changes in your life.

So true! Often we forget that and we try to bite off more than we can chew. A little at a time and consistently attacking the goal will get us where we want to go.

Of course it's hard, because it wouldn't feel this good if it weren't.

People often ask me why I push myself to run the distances I do. Even when I am suffering, it is a good feeling to know I am pushing myself to my limits.

I chose to compete like an athlete. I would give it everything I had. I was determined to follow through and accomplish my goal.

This is what I want to focus on for the next year. I have a few big goals: Getting below 135 pounds. Running a sub-2 hour half marathon. Qualifying for Boston. Getting my body as strong as I can. In order to do any or all of these, this is the focus I need to apply and the attitude I need to have.

Stop seeing the obstacles you face as reasons why you can't do something. See them as a reason why you can. And celebrate your accomplishments on a daily basis.

The statement speaks for itself.

My body is my Olympic solo, my Tour de France, my Mount Everest, my Super Bowl touchdown, my step on the moon.

I had never quite thought of it this way. We learn at church that our body is a temple, but this statement really speaks to me.

Running in Crocs

2010-08-31T16:57:00.001-06:00

I have been reading on the Fast Running Blog as various participants have experimented with running in Crocs. It sounded interesting to me, so I was able to get a pair for free (thanks to a wonderful runner)! I was told that you can run longer distances in them right away, compared to having to build up distances in Vibram FiveFingers.

Yesterday was my first day for the experiment. I brought the Crocs along on a business trip to Livonia, Michigan (the hotel people are pretty good about recognizing us by this point in time) and went for a run. My goal was to run eight miles and I figured I could always just walk back if my feet started hurting. No problems whatsoever! My feet felt light and I only had to stop a few times to get small rocks and stones out of the footbed.

Crocs advantages:

Inexpensive
Stylish (snicker)
Lightweight training shoe
Not a lot of support, so the foot still needs to be strong

I'll post an update after I've run in them several times. It will be interesting. Even though I am sure I will get comments about my footwear, they will be much lesser in number than those I get when I wear my Vibrams.

Inside Joke

2010-08-31T16:52:00.001-06:00

Boss: (In speech at a company party)…."I can't believe I'm crying over software!"

Me: I can!

The Goofy Challenge

2010-08-01T17:04:00.001-06:00

This week my daughter and I signed up for races in January, 2011 at DisneyWorld. Jennifer is going to be training for and running her first ever half marathon. I am thrilled about the idea of running an endurance race with her. I trained for the St. George Marathon in 2007 with my son, Kevin and am so happy to be having this chance to run with Jenn.

I will be doing the Goofy Challenge. DisneyWorld has a half marathon on Saturday. This is the race Jenn and I will be running. We are planning a nice time of 3 hours which should not be too hard for a novice half marathoner and should not stress my legs too much. For finishing that race, we will get a Donald Duck finisher's medal. Then, on Sunday morning is the DisneyWorld Marathon. Jenn will be supporting me in this race and I will be enjoying a marathon at sea level. For finishing this race, I will get a Mickey Mouse finisher's medal. For finishing the two races in two days for a total of 39.3 miles, I will then get another Goofy medal – hence the Goofy challenged.

This trip will be a combined marathon event and also time spent with the Merkley clan in Richmond Hill/Savannah, Georgia. So neat to already have a race on the schedule for 2011. Plus, it will be my first race after moving up into the next age group bracket.

Bring it on!

There is something worse than labor!

2010-08-01T16:51:00.001-06:00

Friday I had one of the scariest experiences of my life. One minute I was feeling fine, the next I was feeling like I wanted to die. From nausea to vomiting to severe abdominal pain, I really didn't know what hit me. Things spiraled downhill quickly and I eventually had to call 911. My blood pressure started to tank and my body was going into shock. They had to turn on the lights and sirens to get me to the hospital. It is hard to describe being blasted like pain like I was and feeling totally out of control. I was terrified that I might be dying. I am usually a pretty tough person, but this was scaring me to my core and a living nightmare. Pain relief was finally given and my body was able to relax.

Many hours and tests later, it was determined that I had a bouncing 7 mm kidney stone that had worked its way from my kidney almost to the bladder. Maybe I should be proud of that, but I'm not. It wiped me out. It humbled me. It made a 100 mile run look like it would be easy.

I sure hope I never have to deal with something like this again.

And, YES! It is worse than labor. Unrelenting pain with nothing enjoyable as a reward in the end. Forgive me for my earlier skepticism.

Making friends while running

2010-07-25T17:59:00.003-06:00

There is something about running together that allows you to get to know people on a level that is just not possible in any other way. You see the real person and share thoughts that you might never share if you just hang out together.

Running is also a great way to make friends. Last weekend one of the Vice-Presidents from our Wichita branch came to town for meetings. She was training for her first sprint triathlon and wanted to know some running areas. I made plans to run with her on Sunday and Monday evenings.

Sunday she called to let me know her plane would be getting late, so we put off that run and agreed to talk on Monday. Monday evening I took Lea Ann over to the Jordan River Parkway. We did a 4 mile run. Since it was 5 p.m. and in the mid-90's, the run was pretty hard on her and she couldn't tell if it was asthma or the altitude that was making it hard to breathe.

Tuesday morning we ran again. I picked her up at the hotel and took her down to the Trax trail and showed her some of my favorite runs there. It was much better with the heat not yet affecting us that day.

Wednesday morning we did a shorter run before she flew home to Kansas. I brought Twilight along and took her over to Wheeler Farm. We did 2 easy miles on the trails and I think she enjoyed the nature run better than some of the other runs - even though they were not on roads.

I have another co-worker in Michigan that I talk running with and we are making plans to run together either on my next trip to Michigan or his next trip to Utah. It is fun to get to know people outside of the work atmosphere. That is - when it is someone you actually like. :)

2nd Annual Sandy to Provo Self Supported Ultra Run

2010-07-25T16:45:00.003-06:00

This weekend was a 3 day weekend in Utah because of the Pioneer Day holiday. Thursday I started debating the benefits of doing long back-to-back runs on Friday and Saturday, or doing a challenging training run on Saturday. I ended up deciding to do a really long run on Saturday.

The plan: Run from my house in Sandy to my dad's house in Provo. Previously done in February, 2009 - with mild winter weather. A little over 8:15 in trip time.

The distance: 35+ miles

The challenge: Heat was going to be in the mid to high 90's.

After arranging with my father to drive me home after the run, I started packing my Nathan running pack for the next day. Included were several packs of Gu/Shot Blocks, S Tabs (salt tabs), emergency running supplies, Ibuprofen, gum, charged iPhone with a couple of good books for listening to, 70 ounces of ice water. In my insulated Nathan hand-held bottle, 2.5 cans of Ensure - frozen overnight.

I wanted to get up around 3 a.m., but had a hard time sleeping the night before because of nerves. I reset my alarm to 4 a.m. and focused on resting and dozing as much as possible. I did my usual job of vaselining areas that are prone to chafing, used a coban wrap in the right ankle for insurance, put on sunscreen and found a bandana at the last minute.

The run starts down 7th East to Draper. When I passed the train tracks in Draper, I switched over to the Trax Trail. I shifted over to 9th East at 12300 South and then ran by the Draper city buildings up to the Porter Rockwell Trail. I alternated between the Porter Rockwell Trail and the Draper Canal Trail to Point of the Mountain. My goal for most of the run was to run 8 minutes, walk 2 minutes and I did not want to push speed much because I knew the heat of the day would be hard on my body for as many hours as I would be out there.

Once the PR Trail ends, I switch over to Frontage roads until Lehi, then over to State Street and then Main Street in American Fork. At mile 18, I stopped at the Chevron in Lehi to refill my water pack, load my hat and neckerchief with ice and get some Gatorade. The heat was starting to build up and I knew that I needed to work harder to prevent dehydration since I hadn't needed a bathroom break until then.

In American Fork I stopped again to eat some mashed potatoes and root beer at a KFC and picked up a cup of ice to chew on for a while. I walked for about 20 minutes after this stop to allow myself to digest food.

Once I got on Geneva Road in Pleasant Grove I knew I would be able to finish the training run, but knew I would end up walking more because the heat was really getting to me. I started taking a sip of water or gatorade in every 10 minute cycle and that seemed to help. The last three miles I ended up doing a lot of run 200 steps, walk 100 steps cycles. I wasn't sweating as much anymore, so knew that my body was struggling with the heat.

Finally - arrived at my Dad's house. He came home with some ice for me, so I took an ice bath and shower and then he drove me back home to Sandy.

The total run took 9 hours exactly. A little slower than the previous run, but I think the heat was the main cause of that. The legs felt strong. No pains or aches.

I didn't sleep well last night. I never do the night after a marathon or ultra-marathon. Today I have mainly been resting, but took a 2 hour nap in the afternoon. The good news, I have a couple of aches, but no stiffness or pain. I am really happy about that because the worry with a long training run is that you injure yourself and not be able to train any more.

BodyBUGG data from 5 a.m. to 2 p.m.:
5165 Calories Burned
79621 steps

A mom for 23 years

2010-07-23T18:42:00.001-06:00

My daughter turned 23 this morning. It made me think back to the excitement of 1987 when we first welcomed this little girl into our lives and I became a mother. Let me tell you – being a mother is the greatest occupation and avocation in the world and I am so blessed to have two wonderful kids. Jennifer and Kevin – I love you both so much.

Mixed Emotions

2010-07-23T18:40:00.001-06:00

I am doing a big run tomorrow. And I mean BIG. One I have only done once before and doing it unsupported. I am hoping to leave between 4-5 in the morning and run down to my Dad's house in Provo. This is a 35 mile run and it is going to be a hot day, so I want to get out as early as possible.

I am looking forward to the challenge of that many miles on my feet and all alone. At the same time I am really scared about that big of a run. It will be an interesting day!

Is this good news or bad news or both?

2010-07-14T09:28:00.001-06:00

I had Lasik surgery on my eyes in 2006 and was very happy to be able to go without glasses. Especially since I had worn them (or contacts) full time since I was eight years old. Starting about two years ago, I began to have to struggle to read smaller text and figured it was just because I was getting older and needing reading glasses. I've been using magnifying glasses off and on as needed and found the last few months that they don't seem to help as much as they used to.

I finally broke down and had a vision exam yesterday. The 'good news' is that my vision is still 20/20. The 'bad news' is that my astigmatism has come back and my up close vision is blurry from that. I ended up ordering some bifocals for computer/reading and will be using them. They will hopefully reduce the eye strain I am experiencing at work. And – no need for glasses for driving, running, distance work, etc.

BodyBUGG update

2010-07-14T08:27:00.001-06:00

Some good news on the BodyBUGG front. On Monday I called Customer Support back and asked to speak to a manager. The woman that I spoke with was much more willing to listen and respond than the one I dealt with on Friday. Especially when she heard it had only been three weeks. She spoke with the manager and on Tuesday I got the good news that I will be getting a replacement BodyBUGG. Yay!

BodyBUGG review (and support SLAM)

2010-07-09T17:27:00.001-06:00

I have been wanted to purchase a BodyBUGG from 24 Hour Fitness for quite some time after hearing about them on The Biggest Loser. Let's face it – I'm a running/workout technology geek. I like my running toys.

About a month ago, one of my co-workers told me that he had purchase a BodyBUGG and that the BB itself and the display watch were on sale for $250. I liked the discounted price and took the leap. I needed to lose a little weight and it only seems like I get the motivation when it hurts me financially.

Unfortunately, my new 'toys' arrived the day I left on a business trip to Michigan, so I had to wait an entire week to get my grubby hands on them.

From the beginning, I loved my new BodyBUGG. I liked checking the calorie burn on my computer and seeing how many calories I had burned and how many steps I had taken. I really liked that I lost 9.4 pounds in the first three weeks by focusing on exercise and diet.

Was I recommending the BodyBUGG to everyone? You bet. It was the greatest thing since sliced bread. Until this week….

I was back in Michigan again this week for some more testing of our new application at work. Wednesday night I went out for a late evening run to avoid the worst of the heat and humidity. The sky was overcast when I left, but did not look like rain. The weather channel did not predict rain. I knew the BodyBUGG was not supposed to get wet. 5 miles into my 7 mile run, guess what happened? Yep. It rained. Not just sprinkles, but a drenching downpour. I worried about both the BodyBUGG and iPhone I had on me, but I was on a path alongside the freeway with nowhere to seek cover and no way to protect my electronics. As soon as possible, I got back to the hotel and dried off my BodyBUGG and iPhone.

Thursday morning, I strapped the BodyBUGG on. No sound. A few beeps a little later. I decided to charge the BB at work. After a little while, all lights indicated they were green and happy. Still no response when I strapped on the BB. I sent off an email to their support team and got no response. (It turns out this is fairly common). Today I called the Technical Support line. After several attempts to reboot the instrument, put new firmware on the instrument, etc, etc, etc, I was told that I was out of luck because getting the BodyBUGG wet had voided the warranty. I politely complained and she spoke with her manager and came back with the same response. She directed me to customer service, where I was told the same thing. No offers of a replacement, no offers of reduced pricing on a replacement, nada.

This was a hard lesson to learn At $25 a pound of weight loss, I no longer recommend the BodyBUGG. I will sing loud and clear that Apex Fitness is a rip-off and has lousy customer support. And, several people that were considering a BodyBUGG are now jumping off that bandwagon.

All I can say is: "Shame on you BodyBUGG."

2nd Annual Red Hot Pink Chicks Half Marathon is tomorrow

2010-07-09T17:08:00.003-06:00

This is the certificate I made up for the 'Virgin' half marathon finishers:

2^nd Annual Red Hot Pink Chicks Half Marathon

Diamonds & Titanium Edition

Virgin Half Certification*

Provo, Utah July 10, 2010

Congratulations on completing your
Virgin Half Marathon run!

*Possession of this certificate verifies that the owner is no longer a virgin

Training Update

2010-07-09T17:06:00.001-06:00

I can't believe I haven't posted for an entire month. I really should be ashamed of myself. But – I have to admit I just haven't been all that motivated.

The running training has gone well. I am lifting weights 2-3 times a week to get my muscles well balanced and increase my metabolism. I am running regularly and more consistently than in the past. In June I tried to have 3 or 4 of my regular runs be 6 miles or more in length. This week I upped that to 7 miles for my daily runs. I will probably hold at 7 miles until the beginning of September and then determine if I want to go up to 8 miles at a time. It seems like it was somewhere in the 7-8 mile range that I started pushing injuries last year and I want to avoid that problem this year.

The ankle is feeling pretty darn good. I get some twinges when I walk in flats or barefoot for too long, but no pain at all during runs. I think I want to start throwing more trail running in and get my ankles even stronger from the proprioception increases my legs get running on uneven surfaces.

I will be posting several updates this weekend and then want to get back to averaging at least one fitness posting each week.

Running in Michigan

2010-06-09T18:26:00.001-06:00

I flew in with a co-worker to Detroit on Monday evening and am involved in meetings and testing in Livonia, Michigan. Once again I am running the paved trails that run along the freeway. I missed running here on my last trip because my leg was still in the boot and my ankle pretty messed up.

Last night I ran south on the trails. I have only ran that way once before for a couple of miles and walked back from work for a mile in March. It was nice seeing a whole new section of trail. I was even able to start pushing my pace and set my Garmin to beep any time I slowed down below 11:30 minute miles. I was actually able to manage to run most of my miles at around 11:00, so the speed is slowly improving.

This morning I got up early and ran north on the section of trail I have done multiple times. It was drizzling a bit as I headed out, so I left my phone/music behind. A couple of miles out it started pouring, so I enjoyed a nice refreshing run. I really enjoy the trees and bushes and grasses surrounding the trail. Utah doesn't really have a lot of decent trees and I grew up surrounded by a wide variety of trees, so it felt like going back to my old home. Splashed through lots of puddles and ran carefully when there were sections of wet clay on the path so I wouldn't take a face plant or butt landing.

Two more days of running here, then I take my show on the road to a planned 13 mile run by my childhood home and schools in the suburbs of Chicago.

Building Endurance

2010-06-09T18:17:00.001-06:00

I've been focusing on building endurance again while trying to keep my ankle from getting reinjured. The progress is going well. My typical daily run is 6 miles now and I have done long runs of 13 miles and 14.5 miles the last couple of weeks. I think I will try to get my daily long runs to 8 miles and then start throwing in 2 a day workout occasionally. However, I need to make sure I find the line where my body can handle the weekly mileage without causing injuries.

Wish me luck!

Volunteering at the State Capital Half Marathon

2010-06-03T07:54:00.001-06:00

On May 29^th, my sister and I volunteered at the inaugural State Capital Half Marathon. I have to admit that our motivation was to get a free entry into the Utah Valley Halloween Half Marathon. This race looked like an interesting and challenging race including some trail portions, but I wasn't sure if my ankle was up to running 13.1 miles yet, or if I had the endurance for this race.

I was happy to see Rachel Moody at the start (and a bit amazed). She ran the Salt Lake Half Marathon, Ogden Half Marathon and this marathon in the last 6 weeks. Normally that would just be a bit insane, but since she is expecting a baby in mid-June – it qualified as totally insane, awfully awesome, and amazing.

Our aid station was behind Hogle Zoo on a long uphill. We had a little time to get ready and I decided that runners on the uphill stretch would need all the motivation they could get and hooked my iPhone up to the Jeep stereo and cranked up my 'marathon tunes' playlist. I know that when I have been struggling in races, it has been a boost to have someone out there playing music for me. The Jeep also served double duty as the water stop because the aid station was located on the wrong side of the road and the flat bumpers on the Jeep provided a great storage place for extra cups of water.

After providing all the runners with Heed or water, we headed over to the State Capital to see the finish for a little bit. Our timing was perfect, because I was able to see Rachel cross the finish line right as we got there. We hung around for a few minutes and then took Rachel back to the starting line where her car was parked. It was good to have a chance to visit with her.

Later….

After returning home from the race, I changed into my running gear and drove over to Draper to run the Draper trail system. I started out on the Porter Rockwell Trail and came back on the Draper Canal Trail. I was able to run the first 10 miles with no problems and then alternated running/walking the next two miles as a cooldown. I probably could have run the race that morning, but this way I saved an entry fee and was able to assist the race community.

Important Office Errand

2010-05-21T14:20:00.003-06:00

We had a serious discussion yesterday about two cupcake stores in Utah suing each other and ever since then, some of us have really been craving cupcakes.

Being a Friday afternoon and everyone is really focused on work (no sarcasm here at all), I made a run to the new Sweet Tooth Fairy store in Draper to get some cupcakes.

Don't they look yummy!

Then came the conundrum - we couldn't each just pick one cupcake, so ended up cutting most of them up and sampling a huge variety. We take our food seriously here.

Notice how focused Nancy and Cyndy are on work!?

Biggest Loser Marathon

2010-05-18T21:15:00.001-06:00

I just finished watching the 3^rd The Biggest Loser Marathon tonight. Each time I have watched this previously I have had some strong emotions. Of course, having done numerous marathons myself I have a different perspective than the average person.

Let me tell you, no matter how much or how little I have liked the 12 marathon contestants – I have the utmost respect for what they accomplish during this event.

Two seasons ago – I absolutely loathed Ron. I felt he was a backstabber and had blown his chance to lose weight. However, the fact that he finished a marathon with totally trashed knees when I thought he would give up after 5 or 6 miles – that is incredible.

Watching Tara finish her marathon in under 5 hours left me happy and sad. Happy to see her come so far and accomplish so much. Sad because I felt like a loser because I have not yet broken 5 hours in a marathon after years of trying.

I was excited tonight to see Daris smash the record and come close to finishing sub 4 hours. I was actually tickled to see Koli (Mr. I want to win at any cost) be more than 2 hours behind him. Impressed that Michael and Ashley did so well in a marathon when they are both still relatively overweight.

What can I take from this show? Maybe I don't expect enough of myself. Maybe I can push myself harder. Maybe I have mental limits that I need to overcome.

I have 19.5 weeks until the St. George Marathon and 21 weeks until my 50 mile race. What can I accomplish in that period of time and how much can I improve my fitness and endurance without causing an injury?

Nolan's Cheddar by John Nolan

2010-05-13T09:25:00.001-06:00

I love this video! Makes me want to hit the gym.

20 second fitness

2010-05-11T06:44:00.001-06:00

I was at a conference the other week and got interested in the 20 Second Fitness program (http://20second.com). The basic concept is to workout for 8-12 minutes each morning in 20 second hard intervals followed by 10 second rest periods.

I am on the second 'warmup' week and am enjoying the program. I don't think it will ever replace my other crazy workouts, but I like the variation and the quick morning workout to get my day started. I'll have to see how it feels after doing the program for several weeks.

I need to try this

2010-05-11T06:40:00.001-06:00

Last night I was running around the Highland High School track in the rain. While I was there, the girls soccer team was doing part of their workout. I would have joined them, but didn't have my ankle brace on. However, I am determined to go back and give their workout a try.

Starting at one end of the bleachers, they would run down the stairs, across the track and football field, up the bleachers across from them, run over a section and repeat. After finishing the entire set of stairs on the bleachers, they would run around the tennis courts and entire high school and start all over again for a total of 3 laps. It looks like it would be a killer workout and challenge and I am excited to give it a try soon.

The Lottery Gods

2010-05-07T09:21:00.001-06:00

This is the day I have been waiting for since early this year. The day the St. George Lottery results are posted. I knew that I was supposed to get in because of the Third Times A Charm Rule (if you aren't drawn two previous years, you get a guaranteed entry the third year), but until I see my name in print, it doesn't seem real.

The marathon website crashed within a few minutes, but I was able to get on long enough to see my name on the results list! Yay!

My next step (after a few minutes celebrating) was to go out and sign up for the Pony Express Trail 50 Mile race two weeks after the marathon.

Vacation days are posted on the calendar….. Time to create a training plan to get my mileage up for both races.

And – if the running gods hang with me – I plan to break 5 hours in the marathon this year.

Bring it on!

St. George Ironman 2010

2010-05-02T19:06:00.003-06:00

My life has been pretty boring without running and I have not done much blogging because there seemed to be no point without anything interesting to write about. This weekend that started to change.

My sister, Marcia, and I signed up last year as volunteers for the inaugural St. George Ironman Triathlon on May 1, 2010. I love volunteering at races because volunteers have helped me out so much at my own races in the past and I think it is critical that we give back to the athletic community.

Friday morning we headed out in a snowstorm (gotta love spring in Utah!) to go to St. George. When we got down there, we decided to check out some of the race sections. We first drove to Sand Hollow Reservoir where the swimming portion would be held. Tons of athletes were dropping off their bikes and we checked out where we would need to park in the morning.

After that, we drove most of the bike course, part of the marathon course, and checked out the race expo (pretty pathetic expo in my opinion). The bike and marathon courses were absolutely gorgeous, but we could tell why this was going to be the toughest Ironman course ever.

That evening, I ran from our hotel down to the park where the Finish area and T2 (bike to run) transition areas were located. We would be spending most of the next afternoon hanging around this lovely igloo.

Part 1:
Saturday morning came way too early when our alarms went off at 3:00 a.m. Shortly before 3:30 we headed off to Sand Hollow Reservoir. Marcia was going to sleep in the car and then watch the swim portion of the race. I was on the Dive team, mainly composed of Search and Rescue members. We were hoping to only be doing Rescue duties and no Search duties.

Can I tell you - it was very cold out? We had a couple of group meetings and then hung around freezing until it was time to load the boats. I was assigned as the helper on a Park Ranger boat with a hilarious diver named Ryan. Our main assignment was to follow along from the start of the race to the end, watching racers for signs of trouble, helping get racers that pulled out off of kayaks and surfboards, and then transfer them to boats assigned to get them to shore. If Ryan had to go into the water, then my job was to assist him in any way with his dive gear and not take my eyes off of him or the line attached to him until he was out of the water.

Luckily - no Search portion was needed. I did get to help learn how to get someone in and out of a dry suit - that is a lot of work and a 2 person job.

About 6:20 the boats, kayaks, and surfboarders all headed over from our dock to the swim area. We spread out to our assigned positions around the course. The sun came up around 6:30 - which gave us some hope of warmth because we were really cold on the water. We were really worried about the athletes because the water temperature was 53 degrees and some of them would be in for up to 2 hours and 20 minutes.

At 6:45 the professionals started the swim and zoomed off pretty quickly. At 7:00 there was a mass start of the non professionals. It immediately became apparent that some swimmers would really struggle. One lady from the beginning was fighting vertigo. Others would veer totally off course. Lots used the services of the kayaks and boards to rest and catch their breath before heading off (they could assist as long as their was no forward motion).

Our first rescue came about 7:30 a.m. A boarder raised her hand and we went over and got Jean (about 75) off the board. She was so hypothermic that she couldn't stop shaking and the guys had to carry her to a seat. I wrapped her in a blanket and put my gloves on her poor feet and just tried to rub her and give her any body heat I could while she sat there spasming. We got her onto a transfer boat after about 10 minutes and then went back to work.

We had one more rescue about 8:30 of another older athlete named Bob. He was pretty hypothermic (not as bad as Jean), but his biggest problem was cramping, he couldn't straighten his legs or move his feet.

It was interesting listening to the announcer and watching the final athletes try to make it before the 9:20 cutoff. They apparently dragged one final swimmer out as the horn went off and two others didn't make it in time, but still finished the swim. All in all, I think the boats rescued about 20 swimmers. Marcia said a lot were hypothermic coming out of the water and many told me it took them a half hour or more before they could move enough to get on their bikes.

I ran about 1 1/2 miles back to the parking lot to meet Marcia and then we headed off for part 2 of the adventure.

Part 2:

We were scheduled to help out in the afternoon in the Women's changing tent at the T2 bike to run transition area. Before the first woman competitor came in, we hang around and watched them finish the preparations for this crucial area.

There were about 6 teams in this area:
Bike catchers (the athletes would jump off their bikes and just shove them and someone would catch the bike and go hang it in the proper slot on the huge section of bike racks).
Bag grabbers (as the athlete would approach transition their number would be called out and this team had to find their bag among 2100 bags and get it over to the athlete).
Men and Women dressing area assistants.
Suntan lotion slatherers.
Water stations.
Oh - and the portapotties were critical here. :)

It was pretty amusing to watch the panic when the first professional was about 15 minutes out and the generator ran out of gas. The collapsing bike transition banner was pretty funny.

Pretty soon the excitement ratcheted up as we heard the roars as the leader came into town. This is a picture of Michael Weiss (of Austria and Colorado) coming off his bike and heading into the changing area.

Incredibly enough, he hit the portapotties and headed out for the marathon in less than a minutes time!

Things started hopping in our area after that. We were very excited when Heather Wurtele of Canada was the first woman into the changing area. She made a quick transition and was out of there and then it was about 17 minutes before the next two athletes came through.

Our transition team involved the following: Some of us would wait until a female athlete came through the bag area and then one of us would run alongside her helping with her bag and hat as they started stripping off gear and guide her to the changing room. In that room we would then help dump her bag and help (if they wanted help)them as needed to get out of biking gear, get on running gear, gather their planned equipment and head off on the marathon. A lot of psychological, cheering, providing water, slathering on sun screen, guiding them where to go, etc.

Once the final cut-off for the bike portion passed, we were exhausted and decided we had been involved enough and crawled back to our hotel and into bed.

Incredible day with lots of excitement and awesome athletes. I'm sure glad it was yesterday because today there were 30 to 40 mph winds and it would have been a killer on athletes that were already being pushed past their limits.

These shoes were made for walking…

2010-04-06T12:37:00.001-06:00

Starting last Thursday, my foot made some good progress. I was able to walk two miles on Friday night between 18-20 minutes per mile. Saturday morning I did more than three miles walking and was able to get below 17 minute miles in the end. I am trodding a fine line right now with the ankle, but can feel that the tide has turned. I just need to avoid overdoing things (which I have a tendency to do).

I saw my podiatrist last night and he is pleased with the progress. He gave me a homeopathic injection in the tendon that is still bothering me but says that I have a relatively mild case of tendonitis since he couldn't palpitate the area and make it hurt. Just keep bracing and working out and listening to my ankle. I hope to build up my walking in April and be back to running in May.

Don’t try this at home

2010-04-05T20:11:00.001-06:00

Easter morning I was making a fruit salad and a Greek salad to take to the family get together at my ex-husband's house. I had everything done except slicing the red onion and stirring the Greek salad together. I decided it was time to use my mandolin to slice the onion.

As I pulled it out of the drawer, I was thinking back to my trip to Georgia and my daughter buying one for her house. My son-in-law, Jeremy, was having too much fun using it and would get a gleam of excitement in his eye as he pulled it out each day. We warned him to use the guard or he would slice his hand.

Can you guess where this is heading? I didn't see the guard, but vowed to be careful. Unfortunately, it only takes a momentary loss of concentration and then you are saying, "Oh crap!". I knew the moment I did it that I had done a thorough job on my right thumb.

Finger wrapped in a towel, my son was called upon to finish assembling the salad. Then he had to put on a pressure bandage so I could take a bath.

Five hours later, we could not get the bleeding to stop and I was feeling very light headed, so my son dropped me off at the Emergency Room on our way home. Silver Nitrate to cauterize the wound (and a horrible injection of lidocaine that doubled the size of my thumb) and I was sent home two hours later.

Can I just go back in time and skip the one stupid move that caused this awesome adventure?

Bittersweet

2010-04-02T12:09:00.001-06:00

I received an email from the Utah Valley Marathon race directors today stating that the half marathon in June was already sold out. I registered for this several months ago, but have been wondering lately if I would be ready for it considering I haven't been able to run since February.

Since the RD was being nice enough to allow us to sell our slots, I signed up on Facebook this morning and immediately had my offer grabbed up. A couple of hours later and a bank transaction later and I am no longer entered in the half marathon.

While this takes the pressure off my trying to get up the ability to run that far in the next 2 months, it also feels a bit like admitting defeat. I really hate this being mature and wise bit!

100 Pushup Challenge

2010-04-02T09:11:00.001-06:00

Five weeks ago I broached my co-workers on doing the 100 pushup challenge and 200 sit-up challenges. We had a good group at first. Joining me for pushups were Matt, Nancy, Randa, Michele, Russell and Paul (who had just had knee surgery a week or two earlier). Joining me for sit-ups were Michele, Nancy, Randa, Megan, and Matt.

It is kind of a nice break during the day to gather in the Client Support area or in an office and share the pain as we rotated through our sets. Of course, Paul was always amazing because he does these perfect, effortless pushups. Mine are pretty pathetic, but most weeks I have been able to crank most of my pushups out 'man' style.

Three weeks in Michele, Randa and I went on a business trip to Michigan. I think that was the end of the sit-up challenge because no one seems to be doing those anymore.

Add in sickness (like pneumonia is a good excuse), injuries, laziness, etc and the numbers doing pushups have dwindled. Hopefully we will get a couple of people to join us again next week. Paul and I have been on our own for a while. We did week 3 twice in a row and moved on to week 4 this week. By the end of today I had done 160 pushups and Paul had done 170. I'm not sure if it is better to avoid the pushups and do them later in the day or get them over with so I don't dread them all day.

Life related to Project Management for Dummies

2010-04-01T10:16:00.001-06:00

I just finished reading Project Management for Dummies. It was my first book on Project Management and a lot of the concepts are still totally foreign to me, but it is part of the learning process. What I found was interesting while reading this book is that some of the quotes I enjoyed apply to all of my life and not just the Project Management portion at work. Here are some of my favorites:

The more specific your project objectives (insert plans and goals), the greater your chances are of achieving them.
Don't use technical jargon.
Make your objectives SMART: Specific, Measurable, Aggressive, Realistic, Time-sensitive.
Often a project (insert problem) is like an iceberg: Nine-tenths of it lurks below the surface.
Past history doesn't guarantee future performance. It does, however, provide a guideline for what's possible.
Why do we say the very things we don't want people to hear? The reason is either fear of success or fear of failure. Unfortunately, by trying to minimize the pain of failure, we wind up essentially guaranteeing that we'll experience it.

Buffalo Run 2010

2010-03-28T10:10:00.001-06:00

After my failed attempt to run last weekend, I switched to a DNS on the Buffalo Run this year and switched over to being a volunteer. I figured it would help me with my disappointment and depression over missing another race after all the times that occurred last year.

I worked for a few hours on Saturday morning and then headed up to the race. As I was driving I started getting a little melanocholy thinking that it was one year ago that I DNF'd on the race course and remembering how that broke my heart at the time.

I ended up out on Antelope Island around 2 p.m. because they said they would need more volunteers near the end. After visiting for a few minutes, I started trying to find ways to help out. The finish area was running out of water and the White Rock Bay aid station was closing down, so I hiked over there (only a few hundred yards) and shouldered one of the full water jugs and hobbled back with it to the finish area. It was pretty funny, here I was congratulating runners on finishing their incredible efforts and yet a lot of them were worried about me walking around in a boot. By the time I had taken three trips back with water, I was pretty soaked. Then I taught the aid station how strong sports drink was supposed to be. They were watering it down so much nobody wanted to drink it.

I then noticed that the 50K runners were having to walk back uphill to the White Rock Aid station to get their drop bags, so started several trips that the volunteers then joined in with me on and carted back all the bags. The last trip back a couple of runners came up and took all the stuff from me. They said they were tired of feeling guilty about me hobbling around in a cast.

Lots of runners to visit with around the finish area. I talked with Celeste Collman for a while and also Twinkies (Matt) and Jun (Craig) from the FRB. I also met Steve P from the blog for the first time. Matt was looking great for having finished a 50 miler. I saw Celeste shivering in a chair at the finish line while waiting for her brother and went and got my blanket for her. She was excited to have it since she had lent her blanket to someone else.

While taking a break for a minute, I heard someone say, "Maurine, what did you do to your leg?" I looked down and there was a cute runner huddled in a chair by me. I knew who she was, but couldn't put it together. It was Erika from the FRB (Josse's sister). We visited for a little bit and then I realized the woman sitting next to her in an awesome green hat was her mother, Karen, who I met at the RHPC half marathon last summer. We visited off and on as I passed them for the next half hour or so.

Jim Skaggs, the Race Director, sent me off in his wife's BIG TRUCK at that point to see if there were items to pick up at the Lower Frary Peak and Ranch aid stations. That is one honking big truck to climb in and out of. After that, Karen Skaggs mentioned that maybe I could start taking garbage to the dumpsters. The previous year there had been three dumpsters in the next parking lot. I loaded up the inside of my jeep with smelly, oozy disgusting bags and set off. Found there was only one dumpster and it was already full, but I was able to get a couple of trips worth on top. Then we loaded boxes (a lot less disgusting) and I found another dumpster at the old race start and did several trips there until it was full. At that point I said I wasn't putting any more of the leaky bags in my jeep since it already was gross and smelled like rotten milk.

During some of these trips I was able to see Dave Crockett finish the first 100 miler on the island. He had started at 6 p.m. the night before and ran the 50 mile course twice. Very impressive!

As things started closing down we started gathering up empty canisters and such. I was put on emptying water jug detail, another garbage run in the BIG TRUCK across the island to Bridger Bay, and taking down the tents. By then we were all tired and cold and the poles were freezing! There were only about 8 people left and we were rushing to beat darkness to get the tents disassembled and finish loading the trucks.

I was sent home with two big bags of Buffalo stew and my car smelled gross the entire way home. It was the first time I left the island after dark. I stopped at a McDonalds to grab dinner and went into the bathroom to scrub my hands after all those hours of carting trash and to clean up all the scrapes and cuts so that I wouldn't get infected. I got home around 10 p.m. and still had to scrub out the car, hose down my shoe and cast/boot and then hose down myself.

Although I didn't do an official workout, every inch of me hurts today and I will estimate I probably walked 3 or more miles on various tasks.

Living with a grown child

2010-03-25T09:33:00.001-06:00

My son moved into the townhouse yesterday while I was at work. He was very proud of himself and showed me how he had rearranged the room and organized everything and it was spotless. (Gotta admit it looked real good). I was kind of wondering what happened to my son in the nearly two years since he had graduated from high school. Had he been taken over by aliens?

I came back home again about four hours later. My son's room was still spotless. But there were dishes in the sink, stuff piled all over the kitchen table, and laundry throughout the living room and kitchen. I'm no longer worried about aliens.

Going through withdrawals

2010-03-21T20:50:00.001-06:00

I wish I was posting more adventures in running, but I haven't really had any lately.

As I mentioned previously, I injured my right ankle back in November. Started having a burning sensation in the back of my ankle, but not on the bottom of my foot. I took a week or so off of running, and it started feeling a little better, so gradually eased back into running. In December I went and saw a Sports Medicine Specialist who told me that my Achilles tendon insertion was inflamed, so to stretch, ice, and put on a topical anti-inflammatory. He also said I could keep running on it as long as I took it easy.

By January I was only running 3 or 4 days a week. Once the ankle warmed up, I could run with no problems, but the first few miles were pretty painful. Come February, I would have to force myself to run and every time I got up after sitting a while, I would limp for about 10 minutes until the pain eased and the ankle loosened up. While running in Georgia, I started thinking that maybe it wasn't the Achilles after all and that maybe I should see a podiatrist or someone else about the foot.

Two weeks ago, I got an appointment with a podiatrist. This doctor did some xrays and a lot of manipulation of my foot and as he was feeling for sore areas in the Achilles, he happened to brush his hand along the inner ankle bone and I about shot through the ceiling. After more tests, the doctor decided that my posterior tibialis tendon was inflamed. Because of the number of months I had been injured and the pain I was in, the doctor decided to put me in a knee high boot to try and let the ankle heal. He also said that I actually needed to be on anti-inflammatories to let the inflammation go down.

Two weeks later, I have worn the boot except when bathing and sleeping. The pain is gradually subsiding and I am now finding that as the 'burning' in the ankle goes away I can pinpoint the pain better. I think the anterior tibialis tendon on the outside of the ankle is also inflamed because that area is now more painful.

I was also given a brace that would support my arch and told to try running after two weeks. I wore that yesterday and was surprised how much my calf muscle has deteriorated in just two weeks. After less than two miles of alternating running and walking, I have decided that I will have to miss the Buffalo Run next weekend for the first time since it started.

Twilight's Latest Adventures

2010-02-27T13:09:00.003-07:00

Twilight has been quite the busy dog lately and wanted her own blog post today.

While I was on vacation, Twilight spent time at the homes of two of my co-workers.

For the first few days, Twilight hung with Megan Pedersen and her partner Trina and their dogs, cats and other pets. Megan is one of Twilight's favorite people at work and had a blast there.

The last several days, Twilight then moved to Matt Francis' house. Matt has three boys that want a dog, but his wife is not too fond of having a full time pet. However, Twilight was very spoiled by the boys and had a great time at their house.

I must admit it made my heart glow to come in to work on Monday and have Twilight come running to me in joy across the office. I could tell she also adores Matt now and will want to go to the office even more to see her buddies.

Jennifer, Elise and I found this cute Harley Davidson jacket for Twilight on River Street in Savannah. (I need to buy the matching hat at PetsMart). Twilight doesn't like the zippers on her legs yet, but looks awefully cool in her new duds. Where is the Fonz now?

My nephew Jon and his wife Janilee just got a new dachsund puppy, Joey the other week. They are moving from a condo to a house today, so we are babysitting Joey. Kevin had fun with both dogs earlier and they are enjoying teasing each other and playing together.

Grandmother training

2010-02-21T20:32:00.004-07:00

After Jeremy and Jennifer got custody of Elise and Brad, I decided to take my remaining vacation time to go to Georgia and visit with them. The trip had two primary purposes: 1) To be a support system to my daughter and 2) To get to know my grandchildren.

When Jenn and Jeremy got married in 2006, I got to meet Brad and Elise, but was worried that I would never get to know them and get them to feel I was their grandmother. This seemed like the perfect opportunity to make some changes with that.

The trip started off a little bit stressful as Savannah, Georgia received it's first snowfall in more than a decade. All the flights out of Atlanta were cancelled and all the hotels were full, so I rented a car and drove 6 white-knuckle hours across the state.

With the kids not yet enrolled in school, there was a lot of time to get to know them and to spoil them. I did my best to do many different things with them and had a great time with my family.

On Sunday, Jennifer, Elise and I drove into historical Savannah, Georgia. Elise admitted she loves taking pictures and seeing old buildings and Jenn was excited to have someone to take trips with in the future to do the tourist and photo bit.

We parked and walked on River Street. Lots of neat stores and we checked out a lot of them. There was a pirate ship parked on the docks and we took a tour of the ship and had some neat pictures taken there.

The best thing about River Street - candy stores! I think we all went crazy in the Savannah Candy Store. Yummy tastes and smells. I can still think and smell the scent of the pralines and pecans.

During the week we made bread, cooked together, blew bubbles, celebrated Valentine's Day, built model cars and rockets, and played video games.

On Friday afternoon, Jeremy came home early from work and Jennifer and I took off for a couple of hours alone together. We went back to River Street and also found some wonderful barbecue at Sticky Fingers restaurant. (It was divine! Finger licking good!).

I had seen this stained glass window in the very first store we stopped at on Sunday. It never left my mind, so went back and bought it. I can't wait to have it delivered and hang it up on my landing over my desk.

Friday night we made homemade pizzas and had our own video games Olympics. Everyone had a blast together and all cooperated and won not only monetary rewards for medals but these delicious candied apples for being good sports.

Saturday night I took my grandkids out on a date to Golden Corral and Jennifer and Jeremy also went out on a date together.

My entire vacation was made when both kids came and hugged me goodnight when they went to bed on Saturday night. I sure grew to love these kids in a short period of time and am thrilled to have actively experienced being a grandma.

Running in Georgia

2010-02-20T12:48:00.002-07:00

I took a vacation this month down to visit family in Richmond Hill, Georgia. While there I had some great runs.

Right outside my daughter's subdivision is the Coastal Highway. It has a nice shoulder - include a lot of grassy sections - that I could run on. I took a couple of runs to and from Walmart and had my grandkids riding alongside on bikes at times. Brad really enjoyed riding and talking with me and would push me a little to speed up.

It was nice to run in slightly warmer weather and at lower altitudes. The roads there are very flat, so it made for easier running than out here.

What I enjoyed the most about running out there was the different vegetation and views. Lots of swampy and sandy areas, a bamboo farm, oak trees, palm trees. Even though it was February I was able to enjoy lots of greenery.

I hope to go back either later this year or in 2011 and do a marathon in Georgia or Florida.

The one thing I regret - I didn't get any running in with my daughter.

Tybee Island

2010-02-15T16:21:00.001-07:00

I had heard about a half marathon in February on Tybee Island near Savannah, Georgia. Unfortunately, my trip to Georgia was a week too late to run this half marathon.

Jeremy told me that Brad and Elise wanted to go to the beach and I wanted to get some lighthouse pictures for my sister, so on President's Day we loaded up the car and drove out to Tybee Island.

It was a windy, cool day. Not a great day to be at the beach, but a beautiful day. The kids immediately stripped off their shoes, rolled up their pants and headed across the beach to the ocean. That water was freezing! My feet hurt the minute I stepped into the water. Elise seems to have totally impervious feet and spent a lot of time wading. The rest of us were quite wussy in comparison.

Of course, as things go with kids and beaches, even though you don't plan on getting wet, you do. We ended up having to buy some sweat pants for each of the kids since their pants got pretty soaked.

After lunch, we headed over to the other side of the island to check out the Tybee Island Lighthouse. We decided to climb to the top of the lighthouse and got a good leg workout, beautiful views, and some great pictures.

Life Changes

2010-01-29T13:01:00.001-07:00

Two weeks ago today I received an excited phone call from my daughter and son-in-law. They had been awarded custody of his daughter (age 13) and son (age 11). I am so excited for them because I know how much they have been hoping this would happen, but I will admit I have mixed emotions because I know how much this will be changing all of their lives and it won't be easy for any of them. However, deep down inside I think this is the best thing that can happen for my grandkids.

I have never been a big fan of labels and people who get associated with labels like 'step', 'ex', 'half', 'former'. I know some people who are not willing to accept others into their lives because they have that label attached. I was excited to become an instant grandmother when my daughter got married 3 ½ years ago. I consider these children to be my grandchildren and not my step-grandchildren. They may not feel the same about me, but I intend to treat them as such.

My son-in-law, Jeremy, adores these children. I could feel it in his words when he first exchanged emails and instant messages with me when he was stationed in Kuwait during his engagement to our daughter. I could see it in his eyes when he was able to have his children with him for the period around their wedding. I can hear it in his voice when I talk to him. In order to support the family he had so young, he needed to stay in the military and various overseas duty posts meant he had to give up custody of his children. When we have talked in the past, I can feel how much it has hurt him to not be able to see and talk to his children as they are growing up. He has missed so much of their lives and from the first time I knew about his children, he and Jennifer talked about trying to get custody or at least significant visitation with them so that he could be an influence in their lives.

Did I want my daughter to have to move overseas at 19? No. Did I want her to have to struggle with being a military wife at a young age? No. Did I want her to have to face the challenges of being a step-mother to children when she was just leaving childhood herself? No. But she was willing and happy to take on these responsibilities and face them with courage. Has married life been as easy as she expected with these challenges? No. But she adores her husband, loves her marriage and is willing to take these children in to her home and love them with all her heart and soul.

From life experiences, I know that the future is going to be hard on their family. I am hoping that with love and patience my grandchildren will be happy in their new home. I hope they will give their father and step-mother a chance. I hope that the words that get said from all will be words that are regretted later.

I am going to Georgia in two weeks to get to know my grandchildren better. I am praying that I can become their friend and that they will accept me in their lives. I hope that their hearts are touched and opened and that they will be one of the blended families that truly becomes a 'family'.

Heart Rate Monitors

2010-01-25T18:42:00.001-07:00

At the end of last fall I started working with Steve Ashbaker (an elite runner that lives near me) to try and improve my endurance and reach my running goals. We only worked together for about five weeks before I got injured, but I am continuing down the road that he started me on.

Steve suggested I focus on heart rate training.

Measure my resting heart rate (RHR) in the morning to see if my body has recovered from previous training. I use a clip on pulse oximeter that I stick on my finger to check this before I get out of bed. Most days my RHR is between 47-48 beats per minute (BPM). If it above 51, I know my body is still stressed and that I should take a rest day or an easy day.
On over-distance days, keep my heart rate between 75-80% of my maximum heart rate (MHR). I know that my MHR is around 174-175, so am using 175 as my rate for calculations.
On easy/rest days, keep my heart rate below 65% of my MHR.
On long distance days (usually Saturday), keep my heart rate between 60-75% of my MHR.

For measuring my training heart rate, I was using a Polar heart rate monitor (HRM). For several years I used a middle of the line HRM from Polar, but after about 4 battery replacements, it seemed to give up the ghost last summer. My sister had a cheap Polar HRM that I had given her as a gift a couple of years back. Since I also gave her a Garmin with a HRM attached for Christmas 2008, she had never used the Polar. I bought it off her and started using it last fall.

When I started measuring my heart rate while running, I felt like I was pathetically out of shape. On my over-distance days, I had to focus to keep my speed down in the correct range. For a slow person, having to slow down just destroyed my poor, fragile ego. There were also a couple of days when the HRM seemed to go crazy and I would have to run for about 10 minutes and turn it back on and then it would work okay.

It got to the point that I no longer wore my Garmin on regular runs because my pace in minutes per mile was embarrassing and frustrating. Last Saturday I was doing an 8 mile long distance run. In order to keep my heart rate in the proper range, I was running 15-16 minute miles. That is a long time to run and think, so I decided that maybe the fault didn't lie in my pathetic shape, but in the cheap HRM.

On Sunday I read the guide for a new, top of the line Polar HRM that my son and ex-husband gave me for Christmas. I adjusted all the settings and decided to use it this morning for my 5 mile run. What a shock! I had to push to keep my heart rate in the correct range (at the bottom of the level) and actually felt like a runner again. Lesson learned – if something seems really wrong, it probably is. I estimate it will take a week or two to get my body used to running faster again, but am much happier doing that than feeling like the tortoise in the Tortoise and the Hare story.

Book Series Review: In Death by JD Robb

2010-01-15T07:50:00.001-07:00

Initial Disclaimer: I can't believe that in all my years of reading mysteries, I had not heard of this series or read any of these books.

I actually heard about this series in the fall of 2009 in Good Housekeeping magazine where it did a quick review of some recommended romance books. Since I was in a 'romance book' type of mode right then (must have had something to do with all those nieces and nephews getting married), I tried most of them out and was sorely disappointed. Their review of the In Death series mentioned a futuristic New York City cop and I didn't plan to even try these since it was a series of books.

When my sister and I were up in Seattle after Ryan's wedding, we spent a couple of hours in the Seattle Mystery Bookshop and I noticed a trilogy of shorter books from the In Death series in one paperback. I decided to buy it as a trial and then put it in a pile.

One day in October I started reading the books. Big mistake. I got hooked. Put a combination of a tough female cop together with a gorgeous Irish billionaire with a shady past and present and the obsession started. It took a couple of months to get through all 25+ books in the series, but I did it. Eve Dallas is a serious cop, but has her funny, sarcastic moments and often made me laugh. Put her together with Roarke and you had great mystery combined with great romance.

I highly recommend this series.

Final Disclaimer: If you get hooked on it, don't blame me. Just thank me.

Book Review: I Hate PHP

2010-01-15T07:42:00.001-07:00

(A Beginners's Guide to PHP and MySQL PLR Version by Manuel Ortiz Braschi)

Maybe I could cheat and consider this an entire book for a month….

This was a pretty short book, but entertaining and a quick overview. Considering it only took me about an hour to read the entire book on my Kindle, it made for even easier psychological reading.

Basically, the entire book was divided into 3 sections: Easy Stuff, Not so Easy Stuff, and Harder Stuff. If you weren't familiar with programming at all, it would leave you in the dust. Since I can remember a lot of my programming knowledge, it was a nice way to learn basic terminology and formatting for PHP. The best thing I can say about it is that it will make my next book on PHP a little easier to understand since the syntax is already partly stored in my brain.

You know you are a runner when…

2010-01-11T21:42:00.001-07:00

You no longer feel the need to walk when working out.
There is no weather too bad to run in – just unprepared runners.
You have owned at least one Garmin running watch.
You have at least one heart rate monitor.
You check you morning resting heart rate.
You track your running mileage.
You schedule your vacations around running.
You have already planned at least 4 races to run in this year.
It is a source of pride that you run in the worst air in the nation.
You are proud that other people consider you an idiot for enjoying running.

2010 Fitness Goals

2010-01-08T11:13:00.001-07:00

I am taking a little different route this year than in many of the past years. After multiple injuries in 2009, I want to use 2010 as a rebuilding year to get my body strong and healthy and skinny again.

To break the goals down a little more specifically:

Running Goals:

Focus on Half Marathons in 2010. Try to get my half marathon time below 2 hours.
St. George Marathon – I have a guaranteed entry to this race under the '3^rd times a charm' clause, so plan to run it in October and break 5 hours for the first time.
Pony Express 50 Mile ultramarathon – I will turn 50 in November and want to finish a 50 Mile race before then. Notice, I said FINISH. Doesn't have to be glamorous – just has to get done.
Run a minimum of 3X a week when not injured.
Read 3 running books.

Fitness Goals:

Weight training a minimum of 3X a week. I need to get strong again. My body felt much better during the time that I was working out with a personal trainer and I need to get that strength and feeling back.
Yoga – 2 sessions a week. Most of these will be to the YogaMazing podcasts. They are between 20-30 minutes in length and I enjoy the series.
Flexibility/Stretching. Focus on stretching for 10-20 minutes anytime after completing a workout of longer than 60 minutes.
Successfully complete the 100 pushup challenge.
Successfully complete the 200 sit-up challenge.

Cardio/Endurance Goals:

In addition to running, use a balance of ellipticals/arc trainers/cycling/walking/water workouts/aerobic classes to accomplish a minimum of 45 minutes of cardio 6 days a week. The balance will help me avoid muscle and joint injuries caused from focusing solely on running.

Healthy Eating Goals:

Incorporate Clean Eating as a lifestyle and eliminate my junk food addictions (except for hot chocolate – that is a need, not an addiction).
Try a minimum of 2 new recipes per week.
Learn to plan meals ahead (at least 1 day).
Fit back in my size 8 pants (no complaints will be heard if they get loose).

I intend to do a follow-up to this post at the start of each month to make sure I am staying on track.