Cow Pies

Had a nice run on the East Boulder creek path with the cows this morning.  I considered playing "the ground is lava and you have to step on the stepping stones to survive."  You know, that awesome game we used to play with the couch cushions when we were kids?  I still play it with my kids sometimes.  But this would have been even MORE awesome.  I easily could have covered at least a mile of terrain using only cow pie stepping stones.  It would have been a record, I'm sure.  Surely there is a very mediocre, very beatable record in the Guinness book for this exact thing.

Well, not today....maybe another time.  Today I decided to receive a warm welcome back home by Aaron and the kids rather than being banished due to the stink.

Speaking of the kids, here's what they were up to this morning....that trampoline was the best Christmas present ever!!  Thanks, Santa!!!

USATF Club Cross Country Championships

Slept in 'till 8:30am and then headed out for to get some food at the grocery store since the free breakfast at the hotel consisted of pastries and sugar cereal (inadequate race day fuel.)

Went to the course around 11:30 am just as the Masters Men's race began.  Cheered for our RRB team and chatted with other friends floating around including two BYU alumni friends, Rena Chesser and Emily Raymond (AKA Mars).  Mars was easy to spot with her sweet nubby hairstyle just as she has always done for Cross Country races.  Rena also stood out as I noticed her BYU jacket.  It was nice to see them and catch up on each other's lives.

Walking around with my RRB girls, we said hi to the McMillan girls and a few others and then headed out for our warm up.  Sara S., Sara V., and Renee were content with 20 minutes but Colleen and I (marathon legs) needed a few more.  The highly wooded terrain negated the need for porta potties on our warm-up.  About 15 minutes before the start, Coach D gave us our bibs and chips, we changed into our spikes and got bib checked at the starting line.  Four or five strides and some good stretching, and I was READY.  The gun went off right on time and the race went out fast.

I kept myself within the top 8-12 women (perfect view of the front).  Renee was right up in front either setting the pace or just staying equal with another woman.

I knew before the race began that Renee and Desiree Davilla would be the most likely contenders for the win and I wanted to be right in that mix.  I wasn't sure if I had the fitness to hang on with them the entire way and I had no idea what kind of pace they'd run but I had the drive to take the risk.  I was pretty zoned in and didn't actually get any of my splits on my watch but after asking Renee afterwards what her splits were, I can guess pretty closely what my own splits were.  My first mile was about 5:25 with Renee and five or six others in front of me.  There was a short, steep uphill followed by a short, steep downhill after the first mile where I felt pretty strong on the way up and out of control on the way down, but at least it helped break up the pack a little.

The pack slowly started to dwindle and by mile two it was down to Renee, Desi, some NY runners, and Me.

Second mile was about 5:20.  I was feeling smooth and strong and felt confident I could keep that pace for another 1.72 miles.  I don't remember much about the middle part of the race other than just keeping contact with Renee and Desi and staying confident.  At one point just before mile 3, Desi threw in a surge and almost ditched Renee and me.  In a desperate attempt to help Renee and myself avoid being left in the dust I said "Good job Renee, lets go" and we both lifted our our eyes and stay glued together.   Renee responded to Desi's every move and I fastened my seatbelt.  Mile 3 was 5:17 and Desi threw in another surge shortly after which felt like we were doing sub 5:00 pace for a bit.  Renee and I stayed on her heels and didn't let her get away.  The second time up the steep hill was where my wheels started to fall off.  Renee and Desi surged up the hill and gained a few strides on me.  I charged back down the hill and almost caught Desi at the bottom but Renee charged even harder and already had a good 5 strides on both of us by the time we got to the bottom of the hill.  400 meters to go and I gave it everything I had but Renee and Desi had more.  Renee pulled out 3 seconds ahead of Desi who got 2 seconds on me.

We finished and patted each other on the back for a race well fought.  Wow what a rush!!  Those short races are such a super intense shot of adrenaline and the next thing you know, its over.  Twenty minutes just FLIES by.  As soon as I could stand up straight again I walked back to watch for the purple uni's (Sara S., Colleen, and Sara V.)  I realized right away that the hordes of women coming in meant a much more deep and competitive field than we anticipated.  With favorable conditions and many elite teams coming out for the race it turned out to be a very fast and fun event!  When all was said and done we ended up fourth place as a team just behind some very respectable women (McMillan, Boulder Running Company, and Hanson's-Brooks.)

Here is some pics of my teamies:

Renee capturing the WIN

Sara Slatt's game face is ON

Colleen concentrating down the hill

Go TEAM VAUGHN!!

I REALLY enjoyed the race and was very pleased with the outcome.  I got to chat with my BYU buds, Mars and Rena some more on our cool down and then my teammates were kind enough to take my stuff back to the hotel so I could run the two miles from the course to the hotel and complete my day at 12 miles (does that count as a long run, Coach?)

We got Sara S. to the airport just in the nick-o-time to make her flight back to Denver and Renee, Sara V. and I turned in the rental car and hung out in the airport for a few hours together before our flight finally took off.  No shower after the race but at least I had some clean clothes to change into.   Some fun conversation and yummy food made for a nice evening despite having to wait an extra hour for our delayed plane.

MEANWHILE...BACK AT THE RANCH......

Friday, Aaron came down with some food poisoning and was flat on his back when I called him that night.  Over the phone, I walked Abe through getting Aaron a water bottle of EFS electrolyte drink and some cola syrup.  I also asked Abe to help Bre brush her teeth and tuck her in (Ali had already tucked herself in earlier).  Saturday morning Aaron was feeling well enough to take the kids to the "breakfast with Santa" event at the Church but felt tired afterwards so he put a movie on for the kids so he could sleep some more.  After using the restroom and then going back to his movie, Abe started hearing a dripping sound from the ceiling and went in to tell Aaron that something was wrong.  Aaron awoke to an overflowing upstairs toilet with gallons of water seeping into the girls room, down the hall, and through the ceiling into the basement.  He quickly threw towels on the pooling water in the upstairs and sopped up the additional swimming pool in the basement hall and furnace room.  Then he went out for a run since the babysitter was all arranged anyway and he called one of his contractors to come clean up the mess.  By the time I got home Saturday night at 11pm the house was completely cleaned up (other than three or four loads of towels going through the laundry).  Another testament to Aaron's amazingness!!  Thanks, hon for taking such good care of the kids (and letting them take care of you) and for getting the house back in good order before I returned!

Thank you, Michael Scott and my teammate Laura Bruess for the pics!!

Oh, the joys of Motherhood

My morning started off with the fresh smell of puke wafting under my door.  Upon discovering that Breanne had spewed a puke bomb from the top bunk at some point last night, I went to work scrubbing it up while pleading with Bre to please tell me immediately after such events occur in the future.  It took me a good 40 minutes to get every last drop of crusted regurgitated pizza and as I was doing so, Abe came in to declare that he hated school and never wanted to go again.  OKAY, where did that come?  So now I'm scrubbing puke off the floor while putting all my mental effort into dissuading Abe from his newfound decision.  Apparently he would much rather stay home and play with the girls all day than get dressed, walk to school, and be taught fun and interesting things with all the other 6 year olds in our neighborhood.  Hey, I don't blame him; some days I'd rather play all day and have no responsibilities too.  In the middle of our discussion the girls interrupted to notify me that they needed baths so I filled the tub while continuing my in-depth discussion with Abe.

With the girls now playing peacefully in the tub, I went back to work scrubbing puke shrapnel off the sides of the furniture and bunk bed. Haven't I learned in my 6+ years as a Mother that quiet kids are almost assuredly making trouble?  As I went to check on the girls in the tub I saw water creeping out the door and a large pool of bath water little Ali had been so innocently dumbing from the tub.  I was about to snap when I realized Aaron would be back from his run in 5 minutes just in time for me to walk Abe (who was now begrudgingly dressing himself) to school.  I hurried and got my running clothes and shoes on while Aaron walked in the door to the scene of four towels on the bathroom floor, a screaming, naked two year old in time out in her puke smelling room, and a sick four year old still relaxing in the tub.  I cannot tell you how happy I was to leave and walk Abe the peaceful half mile to school.  Abe had finally worked through his mental block and was back on board with going to school (thank goodness).  I was happy to be out in the fresh, albeit windy, air for my morning run.  Upon my return Aaron had cleaned up the girls and they were dressed and ready to leave for Ali's 9:15 a.m. parent-tot gymnastics class.  I showered, dressed, heated up a slice of left-over pizza from last night, and while driving to gymnastics, ended up giving my pizza to Ali who was apparently starving.  After gymnastics we had a girls "brunch" at the Danish Pastry Shop right next door to the Little Gym.  Veggie quiche and a strawberry rhubarb tart capped the morning off perfectly.

Turkey Leg 5K

Happy Thanksgiving!!

Aaron and I got up around 7:00 a.m., got the kids dressed and fed, and bundled up in our multiple layered running attire.  The kids stayed at Grandma’s and played with their cousins from Fresno while we drove the 10 minutes to Farmington, checked in for the race, and jogged the course (slightly altered from their posted map online because of icy conditions on one section).  It was a very beautiful, sunny, seven degree Utah morning.  The course was mostly clear with some slippery snowpack/ice around the corners and one final quarter mile of crunchy ice chunk covered path and grass to the finish line.  We did a nice long warm-up with some strides and stretching mixed in.  The race started a few minutes late and went out fast down a slight decline for the first mile.  A bounding rabbit in baggy pants and a hoodie sweatshirt, a fit-looking man in his 30s, and a high school runner who made no sign of actual effort being put forth went out in the lead.  I stayed on their heels and Aaron was a few strides behind.  The bounding rabbit had already fallen off pace and started running backwards after the first half mile so it was down to me and two men pushing the first mile.  The less young of the two men fell off just before the first mile and I ran with the high school dude(correcting him twice for nearly turning off course) for a comfortable 5:35 through mile one.    The second mile was a gradual incline and we slowed to 5:45.  Right when my watch said mile two the course turned right and shot us down a steep decline back towards the race finish.  One loop around a neighborhood and up the chunky/icy final quarter mile and we were finished.  I think my final mile was 5:32 and the sprint to the finish was 5:20 pace for a finish time of 17:20.  The high-schooler finished 10 seconds ahead of me.  I found out he is a member of the Davis High school cross country team and they are going to a big national event in a couple of weeks.  I commented to him that he appeared to be jogging out there and he said he ran 15:50 last week so yes, 17:10 was quite comfortable for him.  He thanked me for keeping him on course.  The course map he looked at last night online was obviously not the same course they had laid out today so it was good that Aaron and I had gotten there in time to read the updated map and jog the actual course beforehand.  A few minutes after Aaron finished, we left to  jog the course one more time for our cool down and completed our day at 10 miles.  After the race we chatted with Jun and his son for a minute and also happened to bump into our Stake President from the Boulder Stake along with his wife and 5 of his sons.  It was fun to catch up with them and enjoy the coincidence of traveling all this way to end up in the same lil’ 5K.

The post race food was donuts and hot chocolate which hit the spot as we started to cool off again in the now nine degree Hawaiian Holiday we were experiencing. We went over to chat with the race director, Darrell and he gave me a prize for winning the women’s race; a $50 Chase gift-card, fresh apple pie, and some rockin’ orange “Sock-Guys” socks with a turkey on them.  What a generous race director!!  The funny part about the award was that just a week ago, I had suggested to him that he give at least $50 to the race winners and I also suggested pies for the age division winners.  Hey, he ASKED for prize suggestions on his website, so why not?  You only get what you ask for.  And you better be careful what you ask for too because you often get exactly what you ask for which is why I didn’t suggest a large obnoxious plastic turkey trophy, a free 15 lb. turkey (which would be leaking blood and stinking up our car on the long drive home), or even a 64 oz. glass beer mug (one of my favorite prizes through the years…I just don’t need another one).

The race was really fun albeit, cold.  Darrell did a great job of lifting spirits with the music and hot chocolate and I think all in attendance were happy to be there.

I was pretty happy with running a 17:20 considering where I’m at in my training and also considering the less than perfect racing conditions.

The remainder of the day was spent cooking, chatting with family, eating delicious food, playing card games, and thinking about all the many things I have to be grateful for.  I feel so overwhelmed with gratitude as I consider all the wonderful blessings in my life; my brilliant, supportive, good looking, ambitious husband, my obedient, kind, cooperative, smart kids, my good health and strength, our new home in Boulder, our many friends and associations with wonderful, inspiring people, our siblings, in-laws, and parents, as well as our Faith in God and testimonies of the Gospel of Jesus Christ.

We got news this afternoon that Aaron’s 96-year-old Grandpa passed away at 1 p.m.  He lived a long, full life and set forth a legacy of Faith and hard work to be followed by his 50+ grandkids and even more great grandkids.  He is a kind, gentle soul whom we will remember fondly.

Baltimore Marathon

I have a lot to be grateful for today!  An 8.5 minute chunk out of my PR, $8K in prize money, and an Olympic Trials "A standard" qualifier in the BAG.  Here's how it all went down....

Woke up at 6 a.m., ate some oatmeal, a banana, a bottle of Gatorade, and forced down another half of a bagel.  Got ready and went to the runner suite around 7 a.m. to meet up with Carolyn and Steve.  Walked over to the race start and tried to use the restroom in the Hampton Inn right by the start but was kindly turned away and then enthusiastically invited (by the pub owner walking by) to use the restroom in Pickles Pub next door (Hampton Inn could take a lesson in PR from their pub owner neighbor).  Did a short, slow warm up, some stretching, and three additional potty stops.  Lined up right behind the two ladies I met yesterady, Iulia and Olena.  The race began and it was all smiles as a nice pack of 8-9 ladies went out together.



The first three miles were the steepest incline of the race, so Coach D told me to go out no faster than 6:00 pace.

Mile 1 - 6:05  Felt easy and comfortable. The slight breeze was negligible with the pack of women and a few men surrounding me.

Mile 2 - 5:59  Little less steep, still very easy and comfortable.  Legs started to warm up.

Mile 3 - 6:12  Little more steep.  Shared the lead with Olena Shurkno from Ukraine.

About half-way through mile 4, the course flattened out and transitioned into a pretty good decline which lasted for a good 5 or 6 miles.

Mile 4 - 5:47 Cruised on the flat, worked with the group.  Grabbed a cup of gatorade at the aid station and took a few sips.

Mile 5 - 5:36  Really tried to hold back down the hill as the pace felt super smooth and effortless with Olena on my heels and Everlyne Lagat from Kenya on my shoulder.

Mile 6 - 5:50  Flatter with a little uphill.  Everlyne took the lead and put on a few second gap.  I opted to stay within myself and follow Coaches orders not to go out too fast.

Mile 7 - 5:43  More downhill.  I tried to resist going faster while a "chase pack" of 6 women took off down a steeper section to go reel in Everlyne and left me in the dust to run my own pace.



Mile 8 - 5:43  Alone.  I started to notice the wind more now.  Funny, I didn't notice it much when I was running with the group.  Picked up my first bottle around 8.2 and took two good swigs of EFS liquid shot (which was duct taped to the side of my bottle) and a few swigs of water.

Mile 9 - 5:39  Tempted to just throw in a surge and go draft behind those 6 women and couple of men since they are just 10 seconds ahead and it would save energy to draft...but is it worth the energy it would require to surge?  I decided no.

Mile 10 - 5:51  A few men emerged and I attempted to draft behind them.  This is where I started really noticing the headwind.  Surely there had to have been some tailwind before this point that I was not fully appreciating because there was definitely headwind now.

Mile 11 - 5:44  Stuck with the few men while I watched that nice cozy looking chase pack of women a solid 20-25 seconds ahead of me.  I was unwilling to break my pacing plan to catch them and I was also unaware that Iulia was creeping up on me in the shadows.  Somewhere in here I took a sip of water from the volunteers handing out cups.



Mile 12 - 5:54  The synergy (and wind breaking) of the three men had dissolved.  As soon as I hit the lap button I realized they were running too slow for my liking so I left them.

Mile 13 - 5:45  Thats better.  One of the guys came with me and we ran literally stride for stride for a mile or so.



I picked up my second bottle and took a few more gulps of liquid shot and some water then I offered my bottle to the guy running next to me.  He took some gulps and tossed it aside.  We came through the half marathon point together and the clock said 1:16 (I assume it was high 1:16).  Right after the half, Iulia Arkapove from Krygzstan (the course record-holder) came up on us and blew on by.  Where'd she come from?  She must have run a much more conservative first 10 miles and then started pouring it on because she had to have been doing 5:30 pace when she blew by us.

Mile 14 & 15 - 11:38 (5:42 pace) Where'd the 14 mile marker go? No split there.  The guy I had been running with fell off pace and I was back to my lonely self again watching Iulia pour on the heat and continue to pull away from me.

Mile 16 - 5:52  Wind and lonliness.  This is where my race began.  Coach told me if I could stay in control and run within myself (no faster than 5:45 pace on on the downhills and flats and no faster than 6:00 pace on the uphills) until mile 16, I'd have enough in the tank to pick off a few girls in the final 10 miles.  He was right!  At this point I think I was in 7th place and already starting to see the 6th place girl coming back to me.

Mile 17 & 18 - 12:09 (6:04 pace) I missed the mile marker again.  The uphill began again as I passed Alice Ndirangu from Kenya and Yuhunlish Delelecha (do not ask me how to pronounce those names because I do not know) from Ethiopia.  5th place now.

Mile 19 - 5:57 Hoping and praying for that podium finish I started to see two more lil' Africans up ahead and worked towards reeling them in.  The wind was not in my favor though.  Darn wind.

Mile 20 - 6:12 I put my head down and pushed with all my might up the most brutal, steepest section of the entire course which just so happened to also bring a massive head wind with it.  I finally crested the steepest part of the hill and overtook Everlyne, whose 85 lb., 5 ft. frame was nearly blowing away in the stiff headwind.

Mile 21 - 6:02 The uphill relented a bit but not the wind.  I threw an invisible lasso around Salome Kosgei from Kenya who also appeared to be blowing backwards an inch with each stride as I started tugging myself in.

Mile 22 - 6:15 Now I was nearly blowing away as well and Salome was trying with all her might to stay on my heels.  Not a fun mile.  Grueling.  I nearly came to a complete stop at the aid station with my last water bottle and liquid shot.  I took as much as I could and kept pushing forward.



Mile 23-26 (final 4.2 miles) - No splits.  Garmin said 6:01 average pace.   At this point in my race I was beyond caring about mile splits anymore.  I felt pretty disheartened by that last 6:15 mile split so I decided to just keep my head up and maintain that 3rd place position.  I realized that the other two girls in front of me had at least 90 seconds on me at this point and my wheels were falling of (or being blown off by the wind, rather).  My right calf was becoming unbearably tight and my hip flexors and quads were nearing their maximum level of punishment for the day as well.  Salome hung on to me until about 22.5 miles at which point I used the downhill to open up a gap.



The final few miles were downhill but into the wind as my respiratory rate shot through the roof and I ran the fine line between maintaining my position in the race and passing out.  Actually I don't think I was actually THAT close to passing out but at times I wondered if I was hyperventilating.  Spectators were probably wondering why I sounded like a suffering wildabeast panting down the street.  Once I got onto Eutaw Street it was just a few minutes to the finish line.  All the cheering and energy near the finish gave me energy and I became pretty emotional and asthmatic in the final stretch.  Within view of the finish line I looked up and saw 2:35:29 on the clock.  In one last effort to keep it under 2:36, I threw a grueling surge and the next thing I knew I was finished, walking with wobbly knees and then being hugged by Carolyn Mather who said I ran 2:35:49!  WAHOOO!!!



I went right off to pee in a cup (drug testing) and then back to the tent where they had our bags.  Got dressed, talked to a couple of newspaper guys, and found Aaron.  We ate some BBQ brisket sandwiches and shrimp salad and drank LOTS of fluid.  I texted Coach and a few other people, got some ART done on my poor legs, and went to the awards ceremony.  As we were waiting for the announcer to announce us I talked to the ladies from Ukraine and Krygyztan (their friend, Lyubov Denisova from Russia knew some English and could translate to them).  The funniest part was when Lyubov asked me if I have kids and I told her three.  She translated that to Iulia and Olena and Iulia was like "OUGHMPH!!!" with the funniest jaw drop and shocked eyes.  Hahaha.  I told her she should have some too since they've actually made me run faster!  She resolved to have twins next year.



All things considered I feel really grateful for such an awesome race and huge PR.  The wind was not in our favor but I was blessed with the strength to push through and hang on for a respectable time.  On a flatter course with perfect weather I am certain I could run faster, so its encouraging to look ahead and feel optimistic about the future.  I also see lots of room for improvement in my training and am looking forward to making the necessary changes for the next marathon training cycle.  Aaron was a huge support to me this weekend (and this entire season) as he built up my positive self talk and confidence and today as he was out there on the course at many points cheering me on, checking to make sure my bottles were placed in clear view on the tables, and shooting pictures.  Coach De Reuck (and Colleen) have been a HUGE asset and support over the past several months as they coached and encouraged me all along the way.  I also really appreciate the support and encouragement from my teammates on the Running Republic team, all you FRB-ers, as well as my family and friends who send me positive vibes of energy with your thoughts and words.  Also thanks to my Mom, Alyson for flying to Denver from SLC to watch our kids for the weekend, running them around to their various activities, being misguided by the Garmin and chasing after the kids through the mass of soccer fields while trying to get to Abe's game in time, and even juggling all three kids at Church!  Impressive that she still has the energy and patience to do all that even at age 61!!!  Go MOM!  I promise we wont ask you again.  :)  Thanks, everyone!!!

Aaron made an awesome post of the race in pictures here...check it out.

Cow Harbor 10K

Flew into New York last night around 5 p.m. was met by a volunteer from the local running club, Pamela who drove me to my host-family's home.  Enjoyed a very pretty 75 minute NY rush-hour commute to Ebbe and Eva Reker's quaint home they affectionately call their tree house set on a spacious, tranquil, tree-covered property in Northport, NY, a small village on the northern coast of Long Island.  The Rekers, originally from Scandanavia (Ebbe from Denmark, Eva from Poland) had moved to NY 40+ years ago in their early-20's, met, married, and settled in Northport to raise their two children.  And there they are still today, very involved in the local community, Ebbe the Vice Commador of the Northport Yacht Club.

Upon arrival I dropped my bags in their guest room and we headed to dinner at the Yacht Club where a number of other host families and athletes were meeting up.  Dinner was very nice; Ebbe forgot to tell me about their "no jeans" dress code so I crept in behind him and sat down quickly.  I enjoyed interesting conversation and delicious food while meeting a number of very friendly people (including a local Colorado runner, Wendy Thomas who lives 35 minutes away from me and also has a four and six year old).  After dinner the Rekers took me back home and I prepared my race day bag and went to bed.

Woke up at 6:30 a.m., got dressed, and joined Ebbe and Eva upstairs for a fresh, authentic NY Bagel (cinnamon raisin).  Ebbe drove me to the start and got situated with the elite athlete group in the school gym.  Went to warm up with four CO girls who are all sponsored by Boulder Running company.  I was the bright pink shirt jogging within the bright blue gals as the Sesame Street tune "One of these things is not like the others" played in the background.

The race started at 8:30 a.m. and went out FAST.  Atalelech Asfaw, originally from Ethiopia, now a U.S. Citizen training in Albuquerque took it out in what must have been a 5:05 first mile.  Stephanie and Magdalena were around 5:11 and I was 5:15.  Granted, it was mostly downhill that first mile but I was unwilling to go any faster than that so early in a 10K race. I had the annoying realization very early in the race that I had not fastened my ankle timing chip properly (tight enough) because it had slipped down low on my ankle and the hard plastic chip part was grinding into the top of my left ankle bone as I sped up down the hill. I awkwardly tried to hi-step and slap the chip around to the back of my ankle but almost tripped myself in the process and not wanting to fully stop and fix it, I resolved to suck it up and just deal with it.

The second mile brought with it the biggest, longest incline of the race, James Street Hill which pretty much lasted almost the whole second mile; my split was 5:55. I was still within 7-8 seconds of the leaders (Magda and Stephanie were steadily reeling Atalelech back in).  As a side note, the reason I chose not to go out WITH the leaders like I did in New Haven is because Magdalena had mentioned that she was going after the 32:32 course record and I, being a realist, didn't have any hope of hitting that kind of time on this hilly of a course at this point in my running career, so I just tried to imagine a thick rope tied around her waist to mine so I could at least stay in contact to some extent.  The bad news was that my decision to not stay with Magda (and Stephanie and Atalelech who were running right with Magda) left me out in no man's land to pace myself and push the hills alone.

Mile 3 flattened out and I started to get into a rythym.  I moved up and passed Atalelech while maintaining the 7-8 second gap Magda and Stephanie had on me.  Split was 5:30.

Mile 4 brought some welcomed downhill but actually not that welcome because the grade was so steep that I found myself having a hard time increasing my cadence and lifting my knees quickly enough to really use the hill to my benefit and it actually felt like I had to put on the breaks in order to not fall on my face.  Not to mention, my ankle was taking a pummeling from the timing chip.  Split was 5:21 while I lost a few seconds on Magda and Stephanie.

Mile 5 was a long slow gradual uphill alone into a mild headwind with the sun coming out of hiding and the humidity commanding my attention.  The low-point of my race mentally as the leaders seemed to feel more distant.  5:54

Mile 6 had just one more short little uphill and then a nice gradual downhill to the finish.  I just hung on and enjoyed watching the race unfold in front of me as Magda threw in a surge and overtook Stephanie in the final mile.  My split was 5:35

Sprinted the final .2 in 65 seconds (5:25 pace) and immediatly after finishing, had a heavy canvas American flag thrown over my shoulders with people demanding to take pictures of the top three finishers.  How patriotic! But really I was just sweating like cow (pun intended) and the last thing I wanted was a thick canvas coat on my shoulders.  After a few pictures, we took our flags (coats) off and headed into a bar on Main Street where they had put our bags.  I ate some strawberries, grapes, and lots of water, texted Coach and Aaron, and headed back out for a long cool-down in an attempt to top off my mileage to 20 for the day (my last 20-miler before Baltimore).  Wendy Thomas (mother of two from CO) was kind enough to join me for 7 miles as we jogged back through the course to partake of the water stops and run those stupenous hills again.  As we got back to the finish line (for the second time) people cheered us in (again) and we gave lots of thumbs up and went to get our bags and head over to the park where the awards ceremony was scheduled to begin 3 minutes earlier.  Has there EVER been an on-time awards ceremony in the history of road races??  Don't think so.  I asked Wendy to watch my bag for me while I jogged some more and the awards ceremony announcers stalled some more.  Staying within ear's reach of the announcer, I only got up to 18 miles total before they started the awards.  I was hoping for a couple more but after standing around and sitting for a few minutes during the awards my right achilles tendon and left ankle bone refused to run any more.  My left ankle was sporting a nice purple/blue puff-ball look after being defeated by the timing chip and my temperamental right achilles was pleading for some love (ice) after the 18 miles of punishment it had just endured.  So I called it a day and walked back to the car with Ebbe (not without him treating me to some authentic pastry from the Danish Bakery of course).

In review, I have to be happy with my race.  It was a TOUGH course on a hot, humid, and somewhat windy day.  I finished 39 seconds behind Magda and 27 seconds behind Stephanie. After the race Magdalena was saying how much she really respects that course record (she fell 87 seconds short of breaking it).  Those steep hills really took it out of my legs and I just tried to manage the best I could. I think there is a reason they don't post their elevation profile online. Considering the circumstances I am pleased with the fact that my time was a minute+ faster than my previous PR set at Bolder Boulder earlier this year.  And I came home a few pennies richer.  :)

The post-race party was fun and I met some more really cool runners.  I also enjoyed the hour long drive back to LaGuardia Airport with Andrew Carlson from Flagstaff as well as Matt Levassiur and Stephanie Bylander (with their adorable 1yo daughter) from Alamosa, CO.  I had a really funny conversation with Andrew Carlson as we were getting into the car to leave for the airport.  He put his bag in the car and said "Sorry about my BEG, its taken some abuse."  (His bag had a nice rip on the side).  As soon as I heard him pronounce BAG as BEG I thought to myself, "Hmmm, this guy is from either North or South Dakota.....I bet he knows Jessie Kindschi." Jessie is a former BYU teammate of mine with the cutest little North Dakota accent ever. So I introduced myself to Andrew and sure enough, the next words out of his mouth were, "Hey, didn't you run for BYU?  Do you know Jessie Kindschi Dorais?"  I laughed so hard!!  That is exactly what I was about to ask him!!  Come to find out Andrew had actually dated Jessie for a period of time in college before she transferred to BYU and he really had a lot of good to say about her and her husband Andy (who now live in SLC while Jessie finishes up medical school).  Anyway, just another funny "small world" experience.

Fun times!

New Haven 20K

Wow!  What a weekend! Where do I begin?

Well, I arrived in New Haven, CT on a tiny, very loud and bumpy plane Sunday afternoon at their HUGE airport of one terminal and two gates.  I was picked up at the airport by the elite athlete coordinator, JT who took me on a course tour on the way back to the hotel.  We arrived at the hotel ten minutes before an athlete meeting and I checked into my room and met my roommate, Amy Hastings.  Walked to the meeting with Amy, met and sat down next to Lauren and Zoila. Heard some info about the race, the potential to qualify for World Half Marathon Championships, the expectation to be drug free and stay on course, and well wishes from mens and women's race liaisons.  Also heard a little motivational speech by Steven Shay inspiring us to have heart and give it our all like his brother Ryan did.

Our hotel and the race start/finish was right by Yale University so it was a nice, clean spot of town.  We walked a few blocks to a delicious restaurant and enjoyed dinner and good conversation with Zoila, Lauren, Colleen, and Jeff.  After dinner, we just headed back to the hotel and went to our rooms.  I chatted with Amy for a while (super friendly and fun to talk to) and we went to bed around 9ish.  I was plenty tired from waking up early to catch my flight and the long day of travel.  Amy asked me what time I wanted to wake up (the race started at 8:40 a.m.) and I said, "oh, I'm flexible....maybe 7 a.m. What do you think?"  She looked at me a little crooked and said  "Oh....'cause I was thinking 5:30 a.m."  Haha.  Maybe this is why I'm SO often late for races!  Do I just wake up abnormally close to race start time as a general rule??  Apparently.  Anyway, I obliged to her schedule with the assurance of an on-time race arrival and we went to sleep.  The alarm went off all too soon and I woke up with a gift from the hotel bed: wicked little knot in my upper back.  Thank you hotel bed.  I really wanted that the morning of my first National Championship road race.  I immediatley went to the athlete hospitality suite (still in my pajamas, barefooted, puffy eyed, messy hair and all) to see if they had a massage therapist or chiropractor on duty yet and as I walked in to see 10+ guys and Magdalena Lewy-Boulet sipping their coffee and looking all bright eyed and sharp in their race warm ups, I sheepishly grabbed a banana and slunk right back out.  Saw JT on my way out of the room and he slapped me on the shoulder and said "WAKE UP!!"  I must have looked pretty bad...but gimme a break, its 3:30 a.m. for my body.  I asked him if there was a massage therapist and he said they were showing up at 6:30 a.m. at the outside tent by the race start.  So I went back to my room, ate my banana and Luna bar and got dressed.  Washed my face in an effort to get the puffy eyes to die down (I probably could have used some cold compress or something too).  Then I told Amy I'd see her in the tent and I headed out to find the massage therapist who finally arrived around 6:50 a.m. and I asked if he could do chiropractic adjustments because I couldn't breathe very deeply without tightness and pain.  He said "no but I do a good rub down" and was confident he could help me out.  He worked on the knot pretty good for ten minutes or so and it started to feel a little looser.  Those types of things usually take days to subside completely though, so I wasn't expecting a miracle or anything.  After that I went to sit in the tent with the other ladies who were arriving.  I met a few more runners and enjoyed chatting and laughing about the large open box with 200+ chocolate donut holes that no one was eating.  REALLY JT? (Or whomever was in charge of getting the food).  Did you really think 15 elite female runners would ever even come close to consuming 200 donut holes at any point in time that morning?  LOL.  He had the usual water, bananas, bagels, but the absurd amount of donuts were obviously out of place.

About 35 minutes before the race I went to warm up with Lauren.  We didn't talk much, both obviously dealing with our own latent nervousness (it was her first championship race too) but it was nice to at least have someone to tap along the pavement with.  Right as I finished my warm up and stopped my watch.....blank.  Dead.  No life whatsoever. Well, so much for relying upon good ol' Garmin to help me avoid the mistake of going out too fast and blowing up.  Guess I'm on my own with that one.  Tossed the watch in my bag along with my warm ups and went to the race start to do some strides and stretching.  I was actually not upset at all about the Garmin betraying me.  My naked wrist felt liberated and excited to just be forced to listen to my heart and lungs and let them dictate the pace.  On the line, Colleen and Jeff came up on each side of me; it was just like any old day doing our workout in Boulder.  We paused for the National Anthem, and then BOOM!  The cannon released us.

Pretty much all fifteen women suddenly coagulated like gel with a few "foreign bodies" (men) mixed in and the race pack was formed.  The pace felt very comfortable and I knew we were not going out "too fast."  I didn't even notice the first mile go by, but figured it must have at some point and just stayed in the middle of the cozy group.  I did see mile two at 11:03 and was comforted to know that we were averaging 5:31 pace already (a pace I was not afraid to go after).  The pack still probably had nine or ten of us there with the race favorites near the front.  The miles seemed to pass quickly and I felt smooth and comfortable.  My tummy did start to get a little upset around mile four but it was negligible.  The gremlin hiding in between my rhomboid and trapezius was not complaining too much either, thank goodness.  A couple of girls tried to change up the pace and take off into the lead at times, but the group absorbed them again pretty quickly.   As the miles passed I tried not to let the fact that I was PRing in every distance from 4 miles on up throw me into mental doubt and fear of the coming miles.  When we came by 10K in 34:00 I still felt reasonably comfortable in the pack and realized it had shrunk down to only five women with Magda, Amy, and Stephanie working it at the front and me content to sit back and watch the race develop.  My stomach started to complain a little louder and I had to work harder to mentally suppress the discomfort.

Just after mile seven I took about 100 calories of EFS liquid shot and some water, hoping it might settle my stomach or at least just give me some insurance for the final miles of the race.  At that point it was down to Magdalena and Stephanie with me hanging on their heels still...but not for long.  The 8 mile marker seemed to slap Magda in the pants or something as she just took off and dropped us like flies.  Stephanie responded a little better than I did, but I tried to keep the gap as tight as I could.  In Magda's post race interview she said she just ran a 5:06 mile on mile 8 and then went back to the pace we had been doing which means Stephanie and I must have been falling off pace too because Magda finished 57 seconds ahead of me and 45 seconds ahead of Stephanie.

Anyway, the last few miles consisted of me getting stomach cramps, mentally commanding them to leave, feeling okay for a few minutes, getting worse stomach cramps, groaning in my head, praying for strength, wanting to stop and relieve myself in the gutter but not wanting to embarrass the spectators or myself even more, keeping my focus on Stephanie so she wouldn't distance me even more, imagining Amy coming up behind me and kicking past me while laying everything on the line so that wouldn't happen, praying again that I wouldn't have an embarrassment in my shorts while willing my stomach to behave, and finally seeing the finish line and jumping for joy (in my head) as the crowd carried me home.

It was a very long last couple of miles, to say the least.  But finally, that mental anguish came to an end and I was rewarded with extreme mental relief and elation.  My teammate Jeff had finished 20 seconds ahead of me and was the first to give me a sweaty hug and high five.  Then I got some water, talked to the runnerspace.com guys and congratulated a few runners.  Had a funny conversation with Kim Keenan-Kirkpacktric, the race liaison who was in the truck helping the guys film the race.  She asked me a little bit about myself and told me how they were frantically searching online for any info they could find on me including the pronunciation of my name since I was obviously a dark horse, yet was up there running with the leaders until mile eight.  Haha.  I told her honestly I was just as surprised as she was to see myself in the final three.  It was unfortunate how so many top ladies had an off day today.  Amy, Colleen, Tera, Zoila, and others all felt "off."  Zoila put it into words so well in her post race interview.  She said something to the effect of, each race is like receiving a gift.  You have to unwrap it to see what is inside and sometimes its something you really like and other times its not.  You can't dictate what comes though.  You just have to accept it and do the best you can with it.  I've had plenty of those days.  And I've been overcome and defeated plenty of times.  Today was not one of them.  Today I received the gift of a much welcomed and appreciated huge breakthrough to give me the confidence and experience to keep my competitive flame burning bright.  Others were not so lucky and had one of those days every runner has to experience, evaluate, and learn from.  Its part of the journey.  I am just feeling so grateful right now that God allowed me to feel that breakthrough feeling today and gave me that gift of endurance and strength to get me through even though I had obstacles I was threatened by.    Keep pushing through!  Breakthroughs will come and they will be SO worth it when they do!

Hobblecreek Half Marathon

Woke up at 5 a.m. ate a granola bar and half a peach. Drove with Ashley and Sarah to Mapleton City Park and got on a bus around 5:45 a.m. The school bus driver was half asleep (bed head and all) and made a left turn instead of going right up the canyon but a few of the runners promptly corrected him and we got back on track after a long slow multi-point turn in the quiet, dark, early morning streets of Mapleton.

Got to the race start around 6:45 a.m. and did a pit stop in the trees and a very slow two mile warm up. Enjoyed hanging out at the start chatting with Lindsey, Amber, Melody, JulieC (thanks for coming up to say hi!), Cynthia (former Weber State competitor I haven't seen in YEARS), and others. Did a few strides to keep warm and the race finally started at 7:53 a.m.

Not wanting to go out super fast on the downhill and blow my quads out, I started off conservatively and relaxed. I told Lindsey at the start I was not going to go out with her and I was not interested in potentially blowing up at the end, having never run that downhill of a race and never run faster than 1:19 in a half. So as the gun went off I watched Lindsey fly off with the men and enjoyed running with Amber for close to two miles, chatting with her about life and running. I did not get lap splits based on the race mile markers, but my garmin says my first two miles were 5:41 and 5:35.

Side note**I noticed right off that my Garmin and the race mile markers were not in agreement but I didn't really care to push my lap button every time, so all I have is the auto lap data from my watch, which actually only measured the course at 12.85 miles. After talking to other Garmin wearers at the finish many of them said the signal in the canyon was pretty weak and their watches were loosing signal here and there. One guy said that before he decided to fly up from Phoenix for the race he actually called USATF to confirm that the race course was a certified half-marathon distance and they assured him it had been certified on July 6th, so even though most of our watches measured .2-.25 mile short, I guess I have to trust that the race was certified and maybe the Garmins were just having a bad day. Anyway, back to the race...

After a couple of miles my legs really started to feel warm and quick so I started picking up the pace. Next few miles were 5:19, 5:17, 5:17, 5:20 as I passed a few guys.

Mile seven was a little slower (5:36) because I slowed for the water station and almost gagged on my Gu, but eventually got it down.

Mile 8 was 5:23 then the course came up out of the canyon path onto the road and mile 9 was a little slower at 5:42

After a mental low point at Mile 9, I looked up and saw Lindsey off in the distance. This helped me regain my focus and feel inspired by the fact that Lindsey was out there working hard and running strong. I felt happy for her since it was clear that she was just minutes away from achieving her goal of winning and breaking the course record. Miles 10-13 were less downhill and harder to keep the intensity up but seeing Lindsey out there motivated me to push hard and try and reel her in a little (even though I knew it was virtually impossible to make up the minute+ gap she had on me). The next few miles were 5:31, 5:36, 5:34, 5:37. At one point about a half mile from the finish I realized that I was on pace for sub 1:11. This thought seemed unreal and pretty much blew my mind at the time because going into the race the best I possibly imagined myself capable of was in the 1:13 range. I kept feeling myself getting closer to Lindsey and the finish line. The race spectators and excitement near the finish as she set the course record gave me the chills. As I crossed the finished line and congratulated Lindsey she seemed startled to see me so soon after she had finished. To be honest, I was a little shocked too as I hadn't planned or even dreamed of running that fast of a time. We laughed and enjoyed the moment. Lindsey's family quickly gathered around her with smiles and congrats and we saw and spoke with Allie and Lily too. The fact that I had just run sub 1:11 wasn't sinking in. Mostly because it just felt too good and also because I was kind-of irritated that my watch said 12.85 miles. The Anal Type A personality part of me wanted to just keep the watch running and sprint another .25 mile. I resisted though, and went to the food tent for some watermelon and chocolate milk instead. Since I had planned to make this my long run day as well, I took off for another 5 miles with Allie and Lily. We ran back up the race course and saw JulieC (breaking the rules with her earphones still in), my former teammate Melissa Teemant, Cynthia, Melody, a couple of barefoot runners whom we hooted an hollered for, and my sister-in-laws, Ashley and Emily. My legs were pretty dead; I was relying solely on adrenaline, which was starting to fade. I was ready to sit down and eat some food, which is just what I did. The awards ceremony was way late but I enjoyed sitting and chatting with Allie, Lily, and Ashley. We laughed at the 4 or 5 lost children the race announcer kept describing and trying to find parents for. I felt grateful that my kids were safe at Grandma's house playing with their cousins.

After the awards, Ashley and I went back to Kristen's for a quick shower and I headed north to pick up my kids in Layton, have lunch with my family, and get back on the road for home. I met Aaron and Craig (Jun) at a little burger joint in Mountain View, WY where we ate greasy food and heard all about their Quest for King's Peak. Then Aaron and I pressed on for the remaining 6.5 hour drive home. It was a super fun trip and we both had awesome races. I am very encouraged with my time and pleased with how strong I felt. I feel SO grateful for a healthy, efficient body and SO grateful for my very supportive and loving circle of family and friends. Life is good!

Freeman Myre Elite 5K

Ran the elite criterion section of the Freeman Myer Corporate Challenge 5K this evening.  Companies organized teams and competed against each other to prove who had the most fit corporate team and I guess the elite race was the entertainment for the night because after the corporate teams finished, they all had food and drinks in hand while cheering on the elites.  They started the elite men's race one minute before the elite women's race, which I was kind-of disappointed by because starting with the men would have added more depth and more competition for us but as it was there were only six women in our elite women's race.  SIX!



The course was back and forth on one road with a cone at each end where we turned around.  Three laps slightly over a mile each as flat as a pancake with a mild puff in the middle.  Exactly one minute after the men took off, we went out pretty fast as well.  Five of us were pretty close for the first mile.

My watch said 5:15 at mile one, but the race announcer said we came through in 5:20.  I'm not certain their mile markers were exactly correct because a few of the guys I talked to after the race said their garmins measured a bit short for the overall distance and so did mine.

Benita and Fiona take the early lead.  Nuta, Michele and I hang on through the first mile.

Benita, Fiona, Nuta, and Me just after mile one

During Mile two, I lost a few seconds on Benita and Fiona but had also gained a few seconds on Nuta.  (An Aussie, a Kiwi, a Romanian, and Me ;)  I kept trying to hang on to Benita and Fiona to see if one of them would drop off so I could fight for another spot but they had gained a few meters on me.  Mile two garmin split was 5:29

Mile three was the toughest as I started to feel that beloved high-altitude, "probably went out too fast" oxygen debt kicking in.   Benita and Fiona were battling for first and I was trying to keep them as close as possible and hang on for a PR.  Garmin says 5:36 for mile three.

The final .07 was a 4:35 pace sprint to the finish knowing that I had secured third place and just trying to get the best time I could.  I had a happy moment of joy as I was sprinting to the finish and this old guy in a 10 year old USA track warm-up suit (the same one I got after Jr. Nationals years ago) yelled "GO BYU!!" at me as I ran past him.  Apparently he was the former CU Cross Country coach and had just been chatting with Aaron about how I ran at BYU and how he knew Patrick Shane well.  Anyway, it made me smile and helped pass the final seconds.

So the overall results were

Benita Willis 16:21    $400

Fiona Docherty 16:29    $300

Me 16:41   $250

Nuta Olaru 17:16      $200

Michele Suszek  17:54     $150

After the race I said hi to Aaron and the kids, chatted with a few of the elite guys and noticed Benita and the men's winner, Andrew taking off for their cool down.  I ran up to them and asked them if they'd mind me tagging along and they were very welcoming and kind.  So I ended up cooling down with Benita and getting to know her better.  She is a very sweet person; friendly and super easy to talk to.  Learned that she has been in four Olympic games for Australia and has run a 2:22 marathon.  Benita and I barely got back in time for the awards and chatted for a few more minutes, then I found Aaron and we gathered our kids and left.

I am super happy with the race and how well it went even though I probably should have run more even splits.  Maybe if we would have had started with the guys I would have had more people around and would have been persuaded to run a more realistic pace from the start.  And maybe not.  Hard to say.  Maybe the course was a tad short but even if it was it is still a huge PR for me in the 5K (previously 17:27).  I'm really happy that I was able to be pulled to a fast time by some cool veterans and enjoy a fun, fast race close to home.

Blacksmith Fork Canyon Freedom Run 15K

After the Fast Running Blog get-together at Scott Ensign's house last night, we slept in his basement.  Allie came over at 6 a.m. and we all drove to the race start together.  Had a little mix-up with Scott's neighbor whom we thought was going to give us a ride, so after waiting for him for a bit we ended up just going up in Allie's car and parking quickly so we could pick up our race bibs and get somewhat of a warm-up.  I jogged around for about 5 minutes, did a couple of strides, and visited a tree (since the porta-pot lines were too long.)  Lined up on the start line with Paul, Allie, Scott and others.  Temp was pretty chilly since the sun was still behind the mountain but once we got running I warmed up pretty quickly.

Mile 1- 5:53 Legs were resisting the pace a bit.  Some tightness in my hips and quads.

Mile 2- 5:56 Still trying to get moving.

Mile 3- 5:50 Slight downhill helps.

Mile 4- 5:44 Okay, now the legs are submitting to my will (after that 5k warm-up).

Mile 5- 5:30 Quite a bit of dowhnill, some headwind.  I followed a guy in a blue jersey and imagined a pony tail on him to motivate me to race him. Then I looked down at his legs and the hairy poof just made it really hard to imagine him female.

Mile 6- 5:38 Still some headwind and downhill.

Mile 7- 5:50 First half of this mile was downhill, second half was pretty steep uphill

Mile 8- 5:52 Still pushing up the steep hill.  Crested the hill and had a half mile of flat brought my pace back down.

Mile 9- 5:30 Gradual downhill, one intersection with no officer directing traffic.  I was lucky there were no cars because I ran a red light.

Final .3- 5:18 pace Little more downhill and a sprint to the finish.

After I finished I drank a couple of cups of Gatorade and jogged up to run Allie and Ruth in.  Aaron was taking pictures of everyone and Scott's wife, Karen was helping keep an eye on our kids (who kept raiding the post-race food and gatorade).  FRB-ers did really well!! Lots of PRs and overall/age group wins.  After chatting with bloggers (Paul, Jon, Cody, Scott, Allie, Ruth, Dave) for a bit Aaron left with Cody to go mountain running and Karen watched my kids so I could do a little cool down with Allie and Ruth.  I am very pleased with the race.  That was my first time racing 15K; it is such a fun distance to race!  Its just long enough to really get into a groove and feel good without getting too fatigued.  I didn't need any liquid or gu in the race so there were no distractions and no tummy/bowel problems.  Super fun race!

The kids were enjoying themselves at the playground nearby while we waited for the awards/raffle.  After all the runners finished we sat down and listened to the awards.  Milliseconds timing group had a little confusion since they had not gotten the finish line pad down until after the first 6-8 runners had already finished so they were asking us our finish times (its a good thing most runners time themselves).  They gave fireworks to the kids and a nice pottery bowl trophy to the overall/age group placers plus lots of raffle prizes.  Just after Scott was complaining that he never wins anything in those raffles he was proven wrong when they called his name and gave him a free backpack.

After that I gave Allie and Dave S. a ride back to their car up the canyon at the race start and went back to Scott's house to shower and get our stuff while we waited for Aaron.  Karen made some yummy sausages and hot dogs for lunch and we hung out for a couple more hours until Aaron returned and we left for our family get-togethers.

We had such a fun time in Cache Valley and are really grateful for Scott and Karen Ensign's kind hospitality and generosity in hosting us for the night, feeding us and helping with our kids.  It was really fun to get to know lots of bloggers better and race as a way of celebrating our Freedom and this great Country in which we live.

70 miles!

I have never been a high-mileage chick.  In high school I ran ran a 2:10 800M and 5:05 1600M with 25-30 miles a week in training.  My ability to race well on low mileage was one of the biggest reasons why my college Cross Country Coach, Patrick Shane was excited about my potential. He knew I hadn't been over-trained or burned out and I could run fast on, well basically talent.   Even in college he didn't feel the need to have me doing mass mileage.  I mostly hovered around the 45-50 miles per week range, hitting 55 miles per week maybe 3 times in four years while training for my specialty, the 3,000M Steeplechase.  Now that I'm training for a little bit longer of a race (only 24 miles longer, no big deal) I've gradually been building up my weekly mileage and today's run concludes my first 70 mile week ever!  I have to admit that 70 miles did make me feel a bit more tired throughout the week but luckily I was able to sneak in a few naps and get pretty good sleep at night, which helped a lot.  My left achilles is feeling better than it has in weeks and my right shin was a little tight earlier in the week but after self-massaging it every day and trying to loosen up that calf, its actually feeling quite a bit better too.  I'm very pleased with how well it has responded to self massage and daily icing.

So for today's workout, I met Running Republic at Tom Watson Park for some intervals around Boulder Res.

20 min warm up, stretching, strides

6X45second quick stride hills (5:15-5:40 pace, started off slower and got faster as I warmed up)

2.5 minutes easy

10 minutes at controlled tempo pace (6:00 pace)

3 minutes easy

3X3 minutes at 10k effort (6:17 pace; first one was uphill and I'm starting to overheat in the sun after the 10 minute tempo, 5:36 pace back down the hill, 5:53 pace on pretty flat mild uphill on the last one)

As soon as the intervals were over we were all super hot and the reservoir was right there calling our names so we jogged on over and took a swim.  Everyone had their shoes off and was at least waist deep in the lake, most of us fully submerged which felt SOOO nice.

Then we did a 12 minute cool down which felt great with the slight breeze and wet running clothes.

When I got back to my car I drank my 24 oz water bottle within seconds.  I also stopped at a gas station on the drive home to get another 30 oz of liquid.  Nothing like a good quench after a hot run.

Sunday family time

Took a pleasant nap after Church while the girls napped and Aaron played board games with Abe.  Then we all went for a bike ride down to a small lake about a mile from our house.  Our five year old, Abe was riding pretty fast but says he's still not quite ready for us to take his training wheels off.  Then he decided he wanted to put his bike in my trailer and run with his sister, Breanne.  They ran around the lake trails and of course baby Ali just HAD to get out and join them too.  They were all still pretty pumped up about their first race yesterday and just loved running around the trails.  Breanne ran about 1.3 miles and Abe ran about a mile and biked another couple miles.  Ali ran about a half mile.  She kept resisting my suggestions to get back in the bike seat even after it started to rain a bit and Abe and Breanne had left us and gone ahead with Aaron so I just biked slowly next to her while she ran up the hill in the warm rain.  Its so fun to see our kids get excited about running and enjoy doing it together as a family.

Joe Colton Off Road Run

Enjoyed camping in the canyon where todays race was held (apparently also a very busy train route).  When the 3rd train of the night woke us up around 4:30 a.m., Aaron just got up and went running.  The kids slept another couple of hours and at 6:30 a.m. we all woke up and ate breakfast.  Aaron got back 30 minutes later and we hiked around a little bit to warm up (the temp was still in the low 40s) and broke camp.  Drove the 7 miles down the canyon to the race start and I got out to get my race bib and shirt.  Saw Tony (my teammate), made a potty stop, and ran a 1 mile warm-up. Stretched for a few minutes, did one stride, and chatted with Nuta (whom I've now raced three times and am well aware of her speed).  I asked her if she was doing the 10 mile or the 15 mile and she said 15 (I knew from last year's results that she had won the 10 mile course in 6:12 pace).  She asked if I had run it before and I said no, so she told me a bit about the course, warning me about the tough final two miles before the turn around and wishing me luck.  She said she has done quite a few training runs on that road because it is great for altitude training on a hilly but smooth road.  After running the race, I can attest to the fact that it is very challenging course and could be strengthening if run often.



The race started around 9 a.m. and I felt pretty comfortable with Nuta for a couple of miles.

Mile 1 - 6:19 Little bit rolling, net uphill though

Mile 2 - 6:31 Little more uphill

My heart rate started to go up and my respiratory rate was obviously faster than Nuta's so I decided I'd better be smart and not kill myself in the first quarter of the race.  Slowly let Nuta go.  After all, I had a lot of climbing to do and I'm not exactly "hill trained."

Mile 3 - 6:37 more climbing

Mile 4 - 6:44 still climbing, took a gu at the aid station right before mile 5

Mile 5 - 6:37 seems to be a theme here...climbing, climbing, climbing

Mile 6- 6:23 little less climbing

Mile 7 - 7:30 serious climbing (200 ft gain in this mile) respiratory rate shot through the roof

Mile 8 - 6:33 the mild climb equalled itself out because 7.5 mile point was the turn-around.  Nuta had a solid minute on me at the turn-around but I still wanted to give a good effort in catching her and I knew I had a steep downhill mile ahead of me so I tried to use the momentum to see if I could reel her in a bit.

Mile 9 - 5:37 (200 ft drop) At the end of this mile my legs were really throbbing from the pace change and hammering down the hill.  Nuta seemed to be just as far ahead of me, if not farther and I decided again to just run my own race and not kill myself to try and catch her.  I could have decided to run beyond my pain threshold and blow my quads out trying to catch her and then probably still fallen short.

Mile 10 - 6:11 What goes up must come down and I'm really appreciating the downhill at this point.  Took another gu at mile 10 aid station.

Mile 11 - 6:10 more down

Mile 12 - 6:26 starting to feel pretty fatigued here.  My quads were pretty much screaming at me and my head was starting to feel a little dizzy with the heat and sun, so I pulled back on the throttle a bit.

Mile 13 - 6:23 ran by the river and enjoyed the cool air coming off the water totally unaware of anyone else around me and just enjoying the beauty of the canyon

Mile 14 - 6:18 just keep moving forward.  Tired though.

Mile 15 - 6:30 rolling but net downhill.  I'm completely spent. Apparently I went out a little too fast because this mile was faster going up the hill than coming back down at the end.  Oh well.  I'm just glad to be finished.

Total time - 1:36:53 (6:30 AP) with around 800 ft elevation gain/loss

Saw Bean and Dianne (more teammates) at the finish.  Dianne had run the 10 miler and Bean is injured but came up to hike around and cheer.  Tony came in around 1:50 and we whined together about the intense 7th mile heartbreak hill.

Nuta finished about 2 minutes ahead of me, so she had put another minute on me on the downhill. Overall I was very pleased with my effort considering my lack of hill training.  It was also the longest run I have done in a couple of months, so I'm pretty happy with how my body held up.

About 15 minutes after I finished, Aaron and I grabbed the kids and did the family fun run together (1 mile).  Aaron ran with Abe and Breanne and I walked, ran with, and carried Ali.  Ali and I actually turned around at the quarter mile check-point just as Abe passed us at his 3/4 mile check-point.  We did our half mile in about the same time as Breanne and Aaron finished their 1 mile.  Abe ran the whole way and finished strong.



Breanne ran with Aaron and kept telling him how much fun she was having and how cool it was to run her first "race."  The kids all got little finisher's medals and toy prizes, which they loved.  We ate some post-race grub and stayed for the awards ceremony (I got a $25 gift card to Boulder Running Company and a Timex watch).  Fun day!

Missing Dad

7 miles in 7:30 pace

The prarie dog near mile four perched up on his mound and gave me an enthusiastic wave as if to say "top of the morning to you!"  Finally after a year of running past his home three or four mornings a week he's decided to be neighborly.

Around mile six I saw an older gentleman who's sharp white and black facial hair and jaw line suddenly reminded me of my Dad.  My heart sank as I started wishing I could go hiking with my Dad, see him cheering for me at the end of a race, or just sit down and chat with him.  The last time I was able to do any of those things was three years ago before he passed away.  At least I still have lots of good memories and thoughts of him.  I miss him.

Bolder Boulder 10K

Finished 2nd place female in the Citizen's race with a time of 35:50.  This is my 10K PR!!  Well, actually I may have run faster than that in a Deseret News 10K back in high school or college but that doesn't count since that race is super downhill.  The Bolder Boulder is much more legit.  The finish is actually higher elevation than the start.  Not to mention the whole thing is over a Mile High elevation.

Picked up the babysitter at 5:50 a.m. (what a Saint she was to wake up so early on her holiday).  Drove to Boulder and parked at Scott Carpenter Park in between the Start and Finish lines.  Jogged 2 miles with Aaron and wiggled our way through the crowds to the start.  Didn't have time or space to run strides but stretched out a little as we waited 5 minutes for the start.  The race went out fast since the first three quarters of a mile is downhill.  I had to restrain myself to not go faster because I really wanted to run even splits (the most efficient way to run).

Mile 1 in 5:42

I had no idea how many women were ahead of me at this point but I assumed it was a good handful and I didn't really care either because I was just running my race at my pace.

Mile 2 in 5:46

Felt pretty good, starting to get into a rhythm running with all men around me. Passed one gal that obviously went out too fast.

Mile 3 in 5:54

Some elevation gain in this mile.  Just trying to keep my effort even.  Passed another woman.

Mile 4 in 5:43

Coach D caught me near the beginning of this mile and seeing him motivated me to keep pushing forward.  Passed another woman somewhere in here.  The elevation went up some and down some. The elevation profile for this course is pretty much never flat.

Mile 5 in 5:41

Caught another woman just as we reached the highest point of the course but she did her best to stick to my tail.  I visualized this mile in my head last night as I was falling to sleep because I really wanted to push through this part and knew the downhill could help me, so it ended up being my fastest mile at 5:41.

Mile 6 in 5:52

The girl I caught is still hanging on to me for dear life and at one point someone yelled to us, "Good Job!  You're the 2nd and 3rd women!"  I was pleasantly surprised because I didn't know we were that high up.  The 1st place woman was nowhere in sight, but I just kept pushing to the finish giving it all I had.

Final .2 in 1:12 (6:00 pace)

Just trying to hang on at this point.  One last steep hill up to the stadium pretty much wipes out my legs and a dying sprint to the finish on the track is all I have left.  Whew!

Found out that the leader came through in 35:12 and 3rd place was 36:02, all three of us local Coloradoans!  Touched base with Coach D (35:20, 1st in AG) and Jeff (35:37) while I waited for Aaron.  I'm super happy with that time considering it is a PR for me and it was a challenging course at altitude.  I gave it all I had and feel really grateful that it went so well.  Aaron had a great race too, finishing under 40 minutes with basically no road training for this race (and running in his VFF sprints!)  We saw Scott afterwards too, and Aaron took this pic on his cell phone.  Now I'm looking forward to the team BBQ this evening at the De Reuck's to share race stories and hear how all the RRBs did.  Good times!

Dinner and a hike

A.M. 8.5 miles in 7:38 pace

Legs feeling pretty good.  Aaron and I went on a fun date in Boulder last night.  Went to dinner at The Mediterranean (highly recommended delicious restaurant) and hiked Mt. Sanitas (nice little 3 mile loop).  Mt. Sanitas is a pretty rocky climb for the first mile up and second mile down, then we ended up running the last mile or so down the smooth (but pretty steep) path. Super fun date; way better than the boring old dinner and a movie idea.

The speed is coming back!

10 miles in 7:31 pace

Met the group at East Boulder Community park

20 minute warm up, stretching, strides

4X45 seconds in 5:25, 5:19, 5:32, 5:27 pace w/ 75 seconds recovery jog between each

4X2 minutes in 5:45, 5:58, 5:27, 5:33 pace (first two were slight uphill, second two slight downhill) w/ 90 seconds recovery jog between each

2X4 minutes in 6:16, 5:47 pace (first was slight uphill, second was slight downhill) w/ 2 min. recovery jog between each

4X60 seconds in 5:25, 5:13, 5:42, 5:11 pace (every other slight up or downhill) w/ 60 second jog in between

20 minute cool down

Colleen lead the group again today and she did the workout in full effort with us instead of taking it easy.  Dang she is fast!  I stayed somewhat close to her on the 45 second intervals but I was a good 20-40 strides behind on the longer intervals.  Simon, the tri coach who brings his tri group to workout sometimes was there too.  He is coming back from injury and this was his first interval workout in a few months.  It was fun to watch him kill himself to stay with Colleen.  I guess he was being a gentleman to run ahead and open the gates for the group but surely he pushing it so hard so as to not let a woman beat him too.  It was funny, near the end of the intervals he started walking on the recovery jogs and Colleen reminded him that he should be jogging.  He was obviously spent.

I felt pretty good.  The speed is coming back.

Crested Butte

9.5 miles in 7:12 pace

Got my run in first thing because I always feel the best right when I wake up.  20 minute warm-up, stretching, strides.

7 X 1000M repeats in 3:41, 3:39, 3:44, 3:40, 3:40, 3:47, 3:44 (5:50-6:03 min/mile pace)

The cool down was all uphill back to my hotel at the resort and I was about ready to stop my watch and walk up the final half mile of 12% grade slope when Aaron came to offer me a ride after he had finished his mountain run.  I gladly accepted.

We did some Yoga X (I only made it through about 15 minutes before I decided to just roll out on the foam roller and relax).  Then we took a little nap and afterwards drove 30 minutes to Gunnison for some SWEET mountain biking.  Biked for an hour and a half or so.  I was pretty tired near the end, as you can see in the video.  Its always the last run of the day when things like this happen.

Beautiful Saturday to enjoy Boulder

10 miles in 7:29 ave. pace

Met my team at Fairview High School track for some track intervals.

Warmed up 20 minutes, stretching, strides

4X (400 M w/ 1 min. jog, 800 M w/2 min jog, 400 M) 2 min jog between sets

400 M intervals were between 79-87 seconds each

800 M. intervals were between 2:51-2:59 each

20 minute cool down

Took a nap this afternoon and then took the kids hiking in Boulder around 4 p.m.  They LOVED being out in the wilderness exploring.  Afterwards we went to an Ethiopian restaurant for dinner just to try something new and different.  I was pretty impressed with the fact that all three of my kids actually tried and liked some of the food!

Did some push, pull, sit-ups when we got home.

Push: 4X25

Pull: 4X10

Sit: 4X50

Weak hips

6.46 miles in 8:18 pace

Hamstring felt a little more tight after my workout yesterday so I just took it really slow today.  Felt good once I warmed up though!  I'm going to see Richey the ART guy to get it worked on again today and probably again on Friday.

I think I'll go to the gym today at 4:00 and lift weights.  I've been trying to do some hip exercises and evidently I have very weak hips because one of the exercises is to write the alphabet with your leg and I couldn't even get  to O with my left leg.  Hmmm no wonder my right hamstring is over compensating.

Short Hills

9.8 miles in 7:48 pace

Met Running Republic at East Boulder Community Park.  Arrived a few minutes early so I could get some dynamic stretching in. Cold 17 degrees, but once the sun came up...so BEAUTIFUL!!

20 minute warm-up, stretching, strides

4X30 second short hills/jog down recovery

4X3 minutes steady/90 seconds easy

4X90 seconds fast/60 seconds easy

4X30 seconds short hills/jog down recovery. Surprise! We got to do one more since one of our teammates didn't run all the way through the 4th one

Hamstring felt pretty good throughout the workout.  The finial 5X30 second short hills were the hardest because its accelerating that causes it to work.  Once I get set in my pace, hamstring just does its job.  So the 3 minute intervals were felt great because there was less stopping and starting.

10 minute cool down

2010 Goals

6 miles in 7:45 pace

Did 7 strides throughout the run.  It was pretty windy this morning!  The uphill miles were into the wind and the downhill miles with the wind at my back.  Would have been nice to swap that.  Oh well, I can't control the uncontrolables.  Hamstring felt pretty good.

I met with Coach D tonight for some one on one goal-setting.   We talked for over an hour and formulated a plan for how I'd like my year to go.  Here's the run-down (pun intended):

Saturday, March 20th: National Half-Marathon in Washington D.C.

• Aaron will watch the kids for the weekend while I make a quick trip out to race at sea-level and PR


• Darren is going to contact the race director and see if he can get me a comped entry and hotel.


• Goal pace: 5:50 per mile=1:16:30 (should put me in the running for a top 5 finish and some prize money).

Monday, April 19th: Boston Marathon

• Go out at 6:15 pace for the first 10 miles and then see what I have (Darren suggests I save my legs for the second half because the race "really begins" when the hills get rolling near mile 16 and I want to be able to push the pace there instead of at the beginning.)  If I'm feeling great, bring the pace down closer to 6:00 and go for 2:40


• Very realistic goal is 6:15 ave pace for 2:43:30


• Enjoy my first Boston experience!!

Monday, May 31st: Bolder Boulder

• Run the team competition with Running Republic


• Depending on how recovered I am from Boston, shoot for at least 5:56 pace, 36:50

June-September

• Summer Training, certainly some summer racing, another meeting to re-evaluate goals and look forward to another Fall Marathon

Tentative Fall Marathon: Saturday, October 16th: Baltimore Marathon

• 6:03 pace = 2:38:37 Olympic Trials "A" Standard

So there are my running goals for the year!!  I'm excited to go out and make them happen!!

On my way back!!

10.51 miles in 7:59 pace

WAHOO!!!  After lots of rest, recovery, ART therapy, massage, ice, and patience, I was able to do a workout today!!!  I met my running group at the Fairview High School track in Boulder and we did 800 M. repeats together.  I met Richey, my ART guy a few minutes before workout started and he showed me some good warm-up drills he calls dynamic stretching.  He works with the people who formulated these drills and is a big believer in their injury prevention/healing effects.

After our drills, we did 20 minute warm-up with the group, stretching and strides.

Then 8X800 at 10k pace.  I went with a slower group than I normally go with since I am just coming back and need to take it easy for a while.

Our 800 M. repeats were 3:14, 3:15, 3:17, 3:11, 3:13, 3:04, 3:06, 3:05 with 2:30 jogging in between each

The pace felt GREAT and I was just feeling SO grateful to be out there running fast and getting my heart going again!!!

We then did a 15 minute cool down and I did some more dynamic stretching with Richey.

Watch out, Boston...I'm on my way back!

ART - Active Release Technique

5 miles in 8:04 pace

While searching for some motivation I found this article written by Ryan Hall that is really cool.  What a great perspective he has.

My hamstring is feeling a little bit better every day.  I'm getting ART done on it again today.

Just because I eat a lot doesn't mean I'm a nutrition expert

5 miles in 8:20 pace

Aaron has a busy couple of days with the county auctions today and tomorrow.  He was up until 2 a.m. last night analyzing house values and deciding what he would bid on in Adams and Boulder County.  He'll probably be up late again tonight doing the same thing for Denver County.  He was kind enough to watch the kids last night while I went to the Church to speak to a Young Women's group about Nutrition (I'm pretty sure my friend Allie would have done a better job).  My friend Marcia was the one who asked me to present on nutrition. I think because of a conversation we had a couple of months ago when she asked me about my diet and I told her I eat 6 times a day. She must have been impressed that I am not the size of a whale and thought that must mean I know about nutrition.  But just because I eat a lot doesn't mean I'm a nutrition expert. I know more about running than nutrition.  It was fun preparing and presenting though. I know more now than I did before.

Aaron's watching the kids again tonight while I assist with the set-up and take-down of a Relief Society meeting.  I made some yummy chili in my crock-pot to contribute, but I'm going to set some aside for Aaron and the kids to eat for dinner too.  Smells YUMMY in my kitchen right now.

Anyway, this busy couple of days for Aaron is why I just took the kids to the gym this morning for my workout; so Aaron could sleep in and then get right to work when he woke up.

Lifted weights after running.  Hamstring felt okay after about two miles but its a little sore now.  I'll cross train again tomorrow.  It is slowly getting better each day, but I don't want to overdo it and set myself back.