Halloween Half Marathon

Today I ran my 2nd half marathon....the Halloween Half in Provo. I met up with a friend from high school, Mendy, and ran with her group. We were the Flinstones. I was Betty. The course was very scenic. Loved running past Bridal Falls. I met lots of new friends today.

I met a man named Bart.
His father pushes him through lots of marathons, half's, 5k's and 10k's. I felt very blessed to have met him and his dad.

My friend Mindy and I arrived in Provo about 6:30 pm, and went straight to the University Mall for our packet pickup. I visited with some of the other runners in line. Met a guy from Brigham City, and his first half was the Smithfield Not your Mamma's half! We talked about that, and how it was uphill and a hard course. When I finally got to the area to pick up my stuff and guess who I ran into???? TIMMY!!! The MC swim coach's son. It was so fun to see him, as he graduated last year and is going to BYU right now.
Timmy and his sister Nikki were running this race also.

After packet pick up, we were both starving, so we headed to Noodles & Co. for dinner. I love Noodles! I had the Tomato Penne Rosa with Parmesan Crusted Chicken. mmmmmmm. While we were eating, I received a phone call from Mendy. They were just pulling into town and headed to pick up their packets. We met up with her and her group after we finished eating. It was fun to meet new friends, and to see Mendy again. I haven't seen her for 20 years! She had bought a "lot" of Flinstone costumes, so we went through them and found 2 that Mindy and I could use.

Mindy and I finally got back to our hotel around 10:30. By the time that we got all of our running stuff situated for in the morning and turned out the lights, it was 11:58!! Our alarm was going to go off at 4:30 am, as we were going to meet up with everyone at 5:15 to get on the bus.

Our bus was a really nice one. Not a school bus. It was like a really nice greyhound bus. We were on the 3rd bus, and we started to head up to Sundance at 5:24 am.
So far, so good. I tried to rest on the bus, as I didn't sleep very good, if at all. I took some yogurt and homemade granola to eat for breakfast up at the starting area. I looked out the window every now and then. One of the times I looked out we were passing a resort/hotel area. I figured this was Sundance. Our bus kept going. We were on a very narrow, one lane width, windy road. The tree branches were scraping the bus. I kind of looked out the side windows and the front of the bus, and I see another bus coming down the road. "MMM, are we going to back down this road?" I am thinking.
The bus comes to a stop, and bus driver 1,2, and 3 get out for a "conference." He comes back in and we all get off the bus, and start walking down this really dark road. No moon. No stars. No light to help us see where the crap we are going. We get to the "resort" looking place and wander up a grass hill, and low and behold............there is the "tent." Was nice to finally arrive at the starting tent. There were heaters inside, which was really nice. I had brought a plastic bag to sit on, and a fleece blanket with me. Glad I did, as the ground was cold, so I sat on the blanket. I ate my breakfast about this time.


As more and more runners arrive the atmosphere in the tent was really positive.

There was a costume contest. Two categories, individual and group.
Our group took 4th place. The winning group was dressed up as minions from "Despicable Me." They were really funny looking. They took a well deserved 1st place! After the costume contest, it was about time for the first wave of runners to start, so the tent cleared out. It was this time that I was feeling cold. I am sure with all the bodies in that area it was keeping me warm. We had 20 minutes before our start time, so I started eating my protein bar, drank a little bit of a cocacola, and headed to the honey buckets for my last pit stop.


As I said, there were starting waves of runners. One group for those who planned to finish before 2.10 and the other group. Obviously, I was in the 2nd wave.
My goal was to be better than 2.30. Was hoping for 2.20. I go get in line w/my Flinstone buddies, but I wanted to see what the 2.30 pacer looked like. I wanted to make sure that I was ahead of her. She was wearing a hawaiian outfit. So as long as she didn't pass me, I figured I would be ok. I hear people counting down, and realize that I had not started my GARMIN!!! AAAUUGGHH. I click start, and it is searching, searching, searching for a sattelite signal. FINALLY get it, and then I cross the start line. As I am running, all of sudden my watch beeps and vibrates. What is going on I am thinking. It is supposed to do that at every mile, and I had just barely started. Well, I forgot that last week, I had set it to alert me every minute. So my watch beeped and vibrated every minute, the entire 13.1 miles. I think that this was a good thing, as I was not so focused on the mileage. The miles seemed to go really fast.

I got to the bottom of the hill, and got stopped by the UHP. They needed to let some of the backed up canyon traffic through. As I crossed the 4 lane highway and continued down the canyon, I looked at the cars that were stoppeed. I saw 2 vans that were shuttleing a group from China. The passengers were waving like crazy, so I smile and wave back to them. There also was a little girl, about 5 or 6 years old that had her head out the window and I waved to her and she waved back. It was nice to have some spectators along the route that gave all runners support. Some of the aid stations ran out of water and HEED, which was a bummer.

The race started at an elevation of about 7000 feet. The first 5 miles was a BRUTAL 1600 ft elevation drop!!! OUCHY MOMMA! Total elevation drop from start to finish was 2100 ft!!! I didn't realize how hard downhill running was! I enjoyed the TOU half course, so figured I would be ok. Man my calves are so tight. Nothing that rest and relaxation won't fix. I came in at 2.22.04. I did get stopped at the highway for at least 15 seconds or more, so realistically maybe 2.21?

I waited for all of our Flinstones to finish. Mendy had built a Flinstone car!!!
After our last runner came in, we all got in the car and crossed the finish line, again.



Now this is the funny thing. When I got home, I went into the bathroom cause I had to pee so bad. When I was buttoning up my pants, I see something dark out of the corner of my eye.........and in an instant flash, my car keys go flushing down the toliet!!! All I could do was laugh histarically.
Am I insane? They say that running is mental, ya know.

Just a Thought

Tuesday, October 25th, 4 miles on Eliptical (33 min = 8.25 min mile) and 1 mile cooldown walk on treadmill. Taking it easy, getting ready for Saturaday!!! The Halloween Half Marathon in Provo!

Went to Macey's last night to pick up some snacks for upcoming swim meet. Picked up a package of sweet rolls. mmmmmmm my favorite! Do they count in the "carb loading" theory?

Thunder Mountain

On the way home from Sparks, NV, we passed this very unusual house. Off the freeway we go to explore. I did a little research of how to get there. I found out that the home was fenced in, but you could still walk around the outer grounds area. When we got there, we were walking around, and here comes this guy over to me. I noticed that he had been working on a travel trailer that was near the property. Well one thing led to another, and we struck up a conversation. (Thanks Dad for the social skills!) I love talking with new people, finding out what their story is. Turns out that he is now the care taker of this place. He is a good friend of Frank's son. (Frank is the man who built this monument/home.) He told me a little about the builder, and what vandals had done in the past, and that the son had prayed and a man came and visited the property and sent him a $20,000 check to start restoration of the home. Then he says to me, "If you would like, I could unlock the gate for you and you can walk around a little closer." Wow I am thinking, that would be great!






Thunder Mountain, was built by Frank Dean Van Zant. Sounds like he was an ex methodist minister turned Indian Cheif who called himself Cheif Rolling Thunder Mountain. The home started out as a travel trailer, then he built around it. There are walls around walls. As we looked through one of the windows, we just saw another wall with various sculptures and rambling writing. The windows are windows out of vehicles. The walls mostly have glass bottles in them. Lots of concrete sculptures. Very imaginative. Turns out he was artist of the year in 1983, I think. Would have been interesting to go inside of this place.


I emailed some pictures to my family, and I got this response from my nephew JR, "I just thought that it was funny that both Lori and I would stop at the same weird house in the middle of nowhere!!!" I thought that was so funny, that JR and I would actually find the same place!! I love Art Houses!

Starbucks suck.

Wanted to treat myself to a double mocha today. All I can say is Starbucks SUCKS! They are way overrated. The coffee was ground so fine that I felt like I was drinking silt! Needless to say, down the drain it went. Jim drank his triple latte in a shorty cup, and an hour later he was sick. Coincidence? I don't think so.

We went to Scheels today. This is a hige, and I mean ginormous sporting goods store! There is a working Ferris wheel in the middle of the store! I got me a new Brookes neon yellow running jacket, and a "pink" shirt. It says "fight like a girl." This store was located in an outlet area. Fun for me, not so much for Jim. I think guys just don't get it.

As we were walking around, I saw a couple sitting outside at a table drinking coffee. I could smell it! I love the smell of coffee. Reminds me of my dad. Funny how smells can trigger memories and emotions. Any was, I thought I would give the mocha another shot. I ordered a double iced mocha............to my delight, it was so yummy!
We did not stay here long, as I told you Jim was not feeling well. While I buzzed in and out of shops, he just sat outside on various benches. Back to the hotel we went. I went to the gym,while he just rested fora bit. I told him to go get a massage, maybe that would help. (besides the Starbucks making him sick, his neck and back were all out of whack.) I knew that I would be at least 2 hours in the gym, as I wanted to do a long run today.

So I go to the gym. So boring and HOT! I looked for a thermostat with no luck. The door to the outside was locked, and I could smell the HEATER kick on! I did 1 mile on treadmill, switched to bike and did 7 on the bike. Back to treadmill for 4 more. Total mileage today was 12. I know it wasn't all weight bearing, but I just can't stand the treadmill. One of my friends calls it " Satan's Sidewalk.". I think that truly describes it. When I got back and went to change, my sports bra was dripping wet!!! I have never sweated like that before. Unfortunately, I put my ipot down my sports bra and it also got wet, and now I can listed to songs, just cannot choose what I listen to or control the volume!! OOPS! Jim did get a massage and felt a little better.

Plan for tomorrow is Lake Tahoe. I am hoping to get out and maybe hike a trail or two.

Monday, Monday

Monday, Monday. The first official day of the week. I'm not much of a "Monday" person. Not sure that I know anyone who is.

After work, I decided to do a quick run on the Logan River Walk. Never been there before. Didn't realize that some of those paths just go into the golf course, or off to a bench where you can sit and overlook the river. Was a nice little trail. Just a few people on it today. It was nice to have some shade during the early afternoon. Didn't realize that the Logan River was still flooded in areas.......Interesting.


I wore my new toy....... the GARMIN. I think I am too obsessed with worrying about when it is going to beep/buzz. I look at it way to often, robably because the "newness" has not wore off yet.

My left hip started to bother me about half a mile into my run. Not sure what that was all about. May have something to do with the running belt that I took today. I think the weight was not distributed evenly. Walked and ran today. Nothing to big, did not push it, just enjoyed the view. Ran 2 miles walked the last one.


On my way back to the car, I noticed this little butterfly. "What the crap are you still doing here?" I was thinking to myself.

Race RX tonight.


The best part of a run? The birds chirping, the awesome air, and the fact that a lot of people are still sleeping. The worst? The first couple of steps. Just getting the creaks out. Summer Sanders, Olympic gold medalist in swimming and TV commentator

It's an EXCEPTIONAL Day

This morning I ran the Lotte's of Love 5k. It was held at the Thomas Edison Charter School, and the route was through Nibley. This was a fundraiser for a local runner, Charlotte, who has cancer and will be using the money to help with medical expenses. I was amazed at all of the support that our local community gave this cause. Many, many businesses donated items to be given away. The community really came out and supported Charlotte too. My friend JoAnna and I both had specific goals today. We both really wanted a personal best! Well, seems like the planets and the stars were lined up just right this morning and we both Got It!!

I met "Becky" while running. (in the yellow shirt) We caught up with each other at mile one and zig zagged each other for a while. I tried to keep my pace with her and she was very encouraging. Well, it worked. My goal was to come in under 32 minutes. My time today was 28.43! Thanks Becky for being my super nice pacer!!! That is the one thing I absolutely LOVE about running in races, either big or small, it seems like all runners are truly supportive of each other. It doesn't matter if you are the speed demon in front, or the determined one in the back. Every runner is cheered on by others. True Comrades.

Here I am with my Race RX buddies....me, Angie, and JoAnn, flexing for the camera! Angie is the one who invited me to this 5k, and also introduced me to Charlotte. Yes, I think that Race RX has helped me increase me strength and endurance. It sure showed today with my time!

Charlotte is the one with the sunglasses on and the blue jacket.



This is Jacque and her friend Katherine at the Glow in the Dark Fun Run. This was last night in Millville. You could either run a 5k or walk/run a mile. We chose to do the mile. Jacque was AMAZING! Her time......(drum roll please).......8.04! Yes EIGHT speedy minutes and FOUR seconds! So proud of her. We had lots of fun getting our "GLOW" on!

Here I am with my new running friends...JoAnna and her cutie pie daughter Ella, me, Karrie, and Mariann. We had lots of fun. Glad that I did the mile. The course was really really dark. Not alot of street lights to help along the way. My friend Mindy and her daughter Aubeny did the 5k. Mindy got a speedy time of 29.??!! Which was AWESOME! Under 30 minutes. So proud of her.

“The key to success is to focus our conscious minds on things we desire not things we fear.” -Brian Tracy

Caffeine: the wonder drug
Known in the chemistry world as trimethylxanthine coffeine theine mateine guaranine methyltheobromine (phew!), caffeine can lend a hand to help you get through some of your most gruelling workouts. It acts as a stimulant to increase your muscle reaction time and cognitive reflexes. Research has shown that caffeine can delay fatigue, reduce muscle pain during exercise, and lower your ‘perceived exertion’ making workouts feel easier. In addition to that, other research shows that having caffeine in your post workout recovery drink can help rebuild your glycogen levels faster than one without it. So, faster muscles, thinking and recovery? I’ll take it!

Methods of intake
While my weakness is a double mocha with extra chocolate, I prefer to get my fix through gels. Each gel contains around 20 – 40mg of caffeine (roughly the equivalent to 1/5 of a cup of coffee) and acts as the perfect pick me up. I have only used gels during long runs and during my half marathon. During the TOU half, I took one about 10ish minutes before the start, then at mile 4 and I think mile 8 or 9.
Upon researching a little more I think I should be taking it 45 minutes into my run and then every 30 minutes after. My personal favorite is Espresso Love by Gu.

Hydrate responsibly
There is a common misconception that caffeine dehydrates you faster than a package of beef jerky with a salt lick chaser. You actually need close to 550mg – about five cups of coffee worth – to affect your hydration levels. As long as you’re taking in electrolytes and some good old H2O, you should be able to caffeinate without a problem.

Mocha anyone????

(I took alot of this from this website: http://www.lululemon.com/community/blog/this-machine-runs-on-caffeine/)

Heart Rate on Satan's Staircase!

Tonight I waited too long to get outside and run, so I opted to go to the gym. I decided to try The Race RX Heart Rate Running Guide that I got a couple of weeks ago. I think the theory behind it is to workout for "x" minutes and keep your heart rate in the "xx" zone. Today's workout was for 20 minutes. I chose Satan's Staircase (ie the elliptical) to try this out.

I have 3 different zones, with a low and a high heart rate goal.
Zone 1: 141 - 150
Zone 2: 158 - 165
Zone 3: 167 - 174
So for 20 Minutes I was to be in these Zones:

M Zone
1: 1
2: 2
3: 2
4: 3
5: 3
6: 2
7: 2
8: 3
9: 3
10: 3
11: 2
12: 2
13: 3
14: 3
15: 3
16: 2
17: 3
18: 3
19: 3
20: 2


In order to keep my heart rate in these specific zones, I had to put the elliptical on level 8, 9, and 10. I had a hard time getting my heart rate up to zone 3. And yes, there is a ZONE 4 (176 - 185) that should start on DAY 2!!!

I have a friend that followed this training program before his marathon, and he swears by it. He did the workouts twice a day, then once a week went for a long run. He improved his time, and said that he felt pretty strong.

I used the new nifty little heart rate gadget that came w/the GARMIN 610. Once I got it on me, couldn't figure out how to get the watch to show the beats per minute. Just started pushing buttons and "viola" it appeared. Pretty neat!

"Running is a big question mark that's there each and every day. It asks you, 'Are you going to be a wimp or are you going to be strong today?'" - Peter Maher, Canadian marathon runner

October 8, 2011

"When you have the enthusiasm and the passion, you end up figuring how to excel." Deena kastor, U.S. Olympic Marathoner

Am I in Yellowstone?

So fun to be able to see the bison and their little ones today on my "Sunday Meditation Run." Almost feels like I'm in Yellowstone. Almost.




It's always nice to be able to "kill" a tractor!


I took my running belt with just one water bottle. I had planned my water stops today...the park by Lincoln Elementary, and either McDonalds or Ridleys. (wasn't sure if Ridleys was open today.) To my horrible finding, the water fountain at the park had been shut off!!! AAAuughghghgh. It was hot, and I filled my bottle with orange powerade, which was upsetting my stomach, and I needed WATER!! I continue running towards South Cache saying a little prayer that the gas station will be open. Guess what? It was!

Thank you Hyrum Short Stop for being my water station today!

On my way home, I passed this guy just walking on the road. Wasn't sure what was up with him. He had on a gray shirt and black wranglers, and was very clean cut. Not quite sure what he was doing. I kept looking back as I ran the opposite way from him, just in case. Not sure if this creeped me out or not. Still haven't decided. It was just .....ODD. Thank goodness I had just taken my Espresso GU! Oh, the goats say "hey."




Coming in to the home stretch... and I see this sign. Perhaps I was going too fast, or just getting too much sun, or it was the double caffine kicking in, but I took it as a sign that I needed to slow down. Haa Haa. 10.4 miles today. I was hoping to do the 10 miles in less than 2 hours. I walked quite a bit today, guess I just wasn't feeling it. But when the little guy in my GARMIN buzzed me and told me that I was at mile 10, he also told me that I had done this in 1 hour and 58 minutes. So the "Sunday Meditation Run" was a success. I did hit the stop button a few times... when I refilled my water bottle, when I visited with the Bison, when I just needed a "shade" break. But I'll take the 1.58 any day. Oh, that's today!

Came home and sat in a cool shallow bath for my legs, then off to the hot tub for jet massage, and finally a nice clean shower. Do you think I had enough water today?

Wasatch Woman 6k

Today was the Wasatch Woman 6k at Thanksgiving Point in Lehi. When I went to pick up everyones packets they informed me that they were out of small shirts. This kind of made me mad, cause we registered months in advance, and you would think that they knew how many shirts of each size they needed. They took my name and address and said that they would mail it to me. But in the meantime.....Jacque did not have her race shirt, which is kind of a bummer. Our SWAG bags were SAD bags, consisting of 5 fliers and a granola bar.

Krista, Jacque, and I went down last night and stayed at the Marriott. We ate at Noodles and Company. I love Noodles, and am excited for the Logan Noodles to open. Krista said that they put the sign up last week!

After we ate dinner, we went back to the hotel, and I put some of Jacque's clothes in the hotel clothes dryer. She had just ran to the MC and back with the MC Swim team, and her running clothes were wet from the rain. We had our hot chocolate, powdered donuts, sprees, and nerds for our late night pre race snacks!
At 6:00 this morning I realized that I forgot about Jacque's clothes and ran downstairs to the hotel laundry, hoping that they would still be there! Someone had taken them out of the dryer and left them on the table. Thanks goodness they were there. I look out the window and it is raining.

After getting back to the room, I noticed that I had a text message. Jess would not be able to come down. I knew that my mom was not coming, her knee was bothering her and she did not want to be laid up for a few weeks. Terri was also not coming down, as her dog had a mini-stroke or a seizure Friday night, and she did not want to leave her. So it was just me, Krista, and Jacque. I was kind of bummed as I was looking forward to crossing the finish line with my mom this year. (She walked it last year.)

We ate breakfast at the hotel. Krista had juice and cheerios with no milk, Jacque had froot-loops with milk and an english muffin, I had a toasted english muffin with jam and half a cup of coffee with 2 sugar packets and 3 french vanilla creamers. We laughed cause I was making my own energy drink!

The race started at 8:30 and we left the hotel at 8:25!! Rain has stopped. I like the "white trash" rain coat!


5-4-3-2-1- START. Jacque and I started out kind of a slow jog, as we were in a pack of women. We jogged slowly for maybe 5 minutes, then started walking. Krista just wanted to walk it. She caught up with us, and the three of us walked the rest of the course. The volunteers were really positive and nice, and the course looked like it would be a fast course. We took goofy pictures along the way.








Last year I was so scared and focused that I missed all the neat things to see. We made sure to look around today!



My friend Mindy did the trick-or-treat trot in Wellsville today. She did the 10k, and got a personal best of 59 minutes!!! That is AWESOME. GO MINDY! She won lots of prizes, and got to dress up as a lady bug. Here she is showing off her winnings!



I have other friends that did the PINK Half Marathon today in Park City. I did hear that there was snow at the starting line. Hope they stayed warm and had fun. JoAnna got a PB for her half. I think she said a good 6 minutes faster!


For lunch, Jacque and I stopped at Five Guys Burgers. I had never eaten at one of these places. The french fries were homemade, just like dad used to do at LD's Cafe. The cheese-burgers were yummy too. Jacque introduced me to eating french fries with malted vinegar on them. Yummy.