Running is not a game....

Games require skill. 
Running requires endurance, character, pride, physical strength, and mental toughness. 
Running is a test, not a game. 
A test of faith, belief, will, and trust in one's self. 
So hardcore that it needs a category all to itself to define the pain. When game players criticize, it's because they aren't willing to understand, not because they're stronger. 
Running is more than a sport; it's a lifestyle.
If you have to ask us why we run, you'll never understand, so just accept. 


---Jessica Probst

Jessica Props

2 hours 45 minutes

This morning around 10 I took off on the Stokes Nature Trail. My goal today was going to be between 10 - 14 miles. I knew this trail would be super busy, because of the Memorial Day Weekend, so I knew if I ran into troubles, there would be someone on the trail.  

It was a beautiful morning. Trail was nice and cool, a mix of sun and shade. After I ran up the switchbacks, the trail narrowed and got pretty muddy. The kind of mud that is slippery, yet packing the weight on my shoes at the same time.  I passed lots of families out for a hike. I also decided today that mountain bikers are friendlier than road bikers.  Every person I passed or who passed me on a mountain bike said "Hi," or made eye contact and gave a friendly gesture.

Around mile 6 my GARMIN was buzzing at a different rhythm than it had been. When I finally decided to look at it, I realized it had stopped! Stopped the timer. Stopped calculating my mileage. Just stopped! AAUUGGHH. What a big girl bummer this was. I started my journey at 10:04, and got back to my car at 12:50.  Somehow, I had lost 35 minutes in time. (twilight zone music....do do do do...do do do do...) Huston, we have a problem!   Had I been abducted by aliens? Had I blacked out? Ha Ha, nope, I guess I just got back too far that I lost all satellite communications!  Funny thing is, I found out that both Roz and Mandy were having GARMIN issues today as well!  My mileage today.....UNDETERMINED.  I know it was at least 10, but I am thinking it was probably more like 12. At the top of the switchbacks, I took a right that went up the mountain, not the easy path to 3rd dam. So I know that this added more mileage.





Lots of people were fishing at 3rd dam. I stopped to watch this mommy duck and her babies. So cute. I could also see some fish swimming around in the water.

This weird tree was across the path on the way out of Spring Hollow.







When I hit the Crimson Trail sign, I thought this is great! I always wanted to go on this trail. But I looked at my watch, and figured I better head back. I had told family I would be back by 1, and didn't want them calling search and rescue!  I did, however, sneak up the trail about a quarter of a mile. It was steep. The kind of steep that when you run up, you are running on your toes. It was also really wet, and  slippery muddy. I picked up a walking stick here to make me feel like I had some control. When I stopped to look down at the trail, I realized that I better go back, and it was so steep I figured I would be sliding down the trail.

The path I chose had lots of weird tree roots and loose rocks. It is hard to run on that terrain. I did a lot of power walking, and running when I could. Wild flowers were just starting to bloom.

 Passed this strange house!  I wonder who lives here?!?!

Sensitive Area
No rocks hit me today!

 Lots of the trails do not have a sign.  When I was up high, the trail came to many forks. Decisions, decisions....... It was so peaceful! No music blasting in my ear. No human voices. Just birds chirping.  Nice.

 

Bear Lake Monster 5k

May 26, 2012........5k

Jake, JoAnna, Ella, Julie, Jill, Jacque, Lori

Perfect morning for a 5k, 10k, or even a half marathon!  Bear Lake was picture perfect this morning. When I left Nibley this morning to drive over, I left a gloomy valley. To my AMAZEMENT, Garden City was sunny and warm.  All of us were way overdressed!  No PR's today, but we all had a lot of fun. Great way to start our morning!

Two of the most beautiful girls running this morning!



Really? Who took this photo!



Jill, showing us how it's done. Just starting her 2nd 10k loop!



Jill took 3rd in the Half Marathon!

Mike and friend, photo perfect couple!



Josh took 3rd in the 10k



SWAG--tech shirt, pro-bar, GU chomps,
lip balm, and backpack monster bag



Monster Medal

Dr. Pepper after the race!  Yum-o! Post race refreshments included water, Dr. Pepper 10, fun size chocolate candy bars, pretzels, bananas, oranges, and an assortment of small lunch size potatoe chips.  I really liked having something salty, bubbly, and sweet at the end of the race.



Ogden Half Re-cap

JoAnna, Mindy, Lori

Saturday, May 19th, I ran the Ogden Half Marathon.   PERFECT RUN! Beautiful scenery, breeze at my back, shade in the canyon, sunshine when needed, breath-taking waterfalls, and I was loving the law of gravity.  I was amazed at how good I felt running. ( Completely different from last weekend, RRR in Moab, running 8 miles in heat.)  Oh, and to top off my Saturday....I got a PR!!!  2.13.58!

My pre-race meal consisted of dinner at Rooster's Brewery........chicken, mashed potatoes, &  bread w/artichoke, crab, cheesy dip. 

I woke up at 4:50 am, quickly put on my running clothes and grabbed my breakfast, (bagel, peanut butter, PRIME, and water).   Mindy met JoAnna and I at the hotel at 5 in the morning to head over to the bus area with us.  The buses were leaving at 5:30 am.  As we were standing in line, a man was walking around through the crowd. He was not one of the runners. Looked as if he was staying at one of the homeless shelters, and he had a "blind cane."  Funny thing was, as he was cutting through the line right by me, he made eye contact with me and said "excuse me."  Thought this was weird, a blind man making eye contact with me.???

As it was our turn to board the bus, we just happened to choose the coolest bus ever!!!  I boarded the bus and started walking to the back and I hear "Lori!"  I look up and it was Stephanie! Her sister Alesa, and their friend Miriam!!!  What were the odds that we would choose the same bus! This was a Good JuJu Bee Omen for all of us!  It was great to visit with them on the way up Ogden Canyon.  Funny thing though, when I got off the bus, I never saw them again, until we were at the finish line.

At the starting area, it was like a sea of people.  It was cold at the start. When we got off the bus, we had to walk through a field of grass. Our shoes got wet. JoAnna and Mindy were teasing me cause I was walking like a "doofus" lifting my feet high as to not let them go through the wet grass.  My feet did not get that wet or cold. On the other hand, Mindy and JoAnna's feet got cold AND wet. NOT A GOOD THING.  Next year I will take some grocery sacks to tie around my shoes like these ladies did at the start of the full. The fire barrels were very much appreciated. We were all crowding them, turning like we were rotisserie chickens, trying to warm all sides. 

 About 5 minutes before the race started, I peeled off my warm clothes, and bagged them up to go in the clothing truck.  When I got to the truck, (a U-haul), the door was CLOSED!!!  Race volunteers assured me that my clothes would find me at the finish line.  (crossing fingers)

The race started at Pineiew Reservoir.  It was a picture perfect morning. The sun coming up over the mountains. Fog and steam rolling off the water. Nature's perfection. And I, along with 1,800 others, were lucky enough to bask in its glory. 

I started with Mindy and JoAnna.  Mindy left us, and JoAnna was my sidekick for a few miles. I told her,  "I want you to run your own race."  (On the was down, she threw out the challenge of having her wear my GARMIN, and she would pace me.  I guess I am not mentally there yet. Kind of scary turning over the controls to someone else.)  This was my nice way of saying, "I am ok to run by myself." OK, so at one of the aid stations, here comes Mindy from behind???  She had to make a potty stop!  AAUUGGHH, I hate it when that happens!  At the next aid station, we all kind of got a drink and split up. My plan was to run and walk only through the aid stations.  My plan worked!!!   

Here are my times, per mile:

• Mile 1- 10.38



Volunteer @ Mile 5, (full)

• Mile 2-10.07
• Mile 3- 10.20
• Mile 4-10.06
• Mile 5- 8.59
• Mile 6- 9.55
• Mile 7- 10.16
• Mile 8- 9.22
• Mile 9- 9.50
• Mile 10- 9.42
• Mile 11- 10.44
• Mile 12-10.25
• Mile 13-10.27 

Look at that mile 5!!!  Less than a 9 minute mile!!!  At times, I would just lift my feet up and let the law of gravity propel me down the road.  I knew I was going faster than I normally do, but yet I was not using any energy! Wonderful feeling!!  MMM, I wonder why Mile 7 jumped into the 10 minute range??? I will have to investigate that part of the course.

I passed TEAM BART!  I met Bart and his Dad at the Halloween Half!  What an inspiration this father and son are.  Wonderful to see and visit with them again. Even if it was only for a minute.

I passed many signs of encouragement through the canyon. I just put my name in the phrase, and it gave me a little extra boost.

Sexy & I know it
Mile 5 (full) aid station

The aid stations were AWESOME!!  Plenty of water and Powerade  and candy. Cliff was a major sponsor and had gels and CLIFF Bars available if needed.  These two skeletons met me just after one of the stations!  All of the volunteers were so supportive and cheerful.

Waterfall in
Ogden Canyon

 The aid stations were well staffed, and there was plenty of fuel available for us runners.  One of the stations was "Pirate" themed.  They had made a pirate ship, and everyone was dressed up.  Our bibs had our names printed on them, and the volunteers would cheer for you by name. The Ogden City Police Department was also wonderful.  As they were directing runners, traffic, holding traffic.....they still managed to cheer for us.

I only glanced at my watch a few times.  As I was getting near the finish line, I could see the arch that I would run under. It seemed so far away.  I would look down, run a little, then look up, and it was if it just wasn't getting any closer. I was tired. My feet were not hurting, just hot.  I was not in a crowd of runners, so it would be easy for me to walk.

  I saw two ladies wearing sparkly skirts, and caught up to them. They were running a little quicker than me, but I managed to keep up with their pace. "OK," I thought, "stay with the skirts, stay with the skirts. If we 3 stick together we can push each other to the finish." Then......they stopped running, and started walking!!!  I kept my slow jog, and turned back to them and said, "Come on skirts!" They just smiled and said that they would meet me at the finish line.  Here was the big mental challenge......it would have been sooooooo easy just to walk for 1 minute!  But I did NOT give in.  ........After I crossed the finish line, I grabbed a bottle of water, can of coke, and a piece of bread from Great Harvest.  Then off to find a banana.   I wonder what my time would have been if I had not fumbled with my phone to take some photos along the way???

Miriam, Stephanie, Alesa

This was Stephanie's first half marathon.  We stayed and cheered her on as she crossed the finish line. She looked so strong!!  Super proud of her!

At 12:30 there was a Kids 1k event.  Some guy was dressed as a Transformer! All the kids got blue t-shirts, and their finishing metal was a cow bell!

This was our post-race meal. I was so hungry. I was craving a cheesburger from LD's!  Five Guys sould have to do.  I tried the Cajun fries this time.  I think I like just the normal ones better. My mouth was greeted by an cold, bubbly Dr. Pepper!!  Would I run this race again...In A HEARTBEAT!!!  This was the BEST Half Marathon that I have ran.  Very well organized, super volunteers, aid stations were every 2 miles, and I loved the course.

One of the booths at the expo was promoting the Huntsville Marathon that will be on September 29th of this year.  I looked at the course. It is going to be a fast course. Downhill. The last 5 miles looked kind of flat though.  Very tempting....I wonder if a  26.2 is in my future??? 

Peaceful Bliss

Today I headed to the Stokes Nature Trail for a little peace and quiet.  No one to try to keep up with; No one to talk to; No one to answer to; Just me.  I took my i-pod with me, but did not listen to it at all.  It was soooo nice. QUIET.  The smells on this trail were wonderful. Lots of tree's in blossom, along with the wildflowers.  I ran/walked about 5 miles today. Did not push it, just went with the flow.  It was so nice not to try to keep up with a certain pace. 

This afternoon I think I found the joy in trail running.  Even the "diablo switchbacks" were not too bad.  Oh, and the law of gravity, ROCKS!  I learned that I do NOT like running in hats!

Thought about my performance down in Moab. I am my hardest critic. But after really analyzing my run, my 2nd leg wasn't too bad. Ya, it was hot, but when I looked at my 10k time, it was a personal best.  Yes, there are things that I would do different next time.  Good learning experience.

This was my buddy today. In fact, 3 of them crossed my path. 2 were zooming by, and this little guy, well, he must have been just enjoying the trail! Later tonight, I met Krista and Jacque on this trail, and did another easy 2. 

I am running Ogden Half on Saturday.  Kind of funny....don't have that excited/nervous feeling.  Not quite sure what to think about that.



Red Rock Relay

May 13, 2012....Moab, Utah....My first relay event. This was a 70-ish mile course that you split up between 6 people. Each person running 2 legs of the event.   Our team, Girly Whirlies,  consisted of me, JoAnna, Roz, Mindy, Lisa, and Rose.  Jacque and Ella were our support crew.

Ella & Jacque
Best RACE CREW EVER!

We arrived in Moab Friday night, checked in with the race officials, then headed to Pasta Jay's for our "carb" dinner.  We decorated our van Friday night.  We were one of the first teams to start (8:15 am), and we had to check in by 7:15 am. We all wanted to get a good nights rest.  That night, Rose started getting feverish and had the chills.  Not a good sign.

Ready Red Rockers? 3, 2, 1... Go ROZ!

Saturday morning Roz woke up quite early. She would be our first runner. She wanted to get up early to settle her nerves, have a relaxing cup of coffee, and just ponder of the events to come. We ate our breakfast at the condo, then headed to the start line.  After Roz started her leg, Mindy realized that she had forgotten her med's at the condo, so we headed back to pick them up.  Roz's leg was supposed to be flat.  Well, the map lied. She ran out of Moab (which was flat) then started UP the canyon.  Did you see the word UP.  She did awesome.

 

Rose

Rose was up next. Leg 2. As I said Rose was not feeling very good, but being the trooper that she is, somehow she smashed this leg! Came into the exchange looking strong and determined!



Lisa




 

Lisa was leg 3.  She was so excited and pumped up to run this.  I could have used some of her energy!

JoAnna & Ella

JoAnna was leg 4.  Hers was an uphill.....not a pretty uphill either.  Her daughter,Ella,  ran the last few hundred yards with her. I heard Ella say, "I don't want to wun the west of the wace with you." Such a cutie.

 

Jacque running Leg 5 with me.

I was next, leg 5. My mileage was 2.94. Uphill.  It is really hard to warm up your legs when you start off going up. My calves were tight and did not want to move.  I had 2 kills on this leg, but then they killed me at the end.

Mindy was next. Leg 6 was also an uphill.  Somehow she just ran, ran, ran.  Mindy is amazing. She BEAT us to the EXCHANGE!

Roz, after she just conquered
her switchbacks!

Leg 7...Roz....this was an uphill switchback section from Hell.  Power Walk was the key here.  I could not believe what an incline Roz had.  When I was standing out of our vehicle taking pictures of her coming up the mountain, it was incredible.



Also at this exchange point, I learned that exchange 7 was, and I quote, "Not a parking lot! Do you understand?"  This was told to me and about 100 other vans by our friendly Moab County Sheriff.  He was being kind of a jerk.  We were all pulled off the side of the road, and most of us were in our vehicles getting ready to pull out, when I guess he needed to show his authority.  A little farther down the road, he actually had his lights on and asked someone for their drivers license.

Leg 8 was Rose again.  It was hot. Rose was cold. We tried to take some of her mileage away from her, but she kept saying,  "No I am ok."  We just kept a close eye on her.

Leg 9 ...Lisa....This was a really pretty part of the canyon. I would have liked this leg.

Leg 10...JoAnna.....This was an up then downhill for JoAnna. She is so strong. Even when she is hurting, she just toughs it out!

Jacque & Lori
After Leg 11

Leg 11....ME....I was really excited about this leg. Was going to be 8 miles of a gradual downhill. Just what I LOVE.  I was prepared for this. My legs like downhill.  My first 3 miles were FANTASTIC. Mile 1 -9:12; Mile 2- 9:30; Mile 3- 10:17....Then it got HOT, FLAT, and WINDY. Thank You to those other teams who sprayed me with their squirt guns and water. My team met me every mile for the next 3 miles.  Mile 4- 11:14; Mile 5- 11:29; Mile 6- 12:08.  I knew that I had only 2 miles to go, so I told my team I would be OK, and to meet me at the exchange point. I wanted to give Mindy some extra time to get ready.
I was getting killed right and left. It was pretty windy at some points. I had NO shade.  I actually ran past a squished animal in the road, that had the words "Road Kill" with an arrow pointing to it.  "This is me." I was thinking. I never felt like I hit a "wall." Just felt slow, dried out, and my feet were super hot.  I did have my one and only true kill. I passed thong distance runner.  She never passed me again.  Mile 7- 12:05; Mile 8- 11:53.

Mindy

Jacque met me just before my exchange point. Boy was I glad to see her smiling face and was glad that she was there to run me in to my exchange point. As we were running, I could hear footsteps coming up from behind me.  "Really, you are going to kill me again?" was going through my mind. Jacque sped up and so did I. I said, "Is he going to catch me?"  NO NO NO was my answer!

Leg 12...Mindy.....This was our last section of the course. A little over 5 miles. I told my team that we had to make sure that we kept her cool, as the temps were rising. Luckily Mindy's route had alot of shade on it. Every time we asked her if she needed water her only concern was "Where are the MILF's?"  This was another team, Mother's in love with fitness, that Mindy and her sister decided to gang up on.  She wanted to beat the MILF's.

We earned our STRIPES!
Rose, JoAnna, Roz, Mindy, Lisa, Lori

Our finish time was 8:04 pm.  We did this relay just under 12 hours, with 44 kills.  Not bad for a days work.



 

This was the sign for my LAST mile.





 

This was my posse on Leg 11





Good Morning MOAB





 



I DID IT!