Dogtown and othe Quirks

Well, we are up and getting ready for our event!
Our race didn't start until 8:30, so we had plenty of time for a good breakfast. We went to the Black Bear Diner. It was so nice to have a relaxing breakfast.

When we arrived at the starting line, I saw the buses taking the half marathoners to the start. I didn't realize how much I wanted to run this until I got there, and watched people get on the bus. Originally when JoAnna had asked me about it, I was pretty of wishy-washy about signing up for it. And now, a part of me really wanted to be on that bus! I know this sounds weird, but I was envious of the people getting on those school buses!

The weather was PERFECT!

 Nice and sunny, no wind

There were actually 3 races going on at the same time. A 5k, 9k, and the Half Marathon. The 5k and 9k started and finished at the same place. It was a loop course. The Half Marathon started around Coral Canyon and finished where the 5k and 9k finished. The 5k course was very family friendly. Flat course through a neighborhood and a park.

During the race I started talking with another couple that had brought their dog, and their little boy. Dog's were not allowed during the event, so I asked them how they snuck their dog in. Turns out I knew the husband. It was Cory! A friend of mine from my USU days!  That was pretty funny, in a weird, parallell universe kind of way.

When Jim and I crossed the finish line, there was my friend Mendy! I have known Mendy since high school, and have just recently re-connected with her. I ran with her group during the 2011 Halloween Half in Provo. She was waving, and cheering. Then after the race,  I ran into Jadine. Another Halloween Half running buddy.  It was really fun to see my running buddies.

Post race treats were awesome. Chocolate milk, oranges, bananas, grapes, and breads.  We waited around and watched the half marathon participants run in. (My jealousy started increasing at this point.) I tell Jim that I am going to walk back about a half a mile or so and wait for JoAnna and run in with her.  While I was waiting, here comes this lady I noticed was participating in the 9k event.  The half marathon runners are passing her, and she is still working on her 5 miles. Pure Determination! This is the lady that deserves the medal. (I am thinking) She was awesome, and I cheered her in.

JoAnna rocked Dogtown, coming in at 1.57!!  A new PR for her! I was so excited for her. Glad to be able to share just a little bit of that "Speedy Gonzolas" time with her.

We left the race area and looked for a place to eat lunch. I was craving mexican food. We found a place called Paula's Mexican Restaurant. YUCK. So not what I wanted. Very disappointing. Taco Time would have been better.

We decided to drive into Zions, and go for a short hike.  On our way, we found this shoe tree. What do you do with your old shoes? Yes, I made Jim stop so we, well, him, take a photo of it. It was on his side of the road, so he was the photographer.

We haven't been to Springdale or Zions for about 5 maybe 7 years. Last time we were here, I was in a leg brace, recovering from a broken tibia. Jim and the girls did alot of hiking, and I sat in a lawn chair at the beginning of the trail. I remember that we had just got a new digital camera, and Jim took lots and lots of photos. The last night of our trip, we were looking at the camera and realized that we never had a photo chip card in it!!!

When we were in Springdale years ago, Jim found this little coffee shop, The Mean Bean. I really wanted a tee shirt from this place. When Jim walked in, he said that the coffee shop was so liberal! Lots of government propaganda plastered everywhere. Needless to say, he walked out. We laugh and say "The Mean Bean will never see a Spindler dollar."  I was curious if The Mean Bean was still in business. Yep.  Guess our dollar didn't matter to them.

We continued on the road and stopped at the Zions Lodge, then headed up to the narrows. It was about 4:00 when we got there, and the sun was going behind the mountains. Kind of chilly. Jim's feet were not up to hiking, so I just went for a quickie. These are things I saw without my hubby.

Pre Dogtown

Dogtown Half Marathon. Sounds intriguing doesn't. I had mentioned this race to my friend JoAnna, and she was hooked. A little more than me. I tossed it back and forth on whether or not to run this race. Physically, I was not prepared like I wanted to be. I knew that I could finish, but with the time I wanted? Not sure about that. When I finally decided that "YES" I was in, my hubby mentioned to me that he might be interested in walking the 5k with me. WOW! I had to slap myself silly to see if I was actually hearing what I thought I was hearing. So, off with hubby I go, and JoAnna........well, she was solo this time around. This will be Jim's first 5k!

This event was in Washington City, by St. George.

We drove down Friday night. First stop, the Washington City Community Rec Center for packet pickup. Luckily Ashlee swam there just last weekend, and Jim took her down, so he knew exactly where it was. They had a little expo going on in the gym, lots of different booths set up. I got the giggles when we were passing the 21-day Jump Start booth (promoting a Vegan lifestyle) and the guy in the booth next to them was eating a hot dog! It was just perfect timing! While waiting in line, I saw Byron walk in. I met him at the Halloween Half last year. He was part of our "Flinstone" group. I visited with him for a minute. It was fun to see a familiar face. After we got our bibs, we went to find where the 5k started. Always good to know where you are going. I was the navigator, and of course took us on the wrong road. But eventually, we found it.

After our wild goose chase finding the starting area, Jim took me to Cappeetitis. A small family owned Italian Restaurant. Jim and Ashlee ate there last weekend. Can I just say, Yummo!

 Everything was made to order. I had a green salad with the best cranberry vinaigrette I have ever had! I could taste balsamic vinegar, sweetness, and the tangy-ness of the cranberries.


  It was so good, that after I finished my salad, I used it as a dipping sauce for my homemade bread. For my entree...chicken marsela. Jim had sea bass. Both were so yummy. This place definitely is a treasure find.
 Oh, and the desserts......mm mmm.

Could you pick a treadmill just a little closer to me?

After yesterday's easy run with the Newbies (2 miles), I felt like I better at least get in 4 miles today. I woke up to Stinkin 8 inches of SNOW!!!  REALLY? This is not what I had planned. Shoveling the driveway and sidewalk is not what I wanted to do this morning.  I kept tossing back and forth, outside with the dog for 4 miles or the gym? I really wanted to go outside today, but knew that not alot of people would have their sidewalks shoveled. With the new snow, there would not be alot of "wiggle" room on the back roads. Planet Fitness it is.
I decided to run naked today at the gym. For my non-runner friends, this means  NO GARMIN, and NO Heart Strap! No expectations. hee hee  (Well, just to get in 4 miles)

I chose the freemotion incline/decline treadmill, the one that is clear across the gym. I started my warm up, and here comes another person and she got on the treadmill right next to me. REALLY? There were like 40 empty treadmills available, and she chooses the one right next to me? I really wanted a big bubble zone around me today!  Oh, and yes, this is the girl that the guy wants everyone to know that he is interested in her. GAG ME! 

After my 4 miles, I walked outside to my car and it was BEAUTIFUL! Sun was shining. Blue skies. Clean crisp air around me. EEERRGGG, I really wanted to run in this weather. While driving home, I figured I would get dinner going, then take Abby on a 3 mile loop.  Did not happen. Hubby and daughter were on their way home from a swim meet that was in St. George and I wanted to have dinner ready right when they got there.

 Maybe tomorrow.

Oh, giving a big shout out to www.fastcory.com.  I am a blog stalker of this site!

Run/Walk?

Took a friends advice, and decided to try the run/walk method today. I assumed that I had this feature on my GARMIN, just hadn't figured it out yet. And yes, I found it. Pretty neat feature. You can set it for whatever time span you want. I chose the run for 3 minutes, and walk for 1.  I kept waiting for the sunshine to come out this morning. 9 am, 10 am, 11 am, no sun. So I opted for the gym. I set the treadmill on the "terrain" mode, with my maximum incline at 13.5.  My total mileage today was 8.07 and did this in 1.35.57.  Disappointed with this time.  I did, however, make sure that I kept my speed at least at a 5.0 when the treadmill was on steep hills.  My walks were usually around 4.0. I walked another .50 just for a cool down.

I took a bottle of Hammer electrolyte with me today, and ended up drinking the whole thing. I even had to replenish my water during one of the walk breaks.

After the workout, my legs felt really crampy. I know that I burned at least 900 calories today. Last time I looked at the calorie panel it was at 850. At the end of my 8 miles, it was at 45.1. Which I have no idea what that even means.

I stopped and got a turkey foot long sub from Subway. Was only able to eat half of it. I was super sluggish and tired the whole day! I am sure that it was a food issue.  My body needed more calories, but I just didn't feel like eating! At 5:00 I realized that all I had had today was a banana in some orange juice, my morning hazelnut concoction, and that 1/2 of sub!!  DUH, no wonder I was feeling so dumpy.

Goin' Green

Meet my environmentally friendly exercise bike.  It is super energy efficient. Does not emit gasses (hee hee). And it was a bargain of a price.  FREE!  Years ago, (thinking 10+ish),  Jim's dad gave us his old exercise bike. It actually has a cushy seat that fits your butt; pedals work;  handle bars at a good angle; straps on pedals so my feet won't slip; tension control; working odometer that I can either add miles or if I go really fast backwards, I can subtract miles;  and even has a timer that ticks and ends with a bell.    Love it. Love it. Today I did 12 miles.  Do you think I could squish it in the corner of my storage room any more?  Hey, it works, and don't mess with what works. Right?

Yesterday I tried the product "zipfizz."  I tried the grape flavor. Tasted like a melted purple popsicle that was super TART. The first swallow made me pull the "pucker" face. It was supposed to give me a boost of energy via B vitamins, and other stuff.   I think it did give me a little boost of energy.

Today I tried  a product from Synergy WorldWide. It was the "e g" energy with l-arginine, tropical burst flavor.  It was a free sample that I received when Krista, Jacque, and I ran the Thanksgiving Point 5k last year.  (We met a group of salespeople at breakfast in the lobby of the hotel we were staying at.  They were there for a Synergy conference.)  The flavor is icky. I could tolerate it if I had too, but just drank enough to quench my thirst while I was on the exercise bike, then down the drain it went.  I have tried their ProArgi-9. (it had vit C, D3, K, B6, B12, Folate, and a blend of L-arginine, xylitol, pomegranate concentrate, L-citulline, d-ribose, grape skin extract, and red wine extract.)  What this means to me is, it's another way to get some liquid vitamins.  You mix this w/water. I did like that.  Krista said that one of these made her sick.

My control panel

Is your  home gym equipment eco-friendly?

What a Support!

WOW!  What an amazing running community! I feel honored to have been just a little part of this.  The first time I viewed this I was in such awe! I was speechless! I was emotional! I was inspired!

Remembering Sherry.

We will never forget.
Courage, Strength, Grace

Sweethearts for Sherry

God is our refuge and strength,

an ever-present help in trouble.

--Psalm 46:1 (referenced on a bracelet that was passed out by Beth in Colorado)

Today I ran the Sweethearts 5k with a few of my friends. This race was in Davis County.  The race name, "Sweethearts" I think was so appropriate for today's run.  Today my friends and I ran to remember Sherry.

Runners from all over the world, literally, participated in a virtual run in the name of Sherry Arnold. This was organized by her cousin, Beth at SUAR.

I enjoy running solo. It's my time to think, to reflect. It's my "Me" time. 

The date of January 7, 2012, will be etched in my mind.  This is the day that Sherry went out for a run, never to return to her family.  This is the day that I suddenly felt vulnerable when I run alone.  This is the day that no runner wants to hear about. This day changed how and when I run. This day changed many of us. This day changed me.

Today, collectively, we ran.  We came together as strangers and somehow left as friends.  I felt like today was a day that helped the running community come to terms with this tragic and senseless death.  I printed out bibs for my friends that were running with me today.  I also printed out some extras.  I had 3 extras. I saw 3 ladies, so I went up to them and asked them if they would like to run in honor of Sherry. I told them about the virtual run, and how so many people were running on this day.   After the race, I had one lady come up to me and ask me about it. Her name was Lori. She said that she had noticed that there were alot of people wearing this bib. As we talked, come to find out she has family in Cache County, and she actually went to school with my older sister! It was really nice to meet her. She took 1st in her age division. I laughed as she said that the older she gets the less competition she has, so that's how she places!  It was nice that she asked about Sherry. We talked for a while about Beth's blog.  

My new buddy, Lori.

As Beth said-- "We did it. Bad, mean people can suck it."

Although I did not know Sherry personally, her tragic story touched my heart. It made me concerned. It made me mad. It made me angry. It made me scared. It made me think.  Sherry could have been anyone of us. ANYONE!

I hate it when I get passed by a dog.

The race itself was good. I think I went out too fast though. Was not going for a PR, but ended up getting one. I had a double iced mocha on the way down (driving time a little over an hour). About mile 1.3,  I had to pee so bad!!!  This kind of put a damper on my speed, but somehow I pulled it off. Even taking a couple of walk breaks!   

In honor of Sherry.

Bananas, strawberries, oranges, and bagels awaited us at the finish line. 3 ladies from our group took home awards!!!  I placed 6th in my age group.  And yes, I earned a finisher's medal.

Our SWAG Bag.....Long Sleeve Purple Tech Shirts will be fun!

After the race, we went to Paradise Bakery for lunch.  I had the Asian Chicken Salad and Chicken & Wild Rice Soup. The salad was really, really good. I would get it again. The soup was very creamy. Lots of milk/cream. It tasted good too.   Thanks JoAnna for lunch. 

Today I ran to remember Sherry.

Today I ran to overcome fear.

Today Sherry was with each one of us.

Today I ran.