LOTOJA

I had my doubts that I could ride 206 miles over 3 states in 1 day. I've been training like crazy, but being a mom to 4 is pretty crazy too. And I also had to split my training between biking and tri training. And they are not the same.

The weekend was starting out perfect. My sister decided to come to my house to watch my kids (so she could be close to my brother in ICU and his wife who was about to have a baby). Because of this, we were able to drive up with my riding buddy. We stopped for lunch in Provo and REI in Sandy and made it to Logan with plenty of time to enjoy the evening. I was a a ball of nerves checking in and getting my race packet. It was very real now and there was no turning back.

Race day preparations continued into the night. We went to a catered dinner with fellow VCBO racers. The dinner was not very good and extremely over priced. And to make it even worse there was no dessert. I was trying to carb load. Alicia and I nervously prepared our race day food and put it in bags to Jeff to give us at each stop. He and Marta rocked the support. They were cheerfully at each of 4 stops with our food ready, water bottles filled and encouraging words spewing forth. I couldn't have asked for a better team.

Alicia (one of my besties), Dan (Tom's brother), Steve (Tom'c cousin) and I were doing the fun ride portion of LOTOJA. What that means is that we got to start almost 2 hours before some of the racers and weren't officially racing it. We were still timed and still rode the same distance.

We started the race a 5:55 am in the pitch black of Logan. We were all equipped with front and rear light. The morning was perfect. Temps were in the 50s instead of low 40s. All I needed to supplement my amazing kit, were arm warmers, light vest, and knee warmers. The first 30 miles were flat. The 4 of us just took it kind of easy to Preston where our support met us. I ditched my knee warmers and vest, kept the arm warmers and fueled.

Nutrition for the race consisted of salted steamed new potatoes, gogurts, pb and honey on white, pretzel m&ms, and coke at aid stations. The gogurts were the best. They go down fast and easy and taste great. On the road I fueled on Shot bloks, Hammer gels, and a few bites of Luna Bars. I drank CarbRocket Half Evil (half strength) and Hammer Perpetuem. Both seemed to be fine on the tummy. I also took a few Hammer Anti-fatigues caps. I didn't take them every hour, but I could definitely feel their awesome effect.

Now the climbing began. The first climb was 20 miles. Yep, 20 miles of climbing a mountain. This climb was actually my favorite. It wasn't very steep, just a nice steady climb for a long time. I felt good. Alicia and I rode together. Somehow we lost cousin Steve (I think being from Boston didn't help). We regrouped at the neutral stop at the top. The descent was amazing. Twisty and fast. I loved it. Click here for a fun picture of the descent. We got in a pace line the rest of the way to Montpelier. We were cruising at 25 mph, but felt like we weren't working at all. Here we parted ways with cousin Steve. I feel bad, but my goal was to finish and he was cramping and starting to struggle. I don't think he was too heart broken. He did finish, but struggled with cramping all the way in.

The next section had 2 climbs. The first was a shorter but steeper one right off the bat up Geneva. It still felt pretty good. A very short descent followed and then the worst section of the race. It was windy, it was slightly uphill and we couldn't get in a pace line. everyone was either too fast or too slow for us. So the 3 of us worked together and slogged through.

The final mountain pass followed this section, Salt River Pass. Steep, windy, and just all around brutal. They time the last 4 miles of this climb for king and queen of the mountain bragging rights. I'm not going to lie, I pushed as hard as I could, but I was pretty beat. Dan rocked this climb and I couldn't keep up with him. Also, the fastest female racers caught me on this climb. They started almost an hour after me and 4 caught me on the climb. It's a little discouraging, but they are fast girls. I climbed it in 22:27. The fastest professional girls did it in 18s and the racing women in 19+. I'm content with my effort and time considering it is 106 miles into the race. And among the fun riders I was 70 out 536 and I think I was the 2nd or 3rd fastest fun riding woman.

We refueled in Afton and started the flat section through Star Valley. It was windy, but we were able to get in a few pace lines and the 3 of us worked well together. I was really amazed at how evenly matched we were. And grateful. I hated leaving cousin Steve, but it would have been even tougher to leave or be left by Alicia since we trained 6 months together for this. We were all pretty tired of the saddles by this point. We were all super bloated. Not sure if that is due to inhaling the food at each aid station or the dinner the night before. But we were all pretty spent. Alicia's tummy issues were the worst at this point and she struggled to hold the pace. She did a good job and holding our wheels until she got stuck behind someone with a flat. She lost our wheels and couldn't get back on. But we were able to regroup in Alpine and her bloating was somewhat relieved with GasX and mine with Coke.

The last section of the race is up Alpine Canyon following the the winding Snake River. This section is spectacular. I did wish I was floating down the river instead though. We had some good company to share the pulls. Until some crazy guys decided when it was there turn to pull to bump up the pace dramatically. I couldn't hold it, but neither could most of the group we were with so we let them go on ahead and we regrouped and continued to take turns pulling.

The last 10 miles through Jackson and into Teton Village were tough. At this point I just wanted to get done, so I just dug deep and pedaled hard. However, I soon realized Dan and Alicia were not on my wheel. I stopped and we regrouped. I wanted to cross that finish line with my team. We all just suffered through those last few miles and crossed that line together. Click here for a finish line photo.

I was so ecstatic to cross that line in 12 hours 21 minutes. We really didn't have a finish goal other than to finish. Our ride time was 11:02 and 18.4 mph. We had over an hour of stoppage. To put this in perspective Tom had 32 minutes of stoppage and that included a 15 minute break where he was contemplating quitting and a long 8 minute rest stop to refuel. We definitely can improve on our stoppage time.

I am definitely planning on doing it again and would like to race it and try to break 11:30.

Highlights of the race include: Amazing support (thank you Jeff and Marta!), Strawberry Climb, riding and finishing with Alicia and Dan, perfect temps (lows in 50s and highs in probably 70s), sitting in a jacuzzi tub after in an amazing condo (thanks Mary!), watching Tom cross the line, my bike not falling off on the way to LOTOJA.

Lowlights include: having to eat, Salt River Pass, crazy long line to get our medals (luckily Marta saved us this hassle), seriously sore bum after sitting on a saddle for 12 hours, my bike falling off the car at 75 mph on the way home. (we are still waiting to hear from insurance company, but hopefully it won't be too big of a deal and they'll get me an equivalent bike.)

FYI: Tom rocked it even after bonking hard halfway through, but came back. He finished in 11:11 and 15th place in his start pack (which were a bunch of serious guys.)

Crazy

So i think I finally went crazy (or just a little crazier).

i decided to commit to a few crazy athletic endeavors this summer, and it turns out they are all very close to each other. And to make it even crazier, Tom is doing them all as well. i don't exactly know how we'll train, but I am excited.

• Utah Half. Half-iron distance triathlon. Swim 1.2 miles, bike 56 miles and run 13.1 miles. I've done this before and it's not as bad as it sounds. The bike and run courses are flat. The last 2 years have been super windy. I am excited because Tom is doing it. This will only be his 2nd open water tri.



2009

• LOTOJA. 2 weeks after the half, I am going to attempt to ride my bike 206 miles from Logan to Jackson Hole. In 1 Day! This means I have to climb 3 giant mountains, face lots of wind, and probably dig deeper than I ever have. Tom is "racing" it and I am just doing the "fun ride." It's the same except I get to start earlier and don't have the pressure he does to do well. I am excited because 1 friend from down here decided to join me for her birthday and I hope I can ride with Tom's brothers as well.



Tom at mile 80 in 2009

• St George Marathon. 3 weeks after LOTOJA is the marathon. I am not going to stress too much about it, assuming I qualify for Boston in the time I want at SLC Marathon in a week and a half.  

I ran it in 2010 with my sister 3 month post baby.

I'm not sure what I am getting myself into, but hey I'm not doing an ultra marathon or an Ironman like many of my friends so maybe I am little more sane than I thought.

St. George Half-Marathon

Our first race of 2011 was AWESOME! A bunch of Tom's family, including parents, 3 siblings, and 6 nieces and nephews made the long trek to sunny southern Utah for the race. And everyone participated, as official racers or race bandits.

The course was new this year. It had to be changed because of trail construction and then again because of trail destruction, but the finish product was a nice fast course on mostly paved bike trails along the Virgin River.

Besides running with many of Tom's family, we also got to run with our best friends. I love that we have so many running buddies. It made for a fun race as we both tried to and succeeded in beating some of our best competition. And of course the fun of cheering in and celebrating with all our peeps.

Tom set a new half-marathon pr on the fast course with a smoking time of 1:24:28. He led the pack of family and friends.

I was ecstatic with my perforamnce as well. I ran close to a pr with 1:41:54 and to top it off, I beat one of my best friends, Renee.

Less than a year ago, I could beat Renee while I was 7 months pregnant. Since then she has become amazing! She has gone through some tough times, but has come out a stronger woman in all ways. I look up to her and admire her for her dedication to life and just her amazing personality. Besides, raising 4 kids on her own, she is training for Ironman St George, she qualified for the Boston marathon, and she is just super fast. And that is why I was so excited to beat her. And I do have to qualify this victory with the fact that she had a tough week and had to work all night the night before the race. But I'll take it any way I can get it, and with her speed and determination this is probably the only time I'll get it.

I started the race with Renee and another fast friend Aimee. I knew they both were probably going to run faster then I wanted to, but I thought I'd stick with them as long as I could, which turned out to be only 3 miles. My goal going into the race was to run between 1:40 and 1:45. We were right on pace for the first 3 and then these girls started to pick up the pace. I figured it was time to give up to them and to just run my own race.

My pace was pretty consistent the whole race and it just felt good. I didn't see hide nor hair of my peeps until mile 11 when I spied Renee a few hundred yards ahead of me on a switchback. I was ecstatic. I could tell she was starting to slow and I found my second wind. I even tried to warn her of my coming on the switchback, but luckily for me she didn't hear me with her ipod on.

I really turned on the heat for the last 2 miles and finally, with less than a quarter mile, I caught her. I smacked her bum and urged her to try to outkick me. I didn't look back but seriously sprinted like it was for my life. Tom's yells and Aimee's (who had long finished) encouragement gave me the little umph I needed. Renee probably would have caught me if she hadn't slowed to counter Aimee's yells with a little friendly banter.

As soon as I crossed I turned to embrace Renee as she sprinted in. We continued to cheer all of our peeps in and congratulate those who kicked our trash.

Another awesome running peep is Marilyn. Marilyn is 72 and still running strong. She is amazing and I only dare to hope I am as fit as she is when I am her age. She is truly an inspiration to all of us.

It was a great day for a great race. I love our running friends and the comaraderie we all share with our passion for running.

Can't wait for the next race.

Kokopelli Triathlon 2010

I signed up for this race when I was big and pregnant because they were having a limited-time promotion. And I decided it would motivate to keep moving after little Millie arrived. It worked. I wasn't well-trained for the event, but I wasn't completely out of shape.

I trained a lot with my friend Karrie. This was her second tri and first open water tri. She rocked it! and deserved to, because she really put in the hours of training.

I participated in the olympic distance tri, which is 1500 m swim, 20 mile bike, and 10K run.

Swim 1500 m, 33:53
The swim was okay. I wasn't last out of the water, but I was definitely in the back of the pack. I have decided I need to take swimming lessons. I think I have the most room for improvement here. I was almost 15 minutes behind the fastest female swimmer and 10 behind the faster swimmers.

T1 1:37
Besides my bag getting stuck on my pedals and that causing my whole set up to get messed up, transition was ok.

Bike 20 miles, 1:06:26, 18.5 mph
It is a familiar course, so I like it. But I haven't been out on the bike enough since baby was born. The nice thing about finishing the swim in the back, is you have a lot of people in front of you to pass. It was fun and I hit 43.3 mph on the backside of Nemesis. I was a tad embarassed by my bike since I was parked by super nice tri bikes, and I ride an entry level Novara. But maybe next year, I'll save up enough for a fancier bike

T2 1:05
A good transition. Just had to switch my shoes. I wore no socks, which was a mistake and probabaly not worth the 15 seconds I saved.

Run 6.2 miles (6.4 on my watch) 53:54


Hot! The run was super hot! I don't know what the exact temp was, but it was supposed to hit 99 on saturday and it was closet o noon. I dumped water on my head at every aid station and drank Heed. I was sloshing a bit, but it was worth it. The run did not feel good and I wanted to basically die by the end. The run ends on a substantial climb back into the State Park. That sucked.
All in all a fun race with good friends. I ended finishing in 2:36:54, 10th overall female and 1st in my age group by default (the top 3 overall were in my age group, so they got bumped up leaving me as number 1. I'll take it even if they were 30 minutes ahead of me.)

Click here for full results.

The Week Before the Marathon

The St. George Marathon is a mere 5 days away. I am excited and nervous like I am before any race, but I don't have the pressure I did last year. I would like to qualify for Boston but don't feel like I have to this year.

But I think the best part of this year's race is that I have so many friends running it that it'll basically be a big giant party. I have friends from high school coming to do it, most of my best running buddies from here will be doing it. (I am super bummed that my sisters are not doing it. I was looking forward to kicking their butts) Some are doing their first marathon, others are veterans who are going for pr's. Some want to qualify, others just want to cross that finish line. Some are raising money for charity. Click here for more info on the charity team we joined. Some have spent plenty of money already on registration, shoes, energy gels, gatorade, new clothes, chiropractors and massages, etc.

But I think we are all excited to race 26.2 miles in beautiful southern Utah weather and scenery. I know I am. I am excited to push myself to my limit. I am excited to be sore the following week. I am excited to be part of the charity team. I am excited to eat lots of yummy carbs this week. I am excited to only run maybe 7 miles total this week before Saturday. I am excited to see old friends. I am excited to try to keep up with current friends. And I am super excited to cheer everyone on at the start and finish lines. I am hoping the weather stays nice and my stomach cooperates after the race so I can cheer all my peeps in. (Sorry to the speedy ones, they'll just have to settle with a good luck at the start line and Tom can probably cheer them in at the finish.)

It is so amazing to me how excited and diligent and awesome a marathon makes people. I have super enjoyed sharing 4 months of training with so many. We had organized long runs on the course. We've run (and organized) pre-race races. I've got to keep up with training on blogs and facebook and even on the traditional phone. We've talked injuries, digestion problems and toenails. We've discussed clothing and hydration and nutrition.

Even my peeps not running the race are awesome. Many have still trained with us, going long miles just to go long miles. They listen and act interested in the race. They support us. They've run other races with us or cheered us on as we ran them. They'll be cheering us on (at the finish line or from home) at the real deal. Some are even volunteering at the race expo. And hopefully many of you will be running the race next year.

It is going to be a great race and has been a great season. Thanks!

Tom's Soon to Come Adventure

I always blog about me and food and sometimes the kids, but I usually forget the most awesome guy in the world, my hubby.

On Saturday, Tom will embark on a new adventure. He has been preparing and training for months. And none the worse for it, he looks pretty dang hot with his toned legs.

Tom will bike 206 miles from Logan to Jackson Hole, all in one day. In the LOTOJA Classic, he will climb huge mountains (and luckily descend them too). He will ride through wind but hopefully no rain. He'll survive on pb&h, clif shots, bananas and gatorade. But he will also get to bike through some of the prettiest parts of the country. He will get to spend alot of great time with his brothers. And he will conquer one of the most grueling one day bike races ever.
I am so proud of all his hard work and diligent training. Luckily for him, he gets to ride the race with 3 brothers, a handful of best friends and be supported en route by a father, a mother, a sister and a sister-in-law. I'll support him post race with a great big meal and happy kids who didn't have to spend 12 hours in a car. And maybe I'll wave to him as we pass him on our way to Jackson.

I am excited to see Tom and his bros cross that finish line in Jackson. I am sure they will be exhausted and drained, but so ecstatic with their awesome show of endurance.

Go Tom! Good luck and be safe!

Utah Half Race Report

The Utah Half Triathlon was quite an experience. It was not easy. I wanted to quit a few times. I was almost in tears a number of times. But after I crossed the finish line, having given every ounce I had, it was so worth it.

The morning began early, but calm and cool. But as the morning progressed, the weather turned worse. The temperature dropped and the wind picked up. The cold front was supposed to move through Friday night leaving a cool, but calm morning. But the front decided to move though the morning of the race. As the athletes walked toward the lake, the wind got fiercer and fiercer. The men started to get in the lake and the rest of us shivered on the dock. Luckily, the swim was held in the protected harbor. Views of the actual lake, brought agonizing fear to me. Huge, ocean-sized waves crashed in the main lake, while smaller white caps disrupted the harbor. Race officials postponed the swim as the weather was checked, buoys were replaced after being blown away by the wind, and I shivered from cold and fear with my best friends.

Finally, after about an hour of waiting, race officials decided to start the race between two cold fronts moving through. The swim was cut in half to allow both the men and women time to get through before the second front moved through. The men started and I got in the water. The water was choppy, but not cold. The gun went off and I started toward the giant orange buoy. I was swimming directly into the waves. For every stroke I took, a wave hit me in the face. I panicked. I basically survival swam out to the buoy. I side stroked most of the way to keep my face free from the water. Many swimmers were turning around early, but I was determined to make it. My training buddy, Carol, was tempted to quit, but I encouraged her and we both carried on as best we could. Finally, I made the buoy and began the easier swim back. However, the wind was blowing at an angle and although I was swimming with the waves, I was blown way off course and had to stop to figure out where I was when I thought I should have been done. The finish buoy was no where in sight. I raised my hand to signal a kayaker to help me figure out where to go, but no one saw me, Luckily, I wasn't actually drowning. I followed an island toward the shore until I could see the buoy. I made it out, safely, and one of the very last ones.
Swim-1000m: 28:45 (pathetic, I know)

T1: 2:46
I hustled the quarter mile to the transition area, stripping my wetsuit as I ran. As I entered the transition area to almost no bikes, I was a bit discouraged. Ashley was long gone because she rocked the swim. Carol and I transitioned together. I grabbed a drink, put on my socks and shoes and got on my bike. I grabbed my arm-warmers and some food and put them in my super cute pocket (post on those to come soon). . I got on my bike and started the 56-mile windy trek. The first few miles weren't bad, because I had a tail wind, but when I turned and had a cross-wind or headwind, it was awful. I caught my training buddy Ashley close to the turn around as we tunneled directly into the wind. Luckily, the course was flat, but my legs burned from steadying my bike in the wind. The 28 miles back were all either in to a headwind or cross wind. And when I though it couldn't get any worse, it started to hail, yep hail.

It stung, but I didn't want to stop to put on arm-warmers. The hail stopped and turned to rain. I was soaked through and pretty cold. One advantage was I didn't need to drink much. And the advantage of being almost dead last out of the water, is I got to pass a lot of folks without a single person passing me. By the end of the bike leg I counted that I was in close to 20th place.

Bike-56 miles: 3:00:19

T2: 1:27 (4th fasted female, thank you very much)
I was freezing at the start of the run. I couldn't even get my helmet off because my fingers were numb. I stuck the strap in my mouth and bit the clasp open. I took off my soggy bike shoes and put on soggy running shoes. I felt surprisingly good at the start of the run. I stopped for a potty break and had to wait in line. I figured I lost 2 minutes there, but I had to go.

The run consisted of two loops and a number of little out and backs. I thought I would hate the out and backs, but they weren't too bad, because I could see who was in front of me and if I was gaining anything and if I was losing anything to those behind me. The wind had calmed and there was just light rain. By the third mile, my extremities had warmed and I was feeling great. I was pretty consistent the whole run and felt pretty good. I only had 1 mile over 9 minutes and had one right at 8 to make up for it. The course was spectator friendly and I got to see Tom at least 4 times. That really helped my morale.
The last three miles were hard, but I pushed myself harder and tried not to slow down. When i crossed that finish line, I truly didn't have an ounce of energy left.


Run-13.1 miles: 1:52:48 (8:34 miles)

I ended up in 16th place, 8th in my age-group, with a time 5:26:06

I am so ready to try another one. I am even tempted to do the full-ironman, but realize that is impossible with little James at home. But I am glad I did it. I am a little disappointed with my swim, but now have something to look forward to improving next time. I plan to work on getting my bike faster, but am content. And I am super happy with my run, I couldn't have expected to run any faster, but will still try to do better next time.

I feel like I put the training in, and got a great result. Hard work does pay off and now I get to focus my energy on the St. George Marathon in October.

Here is my good friend and training buddy, Ashley. She looks hot and rocked it!


Here is my other good friend and training buddy, Carol. She is 45 and crazy! She rocked it and will rock the full Ironman in May.


Click here for full results and click here for photos, my number is 65.

A New Adeventure into the Unknown

In less than a week, I will experience where my physical and emotional limits reach. On August 15, I am going to compete (I use the word loosely, I just want to finish) in the Utah Half Ironman in Provo. I will swim, bike and run farther than I ever have before. I have completed each individual distance with no problem, but put all three in a row and I just might die.

First, I get to swim 1.2 miles in the bug-infested and fairly gross Utah Lake. Two years ago, this would have petrified me and is what kept me from entering such an event. But somewhere between then and now, I have learned to swim in the open-water, freestyle and not die of exhaustion or drowning. I am confident in my ability to swim the distance, thanks to my awesome wetsuit. And I am confident that I probably won't be the last out the water, like I have in previous triathlons. And I am confident that I that I will have energy left to move onto the second leg of the triathlon, thanks to my slow methodical stroke.

Next, I will strip off the wetsuit and strap on a helmet as I mount my bicycle for 56 flat and hopefully, fast miles around Utah Lake. I like to think the bike leg is my strength, but feel it may not be this time because of the flatness of the course. I lose all my advantage when there are no hills. But at the same time, I am grateful there are no hills because hopefully, my legs will have some juice left in them to carry me through the last leg. My bike is, as we speak, in the shop, getting a tune-up. I just installed new aero bars (thanks to my brother) and I am waiting for my new tires to arrive. If they don't get here, Tom is going to let me use his new ones. So my bike should be pimped out and ready to go! And I am going to be pretty pimped out, too: cute new shorts (that are a bit more flattering then my old ones), new helmet, new bike shoes, fairly new running shoes, and I am trying to figure out how to sew a fun pocket onto one of my tanks (very few of my running shirts have pockets and i need somewhere to put my energy so I bought some wild spandex and will try to figure out how to get it on).

The last leg, 13.1, luckily flat miles, is the most daunting of the three legs. Every time I run a half marathon, I am exhausted by that last tenth of a mile. What makes me think that I can do that half-marathon after having swum 1.2 miles and biked 56? Especially, since I swim mostly with my legs (I think pigeon-toedness gives my kick a little motor-like feel to it and I don't really know how to stroke with my arms super well.) and bike almost solely with my legs.

I feel a little crazy for entering such an event, but excited to give it a try. I have always said I would do a half-ironman, just didn't think it would be so soon. I registered for it when I was still high from my Utah Summer Games Triathlon experience. I have trained some but probably not enough. My only true brick workout was a week and half ago, and I literally almost died on it. I was over-heated and dehydrated (thanks to the horrid lady at a restaurant in Leeds who refused to give a dying girl a glass of water). The last mile of the 1 mile swim, 37 mile bike and 10 mile run workout was one of the hardest miles of my life. I made it thanks to my training partner running by my side.

I guess I need to remember my goal for this race is just to finish. Of course, I have a time goal in my head and there are other competitors I want to beat, but I need to make myself happy with just finishing the race. But, this is the unknown so hopefully I can do that and do it with dignity and smile on my face. And maybe not be the last one to cross the finish line.

Hurricane Half

Click here for a full Hurricane Half race report.

It was a great race with lots of fun friends

and really close sprint finish. I think I outleaned him at the line.

Love my arm warmers.

And my hubby. He rocked the course in 1:26 and 9th overall.

Lake to Lake Race Report

Go to www.ourroadtoboston.blogspot.com for a full race report of the most awesome race ever. Hopefully, Tom will post his soon.

Btw, don't I have the most awesome running gait ever. Look at that back leg. how do I do it?

Dam 2 Dam Race

Tom and I ran the Dam 2 Dam 5-mile race last weekend. We had tons of fun, always. Click here for our full race reports. Tom even wrote one. Click here for an article and video about the race.

Our next race is the Lake to Lake Relay on March 7.

New Running Blog

Since Tom and I have become pretty obsessed with running and training for the Boston Marathon, we decided to start a new blog devoted to our training. That way, those who really don't care how our last race, won't have to suffer through the boring details. But for those who are interested in what we are doing in preparation for the Boston Marathon, visit our new blog.

www.ourroadtoboston.blogspot.com is a blog devoted to our training and races. We are doing it mostly for our own benefit, but if anyone has interest, they are welcome to visit anytime. We plan to update it weekly with our training for the week. And the new blog will be where we post our race reports from now on. And Tom ahs even committed to posting on it.

We are super excited to be going to Boston and really need to pick up our training a bit. Hopefully the blog will help motivate us a little more.

St. George Half-Marathon Report

Tom and I ran the St. George Marathon On Saturday. We hadn't trained a whole lot, but both of us need to get back in shape. Boston is only 3 months away. So this was a great wake-up call for both of us and we are not in as bad as shape as we thought. We both made it through and we both beat our goals. Albeit, my goal wasn't super ambitious considering the running shape I am in, but hey I still beat my goal.

And it was tons of fun to run with friends. I love these local races because there are so many friends. We all talk after about our race, what race is next etc. Great times.

Here is my report. I always ask Tom to write one, too but he never does. Oh well.

The St. George Half is in January in St. George. You never quite know what the weather is going to be like. It might bitter cold and raining or it might be 60 degrees and sunny. If you sign up for this race, you watch the weather and just hope for the best. And this year, that is what we got. The weather was spectacular. The forcast called for sunny skies and highs in the low 60s. Heaven I tell you.

The race began at 9 am. It was a chilly at the start. I wore running tights, short sleeves, my awesome argyle Garmin-Chipotle arm warmers a fleece, gloves and ear warmers as we waited for 9 to roll around. I shed the fleece just before the start. This year they chip-timed the race because there were over 1000 runners. But the timers weren't the greatest. They started the race ten minutes late and made 1000 runners funnel through an opening of about 15 feet where the timing mats started our chips. But chip timers are better than not, so I won't complain too much.

I started out way too fast. The crowds of runners got to me. I ran my first mile in 7:40. I usually like to make my first mile my slowest, instead it was my fastest. The first couple of miles wind flat through neighborhood streets. I tried to ignore the hoards of people passing me and just run my own race.

After a while we get on a bike path that follows the river. It is beautiful and nice to not be on the streets with cars. I passed a few, got passed by a few, but had found a good groove. I passed a girl who always kicks my butt at the local triathlons. She usually wins them, so it felt nice to pass her. (but she ran 8 minutes slower than last year so I bet she was pregnant or injured or something, but still.)

The 5th mile is uphill and is one of my slowest. I struggled up the hill but felt okay. The next mile is pretty downhill so it was pretty fast. At about mile 7, I am tired and have doubts about my finish. But carry on.

Just before 8 miles into my race, the leaders are coming back on the path at their 11 miles. They give me some new energy, watching them fly by me. I don't even think I could run 1 mile with them at the pace they were running. There were three who passed me on their way back and one was only 17 years old.

The next part of the course is a bit hilly and circles a golf course on the road. My IT band began to hurt but I decided against stopping and stretching it. (not sure if that was wise or not). The
loop is three miles and I just pushed through it. By this point, there are people around me I recognize. I tried to not let any women pass me, but of course some do. When they passed me, I tried to keep my eye on them.

Sometime around mile 10 I took off my arm warmers. I was so glad i wore them and not long sleeves. The last 2.1 miles are back on the path. Now, I got to see some who are behind me still on the path. I was definitely tired and my IT band ached.

Tom greeted me on the path about 1/2 mile from the finish. He ran with me for couple hundred yards and encouraged me. Then came the worst part of the whole course. We had to pass the finish line and run .15-mile further on the path and make the tight turn around (which means you had to practically stop to make the turn-around) and come back to the finish line. The geniuses who mapped the course, mapped it .3 of a mile too short and decided to add it at the end. Don't ask me why they didn't just add .3 of a mile to the start on the straight road that had plenty of room to add, but I was mad, I was hurting and I pushed as hard as I could. I crossed the finish line in 1:44:54 (6 seconds ahead of my optimistic goal).

Someone mentioned to Tom at church that I looked like I was hurting and having a bad race at the end. It's a little embarrassing to think about how I looked at the end of 13.1 miles, but I was hurting and struggling but I made it!

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Prefontaine Lives!

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A few weeks ago we participated in the annual Butch Cassidy 1oK and the legend Steve Prefonatine decided to run it as well, oh wait that was actually Thomas. Dad, Suzanne (as a race bandit), Thomas and I all ran it. It was a beautiful fall day and we all had lots of fun.
Dad defended his title as 1st place finisher in his age group for two years in a row(1:03:01.4). Tom took third in his age group (40:50.0), and it's a very difficult age group. Suzanne PR'ed and I just had fun finishing two months after giving birth(55:27.7).

Watch Out Boston! Here Comes Thomas!

Over the weekend, Thomas had the opportunity to participate in the 2007 St. George Marathon.

Tom led the pace pack for most of the race.

His hard work and grueling training paid off. Tom finished the marathon in the incredibly fast time of 3:06:38, a personal record by 10 minutes.

This stellar performance has qualified Tom for the world-famous Boston Marathon . He plans to compete in that event in April 2009. That gives you plenty of time if you want to run it with him. So, start training.

Way to go T!