3 elliptical miles

Today my back really really hurt. It got to the point where I had to lay on the couch and not move and I thought I might throw up from the pain. So I iced it, and then heated it and it felt a lot better. Later I decided to go to the gym and do the elliptical. I was pleasantly surprised that it didn't hurt me. I wasn't going gung ho or anything, but still glad it wasn't hurting.

5.48 elliptical miles and 8.11 road/trail miles

Yesterday, monday I did the elliptical to try and give my knees a break. Today I got to run outside, which is always nice. I tried out my new skirt, the one I was hoping I could use in the marathon. Turns out the compression shorts underneath ride up, which doesn't really bug me. However, the bottom of them are tighter and ribbed, and when one leg rides up farther than the other, it creates a perfect chaffing situation. No good. The skirt is super cute though and will be used often in shorter runs, and with my body glide which I didn't use today. The run was fun too because I went on a new route and found some trails through some blueberry fields and it was interesting, minus thing scurrying in the bushes scaring me. I was wishing I had brought a gel with me. My stomach was super hungry at about mile 5 and I got feeling pretty weak. The last time I did 8 miles, well 7, I had a gel pack with me, but didn't' need it. I think it all has to do with how much food is in my system. Lesson learned. My back started bugging me today during this run and is still bugging me. URGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGG

I'm Thinking About Quitting

Except for that I'm way to competitive to quit. If I hadn't told so many people that I was going to do this, I might really consider quitting. It's just that the list of things on my body that hurt me all day long is getting longer and longer. Add to it now: my lower back. Not good people. I'm really hoping my new shoes help. It's just so frustrating. It's not how I imagined my training going, not even close. I really feel like my body is breaking down piece by piece.

11 Miles

I went down to the hometown today to run with my S.I.L Lindsay. AKA: Lindser, Linserelli. She runs with a marathon training group that has aide stations all set up. Too fun. We ran at a slower pace for me, and a faster pace for her. When it was all said and done, our average mile time was 10:57 miles per hour. I think it was good for me to slow down a little bit, even though at times I was wanting to push forward faster. I felt pretty good, aches and pains would come and go the whole run. It's kinda funny how that works. We would stop at the aid stations, get some water, stretch if needed and continue. I'm not used to stopping. I don't think my knees liked that. There were feeling tight and after our last stop, they didn't recover. For some reason my shoulders tightened up so much the last mile. That was the worst part. However, the scenery was beautiful. We ran along a river, by fields, cows, horses, and even an emu farm. Crazy. It was so fun to be able to do a long training run with Linds. She was having some hamstring troubles the whole time, poor thing. We were pretty proud of ourselves when we finished!!

Udate on my shoes: I ended up taking back the New Balance shoes. I also took back the Addidas Supernovas I bought during the week. I ended up finding a pair of shoes like the ones I'm currently wearing on line. It's kind of a miracle since they are a model that was new two years ago and is no longer being made. I hope that this internet company is the real deal and they get here soon!!! (Saucony Triumph 3)

Big Fat Zero miles on Thursday and Friday

2 Easy Goin' Miles

I decided to give another new pair of shoes a try on the treadmill today. They were the Addidas Supernovas. (Mens) I decided I'm taking them back tomorrow.

I only wanted to run a little bit to keep my muscles loose, but still give my legs a chance to heal. So I just took it easy. I think tomorrow I will do the elliptical.

I Need Chocolate.

Anyone else out there an emotional eater?

I just don't feel like going to the gym today. I'm not doing great physically or mentally at this point in time. Mentally, I probably really could use a good workout, but physically, it's just not a good idea. There you have it.

4 Bothersome Miles.

I feel like my body is starting to break down. More specifically my legs. I need to solve this shoe dilemma and fast!

17.2 miles!!!!! WHAT!

I still can't believe I got up this morning and ran this far! Especially since I had a ROUGH night and didn't even try to get to sleep until 3:30am and the alarm went off at 6:30am. Not even exaggerating. Let's just say that Kyah has croup, which if you have never had a child have this, you think they are going to die because they can't breath and are making horrible sounds. Anyway, back to the run.

Note: I got new running shoes yesterday. New Balance 768.



We ran on the East Lake Sammamish Trail again today. It is a crushed rock surface. I was iffy about the shoes from the get-go. My arches hurt, but I'm pretty sure that was from running with inserts in last week that were to much of an arch support for me. By mile 9, my knees already hurt. Not like something is wrong hurt, but the "I will never be able to start running again if I stop because my knees are tight" kind of hurt. Which is why I have the .2 on there. Debbie had to stop to use the bathroom at mile 14 and I knew I was toast if I stopped, so I jogged up for a minute and then turned around to go and meet her. And just so she doesn't feel bad, I had to use the bathroom at mile 1 folks and again at mile 4. That's what happens when you chug the G2 right before you run. (No, I didn't learn my lesson from the last time.) Also, my second toe on my left foot was hitting the seam of the shoe. It was annoying and left a large blister. The balls of my feet ached after we were done. Another reason I'm iffy on the shoes. But I'm wondering how much of this is from running 17 miles and how much is actually from the shoes. Pretty much everything from my waist down hurt when I was done. Last week after our 15 mile run, we really really felt good. Today was not quite the same. I feel like a big whiner in this post so let me cheer it up a little bit. We really did have a good run. We had lots to talk about and honestly it flew by- for something that took 2 hours 56 minutes, it flew by. It is soooooooooooooo nice to run with Debbie. And, most of my aches and pains are gone, except of course the achilles tendons, and my toes. :)

Can I just tell you, never in my life did I ever imagine I would get up on a Sat. and run 17 miles. I am Amazing. (So is Debbie)

A 6.75 Mile Valentine Run!

I was scheduled for 8 miles, but I left the house at 4:15pm and had a special dinner planned and just didn't have enough time to do all 8. It was a good run. I averaged 9 min. 59 sec. miles, which was good considering the hills I was running. I did have to stop at Debbie's house to use the bathroom. Duh. That's what I get for chugging a gatorade just before I ran to make up for my lack of liquid consumption in the morning and afternoon.

Tomorrow, off to Fleet Feet to get new shoes. Yayayayayayaayayayyyayyyayayayay! My purple toenails are already thanking me.

4 miles

I ran 4 miles on the treadmill today. It felt good. I ran faster than I normally do and that felt nice. I did 2 miles at a 9:05 mile pace and 2 miles at a 8:33 mile pace. I used my inserts in my shoes today for the first time running. I think I will take them back. They didn't hurt my knees or anything, but there was a big annoying fat lump in my arches. I did get used to them after 2.5 miles, but I still think I may like the less aggressive ones better.

P.S. I realized that I should be way embarrassed about my white legs at the gym. NO ONE is as white as me! But I am in a phase in my life where I am "owning" my body so to speak. It is what it is at the moment and I'm going to "own" it. Whatever. I'm not going to hide my white legs.


I'm a woman
Phenomenally
Phenomenal woman
That's me

Maya Angelou

8 miles

Today I got to run outside because Nate came home from work at 4:15pm. I knew I had to get out the door quick because there was only so much light left. I wore my hydration belt with two bottles filled up. I kind of wanted to get used to it. I took along a gel pack too, but didn't use it. The run was hilly, but that was kind of nice since I have only been doing the treadmill and flat trails on my long runs. I used the suggestions in my book to stay possitive mentally. I do best using the self talk method. I was telling myself on the hills, "I love hills, I love hills, they make my buns firm. :) ) Other things I found myself saying, "I never get tired, I love running, I love running in the rain, I AM a marathoner!) Yes, I got rained on.... a lot. But it really was fine with me. And it made for an awesome rainbow!!! The sky looked awesome today as the sun was setting and the sky was almost purple with some coulds. It reminded me of spartan spirit. (My high school colors were purple and gold) There was one part when I came out of the trees and was heading down my big hill and the sun was shining bright on me and it was so cool. Then I got too low on the hill and it was back to being in the dark. Overall, a good run.

4 miles

Today I only did .6 miles on the treadmill before I had to get off. I wore my old shoes because my newer shoes are a little small and two of my toenails are super sore after my 15 mile run on Sat. Anyway, the minute I started running things were not feeling great. My heel was really bugging me. It was very deja vu of when I had plantar facaitis before when I had the exact same model of shoes that had put in too many miles. Not wanted to repeat history, I hopped off the treadmill and over to the elliptical. I went hard core for 3.4 miles! I actually felt sweat running down my forehead. (Nice, I know) I kept my heart rate between 150 and 160. It felt good.

P.S. My spellcheck is still not working!

15 miles

Yesterday Debbie and I did a 15 mile run!!! We were both anxious about it the night before and didn't sleep well. We decided to run on the Cedar River Trail. It was the first day that we used our fuel belts. When we got to the trail head. It was cold, rainy, and windy. We got started quickly as we were cold! We warmed up really quick though and the rain stopped very soon too! It was still kind of a dreary day out and for some reason I was struggling! I just kept thinking how my hip was already hurting and how the belt was weighing me down. We ran about 30 seconds slower with the fuel belts on. It was kind of hard for me because it seemed like Debbie was always a step ahead of me and really wanted to speed up. I felt like I was catching up. I was telling Debbie how I was being such a whiner in my head and that I was really having a tough time. Then she YELLED, "Are you a marathoner?" and I yelled back, "I am a marathoner!" Then we laughed and laughed. It must of worked because soon after that I felt great (about mile 6) and the rest of the run was great from there on out. Well, almost. I had to go to the bathroom super bad at about mile 9.5. We knew we had seen a porta potty, but weren't sure how far away it was. We finally found it at about mile 12.5 (we run out and back) Anyway, it was barely in time!!! Phew! What is the deal with my body????? We felt really really great at the end of our run and couldn't believe how good we felt for having just completed 15 miles~! WOW. And Debbie's knees didn't hurt her like they normally do because she just got new shoes Friday. Everythings good.

Sorta~
P.S. I did ice my achilles tendon when I got home and hope that it isn't going to become an issue!

P.S.S. We didn't use our iPods because I don't think I'm going to use it in the marathon!

Friday 3.5 elliptical miles

Thursday: Totally skipped my 7 mile run!

Nate had a final meeting to go over his BYU essays at 8:30pm, the time I go to the gym. So I missed. BUT all his aps are now turned in so that won't happen anymore! Yay!!

Wed. 4 miles

7 miles!

Today I was throwing a baby shower and so I didn't get to the gym until 9:45pm. Yuck. And I had just stuffed myself full of yummy baby shower food. BUT IT DOESN"T MATTER I told myself! I ran a mile on a treadmill not infront of the TV, then my normal treadmill opened up. Yeah. So I switched at a mile and started again. This was good timing. I had six miles left to do in front of the TV which unfotunately was on CNN or something that was reporting on Super Tuesday. Don't get me wrong, I'm interested in politics, but not for one hour straight while I was running. Anyway, it was fine, plus I had my ipod. The problem today was that I needed to use the bathroom in a major way for 4 whole miles!!! It was a true emergency when I finally was finished. I shut the treadmill off so fast, didn't even wipe it down, and pretty much ran to the bathroom!!!! Luckily everything was fine. It was a close call. :)

4 miles

Yesterday I was able to go on a run in my hometown while Jorday watched the babies. It was so nice to be outside and running during the week! It drizzled on my a little and I didn't care at all. I have been reading a book called, "The nonrunner marathon trainer." (I don't know how to underline) It gives you tips on the mental aspects of running. One of them is to tell youself, it doesn't matter, if you find yourself complaining. So yesterday I was thinking, "it's starting to rain....but IT DOESN'T MATTER!" Or, my achilles is achy, but IT DOESN'T MATTER!" I love this new technique.

14 dedicated miles to Gordon B. Hinckley

Today my friend Debbie and I ran 14 miles for our dedication run to the Prophet Gordon B. Hinckley.



Writing on my feet. GBH and 1910-2008. If you look closely, you'll see that at first I wrote 2007 and not 2008. Duh.


Our pre-race picture with the Prophet.


We had really nice weather today considering it was suppose to rain! The sun actually shined on us. It was beautiful. I had quotes from President Hinckley in my coat pocket and read one at every mile. It was a great run. Well, the first 1.35 miles was sketchy. We were at Lake Sammamish State Park where there was suppose to be access to a compact gravel trail. We were on some crazy trail that was totally muddy and at points there were wooden crates to run on so you weren't in the mud/puddles. The crates were slippery. At one point we had to stop and tip toe around a HUGE puddle to avoid getting soaked up past our ankles. Plus, I saw a sign that said, "Attention. Coyotes have been sighted frequently along the trail. Please keep your dogs on a leash. I was very nervous! Luckily though after 1.35 miles, we found the right trail and it was awesome!


Post-race pic.


My muddy shoes. They don't look too bad in this pic, but they were.

All in all, we had a great time and it was a really wonderful thing to think about our beloved prophet as we ran and dedicate it to him.


Notes: My knees, hips, arches, ankles, all felt way better this week than last!!! My knees were very tight at mile 13 and were telling me to stop. But it wasn't pain really, just tightness. Because we didn't want to make the trek back through the mud, we went a different way back to the car. It was longer and forced us to have a cool down walk of .5 mile. I think that was actually good. We can't wait to get our fuel belts on Monday! Also, that first 1.35 miles was ran very slow because of the conditions and I think that was really good too to have sort of a warm up mile.

Hello Buns. 4.56 miles. Elliptical Style.

I did the elliptical tonight since I'm going to be running 14 miles in the morning. Can I just tell you there was the funniest guy at the gym. He was doing the stair stepper/master, whatever you call it, just in front and to the right of me. He was really workin it doing quick short steps. NO JOKE, 45 seconds out of every minute he was turned around checking himself out in the mirror. He totally pulled up his T-shirt so it was about and inch above his shorts. Board shorts at that, you know, like swimwear. AND he had himself leaning his upper body on the machine so his buns were totally sticking out. EWWWWE. But he sure was enjoying the view of himself. I seriously had to try hard to hold in my laughter. If only my iPod had the song, "You're So Vain" on it, that would have been perfect!