CIM Marathon: December 8th, 2019:

Time: NEW PR by 3 MINUTES!: 2:45:28

BUT I missed the Olympic Trials By 28 seconds. So Bummed!

 

So… the morning started off great. I woke up at 3:30 a.m. Corom and I left his brother’s house (in Sacramento) and drove 40 min to grab Alison B from her hotel. He dropped us off at the bus that took us up to the start. (The pic below is obviously the day before picking up my packet…)

We waited in line for the bathrooms for a while, then only warmed up for about 3 min. The least amount of warming up that I have ever done before a race. The weather forecast said it was supposed to be pouring rain and wind. We had the perfect amount of “rain” and little to no wind. It was awesome. It was very humid, though.

If any of you have run a marathon… you know that the entire race is a mental and emotionfest! I felt great, then the next mile I felt like crap, then the next it was all good, the next I kept thinking there is no way I am going to hold this pace, then I am totally going to achieve my goal… on and on for the entire marathon. Well, this race was no different. I felt great and then mile 7 rolls around, and I honestly thought, “Holy Crap, I have a long way to go, there is no way I will be able to stay at a 6:15-6:18 pace.” I held on to a few more miles, and something clicked over and I felt strong and alive! I made it to the halfway mark at a 1:22:23 I believe, a few seconds under the Olympic Trials mark of 1:22:30, and still felt great. I was a little behind the pace group, on purpose, because they were going a little faster than what I wanted to do; but still kept them in sight. Mile 15-16, I began to struggle again. My legs began to feel heavy and the negative thoughts started to seep in. I quickly took another Marten gel hoping that would help. The wheels started to click over again at mile 17 when I realized I only had an hour left of running. I became excited and knew I could hold on for 1 more hour!

I began slowly to make my way up to the pace group pack. The 2:45:00 pacers (3 guys that were pacing the Olympic Trials field) started off with about 150 ladies… by about mile 20 when I caught up to them, there were only about 20 ladies left. Most just fell off that pace and could not hold on, but still a good size group. I had emotions come on early of excitement and joy that I was going to do this! I felt great. I even held back because when I caught the pacers, I wanted to run ahead. So for the next 3 miles, I stayed right with them. They kept telling us to relax, that by mile 23, we were 10 seconds ahead of the 2:45 time.

Holy Crap… I was going to do it! I knew, I only had 19 minutes left of running and then I was done! I started to pull a little ahead but not by much. Mile 24 comes up and still feeling good, fatigued, but good. We were 15 seconds ahead of the 2:45 time!! Then with only a mile and a half to go, my legs started to feel really heavy, like lead. I popped another piece of run gum in, hoping that caffeine would kick in and carry me over. The pace group quickly caught up to me but I knew I had about 10-15 seconds to spare behind them. So for the next .7 miles, I held on behind the group. With only a mile to go, at about 25.2, I really started to unravel.

I was driving my arms and trying to hold on but the group got a little farther. I saw the mark that said 800 meters left, still kept trying to drive but my pace slowed down to a 6:25. 400 meters left, I slowed down to a 6:30ish… I could not get my body and mind on the same page. I was struggling so bad to push through the last 3-4 min but I COULD NOT do it! This is the last 400 meters of my race. Bless Coroms heart for running on the side of me just to get a video… I’m not a very pretty runner.

I crossed that finish line at 2:45:28 and I was so sad. I felt what it would have been like to achieve a goal that I have been trying so hard for. I just started to cry and I couldn’t stop.

Corom was so patient with me and just waited for my crying to stop. There were many runner friends there that were encouraging and shared my frustrations.

But it was still hard none the less. I am so grateful for a 3 minute PR. My best time before was a 2:48:12 and that was 4 years ago. Since I started training again this last year and a half… I have not been able to break 2:50. So I am so excited but sad about it at the same time.

Looking back now that it’s the next day, I keep questioning myself why couldn’t I just push on. How did I let it go that last mile. But I guess it’s back to trying for one more shot in Houston… I’m getting to old for this. 😂😂

There are so many people that I have to thank!! Corom (my husband, my 4 girls, my mother in law for watching our girls, my family, friends, neighbors, ladies I run with and the kids I coach. So supporting and amazing!

Chicago Marathon October 13, 2019

Time: 2:51:10

 

I love running Chicago’s marathon! The course, the people & volunteers, the atmosphere and the energy… all of it, so electrifying. I didn’t hit the time I wanted or a PB (personal best) but I loved the entire race. I did go into this race with a few hiccups along the way with training. I found out 2 1/2 weeks before the race that I was borderline anemic so trying to load up on iron pills was no fun.

I was able to stay mentally positive even when I fell off my pace. I’m not going to lie… I am way bummed about it but there’s always another race. I don’t know if I’m crazy to keep trying for the olympic trials, but I know I would regret it if I didn’t try. The weather was perfect at the start of the race.

It was about 32 degrees Fahrenheit and no wind. Which was awesome because it’s been windy all weekend (strong winds). At about an hour into the marathon (10-11 miles in), the wind started to pick up.

I still stayed on pace for another 5-6 miles but around 17 miles, started to struggle. Slowly but surely, I began to fall off pace… I finished at a 2:51 and just tired. But mentally I felt good!

Corom was awesome and all over the course! He probably put more miles in than I did. He seriously was making me laugh… I’m glad he was able to go out with me.

We had a great weekend (movies, walking the streets of Chicago, food) and met so many great people from all over the world. I do love traveling for races.

Well back to training!

 

 

 

 

Houston Marathon

January, 2019

Goal time: 2:45.00

My time: 2:50:52

 

I’ve been out of the racing community for the last 2-3 years. Back in October I decided I wanted to train for the Houston marathon and try for the 2:45 time. I hired John from Ireland and he put me on a 12 week training plan. It was hard work but wonderful! I started off by pacing a friend of mine at the St. George marathon (in October)… and went on from there. She wanted to break 3:05 and we came in at 3:04:20… it was a great run to start off my training with!

The race morning was extremely cold for Houston. 32 degree weather (and by the time we finished it was 35 or 36 degrees). The humidity was at 70% and it was windy. On the news it said the wind chill made it the coldest in record for that morning of the marathon. I was so bummed… not about the cold (even though we were all in shorts and a tank tops… I did have arm sleeves and gloves) so much but for the dang wind and the extra cold it brought. This training cycle went great and I hit the marks I needed (even on the days that I felt like crap). So I was ready for this race but not ready for the weather conditions.

I was so nervous and In a way dreading going into this race because my confidence was not there due to the lack of racing. I didn’t know if I could run at the 6:15’s (even though I did it through training) or if I even belonged where I was corralled (sub-elite). But there was no turning back as we lined up and I just took a deep breath and said to myself to just enjoy it!

As the gun went off, I started into my pace along stride everyone else. I felt great and for the 1st 3 Miles, I was faster than where I wanted to be (6:13, 6:13, 6:04)… I slowed down a little to hold on to an even 6:15 pace. There were a few miles I would pick it up and had to slow down. We turned a corner around mile 7-8 and headed into a head wind. More corners and it was a side wind, then back to head wind (this continued on for much of the race… 8 to about 16-17 Miles). I came across the half way point at 1:22. Right on a 2:44 pace for the marathon time. I felt good and felt like I could hold on to this pace.

I decided to be more conservative starting into the second half because I wanted to make sure I could finish strong. I was tired of the wind coming at all angles except for the back. And finally at about mile 17 the wind was against our backs. It was a nice tail wind. I did start to struggle with the mental thoughts at about this time but still feeling ok.

I ran into my friend Ashley at 19 miles… we realized we were still on for our time but getting closer to the 2:45 time. We knew we had to dig deep and push. (She ended having to stop for a potty break which is always a bum deal but said she will catch up). Mile 20 comes around and I came across at a 2:06 flat. Doing the calculations in my head, I knew I had to stay right on a 6:14-6:15 pace, no room for dropping back. I totally felt this was achievable and going to be extremely hard. I kept repeating 38-39 min left.

Then mile 21 hit and somewhere around that mile we turned a corner… back to the challenge of the wind. Instantly I felt a dread of that dang wind. I unintentionally began to give up and more frequently I let the negative thoughts seep in. My pace slowed and by mile 23 I was a minute off pace. I took another gel and my stomach started to churn (I think I took too many gels… I believe 6 total every 25-30 min and I took 2 run-gums… too much sugar). Mile 24 I slowed down to a 7:30-7:45 pace and Ashley caught back up to me. She hung with me the rest of the time and helped me the rest of the way. I wanted to throw up and my legs began to feel heavy but because of her, I held onto that 7:20 pace.

I came in at 26.47 miles in 1:50:52. Not what I wanted at all but it was a good fight. The beauty of this entire race… I went into it as a 40 year old and ended up winning the masters age group! Kara Goucher started the race (she is 40 as well) and was unable to finish… so I took 1st. I won money and was so stoked about it. There were 33,000 runners and majority of the field were women.

I’m not going to lie… I am so bummed about my time but I am ready to start all over again for another try at it.

We did have a great weekend together. I stayed with Ayisha and Ashley and Marco was with us to do some video and pictures for Ayisha. These ladies were amazing and an inspiration. Fun weekend. My 3rd daughter left this cute note for me before I left; loved seeing the support for the TSA workers during the shutdown; loved the Texas shaped waffles:

These 2 ladies (Ashley and Ayisha) were so funny! Ayisha had me cut her hair the night before the race… she said it was weighing her down. I am not going to lie… I was a little nervous at 1st to do it.

 

 

 

 

Chicago Marathon

October, 2015

Goal time: 2:45.00

My time: 2:48.12 (40 sec PR)

Sunday: Chicago Marathon: I am writing this as I am crying (yes I am a baby) 😂. So this will be really emotional… Here is my race report. Everything went smoothly this morning. Getting up and ready, walking the streets in the dark to the train, and then connecting with 45,000 other runners. Beautiful but warm and windy morning. But I was not going to let that effect me!

 Cops ligned the streets everywhere… It was neat to see.

 I hung out in the American Development tent with about 200 other people trying to qualify for Olympic Trials… The nervous energy was so intense and heavy! My nerves were so strong. I just wanted the race to start. And then right at 7:30 we were off! I felt so good… More than good, great. My garmin kept beeping every mile and I was faster than my splits! I was excited. My half was right at a 1:20… I knew I had another half marathon in me… These were the 1st 17 miles from my garmin:  (my garmin went out on me when I was writing it down and I know that my last 2 miles were a 6:43 and a low 7- maybe 7:03).

 I just kept thinking, my girls are going to be so excited because I told them we will go to Disneyland right after the trials (which takes place in L.A.) I thought about Corom as he was chasing me around the course (he even rented a bike to get back and forth).  I did find out that he knew I was off from tracking my number. He was afraid to tell me because he thought I knew… As I ran past him smiling and waving every time. 🙂 He was the best out there!

 I thought of all the kids I coach and the support they have given me, all my friends and church members and then I thought of my coach… How he would be proud. 🙂 These were all the things going through my head after every split on my garmin.  
When I hit mile 24.45 on my garmin, I noticed on my right that there was a flag saying mile 24. I was a little confused and then in that split second I got so discouraged because I thought I only had a mile and a half left (and I knew I would have been close…the last few miles I did slow my pace down 20-24); I realized then that my garmin was off . I ended up running 26.7 (on my garmin, whether it was correct or not) I thought I was closer than what I was. Once I realized I was .5 over on my garmin at mile 24, I just knew that physically I would not be able to make that time up. 😕 The crazy thing was… Everyone around me all had our garmins going off at the same time… And it showed that we were on pace. None of us took in that with all the tall buildings our garmins would be thrown off. (That’s the only thing I can think of.) I should have known that I felt too good to be hitting the times the entire way. At mile 24 there was the clearing of no buildings. But on that point, who knows if I could have held on to the 6:10 pace for that long to the end… It is what it is… This is what my chip report (the official race report) had:

 As you can see, my garmin was way off… I thought I was hitting all my marks but I obviously wasn’t. I missed most of the flags with the mile markers because the crowd (1.7 million people) were along the entire course and it truly was electrifying!!! Simply amazing with the amount of people out. I am just so frustrated thinking I was on. I do want to say that we have met some really fun and great people here! I will blog about my weekend probably tomorrow because this truly has been a great experience.  K I’m going to stop because I will just keep rambling!

 Thanks for all the love and support!!! I do want to say that it really was fun. Great course, great spectators, well put together and very electrifying! I did love it.

 

Recovery Days 10k

September, 2015

Saturday: I got up at 4:50 a.m. so I could meet up with a group of people for my 20 mile run. We headed up Provo canyon for 6 Miles and then I turned around and tempoed down the 6. I tried to stay between 6-6:10. I drove a mile down to a 10k free race… Recovery Days (it was a awareness fun run for addicts). I warmed up another mile and then raced the 10k. I was so tired and felt flat. For 4 1/2 miles I held onto my marathon pace and then I fell back to a 7 minute pace, to finish off my 20 miler.

 I was frustrated that I couldn’t hold on to my pace for the 10k. I do know that by running the 1st 13 and then waiting another 40 minutes (in the cold) for the 10k threw me off… But I was still disappointed. It was a good workout though.

 

Pacing Big Cottonwood Marathon

September, 2015

Saturday: The alarm went off at 3:40 a.m. I slept on the floor on a mat and I actually slept pretty well. I realized last night that I forgot my watch for pacing. So waking up this morning, I was nervous for a few reasons… 1st: not having a watch; 2nd: I was the only pacer for the 3:05 time (every other pace time slot had 2 pacers just in case one had to drop or use the restroom, etc)… The paces started at 3:05 and then went up every 5 min (3:10, 3:15…); 3rd: I was going to have to hold the pacer sign the entire time; and 4th: getting in right on time… Hitting my mile marks every mile for these guys. The people racing and wanting to hit their Boston qualifying time are depending on me, so I was nervous about that. Anyway… We got on the bus at about 4:30 a.m. and headed to the top. I love the excitement of the crowd before the races start! On a great note… One of the other pacers brought 2 watches!! I was so relieved!  This course is extremely downhill. A great PR course but a thrasher on the legs!

 We were given pace bands to tell us what every mile should be. The pace bands are course specific… It was great having it. My 3:05 time was an average of 7:03 per mile. There were some miles that we ran a 6:25 because of how steep the downhill was… We did have about a 4 1/2 mile loop (from 17/18-22) that was a hilly out and back. I started of with about 20+ men and a few ladies… All trying to hit that Boston qualifying time.

 For the 1st 17 miles I still had a pretty good group, and then we made the turn for the out and back hilly loop. We started to lose a lot of the group. It’s amazing how thrashed your legs feel after running that much of a downhill. Once we came out of the loop we had a 3 1/2 mile downhill to the finish. A few guys pulled ahead at this point and a few more could not hold on… I tried hard to talk them through that mental block, but once you get to that point or hit the wall, it is so hard to push through (and sometimes impossible). I tried taking a few pictures here on my phone and as you can see we ran into the 1/2 marathoners…

 I came across the finish line at a 3:04.53. I loved pacing this race. It was so fun getting to know new people and hearing about their goals, lives, etc. I felt great but I did feel the soreness in my quads. Hopefully the soreness won’t be too bad come Monday!

 One guy came in and caught everyone’s attention. Pretty amazing being able to smoke a cigar while running the marathon!

 

Utah Valley Half Ironman Relay

August, 2015

Saturday: Well this morning was my annual half ironman relay race with my old boss from Sundance, Jerry (71 years old) and my friend Megan (she’s my age and Jerry’s daughter-in-law). It is always a fun time with these 2.

(this is actually last years pictures because I have not received this years pics yet.) It’s awesome because we were able to take 1st over all the relay teams… Including the BAM men’s team (who were all younger than us… Way younger than Jerry), the BYU men’s team, etc. At one point after the finish, one of the men’s team came up to us and asked who did the biking… They talked with Megan for a little bit, complimenting her, we talked about the running course and then they asked who and where our swimmer was (Jerry was standing right next to us)… When we said he is right here, I think we really surprised them & depleted their egos a little. He did amazing! I ran the 1/2 in a 1:24… I thought I didn’t do so well and was discouraged. But I looked at my time from 2 years ago on this course and I ran a 1:25:16, then ran a 2:54 marathon 7 weeks later. Last year I ran a 1:24.33 and ran the 2:48 marathon. So that gave me some hope and took away a little of my discouragement. But every year I forget that the 1st 4 miles has a slight uphill… And the next has the flat and down (and you repeat the loop). This course is hard with the heat from running that late (10:30-11:54) and with the course not being flat like I always think it is…. I just forget. I was glad to finish. I did run 4.3 before and a little over 2 after (but about 2 hours after).

 

Tahoe Ragnar

August, 2015

Thursday-Saturday (our trip to Tahoe with Ragnar): After we dropped the kids off at my sisters (around 3 p.m.), Corom and I finally headed out for Tahoe. We are running the trail series of Ragnar. We caravaned down with the Bells. Tanner is the co-founder of the Ragnar relay races. We are running on his team but running for Clif Bar. The Clif Barbarians. We stopped in Elko (where Corom and I were arrested together) to fix the tie-rod in our car and to grab something to eat with the Bells. We finally made it into Tahoe and stayed at the condos that the rest of the team stayed at (thanks to the Clif Bar representatives).

 We got in around midnight but had a good night sleep… Come the next day, our adventure began. We set up camp and the introductions began. We shared the VIP campsites with the CEO’s and financial guys of Ragnar (they put a team together)… So we had the hookup with all the Clif products that we wanted and a few other luxerys. Nancy was our camera person (from Clif Bar), so I will be posting more pictures later… Right now you will be getting my cheesy pictures (except for the 1st and 3rd pic…These are from Nancy):

 The trail Ragnar is nice because you have a base camp with 8 people on your team (in order: Tara-Clif rep, Corom-my husband & original nevernude, Kristen Bell-cofounder’s wife, Kelly Southwell-original nevernude- watch my video on this blog site for the nevernudes Las Vegas Ragnar to see what I’m talking about, Ryan Southwell-original nevernude, Me-an original nevernude, Karrie-Clif rep, & Tanner Bell- cofounder of Ragnar)… Anyway, it’s a base camp and one runner goes at a time. Once runner 1 is done with the green loop (easiest out of the 3, 3.2 miles), that person hands off to runner 2 who runs the yellow loop (medium, 5.6 miles). Runner 2 hands off to runner 3, who runs the Red loop (extremely hard 7.3 miles). Runner 3 hands off to 4 who then runs the green loop.

You cycle through all 3 loops running non-stop as a team… I ran the 1st one (which was the red loop) around 6 p.m. (Our group started at 1… The earliest groups started at 10 a.m. and the last groups started at 4 p.m. It all depends on your times.) It was amazing. Very Hard with a hard climb up to the top of Soda Springs Resort (or something). The trails (on all 3 loops) were amazing! It was 7.3 and I ran it in 59:57. I handed off to Karrie… I went back to our camp and rested, hung out, ate, etc. The weird thing around my legs were a compression thing that helped your legs not to ache for your next run. Chris (one of the CEO’s) brought it. And as you can see, Corom was as entertaining as ever. Everyone loved him there!!!

  Kristen and Tanner had there baby there… She was the team’s baby! The cutest thing and she was so good! We all received a free dinner with our entry (so I guess not so free but it was good).

 I ran my 2nd leg around 2 a.m. It was the yellow loop (5.6) and I ran it in 47:07. This loop was amazing in the dark. Had 2 major hills but there is something about running hills in the dark… You just can’t tell how bad they really are. I was able to get some sleep for a few hours before and when I finished that run, I used the leg machine, ate beef stroganoff with Ryan, then went back to bed around 3:30. Corom’s legs were so tired that he was dreading the red loop (7.3), while I had the easier green (3.2) loop next. So I traded him. Where he was runner 2, I only got another hour and a half sleep. I ran the red loop again but I ran it during the sunrise. I was so mad at myself for not bringing my camera!

It was absolutely amazing!!! My legs were tired but not as tired as I thought they would be. I was able to run a 1:01.42. I ran to the exchange and my teammate was not there yet. So I began the green loop (it passes by our tents)… We handed off there. 🙂 I ended up running the green loop with Kristen just to get a few more miles in. I was happy to be done once that was over.

 In between our downtime, we would go from team to team and pass out Cliff Bar products in our Barbarian outfits. It really was a blast!! Corom was grateful to have traded. He ran the 3.2 for his 1st and last run with the 5.6 mile yellow one at night. Our team finished a little before one. We packed up our stuff and sadly said our goodbyes to everyone.

 

Salem Days 5k

August, 2015

Saturday:  A very enventful day… Started off with a 1 mile and 5k run. Corom and I ran with our 2 younger girls in the mile race. Our 3rd daughter  (6 years old) took 1st in her age group with a time of 8:37 and our youngest (5) took 2nd in her age group with a 10 something.

10 minutes later, the 5k started. My 2 older girls were running that one. Corom ran with our 2nd daughter (7 years old) and I ran with our oldest (9 years old). They both took 1st in their age groups… It was bitter/sweet for me. Not being able to race but hanging back with my daughter. I loved running with her! I ran my speed workout yesterday just in case but I was still open to racing today. At the very last minute as the gun went off, my oldest asked me to stay with her… So I did. 🙂  I was able to get 12 miles total this morning.

 

Speedy Spaniard 10k

July 24, 2015

Friday: Today is the 24th of July… A big holiday for Utah. I went and raced the Speedy Spaniard 10k (and then the girls ran the 1 mile run). I held onto a 6:06 pace and came in at 37:55. I felt good for the 1st 2 miles and then fought for the last 4 to finish off taking 1st in women’s. It was a good run. I ran 3 1/2 before and 2 1/2 after for a 12 miler for the day.

 

American Fork 1/2 Marathon

June, 2015

Saturday: I got up at 3:15 a.m. to catch the bus by 4:15. It is the American Fork race against cancer 1/2 marathon. It is a pretty downhill race for the 1st 7 miles (a fast course) but I totally bombed it! I ran my slowest time in 5-6 years. By mile 3 I knew I was in trouble. I just couldn’t go even with it being downhill. I had no energy. I finished with a 1:23.58 (a 6:25 pace). I was a little discouraged this race but hopefully I will figure out what’s wrong…

 

Utah Valley Marathon

June, 2015

My alarm went off at 3 a.m. I was so tired and I could not wake up the entire morning. I was dreading this race a little bit… And I’m sure it was because I haven’t raced for a little while, and having to get back in shape from an injury; I lacked the confidence in what I knew I could do… Well the gun went off and immediately 3 ladies took off. I hung back a little because I knew I was not in their shape… I didn’t want to struggle the last few miles… Well I held onto 4th place the entire race and I had a few times where I went through that mental struggle… But I finished and I’m glad I did it.

My time was a little disappointing but I did what I could today… My time was 1:21.38.

 At the finish line I was able to meet Ryan Hall and talk to him for a bit…

 I was also able to meet the top finishers of the marathon… They came in an hour after I finished my 1/2. So fast!

 The best part… I won $150 for taking 4th. I didn’t know they were doing awards for the top 5. Yep, I was excited to get $!

 

Boston Marathon

April 21, 2015

Monday: Boston Marathon!!! I have so many mixed emotions right now. My plan was to drop back to the 10 start time and begin with the rest of the running crowd, but I found out that I would be docked 28 minutes if I went back from the elite women’s group. No pressure, right? I am going to be left in the dust from mile 1!!! Ugh! On the flip side… Getting into the elite buses with all the other elites was amazing!!! Having police escorts and the freeways shut down for the buses to come through was amazing.

 We were put up in a church to wait until 5 minutes before the race started… There we had about 1 1/2 hours to “hang out”. There were 4 of us from Utah there (Scott Keate, Fritz Van De Camp, Amber Green & I). It was a huge comfort having them there!!!  It was also so fun meeting “new” running friends from all around. Love the running community. I was amazed on the quietness (or I guess you could say… The focus) in the room where we were warming up. It was intense yet sacred (if that makes sense).

 5 minutes before the race, we were lined up in order and then They called us out. We ran out onto the streets with people cheering so loud for us… Holy crap!!! I am so not the elite runner and out of my element. It was surreal! I knew then that I would have to run a lot faster than what I intended on doing. I just kept praying that my calf would hold up. (And throughout the entire marathon… That same prayer was going through my head.) I purposely stood behind the top 3 racers because I wanted to make it on TV (the front desk hotel people said if any of us make it on tv, they would buy us dinner :))… I made it on!!!

My kids were so excited to see me! (I made it again on the news for high fiving the crowd… It’s only about 5 seconds after the lady newscaster talks but I made it on. 🙂 http://m.wcvb.com/news/despite-rain-thousands-cheer-on-boston-marathon-runners/32471628.) It was completely silent the last 30 seconds before the start! You could feel the nerves and the excitement in the air around us. It was a feeling I have never experienced before (but now that I have… I want to more!) The gun went off and I immediately fell back into the back pack and just stayed there for the 1st 5k.  I met #32, Kris… She is in the same boat as me. Injured but wanted to experience the whole elite marathon thing. Her and I ran together for the 1st half, after the 1st 5k, we slowed our pace down and set in comfortabley at a 7 min pace (sometimes faster and sometimes slowing down a bit)… She had to slow down a few times so I would turn around and go back for her. At about mile 14 I decided to go ahead, but we had a blast together. I had more fun during this marathon than any other race! It was electrifying… The crowds, the racers… Everything! I high fived people pretty much 21 miles out of the 26.2 and then the last 5, I had to save my energy just to finish. It was cold and rainy with wind gusts up to 30 mph (a head wind). But I was glad to be running and it didn’t stop the spectators from coming out!  I was afraid to be “alone” (the rest of the race doesn’t start until 10, so we had a 28 minute head start)… But once we started that fear quickly left… I loved it.  My calf would tighten up on many different occasions but my mind was focused on everything else around me. The people made it so great and enjoyable!

 The elite men caught me at about mile 15 or 16… I carried my phone mainly for this reason! I was hoping to take a selfie with the pack of elite men behind me but I wasn’t able to make it work. 😦 I still took pictures of the whole production of the bike pacers, camera/TV crew, officers, etc. A few laughed at me because I probably looked like a tourist.   Then of course… The men came! So amazing. I felt so slow as they passed me! I did hang with the top 2 for about 30-45 seconds so I could be on TV (it worked). 🙂 I had a few people text and facebook me telling me they saw me running with the men, taking pictures of them… I really am not that creepy! 😉   Come mile 23 to the finish I began to really struggle. The only thing that kept me going was the crowd! My legs, especially my calf, was cramping so bad!!! By mile 25, I had to walk. I began to get Charlie horses and my calf was tight. Everyone was cheering me on (it was amazing because there were not too many runners around and no female runners near… Just a few elite females were behind me and all the rest were probably way in front) so the crowd was able to focus on me “finishing” my race. So many encouraging words from everyone! At 25 1/2, I slowly ran in. In pain and frozen, I made my way into the elite tent. I finished with a 3:09.48. I was able to get a massage, warm up, eat and change into my dry clothes. It was great talking with everyone after the race! I soon headed back out to meet up with my friends. We all had a great experience!!!

 At mile 10, I saw the LDS missionaries, then I heard my name and saw 2 friends of mine from Utah. The Algers… They are serving their mission there too as a older couple. It was so exciting… She just sent this picture to me and my friend, Tifany… It was great seeing them! We made it back to our hotel by 4:30. Relaxed for a little while and then I headed to the lobby to get my free dinner. 🙂

 

St. Patrick’s 10k (Spectrum 10k)

March 28, 2015

Saturday: Where do I begin… My morning started off at 1 a.m… My youngest came to my bed (a little earlier) and wet the bed. Then 30 minutes later our dog began to freak out (in the garage) by barking and growling… She doesn’t normally do that at night, so I got up to let her out. She flipped… There was a man between our house and our neighbors so with a flashlight. I, too, pretended I was a man and yelled “Hey”… I didn’t see where he went (and it could have been nothing). He was calling out a name, I’m assuming for a dog, but who knows. It is nice have a massive dog to scare people away. That lasted for about 45 min to an hour (our dog was way worked up and I guess you could say, I was just a little nervous going back to bed, especially without Corom there). Kitty went back to bed (in the garage) and I did too. But then, I got up shortly after, and I’m sorry because this is going to be graphic and gross, but my stomach was churning… I had diarrhea and began to puke. I know it had to be something I ate because the rest of me felt fine. A few more times of getting up before my babysitter came (at 4 a.m.). I headed down to St. George, Utah (about 3 1/2 hours away) to go race in a 10k. I was meeting Corom and Mike about an hour and twenty minutes into my drive. On the way I had a few stops to make… Once again sorry, a little graphic!  I took a picture just for the blog…

We finally made it to the buses (the last 3 buses) and up to the start with 20 minutes to spare. Once I got to the starting line I knew I wanted to race. I don’t know what is wrong with me! I was able to get about 1/2 mile to maybe a mile in before the race. (I wanted to see how my stomach would hold up.) The race began and I took off… The 1st mile was all downhill. I looked at my watch when we got to mile 1 and read 5:36. K… I knew I had to back off because the 2nd half is not down hill. 2nd mile, I came across at 11:29, 3rd mile was a 17:30, 4th was a 23:34, 5th was 29:28, 6th was a 35:32 and I finished with a 36:35.9. (A 5:53 pace). At mile 2 my stomach began to cramp up… I just kept thinking, 4 more miles is nothing and if I were to slow down it would take that much longer to be done. Yes I was glad to finish. I ended up taking 1st with a lady not too far behind. The top right pic is of the lady that took 2nd place (36:59).  We ran a 2 mile cool down and then I had to stop (about 9 miles total)… I wanted 13-15 today but I knew that wasn’t going to happen.

 Mike and Corom ran well (57:07 and 57:08).

 

Phoenix 1/2 Marathon

March 2, 2015

Saturday: It is race day! It was an early morning of 3:30 a.m. The 3 of us headed out… They went to the marathon buses and I jogged over the the half marathon bus. I was able to get about a 2 mile warmup in before I went to the starting line.

I knew, once we all lined up, this was going to be tough competition!!! Yep… I was right. I felt good the entire race. I did back off after the 1st 3 miles because the top 3 runners picked up the pace… Like they were starting their kick already. 🙂 I was able to pick it up the last 10k for a stronger finish.

I hung out for a little while after the race to watch some friends come in and to eat all the free stuff. 🙂 Oh and I ran a 2 mile cool down. 17 miles total.

I walked over the park (about a mile away) to meet up with Corom, the girls and the Blasers.

 

St. George 1/2 Marathon

January 18, 2015

Saturday: Well the morning started off with a 3:45 a.m. alarm. It was tough but Corom and I got up, got dressed for the race this morning, picked up Mike, Wes and another friend Melanie. We made the 3 hour and 15 minute drive to St. George to run the 1/2 marathon. (Corom and Mike ran the 5k.) Of course we got pulled over, just 6 miles from our destination. 😦

Once we arrived to the start, Melanie and I went on a 10:30 minute warmup. I decided that with this being the 1st race since my marathon I was not going to race. I know that I am not ready (mentally) and have not done the proper speed training to race. I wore my training shoes even! But once the gun went off, I took off because I was racing! It was a very hilly course (some long and some steep)… And I felt good. Once I hit mile 5, I began to have those thoughts creep into my head of dread; dread of how much longer I had to go!!! I kept thinking, if I would have held back and not raced this I would have enjoyed it more. But there was no turning back and I knew I had to push through the pain for 8 more miles! I was in 2nd place from the start and finished in 2nd. I knew I couldn’t catch the 1st place woman, I didn’t have it in me and the competitive me didn’t want the 3rd place woman to catch me. I did have a friend (Jeff) stay with me from mile 5-7 which helped. I made him go because I knew he could do a lot better! It was a mentally tough race for me today and there were times during this race that I didn’t enjoy it. But I think that that is ok! I know it will help me in future races and will help me to become stronger!

I was happy to cross the finish line!!! I came in at 1:22.54 (I believe). It was slower than my last years time but I am totally ok with that!

The lady who won, rocked it. She was so strong… There were times I couldn’t even see her in front. Good times (well after it was over :)). Corom and Mike ran well in their 5k! They ran around a 24:15… It was a beautiful morning and great weather. It was great seeing so many friends down there!

(The bigger picture is of Corom and I… :)) Corom and Mike did skip away for an hour (well a little over an hour) while we were hanging around the finish line…

 

CIM Trying to Olympic Trial Qualify

December 7, 2014

 

Today is race day… Our wake up call came at 4 a.m. I was able to wake up real quick! So were the other 2. We all had the nervous, jittery thing going on. We caught the elite bus at 5 to head on up to the starting line.

It was a good morning, nice cool weather, 100% humidity (which was a bit much but ok) and I felt good. The starting line was amazing… The atmosphere of many of us trying to qualify.

The race started right at 7… We had a pacer with us the entire way… Chris Mocko and Kim Conley (ran 20 miles) the Olympian. They were 2 of the best pacers I have ever ran with! So great and motivating!!! The first few miles we all felt great and there were about 30 women in the pack.

Amber Green was right there with the pack and Emily Jameson pulled ahead after the 3rd mile. At about mile 8, I see Corom there cheering me on and then I noticed a sign with all my girls names on them! I was a little confused because I already passed Corom up but as I got closer, I noticed Rachelle Wardle and Amber Dunford there (my running buddies from home). They surprised me by driving to California the day before. I was so shocked and so happy! Such amazing friends. I saw the 3 of them throughout the course a few more times… I came across the 1/2 marathon at 1:21.21. At mile 16, I started to go through a mental breakdown and I fell a little behind from the pack. I noticed that there were not too many women left in the pack (about 8).

It took about a minute or 2 to realize this is way to early to be dropping from the pack, so I somehow got a “2nd wind” (with a little pep talk to myself) and caught back up. At that moment I knew I had it! I kept thinking… This is the day! I felt good and I only had 10 miles left! Soon… A 10k left and I still felt good… Still with the pacer, going strong. At mile 21 1/2 to 22… Ahhh… A different story. I Hit The Freakin’ Wall!!! I kept telling myself to dig deep, and I can do this… Well I couldn’t do it! 😦 I was mentally struggling along with the physical. At mile 25… I see Rachelle and she ran a little ahead of me to give me someone to chase (she didn’t want to run with me so I wouldn’t get disqualified but at that point I didn’t care about anything except for finishing). I was able to pick up the pace a little seeing her in front but my legs were done! (That’s Rachelle in the blue.) 🙂

I finally finished with a time of 2:48.43 (I believe)… A 6 minute PR but 5 minutes away from qualifying! A bitter/sweet race. As I was finishing I heard my parents cheering me in. 🙂 I looked over and it was so good to see my dad give me a thumbs up sign. At that time I was feeling so down, so it did put a smile on my face.

I was able to find Amber G. and Emily J… Emily was so sad about her race. She had to pull out at mile 17 and Amber was 43 seconds short of qualifying. So bummed for the 2 of them!!! We were all happy to have had the opportunity to be with each other and to get to know each other. But it is so hard to train so hard for 1 race and not have it come together! Very emotionally draining. I was happy to be done but wish I could go back to the last 4.2 miles (but don’t we all). I had a great support system and was around amazing people.

After

 

Thanksgiving 5k Race

November 27, 2014

I love the Thanksgiving runs! I started off my morning with a 5k race. I ran a 13 min warmup before the race started.

It was a beautiful but cold morning… The 5k started and right from the beginning, I knew I would be following another female competitor… She was out quick and stayed in the lead the entire way. I forgot how tough 5k’s are!!! My 1st mile was a 5:40. My 2nd mile I hit it at 11:26… A 5:46. My 3rd mile was 17:18… 5:52 and finishing the last .1 with a time of 17:52 (a 5:46 pace). That is a new PR for me (I’ve never broken 18 in a 5k… My best before was a 18:12). So I was happy with it… The girl in front was strong!!! She finished with a 17:38 I believe… I did win a turkey…

I finished with a 3.2 mile cool down in 24:52 (a 7:44 pace). I felt great for the race but before and after I felt un-smooth. I know that doesn’t make sense but it does to me. 🙂 I ran a total of 8 miles today.

 

Snow Canyon 1/2 Marathon

November 1, 2014

At around 8-8:15 p.m., the Barney’s came and picked me up and we headed off for St. George. Megan and I are running a 1/2 marathon in the morning (Snow Canyon). Her husband is coming for moral support and Corom decided to stay with the girls because having to pay a babysitter is too expensive!

Saturday: We woke up early (5 a.m.) to head on over to a HS to load up on buses. The buses took us up the canyon to the starting line. It was so freakin’ windy. We had a head wind the entire way! The 1st 7 miles was downhill but with the wind it sometimes felt like it was a flat course. I liked it because The steep downhill didn’t seem so downhill. It was still a fast 1st half!! At mile 6, I came across at 34:43… Way to fast… I knew I would be struggling towards the end. But you can also see how downhill the course was for that time. From 7-9 the downhill ended and it became a flat to rolling hills downhill… From 10-13.1 it became a rolling hills down. This all makes sense to me so sorry if it is confusing! I wish it wasn’t so windy for my time sake but I’m glad it was because it made me work harder… Especially the last 3 miles! Their were gusts so strong at times that I just had to drop my shoulders and my head (close my eyes) and push through it… It didn’t help that I was fatigued, too. I was able to finish with a 1:17.50 and placed 1st overall in women. That was a PR for me so I was happy about that. All my friends ran well and Megan want to break 2 hours… She ran a 1:53! Amazing!!!

This was a great race for CIM… I just hope I can hold on for another 13.1 miles. We shall see! The Barney’s, and Megan’s sister & husband and I went out for lunch, then we headed home. It was a fun trip.

 

St. George Marathon

October 5,2014

 

St. George marathon!!! We (Mike, Corom and I) woke up at 4:20 a.m. to get ready and load the buses. Amy was up with our girls at 5:30 :/.

I was not stressed at all this morning… Today I decided I was not going to race the marathon. My race in December is way too important to jeopardize for the wanting to race this one. So I used it as a long run (I was supposed to run a 21 miler… What’s 5 more? :)). I will admit that at the starting line, it was extremely hard for me to not go out fast. I even battled the urge to “race” up until mile 8 or 9. And even when I hit the halfway point (13.1) I had the same itch to want to race… So at the beginning, I started at a 7:15 pace and eventually got up to a 7 minute pace.

The last couple of miles I picked it up and finished off with a 3:02.38. I carried my phone with me so I would be able to take pictures and “relax & enjoy” this run. I felt really good during and after the race. Yes I was sore and tired but not as sore as I usually am after a marathon. I am hoping this run won’t set me back… Come Monday we shall see! I watched Corom, Mike, Sarah (my mother-in-law), the Booths, & all my running friends come in. Many of them had great races (Beth broke 3 :)) and some did not. For Corom… Not so good, but he doesn’t train!!! So without training it’s not too bad!

As I waited in the “racer’s” area, I was able to people watch… I love marathons and races… You always see the people who are so happy and emotional and then those that are emotional because they didn’t do as well as they hoped… Then you see those that are carried away to the medical tent…

… And there is always people like these 2… 😉

(Weird :)). Good times. Amy, her kids and my kids, Yolanda (Corom’s sister) and her family all came to hang out at the finish line.

After, we (the Fullmer’s and us) went back to the place we are staying at, relaxed as much as we could (as much as our kids allowed), then met up with Yolanda and Sarah (his mom) for dinner.

 

The Powerhouse 10k

September 27, 2014

I am so glad Corom arrived home at 3 a.m. That means I was able to go race in a 10k… The Powerhouse 10k. Rachelle, Amber and I ran a 3 mile warmup together and then they ran to the 5k starting line and I ran up to the 10k starting line. I ended up running another 2+ miles to finish off a little over 5 miles in 40:03. Then began the race… Right from the beginning, a college red shirting female runner took off. I could not keep up with her so I made sure I could always keep her in sight. It was a fairly fast course! For the 1st few miles, I kept thinking, I am tired right now how am I going to be able to hold this pace for 26 miles. That changed quickly when we reached the half way point… It was a 17:38!!! I finished the 10k with a huge PR (personal record)! I ran a 36:01.9! I have never been in the 36’s for a 10k… So yes, I was a little happy about this race. It was a 5:49 pace I believe. The female ahead of me ran a 35:23… Amazing! Towards the end it began to rain on us and then pour. Loved it! We ran a 2.2 mile cool down, totaling today’s run at 13 1/2.

I felt good… Tired but good.

 

Payson Onion Days 10k

September 2, 2014

 

Another race morning… The traditional Labor Day Payson Onion Days 10k. I run this race (or the 5k) every year. Even though, I wasn’t in the mood to run the 10k this morning, I had to do it for traditional sake. 🙂 I chose the 10k over the 5k just for the sole reason of it being a better workout. Well as we lined up at the start, I looked around and saw many women that made me nervous and regret my decision to not sign up for the 5k. 😉 During my race, I did throw in a few surges on the other female competitors to throw them off mentally. I was just as tired but I didn’t want them to know it… Oh the mind games. I felt good up until mile 4. I held my pace but it was tough to finish the last 2 miles on a slight uphill! I finished my 10k in 38:14 and placed 1st overall. I’m glad I ran the 10k and I was even happier when it was over. For real.. It wasn’t that bad. I ended up running almost 10 miles total… 2 miles before and almost 2 miles after. Good run!

 

Utah Valley 1/2 Ironman (Relay)

August 23, 2014

I woke up early, early this morning, not because of a run but because of a major thunderstorm. It was pretty amazing… But I did worry about my race. I am running in a relay for a half iron man. I showed up in time for the swim to start… But because of the weather, it was delayed by an hour and 20 min.

My old boss from Sundance Ski Resort (70 years old) started off with the swim. He is an amazing swimmer! We started with the Elite group and all the other relay teams… It was a mile swim and He came out of the water 6th! (He was a talked about man this morning.) He ran into the exchange station and handed off the ankle chip to his daughter-in-law, Megan. She, too, is a phenomenal biker. The top female cyclist in Utah.

She took off for her 56 mile ride and held on to her spot. She was cruising!!!

As you can see, no one was behind her… She was able to move with the other 5 or 6 teams ahead of her. She finished her leg and handed off to me. I ran 13.3 miles (a tiny bit more than a half). It was good weather, they had aid stations everywhere, and it was a fairly flat course.

I felt really good the 1st loop (6 1/2 miles) and was able to pass a couple of the guys. On the 2nd loop I was a little more fatigued. But I held my pace. I caught a couple of more guys and headed into the finish.

I did struggle mentally the last mile. I didn’t take any gu’s or snacks or drinks (well I did drink water) and I felt it the last few miles. We finished 2nd in the relay category and 3rd over all. My time was 1:24.33 (I did run a 10 minute war-up.)

We had a great time! My teammates are amazing people and the best thing was… Corom and the girls surprised me by showing up and cheering for me while I finished.:)

 

Salem Days 5k

August 9, 2014

It was an early morning for us all. It is Salem Days this week (I love Salem days… All week long there has been activities). This morning was the 5k and kids mile. The girls ran the mile race…

They did so good. It’s fun to watch them run these races and enjoy them. Corom and I ran the 5k right after. He pushed all 4 kids in the stroller. That is a tough race pushing a stroller!

My oldest came in ahead of the other 3 and took 3rd in her age group. My 2nd child took 1st in her age group; 3rd child took 1st in her age group; and 4th took 4th… Corom placed 3rd in the stroller category and I placed 1st overall in the 5k.

I felt really good today. On this course (and I have ran this race at least 7-8 years in a row) and I have never broken 19 minutes on this course… Today I ran 18:39.7. I was pleasantly surprised! I ran a mile and a half warm up (1/2 a mile was with my youngest) and then ran about 4 miles after…

 

24th Of July 10k (2014)

I woke up this morning with a little more nerves than I normally do on a race day. I don’t know if it was because I have not raced for a little over a month, or if I was not mentally or physically prepared or in shape for this… But I had to do it because it is tradition. The 24th is a State holiday here in Utah. It is Pioneer’s Day. It was a fun 10k run. Corom (and Mike Fullmer) pushed the kids in the 4 kid stroller. I was able to race it.

My 1st mile I felt really good. But come the second mile heading into the 3rd, I mentally started to think negatively. I remembered how tired I was for the last 10k of my marathon and it really mentally affected me (I know that sounds weird). I pulled it together for mile 4 and 5 but mile 6 I was tired! I did hold onto a 6:10 pace (my marathon pace :/) and finished off with a 38:23 10k time. It was a minute slower than last year but I know that training for a marathon is so different than the faster 5k, 10k races. I have realized that my 5k-10k races are not as fast but I am ok with that. 🙂 I did take 1st and won $50 cash. That was a bonus.

Grandma’s Marathon- Minnesota

June 21, 2014 (A Goal Not Reached)

Well it is a little over 12 hours after the marathon… I would be lying if I said I wasn’t bummed!! I was on my 6:10-6:12 pace up until mile 20 and then my legs felt like a ton of bricks! I didn’t hit the wall but my body just gave out. I felt like I was lacking something… I have never felt like this before… Throughout the 1st 19 miles I felt strong, my thoughts were positive and I knew I was going to hit my mark of 2:42…

We had a good group of women all going for the same goal. My 1st 10k was 38:26, my 1/2 marathon was 1:21.46, & at 19 miles I ran a 1:56.33. Then it hit. I began to feel a little light headed and I couldn’t get enough water at the water/aid stations. The second I ran past the water station I was wanting more. As I stated earlier my legs just felt like they stopped working. Oh I forgot to add that within the 1st 2 miles I accidentally dropped my shot blocks and at mile 7 where I had my 1st bottle of XOJO at the “elite” table, I missed grabbing it. I kept thinking, ok, no big deal… I had a gu and a caffeine strip left. I took my caffeine strip at mile 11 and it was great!!! I wish, wish I had another strip for mile 19! (But I know that caffeine can make you more dehydrated :/). Anyway… The weather was great today… Perfect temperatures and a fog coverage. The humidity was 93%. We had a very light head wind but nothing big to hold you back or effect you (it was 2-5 mph). It was beautiful out and being in this atmosphere was magical! So many excellent runners trying for the same goal!

So why did I crash so hard and so sudden? I felt dehydrated and I didn’t have enough food/calories. I didn’t drink at all this morning and I couldn’t stomach down a decent breakfast. Yesterday I didn’t drink to much either… To be honest, I was afraid I would have to go to the bathroom while I was running! Dumb, right! I’m going to break up my last 10k… The 1st 5 miles of it was about an 8 minute pace. But at mile 24 and 25 I kept blacking out. I would be running and everything would start to spin around, I wouldn’t be able to see (I’m guessing for about 1 to 2 seconds), so I would have to shake my head to see straight. It was the weirdest feeling because I knew that I was not doing well but my body/legs kept moving forward. I felt like I wasn’t really there but yeah… It is really hard to explain. My last mile was a 10 minute mile. I finished and one of the volunteer helpers ran over to me… Right when I leaned on him my legs gave out and I pretty much dropped on him. I was so dizzy and couldn’t see straight. Oh why we runners do this to ourselves :).

In the tent (which Corom was not allowed in), my legs, feet and back (even my ribs) starting to seize up-Charlie horse. It was so bad… Due to no water!!! I guess I was in there for 55 minutes with the medics and a physical therapist filling me with liquids and rubbing/stretching my legs. Oh and my feet hurt so bad when they took my shoes off! I was able to get up after that time and walk out without the dizziness and blackouts. Oh it was not fun!!! When I walked out… I saw Corom standing there and I just broke down! I could not stop the tears. Yes I was so sad and disappointed knowing that I was so close and felt so good. I really, really thought I had that Olympic Trials qualifying time! I really did… And to see it slip away so quickly (because it really hit me fast and hard), I didn’t realize how sad I was until I saw Corom!

We hung out there for a while, Corom grabbing all the food for me to refuel (the lady in the tent gave me a slice of pizza…so good)… We eventually went back to our dorm room, I showered and then crashed into a good nap for awhile. Back to the morning… I did meet up with Amber Green. We rode the bus up and everything. She, too, was on pace. We were within a few seconds of each other until mile 20. She was able to keep going but also felt a little blah. I guess when I finished, that was the 1st question I asked Corom, was if she made the time. She barely missed it and I was truly sad for her. She deserved it!!! She is a strong runner and it was so fun to hang out/run with her. Amazing person! We will go to the trials together!

The top 2 pictures and the bottom left were at the hotel where the “elite” bus picked us up. The bottom right is Amber in the blue tank top and pink shorts and I am in the white tank top a little behind at mile 15 I believe. Corom showed up at so many places during the course! He was amazing and so helpful (at mile 21 or 22… He had “Sail Away” from Enya playing… Love that song)… Anyway, after my nap, Corom and I met up with Amber at the awards ceremony (amazing runners) and then we all went and grabbed Mexican food.

Then we hung out after dinner for awhile and Corom and I headed back to the dorms. We have met so many great people here. A great experience here. As I stated earlier… I am bummed about the results, but something did spark in me knowing that I can do it! I will take this experience and grow and use it as a positive!!! I am so grateful for everyone for supporting me and helping me through this!!!
Grandma!!!

Utah Valley 1/2 Marathon
June14, 2014

 

3:35 a.m. came around way too quick! I grudgingly got out of bed and proceeded to get ready for the Utah Valley 1/2 marathon. Amber came and picked me up and off we went to catch the bus at 4:10 a.m.

I was excited to run this race because I was running with my friend Amber. There was no pressure of racing today and I was able to enjoy the run. I ran the first 9 with Amber at an average of a 7-7:10 pace and then picked up the pace for the next 2 miles. The last 2.1 I went at a 5k race pace. (6:00’s). I felt good and ended up placing 4th in my age group. I ran a 1:30.50. I didn’t do a warmup or cool down because i didn’t want to put in extra miles. I had many friends running today and many that ran the marathon.

They all ran well and it was fun to be there. After a few of us went straight to the massage table…

Because we were the 1st ones there, we had a 15 min massage… So nice! There were a few of us from our racing team and they ran so well! Very talented runners!

Well today’s main purpose for me was to get a 13 miler in. What a great way to do it!

Nestle 5k

June 7, 2014

 

We (Corom, the girls and I) woke up early and went to the Nestle 5k run.

I ran a 19 minute warmup (about 2 1/2 miles). It felt good. Then we began the 3.1 mile race. Oh my goodness… I have not ran a 5k race since last summer! People fly in this distance! There were a couple of college girls that I knew would be ahead of me… The one person that came out of nowhere-and this is very humbling, a little embarrassing and me being a coach, a little exciting-was seeing this little girl in front if me. Right from the beginning she took off… I kept thinking she was going to run out of energy… Oh no, she kept going and running strong. I was running 5:59 minute miles and she was obviously going faster. The 1st mile and 1/2 was a gradual uphill and then a quarter of it was steep. I love up hills and I began to gain on her… Until we began the descent down. Yep… Not going to happen. After the race, which I ran a 18:35 or 36 (5:59-6 minute pace), I met up with the young lady…

I found out she is 10 years old!!! She came in 2nd… Yeah I was very humbled. My excuse to everyone is that I am training for a marathon now. 😉 I did go on a 31 minute run afterwards… A good chunk of the run was with my other fellow Runner’s Corner teammates. They are all very talented runners and work hard at it.

The other part of my run was running back to Corom and Mike as they were pushing the stroller and helping them out. I love that the girls love to do these races. I need to get them running the 5ks now!

I also saw a few of the kids I coach at the high school at this race. They raced well!!! I went out for another 44:12.39; 6 1/2 miles. I ran a total of 1:55 +/- about 16 +/- miles. My legs are tired.

 

Memorial Day 10k

May 26, 2014

 

I started of my day with a Memorial 10k fun run. Amber, Rachelle and I met up at the race and ran a 2 mile warmup. It was a beautiful, warm morning… The course was very hilly and we were able to run through the cemetery. Loved it.

I was able to pull off a 37:44 (a 6:04 pace) and was happy with it. I will admit that I wanted to run a faster time but with the course being a tougher one and my legs still a little tired from last week, I was ok with it. I was able to take 1st in woman’s but they didn’t do awards because all the money/donations went to the Military. After the 10k, we went on a 2 mile cool down.

Provo City 1/2 Marathon

May 3, 2014

Today is race day- Provo City Half Marathon. We headed up the canyon at 5:45 to get to the starting line. It was a beautiful morning with the weather just a little chili but not bad. We ran a 2 mile warmup before the race.

Then we began our race… The 1st mile and a half was a steep downhill and I decided before the race started to take it very conservative! It is easy to run all out to take “advantage” of the downhill but knowing me and my racing… I knew I would be in trouble. My first mile was a 6:15… I felt great throughout most the race. I took a GU at mile 5 and that worked perfect for me.

As soon as we came out of the canyon I did have to battle the race mentally because it was a little over 5 miles of a straight shot to the finish… Mentally I held up pretty good until the 11 mile marker. I still felt good but my thoughts were starting to go more on the negative side. I think, for me, what was hard was seeing the finish line a mile and a half out. I held on and finally broke 1:20 in the half. I ran a 1:19.21 (from my watch) and took 1st in overall women. I won either $250 or $300 in cash and a watch (I was not able to stay for the awards because I had to run to the high school track meet at BYU. I did get a 2 mile cool down in… Running 17 miles total.

I went to the BYU meet and watched my distance runners in the mile and 800 and in the relays.

 

Thanksgiving Point 1/2 Marathon

April 26, 2014

 

Well today I headed out to Thanksgiving Point to run a 1/2 marathon race. It was a very rainy morning and it really didn’t let up.

I do love running in the rain and the course was unbelievably beautiful!!! We ran through their Tulip Gardens, around thanksgiving point and onto the golf course. Simply amazing…

The only problem with the course, I was racing it so I couldn’t enjoy it as much as I would have liked to. 😉 (My family and I will definitely go back to walk through the gardens!) The course was HARD! I should have known that after the 1st mile of most of it being up hill that the course would be tough. I did start off too fast for this course… By mile 9, I was mentally and physically tired. I ran the last 4.1 purely on wanting to finish… I was able to keep up my pace to finish off 2nd overall in women’s at a time of 1:24.45. (I won $250 cash, so that was a bonus!!! :)) I was a little upset with my time until I looked at the last couple of years results and noticed that this truly was a tough course. There were lots of hills and there were some areas on the course that was slippery from all the rain but it was all part of the adventure. We were all soaking and cold when we finished but the rain was fun. The women’s overall winner (Devra) is an amazing runner and I am proud to say I ran with her for the 1st 3 miles. 🙂 I ran a 2 mile warmup and was able to run a 2 1/2 mile cool down but not until an hour later. I left the race as soon as I finished to book it down to a high school track meet. I wanted to make sure I caught the miles…

St. George Sprint Triatholon

April 5, 2014

Corom, Mike and I woke up this morning to beautiful skies… But it was a cold morning. I slept in the truck while the 2 slept outside. They froze and I was good with being warm… My back was a little sore when I woke up but it was not a big deal. 🙂

We parked near the starting/finish line to the St. George Sprint Triathlon. A few little things to do to prepare ourselves for the race (change my bike tire was one of them)…

And warming up before the race started was another thing that had to be done…

Yes… Warming up in a hot tub right before you race is not the best thing to do (it relaxes your muscles), but Corom, Mike and our other friend, Brady obviously weren’t worried about it. 🙂
On with the race… A 400 meter swim (a quarter of a mile), a 10 mile bike ride and a 5k (3.1 mile) run. I am so bad at swimming… This will be interesting!

This was our friend Brady swimming (he started about 20 minutes before us)… Corom is loudly cheering him on.
Oh the swim was the worst part!!! I am not a strong swimmer (as I just stated) and it was tough. I had to doggy paddle at one point in the race. I was grateful when the kid who was counting my laps finally said I was done (the swim was in a pool… Thank goodness and it was 16 laps total). I finished that in 10:23 and ran out to get my bike and put on shoes, clothes, etc.

I used my mother-in-law’s road bike… What a huge difference from a mountain bike! A road bike is a lot more smooth and a lot easier! I finished the 10 mile bike ride in 34:23 and starting off on my 5k… I saw Corom and Mike starting their run as I headed into the last mile of my run (it was a loop).

I don’t know my 5k time (yet) but
I finished with a total time of 1:07.13 (the exchange times are included with this- how long it took from the swim to heading off on my bike and then from the transition from the bike to the run). I headed back out to run with the 2 (Corom and Mike)… And ran another mile and a half. They came in around 1:27. I wanted to get more running in but the food at the end looked to enticing!

We ran into many friends there and they all did great!

We had a good time. I placed 5th overall in women and 1st in my age group. I was a little shocked. But to tell you the truth it was not that big of a race. 😉

Soon after we headed home (about 3 1/2 hours).

Spectrum 10k

March 15, 2014

Hilary and I woke up early to head out for the Spectrum 10K…
I decided that I was not going to get into race mode with it being my 1st week back. I ran a 20 minute warmup on a trail… So beautiful!!! (I am kicking myself for forgetting my phone:().
The race began and there were about 15-20 ladies in front of me for the 1st mile. We crossed the first mile and I looked at my watch… 5:30!!! Before I go on, it was a very aided mile downhill. Steep downhill! Miles 2 and 3 were also downhill with a few up (a rolling down)… Still fast and aided. I felt great and began to move up… That is when my competitive side took over. I can’t help it. 3 1/2 miles later we were out of the canyon and on the main road. I was in 3rd place now but didn’t think I could hold onto it. I was so winded by mile 4-4 1/2… The downhill took it out of my legs. 3 1/2 on was flat and up-hill and one short downhill close to the finish. I felt my endurance struggling! 🙂 I finished off with a time of 37:44 and I was able to hold onto 3rd. I was tired!!! I went on a 13 minute cool down. My legs were shot and so sore. But I am glad I was able to run this race.

My friends ran well! Melissa, Jay, Scott, Hilary, Amber, Jeff, the Moody brothers, Mike, Amber, Tyann, etc…
Hilary and I drove home right after… I

Hale Theatre 5k

I decided at the last minute this morning to get up and head to Orem (25 minutes away) to race in a 5k race. I knew that if I didn’t do this race I would have a hard time running today with a tempo. Corom was very supportive and encouraged me to go… So I put on my Runner’s Corner racing jersey and racing attire and headed to the race. I met up with a lot of the other racing team members of Runner’s Corner…

We ran a little over 5 miles (40:32) for a nice little run, warmup, to throw in extra miles, etc. before the race. I ran 2 strides before the race (at the starting line) did about 15 to 20 hops on each leg and then waited for the gun. The course was flat, then a good mile down and flat, then a mile and a half up hill to the finish line. I do love hills! I was in 2nd the entire way until the last 1/2 to 3/4 of a mile left. I pulled in 1st and was able to hold on to that spot. I really look up to Amber Andrews (the girl that took 2nd). She is one of my role models and I know that if she was in shape I wouldn’t stand a chance. She has only been running about twice a week!

My time was 18:23.0. After my race, Amber, Josse, and I ran back to run our friend Rachelle in from the 10k. She was the 10k top finisher with our friend Rebecca in 2nd. I ran a mile back with Rachelle and continued on for a cool down. The guys all ran great, too.

They did the awards and I won a season (a year) pass to the Hale Theatre (I love plays), a year pass to Thanksgiving Point, and in the raffle… An hour ride for 2 in a Hot Air Balloon! That kind of freaks me out.

We all had a great time and it is fun connecting with all our fellow running friends from around Utah County and Salt Lake…

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St. George 1/2 Marathon

DECEMBER 7, 2013
FOOTLOCKER

As we loaded the bus this morning to head over to Mt. Sac, we noticed a room full of 4 girls were missing. It was 6:45 at the time and my race started at 7:30. I ran upstairs and knocked on their door… Um yeah… I woke them up. We left at 5 after 7. I was able to warm up for 5 min before my race started. We had our freshman/sophomore race 15 minutes after mine started… They were a little nervous! We actually bumped them back into another race but for me I had to go. It went well, though (better than I thought it would) …

As I stated yesterday, this course is one of the toughest 5k courses I’ve raced (I used to run this course in high school). Very hilly but probably my favorite 5k! (The route we raced was a little shy of a 5k)…

I ran a 18:22 (last year I ran 18:34) and took 4th. There were some fast runners there. It was fun (once I was almost done :)). It did take me a good mile to get into it but that is when the major hills started. The last hill, I actually felt pretty good. Last year I remember struggling up that one, but this time around it was different. To tell you the truth… I am so glad I raced this morning. I was not mentally into it but for some reason when that gun goes off, I can’t help but go. I wasn’t planning on it until the last minute and I know I would have regretted it if I didn’t run. I ran a total of 60 minutes (I would run with the high school kids on their warm ups and then a couple of us ran back to our hotel for a nice cool down). It was a good run today!

THANKSGIVING 1/2 As A PACER
NOVEMBER 28,2013

I ran the Thankful 13 1/2 marathon today but as a Pacer. Beth Ericksen and paced the 1:35 group. We came in at 1:34.48. It was a 7:15 per mile.

We ran with a pretty great group the entire way. The last mile we urged the people with us to go ahead. It was great and they did great. Probably the best group I have paced!

I was hoping to see my mother-in-law on the opposite side of the trail but she ran a PR of 2:12.24. So I guess you could say it was good not to see her on that little loop. 🙂 I felt great at the end…took a few pictures of the other pacers…

My friend Melissa (that I helped this summer with training and is now running with us when she can) took 1st in the women. She did great! Beth and I took 3rd and 4th overall. That was a nice surprise. 🙂 I also carried my water bottle with XOJO in it, the entire race. I drank some before, during, and after and I felt and feel great! I love this product!!!

I am so glad I ran this. I put in a 10 min warmup before the race and a 15 min cool down… Ran back to find Sarah. (about 16 total). It was a beautiful morning. Happy Thanksgiving!!!

NOVEMBER 7 & 8, 2013
RAGNAR LAS VEGAS

Las Vegas Ragnar… Another year with the Nevernudes!!!

We do have the Co-Founder, Tanner Bell, on our team! He is fitting right in with our team. Yes that is him in the blue man suit…

Kelly Southwell ran first. She was cruising down the hill. She looked great…

Corom ran 2nd… (It was pretty funny that it was a little quieter when he was out running. Strange!)

Tanner Bell was next (the 3rd leg). I don’t know how he did it, but he ran 5.5 miles in the blue man suit! He, too, was cruising down for his leg…

Tanner handed off to Ryan Southwell. Ryan’s leg was a non-support leg, so we were not able to stop and give him water or take pictures. He is a good solid runner and he is also the one who makes all the Ragnar videos. Pretty amazing.

Ryan then handed off to me. (This is a 2nd leg picture of me because my 1st leg was 9.4 miles on the freeway, so it was a non-support leg. They couldn’t take pictures.) I ran a 6:28 pace, coming in at 1:00.54. I felt good until I finished and then my left bum cheek started hurting again. We will see what the next leg brings…

These next 2 pictures are fun pictures with Kelly and I…

Mark Lovell finished off our van 1. He did awesome and came flying in to hand off to van 2. Our team did really well!

Van 2 runners…(Z-van 1 our Foriegn Exchange student, Amber Dunford- van 2, Rachelle Wardle -van 2, Corom – van 1, Josh Wright -van 2, and Julia Hubbarb was out running – van 2)…

On the other side of the sidewalk is Ryan & Kelly (bending over) Southwell -van 1, Damon Chamberlain (he made it to the Olympic Trials for steeple chase back when he was in college) – van 2, Tim Hubbard -van 2, and then Tanner Bell – van 1.

Van 2 rocked it! They were way fast and didn’t give us the break we were hoping for. 🙂 While they were running we went out to eat at a Greek restaurant.

It was a blast with our team… We had so many people come up to us and ask if we were the Nevernudes, tell us they love our team and they watch the videos all the time, etc. good job Ryan for putting the videos together!!! More random pictures…

My 2nd leg was a 3.2 mile run and I ran it in 19:53… I was racing another guy on another team and was determined to beat him. It was fun and good motivation to run hard. It was weird because my right buttock was killing me but it began to go away the faster I went. I was so relieved when I realized I could go! My leg 3 was 6.8 miles. I ran that in 45:37.79. I felt good!!! This is a picture I took while was running… It didn’t turn out that great but oh well…

Here are a few pictures of van 2… They had a blast together. It was fun meeting up at the major exchanges!

After the race, the entire team went out for lunch! Good food, good times and good company!

OCTOBER 26,2013
SALEM WITCH’S 5K

Here at the high school, the cross country team put on a Halloween 5K community fun run. We had a good turn out this year. I ran it this time with my girls. I usually work the finish line but we had enough helpers that I was able to help Corom this year and push the girls. I had a blast but it was tough!!!

There was one part in the race that had a steep hill… I was a little ahead of Corom and Mike going into the hill. I got to a point that I had to walk pushing all 4 kids and then 10 sec later, I couldn’t push anymore (it was so steep). I think Corom and Mike stayed back on purpose to have a good laugh. Well next thing I knew I had a few people helping me (and we still had to walk even with 4 of us). It was quite the sight…

I couldn’t stop laughing… The rest was a piece of cake (after that hill). I took off with the girls and we made sure Corom and Mike wouldn’t catch up. (The girls kept yelling for me to go faster…) the girls and I finished in 23:58 for a 5k. It was quite the workout and my arms are tired!

Corom and Mike are the above picture and Z our Foriegn Exchange student is in the picture below. She did really well and had fun…

These 3 were our overall female winners… Mac was 1st, Josse was 2nd and Amber was 3rd… I tried to catch them (I would have hit them with my stroller… I am totally joking- I run with these ladies on a regular basis.)

My kids ran in the mile race… They, too, did really well! The 2 older ones ran the entire way and the other 2 ran and walked. None of them had to be carried this year. The high school kids helped a lot!!!

OCTOBER 5, 2013
ST. GEORGE MARATHON

I did it!!! I broke 3 hours in the marathon! My time was 2:54.22! Lets start from this morning…I woke up this morning and I felt good (a slight headache but with a few ibuprofen in my system it cleared that up). I slept well, especially with all my kids in the same room. We left the house by 5 this morning and up the canyon we went…

It was cold this morning but a perfect weather running cold! At 6:45 am we were off… I felt okay the 1st half. To be honest I didn’t think I was going to do it (break 3 hours). I had to take a bathroom break at mile 12 and I never pee during a race (well I have once during a race). I have been very fortunate/blessed in that category… Well except for today. 🙂 When I got to mile 13 I was at a 1:29.34. I ran with these 2 for a big chunk of the race and oh was it so nice and helpful…

I tried something new during this race that helped tons…

I have never taken a Gu during a marathon. I survived solely on the gatorade, water, bananas and oranges they have throughout the aid stations in the past years. Thanks to all my running friends who have taught me the “importance” of Gu! I had 3 throughout the race. Mile 8, 16 and 23! At mile 14 or 15 something just clicked and I felt good! I was a little nervous that I would crash the last 3 to 4 miles, but I still felt like I had to go with how I felt with 11 miles still to go. I started to get a little ahead of my “2:58” goal. I got to mile 18 and there was an angel there waiting for me!!!

Rachelle Wardle was a Major Help to me today!!! Even if I wanted to slow down, I wasn’t able to with her there. 🙂 She talked to me, sang to me, encouraged me, etc. the entire last 8 miles. She held a great pace and I just had to follow! Our last 3 miles were under 6:10s. I will admit, the last straight away to the finish line was forever long. My legs began to feel heavy and I realized how tired I was at that point. But I finished with an 8 min PR (personal record) in the marathon with a time of 2:54.22. I took 15th overall in the women, 5th in my age group and 1st in Utah County (which I won $100). My pace was a 6:39. I am stoked! Now I can quit… J/K.
I also couldn’t do it without these 3 and I truly mean this… It was probably the biggest help of all…

The Fullmer family (Amy and her 2 kids) watched our kids for Corom and I. My kids love them and I don’t worry one bit about my kids (I worry my kids will be too hyper or too grumpy for them but I know they are taken care of). So no stress goes towards my kids and their safety! Thanks sooo much Amy and kids for your help!!! Also my mother-in-law:

Sarah just ran a huge PR. She ran a 4:42.39. Her best before was a 5:18! This was her 28th marathon. Amazing!!! All my friends (and I am sorry if I miss putting your name down) Mac, Aubrey, Amber, Julia, Josie, Ericka, Tawney, Carina, Tifany, Kelly, Melanie, Kim, Beth, Jasmine, (and all the guys, too), etc. all ran PR’s. It was exciting seeing everyone coming in and doing well!!! Good job everyone!

We saw injuries along the way and at the finish line, but everyone (that I saw) fought through it:

And then there was my husband Corom and our friend Mike Fullmer… They both came in at 4:41. They did not train at all for this and still pulled it off! Pretty impressive…. Until I found them treating a bathtub like a hot tub. Doesn’t surprise me though!

The girls goofing off while we were waiting for Corom, Sarah and Mike…

The girls playing in the gutter while we were waiting for Mike and Amy to return (Mike lost his car keys on the run somewhere :().

We went to In-N-Out for lunch… It was delicious and I think half the marathoners were there.

We came back to the house and now we are relaxing and/or goofing off.:

I am a little sore now… It is 5 pm… But not as sore in the years past. It is amazing what a little training and miles will do for you! 🙂