Hurricane half/5K

Just as I crossed the Finish line for the Hurricane Half/5K... This turned out to be a pretty sweet running race for me. I had a good grove with only two 15 sec walking periods. I was able to run almost the whole course. I FELT GOOD!!!! Thanks goodness that it was only COLD and not windy. Gotta love waking up at 5 in the morning to run a race. It was 39 degrees to start the race. Burr cold, but I'm betting not as cold as it is gonna be next week at the Provo half following snow this upcoming week. Now, I am not sure who marched out the race course, but Somebody wanted it to go long. My GPS watch had us at 3.35 miles, where a normal 5K is 3.1 miles. That is a whole quarter mile longer. Almost everyone at the finish line said the same thing... Who knows, Oh well right, It's Hurricane....Need I say more. :). The distance didn't bother me, but my time did. Last week, I didn't have my best run but got my best PR at 38:37. With a longer course, I clocked in at 40:50. I am running about a 12 min mile, so I am putting my time around the 36 or 37 min mark, which would be my best time YET.... But officially with a course running 3.35 miles, I have a time of 40:50. Not bad in my book. I will take it with a smile. CONGRATS to all my friends who ran the Half Marathon..... You Guys Rock....
Looking forward to Provo half and 5K next weekend. Can't wait to see all my friends. Good Times

A small change of Plans

Ok, SO I know that I said that I wasnt gonna run a Half Marathon untill the St George Half in Jan, but I couldnt pass this one up. I have been debating for some time to run a half by Sept. I have looked all over and I have found the Disneyland Half to fit me and my style of run the best, so Today I have signed myself up to Run the Disneyland Half Marathon. WOW, now I really have got to start training. This should be tons of fun. Cant wait. Now Mikayla is running the 5k so Melissa was willing to step up and now is running the 5k with mikayla. This should be an awesome weekend, and setting for my FIRST EVER HALF MARATHON.... Well now its time to focus on running in the Hurricane half/5k in the morning. Peace out!!!! :)

Salt Lake Marathon 5K

The Night before the big race. Man is there nobody here.... lol

Katie Birkes and Myself. Katie has been a good friend of mine since nursing school. She nows lives up in SLC and it was so good to see her and run with her. For the Record, I beat her....lol

WOW... What a race. I wasnt prepared for running the hills in Salt Lake. I knew the higher altitude would have an effect on me, but when I was only a 1/2 mile in, I started to hurt like crazy. My calves tightened up and my gutt started to ache. I had to run/walk till I made it to State St which was all down hill. I was able to catch back up with Katie before we came to the aid station at the Gallivan Center. Following the aid station, we had to make the turn around back up State. Can I just tell ya how much Im not a fan of running up hills yet. They Hurt....It wasnt untill South temple, which was also down hill, that I was able to make up some time and catch back up with katie. As we ran down Gateway, with only 100 yrds left of the race, I took off. I just had to beat Katie. I know she was hurting but I just had to win the race. Of course, I passed her with about 50 feet to spear to cross the line before she did. Whew.... I did it... I had my BEST PR at 38:37 but I DIDN'T run my best race. I felt like I still have alot to prove to myself, but knowing that I run Hurricane 1/2 5k this weekend, I still have alot to look forward to. Hopefully I will be able to make up and run better this weekend. Had a great weekend in salt lake. It was also fun to watch the kids run in the Kids Marathon. They both rocked the house. I got to run with them. Good times....

Im Ready....

I am so excited that my next race is now less than one week away. Not only am I gonna be running on SAT, but both mikayla and kyler will also be running the Kids Marathon 1K. After running the Run 4 Kids here yesterday, they both begged me to run in Salt lake, so Here we go, Its gonna be a family running event. I am so excited.... Should be tons of fun....

This week has been filled with just about everything. I have found it very difficult to run or find time to run. On Wed i had to hit the treadmill and did not have a good run. I just couldn't get into it. I was only able to knock out a rugged 2 miles before ending it for the day.... Yesterday I was on flight call till 5pm. I had to get a good road run in, but the route i picked and the weather left me saying only two words......HILLY and WINDY..... It was a difficult course run and then running into at least 20-30 mph winds doesn't make it any easier.. I was able to knock out a slower 4 miles. Even with all this being said, I am gonna reapply myself next week to make sure that I get my runs in, that I stick to my training schedule and that I do the very best that I can do in my upcoming race. Salt lake will be my first Higher altitude race of the year. I am looking forward to this experience... Overall I feel awesome and excited. Stay tuned for my posting from this great race....

What a week

What A week. Sorry I am posting later than normal. We decided to go up to Spanish Fork for the weekend to spend Easter with the family. This past week was filled with highs and low in my training. On WED, I got the sweet opportunity to run with my good friend Lamon Mack. He is such the stud. We started out a run the morning following a night at work for me. I wanted to run a good 4 miles but only ended up running a fast 2.25 miles with an average 9:45 min/mile. My left quad tightening up and we ended up having to walk the remaining 1.75 miles. Lamon was so good to enjoy a nice morning walk with me instead of a good run.. Sorry Bro... But the times were Great!!!!! On sat I was gonna hit the streets of good ole Spanish fork but when I woke up at 05:45, I was greeted to snow. SO I hit a ride from my MOM who works out every morning at Golds Gym and went for a nice long run on the treadmills at Golds Gym. To my surprise, I was able to knock out a quick 7 miles in 75 min. I felt AWESOME.... Before traveling home today, I went back to the gym with my MOM and run a nice and easy 5 mile run in 58 min. I have had a pretty good week in my training. I have learned that I must listen to my body and even though I remain slow in my running time, I am getting the Miles added to my training. I am looking forward to Salt lake Marathon 5K in less than two weeks. Good Times!!!!!

OK!!! My New Goal

I have loved every minute of my running experience. When I get asked why I run, I tell them, i'ts hard to describe, but it's the adrenalin you get while running, the feeling of success you get when you cross that finish line, and knowing that you are a winner no matter what place you got. Running is a sport of overcoming oneself, while trying to master oneself all at the same time... This is why I love to run... Pure and simple... I LOVE IT!!!!

MY GOAL: A little over two months ago, I started to run, and run races. Knowing that I would probably be the worst runner in the whole field, I had to put my Pride away and give nothing but my best. In two months, I feel that I have made some huge steps, but I can also can see the MASSIVE Hills in front of me. In running, we always hear two things, The physical aspect, and the Mental side of running. Unfortunately the mental takes more time and experience than the physical. The physical can be paced out, worked up, and scheduled. The mental is something a runner must learn over time... With this in mind, I do not want to fall into peer pressure to run more than I am physically and mentally ready. For this reason, I plan to stick to my training schedule and better myself with my 5K-and 10K schedule for the remainder of the year. I hear that I could be ready to run a bigger race before I actually do, but I feel that this is the wisest decision I can make at this time. OK SO HERE I GO...... My new goal is to run St George Half Marathon aka Painter half marathon in Jan 2011. Painter 5k was the first race that I have ever run, and I think running the half at my year mark would be something special. I am so excited to have this as my new goal. Running 13.1 miles is a BIG deal, and I want to make sure that I have taken every step to be physically and mentally ready for this kind of run. But hey, I will and Can DO IT!!!!

Now that is off my chest... This week has been an awesome running week. On Monday, coming off my 10K high, I hit the treadmill for another 6.5 mile run followed by a 3.5 mile run on Tues. Friday I also got in another 3 mile run and today I ran 7 miles. Today's run KICKED MY BUTT. Not only did I wake up at 0630 to run, It was incredibly windy and cold. Running 7 miles is hard enough, but to add wind, holy cow... Oh and did I mention I HATE HILLS... i thought i had picked a pretty simple 7 mile route, well to find out, hills were everywhere, i don't mind running down, but running up is HARD!!! :) well I guess what doesn't kill me, will only make me better right? Overall, i was able to get a little over 20 miles of training in this week. I feel Awesome, Sore, Incredible, Drained, an Absolute high, all filled with challenges. This is what makes running such a special sport. Rock on!!!!

I saw this quote on one of friends blogs and couldn't help but posting it on mine... I love it....

"I run because it's so symbolic of life. You have to drive yourself to overcome the obstacles. You might feel that you can't. But then you find your inner strength, and realize you're capable of so much more than you thought."
--Arthur Blank

More spectrum 10K pics

Isn't this fun or what.....

Walking to the aid/water station.

Run Forrest Run...

Just a few more pics from the spectrum 10k. Thanks Melissa and Logan for some sweet race pics.... Thanks guys.

Spectrum 10K

Melissa Baldwin and myself at the start line. I work with her at the hospital. It was so much fun to run the whole race with her and her son. They truly ROCKED da House... Nice Job guys.

Annette Orton and Myself. Annette is a good friend of ours from Panquitch. It has been fun seeing her at all of the races. Oh and she of coursed kicked my butt again...lol

Sunrise at top of snow canyon state park. The start line. It was such an awesome, but cold morning. It warmed right up when the race started.... Sweet

I LOVE SNOW CANYON STATE PARK..... It was AWESOME...

This is looking towards Tuacahn. This was one of the most scenic runs I have ever done....PSSS ( I have only ran three now but it still is the best)....

RACE REPORT: The Spectrum 10K was awesome.... I wasn't for sure that I was going to know anyone there. All my running friends didn't run this race. Thursday night at work I found out that Melissa and her son was going to run and that made me happy. I ran into Annette, which is always awesome to see. Man it was another cold morning. but just as the race started it warmed right up. The race overall was pretty sweet. the first three miles weave in and out of Snow Canyon State Park, and is primarily down hill, but it also had several hills, but overall wasn't bad until mile 4 and the weaving in and out of the neighborhood. There was more hill's to conquer here, but once we hit the flat top, it was all about the open road. I was able to have a pretty sweet run with an avg 11:30 min/mile. It was so much fun to run with Melissa and Logan through the whole course. I crossed the finish at 1:15. Just a month ago, I ran the dam to dam, a five mile run, in 1:15 min.... and today 6.2 miles in that exact same time. I think the thing that made it even better was that I didn't need to walk as much. I did walk through the aid/water stations, but other than that, I was able to run majority of the race. I felt awesome when I crossed over the line. I have never in my whole life EVER ran 6.2 miles, and today I DID IT!!!! It felt amazing, so satisfying. It was my greatest accomplishment yet. Today is my two month mark for running. I now have run a 5k, 5 miler, and a 10k, oh did i mention that I have also lost 25 lbs... These have been my greatest two months of my life. Running is so addicting and I just love the running atmosphere. There is nothing like the Runners high. Thanks to EVERYONE for all your love and support. You guys rock. It makes a Difference. I am gonna ENJOY my Journey.

Ready or Not...

What a week... I just completed my last training run before I run the Spectrum 10 k this weekend. This will be the longest race I have ever attempted. Last month, the dam to dam was 5 miles, the spectrum is 6.2 miles. I am so excited for sat, but also a little sad that Melissa and the kids wont be there to see me finish my longest race of the year. Between soccer and primary activities, they wont be able to make to the race... Oh well, guess I will just have to take pictures huh.
Well my runs this week went well. Monday I ran 3 miles, and today I ran 3.5. I only plan to cross train on Wed and rest before the big day. Overall, I am excited to see actually how far I have come. This Sat, March 20Th, will be exactly 2 months when I started from the couch to running races. I never imagined that I would have come this far. Well I'm looking forward to SAT... Stay Tuned and wish me luck!!!!!!

The Big 5

I love this saying... Sometimes in life I think we keep telling ourselves... I will love it when.... or I cant wait until...... And we forget to Enjoy the Journey along the way.... I hope that I never get caught up in this and that I will always enjoy the journey and smile because it just happened...Well It has been a great week for me. Today I had the undaunting task of running 5miles as I prepare to run a 10 K (6.2 miles) next weekend. Today, as it has been over the past several weekends, was cold, and stormy. I wanted to get out and get my run in before the rain moved in. It actually turned out to be an awesome run. I ran 5 miles in 58:51. Looking back on my Dam to Dam posting of 73 min and change, I was stoked to see the progress. I felt good, I felt that I could have gotten that last 1.2 miles in at somewhere around the 70 min mark. I cant believe that the Spectrum 10 k is just One week away. It is going to be a blast. So this week I ran a total 12 miles. I feel good. I have lost a total of 23 lbs so far and am loving every moment of it. Just cant wait for the warm weather to finally arrive and STAY...lol Onward to next week.