Ogden 26.2: Week TEN (Riverton Half Marathon)

I'm so happy.  I LOVE RUNNING!!!

I was pretty glad this was a "step-back" week for me.  My 17-miler last weekend wore me out.  I could barely run two miles on Tuesday.  My legs were just dead.  But I am learning that rest is important, and that recovery time is when you become stronger.  So I didn't stress about it.

On Wednesday morning, Staci and I did a little trail run.  We haven't run together in ages, and I miss her!  We went up Millcreek Canyon to hike the Pipeline Trail.  It was gorgeous, and I loved exploring a new area!

On Saturday, we ran the Riverton Half Marathon.  I signed up for this back in January.  Only $30!  A few of us were using it as a training run for marathon training.  The course is pretty tough.  Hilly!  Not nearly as easy as a canyon run.  But a few days before the race, Robert Merriman told me he'd pace me to a 2:15 finish.  I laughed.  My PR is a 2:09, and that's running down down down a canyon.  I told him I'd try my best to keep up, but in my head, was still just laughing at the idea.  I was really shooting for maybe a 2:22-25 or so.

There was a fun group of us there.  Me, Joshua, Quesnel, Elvia, Robert and Christy.  We met up and hung out for about an hour before it started.  I'll say it again:  I LOVE these people!  We have so much fun together.  We just laugh and laugh and laugh.

I was still pretty nervous about trying to keep up with Robert Merriman (who I will now refer to as RM throughout this post....I can't just call him Robert, and I'm too lazy to type 'Robert Merriman' out each time), but I decided to just try my best!

We took off running.  The first few miles were not too hilly.  I kept up a good pace with RM.  We ran through some neighborhoods and then did an out and back on the Jordan River Parkway.  It was fun to pass the runners who were ahead of us as they were running back.  Jonathan was pacing the 1:50 group, and Q is speedy, so we high-fived them.  We also saw Josh, Elvia and Christy on our way back.  We finally reached an aid station, so I ate and drank a little.  We stayed on the Jordan Parkway for a few more miles.  There was a pretty good-sized hill.  RM kept trying to distract me as we ran up it.  "See the pond, Becca?  Do you see it?"  Then we cruised down the other side.  We were running into the sun at this point, so I was getting warm.  The miles ticked by, and I was really surprised to be keeping up a pretty decent pace for me.

As usual though, I slowed down around Mile 9 and started to suffer.  RM was a saint and kept me going.  He wouldn't let me take very long walking breaks, and told me stories and made me laugh to keep me happy.  I loved running with him.  At Mile 11, there were more awful hills, and I was really wearing down.  But I held on.  Literally.  I held on to RM's shirt and he pulled me up the hill!  Only for a second though, I couldn't make him do that!  He also made me do a few fartlek's (sprints) at the end to make up some of our time.  I was hurting and miserable, but I was also determined.  I could tell we were at least going to come in under 2:20, and that though kept me going.  The mile markers were about a quarter to half a mile off the entire course.  That messed with my head.

We turned the final corner and saw the finish line.  RM told me to push hard and finish with nothing left in the tank.  I tried so hard to run fast, but that finish line never seemed to get closer!  But we finally crossed it, and I could not stop smiling because we ran it in 2:13!!!!

Shocked.  Only FOUR minutes off of my PR time.

My dear, sweet Robert Merriman taught me a good lesson today:  I am capable of doing SO much more than I thought!  I can push through the pain and accomplish my goals.  I need to aim higher and not hold myself back.

We found Q and grabbed some food while we waited for the others.  Joshua and Elvia came in together, and then I saw the Christy has texted me.  She was struggling.  So we walked back down towards the corner.  When we saw her, we ran with her down the final stretch.  She did so great!

What a great run!  It was really hard.  But I did it!  I'm SO grateful that I pushed myself and didn't just consider this a "training run".  I made it really count.  Now I am stoked for the SL Half next month.  Let's see what I can do there!  No more holding myself back.  No more comfort zone ALL the time!

Bring on Week Eleven!

Ogden 26.2: Week NINE

My marathon training is officially HALF OVER.  I can't believe it.

I was reading a post I wrote back at the beginning of January about how scared I was to begin training.  Now, 9 weeks later, I am feeling awesome and full of confidence that this marathon IS going to happen.  Last week's 15 miler was really tough.  I was hurting pretty badly by the end, and that scared me a lot.  I'll go into more detail about it later in this post, but today's 17-miler was AMAZING.  I am so excited.

On Tuesday, Ashley and I did some speed work around the Village.  Nothing fancy, just tried to keep our pace up.

On Wednesday, I did a 9-mile trail run with Meridith and London.  This was my first time running with Meridith, and it was so fun!  I loved getting to know her better.  And London is always a blast!  We started at the zoo trailhead, ran all the way over to the top of Dry Creek Canyon, and then ran back.  Wow, it was SO much more difficult than I thought it would be.  But we DID IT.  The hills were INSANE.  I've done each section a few times, but I've never put all three together.  And back!  When we got to the top of Dry Creek, the views were amazing.  The trail kept going off to the north and disappeared around a bend, so we decided to tack on an extra half mile and see what was over there.  Rounding that bend nearly took my breath away (that sounds so dramatic, but it's TRUE!).  It was GORGEOUS.  The three of us all stopped and were just in awe.  It was a very, VERY cool moment that I will always remember.  This photo does not do it justice.

Me, London, Meridith

This run completely killed my legs.  I could barely move the rest of the day!  Probably not the best idea to do this tough of a trail run in between two long runs, but I just cannot resist these trails!

I took Thursday and Friday off to rest up for today.

SEVENTEEN MILES!!  I was nervous, but mostly excited.  This is the route that we planned out:

It's hard to tell on this map, but that pretty much runs along about half of the entire Salt Lake valley.  I was intimidated, but also determined and ready to kill it.

This morning, I met Cindy and Joshua at the 3900 S parking lot (Mile 17).  They piled in my van, and we drove up.  We met the rest of the gang.  Once we started getting further into the canyon, we started getting into snow.  And wind.  The roads ended up being pretty bad, so we turned back and started at Mile 3.  It was a wise decision.  We still had to run the first several miles in snow and wind and COLD.  But we are awesome and didn't let it stop us.  We just knew we'd have to make up the mileage at the end.

I LOVE THESE PEOPLE!  When I signed up for the marathon, I had NO idea my Saturday long runs would end up like this.  Absolutely amazing.

(In case you're wondering, YES my calves were FREEZING and bright red.  Luckily it warmed up after a few miles of getting lower in elevation, and I ended up being glad I was dressed how I was.)

So Vince, Jonathan, Shelley and Meridith are speedy, so they immediately took off.  I actually didn't see them again.  The rest of us stuck together.  Terri (the cute, short lady in white) was a few minutes slower than our pace, but Christy and I didn't want to ditch her, so we stayed with her.  It was slower than I wanted to run, BUT looking back, I think it was actually very wise for me to save my energy, so now I'm grateful.  Plus, I got to visit with her and learn more about her conversion to the Church not long ago.  She is an amazing woman.

It was fun to chat with Christy, too.  I LOVE that girlie.  We always have fun together!

Gorgeous views.  Once again, hard to capture in a photo.

Katheryn and me.  We're going to run that marathon together.

Christy and I around Mile 10-ish, I think?

Our view along Wasatch, heading north.  This was such a great course.  I'd love to do it again!

 Once we got to the park & ride at the bottom, Terri, Meridith and Shelley left.  The rest of us trudged along Wasatch.  This is where I had to mentally start to dig in a bit.  I spent the rest of the run mostly chatting with Cindy.  She taught me some great techniques for running up hills, and I was able to tackle all of the nasty hills along the last few miles, which I was planning on having to walk.  I'm so grateful for her!  We talked a lot about running and RA and what those mean to us.  Talking with her brought on a lot of this clarity I'm feeling, and I know that her being there was not random, either.

I love Robert Merriman.  I say that all the time, but I really do!  He makes me feel safe.  He's so kind and comforting and encouraging.  And so so hilarious.  I loved running with him today, as always!  And he brought me Welsh cakes.

I felt really good for the entire run.  I tried to stay really fueled and hydrated and not wait until I was hungry or thirsty or feeling sluggish.  This is good!  I'm learning what works for me, and that boosts my marathon confidence as well.

When we got back to the parking lot, I was only at about 14 miles, so Katheryn and I turned around and ran back up Wasatch for another mile.  She is running Ogden with me, so we took our minds off of our tired legs by talking about logistics and how we want to approach the big day.  I was tired, but overall still felt pretty good when I finished 17 miles.  This run was such a confidence booster!  I still have 9 more weeks of training, and I can already run 17 miles (albeit slowly).

I DID IT!  I am so happy with how this week went.  This coming week is a step-back week, so that will be good to rest a little before I take on 18 miles.

P.S. Today I hit 1004 total miles of running since I started exactly two years ago (March 16, 2012 was my first run.  Two miles, and I had to take walking breaks).  Not a big number compared to many runners I know, BUT as a busy mom of 3 young kids with a husband in grad school, I'm very proud of that number!

P.S.S.  After the run, Joshua and I decided to fulfill a dream of ours we've had for nearly 6 months now and go get tacos at the Sears taco stand downtown.  Don't ask.  Just know that it was a life-changing experience.  And very, VERY delicious.  And hilarious.  And the essence of our friendship.

And...I look awesome after running for over 3 hours...

I was SO hungry, that I couldn't even wait to get home to start chowing down.  Yum.

Ogden 26.2: Week EIGHT (A Runny Birthday Party!)

Aaahh, well that is more like it!  Awesome week!  Monday and Thursday were just runs.  Nothing special. On Wednesday, Ashley and I did a long trail run on Bonneville.  It was gorgeous, and it made me so happy to get up on those trails again.  Planning weekly runs there from now on.

This morning was my "Very Runny Birthday Party".  We planned this a few months ago, so I can't believe it's already here and over!  Nate's mom took the kids overnight, so Nate and I enjoyed a relaxing, QUIET evening last night.  But we stayed up too late!  I was so tired when I woke up.  I left at 7:00 and ran down to Liberty Park.  Nate drove down and met me there.  I was completely blown away by how many of my dear friends showed up.  These people mean the world to me.  I love them so so much!

(This was Joshua's logo for the event page.  Awesome!)

Here is the group, minus a few who had to leave early or arrived later.

Can you believe that?  Janet, Nicole, Galen, Susette, Kasie, Louise, Joshua, Robert Merriman, Merideth, Elvia, Monnica, Cindy, London, Jill, Mark, Jonathan, Monte, NATE (Yay!), Jarom and Vince.  LOVE THEM!  Katheryn, Christy and Jerri sadly missed the photo, but I love them, too!!  This is my family.  They love and support me like I have never felt before.

We had lots of yummy food.  I waited until after my run to pig out, though.  I ran 15 miles today!  The furthest (farthest?) I have EVER run at one time!  It HURT.  But I did it!  Ogden is going to be so much more difficult than I imagined, but I'm also learning that the reward and satisfaction of accomplishing it is going to be SO much sweeter than I imagined.

Nate ran 8 miles with me.  Such a treat!  I love running with him, but it rarely happens.  I got to enjoy a few laps with Robert Merriman.  How I adore that man!!  Seriously.  I can't praise him enough.  Joshua, Kasie and I had a blast, as always (the inside jokes are out of control).  I got to know Jarom and Louise a bit better.  London and Monte are sweethearts, and they gave me a 26.2 charm for my necklace.  Everyone sang to me, too.  So SO sweet.  I was extremely touched by everyone's kindness to me.  I tell Nate that sometimes I don't know how to handle it all!

Nate went to go pick up the kiddos, and I'm going to go eat a salted caramel/pretzel/Snickers Rice Krispy Treat (Joshua's bday gift to me!) and then go crash on the sofa.  These legs are dead!

Ogden 26.2: Week FIVE

Wow, such a GREAT week!  I have been praying so hard to feel the Lord's hand in my training, and I absolutely have felt Him sustaining me.  I wouldn't have it ANY other way.  I know how weak I can be on my own, and I do not EVER want to be on my own out on that marathon course!

On Tuesday, I finally felt like I was ready to do some speed work.  I have been holding off on it because I wanted to focus on building my base back up.  My plan called for 3 miles, so I ran one mile as fast as I could (which was still pretty slow, sadly) and then I ran the 0.25 mile loop from my parking lot, up to the 1000 Court (MASSIVE hill) and around to the bus stop and back through the court.  I sprinted that loop 6 times.  OUCH!  It was awful!  But awesome.  :)  Then I sprint/walked the last half mile to finish up.

On Wednesday, Ashley and I ran the same 6-mile loop that Nate and I ran on our date run.  Down to Sugarhouse Park and back.  I had a PT appointment the day before, and he spent a good amount of time digging his elbow into my hip and butt.  It HURT.  I felt pretty bruised when I woke up!  And this dumb chest cold is STILL hanging around.  So I almost bailed.  But I didn't.  And this run ended up being AWESOME!!  We pushed our pace into the 9:30's for over a mile.  When we turned up 15th to head home, it was almost ALL uphill, but we kept our pace up.  It was really tough, but we DID it!  I felt so strong when we finished.

Thursday was a slow 2 miles on the treadmill.

Saturday was a BLAST!!!  Robert Merriman, Josh, Ashley, Katheryn, Kasie and I ran down Emigration to Liberty Park.  We ended up doing 13.1 miles.  A half marathon!  In 2:29.  Not too bad for a training run!

I cannot get enough of this canyon.  SO. BEAUTIFUL.

We met up at Liberty Park and drove up to the top.  Elvia, Quesnel, Meredith and Christy also came, but they did less miles, so we sadly dropped them off at the 7-mile mark.  I was disappointed not to run with them!  Next time!!  This was our first time meeting and running with Kasie, and I LOVE HER!  She is awesome.  And guess what?  She is going to run Ogden with me!!!  I am SO HAPPY!  New BFFs!  :)

At first, my legs felt a little dead from being on my feet all day yesterday and from my speedwork during the week.  But after about Mile 7, they seemed to settle into the run better.  I used this run to practice my long run fueling.  Cherry cola chews and a chocolate granola bar, along with some electrolyte water.  It all seemed to sit well and gave me the energy I needed.  I did have to pee for the first half, but luckily when we got to Ruth's Diner, there was a glorious Honey Bucket in the parking lot.  It was clean and at the perfect place.  We ALL needed to use it!  The joys of running!

When we got to Liberty Park, we had run 11.6 miles, so we decided to run one lap around to get to 13.1  I was proud of us!  It was a great run.  The miles seemed to fly by.  There was always someone to chat with and always something to talk about.  We pushed our speed down the steeper sections at the end.  I think I could have run it a little faster than I did, but for a training run, our pace was spot on.

The best part was right at the East High track, a car started honking at us, and it was NATE!  He was headed into work.  I love that he got to see us running!  Made my morning!

The other best part was when we finished running, we decided to try and take some jumping pictures.  They turned out hilarious!  We were really, really pathetic!  Jumping Cory would not be proud!  (Joshua was too tired to jump!)

Ogden 26.2: Week FOUR

So...Nate bought me a little gift to say, "Thanks for being patient with me and our life for the past 9 years."

I'd like to introduce our newest family member.  Her name is Sweet Rose (don't ask).

She is fantastic!  She's a $2500 machine that we got on KSL for $450!  Not bad!  She works like a charm.  The previous owners are the original owners (even gave us the manual and the original receipt) and they only used it for light walking.  She goes up go a 12% incline, has 32 pre-set workouts and has the flex deck, which means the board absorbs the impact of each step, so it's easier on your joints.  I love her!

Sweet Rose is my back-up for when it's bad weather or I need to get back so Nate can leave, and I still have a few miles left.  My training plan is starting to get a bit more intense, so we felt like this was a good purchase.  Nate runs on her, too.

We got her on Monday night, and sure enough, I woke up Tuesday to a fresh few inches of snow.  Usually I don't mind running in the snow, but lately I feel like I have been having to run on SO much ice, and it has slowed my runs down a TON.  So I ran my 3 miles on the treadmill and threw in a little speedwork.

On Wednesday, Ashley and I ran 6 miles.  It was clear, but it was COLD!!  15 degrees!  We both didn't start feeling warmed up until about Mile 4.  But we finished our miles!

On Thursday, I woke up feeling awful.  Stuffy nose, headache, sore throat, coughing.  Ugh.  Again??  I was just sick a few weeks ago!  I was SO discouraged and frustrated.  I felt tears threatening to roll down my cheeks as I told Nate that I'm so scared about this marathon.  He hugged me and assured me that everything will be okay.  I could tell I was just feeling overwhelmed.  I have been told over and over how much marathon training changes you, especially on the inside.  It pushes you to your limits.  I felt like I got a glimpse of that this week.  I felt like the training plan was bigger than my abilities, and I let it get to me.  So I took Thursday and Friday off and rested up.

This morning I felt okay, so I headed over to Liberty Park with Ashley.  We met up with Josh, Christy, Katheryn and Jill.  I love my friends!!!

We were planning to run 10 miles, but Katheryn and I ended up doing 11.5.  Josh arrived a little late, so he was behind us in mileage.  He still had a lap to do when we hit 10, so we decided to run it with him.  Actually, when we finished running, he was at 9.9 miles, so he ran around this tree until he hit 10.  It was hilarious.

I felt surprisingly good during the whole run.  We kept it slow and took breaks for water and fuel.  About halfway through, we saw a 3-legged dog, which is Josh's love in life.

It was fun to run with Katheryn.  She has signed up for Ogden, and we plan to stick together and help each other finish.  This run boosted my spirits up a lot.  It wasn't a speedy run, but it was a nice endurance run that made me feel strong when I was finished.  These long, slow runs are the key to marathon training, so it was good for my mental state to have this run go so well!

Afterwards, we drove up to the Corner Bakery to stuff our faces.  YUM!  Excited for another group run next Saturday!