I can always tell when my running shoes are getting worn out. I get random aches and pains that weren't there before and it makes me not want to run at all. I remember this same thing happening to me during the Utah Valley half this past June. The first several miles were awful because my anterior tibialis muscles (the ones on your shins) were absolutely killing me. They were cramping up so badly I could barely run. Then I had the crazy thought, I bet it's my shoes! Sure enough, after the race (the worst of my life) I took a closer look at my shoes and the cushioning was so worn out. Brand new shoes did the trick and I was back to running happy again.
Well these past couple weeks, it was happening again. I couldn't figure it out for the longest time (school must've made me forget about the last time this happened) but then I remembered and decided I couldn't get away with not getting new shoes any longer. It had been 6 months, it was time for a change.
I had been running with Asics Nimbus for about a year now (bought them for the first time last November and loved them) but I wanted to try something different and lighter. I ended up going with the Mizuno Wave Riders and let me tell you: I have never been so happy with a running shoe in my entire life. Even with my custom orthotics inside of them (dang funky feet) they felt so much lighter than my old shoes. They are so springy, I feel like I am a gazelle. No seriously. It just makes me feel faster than I have been in a long time. My first run in them didn't come with any pains or aches, even though I hadn't been able to run a mile the day before because of the pain in my shins. The shoes are like an extension of my foot, it almost felt like I wasn't wearing any at all. The toe box is super roomy, too, giving my feet plenty of space to splay out like they should. I think the main difference is the lowered heel-to-toe drop. I don't land on my heels nearly as much as I was before, I have more of a softer, mid-foot landing, and this definitely plays a part in less shin pain.
Probably the best part is that they are hot pink. Never been much of a pink person but this I can deal with because they just look so awesome!!
Anyway, those are my thoughts on the Mizuno Wave Riders. The perfect shoes for me, and as long as they keep improving it, I will be a customer for a long while yet. Is it possible for me to be in love with a shoe? I believe so!
Sunday, December 9, 2012
Tuesday, November 13, 2012
On Being Grateful
Today, I was really annoyed.
Seeing all these "thankful posts" on Facebook these last two weeks has been a small source of annoyance to me. I look at it more as "bragging" posts than thankful posts. "Oh, I am so grateful for my perfect husband and my perfect kids and my perfect life!" ect ect ect..... Can you see why this would bug me?
So at school during lab I brought it up to my friends. I said, I am so sick of people writing all these thankful posts! It's so dumb! I couldn't think of 30 things to be thankful for if I tried!
My friends looked at me like I was crazy. "That is selfish," said one of them. "They probably post it more for themselves than for anyone else," said another. I instantly realized how selfish and bratty I really was being!
And then, tonight we had a Relief Society activity, a progressive dinner. The three bishopric wive's each gave a wonderful little talk about gratitude. Of course I was like, ugh I'm so sick of hearing about gratitude! But two minutes into Sister R's talk, I had a huge awakening, which hit me like a sack of bricks to the head. I guess sometimes the Spirit works that way! She spoke about how several years ago, she had all these health problems that just kept snowballing, to the point where her doctor's said she wouldn't live through it. After a ward and then stake fast, she began to get better. Soon after, every little accomplishment became something to be grateful for. Every daily task that she used to take for granted, that she used to do independently, she was now immensely grateful for. Even a simple walk outside the hospital had all of it's wonders- the blue sky, the beautiful flowers, the fresh air, the mountains nearby. She was so much more grateful for all of these little things that she would normally not think about before she got sick.
This really resonated with me, and I think I know why. I've always had an issue with feeling grateful because not only is my life not extraordinary, but also because I have never had some traumatic or serious experience in my life that has made me truly grateful for the little things. I have never been unable to do my favorite things. I have always been able to enjoy a comfortable and a fairly stress-free life. Sometimes I wonder why I don't seem to have all these trials that others around me seem to experience. This may seem silly, but sometimes I look at other people's trials and I envy them. Not because their lives are in turmoil, but because they seem to always come out of these trials with some great lesson or wisdom or renewed faith. Sometimes I worry that I am not faithful or righteous enough, because if I was, wouldn't Satan be doing his best to throw me for a loop?
What does this have to do with being grateful? Well, I've come to realize that I take SO MUCH for granted. Every day. And maybe I've known this all along, but today it has become too big to ignore, how ungrateful and selfish I have really become.
Case in point: my parents. Where do I even begin? They have given me everything in life. An amazing house to grow up in, money whenever I needed it, a car, gas, insurance, clothes....yes, I have been spoiled. Yes, I definitely have not grown out of being dependent on my parents. And yes, I don't know if I have ever actually thanked them, in person, and included an "I love you" and a hug to make it sincere. And Mom, you're probably reading this, so now you know. Words cannot express how much I love and respect you and Dad. You guys have raised me right, I have just been too stubborn/lazy to realize, until now, how GRATEFUL I am.
I have a wonderful house to live in, with wonderful roommates. Some people have dingy apartments or roommates who make life miserable. I know how lucky I am to have such a great place to live, and such awesome girls to share the house with.
My school is a huge blessing in my life, I have learned so much and now that I am nearing the end I feel like I can be an actual functioning member of society. I am so thankful for the people who are in my life now because of this program. They've been great friends throughout this whole process. I'm thankful that a spot was able to open up for me to enter the program without having to wait a couple years to start (like I would have had to do in AZ). I'm so excited to almost be done!
I'm thankful for my ability to run. I love to run. Without that hobby I probably would be overweight and unhappy. I love the races that I've done, I love the community of runners. I love the satisfaction that I feel after a good run, and the motivation I have to do better next time after an awful run. I am so incredibly grateful for a body that can log the miles without breaking down or becoming fatigued. It is truly a blessing in my life.
Anyway....now this post is turning into one of those thankful posts, ha ha! I don't need to name all the things I am thankful for, because now I know that even the little things in life are things to be appreciated! Today has been a real eye-opener, and I hope this epiphany, or whatever you want to call it, will continue to affect my daily life for a while. It's definitely something I needed to learn, and I am thankful for a Heavenly Father who was merciful enough to let me learn this lesson the easy way.
With that said....knock on wood.
Seeing all these "thankful posts" on Facebook these last two weeks has been a small source of annoyance to me. I look at it more as "bragging" posts than thankful posts. "Oh, I am so grateful for my perfect husband and my perfect kids and my perfect life!" ect ect ect..... Can you see why this would bug me?
So at school during lab I brought it up to my friends. I said, I am so sick of people writing all these thankful posts! It's so dumb! I couldn't think of 30 things to be thankful for if I tried!
My friends looked at me like I was crazy. "That is selfish," said one of them. "They probably post it more for themselves than for anyone else," said another. I instantly realized how selfish and bratty I really was being!
And then, tonight we had a Relief Society activity, a progressive dinner. The three bishopric wive's each gave a wonderful little talk about gratitude. Of course I was like, ugh I'm so sick of hearing about gratitude! But two minutes into Sister R's talk, I had a huge awakening, which hit me like a sack of bricks to the head. I guess sometimes the Spirit works that way! She spoke about how several years ago, she had all these health problems that just kept snowballing, to the point where her doctor's said she wouldn't live through it. After a ward and then stake fast, she began to get better. Soon after, every little accomplishment became something to be grateful for. Every daily task that she used to take for granted, that she used to do independently, she was now immensely grateful for. Even a simple walk outside the hospital had all of it's wonders- the blue sky, the beautiful flowers, the fresh air, the mountains nearby. She was so much more grateful for all of these little things that she would normally not think about before she got sick.
This really resonated with me, and I think I know why. I've always had an issue with feeling grateful because not only is my life not extraordinary, but also because I have never had some traumatic or serious experience in my life that has made me truly grateful for the little things. I have never been unable to do my favorite things. I have always been able to enjoy a comfortable and a fairly stress-free life. Sometimes I wonder why I don't seem to have all these trials that others around me seem to experience. This may seem silly, but sometimes I look at other people's trials and I envy them. Not because their lives are in turmoil, but because they seem to always come out of these trials with some great lesson or wisdom or renewed faith. Sometimes I worry that I am not faithful or righteous enough, because if I was, wouldn't Satan be doing his best to throw me for a loop?
What does this have to do with being grateful? Well, I've come to realize that I take SO MUCH for granted. Every day. And maybe I've known this all along, but today it has become too big to ignore, how ungrateful and selfish I have really become.
Case in point: my parents. Where do I even begin? They have given me everything in life. An amazing house to grow up in, money whenever I needed it, a car, gas, insurance, clothes....yes, I have been spoiled. Yes, I definitely have not grown out of being dependent on my parents. And yes, I don't know if I have ever actually thanked them, in person, and included an "I love you" and a hug to make it sincere. And Mom, you're probably reading this, so now you know. Words cannot express how much I love and respect you and Dad. You guys have raised me right, I have just been too stubborn/lazy to realize, until now, how GRATEFUL I am.
I have a wonderful house to live in, with wonderful roommates. Some people have dingy apartments or roommates who make life miserable. I know how lucky I am to have such a great place to live, and such awesome girls to share the house with.
My school is a huge blessing in my life, I have learned so much and now that I am nearing the end I feel like I can be an actual functioning member of society. I am so thankful for the people who are in my life now because of this program. They've been great friends throughout this whole process. I'm thankful that a spot was able to open up for me to enter the program without having to wait a couple years to start (like I would have had to do in AZ). I'm so excited to almost be done!
I'm thankful for my ability to run. I love to run. Without that hobby I probably would be overweight and unhappy. I love the races that I've done, I love the community of runners. I love the satisfaction that I feel after a good run, and the motivation I have to do better next time after an awful run. I am so incredibly grateful for a body that can log the miles without breaking down or becoming fatigued. It is truly a blessing in my life.
Anyway....now this post is turning into one of those thankful posts, ha ha! I don't need to name all the things I am thankful for, because now I know that even the little things in life are things to be appreciated! Today has been a real eye-opener, and I hope this epiphany, or whatever you want to call it, will continue to affect my daily life for a while. It's definitely something I needed to learn, and I am thankful for a Heavenly Father who was merciful enough to let me learn this lesson the easy way.
With that said....knock on wood.
Floating Ribs
So today in my ortho class, my teacher was explaining the role of what we call the "floating ribs". The bottom two pairs of ribs, instead of being attached to each other with cartilage like all the other ribs, are only connected at their base to the vertebrae. So for all intensive purposes, they are alone. They just kind of sit there. They don't exactly serve a purpose, they don't even expand like the other ribs do to allow more air to flow into the lungs. The other ribs, or "true" ribs, work together to expand with each breath (with the help of muscles) in order to allow the lungs to fill with air. Without this movement of the ribs, breathing could not occur.
As I'm sitting there in class listening to my teacher explain the characteristics of the floating ribs, I suddenly say out loud, "Oh my gosh, this is totally a metaphor for my life!" The whole class chuckled, as they are totally used to my random comments by now. Then my teacher just said simply, "I'm not gonna lie, that's pretty sad." Then I had to laugh at myself because I realized how ridiculous I was sounding.
Basically my point is, I've nearly always been alone. The longest I've dated someone is less than three months. And by now I'm so used to being single, that having all this alone time to do whatever the heck I want doesn't bother me. Like the floating ribs, I am not attached to anyone. I can come and go as I please without anyone having to move along with me. It's just me, myself, and I. Which can get lonely at times, but that's what family, friends, and amazing roommates are for! Who said a girl had to be in a relationship to be happy?
HOWEVER, someday in the future I hope to become one of the true ribs. I want to be attached to somebody, to move with them as one, to breathe as one, if you will. A true partnership. And it may not be in the next six months, or the next year, or next 5 years, but I know it will happen eventually. All I can do in the meantime is to be the best person I can possibly be, which takes A TON of work because as we all know, none of us are perfect.
The other characteristic of the floating ribs that I related with was the fact that they seem to serve no purpose. They don't expand like the other ribs do. If you look at them on just a model of a skeleton, they seem to hang there with no apparent reason from the lower thoracic vertebrae. But if you were to look at a diagram that includes the ribs and the vital organs, you would see the purpose of these lower ribs. They protect the vital organs against outside forces or trauma. They may not be as sturdy or as strong as the upper ribs, but they do their part to keep the inside of the body safe.
As I look at my life today, I think, what is my purpose? What was I sent here on this Earth to do? At first, when I thought about this today and even now as I write this, it is hard for me to name my specific purpose. Probably because I don't have some big, grand, purpose in this world. I'm probably not going to change the world for all mankind. But can I change the world of one person? Can one simple act of kindness or service make the difference between a crappy day and a good day for someone? I have talents, I can sing and play the violin well enough to get along. Who can I make happy with these talents? Will I hide these talents under a bushel, like the scriptures say, or will I share them with those around me to brighten their day? I know i am meant to be a mother in Zion, as I have been promised. I have also been promised many happy days. Am I doing my part to make sure others around me have happy days as well? I have a knack for making people laugh, and as I used to say in high school, "I am only here for your entertainment." It seems like a joyous way to live life to me!
At first glance, it may be hard to find a purpose in my life. But I just have to take another look from a different perspective. Having a purpose doesn't necessarily have to be some extensive, grand event in my life. I'm not going to cure cancer. I'm not going to solve world hunger. I'll never be famous. I cannot stop wars. But what I can do is try to make the people around me feel like I care, that they can come to me with their concerns and problems, and overall just make their lives a teeny bit easier. I'm not a miracle worker, but I'm sure even the little things matter, the little things that happen day-to-day, small acts of service, that can change someone's life for the better.
Now, that's not to say that I have it all figured out. Far from it, actually. But every day I am a little bit closer.
And as it turns out, I am nothing like the floating ribs.
As I'm sitting there in class listening to my teacher explain the characteristics of the floating ribs, I suddenly say out loud, "Oh my gosh, this is totally a metaphor for my life!" The whole class chuckled, as they are totally used to my random comments by now. Then my teacher just said simply, "I'm not gonna lie, that's pretty sad." Then I had to laugh at myself because I realized how ridiculous I was sounding.
Basically my point is, I've nearly always been alone. The longest I've dated someone is less than three months. And by now I'm so used to being single, that having all this alone time to do whatever the heck I want doesn't bother me. Like the floating ribs, I am not attached to anyone. I can come and go as I please without anyone having to move along with me. It's just me, myself, and I. Which can get lonely at times, but that's what family, friends, and amazing roommates are for! Who said a girl had to be in a relationship to be happy?
HOWEVER, someday in the future I hope to become one of the true ribs. I want to be attached to somebody, to move with them as one, to breathe as one, if you will. A true partnership. And it may not be in the next six months, or the next year, or next 5 years, but I know it will happen eventually. All I can do in the meantime is to be the best person I can possibly be, which takes A TON of work because as we all know, none of us are perfect.
The other characteristic of the floating ribs that I related with was the fact that they seem to serve no purpose. They don't expand like the other ribs do. If you look at them on just a model of a skeleton, they seem to hang there with no apparent reason from the lower thoracic vertebrae. But if you were to look at a diagram that includes the ribs and the vital organs, you would see the purpose of these lower ribs. They protect the vital organs against outside forces or trauma. They may not be as sturdy or as strong as the upper ribs, but they do their part to keep the inside of the body safe.
As I look at my life today, I think, what is my purpose? What was I sent here on this Earth to do? At first, when I thought about this today and even now as I write this, it is hard for me to name my specific purpose. Probably because I don't have some big, grand, purpose in this world. I'm probably not going to change the world for all mankind. But can I change the world of one person? Can one simple act of kindness or service make the difference between a crappy day and a good day for someone? I have talents, I can sing and play the violin well enough to get along. Who can I make happy with these talents? Will I hide these talents under a bushel, like the scriptures say, or will I share them with those around me to brighten their day? I know i am meant to be a mother in Zion, as I have been promised. I have also been promised many happy days. Am I doing my part to make sure others around me have happy days as well? I have a knack for making people laugh, and as I used to say in high school, "I am only here for your entertainment." It seems like a joyous way to live life to me!
At first glance, it may be hard to find a purpose in my life. But I just have to take another look from a different perspective. Having a purpose doesn't necessarily have to be some extensive, grand event in my life. I'm not going to cure cancer. I'm not going to solve world hunger. I'll never be famous. I cannot stop wars. But what I can do is try to make the people around me feel like I care, that they can come to me with their concerns and problems, and overall just make their lives a teeny bit easier. I'm not a miracle worker, but I'm sure even the little things matter, the little things that happen day-to-day, small acts of service, that can change someone's life for the better.
Now, that's not to say that I have it all figured out. Far from it, actually. But every day I am a little bit closer.
And as it turns out, I am nothing like the floating ribs.
Saturday, October 13, 2012
Thanks.
Thank you to everyone who had such nice comments to say about my last post. I realize it was just one huge rant of a post but everything I said was honest and just my own opinion. The thing I heard most was that I am NOT old, which makes me smile:) haha!! Even though I am almost 24, there's no reason to worry. I have so much respect for my friends who got married young, because I sure as heck would not have been able to handle being married young. Shoot, even getting married now is still a stretch! Haha. So again, thank you!
And to the anonymous commenter who said "You realize putting out means to have sex, right? Kissing doesn't make you a slut" is obviously just trying to rationalize their decisions in life. Putting out, IN LDS TERMS, means making out. Sorry I didn't clarify? I thought that should have been obvious. And yes, I consider the girls, who make out with a different guy every week because they can, to be sluts. I'm sorry, anonymous, if that makes you a slut. Oh wait, I don't need to apologize to you, since I don't even know who you are!
And to the anonymous commenter who said "You realize putting out means to have sex, right? Kissing doesn't make you a slut" is obviously just trying to rationalize their decisions in life. Putting out, IN LDS TERMS, means making out. Sorry I didn't clarify? I thought that should have been obvious. And yes, I consider the girls, who make out with a different guy every week because they can, to be sluts. I'm sorry, anonymous, if that makes you a slut. Oh wait, I don't need to apologize to you, since I don't even know who you are!
Thursday, October 11, 2012
How to tick off a single person.
I have fully come to terms with my single-dom, embraced it even. (You might get to the end of this post and think I'm in denial, but that's your problem). I am okay being single. It's fun at times, frustrating at other times, but for the most part I enjoy the freedom and knowing that I can be spontaneous, and basically do whatever the heck I want, any time I want! Okay moving on...
This may be confession hour and I may end up writing things I wouldn't normally tell people, but I've thinking about this post a long time and it just needs to happen.
As a near-spinster (definition; an unmarried woman, typically an older woman beyond the age of marriage), I hear a lot of comments, remarks, and questions from well-meaning friends and relatives. Here are a few of my favorites, with the response I usually keep to myself.
1. "Are you dating anyone?"
Please. I know you see my FB and plus, has that question EVER been answered with a yes?! Ever???? NO! For good reason. I never am dating anyone. But it is understandable that some people might not know that I am not one of those girls who always has to have a boyfriend to be happy, so I forgive them.
2. "You must be going on so many dates!"
This is usually met with a good laugh from me, because I don't know why so many people assume that! Do they really think guys are asking me out every weekend, that there isn't a Friday night where I'm not going out with someone? Just because I live in Provo DOES NOT mean I am going on "so many dates". Quite the opposite actually. In the last 6 months, I have gone on 2 dates. TWO. Does that count as many? Didn't think so. This inevitably leads to....
3. "But you are such a catch!!"
HA HA HA HA. If that was true, I'd be married, or at least dating, someone by now. Apparently everyone can see it but me...and every eligible man on this planet. I've heard it many times, "you are awesome, hilarious, beautiful (huh??), smart, a good runner, outdoorsy, blah blah blah, what guy wouldn't want you?" I know I have self-esteem issues, I have for a long time, but most people don't know it because I hide it very well. And every day, week, month, year that goes by with me becoming even more and more single (yes, it is possible) I can't help to wonder, am I really worth someone's time (and eternity)?! Am I really as special as my friends and relatives make me out to be? Or am I just an average person living an average life? The more I go through life, the more I have realized that these are Satan's lies. I know I'm not the prettiest, skinniest, fastest, funniest, smartest, or most talented girl out there, but I KNOW that doesn't mean that I don't have worth. It all goes back to the Young Women's theme, that I am Heavenly Father's daughter, and he loves me. Isn't that all that should matter? Even if nobody on this earth loved me (and I know people do, don't get me wrong) I still know that my Heavenly Father and my Savior still do. And that's all I need for now.
But still... having people repeatedly tell me I'm a catch but having no men realize it enough to even ask me out gets quite disheartening after a while.
4. "You should show more cleavage."
Okay disclaimer-- this is my mom's favorite phrase to me when our discussions about dating come up, and she says in a complete joking manner, but... what does that say about men today? I strongly believe that most men don't initially pay attention to a woman unless they find her very attractive, physically. She could have the worst personality but as long as she's "hot" they can put up with it. Now, should I dress like a slut (excuse the language) to attract the tools who will want nothing more than a NCMO, or dress like a real, respectable woman to attract the men who will actually respect me and be interested in a real, lasting relationship? The answer here is clear.
5. "You just need to put out more."
Okay, to be honest, the first time someone told me this I had no idea what it meant. Um, put out what? I'm just so confused. After some asking around, I finally came up with one word to describe someone who "puts out"... EASY. A girl who puts out is one who is readily available for a make out, a booty call, or gives the vibe that she would make out with a guy if he were to just ask. In other words, girls who "put out" are sluts. Sorry, I'm not going to sugar coat this one. And I think everyone who knew me would say that I am not a slut. And in this world where one night stands (or NCMO's, if you're LDS) are so common, I think I am that rare breed of woman where I believe a kiss is kind of a big deal. It means, hey I'm into you, I want to date you, and I hope this becomes something more. It's not like, LOL I think kissing is fun so let's do it! I had a friend try to convince me that a NCMO would be good for my self-esteem, when I think it would have made me feel worse because I would have been going against everything I believe in (note: if that friend is reading this I apologize again and say, it's not you, it's me). Now, there is a more mild form of "putting out" which is where you are just more flirty, which brings me to my next one...
6. "Just flirt more!"
Okay, as my loving younger sister put it so well, "Young single adults are so awkward!!" Let me tell you, I almost wish someone would secretly film me on first dates because I would be the poster-girl for awkwardness. Oh my gosh. I think during most first dates I am inwardly cringing at the things I say and do. It's like I have word vomit most of the time. No wonder I never get second dates. It is for this reason that the advice to "flirt more" sends me into a near panic. There are so many rules and tricks to flirting! Touch his arm! Bat your eyelashes! Flip your hair! Don't cross your arms! Lean towards him! Give him compliments! And the list seriously just goes on forever. So whenever I'm talking to a guy, I can barely concentrate on what he saying because I'm trying to think of how to flirt with him. It's exhausting. Can't I just be my usual, goofy self and hope that he asks me out without me giving him clear signals that I'm interested? Oh wait, I can't. Because men are kind of dumb and need everything spelled out for them. Flirting doesn't work for me because I am so abysmally bad at it.
7. "Wait, you're 23 and not married yet? What's wrong with you?"
Okay this really only comes from the aforementioned little sister, but that doesn't mean I still don't think about it a lot. It's like what I talked about before, is there something wrong with me? In all these failed dates and relationships, the common denominator is ME. That's got to say something, right? I've come to the conclusion that I am just intimidating, I scare the heck out of guys, I don't give clear signals when I'm interested, I don't talk enough about them and talk too much about myself, and maybe I don't seem all that approachable. But I'm working on all of this, and hopefully one day I will get it and it will all click together. I've decided I won't let myself really freak out until I'm 25. Ha ha! Also guys- take notes. I like to watch sports. I love the outdoors. I can cook and bake very well. I give great massages. I make good sandwiches (which sounds sexist but I am so proud of it).....just a couple things to keep in mind :)
8. "Just wait, one day a guy will walk into your life and it will all happen so fast and before you know it you'll be in love and you won't even know how you got there..."
Okay, first off. Just because that happened to you DOES NOT mean it will happen to me. I am not you, you are not me. I personally believe I am incapable, at this time in my life, of loving somebody completely and wholly and having that whole "head-over-heels" feeling. I've never felt it, I've never even felt anything close to that feeling. I don't understand it. It's like love is this thing in a box that I cannot open and not only that, I can't even get a glimpse of what it looks (feels) like. Why do I feel like I have this wall up around my heart? Why am I so emotionally disconnected from everyone? The only thing that makes me cry is when dogs die in books or (spoiler alert) when Harry Potter realizes he has to die (SOBBING). Ha ha! I've never been emotionally hurt in a relationship or anything of the sort, because I have never given my heart to anyone. And then people say, just take the risk!! Well, I would if there was anyone worth risking it on. Unfortunately, I've never dated anyone that I felt like I could take that risk on. I may have had "feelings" for them, but I never felt one inkling of love. Now, I can and do love people, in the way I love my family and my roommates and my old friends, but I've never had that 'falling in love" experience and I'm starting to believe I never will. (Okay that's a bit dramatic).
9. "I'm so glad I'm not single anymore, I hated it!"
So I must hate life so much right now, huh? Because it is IMPOSSIBLE to be happy while you're single, right? In everyone's life, we have our ups and downs. Some days I hate being single and want nothing more to be married, and other days (like the days where I'm on a spontaneous weekend trip with friends or hiking a mountain or skydiving or training for marathons to my hearts content) I am so happy that I am single. I love the spontaneity, the random trips, the late nights, the endless possibilities!!
10. "I can't wait until you get married so we can finally be friends again!"
This was hurtful. I don't know if the person who said it even remembers saying it, but I'm not mad anymore. I do hope they know that it is not true!! Just because I may be single, (and I'm talking to all married people now) and you are married, doesn't mean we can't be friends still! Lunch dates are my absolute favorite thing, even texting and phone conversations! We may have completely different lives, but I love knowing that my married friends still care about me, and I hope they know I still love them to death and that I am not in any way bitter that they are married and I am not. Besides, whose cute babies would I play with? So thank you to my married friends who blog, it helps me out more than you know.
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Well, I didn't want to come up with more than 10 things, so it is here I will end. Just to recap, I am not bitter. Some may think that I am, but mostly the perceived "bitterness" is really sarcasm that doesn't translate well on the computer (somebody invent a sarcasm font!!!). Dieter F. Uchtdorf (the Silver Fox, Captain Uchtdorf, among other nicknames) has spoken two of my most favorite talks of all the talks! "Forget Me Not" and "Your Happily Ever After". In the first one, he talks about how some people are still waiting for their "golden ticket", or the thing in their life which will finally make them happy. They sit, they wait for it, without actually realizing that they can be happy NOW! Today! The choice is ours. And I've made that choice. I'm not waiting for that blessed day when I finally get married to be happy! That is not a way to live!! I'm happy now, in whatever circumstance I am in.
The second talk was about how we have to get through adversity to get to our happily ever after, just like how all the princesses in the Disney stories had to face adversity before they got their prince. There will always be trials, and mostly my trials consist of "how am I still single?" and "I think this finals week will be the death of me" BUT I know it is just a speed bump on the way to my happily ever after. As long as I stay true to what I believe, and always remember that the only way to happiness is through the Gospel of Jesus Christ, then that is all I need.
I am daughter of my Heavenly Father, who loves me, and I love Him. And I am definitely worth it.
This may be confession hour and I may end up writing things I wouldn't normally tell people, but I've thinking about this post a long time and it just needs to happen.
As a near-spinster (definition; an unmarried woman, typically an older woman beyond the age of marriage), I hear a lot of comments, remarks, and questions from well-meaning friends and relatives. Here are a few of my favorites, with the response I usually keep to myself.
1. "Are you dating anyone?"
Please. I know you see my FB and plus, has that question EVER been answered with a yes?! Ever???? NO! For good reason. I never am dating anyone. But it is understandable that some people might not know that I am not one of those girls who always has to have a boyfriend to be happy, so I forgive them.
2. "You must be going on so many dates!"
This is usually met with a good laugh from me, because I don't know why so many people assume that! Do they really think guys are asking me out every weekend, that there isn't a Friday night where I'm not going out with someone? Just because I live in Provo DOES NOT mean I am going on "so many dates". Quite the opposite actually. In the last 6 months, I have gone on 2 dates. TWO. Does that count as many? Didn't think so. This inevitably leads to....
3. "But you are such a catch!!"
HA HA HA HA. If that was true, I'd be married, or at least dating, someone by now. Apparently everyone can see it but me...and every eligible man on this planet. I've heard it many times, "you are awesome, hilarious, beautiful (huh??), smart, a good runner, outdoorsy, blah blah blah, what guy wouldn't want you?" I know I have self-esteem issues, I have for a long time, but most people don't know it because I hide it very well. And every day, week, month, year that goes by with me becoming even more and more single (yes, it is possible) I can't help to wonder, am I really worth someone's time (and eternity)?! Am I really as special as my friends and relatives make me out to be? Or am I just an average person living an average life? The more I go through life, the more I have realized that these are Satan's lies. I know I'm not the prettiest, skinniest, fastest, funniest, smartest, or most talented girl out there, but I KNOW that doesn't mean that I don't have worth. It all goes back to the Young Women's theme, that I am Heavenly Father's daughter, and he loves me. Isn't that all that should matter? Even if nobody on this earth loved me (and I know people do, don't get me wrong) I still know that my Heavenly Father and my Savior still do. And that's all I need for now.
But still... having people repeatedly tell me I'm a catch but having no men realize it enough to even ask me out gets quite disheartening after a while.
4. "You should show more cleavage."
Okay disclaimer-- this is my mom's favorite phrase to me when our discussions about dating come up, and she says in a complete joking manner, but... what does that say about men today? I strongly believe that most men don't initially pay attention to a woman unless they find her very attractive, physically. She could have the worst personality but as long as she's "hot" they can put up with it. Now, should I dress like a slut (excuse the language) to attract the tools who will want nothing more than a NCMO, or dress like a real, respectable woman to attract the men who will actually respect me and be interested in a real, lasting relationship? The answer here is clear.
5. "You just need to put out more."
Okay, to be honest, the first time someone told me this I had no idea what it meant. Um, put out what? I'm just so confused. After some asking around, I finally came up with one word to describe someone who "puts out"... EASY. A girl who puts out is one who is readily available for a make out, a booty call, or gives the vibe that she would make out with a guy if he were to just ask. In other words, girls who "put out" are sluts. Sorry, I'm not going to sugar coat this one. And I think everyone who knew me would say that I am not a slut. And in this world where one night stands (or NCMO's, if you're LDS) are so common, I think I am that rare breed of woman where I believe a kiss is kind of a big deal. It means, hey I'm into you, I want to date you, and I hope this becomes something more. It's not like, LOL I think kissing is fun so let's do it! I had a friend try to convince me that a NCMO would be good for my self-esteem, when I think it would have made me feel worse because I would have been going against everything I believe in (note: if that friend is reading this I apologize again and say, it's not you, it's me). Now, there is a more mild form of "putting out" which is where you are just more flirty, which brings me to my next one...
6. "Just flirt more!"
Okay, as my loving younger sister put it so well, "Young single adults are so awkward!!" Let me tell you, I almost wish someone would secretly film me on first dates because I would be the poster-girl for awkwardness. Oh my gosh. I think during most first dates I am inwardly cringing at the things I say and do. It's like I have word vomit most of the time. No wonder I never get second dates. It is for this reason that the advice to "flirt more" sends me into a near panic. There are so many rules and tricks to flirting! Touch his arm! Bat your eyelashes! Flip your hair! Don't cross your arms! Lean towards him! Give him compliments! And the list seriously just goes on forever. So whenever I'm talking to a guy, I can barely concentrate on what he saying because I'm trying to think of how to flirt with him. It's exhausting. Can't I just be my usual, goofy self and hope that he asks me out without me giving him clear signals that I'm interested? Oh wait, I can't. Because men are kind of dumb and need everything spelled out for them. Flirting doesn't work for me because I am so abysmally bad at it.
7. "Wait, you're 23 and not married yet? What's wrong with you?"
Okay this really only comes from the aforementioned little sister, but that doesn't mean I still don't think about it a lot. It's like what I talked about before, is there something wrong with me? In all these failed dates and relationships, the common denominator is ME. That's got to say something, right? I've come to the conclusion that I am just intimidating, I scare the heck out of guys, I don't give clear signals when I'm interested, I don't talk enough about them and talk too much about myself, and maybe I don't seem all that approachable. But I'm working on all of this, and hopefully one day I will get it and it will all click together. I've decided I won't let myself really freak out until I'm 25. Ha ha! Also guys- take notes. I like to watch sports. I love the outdoors. I can cook and bake very well. I give great massages. I make good sandwiches (which sounds sexist but I am so proud of it).....just a couple things to keep in mind :)
8. "Just wait, one day a guy will walk into your life and it will all happen so fast and before you know it you'll be in love and you won't even know how you got there..."
Okay, first off. Just because that happened to you DOES NOT mean it will happen to me. I am not you, you are not me. I personally believe I am incapable, at this time in my life, of loving somebody completely and wholly and having that whole "head-over-heels" feeling. I've never felt it, I've never even felt anything close to that feeling. I don't understand it. It's like love is this thing in a box that I cannot open and not only that, I can't even get a glimpse of what it looks (feels) like. Why do I feel like I have this wall up around my heart? Why am I so emotionally disconnected from everyone? The only thing that makes me cry is when dogs die in books or (spoiler alert) when Harry Potter realizes he has to die (SOBBING). Ha ha! I've never been emotionally hurt in a relationship or anything of the sort, because I have never given my heart to anyone. And then people say, just take the risk!! Well, I would if there was anyone worth risking it on. Unfortunately, I've never dated anyone that I felt like I could take that risk on. I may have had "feelings" for them, but I never felt one inkling of love. Now, I can and do love people, in the way I love my family and my roommates and my old friends, but I've never had that 'falling in love" experience and I'm starting to believe I never will. (Okay that's a bit dramatic).
9. "I'm so glad I'm not single anymore, I hated it!"
So I must hate life so much right now, huh? Because it is IMPOSSIBLE to be happy while you're single, right? In everyone's life, we have our ups and downs. Some days I hate being single and want nothing more to be married, and other days (like the days where I'm on a spontaneous weekend trip with friends or hiking a mountain or skydiving or training for marathons to my hearts content) I am so happy that I am single. I love the spontaneity, the random trips, the late nights, the endless possibilities!!
10. "I can't wait until you get married so we can finally be friends again!"
This was hurtful. I don't know if the person who said it even remembers saying it, but I'm not mad anymore. I do hope they know that it is not true!! Just because I may be single, (and I'm talking to all married people now) and you are married, doesn't mean we can't be friends still! Lunch dates are my absolute favorite thing, even texting and phone conversations! We may have completely different lives, but I love knowing that my married friends still care about me, and I hope they know I still love them to death and that I am not in any way bitter that they are married and I am not. Besides, whose cute babies would I play with? So thank you to my married friends who blog, it helps me out more than you know.
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Well, I didn't want to come up with more than 10 things, so it is here I will end. Just to recap, I am not bitter. Some may think that I am, but mostly the perceived "bitterness" is really sarcasm that doesn't translate well on the computer (somebody invent a sarcasm font!!!). Dieter F. Uchtdorf (the Silver Fox, Captain Uchtdorf, among other nicknames) has spoken two of my most favorite talks of all the talks! "Forget Me Not" and "Your Happily Ever After". In the first one, he talks about how some people are still waiting for their "golden ticket", or the thing in their life which will finally make them happy. They sit, they wait for it, without actually realizing that they can be happy NOW! Today! The choice is ours. And I've made that choice. I'm not waiting for that blessed day when I finally get married to be happy! That is not a way to live!! I'm happy now, in whatever circumstance I am in.
The second talk was about how we have to get through adversity to get to our happily ever after, just like how all the princesses in the Disney stories had to face adversity before they got their prince. There will always be trials, and mostly my trials consist of "how am I still single?" and "I think this finals week will be the death of me" BUT I know it is just a speed bump on the way to my happily ever after. As long as I stay true to what I believe, and always remember that the only way to happiness is through the Gospel of Jesus Christ, then that is all I need.
I am daughter of my Heavenly Father, who loves me, and I love Him. And I am definitely worth it.
Monday, October 8, 2012
Running Pop Quiz!
My favorite blog of all time has to be Hungry Runner Girl, she talks all things running and she is such an inspiration! Also, her new baby is freakin cute. ALSO girl just ran a 1:31:55 in a half marathon yesterday only 7.5 weeks after having her baby. Um, can I just be her?! Ha ha! i even met her once and she is just as funny in person. Anyway, a couple weeks ago she did a running pop quiz and challenged us to fill it out too, so here goes! (Annie did one first, read it here).
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1. FEUL: I used to eat just plain vanilla PowerBar gels, but couldn't stomach them after training for two marathons. Then I took one taste of the Mint Chocolate GU, and fell in love and have never looked back. Imagine eating delicious, mint chocolate frosting in the middle of a race, because that's the exact taste and texture of this stuff. I'm obsessed. Also, for middle-length runs where I need a little something extra, I put the GU electrolyte mix into my water bottle, since I tend to sweat like crazy and so I lose a bunch of sodium and stuff.
2. RACE LENGTH: I've done every race distance except for an ultra (one day! I think?!) I can't even remember how many 5K's and 10K's I've done, but I know I have done 5 half marathons (four of those were in the past year!) and 2 full marathons. I've also done a Ragnar and another similar relay in southern Utah. Half marathons are my absolute favorite (with relays being a close second). One day I will do a 50 mile race. And next year I'm going to shoot for St George marathon again and get at least a 4:30.
3. WORKOUT BOTTOMS: Capris capris capris. I have been blessed with a bodacious booty, and shorts just don't cut it. When I used to run in shorts, my voluptuous behind would bounce up and down like crazy and drove me just as crazy. I know, hilarious visual. And the chafing from my thunder thighs didn't help matters, either. So when I discovered the amazing things that are spandex capris (and I have earned the right to wear spandex) I have never looked back. They keep the chafing away and bouncing at bay.
4. SPORTS DRINK: My family loves Gatorade, but I've never been a huge fan of just drinking it all the time. I save it for races. I do like blue and red flavors (I sound like a little kid). For long runs I use this stuff got Gu Roctane Ultra Endurance, it's just a powder that I put in my water bottle. I feel a huge difference!
5. RUNNING TEMPS: Even though I have grown up in AZ and trained for two fulls in AZ, I still love colder weather running. Like, 40-50 degrees is ideal. But if it has to be warm, I just run at night. I hate running in the sun in general, so when I was training in AZ I would get up at 3 for my long runs. Yee haw!!!
6. RUNNING SHOES: I have these funky feet where I overpronate more on one side than the other, and it tends to screw up my knees and hips and basically everything from the feet up. So I run with fancy, personalized orthotics from my foot doctor that fit my feet perfectly and fix the weirdness. I used to run with Nike's but after I got orthotics I realized I could wear basically any shoes so I now go with Asics Nimbus. I kid you not, it is like running on a cloud! My feet used to ache so much after each run because the stability shoes I used to wear seemed to skimp on the cushioning. Now, my feet feel great all the time!
7. PRERACE MEAL: It depends. Steel-cut oatmeal, cereal (low-fiber), PB&J (easy on the PB), fruit, or a combination of all. I'm not too picky but mostly I hate force feeding myself at 4 in the morning.
8. REST DAYS: Usually two times per week, or three if it's busy week.
9. MUSIC: Long runs definitely yes. Most short runs I can do without. Some days I just need the extra excitement just to get out the door, so I'll take my music. In the month of August I noticed I was a bit burnt out, but music got me back on track. Love my tunes!
10. #1 REASON FOR RUNNING: To stay healthy and not fat. Ha ha, seriously. I think that if I were not a runner I would be pretty heavy, as it is most days I still feel over weight! :( It also makes me so so so so so HAPPY!!! There is no better feeling than finishing a hard run or a tough race and just being on top of the world. I live for that runner's high. I also love the race scene, I love that excitement in the air as everyone is standing at the starting line. Dreams are made and broken, epiphanies are made and lives are changed during those races. I know that for a fact.
11. I'm going to add one more--- FAVORITE RACE: Would have to be either the Top of Zion relay that I did in June or the one I just did a couple weeks ago, Big Cottonwood Half. Both of them went through amazing scenery, I had the time of my life both times, and I was happy for days afterwards. TOZ will probably take the top spot, because I can honestly say that was one of the best weeke
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I hope that I have many, many years of happy running! I plan on being a runner for the rest of my life and I would really like to run through all my pregnancies one day....lofty goal? Heck no! I think anyone can do it!
Tuesday, September 25, 2012
Big Cottonwood Half Marathon
First off, can you say PERSONAL RECORD?! Haha, I managed to run a 2:07:22 in this race! That's three minutes faster than my previous time. I was ecstatic crossing the finish line.
So I signed up for this race back in the summer, I can't even remember when it was. But I saw an ad for it on Facebook, saw it was the first year of the race, and the real clincher was the elevation loss. I am one of those weird runners that loves downhill running! Something about just letting loose and running as fast as I can down a hill without using a lot of energy just makes me happy.
After Top of Zion relay, I planned on a taking a little bit of time off of running. i was feeling a little burned out, since that was my third race since April, and I knew if I kept running when I wasn't necessarily enjoying it was a bad idea. That's how I know I'm getting burnt out, when I find myself forcing myself to run or not being able to even run a full mile without wanting to quit. So that's how I was feeling towards the end of June. July I ran a bit, but not much. August, I don't think I ran at all!! I went home to Arizona for about two weeks and I think I ran about a mile at the gym, but that was it. So then I come back to Utah, feeling refreshed and no longer burnt out, but faced with the fact that I had barely ran for a month and I had a challenging race in four weeks. I took it easy the first week (school started, things were a little crazy) but I knew I had to step it up. Over the next three weeks I ran some good quality runs, but I only ended up running an 8.5 mile long run the week before the race. I was okay with the fact that that was the farthest I had gone, as I knew gravity would take care of the rest.
Friday night before the race, I drove up to Sandy to stay at Shantelle's house, which was minutes from the place where the buses would pick us up. I got a jolly good 3 hours of sleep that night, nothing too unusual before a race :) ha ha. I caught one of the buses that would take us to the start at around 4:45 a.m., and had a good chat with the lady next to me on the ride up. We got to the start with about an hour to spare, so I hung out in the porter potty line for a bit. It was very dark outside still, the stars were stunning, and the air was very cold but not too bad. While I was chilling by the pottys, I looked across the road (just a two-lane highway) and noticed some bushes moving about, like an animal was there. It was too dark to see much, but after a while of letting my eyes adjust i could just make out the huge shape of a moose!! Finally it lifted up its head, not even ten feet off the road, and just looked at us. I could tell it was about two years old or younger, so I knew momma moose wasn't too far away. I pointed her out to other people around me, and we couldn't believe that moose didn't care we were there! She just kept eating from the bush and would occasionally look up and stare at us. I watched her for a bit, until I noticed people were trying to get close to get a picture of her. Idiots. Ha ha! Finally one of the race directors drove their truck right up next to it to push it back into the forest and away from the thousands of runners milling about. Smart move.
Anyway, after seeing my favorite animal in the world, I was feeling pretty happy! What made me even happier was that they gave us space blankets and gloves, for free! This meant we were all warm and happy until the race started, which makes it easier to run for sure. At 6:30 sharp, we were off! It was still dark, with just a tinge of light in sky behind us. It got lighter about 3 miles in, so that we could enjoy the full splendor of this amazing canyon. I had never been up this canyon, but it is now my favorite Utah canyon. The colors! The trees! I was on cloud nine. We were running on this forest highway and it was just breathtakingly beautiful. At one point I had my favorite song on, the air was crisp, the fall colors were perfect, the forest smelled divine (I caught a whiff of elk which made me giddy) and everything, in that moment, was perfection. I had the biggest smile on my face and my feet felt so light and quick. Nothing could bring me down!
I was right in thinking the downhill would help me out a lot. I was hitting a 9:30 pace (which I hadn't been able to do on flat land in ages) and even 5 miles in I was still feeling great. Of course, there were those moment where it got really steep downhill and my shins started hurting, but since I was mentally prepared for that I was able to run through the pain. It was easy to stay happy in this race, even through the pain, my surroundings were just so amazing and I was in my element.
I usually don't start trying to guess what my time will be until I'm 6 miles in, after which I can figure out nearly exactly what pace I should try and hit in order to hit a PR from there. When I hit 6 miles, I looked at my time and knew in that moment that I could easily beat my previous time if I kept under a 10 minute pace. I knew I had this in the bag, since I had been hitting such great miles during the race. My fastest mile was mile 8, which was about a 9:06.
We came out of the canyon at mile 11, and we crossed a street and headed onto two running trails which took us in the general direction of the finish. This is where it got quite difficult, as my quads were so completely trashed and my feet hurt so bad, it was hard to keep a good pace. Somehow I managed to stay under 10 minute miles. Those last two miles are always the hardest, and especially this time because I no longer had the downhill to help me out. They were gently rolling miles, but finally we crossed another street and saw the convention center, and knew the finish line wasn't too far now. The last half mile i pushed as hard as I could, because I knew a great finishing time was within my grasp. As I rounded the last corner, I took out my earphones (my tradition in every race, I like to hear people cheering me on in that last quarter mile) and started sprinting to the finish. I didn't have much left in the tank, which is how I prefer it because that means I worked hard! I crossed the finish in 2:07 and was so happy that I thought my heart would burst. Also my quads. Ha ha. Even though nobody was there to cheer me on, I didn't care. I gave it my all and ended up getting a PR on less than 4 weeks of training. It was amazing!
So now it is three days post-race and my quads are still so sore I have a hard time going down stairs. Sunday was especially bad! But because I hadn't been that sore in so long, I've been enjoying it!! Plus it prevents me from signing up for a race too soon. ha ha! However, I have every plan to take the next two months and just train as hard as I can for the turkey trot on Thanksgiving. I plan on breaking an hour in that race, and in order to do that there is going to be a lot of speed work and hills and simulation runs. I could not be more excited! I'll take about 1.5 weeks off from running, but then it is back to grind! I've found a new appreciation for running after this race, and I'm still on a happy high that I don't plan on coming down from anytime soon.
This may just be my next full marathon :)
So I signed up for this race back in the summer, I can't even remember when it was. But I saw an ad for it on Facebook, saw it was the first year of the race, and the real clincher was the elevation loss. I am one of those weird runners that loves downhill running! Something about just letting loose and running as fast as I can down a hill without using a lot of energy just makes me happy.
After Top of Zion relay, I planned on a taking a little bit of time off of running. i was feeling a little burned out, since that was my third race since April, and I knew if I kept running when I wasn't necessarily enjoying it was a bad idea. That's how I know I'm getting burnt out, when I find myself forcing myself to run or not being able to even run a full mile without wanting to quit. So that's how I was feeling towards the end of June. July I ran a bit, but not much. August, I don't think I ran at all!! I went home to Arizona for about two weeks and I think I ran about a mile at the gym, but that was it. So then I come back to Utah, feeling refreshed and no longer burnt out, but faced with the fact that I had barely ran for a month and I had a challenging race in four weeks. I took it easy the first week (school started, things were a little crazy) but I knew I had to step it up. Over the next three weeks I ran some good quality runs, but I only ended up running an 8.5 mile long run the week before the race. I was okay with the fact that that was the farthest I had gone, as I knew gravity would take care of the rest.
Friday night before the race, I drove up to Sandy to stay at Shantelle's house, which was minutes from the place where the buses would pick us up. I got a jolly good 3 hours of sleep that night, nothing too unusual before a race :) ha ha. I caught one of the buses that would take us to the start at around 4:45 a.m., and had a good chat with the lady next to me on the ride up. We got to the start with about an hour to spare, so I hung out in the porter potty line for a bit. It was very dark outside still, the stars were stunning, and the air was very cold but not too bad. While I was chilling by the pottys, I looked across the road (just a two-lane highway) and noticed some bushes moving about, like an animal was there. It was too dark to see much, but after a while of letting my eyes adjust i could just make out the huge shape of a moose!! Finally it lifted up its head, not even ten feet off the road, and just looked at us. I could tell it was about two years old or younger, so I knew momma moose wasn't too far away. I pointed her out to other people around me, and we couldn't believe that moose didn't care we were there! She just kept eating from the bush and would occasionally look up and stare at us. I watched her for a bit, until I noticed people were trying to get close to get a picture of her. Idiots. Ha ha! Finally one of the race directors drove their truck right up next to it to push it back into the forest and away from the thousands of runners milling about. Smart move.
Anyway, after seeing my favorite animal in the world, I was feeling pretty happy! What made me even happier was that they gave us space blankets and gloves, for free! This meant we were all warm and happy until the race started, which makes it easier to run for sure. At 6:30 sharp, we were off! It was still dark, with just a tinge of light in sky behind us. It got lighter about 3 miles in, so that we could enjoy the full splendor of this amazing canyon. I had never been up this canyon, but it is now my favorite Utah canyon. The colors! The trees! I was on cloud nine. We were running on this forest highway and it was just breathtakingly beautiful. At one point I had my favorite song on, the air was crisp, the fall colors were perfect, the forest smelled divine (I caught a whiff of elk which made me giddy) and everything, in that moment, was perfection. I had the biggest smile on my face and my feet felt so light and quick. Nothing could bring me down!
I was right in thinking the downhill would help me out a lot. I was hitting a 9:30 pace (which I hadn't been able to do on flat land in ages) and even 5 miles in I was still feeling great. Of course, there were those moment where it got really steep downhill and my shins started hurting, but since I was mentally prepared for that I was able to run through the pain. It was easy to stay happy in this race, even through the pain, my surroundings were just so amazing and I was in my element.
I usually don't start trying to guess what my time will be until I'm 6 miles in, after which I can figure out nearly exactly what pace I should try and hit in order to hit a PR from there. When I hit 6 miles, I looked at my time and knew in that moment that I could easily beat my previous time if I kept under a 10 minute pace. I knew I had this in the bag, since I had been hitting such great miles during the race. My fastest mile was mile 8, which was about a 9:06.
We came out of the canyon at mile 11, and we crossed a street and headed onto two running trails which took us in the general direction of the finish. This is where it got quite difficult, as my quads were so completely trashed and my feet hurt so bad, it was hard to keep a good pace. Somehow I managed to stay under 10 minute miles. Those last two miles are always the hardest, and especially this time because I no longer had the downhill to help me out. They were gently rolling miles, but finally we crossed another street and saw the convention center, and knew the finish line wasn't too far now. The last half mile i pushed as hard as I could, because I knew a great finishing time was within my grasp. As I rounded the last corner, I took out my earphones (my tradition in every race, I like to hear people cheering me on in that last quarter mile) and started sprinting to the finish. I didn't have much left in the tank, which is how I prefer it because that means I worked hard! I crossed the finish in 2:07 and was so happy that I thought my heart would burst. Also my quads. Ha ha. Even though nobody was there to cheer me on, I didn't care. I gave it my all and ended up getting a PR on less than 4 weeks of training. It was amazing!
So now it is three days post-race and my quads are still so sore I have a hard time going down stairs. Sunday was especially bad! But because I hadn't been that sore in so long, I've been enjoying it!! Plus it prevents me from signing up for a race too soon. ha ha! However, I have every plan to take the next two months and just train as hard as I can for the turkey trot on Thanksgiving. I plan on breaking an hour in that race, and in order to do that there is going to be a lot of speed work and hills and simulation runs. I could not be more excited! I'll take about 1.5 weeks off from running, but then it is back to grind! I've found a new appreciation for running after this race, and I'm still on a happy high that I don't plan on coming down from anytime soon.
This may just be my next full marathon :)
Wednesday, September 19, 2012
Anticipation
So, I have a half marathon on Saturday morning. The longest I've ran is 8.5 miles since the Top of Zion relay race. I didn't run at all during the month of August, and have only been running regularly the last 3 weeks or so, since school started. So basically I am completely winging this race. Which is going to be awesome! Haha.
LUCKILY for me, the race starts at nearly 8,000 feet elevation and ends just below 5,000 feet. So probably the reason I am not too stressed out about this race is because I know gravity will help me out more than anything else. I love downhill running, some people say it hurts their knees or quads but I say if you have strong quads (which I do) then you shouldn't have any problems. Almost every run I've done so far has had some downhills involved in it.
So let's hope and pray that I come out of this race with a personal record!! That would be so wonderful. On that same note, I'm looking to PR at the turkey trot this Thanksgiving so I will be focusing on speed more than usual for the next two months! Should be fun!
LUCKILY for me, the race starts at nearly 8,000 feet elevation and ends just below 5,000 feet. So probably the reason I am not too stressed out about this race is because I know gravity will help me out more than anything else. I love downhill running, some people say it hurts their knees or quads but I say if you have strong quads (which I do) then you shouldn't have any problems. Almost every run I've done so far has had some downhills involved in it.
So let's hope and pray that I come out of this race with a personal record!! That would be so wonderful. On that same note, I'm looking to PR at the turkey trot this Thanksgiving so I will be focusing on speed more than usual for the next two months! Should be fun!
Monday, September 17, 2012
The Holy Ghost is real, y'all.
A couple weeks ago, I was running up in Provo canyon on a beautiful crisp Saturday morning. There were so many people on the trail, so I felt totally comfortable running by myself. I was just finishing up about 6 miles of a pretty good run. I was up by Bridal Veil falls, and I knew that there was a part of the Bonneville Shoreline trail that started near there.
I have always wanted to try trail running, but I know it's not safe to do it by myself, which means I had yet to try it because no one will come run with me! Haha. Anyway, I ran To the trailhead (it's between the parking lot and the falls) and in a split second decision decided to run on it for as long as I could. So I start running on this trail, it climbs up pretty steeply while winding away from the paved trail below and all the people.
I'm only running for about five minutes when all of a sudden I stop in my tracks, like a sudden dead stop. I don't know why I stopped. I thought it was weird, but I was still excited to finally be running on a trail so I tried to keep going. I went another 30 seconds and all of a sudden it was like my feet stopped without me thinking about it.
It was at that point that I was like, okay, I'm obviously being told something. I stood there for a couple seconds, then the thought came really clearly, "Turn around!" Welp, I wasn't about to ignore that. So I turned around, ran the short distance back to the paved trail and parking lot, and left.
I have no idea why I had the prompting to turn around. And I will never know. But imagine if I had disobeyed the Holy Ghost? There could have been a bear, or a murderer, or I could have gotten lost (not likely! Hah). But I think in any situation, the HG doesn't just give you promptings for kicks. They are always for a reason.
I still fully intend on running that trail, but not until I find me a running buddy! Haha
I have always wanted to try trail running, but I know it's not safe to do it by myself, which means I had yet to try it because no one will come run with me! Haha. Anyway, I ran To the trailhead (it's between the parking lot and the falls) and in a split second decision decided to run on it for as long as I could. So I start running on this trail, it climbs up pretty steeply while winding away from the paved trail below and all the people.
I'm only running for about five minutes when all of a sudden I stop in my tracks, like a sudden dead stop. I don't know why I stopped. I thought it was weird, but I was still excited to finally be running on a trail so I tried to keep going. I went another 30 seconds and all of a sudden it was like my feet stopped without me thinking about it.
It was at that point that I was like, okay, I'm obviously being told something. I stood there for a couple seconds, then the thought came really clearly, "Turn around!" Welp, I wasn't about to ignore that. So I turned around, ran the short distance back to the paved trail and parking lot, and left.
I have no idea why I had the prompting to turn around. And I will never know. But imagine if I had disobeyed the Holy Ghost? There could have been a bear, or a murderer, or I could have gotten lost (not likely! Hah). But I think in any situation, the HG doesn't just give you promptings for kicks. They are always for a reason.
I still fully intend on running that trail, but not until I find me a running buddy! Haha
Saturday, September 15, 2012
Things.
So one of my best friends Annie does this thing where she posts about things she loves. I have a lot of things that I love, but not necessarily things that I love from a particular day, given that most days are typically spent in school, sleeping, eating, or running. Ha ha! So, I thought I'd talk about things I love about my life in general.
For one, I absolutely love the feeling after a good, hard run. One where the sweat is pouring into my eyes, a faster pace feels easy, and I feel like I can go on forever. The last few runs I have done have felt this way. Especially the run I did on Friday. It was 8.5 miles of steep uphills and downhills and I felt like I was exploring new territory the entire way, which is one my favorite things to do on a run. I love finding new places to go and new routes to call my own. Sometimes I even name them, for example I have the Temple Run (up to, and around, the temple and back), the Y Trailhead Run (only done once, probably will do it again soon), and the University Parkway Run, where I head up to that road, follow it east all the way around BYU campus, and back to my house. I named this new one the Timpview Run, because I spent about 2 or so miles on Timpview Road. So, any day that I get in a particularly good run turns it into a special day, and I think it is obvious that running is a thing I love.
Another thing I love: driving in a car with the windows down, music on full blast, and singing at the top of my lungs. The singing part is the most important part of the equation, I usually end up after every road trip with a hoarse voice and a sore throat, especially if it is the 10 hour drive from Utah to home. I just feel a rush of happiness when it is just me in the car, singing to my favorite songs with (almost) not a care in the world. I know it seems random, but we all have our randomness about us.
Family. I love my family. I had a friend in school ask me the other day why I was moving back to Arizona in December (to do my clinicals, when most people are doing them in Utah). I told him one word: family. My whole family is in Arizona, both extended sides, and my life is so much different without them. I miss Clouse family dinners every month. I miss random game nights with the Wilkins side. Most of all, I miss my two sisters and my parents. Now, Dustin and Heather are up here in Utah with me, but as we are all so busy I might only see them two or three times a month. I expect to see a lot more of them when the little bambino is born in December!
On that same note, I love Arizona. Like, in a I-could-never-marry-a-man-from-anywhere-else kind of love. I know that seems extreme, but even the thought of marrying a non-Arizonan just gives me a "meh" kind of feeling. Ha ha! Who cares if I am limiting myself. I do what I want!! Ha ha. Also, I love the monsoons. I love that you can have blazing hot deserts and cool beautiful mountains in the same state. I love hunting with my dad all over the state. I love my town, Gilbert. I love all the running trails that I have come to know and love over the years. I think I have about a hundred different routes, ranging anywhere from 4 to 20 miles. I love how it still has a small town feel, even though it technically is the largest town in the country (not a city yet!). We even have our own temple, to be dedicated next year. I love all of what I call my "Arizona friends"! They never fail to let me down when ever I make a trip home.
I love my little brother Wes! He's on his mission in Arkansas, and as such gets preferential treatment over all other siblings. Sorry, guys, but I think Mom would agree with me in that Weston is the favorite child right now. That could all change when he gets home in 7 MONTHS (!!!) because he could totally turn out to be some self-righteous little turd (hey, it happens to the best of 'em). But for now, he is favorite. I love his emails every week, he is so insightful about every experience he has, and he always has a way of turning even bad experiences around to make them positive. Hmmm, sounds a bit like me? I taught him well! Also he has funny stories every week, and he adopted a kitten, which you can't help but laugh at because this is the kid that will swerve towards a cat when it crosses the road. Bless his heart.
I'm starting to realize that I have a lot more things that I love, that I didn't even think about. But for now, I'll end this post before it gets too ridiculously long.
Also, BYU lost again to Utah. Good thing I don't go there, or I would be upset. (I'm pretty sure I said the exact same thing last year). Have a good Sunday, y'all!!
Wednesday, August 29, 2012
Schoo-ul.
School has started again. After the last week of last semester (in which I barely made it out alive) I was a little nervous to come back. What if my teacher now thought I was stupid because I had almost failed a test THREE times? Would all the teachers treat me differently?
Luckily my teachers are amazing, it's almost like that last finals week never happened. I've made a special effort to be early to class every morning, listen during lecture, and not waste time during lab.
That being said, it's only the third day and I'm already tired. In fact, I already want a nap tomorrow. How do people get through their days without nap time?? Am I the only 23 year old out there who enjoys nap time so much that I will pick sleep over food every time? I am convinced that those who say that they can never take naps are just kidding themselves. I feel like I'm making up for all those times when I was younger, when I didn't want to take a nap. This is normal, right? Heaven help me when I have children...
Luckily my teachers are amazing, it's almost like that last finals week never happened. I've made a special effort to be early to class every morning, listen during lecture, and not waste time during lab.
That being said, it's only the third day and I'm already tired. In fact, I already want a nap tomorrow. How do people get through their days without nap time?? Am I the only 23 year old out there who enjoys nap time so much that I will pick sleep over food every time? I am convinced that those who say that they can never take naps are just kidding themselves. I feel like I'm making up for all those times when I was younger, when I didn't want to take a nap. This is normal, right? Heaven help me when I have children...
Wednesday, August 15, 2012
Mount Timp hike
I forgot to post about this one!! About a month ago I got a call from my friend Beau, and he's like, let's go hike Timp on Thursday! The plan was to start at midnight (technically Friday) and hike to the top in time for the sunrise. Of course I was in, how could I pass that up?? Never mind that the mountain is over 11,000 feet tall, which would make it the highest elevation I've been on EVER. Also the trail is about 14 miles round trip, what's not to love about that?
So Beau, his friend Jordan and I set out on our adventure. The hike up was not bad at all, I was mostly scared about bears! It was almost chilly but perfect for hiking. The best part was that it was so dark that I couldn't see how far we had to go, which made it so much easier to keep going at a pretty good pace. It took us about five hours to get to the top, we even had an hour to spare once we got there before the sun even came up. Of course, me being me I started singing "Circle of Life" when the sun appeared. I mean, my life is a musical after all. We hung out with the other people at the top who had braved the mountain, took some pictures, and then started down around 7:30 am. We were well above the tree line and could now see what we were hiking through on the way up. Before we had gone very far, we saw some mountain goats!! My very first time seeing them so of course I was excited out of my mind. We were able to get super close to them since they were so used to people, it is the most popular hike in the Wasatch after all, so they were used to people getting close. Anyway, got some great pictures of them.
The hike down was surprisingly hard, we were already so sore from the climb and so coming down was pretty brutal and slow. We had to cross this giant glacier-ice pack that took forever because it was so slippery. We had crossed it earlier in the way up but we hadn't been able to see how big it really was. However, I was able to take in the beautiful scenery and just enjoy being on this huge mountain that I've now grown to love. I took lots of pictures so enjoy some of my favorites!
So Beau, his friend Jordan and I set out on our adventure. The hike up was not bad at all, I was mostly scared about bears! It was almost chilly but perfect for hiking. The best part was that it was so dark that I couldn't see how far we had to go, which made it so much easier to keep going at a pretty good pace. It took us about five hours to get to the top, we even had an hour to spare once we got there before the sun even came up. Of course, me being me I started singing "Circle of Life" when the sun appeared. I mean, my life is a musical after all. We hung out with the other people at the top who had braved the mountain, took some pictures, and then started down around 7:30 am. We were well above the tree line and could now see what we were hiking through on the way up. Before we had gone very far, we saw some mountain goats!! My very first time seeing them so of course I was excited out of my mind. We were able to get super close to them since they were so used to people, it is the most popular hike in the Wasatch after all, so they were used to people getting close. Anyway, got some great pictures of them.
The hike down was surprisingly hard, we were already so sore from the climb and so coming down was pretty brutal and slow. We had to cross this giant glacier-ice pack that took forever because it was so slippery. We had crossed it earlier in the way up but we hadn't been able to see how big it really was. However, I was able to take in the beautiful scenery and just enjoy being on this huge mountain that I've now grown to love. I took lots of pictures so enjoy some of my favorites!
Zion National Park
So I hadnt been to Zion's since my junior year of high school, so I didn't really remember how absolutely awesome it was!
The original plan was to go to Havasupai the weekend of August 2nd through the 4th. The morning of the 2nd we were informed that the flooding had been bad there for a couple of weeks, so we turned to plan B, Zion's!
My friends Clark, Matt, and Kaitlin camped just outside of the park at a fairly cheap campsite. However, food wasn't as cheap as we thought it would be so we were pretty discounted to spend so much money at a restaurant nearby. Overall, so happy with the campsite because it had nice showers for free!!!
Friday, we kind of slept in until about 8:30, got ready, and headed to the park. They have these cool shuttle buses for free once you pay to get inside the park ($25 for one vehicle for a 7 day pass! So cheap!) and so we rode those to any trail head we wanted to do. That morning we did the Emerald Pools trail and the Weeping Rock trail, both short but cool trails.
That afternoon, after eating food at the lodge and taking a short rest under the giant tree in front of the lodge, we took the shuttle to the Angel's Landing trailhead. I was so excited for this one, because all I had heard was how amazing it was at the top and how scary it was climbing up. If anyone knows me, they know I love adventure, so naturally I was so stoked for it.
And the top was everything I could have imagined!! The views were breathtaking. You could see the entire park, up both canyons. The river looked like a tiny brown snake, the road was even smaller. Get this, the drop-offs on the sides of Angels Landing is about 1,400 feet. I looked down at one point (while hanging on to the chains that are put there for our safety and my sanity) and I got one of those "holy crap I'm going to die" feelings. It was awesome, ha ha! I couldn't even see the side because it was just a sheer, steep cliff.
A thunderstorm came up on us while we are climbing up, and me being the paranoid person that I am about lightning (I have had too many close calls), I suggested that we hurry to the top and not spend too much time once we got there. The lightning wasn't too close, but it was coming fast. Luckily, it didn't start raining until we were already climbing down. Still sketchy though!
Day 2, we decided to sleep in again (if you could call it that, the ground was hard so there wasn't much sleeping going on) and then set out to do The Narrows. This is only hike I had done back when I went in high school, so I was excited to do it again. When we got there the water was super muddy (we called it Willy Wonkas chocolate river) and the bottom is filled with huge rocks that make it hard to walk in. On this hike you're in the river about 80% of the time, which made for slow going because nobody wants to trip and fall into that river. We hiked upriver for a couple hours until we felt like turning around. It was pretty fun because there was so many people, so crossing the river was like an obstacle course, you had to dodge foreigners and boulders. Speaking of, I feel like we were the only English speaking people there!! So many people speaking different languages, mostly French. We heard that and German, Italian, Spanish, and some Asian languages that I would never know which is which. Haha. The people watching was pretty awesome.
Overall, it was an amazing weekend and so much fun!! Its definitely something I want to do every year. When I drove home on Tuesday, me and my dad (he flew up to drive home with me) drove through Zion's so we could ride the shuttle around, so I could show him all the places we went. We saw a gigantic desert bighorn sheep, we may or may not have started a traffic jam when we stopped to look at it. Haha, whoops!
Well I'm having fun at home so far, I've been on more dates in the past week than I have in Provo the last four months. Crazy, huh? Anyway, pictures from the trip!!
The original plan was to go to Havasupai the weekend of August 2nd through the 4th. The morning of the 2nd we were informed that the flooding had been bad there for a couple of weeks, so we turned to plan B, Zion's!
My friends Clark, Matt, and Kaitlin camped just outside of the park at a fairly cheap campsite. However, food wasn't as cheap as we thought it would be so we were pretty discounted to spend so much money at a restaurant nearby. Overall, so happy with the campsite because it had nice showers for free!!!
Friday, we kind of slept in until about 8:30, got ready, and headed to the park. They have these cool shuttle buses for free once you pay to get inside the park ($25 for one vehicle for a 7 day pass! So cheap!) and so we rode those to any trail head we wanted to do. That morning we did the Emerald Pools trail and the Weeping Rock trail, both short but cool trails.
That afternoon, after eating food at the lodge and taking a short rest under the giant tree in front of the lodge, we took the shuttle to the Angel's Landing trailhead. I was so excited for this one, because all I had heard was how amazing it was at the top and how scary it was climbing up. If anyone knows me, they know I love adventure, so naturally I was so stoked for it.
And the top was everything I could have imagined!! The views were breathtaking. You could see the entire park, up both canyons. The river looked like a tiny brown snake, the road was even smaller. Get this, the drop-offs on the sides of Angels Landing is about 1,400 feet. I looked down at one point (while hanging on to the chains that are put there for our safety and my sanity) and I got one of those "holy crap I'm going to die" feelings. It was awesome, ha ha! I couldn't even see the side because it was just a sheer, steep cliff.
A thunderstorm came up on us while we are climbing up, and me being the paranoid person that I am about lightning (I have had too many close calls), I suggested that we hurry to the top and not spend too much time once we got there. The lightning wasn't too close, but it was coming fast. Luckily, it didn't start raining until we were already climbing down. Still sketchy though!
Day 2, we decided to sleep in again (if you could call it that, the ground was hard so there wasn't much sleeping going on) and then set out to do The Narrows. This is only hike I had done back when I went in high school, so I was excited to do it again. When we got there the water was super muddy (we called it Willy Wonkas chocolate river) and the bottom is filled with huge rocks that make it hard to walk in. On this hike you're in the river about 80% of the time, which made for slow going because nobody wants to trip and fall into that river. We hiked upriver for a couple hours until we felt like turning around. It was pretty fun because there was so many people, so crossing the river was like an obstacle course, you had to dodge foreigners and boulders. Speaking of, I feel like we were the only English speaking people there!! So many people speaking different languages, mostly French. We heard that and German, Italian, Spanish, and some Asian languages that I would never know which is which. Haha. The people watching was pretty awesome.
Overall, it was an amazing weekend and so much fun!! Its definitely something I want to do every year. When I drove home on Tuesday, me and my dad (he flew up to drive home with me) drove through Zion's so we could ride the shuttle around, so I could show him all the places we went. We saw a gigantic desert bighorn sheep, we may or may not have started a traffic jam when we stopped to look at it. Haha, whoops!
Well I'm having fun at home so far, I've been on more dates in the past week than I have in Provo the last four months. Crazy, huh? Anyway, pictures from the trip!!
Sunday, July 1, 2012
Top of Zion Relay
This weekend was so amazing. Out of this world. It was very similar to Ragnar, in that we had next to no sleep, were super smelly and sweaty the whole time, ate too much junk food, listened to too much music, ran so many miles, and yet ended up having the time of our lives.
Thursday night: Didn't leave Provo until around 11, finally got to little Torrey, Utah where the start was around 3 or so in the morning. Slept on the ground by the van in our sleeping bags and woke up in time to see Brooke off for her first leg at 7:30. FYI- there were several start times, depending on how fast your team was. The faster ones started later, hence why we were in the middle of the start times. Average is best! Haha.
Friday: Watched Brooke begin the race! She killed everyone who started at that time, I think there were 5 other runners that started at that time? She ran those hills like it was so easy, she's amazing! She came in first on that leg, and Adam took it away for the second leg. He had the hardest leg of the whole relay, and he did great! Then Matt took the third leg, and ran so fast he was 2 miles down the road before we found him. Then again, the view at the top where they exchanged was so amazing that we couldn't leave for like 15 minutes, haha. Then Catherine rocked her first leg, and she actually had to run through the highest part of the whole relay, around 9,600 feet. Holy cow! That elevation definitely took it's toll! Then, it was my turn. And the elevation that Brooke, Adam, and Catherine had worked so hard to climb was my job to run down. And man, did that hurt. Steep, 12% inclines for most of the 6 miles. My quads were shaking by the end! But I love downhill running so it was so fun. Then Theresa ran her first leg, and also did a great job. Our team was shaping up to be faster than we expected!! We passed on the baton (a slap bracelet) to Van 2 so they could do their legs, and looked forward to a nap and relaxation for several hours. We quickly drove to Escalante, where we would wait for Van 2 to finish their legs. We ate lunch and attempted to take a nap in the heat. And holy crap was it hot!! Probably around 90 degrees. I slept in the van and kept waking up because I was sweating like crazy. Needless to say, the nap did not turn out how I wanted. Ha ha!
Before we knew it, it was 6 o'clock and our Van 2 was coming into the exchange. Brooke took it away again and did a very hot, very hilly second leg. We had to stop every mile and pour water over her so she could cool down. But she still kept going like the rock star that she is! Then we continued through our legs again in the same order. Adam threw up on his run, Matt passed another runner on his, Catherine tackled a pretty big hill, I Ran late at night by the light of the moon on a highway in the middle of nowhere, and Theresa ran through a quaint little town. We finished our 2nd legs around midnight, then again quickly drove forward to the next major exchange in Hatch.
Here's where it got a little crazy. We only about 4 or 5 hours to really get some sleep. The exchange was at the stake center in Hatch, so we though we would set up camp in the grass by the van. Me and Matt found a little patch of grass that looked perfect to sleep on. The sprinklers were on on the front lawn of the stake center, but since our little patch of grass was so small we figured they wouldn't even have sprinklers there. We were proved wrong about 2 hours into our sleep. In my sleep, i heard the steady tch, tch, tch of the sprinkler by my head and felt the water hit me in the face. Cold water+wet sleeping bag+wet pillow and hair+45 degree weather= cranky Leesh. So we quickly grabbed our stuff (I was holding back some choice words by this time) and looked for somewhere else to put our beds. We noticed that the grass right next to stake center was still wet from the sprinklers earlier, so we decided to put down our tarp there and try to get back to sleep in damp bedding. It seemed like we were safe, since the sprinklers had already gone off there, right? Nope. Hour and a half later, I hear it and feel it again. This time it took me longer to figure out what was happening. I rolled out of the sprinklers, still in my sleeping bag, into the cold hard concrete sidewalk next to me. I yelled out "You have got to be effing kidding me!!!???!!??" I debated for a second about staying there and attempting to sleep, but I was so cold and wet! I look over at the tarp, and see that I left my pillow. Whoops. Sopping wet! I also see Matt still laying there, getting more wet, and curled up inside his sleeping bag. In my half-asleep and angry state, I just assumed that he was gonna tough it out and sleep through it. I decide to go use the portapotty and when I come back ten minutes later, poor Matt is standing by the van, in shorts and a t-shirt, dripping wet and shivering. He says sadly, "Why did you leave me there?" I just started laughing and told him I didn't even think about waking him up, I was so delirious! We got back in the van and Catherine laughed at us for not getting in after the first time. We were so cold and wet and shivering like crazy, so she gave us her blankets and sleeping bag. We turned on the heater and wrapped ourselves in the blankets and sleeping bag until around 6:30, when it was Brooke's turn to start running again. Luckily, we didn't feel too stupid for getting hit by the sprinklers because Brooke, Adam, and Theresa all did too, although we were the only ones to get hit twice. Haha!!
Saturday: Anyway, after a horrible night of sleep for all of us, we were off again! Since it was our third and final legs, we were ready to get done. We all had relatively short legs this time around. Mine was only 1.7 miles, so the whole time before I was to run I was like, yeah I totally got this! Whatever. The 14 miles from the day before had caught up to me, and I felt like someone was holding me back with a rubber band as I was running, my legs were so sore and my hips were so tight and I was so tired! I eventually made it through that laughably short leg and handed off to Theresa, who commenced on her hardest leg. Very hilly, and on a slightly busier highway than what we had been on previously. However, the scenery was so gorgeous that it made up for it. We stopped every half mile for her this time, because we knew the hills would be pretty hard on her. She took it like a champ and finished off Van 1's journey like a boss. There was even a girl a half mile behind her who tried so hard to catch her, but couldn't! It was awesome.
Van 1 was done!! We were so excited! We also felt bad for Van 2 because the last 36 miles of the race were on this super gnarly dirt road. We know it was gnarly because I drove the entire thing with our giant van. Definitely and interesting experience but I'm glad I drove because I'm used to driving on dirt roads and also driving big vehicles. We finally got to the finish and they had free showers and food. Uh, did we make it to heaven or what?! The finish was at a resort/lodge just outside Zion National Park. I was a little disappointed that we didn't get to see the actual park, but I'm going in August so I won't complain too much :) Still, they had a pool so we just relaxed by the poolside. I really wish I had brought my swimming suit, because I ended up sitting on one of the pool chairs and sweating and being miserable. They should have had more shade! But, I had a shower and felt refreshed, and we got to talk to and get to know some other runners on other teams, so that was pretty fun. I got a pretty sweet sunburn at the finish, I've had worse.
Van 2 made it to the finish around 3:45, I think we made it in around 32 hours, and ended up getting 5th or 6th out of 18 teams. Not bad at all!! Van 2 was made up of one family, and they sure were troopers! They had to run in hottest parts of the two days, middle of the night, and on the entire road road at the end. Just awful. But they still great, even the two younger kids.
All in all, it was a GREAT time. There were so many great moments that it's impossible to recount them all. I will definitely be doing at least one relay race a year (or, you know, as many as I want. Ha ha). It is just such a unique and crazy experience! There's so much I love about relays like this, but this one stands out because of the amazing scenery! I couldn't get enough of it, which is probably why I was so happy the entire time. Anyone that knows me, knows I am at my happiest when I am either running or in the mountains. This combined both, which is why I was on cloud 9 the entire time (minus the sprinklers part, but it made for a great story).
Next on the agenda:
Finish out the summer semester (only 4.5 weeks left!!)
Havasupai August 2nd-4th
Relaxing for most of August
California with family sometime in August
Zion National Park with the ward
School starts again Aug 29th
Big Cottonwood Canyon Half Marathon, September 22nd.
Life is good!!
Monday, June 11, 2012
Utah Valley Half Marathon race recap
I think by now it should be fairly obvious that I have a mental illness that makes me pay money to wake up at an obscene hour and run 13.1 miles. Whatever, I'm pretty sure they don't have therapy for that, except physical therapy :)
Well, I can honestly say this was one of my worst races, and it was kind of a combination of several things that made it so.
First, we had to wake up at 3:20 to catch the last bus at 4:30. Uh....what kind of joke is that? Basically I took a three hour nap because I am physically incapable of sleeping well the night before a race.
Me and Shantelle (my amazing roommate) caught the bus and made it to the starting line with about an hour to go before the 6 a.m. start. I don't mind early starts at all, it was gorgeous having the sun come up behind us as we ran.
As we were waiting to start, I had one of those "oh crap I can't believe this is happening" moments when I realized that I forgot my gels!! My mint chocolate GU's were sitting in my bag that I had already dropped off in the clothing drop truck, and it would have been impossible to find it among all the other bags. I basically had a rant along the lines of "I should just quit now" and "my whole life is ruined" ect, ect. I mean, isn't the cardinal rule of racing is to NEVER try anything new on race day? I'm pretty sure running without gels falls under that category. Even though the race supplied gels at mile 6, I knew that wouldn't be enough. I usually eat mine at miles 4.5 and 9. To make up for it, I ate every orange and drank every cup of powerade I could get my hands on. Turns out that wasn't enough...
Me and Heather decided to stick with the 2:10 pacing group, as I had just run a 2:10 in April and I figured I could do it again. Uh, I was way wrong about that. Turns out the pacing group kind of sucked and they started out at like a 9:30, when the sign they were carrying said in big letters "9:55 PACE". I lost them by mile 3. Big surprise. Yet another mistake of this race was starting out too fast, much too fast. There wasn't so much of a half mile warm-up pace or anything! No wonder I crashed towards the end...
Not even a mile in, my shins started killing me, like they were screaming at me to stop. And I was like, hey shins, you need to grow up, k? This is really immature of you. Who do you think you are, ruining my race that was, by all accounts, ruined already? Around mile 3 I had to stop and stretch them out, and after that they felt a little better. A thought struck me that maybe my shoes were done and ready to be retired? I know from experience that old, worn-out shoes can cause random aches and pains. Then I remembered that I had bought these in October, and since then they have been through training and running of 3 half marathons!! I mentally kicked myself for not thinking of this earlier, and now I was running a race with worn-out shoes and probably doing more damage than I would otherwise. Oh well, I'm in the middle of a race, what am I gonna do? That's right, keep running.
Well, when I say running, I really mean "running for about a half mile and then walking for a minute and then attempting to run again and failing miserably". Honestly though, besides my full marathon last summer (and St George marathon in 2009) I probably walked the most in this race than any other. The combination of achy legs, low energy, and less-than-ideal training really threw my body for a loop. But you know what? There's bound to be a bad race now and again, and there's always another one to look forward to, so I'm not worrying over this one.
I ended up finishing with a truly astounding time of 2:16:03 (easy on the sarcasm, now!). Kind of a joke, really. Seeing how my very first half marathon (in 2010) was a 2:17, this was pretty sad. Ha ha. But you know what? This race was truly a learning experience for me!
1. Make sure your training doesn't suck.
2. Make sure your shoes aren't dead.
3. Double and triple check and you have everything before you drop your bag off at the start.
4. Don't start out too fast!!!
5. NEVER try anything new on race day.
6. Lay off the junk food. Seriously. I didn't mention this but I think I'm carrying a couple extra pounds than I was in April, which can make a huge difference.
7. Maybe 5 Guys Burgers the night before wasn't the best idea? But it sure was delicious!!
Next on the running agenda-
Top of Zion relay in southern Utah. Same setup as Ragnar. So stoked! June 29th-30th. Check it out here.
Big Cottonwood Canyon half marathon, September 22nd. Check out this elevation map. Isn't that just a PR waiting to happen?!
Between those two races, I'm going to be working a lot on speed and hills. I think it is time to step it up from being a mediocre runner who just wants to finish each race to actually becoming a competitor.
Excited for things in store!
Well, I can honestly say this was one of my worst races, and it was kind of a combination of several things that made it so.
First, we had to wake up at 3:20 to catch the last bus at 4:30. Uh....what kind of joke is that? Basically I took a three hour nap because I am physically incapable of sleeping well the night before a race.
Me and Shantelle (my amazing roommate) caught the bus and made it to the starting line with about an hour to go before the 6 a.m. start. I don't mind early starts at all, it was gorgeous having the sun come up behind us as we ran.
As we were waiting to start, I had one of those "oh crap I can't believe this is happening" moments when I realized that I forgot my gels!! My mint chocolate GU's were sitting in my bag that I had already dropped off in the clothing drop truck, and it would have been impossible to find it among all the other bags. I basically had a rant along the lines of "I should just quit now" and "my whole life is ruined" ect, ect. I mean, isn't the cardinal rule of racing is to NEVER try anything new on race day? I'm pretty sure running without gels falls under that category. Even though the race supplied gels at mile 6, I knew that wouldn't be enough. I usually eat mine at miles 4.5 and 9. To make up for it, I ate every orange and drank every cup of powerade I could get my hands on. Turns out that wasn't enough...
Me and Heather decided to stick with the 2:10 pacing group, as I had just run a 2:10 in April and I figured I could do it again. Uh, I was way wrong about that. Turns out the pacing group kind of sucked and they started out at like a 9:30, when the sign they were carrying said in big letters "9:55 PACE". I lost them by mile 3. Big surprise. Yet another mistake of this race was starting out too fast, much too fast. There wasn't so much of a half mile warm-up pace or anything! No wonder I crashed towards the end...
Not even a mile in, my shins started killing me, like they were screaming at me to stop. And I was like, hey shins, you need to grow up, k? This is really immature of you. Who do you think you are, ruining my race that was, by all accounts, ruined already? Around mile 3 I had to stop and stretch them out, and after that they felt a little better. A thought struck me that maybe my shoes were done and ready to be retired? I know from experience that old, worn-out shoes can cause random aches and pains. Then I remembered that I had bought these in October, and since then they have been through training and running of 3 half marathons!! I mentally kicked myself for not thinking of this earlier, and now I was running a race with worn-out shoes and probably doing more damage than I would otherwise. Oh well, I'm in the middle of a race, what am I gonna do? That's right, keep running.
Well, when I say running, I really mean "running for about a half mile and then walking for a minute and then attempting to run again and failing miserably". Honestly though, besides my full marathon last summer (and St George marathon in 2009) I probably walked the most in this race than any other. The combination of achy legs, low energy, and less-than-ideal training really threw my body for a loop. But you know what? There's bound to be a bad race now and again, and there's always another one to look forward to, so I'm not worrying over this one.
I ended up finishing with a truly astounding time of 2:16:03 (easy on the sarcasm, now!). Kind of a joke, really. Seeing how my very first half marathon (in 2010) was a 2:17, this was pretty sad. Ha ha. But you know what? This race was truly a learning experience for me!
1. Make sure your training doesn't suck.
2. Make sure your shoes aren't dead.
3. Double and triple check and you have everything before you drop your bag off at the start.
4. Don't start out too fast!!!
5. NEVER try anything new on race day.
6. Lay off the junk food. Seriously. I didn't mention this but I think I'm carrying a couple extra pounds than I was in April, which can make a huge difference.
7. Maybe 5 Guys Burgers the night before wasn't the best idea? But it sure was delicious!!
Next on the running agenda-
Top of Zion relay in southern Utah. Same setup as Ragnar. So stoked! June 29th-30th. Check it out here.
Big Cottonwood Canyon half marathon, September 22nd. Check out this elevation map. Isn't that just a PR waiting to happen?!
Between those two races, I'm going to be working a lot on speed and hills. I think it is time to step it up from being a mediocre runner who just wants to finish each race to actually becoming a competitor.
Excited for things in store!
That Sneaky Cookie
So yesterday as I was downing several cheese crisps (or quesadilla if you think you're more cultured than the rest of us) with my beloved Cholula sauce, I realized that I had eaten the same meal every day for a week. Yikes. So, I made the decision to forego the cheesy goodness for a couple weeks and completely over haul my diet. That means no more eating out, no more junk food, no more mindless eating.
That lasted until approximately 10 o'clock this morning.
I walked out of our tiny bathroom (I think it's about 4 foot square?) and there, on my roommate's desk, was a half eaten white chocolate macadamia nut cookie. You know, the kind with the giant white chocolate chips? Well, I literally stopped in my tracks and stared it down. I had a mental battle with this cookie. Did I really need the cookie, right then and right there? First of all, it wasn't even mine. Second of all, it hadn't even been a day since I decided no more junk food. Third, I think it had been sitting there for a while, so it was probably stale.
Oh, who am I kidding? I ate that cookie in about three seconds. Then I sent my roommate this text:
"There was a piece of cookie on your desk. I came out of the bathroom and it was staring me in the face...it didn't stand a chance. Sorry. I'll buy you another one."
Good thing my roommate loves me.
Also good news? The rest of my day has been healthy, and I plan on running tonight, so no harm done!
That lasted until approximately 10 o'clock this morning.
I walked out of our tiny bathroom (I think it's about 4 foot square?) and there, on my roommate's desk, was a half eaten white chocolate macadamia nut cookie. You know, the kind with the giant white chocolate chips? Well, I literally stopped in my tracks and stared it down. I had a mental battle with this cookie. Did I really need the cookie, right then and right there? First of all, it wasn't even mine. Second of all, it hadn't even been a day since I decided no more junk food. Third, I think it had been sitting there for a while, so it was probably stale.
Oh, who am I kidding? I ate that cookie in about three seconds. Then I sent my roommate this text:
"There was a piece of cookie on your desk. I came out of the bathroom and it was staring me in the face...it didn't stand a chance. Sorry. I'll buy you another one."
Good thing my roommate loves me.
Also good news? The rest of my day has been healthy, and I plan on running tonight, so no harm done!
Wednesday, June 6, 2012
Most Embarrassing Moment
A conversation in school about embarrassing moments reminded me of this story, and believe me, it's a keeper!
This happened shortly before my brother went on his mission. I had set out for an easy run, no more than 4 miles or so. As I was running back toward the front of my neighborhood (in Gilbert), I saw my brother's old blue "Mexitruck" pulling out of the street. So, me being me, I ran up to the truck, banged on the hood like a madwoman, and flipped him an enthusiastic double bird (in typical Clouse fashion).
My brother was not driving the truck.
In fact, the man driving the truck was somebody I had never seen in my life. And there was what looked like a young boy in the passenger seat.
That moment of panic when I realized I had just royally offended a complete stranger sent me running in the opposite direction as fast as I could. If my face wasn't red from running, it sure was now. To make matters even worse, he ended up turning in the direction that I was running and so passed me running wildly down the street. I'm not sure if I was hysterically laughing or just simply freaking out....
A couple of minutes later, I returned back home and looked for my brother to ask him who the heck was driving his truck?! My dad, over hearing, piped in that the mechanic had come to pick it up.
As I told them what had happened, they began to laugh so hard that both were on the floor with tears streaming down their faces. My dad couldn't get any words out, except he kept gasping over and over, "You can't make this stuff up!!" I stood there with shame and embarrassment and finally couldn't help but to join in laughing.
To my horror, my dad promptly called the mechanic and said joyfully, "So, i heard you met my daughter?" The mechanic said he was shocked (as was his 6 year old son, who I'm sure is scarred for life), but that he wasn't too offended because after all, I am a Clouse and Clouse's tend to do crazy things like this.
So in the end, no harm done, and my dad was right, you cannot make this stuff up.
This happened shortly before my brother went on his mission. I had set out for an easy run, no more than 4 miles or so. As I was running back toward the front of my neighborhood (in Gilbert), I saw my brother's old blue "Mexitruck" pulling out of the street. So, me being me, I ran up to the truck, banged on the hood like a madwoman, and flipped him an enthusiastic double bird (in typical Clouse fashion).
My brother was not driving the truck.
In fact, the man driving the truck was somebody I had never seen in my life. And there was what looked like a young boy in the passenger seat.
That moment of panic when I realized I had just royally offended a complete stranger sent me running in the opposite direction as fast as I could. If my face wasn't red from running, it sure was now. To make matters even worse, he ended up turning in the direction that I was running and so passed me running wildly down the street. I'm not sure if I was hysterically laughing or just simply freaking out....
A couple of minutes later, I returned back home and looked for my brother to ask him who the heck was driving his truck?! My dad, over hearing, piped in that the mechanic had come to pick it up.
As I told them what had happened, they began to laugh so hard that both were on the floor with tears streaming down their faces. My dad couldn't get any words out, except he kept gasping over and over, "You can't make this stuff up!!" I stood there with shame and embarrassment and finally couldn't help but to join in laughing.
To my horror, my dad promptly called the mechanic and said joyfully, "So, i heard you met my daughter?" The mechanic said he was shocked (as was his 6 year old son, who I'm sure is scarred for life), but that he wasn't too offended because after all, I am a Clouse and Clouse's tend to do crazy things like this.
So in the end, no harm done, and my dad was right, you cannot make this stuff up.
Busy busy busy.
This weekend is probably going to be the busiest of my summer so far. Let's take this through day by day...
Thursday: I have my first practical midterm. Haven't studied for it much yet. Since it's hands on stuff I actually have to know how to do it for clinical use too. Good thing I enjoy it!
Friday: my roommate Jaclyn's wedding luncheon and reception. Also packet pickup for the race on Saturday.
Saturday: get up at 3:30 for the Utah Valley half. Yeah I know, that's an obscenely early time! But they have to get all the buses up there super early for some reason. Whatevs. Then I get to run the race! Yay!! I love half marathons so much. This one should be a really good one, stay tuned for recap!
The rest of Saturday (after I sleep off my race) will consist of studying for my midterms next week and writing my talk for Sunday. Haven't talked in church for over a year, so I'm a little nervous! Then that night I have another wedding reception to go to.
Sunday: talk in church. Hurray. Study the rest of the day for my two midterms and a quiz on Monday. Yikes.
Now I know all this doesn't seem like much but when I have more stuff going on than normal I tend to go a little crazy. Keep in mind that every spare minute I have is going to be spent stressing over studying for midterms, writing my talk, and surviving a half marathon on minimal training. And even when the weekend is over, the stress is not! School next week (and possibly the week after) is going to be a wild time! My teachers like to attack us all at once with tests and projects. It's so wonderful.
Now, not is all bad! I'll still get to see two of my roommates marry their EC's (eternal companion in Utah talk) and live happily ever after. I get to finish yet another half marathon, my third since October, something that not everyone can do. I get to enjoy the beautiful Utah summer weather. There are so many things I'm blessed with that I think I can put up with a couple busy weekends every once in a while!
On another note, I signed up for another half in September. I think I have an addiction.
Thursday: I have my first practical midterm. Haven't studied for it much yet. Since it's hands on stuff I actually have to know how to do it for clinical use too. Good thing I enjoy it!
Friday: my roommate Jaclyn's wedding luncheon and reception. Also packet pickup for the race on Saturday.
Saturday: get up at 3:30 for the Utah Valley half. Yeah I know, that's an obscenely early time! But they have to get all the buses up there super early for some reason. Whatevs. Then I get to run the race! Yay!! I love half marathons so much. This one should be a really good one, stay tuned for recap!
The rest of Saturday (after I sleep off my race) will consist of studying for my midterms next week and writing my talk for Sunday. Haven't talked in church for over a year, so I'm a little nervous! Then that night I have another wedding reception to go to.
Sunday: talk in church. Hurray. Study the rest of the day for my two midterms and a quiz on Monday. Yikes.
Now I know all this doesn't seem like much but when I have more stuff going on than normal I tend to go a little crazy. Keep in mind that every spare minute I have is going to be spent stressing over studying for midterms, writing my talk, and surviving a half marathon on minimal training. And even when the weekend is over, the stress is not! School next week (and possibly the week after) is going to be a wild time! My teachers like to attack us all at once with tests and projects. It's so wonderful.
Now, not is all bad! I'll still get to see two of my roommates marry their EC's (eternal companion in Utah talk) and live happily ever after. I get to finish yet another half marathon, my third since October, something that not everyone can do. I get to enjoy the beautiful Utah summer weather. There are so many things I'm blessed with that I think I can put up with a couple busy weekends every once in a while!
On another note, I signed up for another half in September. I think I have an addiction.
Thursday, May 31, 2012
This is my summer.
Summer school is the bane of my existence right now. I try not to resist it, I try and go to school without kicking and screaming every morning. But it's proving to be difficult! Every morning as I drive to school I see people out running and I get so jealous! I get to save my running for the night time but I have a feeling as the summer goes on that it will be hot even at 8 o'clock at night.
My schedule goes as such- Monday and Thursday I have school from 8 to 5. So much fun...? Tuesday is my new "Friday" as in it's the day I feel happiest:) I only have school from 8 to noon, with the whole afternoon to myself. Let's get real, I usually spend it catching up on shows and sleeping:) Wednesday is from 8 to 2:30, not bad at all.
I guess the reason I'm complaining is because I don't get to sleep in anymore!! *gasp!* if anyone knows me at all they know that I love, adore, even worship sleep, and anything that interrupts that is not my best friend. Bless my heart when I eventually get married and have little kiddos.
Moving on... This summer is proving to still be a total blast, even with the full time summer school. Last weekend I was able to go with a group from my ward down to Arches National Park (near Moab). It was such a fun, albeit WILD trip. Wild, because I swear the winds that we suffered through were hurricane force. No lie. All of us were exhausted from the constant sand-blasting and digging sand out of our eyes (and mouth, and nose, and ears). But, even with all of that craziness, we still managed to have the time of our lives. I felt like I grew so much closer to all the people that were there. Probably has something to do with suffering together. Ha ha.
We did a couple of shorter hikes and one longer hike to see Delicate arch (the one of the Utah license plate). I loved seeing all of the arches, and we didn't even begin to scratch the surface of that park, because there are hundreds of arches that we never even saw. Double Arch was my favorite because it's so unique and so huge!
When we got home Saturday night, I can honestly say that was the dirtiest I have ever been. I had red sand embedded in my hair (looked like I had red roots coming in), my clothes were covered in red, my sports bra was filled with sand (tmi?) and I basically felt like I had a new layer of skin. Yay, exfoliation!! Over all it was a very fun trip, and Bishop was kind enough to feed us three meals and reserve a camping spot for us. Speaking of, I think I was the only one to get a good nights rest because my sleeping bag is so big:) I didn't hear or feel the wind all night because I was burrowed inside.
Anywho, I'm looking forward to a couple more things in the coming month or so. I have the Utah Valley Half next weekend, along with two of my roommate's weddings. Then I have the Top of Zion Red Rock Relay at the end of June (SO excited for that one!). Still trying to find another race for July, even if it's just a 10K or something. One race a month is my goal! Summer is busy but also a super exciting time!!
My schedule goes as such- Monday and Thursday I have school from 8 to 5. So much fun...? Tuesday is my new "Friday" as in it's the day I feel happiest:) I only have school from 8 to noon, with the whole afternoon to myself. Let's get real, I usually spend it catching up on shows and sleeping:) Wednesday is from 8 to 2:30, not bad at all.
I guess the reason I'm complaining is because I don't get to sleep in anymore!! *gasp!* if anyone knows me at all they know that I love, adore, even worship sleep, and anything that interrupts that is not my best friend. Bless my heart when I eventually get married and have little kiddos.
Moving on... This summer is proving to still be a total blast, even with the full time summer school. Last weekend I was able to go with a group from my ward down to Arches National Park (near Moab). It was such a fun, albeit WILD trip. Wild, because I swear the winds that we suffered through were hurricane force. No lie. All of us were exhausted from the constant sand-blasting and digging sand out of our eyes (and mouth, and nose, and ears). But, even with all of that craziness, we still managed to have the time of our lives. I felt like I grew so much closer to all the people that were there. Probably has something to do with suffering together. Ha ha.
We did a couple of shorter hikes and one longer hike to see Delicate arch (the one of the Utah license plate). I loved seeing all of the arches, and we didn't even begin to scratch the surface of that park, because there are hundreds of arches that we never even saw. Double Arch was my favorite because it's so unique and so huge!
When we got home Saturday night, I can honestly say that was the dirtiest I have ever been. I had red sand embedded in my hair (looked like I had red roots coming in), my clothes were covered in red, my sports bra was filled with sand (tmi?) and I basically felt like I had a new layer of skin. Yay, exfoliation!! Over all it was a very fun trip, and Bishop was kind enough to feed us three meals and reserve a camping spot for us. Speaking of, I think I was the only one to get a good nights rest because my sleeping bag is so big:) I didn't hear or feel the wind all night because I was burrowed inside.
Anywho, I'm looking forward to a couple more things in the coming month or so. I have the Utah Valley Half next weekend, along with two of my roommate's weddings. Then I have the Top of Zion Red Rock Relay at the end of June (SO excited for that one!). Still trying to find another race for July, even if it's just a 10K or something. One race a month is my goal! Summer is busy but also a super exciting time!!
Monday, April 30, 2012
Finals week is over!
So one of the bad things about living in Provo, and especially about living near BYU is that everyone else finished their finals about two weeks ago, before I was even getting started!
This past week is what I like to call "Hell Week" because I had five final exams (there was only one of them that wasn't comprehensive), two papers, a presentation, and a project. Oh joy!! And of course, me being myself, I don't study until the night before for each test. It may seem crazy but the whole cramming session TOTALLY works for me. I have all the info in my head, and as soon as I take the test, I swear I can feel it disappear through my ears, making room for the info for the next days tests. It all paid off in the end because I ended up getting all A's by the end of finals week (except for one measly B, an 88%). Needless to say I am VERY happy!!
On Saturday I took a little time off studying and went for a fantastic hike up behind Mt Timp, which is quickly becoming my favorite mountain. The hike we went on was called Stewart Falls, and I am a huge fan! It was short yet just long enough for us to enjoy being outside.
Well, since I can now blog on my phone (although adding pictures on here makes no sense to me) I can see myself doing it more often, so hopefully I can keep track of all my adventures this summer! I do believe it will be a great one. :) tomorrow I drive down to my beloved Arizona for some much-needed family time and down time. So excited!!
This past week is what I like to call "Hell Week" because I had five final exams (there was only one of them that wasn't comprehensive), two papers, a presentation, and a project. Oh joy!! And of course, me being myself, I don't study until the night before for each test. It may seem crazy but the whole cramming session TOTALLY works for me. I have all the info in my head, and as soon as I take the test, I swear I can feel it disappear through my ears, making room for the info for the next days tests. It all paid off in the end because I ended up getting all A's by the end of finals week (except for one measly B, an 88%). Needless to say I am VERY happy!!
On Saturday I took a little time off studying and went for a fantastic hike up behind Mt Timp, which is quickly becoming my favorite mountain. The hike we went on was called Stewart Falls, and I am a huge fan! It was short yet just long enough for us to enjoy being outside.
Well, since I can now blog on my phone (although adding pictures on here makes no sense to me) I can see myself doing it more often, so hopefully I can keep track of all my adventures this summer! I do believe it will be a great one. :) tomorrow I drive down to my beloved Arizona for some much-needed family time and down time. So excited!!
Tuesday, April 24, 2012
Salt Lake City Half Marathon recap
This had to be one of the funnest race weekends I've ever had! On Friday afternoon I headed up to SLC to meet up with Annie, Shantelle (my roommate) and Brooke (friend from AZ). Me and Annie picked up our race stuff (shirts, number) at the expo then headed over to the brand spanking new City Creek Mall, which is right across the street from Temple Square. Beautiful mall, with awesome stores. It's an outdoor mall that has a roof that can close when it rains or snows. How cool is that? Anyway, we met Shantelle at Cheesecake Factory to carb load it up, and my was it the most delicious carbo-loading I have ever done! Haha. I even splurged and bought a slice of their famous cheesecake. It was heaven. Then we walked around the mall, we kept marveling at how nice it is!
Well, onto the race recap:) I stayed with Annie and her husband and baby Jack at her grandparents house, just a couple minutes south of downtown SLC. We got a bit of a late start in the morning and made it to the starting line with barely ten minutes to spare! Needless to say, we jumped in the porter potty line, and I was actually still in the porter potty when they did te countdown. Haha! No biggie, there was so many people that it took me a couple minutes to even get to the starting line!
And then we were off! The first couple miles were downhill, which was so nice because it got me used to running so early in the morning. At first I was planning on shooting for a 2:15 race at least, since it was my first race in about 6 months and I didn't really think I was in that great of shape. But to my surprise, I fell into a pretty fast pace fairly easily, and so I decided to see what I was really capable of.
My first splits were pretty good, and in the middle of the race I was throwing out 9:45 and even 9:30 miles, which is UNHEARD of for me! There weren't any real hills until between miles 4 and 5, but they were pretty gradual and I kept pace. The course was so great, all through residential neighborhoods and even through Sugar House, where I threw out my fastest miles around miles 8 and 9. Mile 10 we ran a lap around one side of a huge park, and there were some people holding some hilarious signs (including a great "That's what she said" joke) that got my energy back up. Those last three miles were mine! By that time I was on pace for just under a 2:10, which meant a new personal record was within reach!
And then at mile 11.5, it appeared. The hill that went on for what felt like an entire mile. I'm sure the race directors were cracking up when they decided to take us up State Street, because that hill was AWFUL. I had to walk, I was so mad!! It was so long that I couldn't see where we were to turn off of State Street onto South Temple, not until I was getting closer did I see people veering towards Temple Square. Then I finally turned the corner, and there it was, only half a mile away! The finish line! Looking at my Garmin watch, I realized I would have to sprint for it if I wanted a new PR, so sprint for it I did.
I crossed the finish line in 2:10:23, a measly FOUR SECONDS from beating my time at the Halloween Half, which was a big deal for me since the Halloween Half is a much faster course. But I was so happy with it!! Best race yet!
Picture time--- it says "proof" in big letters because these are screen shots from off of my phone...yes, I did steal the pictures. Whatever. They charge too much anyway.
Me and Brooke outside good old H&M
We stopped by temple square for a little bit, it is absolutely gorgeous in the spring time!! Love!.JPG) |
| Love all these girls! |
 |
| Annie (roommate from freshman year) and Shantelle (roommate from this year!) |
Well, onto the race recap:) I stayed with Annie and her husband and baby Jack at her grandparents house, just a couple minutes south of downtown SLC. We got a bit of a late start in the morning and made it to the starting line with barely ten minutes to spare! Needless to say, we jumped in the porter potty line, and I was actually still in the porter potty when they did te countdown. Haha! No biggie, there was so many people that it took me a couple minutes to even get to the starting line!
And then we were off! The first couple miles were downhill, which was so nice because it got me used to running so early in the morning. At first I was planning on shooting for a 2:15 race at least, since it was my first race in about 6 months and I didn't really think I was in that great of shape. But to my surprise, I fell into a pretty fast pace fairly easily, and so I decided to see what I was really capable of.
My first splits were pretty good, and in the middle of the race I was throwing out 9:45 and even 9:30 miles, which is UNHEARD of for me! There weren't any real hills until between miles 4 and 5, but they were pretty gradual and I kept pace. The course was so great, all through residential neighborhoods and even through Sugar House, where I threw out my fastest miles around miles 8 and 9. Mile 10 we ran a lap around one side of a huge park, and there were some people holding some hilarious signs (including a great "That's what she said" joke) that got my energy back up. Those last three miles were mine! By that time I was on pace for just under a 2:10, which meant a new personal record was within reach!
And then at mile 11.5, it appeared. The hill that went on for what felt like an entire mile. I'm sure the race directors were cracking up when they decided to take us up State Street, because that hill was AWFUL. I had to walk, I was so mad!! It was so long that I couldn't see where we were to turn off of State Street onto South Temple, not until I was getting closer did I see people veering towards Temple Square. Then I finally turned the corner, and there it was, only half a mile away! The finish line! Looking at my Garmin watch, I realized I would have to sprint for it if I wanted a new PR, so sprint for it I did.
I crossed the finish line in 2:10:23, a measly FOUR SECONDS from beating my time at the Halloween Half, which was a big deal for me since the Halloween Half is a much faster course. But I was so happy with it!! Best race yet!
Picture time--- it says "proof" in big letters because these are screen shots from off of my phone...yes, I did steal the pictures. Whatever. They charge too much anyway.
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| This was at mile 10 in the park, the camera guys were trying to get us to look happy and celebrate, so I did:) |
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| Sights set on the finish line. |
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| Brooke's mom caught a picture of me sprinting by! |
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| Annie freaking rocked this race, got a 1:49, and she gave birth in November!! Super woman!! |
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| Shantelle came out to watch us, she's basically the best roommate ever! |
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| Oh hey there, Elder D. Todd Christoffersen. Just chilling at the finish line in his Apostle attire! (Yes, we are those people who take pictures with Apostles. Don't judge.)
Anyway, this race taught me a lot about myself, namely, that I can push myself more than I thought. it made me so excited for the Utah Valley Half on June 9th, that race will be rocked, mark my words!! Now, it is finals week and then home for almost two weeks!! CANNOT WAIT.
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