12 miles....and Mexico

So, I did my 12 miler yesterday. It was actually a really good run, almost as good as my 9 miler a couple weeks ago. I'm surprised I was able to finish it without walking any of it, seeing how I missed the 10 miler since I was in Mexico last weekend. But I'm a trooper! Also, best part of the run was helping out this little kid at Freestone who was in a wheelchair. He wanted to go down the hill to where his friends were playing, and as I came up on him his friends were attempting to get him down. They were pretty little and I didn't want them to get hurt trying to wheel the little boy down the hill so I stopped and helped. He seemed really happy when we got him to the bottom. All I have to wonder is how did he get back to the top? haha. Also, where were his parents? I'm assuming they were watching another child play soccer or something (there were lots of games going on) and trusted that his friends would take care of him. Honestly, good for them for letting him be more independent! If I was in a wheelchair (knock on wood that it NEVER happens) I wouldn't want to be babied. Anyway, that was my little service for the day, made the rest of my run much easier. Of course, I had already gone about 8 miles so I still had four more to go....but still.

Mexico last weekend was AH-MAZING! I never wanted to leave. We didn't go to Rocky Point, instead we went to a little place called El Golfo. It's a small town about 60 or 70 miles up the beach from R.P. (although northwest of RP because the bay curves towards the west). It was waaaaaaayyyy better than rocky point. No crowds, and I didn't get asked to buy anything the entire time! It was so nice not to have to say "no gracias" all day. Getting there was pretty crazy, we camped with 5 or 6 other families on the beach. We had to let most of the air out of the tires on all the trucks and trailers, and even then we managed to get stuck a couple times. However, it wasn't that bad. We eventually made it to the campsite, which was a harrowing 5 miles down the beach from El Golfo. So we had like miles on both sides of beach to ourselves!! Amazing. We had the quads and plenty of dunes behind us to ride them on. We also had kayaks, which offered me the most amazing experience. The last night we were there, right after sundown, we saw a ton of dolphins out in the water. We had seen dolphins before but they were always in pairs and way too far out to kayak to. These ones were closer only because the tide was way out, so there was less water between us and the deep water they were in. So, even though it was quickly getting dark, me and this other girl grabbed the kayaks and ran out there. Then we booked it in the kayaks until we got close to dolphins. It was sooooo cool! There was at least 2 dozen of them, probably more, and they were curious about us. They would only get within 20 feet of our boats, but they would circle around us, go underneath us, and basically scare the bejeezus out of us! Haha. They would all disapear for a minute or so, then we could hear their high-pitched squeaking right underneath us, and then they would make us jump by loudly blowing air only 20 feet away from us. So awesome. Then, we got kind of scared because we didn't realize how far we had gone out there, and it was pretty much dark, so we headed back. And would you believe it? Those dolphins followed us back to shore for more than 3/4 of the way! It was like they were Jaws, I would look back and just see fins follwing us. Haha. There were people waiting for us on the beach, they were worried because they had heard us screaming (those dolphins made me scream everytime they came up for air! haha) and they couldn't really see us. Of course we were fine, and very excited! I can cross that one off my bucket list now!

Coming back from Mexico was a nightmare, we got stopped at a couple checkpoints and then had to wait 3 hours at the border. Which wasn't too bad because we could get out and walk around, but it was just time consuming and made us get home really late. Anyway, even with that whole fiasco, it was still one of the most amazing trips I have ever been on. I really hope it becomes an annual thing!!!

My training for this marathon has been way better than my training for St George last year. Probably because of my GPS watch, because now I know exact mileage on my long runs instead of just guessing (and probably being wrong). I feel in much better shape this time around, and I am able to keep a faster pace on my long runs than before. I am very very excited for the marathon in June. It's in Provo, the weather will be great, I'll probably be able to see some friends and my brother, and I just miss Utah! Never thought I'd say that :) haha
Only ten or 11 more weeks! Woo hoo!

"And totally redeemed yourself!"

In case you were wondering, that quote is from Dumb and Dumber. Definitely a top 5 movie.

And the reason I quote it is because I really did redeem myself today. On my running schedule it called for 6 miles, because I was supposed to have done 9 last week. Which I didn't/couldn't. So, today I decided to run the 9 miles for reals this time. And let me tell you what, I totally nailed it! It goes on my list of top 10 runs, for sure. I figured out a little strategy. Instead of looking right at the ground in front of me or even looking out as far ahead of me as I can see, I decided to focus my eyes on the ground about 30 to 40 feet in front of me. I don't know why, but this made a world of difference! I ran the entire 9 miles without walking, only stopping twice to fill up my water bottle at freestone park. It was a night and day difference from last weeks attempt. And it made me feel great! Since I'll be missing my run next Saturday (I'll be in Mexico!) it was really important to have a super good run today. What also made the difference was running consistently throughout the week. I did several great workouts, however I ate like crap this week (again!) so I feel all bloated and gross (ugh! TMI!) but this week I should do better. Hopefully. Mexico can make you kinda gassy. hahaha!! Welp, I'm definitely looking forward to working only 2 days this week, it's gonna be a good one!

VIVA LA MEXICO!

(I don't know Spanish, I just pretend)

Lessons learned...

So yesterday I set out for a 9 mile run, because my schedule told me to. I set out to do this after having not run for 10 days AND having taken my very first cycling class the day before. So, long story short, the 9 mile run ended up being a 4.5 mile run wuth 4.5 miles of walking. Still, I went the distance! (cue Hercules music)

But, let me say a little something about the cycling class I took at LA Fitness (my gym). Imagine your legs on fire for a full hour, imagine sweating so much that you have to drink 2 full water bottles worth of water, imagine wanting to throw up several times during said hour, imagine wanting to quit half way through, imagine your hardest workout EVER....yeah, that was the cycling class I took on Friday. Needless to say, in spite of all this, it will definitely be a weekly thing! However, not on Friday, most likely on Tuesdays only because I think thats the reason my long run went so horribly, is because my legs were already exhausted before I even began running. Not good! And very miserable.

Also, the whole "not running for 10 days" thing....I went to Mexico last weekend. It was fun, but could have been even more so had the weather not been so abysmal. Anyway, I came back from Mexico having eaten good yet crappy food all weekend, and it like set the tone for my while week. I ate like crap and didn't exercise once except for a short bike ride on Tuesday. But now I know what that does to my long runs on Saturdays, so from here on out I am on a very set and strict schedule! I'm excited for the marathon, I think it'll come up way faster than I want, though! I finally registered for it last week, so now I am dedicated. Also, I have a driving buddy for the trip up there, so that's exciting. Welp, have a good Sunday, I know I will! Peace....

And so it begins....

16 weeks of misery, tears, pain, soreness, blisters, sunburns, crankiness, exhaustion......

yup. Marathon training begins again tomorrow.

You might be asking, why do I do this to myself?

Honestly? I don't even have an answer to that!! Haha

Happy Valentine's Day!

16 weeks from this Saturday, I'll be running the Utah Valley Marathon in Provo, UT!

~London's Run~

Last weekend I did London's Run for the second time. I really like this race, because it is out at Schnepf Farms and the atmosphere is so fun! This year they had a little problem on the course because of the mud created by the huge rainstorm we had a couple weeks ago. So I guess they changed the course at the last minute, but not all of the volunteers were sure which way we were supposed to go. So I'm running along, getting a great time (because of my amazing Garmin!) and all of a sudden I come to a sign that says "Mile 5". And I'm like, wait a second, I don't even remember seeing a "Mile 4' sign! So I look at my watch, and sure enough it says I have gone 4.3 miles. About half a mile back there was a "T" in the road, some people were going to the right for a little out-and-back stretch but the volunteer guy was yelling at them to come back and yelling at us to go left. I am thinking that that little out-and-back that some people did was the .7 mile that I was missing! And, around mile 5 (according to my watch) all of a sudden there was a big group of fellow 10K runners that came out of nowhere and joined up with us, which I was really confused about. I didn't bother asking them where they came from because now I knew that the course was messed up. Also it didn't help that the 10K and half-marathon runners joined up at several points on the course! Crazy!
All in all, I only ran 5.5 miles when it was supposed to be 6.2! I told people afterwards, "I feel cheated. And I feel like I cheated." haha! Plus, I'm not complaining about the 1-hour 10K time on my record now...although I probably won't count it among my PR's. That would be cheating.
To make up for all of this, I am running another 10K on the 20th. I think I can get a pretty good time on this one, and hopefully their course will be more organized. It's at Las Sendas, which is a uber nice neighborhood in North Mesa. Looking forward to it! 

Can I get a holla?!

I've lost 5 pounds!! Now only 10 more to my goal, I am pretty sure I can do it!!

Holla!!

My secret? Eat less, but eat more of the good stuff. Make sense? Also, get at least 5 days of exercise in. I usually take Fridays and Saturdays off. My pilates class is kicking my butt (literally!!) and then two days at the gym on the treadmill and weights, and then Saturdays I do long runs. This Saturday is London's Run, I'm soooo excited because it was my first real race last year, so it'll be fun to revisit it and reminisce over the last year. Hopefully I can beat my time, but I doubt it. For some reason I am slower now than I was a year ago. I think it might be because of all those long, slow miles I did during marathon training. I've been doing lots of speedwork lately, so hopefully my pace will pick up! I'm predicting a 1hour 10minute finish. We'll see! Hopefully with the help of my Garmin I can keep up a good pace throughout.

Future races- I think I am going to do either the Utah Valley Half OR Full marathon in June. It all depends on whether I get into St George again, which I am really really hoping I do! I won't know until May, though. Also, another prospect is taking a trip up to Logan for a couple of days and doing the Bear Lake half or full. I would LOVE to visit Logan, I haven't been back since I left in 2008. So, it's been way too long. I'm still excited, for whatever I decide to do!

It finally feels like my life is getting in order. I have a wonderful new job, my social life is looking up, school should be easy this semester, basically life can't get any better! Actually...it could. If I had a boyfriend. hahaha!! Other than that, perfect!

My best friend.....

Meet my best friend.

It's a watch, but not just any watch.

It's my Garmin Forerunner 405.

I seriously cannot get enough of this thing!!

That's all.