Ogden Half Marathon

I coerced my friend Heidi into running the Ogden Half Marathon this year so the kids and I headed down to Utah for the weekend. We couldn't have had a better day! The weather was amazing and the run was beautiful and mostly downhill!

Heidi's brother drove this whole group right up to the starting line which was so great because we didn't have to get there at the crack of dawn to catch the shuttles, then wait for an hour out in the cold!

Heidi and I after the race!

Sean and Heidi.

NuMbEr 6 - Woo hoo!

The last of my 6 events for the year was the Mesa Falls Half Marathon. I was a little worried because I've never done more than a 10K, but I actually loved the half. Of course, if I had my way, I would prefer there wasn't a 2 mile stretch of UPHILL, but I definitely have to recommend this half. The first stretch is on a small dirt trail through the National Forest and at the end, they give out free huckleberry milkshakes. What more could you ask for?!

Here are Cathy and I before the half.

And after, still standing!

Numero Cinco!

My 5th event was the RUSH Tri in Rexburg.  I did the Olympic Relay with 2 other friends.  It consisted of a 1mile swim ~ 24mile bike ~ 6.2mile run.  I did the swim, which is first.

I decided to rent a wesuit and was so glad that I did.  I tried it out a few days before up in Victor and was a little worried, because even with the wetsuit, the water was still FREEZING and I was starting to wonder if I could really do this.  Fortunately, Rexburg is quite a bit lower in altitude.  As most people got in and commented on how cold the water was, I was thinking it felt warm compared to the pond in Victor. 

Here we're just heading out to the buoy.  This is where they started us. 

Running to the transition area.

Heading in to pass off the timing chip.

Lyndsey Kunz did the bike. She's amazing.

Here she is handing off the timing chip to Cathy Thomas for the run.

Cathy did the run which was a 10k.  Unfortunately it was pretty similar to the 10k from the DAM Marathon we did earlier this summer, only worse.  Instead of running up the road, they divert you off onto a tiny little dirt trail that shoots straight uphill.  Cathy did awesome.

 After the race.  We came in just barely over 3 hours, but finished 1st out of the womens teams.

Only one more to go!

Training . . . if you can call it that.

As part of my 6 events for this year, I'm doing a Triathlon relay with some friends. I am doing the swim leg, so I needed to work on getting back in swimming shape. Living in Victor, that means getting up around 5am to head over to Jackson, Wyoming to be there when the pool opens at 6am, so I can be home in time for Jason to leave for work.  It's super early and I always dread crawling out of bed, but after I'm done, I feel 100% better. On this morning, I had to stop and get a picture on my way back over the pass. The picture doesn't do it justice, but the view from the top of the sun coming up over the mountains was just amazing.
Another favorite of mine this summer has beeen the few longer running days I've done. I start running at 5:30am. It's still dark then, but one morning there was a lightning storm off in the distance. The sky would light up periodically for a quick second, then go black again. It's an awesome feeling to be out and actually watch the sun rise. For a BRIEF moment, I thought 'I should do this every day.' Then reality set in, which is why I am blogging about this. Hopefully next year when I have NO motivation, I can read this and get my behind out of bed to exercise.

Number Four!

My 4th event was the Tin Cup Challenge in Driggs.  Jason and I both ran.  He had the kids with him and did the 5k.  I ran the 10k. We love the Tin Cup.  It is an amazing community event to raise money for the local non-profit organizations.  The kids loved all the fun activities they had after the run.

Number 3!

The 3rd event for the year ended up being the Teton Dam Marathon 10K. I was hoping to do the marathon relay, but couldn't find 6 people willing to do it until it was already all full, so my friend Cathy and I ended up running the 10K.
Here we are before, even though we drove an hour to get there, I still look like I just woke up.
We waited after to watch our friend Lyndsey finish. She ran the whole 26.2 mile marathon. She did awesome!.
Afterwards. Not sure if I'll do this one again. There was way more uphill than I like, but we did get these cool medals.

TWO DOWN!

I finished my 2nd of the 6 events for the year while on our recent trip to California.
Benicia (my hometown) was having a Run for Education. It was actually a pretty cool and breezy morning which was nice, but I never realized how hilly downtown Benica is.
My brother and I ran the 10K and Jason ran the 5k. It was a great morning! Only 4 more to go!

We had to laugh as everyone was lining up and the announcer called for all the 'runners' to come to the front. Everyone began moving to the front. Realizing what was happening, he then clarified, 'those who run a 5 minute pace line up in front.' At that point, most everyone backed off quite a bit. My goal was to finish in under an hour and I came in at 55:41! Slow for those 'runners' the announcer was speaking of, but just right for me.

Jason, Rob and I before the run!

Numero Uno

ONE DOWN. . .

I made a goal to complete 6 different 'events' this year. Being that I live in snow country events can be hard to come by in the winter months, so when I saw a Snowshoe 5k I thought that would be a great way to start out. Of course I've never done or seen a snowshoe race, so I was a bit unsure of what to expect.
Anne-Marie and Cathy joined me. Here we are before the race. Lucky for us there was about 8 inches of fresh powder ~ just what we needed to give us a really good workout. We had a great time ~ I'm so glad that I tried it out.

It continued to snow the entire race. Here we are after.
We actually took 1st{Cathy}, 2nd{Me} and 3rd{Anne-Marie}. No need to mention how many competitors there were. Let's just say, we weren't the only ones.

Here are Anne-Marie and Cathy cleaning off the car. In the hour and a half we were gone, the car was buried in about 4 inches of snow.

FIVE TO GO!
Next up, 10k in California {how nice it'll be to have warm fingers during the event}!

Turkey Trot

We headed out Thanksgiving morning for the Hailey Turkey Trot. It was a beautiful day and a great start to the Holiday!
Here are Cambrie and Grandma after the trot.

Tin Cup Challenge 2009

I made a goal many months prior to run in the Tin Cup 10K with my friends Heidi and Katie, so when the big day arrived they headed up to the Valley with their families for the race. Even Jason, Jason Howard and the kids were signed up for the 5K. It was a great experience (Jason may beg to differ~he carried 3-4 kids for the majority of the 5K), but we are already looking forward to next years Tin Cup.
The group (minus me & Jason Howard) Sean & Madison were in Cali for a soccer tournament.

Katie, Me & Heidi

Natalie, Cambrie & Ellie~maybe someday they'll be running together!

Lyndsey Natalie, Emma, Tatum, Ellie & Cambrie after the day of festivities.

Salem Spring Tri

BeFoRe ThE rAcE . . .

SwIm . . .
BiKe . . .
RuN!
I finished my first Tri at the end of May and it was an amazing experience. I was really hesitant to sign-up for it, but with some encouragement from my good friend Heidi, I decided to give it a shot. I'm so glad that I did. It was so good for me to have a reason to 'have to' work out every morning for the weeks leading up to the Tri. I even surprised myself how diligent I was at getting up every morning. Jason was extremely supportive which also helped to keep me motivated. My main goals were to enjoy it and to still be standing after crossing the finish line. I enjoyed it so much, I'm already looking forward to next year. Anyone interested??