Who me??

It's a milestone for me.  I have never been "tagged" in anyone's blog before.  Thanks Jen for tagging me.  Jen's blog was one of the first running blogs I came across.  And I enjoy reading hers a lot on a daily basis.  She has a cute daughter that she writes about too and we share a love for Biggest Loser.

The rules of this nomination are:  Tell my readers seven random things about myself as well as pass on the award to seven other great bloggers.

Nominees, in order to accept this award you must:
1. Thank and link back to the person who awarded you
2. Write seven random things about yourself.
3. Award seven other awesome and inspiring bloggers.

So on to the good stuff, 7 random things about myself:

1.  I was born in England.  Not because I was an Army brat or anything.  That's just where my family is from.  To this day I am not an American citizen.  I'm a good 'ole Green Card holder.  The picture in my blog header is one that I took on a recent visit to England.

2.  They filmed the original Beverly Hills 90210 at my high school in Torrance, CA (I moved to Cali when I was 6 years old).  I was also in a couple episodes as an "extra".  Kinda cool if you grew up in the 90210 / Melrose Place era.

3.  I met Princess Diana when I was a little girl.  Shook her hand and everything.  (Also, Prince Charles and Queen Elizabeth II)

4.  I love living in Salt Lake City.  It's seriously a great place to live.  While I am not Mormon (a common first question when people learn where I live) and I don't have any "sister wives" it's a gorgeous place to live and the people here are really nice.

5.  I hate cross training.  Since I no longer have a gym membership I feel like my cross training options are limited.  I really need to get a gym membership again!

6.  Even though I love living in SLC, I would still take the beach over the mountains hands down.

7.  While I haven't even run my first half marathon (however I will be in a few weeks), I'm already thinking about how I would like to run a full marathon one day.  Preferably before I turn 40.  That would be my next big goal.

Tag you're it, while I don't personally know any of your face to face, I really enjoy each of your blogs:

Kimberly at Healthy Strides
Carrie at Family Fitness Food
Fancy Nancy at Living the Dream
Rachelle at Running for Trevor
Kerrie at MOM VS MARATHON
Amanda at Runninghood
Amanda at Run to the Finish

I don't think most of these lovely ladies know about my little blog. But I read all theirs and think they're great!  So pop over and say hello.  I'm also linking up with Jill today for Fitness Friday Blog Hop, pop over there too and share some comment loves.

Do any of you have some tips for making cross training more fun?

Monkey Arms?

As the weather turns to cooler temperatures here in Salt Lake I'm looking to stock up on a few long sleeve shirts for those colder outdoor runs.  As such I picked up a couple this weekend.  Because here in Salt Lake we change seasons pretty much overnight.  So this week the temps are scheduled to drop and I wanted to be prepared. 

So what things does one look for in a long sleeve shirt?

Personally I like the idea of the longer sleeves with the little thumb holes.  The thought of my hands staying toasty warm is nice.  But well .. I guess I kind of have long arms.  Longer than average perhaps?  I've always struggled getting long sleeve shirts that are long enough for my arms.  I guess running gear is no exception.  I picked up this little fancy from Target. I really liked the color.  And the fabric was super soft too.

Can you kind of see where there's a little tension at the thumb joint area?

So I guess instead I won't have my thumb poked in that cute little hole where it will keep me all warm and toasty. Instead there will be this random hole where cool air comes in.  Not good.

Well, I also got another little three quarter zip from Costco.  It also has the cute thumb holes.  I purposefully bought the size large (I'm actually more of a medium) so that I could hopefully get a little more length in the arms.  For said .. MONKEY like arms.  The Costco one was FABULOUS!  Perfectly long enough.  To which I say, maybe my arms aren't monkey-like after all.  I plan to go back and get another color.  I got boring black because, well honestly, there was this older couple totally taking up all the space in front of the display. I reached in and just grabbed the first size L I could see.  I wanted to ask them to please make ROOM for other people who may also want to purchase the cute running shirts for people with MONKEY arms.  And this couple was seriously loading up their cart!

Anyway, I wore the Costco one today on my 4.5 mile lunch run, it was PERFECT.  Not too hot, not to cold.  No weird tension like feeling in my thumb joint.  And I had an AWESOME run.  I even had a lady stop me to ask if I wanted a kitten because she saw one up the trail a little ways.  Umm .. really ma'am I don't want a kitten #1, and #2 do you think I'm going to run with said kitten the 2.25 miles back to work?

Umm .. no .. not so much.  She was a nice old lady though. I wanted to tell her when I passed her on my way back that I never even saw the kitten, therefore we should assume that someone that DID want a kitten picked it up and took it home and gave it a nice warm dish of cream to drink.  The end.

Does anyone else have extra long arms?  Like those that could be compared to Apes?

Week 6 - Complete

So week 6 of my Half Marathon training is complete. 

Observations in Bullets:

• The first mile of my short runs (this week 2 miles total) feel SO hard.  Yet, when I do twice the total distance the other days those first 2 weren't as hard.  Definitely mind over matter.  Clearly knowing I only had to do 2 made it seem like they should be REALLY easy.
• My calves felt a little sore this week.
• Today when I did my long run (6 miles) the last 3 felt easier than the first.

So basically I'm really kind of buying in to the whole distance running is half a mental challenge.  I'm getting that now.  While I haven't run any miles on the treadmill lately, it's almost making me nervous for when I don't have any choice but to log some mill runs.  Am I ruining myself?  I used to LOVE my treadmill and had absolutely no problem running 6 miles on there.  We shall see.

This weeks plan called for the following:

Monday  -  Yoga.  It was easy and I have to admit I really enjoy Yoga Monday's.

Tuesday - Run 4 miles.  I ran by work and it was a little sluggish.

Wednesday - Run 2 miles.  I felt really sluggish but then it was over.  A little dodging and weaving around classrooms of children.

Thursday - Run 4 miles.  It felt good to get out this day.

Friday - Rest day and rest I did!

Saturday - Cross train 40 minutes.  I didn't do a thing.  I'm not good at this cross training stuff.  It feels like such a chore to get it in and Saturday's are so busy for me.  I need to think about how to get better at this.

Sunday - Run 6 miles.  I was up at 6:45am and my friend Rebecca picked me up.  We headed down to our usual spot and logged the miles quickly.  We tried our first round of "fuel".  Blueberry/Pomegranate GU Chomps.  They were tasty.  Sweet .. but tasty.  Well .. okay .. they weren't gross.

I can't believe that we have passed the halfway point in our training and it just gets harder.  I keep questioning whether my body can handle it.  I read blogs by all these other runners and the vast majority of them are so much younger than me. I never really thought of myself as "old" but kind of I do these days.  I will be turning 37 exactly 1 week prior to race day.  Gosh I feel old.  I beat up my body as a teenager.  I played all kinds of sports including softball, basketball, volleyball,  and swimming.  The softball took a serious toll on my body I think. I have bad knee's because of it.  So now I wonder if I've ruined parts of me.  Not to mention I've carried 4 babies and had 4 c-sections, the last one was less than a year ago.  But I am a classic Type-A personality. I will push myself because basically I get a rush out of doing it.  Plus I'm uber competitive.  And it feels good to be pushing myself athletically again.

I digress .. again.  So this week we're upping things again.  Here's what we've got on the schedule, I'd be lying if I said it didn't intimidate me.

Monday - Yoga
Tuesday - 4.5 mile run
Wednesday - 3 mile run
Thursday - 4.5 mile run
Friday - Rest
Saturday 50 min cross train, I really hope to get on the bike
Sunday - 7 mile run (I've never run that far in my life)

From this weeks long run on, they will all be distance PR's for me. 

Deep breath ...

I'm a little scared.

Oh .. but look at my cute family!  We took some family pictures last weekend and I love how they turned out.  These weren't professional (I feel like I should point that out).

SoJo and Training Plan Update

I have been such a blog slacker this week.  I'm having major computer issues .. that's my only excuse.  I ran in the SoJo 5k last Saturday.  I was feeling super torn about what do do as far as my half marathon training plan. It called for 6 miles.  I didn't want to not follow my plan.  So in the end I opted to run the 5k route two times.  It was kind of funny actually.  I ran the first pass through the route with my BRF Rebecca.  She is who I will be running with in Vegas. So it's always good for us to practice running together. 

This was a decent event. They were also having a full marathon and a half marathon.  It was a nice 8am start and it was the first race I've run close to home. Literally like 6 minutes from my house.  So I got up at 7am and had myself a couple slices of toast with peanut butter (my favorite race morning food).  Jeramie was working and the kids had slept over at a couple grandparents houses.  So it was just me.  I have to admit it was kind of nice getting up and only having to worry about myself.  I didn't have to stress about trying to wear my mommy hat and my runners hat at the same time.  I don't often go anywhere that I don't have either one of my kids or my husband with me. Being that I didn't get married until my early thirties I'm kind of used to having quite a bit of independence. Even though I was a single mom, when Baylee was younger she was extra good all the time no matter where we would go.  I digress ....

So I arrived at the park and met up with Rebecca.  She was all amped up for the race.  I was cool as a cucumber. I dunno.  My 5k's no longer make me nervous at all.  I am sure things will be different in Vegas.  No pee stops .. no poo stops .. nothing.  We lined up and off we went.  Rebecca's husband, Marius was running his first race ever.  And he bolted out in front, good for him though because he finished 2nd in his age group. Not bad for a Virgin.

So back to my race.  The first time around the course was super easy.  I was pacing Rebecca.  She wanted to finish with no less than an 11:30 pace.  She was running fast though.  I made a mental note at the time that I really need to make sure that in Vegas that I stick to our plan, which is NOT to go out too fast.  I don't want either one of us running out of gas.  Our goal .. to NOT WALK. Once we ran through the chute it felt good.  We gave eachother a high five and then I said, "Okay, I'm going again!"  And off I went.  I just ran the exact same course a second time.  I knew I'd get over my 6 miles in that way.  I felt great that second time too.  I didn't slow down at all, just kept on at the same pace.  As I closed in on the finish line again it was kind of funny. I got a lot of "good jobs" from folks.  I'm sure they thought I was dead last.  All in all it was a great race day.  Rebecca got a PR.  My legs felt really strong.

Oh and I LOVED my outfit.  I felt super cute.  I wore my short white skirt, which is a little shorter than I like but I still felt great.  My socks made the outfit anyway.  They were grey with white polka dots.  And I got one whopping compliment on them.  Yay!

Have any of you ever run a course twice just to get in your scheduled run?

Five Things Friday

Since I haven't mastered the ability to post daily I'm loving this Five Things Friday concept.  I can dump my thoughts over the week into one big post.  So here we go ...

1.  Last night as I was watching the end of Private Practice I saw the teaser for the evening news.  It read, "Weightloss Code Cracked".  My jaw dropped.  Really?  Seriously?  Why do they put this crap on the news?  These kinds of things always get my blood to instant boil.  It makes me so mad that people are this stupid.  I hate that the media contributes to this ongoing misconception.  There is NO CODE people.  There is no secret!  It's simple.

A.  Eat Less

Don't eat the super size of everything.  Eat until you are satisfied, not grossly full.

I'm not saying you can't ever eat a Big Mac.  Just not for lunch 5 days a week.

B.  Eat Fresh

Avoid a lot of the processed stuff.

Fruits and Vegetables .. a great place to start.

C.  Get some Exercise

Move your body.  You don't have to run marathons right away. Just get moving.

Why do people act like losing weight is some secret?  Some code that needs to be cracked?  I wish all these pills and potions that promise weight loss went through some more vigorous testings or had to be doctor prescribed .. something.  And I get that there are exceptions.  My own daughter is an exception. But for the vast majority of the countries population it's really this simple.

2.  I really wish that more race organizers were publishing 2012 race dates.  I am itching to plan next year and there are few places that have dates announced yet.  So far I'm thinking the following as far as "bigger" races.  Remember I'm only running my first half marathon in December.

April 2012 - Salt Lake City Half Marathon

June 2012 - Run Like a Girl Half Marathon (Boise, ID)

August 2012 - Hobble Creek Half Marathon (Springville, UT)

October 2012 - The Pink Series Half Marathon  (Park City, UT)

I feel like these are spread out pretty well.  I would also like to try and sign up for one of the Disney Half Marathon's that registration opens up for in early 2012 for the following year.

3.  I have a new favorite and somewhat addictive website I've been frequenting.  Running Warehouse.  This week I ordered a running jacket, some Winter pants, gloves and a pony hat.  I was SO close to ordering some pants and a jacket from Lululemon because I adore everything on their website. But they're SO pricey.  For about half of what I would have spent at Lululemon I got all that other stuff from Running Warehouse.  I will eventually order from Lululemon because their stuff is SO darn cute. But for now I needed to make that money go farther in preparation for a Utah Winter of running.  But I REALLY want one of these and one of these.  And I haven't quite figured out this store versus showroom deal?  Apparently we have a showroom here in SLC, but it's not an actual store. I need to pop over there one day and check it out.  And also, why do things disappear off their website so quickly?  There one day, gone the next.

4.  I'm proud of myself today.  I had Subway for lunch. And while I was tempted to order a $5 Footlong.  Because (a) I can eat the whole thing and (b) it's such a good deal!  But alas, I held back and ordered only a 6 inch and got a bag of baked Lays to go with it.  While I knew I COULD eat the footlong, I also knew I SHOULDN'T eat the footlong.  So I took the option away.  Because let's be honest, if I had bought the footlong because it was a good deal with the "plan" to only eat half .. I would have eaten the whole thing because it tastes so darn good.  So I consider that an eating success today.

5.  I began a Running Journal.

There are so many things I come across on all the blogs I read that I want to remember and so I book mark the whole post so that I can refer back to it.  But then I also come across little pieces of info in my Runners World magazines that I want to remember too.  I also remember coming across a post by someone else about their own running journal and so I figured this would really be a good thing for me. I can write down the little tid bits.  And cut and past anything bigger that I want to refer back to. So far I'm loving it.  And my hope is that it will make me a better runner.

I'm linking up this happy Friday over with Jill at Fitness Friday Blog Hop.  So hop on over and share some comment love!!  Also, if this is your first visit to see me .. thanks for stopping by, I hope that I didn't bore you, please come again soon!

Does anyone else get irritated with all the miracle weight-loss drugs??

Dirty Dash 10K 2011 - Recap

The day had come where we would cross paths with the mud.

I was running the Dirty Dash with my husband, brother and sister in law.

Rachel and I in our custom made tu-tu's.

 Evan and Jeramie in their .. well ..their cute cutoffs?

It was SO cold.  The folks that we had coming up to cheer us on weren't there yet.  So this meant that we had to lose any extra layers at the car and head over to the starting line.  We were in the first wave, which meant a 9am start.  Solider Hollow is up in the Wasatch Mountains so to say the air was crisp was an understatement. I kept making Jeramie wrap his arms around me so that I would maintain some degree of warmth.  Ahead of us we had a muddy hill.  There were so many people at the starting line too.  So we started to make our way to the middle of the pack.  Next thing I knew the gun had gone off and off we went.  Jeramie was the first to slip on the muddy hill.  I was wearing my old trail runner shoes and amazingly had a decent amount of grip under my feet.  Once we made it up the hill the entire crowd gridlocked.  There was basically a passage where you could only walk single file.  At the time we were so cold and ready to run that we were frustrated by this so early in the race.  However once we passed through it actually worked out really well because it forced the crowd to thin and so the course wasn't crowded at all the rest of the way.

We encountered innumerable obstacles:

hay bales

cement tunnels to crawl through

entire pools of COLD muddy water

pools of water with poles you had to climb over

more hay bales

climbing walls you had to go over or crawl through muddy water under

snow blowers

lots of hills

a half mile swamp

rope wall

swing on a rope

and 6.2 miles of crazy amazing fun

There was a 5k short cut but we were all runners and there was no need for a short cut.

This race was the most fun I have had in a long time. 

We laughed non-stop.

And I kept thinking to myself, just don't get injured, just don't get injured.

As I had started my training for my first half marathon in a couple months.

It did not feel like 6.2 miles at all.

While my hands were frozen little Popsicle's at first I think they thawed out after about the first mile.

Jeramie and I jumping in the last big pool of muddy water.

 Me hamming it up for the camera.

 Here's our group.

We ran pretty much most of the way, other than walking through the swamp.

There was a lot of "jog it out, jog it out" being said as we ran up the hills.

 I seriously can't wait to do this again next year.  Maybe even both times (Spring and Fall).

Even for someone that thinks it looks fun this race is great.  It's not serious.  There were a lot of walkers.

I almost forgot the slip and slide too.  That was really fun.  I guess I was slippery because I made it almost the whole way down the slide whereas most people only got about halfway down.

Then there were the balance beams that I literally ran across.

I have to admit I liked hearing Rachel refer to Evan and I as "Howard Super Genes".

She and Jeramie went a little slower across the balance beams.

I guess us Howard's are just good balancers.

Then when I ran she called me a "show off".

Guess some things don't change.

This race was pure fun!

Our official times was like 1:30, but who cares.