Halloween Half Marathon

So I did it!  I've completed my first half marathon.  I have a lot of positive and negative emotions about my first half.  I trained for my half for about two months.  The race was downhill so I set a goal of 3 hrs, but now looking back at my training a 3 hr finish was really pushing it.

I woke up the morning of the half marathon not feeling that great.  I felt the beginnings of a sinus infection coming on.  I woke up nauseous mainly because of the infection.  I really wasn't that nervous.  The thought of food just made me feel blah.  I threw a banana in my bag along w/ some extra hammer gels.  I started getting a little bit of an appetite once we got up to the race start so I ate a banana and one packet of hammer gel.

Once the race started, I was feeling pretty good until I hit mile 5.  I started gagging really bad.  I thought it was weird since this has never happened during any of my training runs.  I figured it was probably just drainage from my sinus infection.  I had it for 2 miles and then it relaxed a bit.  I started to get really sore by mile 8.  There were times I thought about calling my husband to have him come get me...lol!  When I hit mile 10, I just plan HURT, especially in my right foot.  I physically couldn't run after mile 11.  I was so disappointed, but I couldn't do it.  Plus I started gagging once again.  Stupid sinus infection!  Somewhere between mile 12-13 I started running again.

I was so glad to see that finish line!  For some reason, I just wanted to cry because I was finally there but I didn't.  My official time was  3:28:57.  Not even close to 3 hrs, but I'll take it!  To make myself feel better, there were 6 people behind me.

My thoughts during this race was I'm never running another half marathon!  Thats not true since I'm already signed up for one in May!  I'm sure it will be better since it won't be as bad as a downhill.  Those first 5 miles were the hardest!!!  Plus I have 6 months to train for the next one.

Here I go!

I've decided to run a half marathon after all!  A bunch of my friends want to do the Provo Halloween Half Marathon so I thought it would be fun to do it with them.  I won't be actually running with them since I run at a much slower pace, but it will still be fun!

I'll be doing the half marathon using 3/2 run-walk intervals.  The goal is to finish even though I'd like to cross the finish line in 3-3.5 hrs.

Here is a quick overview of my training plan:

Week of September 19th -
Tuesday - 4 miles , Thursday - 4.5 miles, and Saturday - 6 miles
Week of September 26th -
Tuesday - 4 miles, Thursday - 4.5 miles, and Saturday - 8 miles
Week of October 3th -
Tuesday - 4 miles, Thursday - 4.5 miles, and Saturday - 4 miles (Love Your Body 6K)
Week of October 10th -
Tuesday - 4.5 miles, Thursday - 4.5 miles, and Saturday - 10 miles
Week of October 17th -
Tuesday - 4.5 miles, Thursday - 4.5 miles, and  Saturday - 8 miles
Week of October 24th -
Tuesday - 4 miles, Thursday - 30 minute walk, and Saturday - RACE DAY!

I'm also running on my treadmill on the short run days (Tues & Thurs) and Saturday I'm running outside so my body gets adjusted to it.  Plus it gives me a chance to figure out my fueling for the race.

5 miler

Last Saturday, I ran 5 miles.  It is part of my half marathon training plan which I will go more into in another post.  It was a really good run and think I kept my pace pretty well.  The only problem I ran into is my water tasting like plastic so I got slightly dehydrated on my run.  I'm currently working on getting the plastic taste out of my bottles.
The other fun thing that happened on my run was a saw a snake.  I've gotten used to barking dogs but didn't think I'd run into a snake.  I kind of wish I had my camera with me.  I keep on telling Nate that it was a rattlesnake just to be dramatic.  I'm sure it was just a garden snake though.

Giveaway!!!

A friend of mine is doing a giveaway of one of my favorite products: Handful Bra!  The giveaway is only until Thursday, September 9th so if you are interested so check out her blog!

Onion Days 5K

I decided to do this race even though I was out of shape.  It was so close to home that I HAD to do it!

I woke up at 5:45am w/ the runs.  Blah!  Not fun.  The good news is that it went away right before the race.  I blame the cookies I ate the night before. 

The race started a little after 7am.  It was pretty chilly out.  When I left for the 5K, it was about 43 degrees...brrr!  I got to say I prefer running in cooler weather though! While running this race I realized why some people wear sun visors.  There was a good stretch of this race where the sun was in my eyes.  I'm thinking I may get one for my next race.

I decided to keep my pace slow for this race since I've slacked off on training for the past month.  I ended up finishing at 39:56.  Definitely not a PR, but I'm going to work towards getting back to a 35 minute 5K!!!!

Pioneer Day 5K

On Saturday I ran the Pioneer Day 5K w/ my friend, DaNae.  My husband usually runs races with me but he has to watch our son & his eight year old brother that we were watching for a few days.  He did take some awesome pictures of me though!!!

Race morning we got the kiddo's up at 6 o'clock in the morning.  It was easier than I had originally thought.  We got there about 20 minutes before the race started.  Ten minutes before I had to go to the bathroom.  I found the port-a-potties but the line was crazy long and there was only four potties.  A few minutes before the race started I decided to give up on waiting for a potty.  I didn't have to go that bad.  Kind of stinks to run with a semi full bladder though.

The race started and I stayed with my friend, DaNae, for the first mile of the race.  Then I went ahead.  This race was different then the other 5K's I've ran because they actually had water stations on the 5K course.  Before this race, I had only trained for two weeks since the past month or so have been crazy.  I finished the race at 38:26.  Definitely not a PR, but still felt good about the race.

Wanna get DIRTY?

...then this race is for you!

Doesn't it look like fun?

Still alive!

It has almost been a month since I last posted.  The past few weeks have been CRAZY!  Between a trip to St. George, family reunion, visits from family, funeral, and a cold that doesn't seem to end I haven't been able to get much running in.  Sad to say I haven't ran in the past two weeks.

I'm hoping to get back into running next week through once I'm all better.  At least I hope to be better by then.  I really do miss my morning runs.

I have put running a half marathon on the back burner though.  I've made a new goal though to improve on my 5K time and I'd love to do a 10K by the time cold weather hits.  I have updated my list of races I'd like to run and ANYONE is welcome to join me.  I love company!

Awesome shirts!

I just wanted to show off the shirts we got from running the Blood Run.  I love the design!  On the back it says "blood run" and all the sponsors.  I love running, but also LOVE getting new tee shirts too!!!!

Blood Run 5K

We woke up at 5am to get ready for this race.  It started at 7am so we had to leave pretty early to make it there to check in and all.  When we left it was raining out and a chilly 48 degrees.  It was still raining when we got there, but we were so lucky because 10 minutes before the race the rain stopped.  That made my day.  Not a fan of running in the rain when it is cold out.

The race was a REALLY good one.  The course was pretty flat which I liked!  They also labeled the course really well.  There would be a sign for every .5 miles.  I had to stop to walk twice, but still was able to get a PR!  35:31 My wonderful husband got some shots of me running.  Our camera isn't the greatest, but I think they came out ok.

Right after I crossed the finish line.  I actually finished at 35:31.  I'm the one in pink!

When I reached the finish line I swore I was going to puke!  I really pushed myself hard to get that PR!  Luckily I didn't get sick.  Yay!  After the race, they did a ton of giveaways.  Nate (my husband) won two gift certificates to jump on it for one hour.  Our son will LOVE that!  Oh and we also got a pretty awesome finisher medal.  Super cool in my book!

Me, with my medal for finishing the race.  I actually came in 8th place in women ages 19 -29.  I'm pretty proud of that!

After our race, we rewarded ourselves with this:

McDonalds Egg Mcmuffin!  YUM!  Don't mind my post-run crazy hair!

National Running Day!

I know it was on Wednesday, June 2nd.  I've been a little slow on my blogging lately.

On Wednesday, my husband worked mainly from home.  While my son was at summer camp, we were able to run together.  I thought it would be fun to run around a lake that is a mile from us.  We ended up doing 2 miles which is what I'm scheduled to do for my 10k/half marathon training plan.  I really enjoyed running with someone else.  I don't get to do that very often.

I hope everyone else was able to go out and get a run in!  I'm excited I have another 5k coming up in a week!!!!

I am in LOVE!

Yes, I found a store bought bread that I absolutely LOVE!  My favorite part is that it is 100% natural.  It has NO high fructose corn syrup which I have been trying to eat as little as possible of that stuff.  I have to be honest this bread is kind of pricey $3.68 a loaf but so worth it for the taste and knowing that it is healthier for you!!!!

I know the best way to go is to make your own bread, but I'm too lazy for that... hahaha!  Seriously, this stuff is delicious!  Go try some and you'll be a believer!!!!  They also have so many other kinds of bread other than honey wheat.

If you read my blog...

please become a "follower"! I like to have an idea who is actually reading my blog. Thanks!!!

Payson Region 5K

(This is a post race picture since we forgot our camera.)

It started out being a not so good morning.

1. I found out that my time of the month had started (sorry TMI for any guys out there).
   
2. Soon after I woke up I saw it was raining pretty hard. I'm not a fan of running in the rain when it is in the 30's outside.
   
3. As I was getting ready, I remembered that my forerunner GPS was dead. I wanted to use it so bad for my race.

All of that made me want to crawl back into bed. I didn't though. I just spent some time with the heating pad & took some Advil with breakfast. We left the house around 7:00 am. The race was at 8am.

Anyways, we got to the race location which was at an LDS church. It was a Stake region 5K. We signed in & got our race stuff. It was SOOO cold out that we went to our van to stay warm. Ten minutes before the race started we got out of the van to warm up. Then about 5 minutes before the race started I had to use the bathrooms. I ran as fast as I could to the bathroom in the Church and luckily had plenty of time to do my business and make it back outside again.

Once I got outside I noticed it had stopped raining. What a blessing that was especially since it was already so cold out. I hung out at the back of the race line since I'm slow I didn't want to get trampled...lol! The horn went off...and off I went.

As I was running I found a woman that was running just my pace. I made it a goal to keep up with her. I ran with her for a good while. As we were running, we saw a sign that said " 1 mile run -- turn around." I knew that sign was for the 1 mile runners, but I also thought it meant I had already gone 1 mile...nope now I know it meant .5 miles. LOL!

Usually when I run at home I do 5 minute run/2 minute walk intervals. This time I decided to TRY and run the whole time. I kept giving myself little goals that I had to pass then I'd say to myself I could run a little bit longer. Soon I had passed that woman that I was running with. Toward the end, I decided to try to walk for a minute. It didn't feel right. My muscles had gotten so use to running that was the only thing that felt comfortable. So I kept on running!!!

My goal was to get around 40 minutes since my last 5K was 45 minutes. When I got close I saw my husband yelling at me, "GO Jen"! I turned the corner and saw the race clock was under 40 minutes. Thats when I sprinted FAST! I finished at 38:02! I beat my last time by 7 minutes. I was also proud that I was able to run the whole time.

Overall the race was pretty good. The morning started out bad, but getting a PR made up for it! I also felt great during my race; no cramps or anything else. I'm excited for my next race in June!!!!

Running PAYS!

Seriously, it does!

(Don't mind how HORRIBLE I look in the picture)

Saturday morning I went for a run outside. It was such a beautiful morning for a run too. Everything was seriously perfect. Anyways, I was almost to the end of my 3 mile run and I see a folded up five dollar bill in front of the local JR high school. SCORE! Made $5 on my run. So I get home to tell my husband that I got paid to run...LOL. Well I unfolded the money and there was a $20 dollar bill too. DOUBLE SCORE! That made my perfect run even more PERFECT!!!!

AF Halloween 5K Fun Run

This is a little bit of a flashback. I ran this race in October '09.

I ran it w/ my husband and a close friend of mine. I remember being SOOO nervous that I hardly ate all day. My thoughts were "what if I got lost?" and "what if I was the very last person to cross the finish line?". None of those happened.


This course starts off running into the AF cemetery where you are running downhill. This gets you all excited, but the kicker is you hit this same hill coming back. It was quite a climb. It was a very enjoyable run!

I ended up finishing the race at 45:17.5 . At that point, I was running a 15 minute pace. I was happy w/ my time but I hope to be faster this year.

Here I am...

Thanks to an old college classmate I have decided to start up a running blog.

You can follow my journey as I go from running 5K's to 10K's then my end goal this running season is to run at least one half marathon.