Ummmm...that BUGS!

Ok...so maybe there are too many stupid things that bug me. But....boys running with their shirts off is one of them. GRRRRRR! Flabby blabby or six pack and sexy I don't give a hoot! I CANT FREAKIN RUN WITH MY SHIRT OFF SO WHY SHOULD YOU! Ok....maybe I'm just jealous that other people can find time or energy to go running. (since I apparently cant with my two kids and commuting husband.) But...I am not changing my opinion EVER! and I mean it!

I mean...HONESTLY!

Have you ever been in a conversation with a bunch of women and felt like raising your hand and asking...Hello? What planet am I on? When did women talk only about shopping and hair? Come ON! Have I EVER bought a pair of shoes over 50$ no. Do I really only get a shower every other day...or every three days? YES! Ok so how normal does that make me? VERY! So since I'm not running very much anymore I am dedicating my blog to the discussion of something more important.....HOW NORMAL AM I....honestly! Ok so being a mother of 2 and driving a mini van at age 26 makes me pretty not so normal anyway! (ok outside of Utah!)

I took 4th in my Division!!! Woohooo!!!!

Not too bad for my first race post baby...and the winner of the whole race was in my division (she was freakin fast!!!)

Place	Name	City	Bib No	Age	Overall	Chip Time	Gun Time	Diff	Time Back	Pace
1	Rena Chesser		828	25	1	18:41.8	18:43.5	0:01.7		6:02/M
2	Michael Nelson	Lehi UT	397	26	4	19:50.9	19:53.3	0:02.4	1:09.8	6:25/M
3	Jillian Himes	Provo UT	157	26	25	23:56.7	23:59.2	0:02.5	5:15.7	7:44/M
4	Melissa Reber	Provo UT	353	25	40	25:21.4	25:34.9	0:13.4	6:51.4	8:15/M
5	Amber Hampshire	Draper UT	221	26	48	25:51.6	26:05.4	0:13.7	7:21.9	8:25/M
6	Suzy Taylor	Saratoga Sprgs UT	171	28	53	26:23.1	26:36.3	0:13.1	7:52.8	8:35/M
7	Cally Gillman	Lehi UT	113	27	66	27:28.4	27:28.4		8:44.9	8:52/M
8	Rebekah Rasmussen		833	28	77	28:03.1	28:03.1		9:19.6	9:03/M
9	Jamie Christensen	Lehi UT	419	28	81	28:10.1	28:10.1		9:26.6	9:05/M
10	Rebecca Roesler	Midvale UT	394	29	83	26:37.8	28:11.5	1:33.7	9:28.0	9:05/M
11	Natalie Marquez	Riverton UT	539	26	86	27:38.5	28:27.0	0:48.4	9:43.5	9:11/M

Breaking the Halfway Point!! 14 miler

14!!!!!!

Well I officially broke the half marathon point in training. 14 miles.....8 hills...and two silver dollar sized blisters later. The sad part is that my blisters didn't even hurt by the end of my run because my legs were so tired they were practically numb. This run was definitely a major mental milestone for me too. Last time I did this I was running with two running partners.(love U Mia and Maren!) So the miles were filled with girly banter and laughter even when we were so tired we felt like crying. Now that its just me and my I pod I have to push myself to keep going. I never knew I would feel so competitive running against myself. So here I am 14 miles behind me....next long run will be 16..then 18...and then I am officially in marathon shape. ( I wish my body actually looked it!) Special thanks to my fabulous husband for putting the kids to bed...yet again...so I could torture myself of my own free will.
I do have to comment on one more thing. Now that I am running for two hours at a time I have lots of time to notice things around me. You'd think that because I am running through Provo (especially SOUTH provo) that there is not a lot to look at....but man the Mountains are so beautiful. As I ran up the LOOONG hill towards the Provo temple yesterday It took my breath away. The temple nestled into the mountains almost brought me to tears. (being pushed to exhaustion helped) Not to mention all the tulips and cherry blossoms. God sure is an amazing artist.

AterGater

AterGater....my word for Gatorade! I don't really know where or when it became a permanent part of my vocabulary but all I know is that NOTHING is better than any icy bottle of gatorade on a long run......Its like happiness in a bottle to a dehydrated body! I managed to run 12.1 miles on Saturday. It felt longer. But I am still going farther each week so....I guess I am going in the right direction. Thank you ATERGATER....I couldn't do it with out you.

A Spoonful of Sugar....

Thanks to my bff Maria (for those who don't know her...we work together and ran the SLC marathon together in 06) We ran together tonight for the first time since we had our babies. (her Ayda is 10 months..my Jeffy is 7 1/2 months) It was SOOOOO fun. I forgot how running with a buddy makes the miles go by sooo much faster and 100 times funner. Now...if I could only sing, play the piano, the violin, and play basketball like she does. Regardless....it was a nice change of pace to my sad solo training with my ipod!

11 miles....Oooops

I ventured out tonight with one hour of daylight.....and ten miles to run. It was FREEZING. It felt like February! Leave it to me to run on the one ICY night in april! But....by mile 7 I was toasty warm and feeling GREAT! So great that I forgot to turn around and run home. OOPS! So at about mile 7.5....I turned back for home...in the dark. I was so excited to get home and realize I averaged under a 9 minute mile.....over 11 miles! Hooray! I have been so discouraged because I took a month off for vacation and stuf. So NOW I finally feel like I am back on track....next week I tackle the half marathon!

8 miles..0k 7.9

So I thought I'd start back after my month long running sabbatical with a 10 miler for my long run...Yeah Right! It wasn't even 8 miles before I though I was going to die. It was an interesting run that was doomed from the start.....I didn't take anything to drink. No WONDER! I did run over the bridge by the bell tower at BYU for the first time in my life, almost puked 5 times, and narrowly missed being road kill by some punk 17 year old going 50 coming out of a parking lot by BYU! ( should have got his plates#) Ok...so my next run will be ten miles.

STARTING AGAIN!!!

Ok so we've been out of town and crazy busy the last month so I just starting running again. Depressing that I have to start back at 10 mile long runs? YES! But I am going to try and skip the 11 and 13 mile weeks and jump 2 miles a week on my long runs since I have hopefully maintained some of my previous cardio conditioning....as for dieting....FORGET IT! let me list why I have absolutely no chance......

1. Leftover easter candy....I love marshmellow peeps....and they only come once a year!!!
2. Teddy Grahms.....they're cute and tasty!
3. Traveling.....who doesn't eat snacks on the road
4. I'm FREAKIN TIRED! Jeffy rarely sleeps through the night..little stinker!
5. Still nursing a hungry baby boy....so I'm STARVING ALL THE TIME!
6. My daughter discovered a love for cheetos....CRAP! Thank heavens for 100 calorie packs!
7. Even fat free pringles are addicting! So they aren't only "70 calories" if you eat 3/4 the can!

well.....oh well!
Hats off to all you moms out there that can diet...YOU'RE MY HERO's!

Paula Radcliffe.....the SUPERMOM!

Ok I HAD to post this picture! What kind of amazing woman wins the NYC marathon 10 months after HAVING A BABY! INCREDIBLE! Apparently this is one of many marathons she has won.....but the others were PRE baby so I think this is probably her bet one yet. She said when she was running she chanted to herself "I love you Isla" (thats her babies name!) ....I'm inspired!

week one down.....fifteen to go!

I finished the first week of training............ 15 total miles

BUT it wasn't with out some serious reflection:

First....I have failed at dieting this week so I have decided that putting a sleep deprived mommy on a diet is almost IMPOSSIBLE....I'll try harder next week!\

Seccond....is it healthy to train for a marathon after 10 pm every night on 5 hours of sleep?

Third.....Is it really possible to run a LOOOOONG run while I'm nursing a baby?....3 hours and I'm going to be bursting at the seams! I suppose maybe i'll be making a milkshake! (hahhahah.....at least I thought that was funny!)

Fourth....as proud of myself as I am.....there is always someone who makes you look bad.....This week I read about the winner of the NYC 2007 Marathon who had a baby 10 months Prior! Good CRAP! Thats AMAZING!....

Visual motivation activity of the week:

Picture Giselle Bunchen walking the runway in the all diamond VS bra and panties.....then I put my head on her body! Dang I'm SEXY with those mile long legs! ......and so I got through my 5 mile run faster than I expected.
(this is one of the only MODEST pictures I could find!) Isn't she BEAUTIFUL!

Good Bye Sugar...Soda...and ....yes...Pizza!

Ok...so I have been using the excuse that I am (a) recovering from having a baby...and (b) breastfeeding to eat pretty much whatever I want...but now...I am saying goodbye. I am doing it on my blog so I feel accountable. Now that I am officially in week one of training and I want to run a faster marathon than last time...it's time to get down to buisness! SAD! Except for once cheat I can't give up....Jelly Bellies! Here goes my quest to look like a high school cheerleader (in body not brain) again! BRING IT ON! (If I have 6 kids that means I only have to do this 4 more times! AHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!!!!)

Inspiration.....DIET COKE

Now this is going to seem just plain silly but....i'll do anything to finish a run! When I get tired I imagine myself in one of those grossly optimistic happy Diet Coke commercials...surrounded by those happy little bubbles.....try it! I just imagine that my whole body is filling up with bubbles and I feel light as a feather! Call me Crazy....but it works for me! (PS: there is NOTHING Like a diet coke when your kids have been screaming all day!...maybe thats WHY this works for me!)
PSS: It's sort of sad that I used this trick today to get me through 4 MILES!.....WOW..I have a long way to go!

Here We GO AGAIN!!!

Well...my baby is 4 1/2 months old. I got a new i-pod and the nike + sport kit for Christmas.
So here I go again...on the start line of Marathon training!
Am I crazy to do this AGAIN? Maybe. But there is nothing quite like crossing that finish line. ....knowing you pushed your body and spirit to the absolute limit. I am not running to win...or even to be competitive at this point....just to do it and know I can! (and to loose the last stubborn 5 lbs of post baby fat!) So here goes......a new race ....a new journey! BRING IT ON!