Chiropractic 5K

I hate 5k's. They are so hard. There's no easing into things. There's no warm up time. It's just balls to the wall (as Janz's grandpa puts it!) from the very beginning. I don't know how to pace myself really well and as a result I usually either go out too fast or too slow. But I have told myself that I need to do more of these smaller races to gain experience, use them as a sort of speed work, and overcome my fears. Truthfully, before last December, I had only run 1 5k in my life. And it was for a dear friend who had lost her son. He had been an organ donor and we did it in his honor. I was injured and my time was not great (31 something...) and I had no desire to do another. Well I guess I did a Santa Run 5k but that was just for the pictures and the cookies and milk. And we finished that in 31:49.

This year I've done 3 now. (26:40, 28:36 (barefoot), 27:25) And this one was the one that I felt the most pressure behind it. The chiropractor that I've gone to in the past to help with my IT band issues was putting on a 5k. They do it to raise funds for the pregnancy center in our town. I've had a really good relationship with my chiropractor. He's been so good to help with my issues. But he's not sold on the barefoot running thing so I felt like I had something to prove. Pretty silly, I know. So I showed up in my running sandals ready to go. Truthfully, I didn't know how it was going to go. You just never know what kind of running day it's going to be.

The "before" picture. Me, Jodi, and Robyn

I started off at a comfortable fast pace. There were a couple of times in the first mile that I wanted to go faster but wasn't sure if I could sustain it or not so I backed off. But after the mile and a half marker I just let it go. There were some good uphills as well as downhills, nothing too major, just slight inclines. And on the last 1/2 mile uphill I pushed it. I'm a little better on the inclines than the declines. I was coming up on a girl I knew was in my age group who I never thought I'd ever be able to keep up with. I was feeling the need to puke because I was pushing it so hard. I contemplated backing off. But just decided to keep going. I was on a crazy mission to see what I could do, what I could physically and mentally push through. So I began dry heaving while I was running. Not a pretty picture I'm sure. I caught up to her, said hi, and passed slowly. She caught up to me and passed me. Now I am not a competitive person, but I wasn't in the mood to be passed at this point in the race. So I picked it up and passed her. Another girl caught up. Pretty soon we were in a 3 way sprint to the finish. I came in second in that little fight but ahead of the girl in my age group. It was a pretty exciting finish! I didn't even hear my time but I filled out my card and went over to get a drink. It wasn't until about 15 minutes later that I found my time card and discovered that I'd won 3rd in my age group and scored a new PR of 24:50. Shocked doesn't even begin to explain what I was thinking. And really worry because I don't know if I'll ever beat that!

Jodi and I both took 3rd in our age groups!

I had a nice chat with my Dr. and it was good to catch up. I don't know how he feels about barefoot running, but he said it was obviously doing good things for me. I passed my year mark of barefoot and minimalist running a couple of weeks ago and I still need to do a post on that.

After the awards Jodi and I downed some chocolate milk and headed over to the bike/hiking trail that I've been building. It was the city's grand opening of the trail now that we have over a 2 mile loop completed. We ran it and though my legs were feeling a bit sluggish, we enjoyed the views and the conversation. It was a long day and by the end I was exhausted. Who knew a 5k could take so much out of you!

How do you feel about shorter races?

Love them or do you long for distance? I have to say that I long for distance but there was a definite feeling of accomplishment after this exciting finish!

Top of Utah 1/2 Marathon, Man Vs. Mud 5K, and Peach Days 10K

To say that life has been crazy lately would be an understatement. And until I get to a catch up post, here's a catch up race post! Each race really deserves it's own but since I've been such a slacker they're gonna get lumped all together. Which is fitting because that's how my life feels right now.

The Top of Utah Half: this really is such a great course. It's the sweet part of the marathon between miles 7 and 20 and is so beautiful. It's the canyon that I spent most of my dating dates with my husband so I love to reminisce as we run down it. I can pick out certain fishing spots and a certain place where we fogged up his windows one night. And I've run it the last 3 years so I knew that no matter what shape I was in that I was going to have to run it again.

It's a perfect end of summer event. I felt so good for most of the race. The last couple of miles were tough but only because I was having some shoe issues. I've really been lucky (code word for blessed) because I was offered a chance to try some Invisible Shoe huarache style sandals. I will be doing a full review on them later but the bottom line is that I LOVE them. However, I found during a test run in the 4mm thin style that I could feel the knot after about 8 miles. I wound up having to wear these ones during the half and the last 6 miles felt like I was stepping on a rock with every step. Not comfy. I'm not sure yet if I'll just get used to it or if the 6mm ones are going to have to be my choice for over a certain mileage. Time will tell.

Tough or not, I finished in 2:04 and was pleased. Not a PR but it was a good day none the less.

The next weekend me and 5 of my friends battled the Man Vs. Mud 5K. It had 27 obstacles and I really didn't think we'd be doing much running at all. I was surprised that it really did have some good stretches in between challenges.

The Hot Mudders!

There were 4 HUGE slip and slides with the last one ending in a giant mud puddle.

My favorite challenges were the very long mud trough, the mud pit at the end, and the army crawl through the mud. Our team was the Hot Mudders and we all had such a great time. It was my most favorite run to date. I don't mind getting dirty normally but this was extreme and it was a blast!

I've never been so dirty or had so much fun in all my life.

I stood in the shower with my clothes on and then proceeded to strip. I didn't ever think the water would be clear again or that I'd get the mud out of my nose, ears, and hair. What a blast!

The next weekend was Peach Days. They have one of the oldest races (started in 1974) in Utah and also one of the toughest. This was the first race I ever ran. But I have become very picky when it comes to running it. If the weather is bad I just won't do it. A couple of people have died doing this race. This year it was nice, so the night before I decided to run it.

Fresh peaches at the finish.

I had been having a crappy running week. I tripped on the Wednesday before while running around the block barefoot with my son. I had my glasses on and misjudged the distance while stepping up a curb. I tweaked my ankle and limped a little but thought everything was fine. After the 10K I realized that it was not completely back to normal yet and that maybe I shouldn't have run on it. However, I did manage a 6 minute PR from the last time I ran it 3 years ago and finished with a time of 55:26. Some said the timer was off by a minute but I'm not sure so I'll just go with what they gave me. It was still a pretty great day! And I promise that I'm going to get caught up with all of you!

Barefoot Running Successes and Setbacks and a Photo Shoot

A couple of months ago I won a unique and really cool giveaway. It was for a photo session and some pictures of me running from Niki Martins Photography. Now I'm not a big fan of of my race pictures, you know what it's like... sweaty, looking like you want to die pictures... So this was going to be cool. I've wanted to spruce up the old blog here for a while too, but didn't really know what I wanted to do for the header. Now I do.

To be totally honest, I was really nervous. When I first found out that I had won, I thought to myself that I better lose 10 lbs. and find a cute outfit. I did the latter. And the day of the shoot, I was really nervous again, not knowing what to expect. But Niki put me right at ease and told me how artistic it would look. The angles and the background were going to make it look cool. No scary close ups of my face while running. And she did not disappoint.

We had a lot of fun shooting. Niki had picked a beautiful place close to her home and to be honest, the weather was perfect. We had some rainstorms that afternoon and the clouds made for a beautiful backdrop. Niki was so easy to talk to and was willing to do whatever I wanted. It's just a good thing she came prepared with some ideas of her own.

I love the clean lines that she was able to create. She really has an eye for these things.

And now my feet. My little monkey shoes (Gist) have worn out. I could tell it was happening because I could feel the sole getting thinner and thinner. But after I got some pretty bad stone bruising on a rocky mountain trail and my little toe got eaten up on a rough gravel road, I knew it was time to throw them away. And my running store doesn't sell them anymore. Hello... not a good sign. Too bad they are the only thing that really works on my foot because I'm sure that real Vibrams would not have worn out on the soles.

This is not the close up I had hoped for on my feet. Here's the back story. I had managed a couple of 7 milers barefoot a week apart. The next week I did a 7 miler where I got some pretty serious stone bruising under my big toe. I managed an 8 miler barefoot and the next day a 10 miler in my monkey feet. During that 10 miler the stone bruising that occurred earlier in the week started hurting towards the end of the run. When I got home and took off my shoes, I found this little gem of a blood blister. How's that for contrasting pictures?!

I drained it and bandaged it up for the weekend and then was fine to run on it. I did a 9 miler barefoot (a new record!) and now the skin has peeled off and is baby tender. Like I said, not the ideal barefoot picture.

This little photo shoot has inspired me. At first I wasn't sure what to think about it. Was it just an egomaniac thing to do? Now I have decided that I SHOULD have pictures of what I'm passionate about. And good ones too. Not just the sweaty race ones. It's part of documenting my life. This won't be the last photo shoot either. I really would like one done in the trails by my home, where I really spend my time. It's something all of us should consider! And if you live in Utah County, give Niki a call!

Mantua Dam Race 2011 and other Miscellaneous Stuff

The only reason I run this race year after year is because I get a t-shirt that says, "I survived the Dam race". Well, that and it's really fun to talk about the dam race. My kids really like asking me about the dam race. It's become a big hit and we had a lot of participants from my little neighborhood. They also had a record number of people with more than 325.

I got 3rd in my age group and finished with a time of 44:24. That just means that all the fast runners stayed home that day. It's 5 miles around a lake all on a rocky dirt road. I was pleased with my time with it being almost 2 minutes faster than last year. Plus it was just fun having so many people there that I knew.

Phil, Tori Shannon, Heidi, me, Jodi, Heather and Rob.

Catching up with those we didn't get in the first picture...

Phil, Heidi, Tori, Shannon, Robyn, me, Shandra, Julie, Audry, Jodi, and Shawna.

I bagged my long run because I wasn't in the mood and did a long ride instead. I actually didn't plan it very well and didn't wear my padded shorts or bring enough water. I ended up having to detour and stop at a park to refill my bottle. It ended up being over 31 miles and my rear end was really happy when we were done.

I took my ride out to our local Bird Refuge. It's my new favorite destination. There is so much beauty there and so many birds. I feel like an old person getting all excited about birds, but it really was thrilling watching an enormous pelican spread its wings and land gracefully on the water without so much as a splash. Or watch the long legged stilts birds walk along and dip their heads in the water to catch fish. I also saw birds dive bombing into the water. And there were huge flocks of brightly colored finches dancing in their synchronized way above me in the sky. Seriously, a really cool place to ride and the perfect way to experience it.

I've been trying to get in one trail run a week, one longish barefoot run, and a 20ish mile bike ride every week. Then I can just fill in the rest with whatever I feel like as long as I'm getting in at least two days of weight training. While it's not a full workout, I am really digging this quick yoga routine after my runs as of late.

This trail run turned into a mostly hike until the top of the canyon. I ran the hills until it just got too steep and my heart rate wouldn't settle down. So I hiked until it I felt like I could run again, which was almost to the top. I had some good 18-20 minute miles in there. It was also hot. You can see my "glow" (which translated is the lady word for sweaty as a pig). But once I reached the other side of the mountain, the sun went behind the clouds, a slight breeze picked up and it was bearable.

The rocky, sagebrush filled area turned into more forest like conditions on the other side of the mountain. Simply beautiful.

I live in a really beautiful place. Don't you wan to come run with me?

There are definite advantages to not planning my runs or having a training plan. But long runs in the summer in the mountains probably need to be better planned. I finally ran out of my little water supply and called for a ride home. 7.5 miles and 2 sweaty hours later I was really craving a cold bath.

** What have you been up to?

** Are you following a plan right now or just winging it?

** What's your next big race?

Randomness and food

I don't have much to say that's on a specific topic so you get the randomness that is my life lately.

* I did a new long run record of 7 miles barefoot. I picked the streets carefully and used the sidewalks at points, but I am still counting it. I don't think I'm going to be able to do the Top of Utah half barefoot, but I think I need to find a 10K because I'm pretty sure I could do that before the end of the summer.

*My hair and nails are growing at a much rapider rate since I've stopped training so hard. I think my body has finally recovered.

*I have been eating like I'm still training hard and it is not good.

*I forgot to post this awesome triple chocolate cheesecake that my husband made me after the second marathon. It was so rich that a tiny slice was sufficient and it lasted forever even sharing it with lots of people.

*I did a trail run that went wrong. I took a wrong turn and the trail ended several hundred feet above where I was supposed to be. I made my own switchbacks until it was just too steep and then skied down on the shale rock trying not to create a land slide. It wasn't until I got home after that 10 mile run that I realized that I had created a HUGE (softball sized) hole in my tights right around my hip/butt area. I was on trails for the most part but ran at least 2.5 miles down the canyon and on busy streets until home. I was mortified.

Other than that, it was a great trail run.

That ended with a beautiful sunset.

*The garden is doing awesome.

We've eaten broccoli and peas and lots of lettuce. There is an orange tomato out there and the peppers are getting big. We've also enjoyed our cilantro. It's an organic garden so far. We've let the chickens out to eat the grasshoppers and everything seems to be going well. Sometimes when I look at it all I can see is work. The weeds seem to be never ending. But I really do enjoy having all that fresh produce right out the back door.

Salmon salad. Yum.

Black bean tortilla pizza with cilantro and avocado.

Jenni-O turkey kielbasa with broccoli and peas.

***What have you been up to?