More Ketchup Please....

Hello friends!

Did you think I forgot about this little ol' blog? That I've walked (or run) away and left y'all behind?? Don't you worry. It's time for more "ketchup". I fully admit that I have no clue what week of training I'm in. My bad.
And to avoid this being a ridiculously long blog, I'm just going to stick to the main events in my little quest over the last 3 months.
Sound good?
OK...here we go.

A few months ago I came home from work to a surprise present from Jim. In order to better track my progress and feel more like an "official" awesome runner, Jim bought me a Garmin Forerunner 210. It's a great GPS running watch that keeps track of my heart rate, distance, pace and elevation all at one time. Its light, convenient and super accurate. After a run we can come home and upload my run info right onto the computer and watch my progress. I haven't done a single run since then without it. I HIGHLY recommend one of these. Totally worth it.
Thank you, Jim. I love you :)

Garmin Forerunner 210. For those who want to be more awesome....

So, it's no surprise to those of you that know Jim or have been following this blog that he started seriously running about a year before I did. He has a lot more experience with the ups and downs of being a distance runner and, of course, has completed more races than I have.

His collection of medals was starting to get more and more impressive and I was starting to get a small collection of my own. We wanted to find a place where we could proudly display our accomplishments because it just didn't feel right leaving them in the closet. We worked hard for those medals. And we are definitely the kind of people that want to show them off. 

So we did.

We built our own display board for our medals and running bibs and hung them in our dining room. 

My board is so sad compared to his!! I'm working on it, though. Next to my board there is a calendar that starts December 2011. This is our set training schedule for my first full marathon in April. More on that in a minute.



We recently took a trip back to San Francisco. Perhaps you might remember that during our last trip to San Fran, we ran in wigs along side some nakeds in the Bay to Breakers 12k. We weren't there for a race this time. Jim was a groomsman in the wedding of one of his good friends/fraternity brothers so we had the opportunity to party in one of our favorite places and Jim was able to catch up with friends he rarely gets an opportunity to see anymore.
And of course while we were there, we wanted to do a few runs. We were so lucky in the fact that our hotel was only two short blocks from the ocean and there was a trail along the beach to run. SCORE!!
We ran twice while we were there and took the trail along the beach and into Golden Gate Park.
Anytime you have an opportunity to run along the beach...TAKE IT! Maybe its just because I'm a land-locked runner but I was soooo excited to get the opportunity to look at the gorgeous waves and have the ocean breeze cool us off. I know that sounds cheesy but I don't care. It was awesome. It just made me more excited for my first full marathon. More on that in a minute. (I promise)

We didn't take a picture of the trail. So here is a picture of us later in Golden Gate Park.
(Go Bears!)

Halloween Half Marathon - Provo, UT

I was so excited for this race!! I hadn't done a race since July and was starting to get a little anxious. Jim ran this last year and had a lot of fun so I was happy that we got to run it together this year. 

And since its a Halloween Half Marathon, we just HAD to wear wicked cool costumes. 

Hence the Ninja Turtles. 

Pre Race 

The great thing about this race is not only the costumes but also the downhill. We started up Provo Canyon at the Alpine Loop which is about 2 miles past Sundance Resort and we ran down. And when I say down...I mean it. Downhill is fun because you feel really speedy but after a while it really starts to impact your body. My quads, butt and feet were KILLING me by the end of this race. 

But during the 13.1 miles, we were able to really enjoy the gorgeous scenery. The leaves are all changing color and falling to the ground. We ran through a park along a small river with trees that formed a canopy above us. We saw pirates, clowns, cheerleaders, vampires, football players, BYU fans (boo!), robots, a sumo wrestler and one group who dressed up as the cast of Despicable Me. 

This was nothing like the last half marathon I did. It was nice and cool outside. There were tons of people and the race started at 9am on a Saturday. Not 9pm on a Friday. 

I didn't feel nearly as tired and there were no episodes of hyperventilation. It wasn't until about the last 2 miles that I was really getting anxious for the finish line and that was mostly just because my feet hurt so bad. I've put a few too many miles on my running shoes and I could certainly feel it at that point. But when we crossed that finish line and I heard the announcer call out our names and the little kid dressed as Dracula handed me my medal, I was happy. And not JUST because the race was over. But because I actually enjoyed myself. I actually had fun.That's very important, people. Don't do something you don't enjoy doing. You're just going to be miserable.

Oh and in case you were wondering about my time.....2:32:09!! Almost a full 30 minutes faster than my last race. Hell yeah!! (Jim was 2:32:12....hahaha!) 

Post Race with our medals. I'm tired but very happy. This is a real smile.

But alas, the next morning when I woke up, I felt like I had been hit by a semi. Every muscle in my body hurt. It took a lot of effort to get out of bed and walk around. Jim lovingly called me Gimpy and it was totally true. The worst of all the muscle groups at that time was my ass. No joke, you guys...I covered my butt cheeks in Icy-Hot.

Then we went to my sister's house for brunch and football. While in the kitchen my brother-in-law, John, says "What is that smell?" And I had to bow my head and admit "It's my ass. My ass smells like an old man."

There was so much menthol floating around that house that our breakfast burritos might as well have been topped with Icy-Hot instead of sour cream since that was all we could really taste anyway. I actually made Jim massage my butt cheeks. In front of my mother. I didn't even care. They hurt. 

And all I could say in response to my offensive smell and lying on the couch getting a good ol' fashioned ass massage? "I'm an athlete!"

So now, we get ready for the big stuff. We are keeping ourselves in shape and ready for the Rock 'n' Roll Half Marathon in Las Vegas on December 4th. We are still debating on our costumes for that one so keep your eyes on Facebook for pictures the day of the race. 

Before that we have the Cottonwood Heights Turkey Trot on Thanksgiving morning. This was the fist race Jim and I did as a couple when we first started dating last year. My sister, Carly, called it our "5k-versary". Ahhh...how sweet. 

Then, when we get home from Vegas we start our serious and structured full marathon training for the Big Sur Internationl Marathon in Monterey, CA on April 29, 2012. We get to return to the ocean and run a full 26.2 miles along the coast line. We are running this marathon with our friends Ellie and Jason. This will be the first full marathon for all of us but Jim. I can't wait to see how gorgeous this course is. I'm excited to run at sea level again. And I'm excited that apparently we get beer at the end of this race. SCORE AGAIN! 

Should you want to see pictures of what we will be running, here is the link to their website. 

http://www.bsim.org/site3.aspx

OK....I think we are all caught up. I'm sure there is stuff I missed but I will include it in a future blog. 

Sorry for the long post again. 

My bad!