St George Marathon 2015

The first Saturday in October was the big event that I have been struggling to train for all summer. Between kids, work, my hip injury flaring up occasionally and my demanding graduate school program I was not able to train as much as I would have liked. I still managed to do my long runs almost every weekend and cross-trained at least a few days every week.
 Four weeks before the marathon I did a twenty mile run and I felt really good. The following week I came down with a cold so I scaled way back on my training, trying to give my body time to recover. The day before the marathon I woke up feeling worse than ever so I took it easy and drank lots of fluids.
 The morning of the marathon I woke up at three and I felt ok, not amazing, but not bad so I decided to go for it. My sister-in-law and I headed to the starting line together, and hung out around the

campfires while we waited for the race to start.
 Usually it takes a few miles for my legs to get warmed up and get in the groove. After that, the running gets fun. That never happened. I never felt able to kick into gear. Almost every stinking mile was miserable. It was so frustrating to see people around me walking faster than I could run.
 Around mile 8 my knees started hurting. Around mile 19 my ovaries started wigging out (It's a thing they do a few times a year, treatment is worse than dealing with it.) and I cried silent tears when the pains would hit. I kept pushing because I wanted the thing to be done. Surprisingly my old hip injury wasn't causing much problems.
 One of the great things about the St. George Marathon is the community is so supportive. Thousands of people come out to cheer on the runners and give them snacks as they pass. I loved the lady who baked chocolate chip oatmeal pecan cookies. It was the perfect mid-race snack. The race support had lots of small banana and orange pieces along the way which were greatly appreciated, along with lots of water and gatorade. And my neighbor and her kids were passing out popsicles around mile 23.
 I pushed through and my family was near the finish line to cheer me on, so I smiled through the last

little bit, but wanted to break down. That thing was so hard. It really ranked up there with natural childbirth (which I have unfortunately experienced). But I did it. I finished at 5:26:32, averaging 12:27 per mile. Not my best work, but I pushed through every painful stinkin' mile.
 Then I went home and blacked out a few times. I really thought I was going to die. I remember falling in the bathroom and thinking 'Oh, shoot. I've made a really big mistake.' In between passing out I tried giving orders to my husband that were totally incomprehensible because I was so delirious. Eventually I made him take my vital signs, which were elevated for my normals, but not high enough to warrant medical treatment. (But I did contact my friend who was an ER CNS for reassurance.) I drank lots of fluids and ate as much as I felt my stomach could handle. I felt pretty weak, sore and loopy for the rest of the day. Looking back, I know that I followed all of the advice that they give to runners, I just thinking running a marathon + exploding ovaries + having a cold was just too much for my body to handle. I would say that what happened after looked a lot like heat stroke, but my temp didn't get into the heat stroke range.
I'm feeling much better now, I took a few weeks off of running to recover as well as take care of my sick family. I think I'm going to take a long break from marathons, if I ever do them again. I like the half-marathon pace. That length of race is fun. More than twenty miles plus random stuff that life sometimes throw at you, and it's just not fun anymore. I guess the lesson learned from this experience is you can't kick ass ALL the time, also never run a marathon while sick.

Recent Races: Mapleton Fun Run and Harry Potter 5K

In Utah some people celebrate the 24th of July by dressing up in 19th century clothing, some celebrate by consuming pie and beer, but in our family it is another excuse to do a race together, followed by crazy amounts of fireworks in the evening. This year we did the Mapleton 1 Mile Fun Run. Except certain children who shall remain nameless were uncooperative about getting out of bed and getting to this race, even though they had enthusiastically agreed to this event before hand.  My child who loves running the most is the same child who hates mornings the most. This is somewhat of a conflict of interests. We got to the race, long after it started and by the time we finished the finish line was taken down to start the 5k. But it was at this race that my kids got to meet one of their new cousins for the first time, so everyone could be cheerful about that. I felt like the tech shirts and snacks were decent and I would probably do it again when my child who hates mornings is old enough to left at home alone.

This is our fam right now (minus one sister-in-law)

Then to celebrate Harry Potter's birthday we did a 5k to support the Salt Lake City Children's Justice

Finishers medal and some of those who dressed up

Center, put together by Geeked Out Running. This race was a lot of fun. Tons of runners and staff were dressed in costumes from the Harry Potter films. The medals were also fun and my kids have loved wearing their race shirts. There were so many great costumes that I did not manage to take pictures of because I was too busy trying to get my kids through the race. After the race there was a large snake that the kids could touch (that was my youngest's favorite part) and owls that you could take picture with. I also liked the Harry Potter themed motivational signs along the way like "I solemnly swear that I am running for lots of good." Downsides: the path was not very wide considering how many runners were on it, and the race didn't start until 9 am and it is summer, which means it was already getting very warm and all my kids were pretty grumpy by the end. The race was in a park in West Jordan and we ran around it four times. My oldest wanted to go faster so I ran with her and was hoping that we could lap my husband and the younger kids, except she lost motivation as it got warmer. So my husband ended up by himself and at one point was carrying our middle child on his back while pushing our youngest in the stroller, until he figured out how to squish both kids into a one-child jogging stroller. Seriously props to him. It was fun, but I wouldn't do it again unless it started at least 30 minutes earlier in the day.

The albino Burmese python and a couple owls (and my animal loving girls)

A picture of the whole fam (or those who were there) and my husband the hero

Marathon Training

A few months ago, one my best friends made the comment. "Someday when you write your autobiography, you should call it 'Living Crazy', because that usually sums up what is going on in your life." Haha, so true. But I believe that life is too short to live boring, and crazy generally isn't boring.

Seen on my run

 My latest crazy adventure is marathon training. I signed up for the St. George marathon this year. I persuaded a friend to sign up too, so we can plan some long runs together. It only takes one friend to keep you committed to exercising, then you can't let them down, so you'll do it even when you don't want to. I enjoy running (usually), and I was excited to get back into it. Of course when I signed up I fully intended on taking the summer off from school. I cleared it with my specialty option coordinator and we agreed that a break from school was feasible and well-deserved. Then I talked to the graduate

Piyo Cross Training

adviser. She said that if I took the summer off that it would mean I would be more than a year behind in my classes, and there would be a couple semesters where I wouldn't be able to take classes because they are only offered at certain times and I have to take them in order. So now I'll be working, going to school (just one class), shuttling kids to swim lessons and summer camps and training for a marathon. Yup, living crazy. But taking advantage of the beautiful opportunity to do so. I'm grateful and thrilled that I have such beautiful scenery to train in so close to my house.
 For my marathon training plan I chose a 20 week schedule where I run 4 days a week (last time I ran 5-6 days a week, I'm not such a fan). On my off days I'll cross-train with Piyo to keep my legs and joints flexible and help prevent injuries, or take the occasional rest day. If anyone wants to do the
Piyo workouts with me, the sale was extended this month, so now's a good time to get a discount. I love them, they're fun and just make you feel great. And my plan is to use them to protect my knees!

My Ragnar Adventure

Last Thursday a friend posted on Facebook that she needed someone to take her place in a Ragnar, the next day and the race was taking in place in Zion's National Park. Me! Me! ME! Pick me! I have always wanted to do a race through Zion's (Even the Zion's Half Marathon doesn't go through Zion's, but just up to the park.) And I have always wanted to do a Ragnar relay and my plans for the weekend were flexible. I could use an adventure. Plus the race fee was already waived. Score! So I agreed, even though I had had zippo training and have only gone running twice since January.

Then it turns out that it wasn't my friend that was on the Ragnar team, she was advertising for another friend, who was actually advertising for another friend, so I ended up on a team of perfect strangers. But they had TWO team members drop out at the last minute and they were grateful to have anyone help them out. Oh and this is a TRAIL run and we're camping together. It's an adventure, right?
 The weather was forecasted to be perfect, or at least that's what I heard when I was packing my bag.
The drive up was lovely and rejuvenating. The race wasn't IN Zion's National Park, but it did overlook it and I had to drive through the park to get to the campsite. And even the drive to Zion's is beautiful.

 When I got to the campsite, the rumor was that there was supposed to be light showers for 2 hours. That's not too bad. I unpacked my gear, did homework and took a nap. During dinner it started drizzling. I ran my first leg starting at about 6:45 pm. Our team name was Adventure is Out There, which I loved because I'm a big fan of Up.

 The Ragnar trail runs are made of 3 paths, green, yellow and red. Green is the easiest & shortest (3 miles), yellow is 4 miles and red is the hardest & longest (7.8 miles). My first leg was a yellow. I ran through the forest wishing that I had waited to eat until after my race or wishing I could just throw up because my stomach was so unhappy with me. The trail was VERY hilly, but the view was beautiful. You really do get to overlook Zion's. I started out wearing several layers because it was cold, but took them off as I got going. On the last mile it started to rain pretty hard so I put them all back on. Considering I had zippo training, and I my stomach was so upset, I was pretty happy with my time of 53 minutes.

Overlooking Zion's National Park from the yellow leg trail.

 After my leg it started to really rain. The guy on my team who ran after me took an extra 40 minutes because of the dark and rain. Around the time he got back they decided to pause the race until 1:30 am, because it was taking so long for Search & Rescue to find the runners in the mud and rain Then they decided to pause the race until 6:30 am. It poured buckets all night long. The rain leaked on me and the two other ladies in our tent and we were glad that we weren't out running in it.
 In the morning the trails were all sludge. The race coordinators said we *could* continue the race, or we could just grab our medals and go home. I was the only one on my team who had any interest in continuing. I was not afraid of a little mud and I really wanted to have a chance to run (or wade through the mud) on the red leg. I'm probably a little crazy. But my team just wanted to go home, and frankly with that much mud and that many people, the sooner we go out the better.

My shoes after hiking to the bathroom and back.

 It wasn't quite the adventure that I expected, but I enjoyed it anyway. Taking a break from boxes and school was exactly what I needed. And the medal is a cool multi-tool.

Lucky Laces 5K in Denver 2015

Last Saturday, my in-laws, my husband and kids ran the Lucky Laces 5K in Denver City Park. It was

my older two kids first 5k race and they did a great job! Both of them placed in the top 30 for their age category (although my daughter was actually in the wrong category, but whatever). I was proud of both of them that they tried hard and ran the race with very minimal whining.

 We had a rough start. Of course we were struggling to get everyone out the door. Then after we packed the minivan it wouldn't start. So we split up between our car and my in-laws. While we were still trying to find parking, they pumped up our stroller tires and one of the inner-tubes popped. Fortunately, I had an umbrella stroller to put my toddler in instead of carrying her, but it's not really great for running. After all of that we got to the start line as the tail end of the main crowd had just past.

 The weather was brisk, but not too cold. And the park is beautiful to run through. The path goes past multiple statues and the lake (pond?), and for sections of it there is a good view of the mountains. Being able to see the mountains always inspires me to keep running, and do it with a smile on my face. The support was good, the post race breakfast was great and the kids were very excited to have their own racing medals. It's also the fun kind of race where people get decked out in St. Patrick's Day trappings. (I had a good excuse to wear my piranha plant pants, but really does one need an excuse?)

Denver City Park Statues & the Finisher Medal

Denver City Park and the mountains in the background

 If anyone is considering doing this race next year, I would recommend it. (There is also a separate fun run for younger kids.) We had a good time.

My Piyo Story- Or How I Recovered from a Hip Injury During Graduate School

Before I talk about how I got into great shape, I need to give the background of how I got out of shape. In Fall 2012, I was in descent shape. I ran the St. George marathon, as well as 7 half marathons that year. In the course of training for the marathon, most of my running buddies injured themselves. One just quit altogether. That left me and one friend who regularly walked and ran together, until she was diagnosed with breast cancer in the spring of 2013. (She is now in remission and doing great.) Without a workout buddy, my running became less regular. In Fall 2013, I started graduate school as a non-degree seeking student. I ran and did yoga occasionally, but not like I had been.
My Hip Injury
I wish that I had some cool or dramatic story about how I injured my hip, but I don't. My husband and I went to Alaska to celebrate our 10th wedding anniversary in June 2014. After sitting in a small airplane or airplane terminal seat for the better part of 13 hours my left hip started aching. I injured my hip  by sitting for too long, pretty lame story.  I tried to take it easy and it got worse. I tried running on it, and it felt better as long as I kept it under 6 miles, then it would hurt. It wasn't extreme pain, it was just annoying. I tried doing yoga more often and visiting a massage therapist. It helped a small amount, but it was always temporary, and overall it was slowly getting worse.
 In Fall 2014 we moved to Colorado so I could go to graduate school, and I joined the university running club. I was excited to have someone to run with and meet new people. The problem is that everyone in the running club is 8-10 years younger than me and in much better shape. When I started pushing myself hard enough to keep up with them I really screwed up my hip. It was too the point that I was in severe pain all day everyday. It hurt to sit, it hurt to stand, it hurt to walk, it hurt to lay down, it hurt to run. My left hip hurt all the time. I was a mess. I was crippled and frustrated that I couldn't exercise and it effected how I felt overall. I went to see a chiropractor. The x-rays showed that my left hip had been rotated enough that my left leg was 2 inches shorter than my right. And the pain was coming from my muscles being twisted and stretched out of place around the joint. So I went in for regular treatments and adjustments. He told me that I needed to start exercising again to help it, but NO running. That made things hard. I don't like the gym, I like to run.
 Piyo

 Then an old friend messaged me and asked if I would like to join her fitness challenge group. I worked with Missy years ago, and she was one of the primary nurses who trained me to be a pediatric nurse. Working nights on pediatrics, you grow to love and trust your co-workers. And I was always impressed that even though she had small kids and worked full-time nights she would still run. At the time I felt to overwhelmed to exercise, but I was impressed that she did.
 While I debated about whether I would do the fitness challenge (because to honest forking out the money is what held me back), I joined one of her clean eating groups. I went the entire month of October without eating any sugar and I lost three pounds. (College life is often not conducive to healthy eating habits.) Then I started the fitness challenge and started doing Piyo workouts. Piyo is like a cross between Pilates and Yoga, with a few other exercises thrown in there. It's a low-impact (read-easy on your joints), full body workout and it was exactly what I needed. It doesn't require any weights or equipment other than a yoga mat. The dvd instruction is led by fitness guru Chalene Johnson. After doing it for a month, I felt so much better! My hip wasn't all the way better, but I could function without pain, and all of my clothes were fitting better. I could sit for hours during my lectures and it was ok! By the end of the month I could run a few miles, but not just that committing to a workout on a regular basis changed me. I had more energy. I found that even though I'm busy with school and three kids and all of the other things in my life, I feel so much better when I schedule time 6 days a weeks for exercise. Piyo really helped me to get in the habit of exercising regularly, without feeling exhausted (like when I trained for my marathon).
 Then I did the workout for another 30 days and I was so pleased with the results. I have never been in this good of shape. My hip is about 90% better (I'm still careful with it, and I do try to avoid sitting for hours at a time). I am stronger and more flexible. There are yoga moves I can do now that I was never able to do before. Doing my workouts gives me the energy and motivation to take on all of  the other things in my life that I need to do. My stomach has not been this flat since jr high. I CAN DO PUSH-UPS! I sleep better! I fit into clothes I never thought I would fit into again after having my kids. And I feel awesome. I loved it so much, I decided to start coaching, because I want to help other people improve their health too. As a nurse, that has always been a goal and motivation anyway, but in many ways as a nurse you can only help people for a short period of time.
 I worked hard, but I wasn't perfect. This was November, December and early January that I did this. (Finals and Holidays) I had a few holiday treats.We went to a few dinner and Christmas parties, and I still enjoyed yummy holidays foods. I still got a little candy in my stocking. Between kids, graduate school and winter illnesses, I missed one workout almost every week. So it doesn't take perfection to improve, but it does take progress and dedication.
 If you are looking to get in shape and want a workout that won't require a lot of equipment and will be easy on your joints. I highly, highly recommend it.
Results
Okay here's the part that I feel kind of nervous about. I'm putting pictures of myself in my sports bra on the internet, so you can see my white flabby mid-driff, stretch marks included.  But I'm sharing so you can compare my results and see that it really works.