I'm going to hit a BIG goal!

Okay, it's been a long time, I know. I was down a little bit in November from an overuse injury. Thankfully now I recognize them earlier and know how to better deal with them. As 2016 draws to a close, I've been reflecting just a bit and thought I'd better wrap things up a bit.

Like I said, November brought an overuse injury. The tendons on the top of my foot were inflamed and my foot swelled quite a bit. I decided it was caused by either being suspended in TRX straps or from Upward-Facing Dog in yoga. Whichever it was, the other exacerbated it. Running made it even more angry so I took a few weeks off and was careful doing TRX and yoga. I'm happy to report it has healed completely and it makes me happy that my body responded like I'd hoped.

I think it was either late July or early August when I looked at the miles I'd run this year. I was closing in on 700 miles for 2016 and still had the bulk of my training to do for the St. George Marathon. I started thinking about trying to get 1000 running miles in. I knew it was doable. By the time the marathon was over I was nearing 850 miles. I still wasn't really trying to get 1000 miles, I just knew it was feasible. When I realized I had an injury, it threw a wrench in my idea but once I started healing, I did the math and realized that if I just stayed consistent, running 1000 miles in 2016 would work.

By late November, I had made a firm commitment to the goal of running 1000 miles in 2016. I mapped it out, planning how many miles I would need to run each week, and how many times each week. We've had a few mornings when it was so cold, I really didn't want to go outside and run. Fortunately, we've had a pretty temperate fall and early winter so there were only a few rough mornings.

The only thing that has thrown me off my plan was when another instructor needed me to sub her Spinning class on a morning when I would usually have run. I checked the math and determined I'd still hit my goal but I now had no wiggle room. I've stayed consistent, even running Christmas Eve on a treadmill because it was raining outside so running outside wasn't possible. As of today, December 30, I've run 997 miles. My plan is to run seven miles tomorrow morning, giving me 1004 running miles for 2016. Unfortunately, there is a shower moving in tomorrow morning early but I'm hoping to get out and get the run done before the storm. If not, New Year's Eve's run will also be on the treadmill.  Either way, I will accomplishing this goal.

2017 doesn't have anything too terribly exciting yet. I'll do St. George again. I've considered the Top of Utah Marathon and someday I want to the the Utah Grand Slam but that one will probably have to wait for a time when I'm slightly less busy. I've been approached by a local business who is considering sponsoring me but I'll have to let you know for sure about that later.

I hope 2016 has been good to you. If not, put it to bed and look forward to 2017. Good luck on your goals. Thanks for checking in with me and come back again soon.  

This hasn't happened in a long time, and I was okay with that

So, we're right in the thick of marathon training. Last week we were scheduled to go 19 miles, and that happened. But, wow. Here's the story.

Last Friday we went to TRX. I love TRX. We went hard that day, harder than we have in a while. It was a great workout and I wasn't worried about the effect it would have on our run the next day because we'd have a good night's rest to help recover. Anyway, I went about my day as usual. I play the piano for our high school choir. I'm there every afternoon. Our chamber choir was having its annual retreat that Friday and Saturday. I had a conversation with the choir director and realized the speaker he was planning to have come talk to the kids on Saturday had backed out. We spent a while trying to come up with a new plan. Finally, I told him about some yoga we could do that would promote unity and he was sold. He asked me to do sunrise yoga, starting at 6:30. Here's the problem: I'm supposed to be running at 6:30. My husband and I decided we'd just do our run when I got home from the retreat. I got home just after 11:00. PM. We changed our clothes and headed out at 11:30. PM.

For about the first five or six miles, I was feeling okay. The first hill was eye-opening though. This run was going to require some grit and I definitely had not had enough recovery time. Running so late shocked my system and we had to stop several times to use the restroom. SLOWLY, miles after mile ticked by. About miles 8-ish, someone actually swerved toward us. That got our blood pumping. Usually during a training run, we don't have to stop to walk and recover but that night we had to several times. Finally, finally we crested the last hill on the parkway. That was about 12 1/2 miles in. Thankfully the next few miles are downhill. Around 14 miles we stopped, again, to use the restroom. Starting again made me want to cry. I hurt. I was tired. I was done. I never bail on a run but if someone had stopped us and asked us if we wanted a ride home, I would have happily said yes. Those last four or five miles were brutal. They took all my will power to finish. We walked through our door at just after 3:00. We showered and crawled into bed about 3:30. At 6:00, my alarm went off. I was so confused. It's not a time I normally get up and I couldn't remember why I'd set my alarm. It took a bit to get my brain working enough to remember I needed to get up and teach yoga.

Things went well with the retreat and I survived. Thankfully, my family let me sleep the afternoon away. Now, the reason I blogged about this run is to show we all have runs where we just don't feel good. Sometimes it's not about doing better or being faster. Sometimes it's simply about getting the miles under your feet. It's about better developing your mental toughness so that you can learn to endure when it gets tough. Sometimes it's about learning to negotiate with yourself so you can just keep moving.

It's been, literally, years since I've had a run like this. And, I still haven't completely recovered a week later. I'm still a bit worn down which made my 21 mile run today tougher than I would have liked. I'm grateful for the "ugh" run I had last week. It gives me an appreciation for my good runs, for the runs when I simply feel great. It also gives me compassion for other runners. For people who are just starting out, people who are just coming back from an injury. I can say "I know how it feels. Hang in there. It gets better." I've been there before but a reminder now and then is good for me. That being said, I DON'T need another run like that in a loooong time!

I hope you are setting goals and achieving them. I hope you're getting stronger, tougher, better. Thanks for checking in with me. Let me know if you have questions or comments. Good luck!

Utah Valley Marathon

The morning of Utah Valley started early, like they always do. Out the door, load the bus, wait. My sister has done the half several years and has told me it's usually cold at the top but that day it was actually pretty warm, warm enough that I just wore a tank and capris. I was really hoping for a sub-3:40 finish so I could get a Boston Qualifier so we positioned ourselves in between the 3:35 and 3:40 pacers. And we were off. We started banking time immediately. I was trying to run the pace my body wanted to run not let the pace on my watch dictate my speed. Just after mile 6 I decided I needed to go to the bathroom and I started pulling away from my husband. They had port-a-potties at mile seven and I stopped. My husband was going to wait with me but I told him to go and I'd catch up. By the way, Lycra and sweaty bodies do not work well together. It took me about a half a mile to catch my husband, part of that was uphill. When I did catch him, I told I'm I was hoping I wouldn't pay for that little sprint later. We didn't stay together long before I started pulling ahead again.

My pace was good and none of the hills were too bad. At the halfway point I texted my daughter and mom to let them know where I was and I hit a headwind. I could feel my pace slowing and the race starting to get long. It was at this point that I figured I'd lost my sub-3:40 finish and I was discouraged. I was running behind a lady and a guy and I decided to just run on their shoulders. They kept me moving for several miles. About 17 miles in, the 3:40 pacer passed me and I thought, "Oh no way! I haven't run all this way staying in front of this pacer to get passed with nine miles to go." So I passed the people I was running behind and determined I would stay with the pacer. I'd sprint the last half mile if I had to so I could finish in front of him where I'd started. It was what I needed. I picked my pace back up. The wind died down a bit and I was moving again, enough that I passed the pacer again. Mile after mile passed and I just kept moving. I considered putting my headphones in and listening to music to keep my cadence up but I knew that fiddling with things in my vest would slow me down so I didn't. Finally, at about mile 20, I was out of the canyon and on University Avenue.

So, just in case you're wondering, University Avenue is LONG!! I hadn't really watched my overall time for most of the race but about this time I looked at it and did the calculations. If I could hold a steady pace of about 8 minute mile to the finish, I could still finish with a Boston Qualifier. Block after block went by. I passed runner after runner. I could feel my body wearing out. I knew it was going to be close. At mile 24 I pulled my phone out to text my daughter and mom again and noticed a text from my sister who had run the half. I figured she'd already be on her way home but I sent that I was at mile 24. I looked up and could see the finish area. At a block out, my son yelled, "Go Mom!" and I about lost it. He bounced off in front of me to the finish line as I fought for every step. Halfway down the finisher shoot I see my kids and hear someone yell, "Go Brittney!" With my name on my race bib, I figured it was just a random spectator. It was my sister. When she found out how close I was and how close I was to getting the finish I wanted, she stayed to cheer me on. With one last glance down at my watch, I knew I had it. I FINALLY got my Boston Qualifier! 3:39:30. Thirty seconds to spare but it was hard fought. My sister met me on the other side of the finish line and I told her I did it and we both cried.

I texted my husband to let him know my finish time and to find out where he was. He was struggling. He's been fighting his body when we get into the upper miles to feel like he has power to finish. He finished with a 4:09 and was frustrated. It's about 20 minutes slower than his PR.

I'm glad I finally did the Utah Valley Marathon. It was harder than I planned on but I got the finish I wanted. The next race is St. George in October. I'm excited to do this race because I love it so much.

Thanks for checking in with me. Come back again soon. Good luck on your goals.

The things you can't plan

Okay, so last weekend was the Ogden Marathon and Half Marathon. And, the weather was rough! I didn't do it put I'm friends with enough people who did to know how they felt about it. It rained. A lot. I have a little experience with this.

My very first marathon was St. George. I had previously done the Red Mountain 50K so I had gone the distance but my first organized marathon was St. George. I think it was the 33rd running of the race. In those 33 years, it had rained three times. Well, my first year it rained. It wasn't a drenching rain, just constant. They handed out garbage bags at the starting line to keep the runners warm. I happily took one. I don't think it was really even raining. Sprinkling maybe. Anyway, once the race started, I tossed my garbage bag just like everyone else. I didn't know any better. I was just doing what everyone else was. That was my first mistake. I remember being cold. I remember trying to open my nutrition and struggling with it so much I slowly stopped eating. I came through an aid station and slowed to a walk so I dropped my arms. Once I started running again, my arms started tingling. It took five miles for it to stop tingling. So, I stopped drinking. When I crossed the finish line, I swore I would never again do the St. George Marathon. It was too hard to train for and I was miserable. Within a few weeks I started thinking about the things I could change that would make things better and here I am, nine year later.

Here's my concern: the weather along the Wasatch Front in June can be finicky. It could be beautiful, it could be hot, it could snow. I really didn't consider this when I signed up. Now that we've had a cool spring and the weather north of here has been unsettled, I'm a little concerned. Whether or not the weather cooperates with my expectations, I'm still running this marathon and I'm still planning to run my best. I don't think I'll have the problems with rain like I had during my first marathon. I know a few more things this time. Basically, I'm just complaining. Or maybe just worrying out loud.

I may wear some form of plastic to stay dry. I will eat and I will drink. And, I will run faster. That was part of my problem last time. I need to stay working hard so my core temperature stays warm. I will also stay positive. I won't ruin this race in my mind. I've done that before too.

Thanks for letting bounce my thoughts off of you. I hope you are moving toward your goals. Thanks for checking in with me and come back again soon!  

Peak week

Every time I train for a marathon, that last run, sometimes last two runs, I get a little grumpy about. I think it's the weight of the distance. Maybe the fact that I've been training for months. I don't know. This time was a little different. I struggled with those first few building runs. I just couldn't seem to find my rhythm. When I finally did, even 23 miles was fine. Once again, I was pushed for time. This time I had to be home in enough time to get ready for an overnighter with my high school choir kids to the state large choir festival. Oh, did I mention I was in charge?

We headed out and just kept climbing hill after hill after hill. Who planned this run?! Mile after mile, I just kept going. We hit mile 15-ish just as we finished the Parkway and really, the end of the hilly portion. By this point, I was really feeling pretty good. My husband was feeling depleted. We kept moving but our pace really started to slow. We spent miles with him running just behind me. He told me to run ahead and get home several times but I know him too well. I know he needs me, at least to a certain point. With just shy of two miles left, I ran ahead and told him I'd meet him at home. I really kicked it into gear. My average pace on those last almost two miles was 7:32-7:46 and I didn't break down either. I was surprised at the end of the day when I really couldn't tell I'd run 23 miles that day.

I got home and quickly showered and got ready then headed to the high school to load a school bus with 120 kids and 15 adult for 300 miles. It really isn't the best idea but it was a fun weekend.

All in all, training for the Utah Valley Marathon has been a success! I'm excited to run it in a few weeks and anxious to see how I do. I really do have the best support system in the world. My husband is my greatest fan. When he starts to struggle to stay with me, he tells me to run my own race. My kids put up with endless long weekend runs. And my extended family is always great too.

Thanks for checking in. I hope you are moving toward your goals. Let me know if you have any questions or comments. Good luck!

Surprise...

I've learned so much about myself since becoming a runner. I know I've talked about this before. I started running because my brother told me I should try a half marathon. I'd been doing sprint distance triathlons so moving into half marathons was a new challenge. I was hooked, right from that first half. It was hard and I had to dig deeper than I'd had to to finish any triathlon, but the finish line felt amazing. Tris were my entrance into being active but with the swim distance only about 400 meters, the bike ride about 10 miles and the run a 5K, it wasn't my limit. Now, I don't want to down-play anyone finishing any race, no matter the distance. I had my experience with my first race. It was short and I was slow. But, if I was being honest, sprint distance tris were not my greatest challenge and I was starting to want to push myself. The year of my first half, I watched the finish line at the St. George Marathon. I remember thinking, "I could do this." And, the next year I did.

Anyway, since I transitioned from triathlete to runner, I have learned so much about me. I didn't know I was physically strong. I think I had an idea that I was mentally strong. Up until that point, I had had some experiences with mental toughness, just not on the level I have since I've been a runner. I remember first running and my only goal was to finish my run, whatever the distance, or the race. Remember, I didn't start as a 5 or 10K runner. I jumped right into distance running. As I started to get better and stronger, I started to push myself more and more. It became about finishing better than last time, being a stronger me. With that drive came new challenges. I have been to the brink of exhaustion, to the point where I honestly didn't know if I could go one step further, let alone finish those last miles. Every time I've been to that point, to the place I'm sure was "the end," I have discovered I can dig deeper.

You'd think that after running for as long as I have been, that I have found my limits. Still no. And I discovered that I still haven't last Saturday. We were running 21 miles on a tough course. Lots of hills, some short and steep, some long and grueling. I really should have been dying, my husband was. I had subbed TRX the day before and it was a great class. We had both worked really hard but it's been weeks since my husband has been to a TRX class on Friday and then done a long run on Saturday. He just wasn't used to it. I just kept pushing along. Time after time I found myself slowing pulling ahead of him, putting more and more distance between us. When I'd realize it, I'd slow down and run with him again. I really did keep thinking I was going to finally feel the distance, that the work was going to catch up to me. It just never did. I felt great when we were done and I had a lot left in the tank when we got home. That depth just amazes me. Not because I'm amazing but because the human body is. Just wow!

Now, I'm not sharing this with you to "toot my own horn". I'm sharing this so that you can see that if someone who has been running for years can continue to find depth not limitations, you can too. Dig a little deeper. Strive a little farther. Push a little harder. There is power in you yet that you haven't uncovered. Stay the course. Carry on!

I'm really looking forward to the marathon that is only four and a half weeks away! From what I hear, it tends to be faster than the St. George Marathon so I'm really hoping for a PR. What I really want is a Boston Qualifying finish. Utah Valley is kind of cool. If you have a Boston Qualifier when you register, you get a discount. If you get a Boston Qualifier at Utah Valley, they have a shirt for you. All of that is cool but I really want one for me. I know I have one in me and I'm really hoping this is it.

Thanks for checking back in with me. I hope you are moving toward your goals. If you have questions or comments, let me know. Come back soon!

Climbing toward peak week

So our last run was a 19-miler. Can I tell you? It always stays just a little bit daunting running high miles like this. My husband was supposed to work on Friday and our daughters had a dance competition on Saturday so it meant I was going to have to run on Friday by myself or get up really early on Saturday and try to get our run done together before I had to leave the house having myself and two daughters completely ready. Initially, I was going to go on Friday but then 19 miles is a really long way to go by myself so I started leaning toward early Saturday. Then I saw an accurate weather forecast and realized I had to go on Friday. Thursday afternoon my husband got a phone call from his boss with unexpected news: they no longer needed him to work on Friday, so he was off. And just like that, we got to run on Friday together.

We got up the same time as last week but opted not to sleep in running clothes this week. We got out the door a little later but this time our daughter was on stand-by to drive the carpool. We added mileage to our route from last week on the front end. We ended up going up a long hill that lasts just over a mile. By the time we got to the top, I REALLY wanted to stop and catch my breath but my husband didn't say anything so neither did it. I told him later that I really wanted to stop but since he didn't ask to stop, I kept going. He told me he also really wanted to stop and was hoping I would say something. I guess now we both know we're stronger and can do it without the stop. Anyway, we just kept plugging along with nothing really notable happening. When we got to "the beast hill," I just kept putting one foot in front of the other and then we were at the top. I remember thinking, "There's nothing like a bigger, longer hill to put a hill into perspective." This week it really wasn't too bad.

Our pace stayed really consistent and really never slowed. I told my husband last week while we were running, about 13 miles in, that I wish I had taken some ibuprofen. By about mile 15 though I was feeling better. This week we decided to stay ahead of that, especially since we were trying to make it home to take carpool. We took ibuprofen about mile seven so that it was working about the time we needed it. That worked and is probably the real reason we stayed consistent. We made it home with about five minutes to spare before we had to take carpool.

It's funny. When I run a long run and give in to the "I'm beat. I ran a long run." mentality, I am beat. When I don't and just move forward with my day, I do much better. My body moves better, I just feel better. I've been running for years now and I finally figured that one out. We did opt for a morning nap, mostly because we were up so early, but other than that, we really felt good.

This weekend is Ironman St. George 70.3 which means lots of athletes in town and that course is my training course. I'm hoping to be off the course before we see runners, and we should be, but I'm not going to worry about it too much. They won't kick us off if we overlap a bit. Anyway, we need to run 21 miles which means only one more week until peak week. I can't believe we nearly done. Wow!

Thanks for checking in with me. I hope you are enjoying success in your goals. Let me know if you have any questions. Good luck, take care, and come back soon. And remember, strong bodies follow strong minds.