alicia.marie

I can do hard things...

2012-01-25T22:31:00.000-08:00

Counting calories is hard.

Especially when you're living in Provo, your roommates like to bake cookies, produce is expensive, your teacher brings einsteins bagels to morning class, and on and on.

Why am I counting calories? Because I want to lose 10 pounds. Don't judge. I want to look so good for spring break in Mexico that people will be like "who the heck is this foxy lady walking down the beach?" Okay I doubt that will happen BUT it wouldn't hurt to have a summer where I'm not worried about the cellulite on my thighs or the bulge of my stomach when I sit down. I just want to have a free-feeling, easy-going summer where I won't have to worry if I look good in my swimsuit, because I KNOW I'll look good.

ALSO pounds that I lose directly correlate with how fast I can run. And since I have two races coming up in the next six months (SLC half in April and Utah Valley half in June) I want to be at my top racing form. This will be the year that I run a sub 2-hour half marathon. I know that with the weight loss will come more speed and stamina.

I guess I'm only writing about this because today was one of those days where I had irresistible cravings for just about everything. I gave in to one of those cravings, which was Rubios. Not too bad in and of itself. But 600 calories for a single lunch is a bit much. Then later in the day it just became easier to give in to more cravings. Vicious cycle. I ended up making some homemade wheat waffles for dinner with organic peanut butter and bananas on top. Yum! But then I went to a Relief Society party where there was delicious little smokies that were to die for, and since my roommate made them and there were leftovers...yeah, I ate some at the party and then more when I got home.

I then proceeded to watch Biggest Loser, which gave me enough motivation to go to the gym :) and even though it was a late night gym workout I feel like I still had a good sweat and I immediately felt better.

Moral of the story--- There's nothing like a good workout to fight a bad case of the fatty day.

Anyway, this was mostly rambling, mostly because I'm frustrated after today but tomorrow will be better :) Cannot WAIT for spring break, Rocky Point is my favorite!

Last two weeks

2012-01-05T13:28:00.000-08:00

So this is about the only kind of journaling I will ever get around to doing, which means that if you have a problem with it being too long, tough.

Okay so day after Christmas me and Savanna went hiking with her friends on Camelback mountain, which is a super fun hike but the only gripe I have with it is that it is always so crowded. Holy heck. Parking is a nightmare, and even hiking is hard because you have to keep passing around people and waiting for people to pass, it's all just a big mess. However, once you get to the top it really is worth it! The views are fabulous, and you can pretty much see the entire valley from the top. You don't realize how big the valley of the sun really is until you can see it from up high. So great. And then coming down is more fun than coming up, because you jump from boulder to boulder and try to see how fast you can run down.

During the next week I worked a couple more times, and then I got ready to go on the cabin trip from Thursday night to Saturday afternoon. It was seriously one of the best cabin trips ever (although how can any cabin trip not be fun?) and I felt like I never wanted to leave. Thursday night we drove up, ate some delicious homemade chicken noodle soup, watched a movie, and basically had a big sleepover. It's a pretty small cabin and so with the 10 of us it was pretty crowded. The next day we slept in, had breakfast, played some card games, went for a beautiful walk around the woods, and then headed to Pine to visit the awesome thrift store they have there. Oh my goodness. I don't visit thrift stores that much but this one was a winner. We all walked away with some pretty crazy (and cheap!) stuff. I got a legit Polaroid camera that is in perfect condition, I just need to find some film for it! And I got it for only a dollar, it made me so happy. I also got this hilarious sweater that has horses all over it, it's actually pretty awesome. Good for an ugly sweater party, however everyone kept saying that you could find something like that at urban outfitters, haha! So yeah, the thrift store was a highlight and a huge success. After a movie and naptime at the cabin we then headed to Payson for dinner at El Rancho and a trip to Walmart, the boys really wanted a slingshot to kill birds and squirrels with. They crack me up.

We headed home Saturday afternoon in time to get ready for the festivities of New Year's Eve! It was a pretty fun but also fairly calm night. I hung out with my family and some family friends until about 11, we ate some delicious food and played card games. I then left to go find my friends and hang out with them for the stroke of midnight and parties afterwards. We were at the Polar Ice YSA party (last time I'll do that, full of 18 year olds!) for midnights, and then we went to the Schwartz's house for "breakfast" and then ended up going to IHOP to meet up with some other people. It turned out pretty fun, although I was tired before midnight even rolled around. I must be getting old.

New Year's Day I slept in and went to church at one, then that night was Hannah's open house! There was SO MANY people, she is a pretty popular girl :) It was so fun though to see everyone, because I was also leaving that week to come back up to Provo. Monday I had the random idea to go hike my favorite hike, Flatiron, and so a small group of us headed out in the morning to go tackle the Superstition Mountains! I love that hike because it is a challenge but the views from the top are better than any other hike. It was pretty crowded for the first time that I can remember. Tons of people living up to their new years resolutions, I guess!

Speaking of- my new years resolutions usually have something to do with fitness and running, and this year is no different. I'm already signed up for two half marathons (SLC in April and Utah Valley in June) and I am so excited to run them with my friends and roommates! I've already started training because I want these two races to be my best. Depending on how I feel after the June one, I might sign up for the Ragnar here in Utah and the Top of Utah full marathon in September. Whew. Lots of running this summer but I am so excited for it! Another goal that will come with this is to lose 10-15 pounds by spring break. It is only 9 weeks away but I bought lots of healthy food and I am so committed it is not even funny! I want to have a good lookin bod for summer :)

For now I am back in Provo (got back Tuesday night) and enjoying getting back into a real routine and going to the gym. Oh, how I have missed the gym! It snowed today after being so warm for the last couple days, but I don't mind because the snow is beautiful, and it wasn't even that much :) School starts on Monday, and I am actually super excited/nervous. Haven't had a real school schedule in a long, long time. Welp, maybe I'll post some pictures from my Christmas break adventures later, right now I think this post is long enough. Much love!

Christmas at Home

2011-12-31T15:00:00.000-08:00

Since I was home for 3 weeks, this post is long. Also, I started it like a week ago. ha ha!

Man has this break been wonderful! I feel like I have been home FOREVER (because I have) which will make going back to Provo pretty interesting, almost like I'm starting all over again. I feel like the months from August to December went by so ridiculously fast, but that's not necessarily a bad thing. Another blessing is that the winter in Utah has been very mild, which means it's not so much of a change for me.

So I came home on December 13th, and that weekend consisted of wedding receptions and the GHS choir concert. I always love the Christmas concert because all of the alumni go up on stage and sing "Still, Still, Still" with the choir, its always iffy if I'll remember the words or not. Haha!

That weekend I just hung out with friends, nothing too big planned. Oh wait, just kidding! My best friend Hannah had her missionary farewell on the 18th! Sweet mercy! She did an amazing job and totally sounded like a sister missionary already. She is the best ever, and she will totally rock Boston, Mass.!

My birthday was on the 21st, I am now the ripe old age of 23. Must not freak out. Oh, too late. Actual day was fun, went around to get free food with Hannah and then went shopping and dinner with my mom. Got some great presents, including my new curling rod which I absolutely love!! Perfect curls every time! Then that night we decided to have a birthday pie night at Village Inn (free pie on wednesdays!) and it was super fun, I love all my friends!

The next week consisted of working a little bit here and there at Rehab AZ, I worked there for a year and a half and I could tell they totally missed me! It was so fun to be back there, it was like I never left :) They even paid me, it was legit. Haha. And it also helped me not to be totally bored during break, so that was a blessing.

Christmas came up fast, and of course we had family Christmas parties on both sides. At the Wilkins party we ate yummy mexican food and had a program with kiddos as they acted out the Nativity scene. I played my violin as background music :) It made Grandma Dorothy pretty happy!

At the Clouse party we did the traditional singing of the "12 Days of Christmas", except this rendition involves acting out the scenes and outrageous props. Definitely my favorite tradition ever. Enjoy a little taste! (the one doing the amazing dance moves is my talented cousin Kalvin)

I couldn't stop laughing the entire time. This is so typical of our family.

Christmas Eve we sold pork roasts to raise money for Weston's mission. It was a great turn out! Then that night we decorated gingerbread houses, opened the traditional pajamas, and watched The Grinch; perfect night.

Next morning we got up bright and early at 5:30, but not to open presents. For the 4th year in a row, we all headed out to Phoenix, under the 7th Avenue bridge, to feed the homeless a Christmas breakfast! We had a huge turnout of volunteers, so much so that there wasn't enough work for everybody. But that's okay! The one's who weren't cooking or serving spent the morning talking and listening to the people that we were serving. I absolutely LOVE this tradition, and I hope we never stop doing it. It makes Christmas SO much more meaningful and I wouldn't want to spend Christmas morning any other way. It is so great to see how thankful the homeless people are as we give them a delicious hot breakfast, and I love to see how selfless our friends and families are as we all work together to serve. There are no words to describe how great it is!

After the breakfast was all cleaned up and everyone headed home, we rushed home to get ready in time for church. Since it was Christmas Sunday, there was just a Christmas program during sacrament meeting and that was it. By this time I was exhausted but we only had an hour or so until ELDER CLOUSE could skype with us!!!! Oh my gosh, can I just say skype is the greatest thing ever invented?? Two and a half hours of laughter, tears, stories, and memories. It was honestly the perfect way to spend a Christmas afternoon. We took lots of screenshots and had SUCH a fun time talking to him. Can't wait to do it again on Mother's Day! Although I might not be home for it, we'll see.

Anyway, since this post is becoming much too long, I'll leave it at that (for this post, anyway).

So much goodness....

2011-12-08T16:55:00.001-08:00

Guys- This is my new favorite song/obsession. Such a fun song to blast in the car and sing at the top of your lungs! This video is the acoustic version, which I like just as much as the original. His voice, OH his voice! I loved him in The Format (moment of silence) and now I love him in Fun. This song is so awesome in so many ways. Anyway, listen and enjoy!

On another note, I am going home on Tuesday for Christmas break (almost 3 weeks of greatness) and I am super stoked for next semester. A real school schedule and a real job to boot! So excited. I come back January 3rd, just in time to pick up my bestie at the SLC airport and drop her off at the MTC. Oh snap!!!

Have a good Christmas!!

7 things....

2011-11-18T23:51:00.001-08:00

So I'm bored, and I saw on someone else's blog that they wrote a "7 things" post about themselves. Some of the things I've picked aren't exactly random, and they might already be common knowledge, but who cares. It's my blog, I do what I want :)

1. I have ran two full marathons, but I've trained for 3. The second one I trained for (in 2010) I got injured during the 20-miler run three weeks before the race. Big bummer! But I got to try again the next year and nailed it. I did St George in 2009 and Utah Valley in 2011. Next year I might try St George again :)

2. Instead of getting all dressed up for the Winter Formal my junior year, I went buffalo hunting with my dad and brothers in New Mexico. I have never regretted that in the slightest! Guys love it when they hear that I shot a buffalo, with a muzzleloader that had no scope on it. Yeah, not to brag or anything but that is pretty awesome, you have to admit!

3. I have played the violin since 5th grade, and I still love to play any chance that I get. It's one of my only true talents, since I don't consider running one of my talents, more of a hobby. But playing my violin has brought me (and others) more joy throughout the years than I could have ever imagined! I don't mind performing for people, and a couple weeks ago I performed solo for the first time in several years, at a fireside in my ward. Kind of terrifying, but I think I did okay! And, I'm always on the lookout for new music to play.

4. I love Arizona with all my heart. Since I've moved away I've realized how wonderful of a place it is. The weather is awesome, I have innumerable friends and family there, the roads are better for running (mile blocks instead of these stupid block-every-tenth-of-a-mile), there is so much stuff to do outdoors, the heat isn't as bad as some people make it out to be (if you've grown up there) and I love my home and neighborhood. Now don't get me wrong, I'm not knocking Utah or Provo. It has its own great things about it, but Utah will never live up to my AZ :) I am enjoying Utah, for the record :)

5. Along with loving AZ, I LOVE Mexican food. Which is probably why I am such a sucker when it comes to good tortillas and good salsa. I like to think that I am the best critic when it comes to the spicy deliciousness that is Mexican food. I probably eat more cheese crisps (quesadillas, for those who didn't grow up in my family) and burritos than anyone I know. And don't even get me started on taco stands in Mexico. Sweet mercy. If I had the chance, I would drive to Mexico JUST to get a taco (or 6) from a taco stand in Sonoyta. Every time I think about it....I die a little inside. Yum.

6. I went skydiving for my 21st birthday and it was seriously the greatest thing ever. The only time I felt scared was when we were coming in for the landing, because it felt like we were going so fast! Even when we were loading up in the tiny, rickety, shouldn't-even-be-flying airplane, or steadily climbing to 30,000 feet, or even when I looked out the door and saw the person in front of me disappear into the abyss, I was never scared! We were so high, it didn't even register to be afraid of heights. It was surreal. When my dread-locked instructor told me to jump, I did without any hesitation. The thrill was like nothing I have ever felt before or since. I think when Weston comes home from his mission I'll take him skydiving :)

7. I don't know how to snowboard or ski. I know, you're thinking "But you live in Utah now! Home of the greatest resorts EVER!" Well, problem #1, I own zero snow gear. As in, I would be that person wearing jeans on the slopes, which just screams "newbie!" Problem #2, I'm broke, so no ski lift tickets or gear rentals for me! Problem #3, I have no desire to eat snow and get a concussion and freeze my butt off and break my wrists and/or ankles just trying to get down a mountain with a board or two strapped to my feet and out of my control. Pass. I'll just enjoy sledding, thank you very much! But, if someone happens to invent a snow scooter (like a razor scooter without wheels!! Genius!!) than I am sooooo there. But til now, I'll watch everyone spend several hundred dollars this winter on aches and pains :)

Welp, that's me in a nutshell. And I tried not to brag for most of it, but you know how I am. The constant one-upper strikes again!

Weekend at home!

2011-11-14T21:33:00.001-08:00

So I'll probably post pics on facebook from this weekend, but it was so fun that I must do a recap :)

Drove home Wednesday, made it home pretty fast and in enough time to go hang out with some people for a little bit.

Thursday consisted of lunch at YC's with Emily and Rochelle and then I FINALLY got my hair cut. My bangs were getting too long and annoying! Me and Chic went to go play with some lab puppies (I WANT) and they were seriously crazy and to die for. So cute! I don't really remember the rest of the day, probably because all I did was watch tv and eat some more good food. Hey, don't hate. I don't have cable in my house here in Provo and so I couldn't resist the appeal of the tv at home!!

Friday was soooo long but so much fun! Woke up early, took a shower, visited my old job and then went to the Veteran's Day parade in downtown Mesa with my moms side of the family. Really cool to see how patriotic everyone was. It was also awesome to see my coworkers and catch up and tell them all about my life here in P-town. Of course they miss me, I was the best ever! Haha. Then after the parade me and Savanna went to lunch and attempted to catch Thien and Brittany coming out of the temple, we were a little late though, everyone had left but I still got to say hi as they were taking some more pics with the photographer. We then headed to great-Grandma's house for a BBQ and some more family time with the Wilkins. There were some pretty hilarious pictures taken!! I then had to leave early so I could go get ready for Thien's reception, which ended up being pretty crazy fun! We all were on the dance floor and I swear it was a Gilbert High reunion, it was so great!! Everyone was there! After the reception we stopped by Walmart to get the 8th Harry Potter movie on DVD (it had just come out that day) so that everyone could come over to my house to watch it. I love that movie way too much. Hahah!! After the movie was over it was pretty late so everyone went home. Wonderful, wonderful day!

Saturday morning, my mom, Savanna, and I went and ran a 5K in downtown Mesa called Shun the Sun. We got these super legit race shirts that are long-sleeved, light blue, and extremely soft. Apparently they're made out of bamboo. Who knew, right? Anyway, of course I rocked the 5K because of all my "elevation training", it was my first one in over two years and I ran it in 29:30, not bad, right? Over three minutes faster than my last one (I think). After that I took a wicked awesome nap (much needed) and then got ready for a picnic with the Wilkins family in Fountain Hills. This weekend was a family reunion of sorts for the Wilkins side, pretty fun stuff. The fountain was legit, I'd never actually seen it up close before! That night I got a big group of people together and we all went tire rolling! It was so fun, lots of new people. I ended up running after the tire and pushing it back up the hill every. single. time. Luckily I had a few trusty boys who were always pushing too. That thing is freaking heavy!! But, it was a super fun night, because after that we went to a friends house and a bunch of played signs. I started off really bad but I eventually got pretty good at it by the end!

Sunday I went to 8:30 church with my family. I helped my mom with nursery (not sure if I liked it or not. Too many screaming kids). This one little girl cried for the entire 2 hours. Insane. I don't even know why she was crying? We didn't want to take her to her parents because that just trains her cry every time she wants her parents. No bueno. After church I cleaned the house a little bit, made some cookies, took a nap, then got ready for Clouse family dinner, which I always love! All of the Clouse's are insane and I love them for it. So much fun! Then I rushed home to get ready for the big game night/cookie party that I was having, which is always a hit. Me and my mom had made a bunch of treats. Those parties are always fun, and I got to see pretty much everyone that I wanted to see!! There was probably about 60 or more people there at one point! I like that I can leave for Utah and yet still have my Arizona network of friends :)

Anyway, the drive back sucked but that's okay. Tomorrow is a new day! And, I'll be back in AZ before I know it :) I'm enjoying this double life I'm leading, haha!!! Sorry for the long post, as you can see it was an epic weekend.

Have a good week!

2011-11-01T15:11:00.000-07:00

I dare you to watch this video and NOT cry. Haven't we all felt how Andy feels in this ending? Like we're reluctant to let our childhoods go, and yet we know we HAVE to.

That was how I felt over the summer (nerd alert!) when the final Harry Potter movie came out. I had spent my entire childhood reading, and then watching, this wonderful series. I don't think I've looked forward to a movie more in my entire life. And it lived up to my expectations! And then, as the credits rolled, I realized. "It's over." I told Hannah that I felt empty and really weird inside. Haha! It was the strangest feeling! I then coined the phrase "Post-Potter Depression." Okay, it wasn't really depression, but it was a very downcast feeling as I realized that my childhood truly is over. Wait, it should've been over four or five years ago....but still. It was a definite end.

I guess the whole purpose of this post is that, yes, I am still trying to grow up. It's not easy, or fun, or awesome. It seems that as each year passes, I have taken on more responsibilities, but at the same time, I refuse to be responsible. Does that make sense? Maybe it was the fact that I grew up in a home where I never had to work a day in my life. And I'm not blaming my parents, because everyone knows they are the hardest working people around. I guess I'm blaming myself for not instilling in myself a healthy work ethic. The way I see it, I want a job HERE AND NOW that will be fun AND well-paying. I guess I kind of had that when I was at home, but now I'm away and I won't have those type of jobs handed to me anymore. Especially in Provo. But, is it so bad to want a job that I will enjoy? For me, if I don't enjoy it or feel that I am good at it, I just won't do it. Plain and simple. Right now I work in sales. And I've realized that sales is not my thing. At all. Honestly, I'd give anything right now to work in a physical therapy office. It's what I love to do and it is definitely where I belong!

So I'll just pray that something will come out of my persistence, hard work, and searching.

Dreams don't work unless you do.

Journal vs Blog

2011-10-30T22:55:00.000-07:00

So lately I've been wondering, should I treat this blog more as a journal of the things that happen in my life (like I've been doing) or should I dig a little bit deeper and talk about my ideas, opinions, thoughts, memories, and the like? So I did a quick search and found this website with over 300 journal prompts. It made me pretty excited so I figured I would start doing that too, along with the events of my life.

The one I picked today asks me to start off with "Sundays are..."

Sundays are the day I wake up early, get super cute and try to flirt with as many guys as I can at church. Okay, obviously it is more than that. If I was shallow, that is how my Sundays would be. I look forward to Sundays the most, because they are a day of rest! I know what you're thinking, isn't every day for you a day of rest? I know, I have a pretty easy schedule/life right now, but Sundays are so much more than just a day where you don't go to the store.

Sunday is a day for me to go to church and try to learn something about this wonderful Gospel that I didn't already know. For example, today was stake conference. And today in the afternoon session, I witnessed a miracle that I would call the "choir of angels." We had a stake choir perform the number "I Believe In Christ", one of my favorite hymns. They were a good-size choir, but still not very large. Well, midway through the song I felt the Spirit swell up inside of me in such a way that I had tears in my eyes and the most intense goosebumps ever. The sound coming from that choir was like that of a choir four or five times their size. It was simply amazing to hear their testimonies being sung in such a way that it hit me in the heart. I do believe in Christ. It was affirmed to me today in such a way that I will never forget. The stake President got up afterwards and told us, "Today you have witnessed a miracle. That was literally a choir of angels. Thank you, choir, for accompanying them." I felt so blessed to be there to witness it! It made this Sunday so much more special.

Sometimes I feel like Sundays can be too cluttered with meetings to make it truly a day of rest. Especially for my roommate Jaclyn, who is our wonderful Relief Society President. From 8 in the morning until well after dinner time, she is in meetings. I do suppose that in order to make a ward run smoothly, sacrifices must be made. Where would our ward be without a Bishop and his counselors, who are also in meetings from dawn to dusk on Sundays? My Sundays aren't nearly as busy, but they still consist of the regular 3-hour church block, ward choir right afterwards, visiting and home teaching on some days, and ward prayer that night. Lots of stuff going on, but that is the norm for a single's ward, I suppose.

I am also glad that there is a return of the Sunday nap!! My previous ward started at 12:30, but my new ward starts at 9:25, the perfect time :) That means after ward choir I have a glorious nap, along with plenty of time to read scriptures and books and to skype with family.

All in all, Sundays are the best day of the week :) There's no denying that!

What does Sunday mean to you?

Halloween Half!!

2011-10-29T23:25:00.000-07:00

I ran my second half marathon today, but it still felt like my first because my last one was in January. Anyway, recap time!!!

Got up 4:50. Got ready real fast because Dustin and Heather were already waiting out front at 5:10. Me and Heather were one of the lucky people who were able to get on the first wave of buses. The bus was warm and made us sleepy! After the ride up Provo Canyon and past Sundance we disembarked into the freezing dark and made our way into the huge tents that they had set up for all the runners. It was pretty awesome not to have to stand out in the cold forever! We had a couple hours to spare so we just picked a spot, sat down and chilled. I mostly people watched, and I tell you what there were some GREAT costumes. I'll talk about my favorites at the end...

So we decided to go with the first wave of runners, which would start right at 9 a.m. and was for the people who had a goal of 2:10 or faster. We wanted to run 2:15 but we also didn't want to wait for the second wave. A little after 9 we were off! And HOLY FETCH was it some steep downhills! Now you may be saying, wait, downhills are awesome! Let me tell you, they are awesome for a little bit. 12% grade tends to get pretty old after a couple miles! It was so cold at the start that basically the only warm part of my body was my torso. My legs were completely numb, as were my feet. This created a big problem! Usually I am in total control of my feet, and I have a very soft landing, so soft that people don't even hear me when I'm running behind them. Well, I had ZERO control because I couldn't feel my feet. I could tell I was pounding them pretty hard on those downhills, and even though I tried my best not to over stride and to let gravity take me, I couldn't do much about the pounding. Between miles 3 and 4 I could already feel shin splints coming on, and my quads and knees were killing me! But, on a happy note, we were able to make up a ton of time on those first four miles. I do believe we hit an 8-minute mile at one point, and it felt really good to see the time we were making!

When we got to Provo Canyon, I starting struggling pretty bad. Those downhills took a lot more out of me than I thought they would! Somehow, someway, I managed to keep a 10 minute mile pace! I was pretty amazed, usually that takes a lot of effort to maintain for any amount of time. I know, I'm slow, ha ha! Once we got on the Provo River trail I felt like I was super sluggish, but finally my GU kicked in and gave me some energy. The rest of the race was pretty much deja vu from last Saturday, it was the exact same trail that me and Heather ran on. The rest of the race was pretty uneventful, the weather was perfect and I managed to keep a pretty even pace. I think our slowest mile was a 10:44, the rest of them were just above or below 10 minute miles. It was pretty awesome!

With one mile to go I told Heather, "If you're feeling good, go for it!" I knew we were on pace to get a 2:10, (we could have done a 2:05 but had to take a bathroom break around mile 8) so I told her to go ahead. My calves were cramping up pretty bad and I was putting so much effort into just maintaining a 10 minute pace. So Heather pulled ahead a little bit towards the very end, I could barely see her through the sea of runners around me. The finish line was kind of hidden around a little bend, and as soon as I saw it I sprinted with all I had left! I crossed the finish in 2:07 (according to my watch, I knew my official time was a little bit more than that), got my finishers medal, found Heather and Dustin, took some pictures, found our clothing bags, and headed home. Me and Heather were excited that we had achieved our goal!!

Official time for Heather was 2:09:50, and my time was 2:10:14. Perfect in every way!! We could not be happier with those times, and I know I put everything I had into that race.

Okay, so some of my favorite costumes! There were so many! One guy was a shower. Literally, he had a shower rod connected to his body to where it circled above his head, complete with red shower curtain and shower head. Hilarious! I saw him ahead of us at one point, picked him out easily. Haha! Another guy was dressed as a Swedish girl, complete with green skirt, fluffy white blouse, little brown vest, and blonde wig with pigtails. Oh, and don't forget the best part. He filled out his blouse with two big white balloons. We are pretty sure he was not straight. Hahahaah! But he looked pretty convincing! My all-time favorite was a guy dressed up as a missionary, with white shirt and tie, bike helmet, sunglasses, and he even carried a Spanish Book Of Mormon. We passed him pretty early in the race and I told him as I passed, "That costume won't be legit unless you can pass out that Book Of Mormon by the end of the race!" He laughed and said he better get to converting then. It was pretty funny! One last costume that really got me was two buddies who were dressed at Jesus and Satan. Oh my gosh, so wrong yet so funny. One guy had the long hair, beard, and robes so that he looked like Jesus and the other was dressed all in red with devil horns and pitchfork. Good thing we passed them around the middle of the race, wouldn't want to be nearby when the lightning inevitably struck them. Ha ha ha!

Keep in mind, these people ran the entire 13.1 miles in these costumes! Me and Heather kept it simple, we went as roadkill! We took some white shirts, laid them in front of the car, painted the car tire with black paint, and rolled over the shirts. In five minutes we had some pretty awesome shirts! Then we smeared black and red makeup on our faces and legs to look like road rash. We looked pretty awesome, but most importantly, we were comfortable! Haha!

Well, I apologize for the long post, but I love doing very detailed race recaps :)

p.s.- I get to go home to AZ in less than two weeks!!! Then again for Thanksgiving! Life is good :)

One day I'll actually have someone to cook for....

2011-10-25T17:48:00.000-07:00

So I decided to make these delicious sweet potato fries that I found on Pinterest. They turned out super delicious and I was so proud of myself for being so home-makey.

They were so delicious that I promptly ate about half of the pan. That's probably about a pound of sweet potatoes. Aaaannnnnnndd....that's all I've eaten today. But I'm not complaining! Next time (oh, there will be a next time) I'm going to bake them a little bit longer so that they get slightly crispy and I also won't forget the salt :)

Maybe my new goal should be trying a new recipe from Pinterest every week? I like this idea :)

12 miles of awesome.

2011-10-24T11:19:00.000-07:00

So this weekend was a bit crazy. But at the same time it totally wasn't. I think my definition of crazy is a lot different from other people's. Anyway, Friday was work most of the day and then a date that night. Saturday is where the real fun came in. I had work from 11 to 4, which made me think- do I want to do a long run before or after work? Before would require waking up at 7, so obviously that meant I was running after work. Hahaha. So I texted my sis-in-law Heather and asked her if she wanted to be crazy and run 12 or so miles with me at 5 in the afternoon. Luckily we're both training for the Halloween Half so of course she said yes!

We decided to start at Vivian Park, at the top of the Provo River trail. We ran the first two miles super fast, and the whole time I was thinking, there's no way we can keep up this pace for 12 miles. We should probably slow down. So I tried reining back a little bit, but then decided to heck with it! We were gonna finish no matter what! Those first six miles were in the canyon on the river trail, and it was soooooo gorgeous! Why can't AZ have fall colors like this?! Haha, we just go from green-ish to brown. Anyway, the whole trail was covered in yellow, red, and orange leaves. So pretty! It made the miles go fast. It made me even more excited for the Half this Saturday, because the majority of it is in the canyon, the finish line is less than a mile outside the canyon.

So we stopped around mile 6, ate some GU, took a short walking break, and we were off again! By the way, the GU I ate tasted like chocolate frosting. Can you say amazing?! Haha. So we cruise down University Avenue, hit a long hill at mile 8 that we KILLED, and somehow make it back to Heather and Dustin's house after just over two hours of running. We were just amazed at how freaking amazing that run had been! We kept up an even pace the entire time, and the miles flew by so quickly. We had to wait around for a while so Dustin could get back with the car so that we could drive back up and get mine (he didn't realize we needed her car). The whole way we were just saying over and over, "That was awesome." haha! Our knees hurt a little bit from the downhill but I was mostly worried about shin splints. That was the farthest I'd ran since June, and twice as far as I ran last week! Luckily the next day I was sore, but not in a bad way :) Which made me very happy!

Anyway, after that run I just KNOW we are going to kill the Half. I want to break at least 2:15, but we might be able to pull a 2:10 if we race smart. Wish us luck!

Oktoberfest 10K

2011-10-17T12:37:00.000-07:00

So I haven't done a race since the marathon in June! Crazy to think of, when I usually have one at least once a month! When I moved up to Utah and realized that their racing schedule is complete opposite of Arizona's, I signed up a race right away. See, in AZ they have all of their races from October, all the way through the winter, until April or even May. In Utah, they have all of their road races from early April, all the way through summer, until November-ish. So when I got here I knew I had to sign up for a race if I wanted to get any racing in before winter!

I picked the Oktoberfest 10K, which was in Highland, only half an hour north of Provo. Cute little town, and the course was only through neighborhoods on the streets. I love doing race recaps, so here goes...

I always like to be at races an hour early, but apparently in Utah that's not a rule. Haha! I think I was one of the first runners there, so I picked up my bag and shirt and had 45 minutes to kill in my car. Thank goodness for smart phones and seats that go back really far! So I cruised facebook for a bit, read some news, closed my eyes for a little while. Ate some GU (note: pineapple flavor=gross. Mint chocolate flavor=yum!) and was excited and rearing to go at 8 a.m. The field was small, only 150 people, which made it the only time that I was worried that I would be last! Haha! Anyway, the race director said "Go!" and we were off!

It was wonderfully chilly and overcast, my favorite kind of running. My legs felt like lead for some reason, I was starting to get worried that I wasn't ready for racing right yet. Well, the GU hadn't kicked in yet! I hit the first mile in 10:45, which was what I was aiming for, so I wasn't that worried after the first mile. Then I found myself pushing it for the next three miles. At first I was telling myself, "slow down! Save it for the last couple miles!" But then I had one of my favorite running quotes come to my mind, "If I am still standing at the end of the race, hit me with a board and knock me down, because that means I didn’t run hard enough" (Steve Jones). So I told myself, "Okay, I'm gonna push it the whole time and see what happens!"

Whenever I've run races, I always like to think that I push myself harder than just a normal training run. And this race was no different. I was booking it the whole time, and I was even passing people! ME! Passing people?? Who would've thought? I tried to keep count, and I think I passed about 8 to 10 people. It felt so good, because it showed to me that I really was pushing as hard as I could, and I felt like I was running a great race. I kept a pretty even pace, around 10 minutes per mile, until I hit mile 5.5 and really let it go. I rounded a corner and ran down a small but steep hill towards the finish, and I gave it my all into that final sprint. I crossed the finish line in 01:03:12, which surprised me because I was really aiming for a 01:10 finish at least, since it was my first race in a long time. I was very happy! I almost PR'd, too! My best 10K time is 01:02:42, so that means I missed a new personal record by about 30 seconds. Which I am TOTALLY fine with because I never thought I would get that close in this race.

This race made me super SUPER excited for the Halloween Half next weekend. Based on the pace I ran in the 10K on a flat course, and because the Halloween Half is straight downhill, I think me and Heather could easily break 2:10, if we both have good days. Having such a good time in the 10K was a huge boost to my "performance self-esteem" , and I CANNOT wait for the half. AH!

Soapbox speech. Be warned.

2011-10-13T10:09:00.000-07:00

Facebook always asks me, "what's on your mind?" Well, a boy has NOT been on my mind. Because the man-boys here in Provo haven't quite gotten their acts together. Rather, what's been on my mind is, what can I be doing while I am waiting for these boys to man up? There's a saying that I've heard that says, "Always try to be the person that you would want to marry."

So what does this mean? For example, I want a man who is strong in the Church, sure in his testimony, super spiritual, and honors his priesthood. This is only one of the qualities that I look for in a man, but I think it is one of the most important ones. So, if I wanted this in a man, it wouldn't seem fair to him if I didn't attend Church, have a strong testimony, and respect my womanhood, now would it?

On that same note, if I am looking for a guy who is outgoing, funny, kind, loves his family, loves the outdoors (and I am definitely looking for a guy with these qualities!) then don't you think it would make sense if I tried to be someone like that? I mean, let's get real here. I am funny (apparently), I can be outgoing when I want to, sometimes I can be kind to others (something I definitely need to work on) I love my family and all the fun times we've had, and I can't get enough of the outdoors. But there is always room for improvement in my life, like putting myself in situations where I might meet someone, such as going to Church and institute activities. Always a good place to find men :)

Sometimes I think that I am losing opportunities to meet guys because I want a man that hunts. Now, if hunting is one of the things that makes me really happy and is one of my favorite things to do, don't you think it would be important to find a man who shared this same passion? And this is me self-justifying, but I think I can hold out a little bit longer for that rugged man to come along. (On a side-note, I AM turning 23 soon, so I can't hold out too much longer! Yikes!!)

I can't date or marry someone that doesn't have the same interests as me. The whole "opposites attract" thing never, ever made sense to me! I've tried dating guys who I get along with great on a humor and personality level, but when it comes down to it, we just had absolutely nothing in common. Therefore, we had nothing to talk about and it was exhausting! So I don't think it's wrong to want someone with your same interests.

I know this post is getting long, but whatevs. I have one more point to make. I've noticed lately that most guys these days have absolutely NO plan for their lives/careers. Isn't it strange how us women in LDS society are the ones who are destined to be mothers and homemakers (which I am SO excited to be someday! seriously!) and yet they seem to be the ones who always have education and career plans? EVEN though they may not even use the education they get? (I realize that most moms are required to work these days because of the crappy economy, like my own Mom! But, the majority are still stay at home moms).

And then there are the young LDS men of our generation. Now, I know there are some men out there who do have a very real education and career plan, and I am so glad that they do. But, I would say there are still a lot of guys my age out there who have absolutely no idea what they want to do or become. And I say to them, guys, GET A PLAN. Please, for the sakes of the women that you marry and have to provide for, please know how you are going to provide for her and your soon-to-be family. I have a friend who broke up with her longtime boy friend because, as she put it, "He didn't have a plan, and he didn't know what he was going to do with his life." A woman should not have to live in the fear that she will be forced to live in poverty because her husband couldn't get his act together. I do realize that when you're first married, you're going to be poor. That's just the way of life. But you shouldn't have to scrimp and save your entire life. You can think whatever you want about me, but this is my opinion!

Men, here's an idea. Think of what you love to do, and find some way to turn it into a career! That's what I've done. For three years after high school, I thought I knew what I wanted to do, but as it turns out I was so wrong. It wasn't until I got a job at a physical therapy office that I found out that I LOVE that field. And now I am in physical therapy assistant school in Provo, somewhere I NEVER thought I would be living. Obviously it is the right choice for me because everything has worked out for the best and I love it so far!

Okay, this might be the longest post I've ever written, but I think Provo is finally getting to me. Something about this constant, never-ending dating game is exhausting but at the same time it is also very interesting. It seems like all we can do here is talk about what is wrong with the "dating scene", but then nobody does anything about it!! So these are my thoughts on how to fix it. You're welcome.

Somebody wake up Green Day, cause September is over!

2011-10-08T17:15:00.000-07:00

Today I had one of my favorite runs ever! The weather was cold, about 50 degrees and cloudy. In my mind, that is PERFECT running weather! Not a gust of wind, of which I was grateful for :) I am super excited for the Halloween Half on the 29th, this run today just showed that I am right on track to break 2:20 again. I'm actually shooting for 2:15, especially since it is all downhill. I have a feeling I'm just gonna be cruising that whole time. Heather and I are doing it together, and since everyone dresses up for this race we'll probably just end up wearing crazy socks and/or a tutu. I hate dressing up anyway, but I don't want to be the only one without a costume! I think it'll be one of the best races I've ever done, though. Super stoked! Three weeks!

Utah can't decide whether it wants to be fall or winter! The last three days have been cold and rainy/snowy, like a typical early winter day! Where did fall go? I feel like it just started! Hopefully next week it will warm up to the 60's at least. I realized I have less than ideal winter clothing, so as soon as I get paid I'm going shopping! Woo! I haven't been shopping for clothes in MONTHS!

Provo is an interesting place. I feel like everywhere I go I have to look my best because you NEVER know who you might see or meet. I love the social scene here, there's always something going on. And luckily I am in a super awesome ward! The people in it are so fun and nice and totally chill. I've made some wonderful friends in this ward. Everything has worked out so great for me up here. I live in a cute little house that is almost always clean, my roommates are not catty AT ALL and we all get along so great it's almost scary. Ha ha. I love sharing the loft upstairs with Shantelle and Jaclyn. They are my new best friends, I love them so much!

Last weekend we went up to Shantelle's cabin in Bear Lake, Idaho with her family. We watched General Conference, ate so much amazing food, and went to the lake. It was actually not as cold as some people say, although by AZ standards the water was pretty chilly! Funny story- Shantelle loves to have a crazy time on the wave runner, and as luck would have it I have a huge fear or deep water AND of falling off the wave runner. So I was screaming and shaking the whole time because I was scared. Well Shantelle said she wouldn't tip us over because she knew how scared I was. Well, as we were heading into the marina to load up the wave runner, she decided to do one more crazy donut in the water. We tipped over faster than any of us could react, and of course I screamed and went into the fetal position in the water and Shantelle was just staring at me in shock because she felt so bad! Haha, it wasn't as bad as I thought it would be, and it turned out to be really funny and totally made the trip to the lake.

This is us on the wave runner after we tipped over. So fun!

Another fun part of Bear Lake was seeing a moose!! I was so excited! I love moose and have only seen two in my whole lifetime (now three) so I was super excited. I got an okay picture on my phone:

There was actually two of them, the one in the water looked to be a two or three year old and he was hanging out with a female. I don't know if it was his mom or not. But they were huge! I want one for a pet!!! Ha ha!

Anyway, this post has been too long, but I'll put a couple more pictures from the last couple weeks....

Winger's for Andi's birthday (she's the one next to me)

It was cold once we got out of the water and onto the boat! (Bear Lake)

This is from September. Amanda got married in the Salt Lake Temple, lucky! We have another picture like this from almost a year ago, so cute!

The first snow fall of the year. We had slushy snow fall in Provo but the mountains got covered pretty good. It's already almost melted!

Anyway, the next couple weeks will consist of work and running and a little school here and there. I love only having one class :)

Have a good October!!

BYU vs UTAH= joke.

2011-09-18T23:13:00.000-07:00

So I got the job! I started on Thursday and the first day went great! Tomorrow starts my first full week of working and I couldn't be happier! My schedule is amazing, I work every weekday except Tuesdays from 10 to 3. So fun! And my co-workers rock. And now I am so motivated to run in the mornings it's not even funny! I love it so far.

Saturday was a really fun, great day. I got up early to run (the weather is perfect in the mornings!) and then after I took a shower and got ready I drove up to Salt Lake for my cousin Amanda's wedding. Loved seeing some of the Clouse family and catching up! She got married in the Salt Lake Temple. LUCKY!

I couldn't stay for the wedding dinner, cause I had to drive back for the big BYU VS UTAH game. I had been looking forward to this for a couple weeks, so I was super excited! Welp, let me just say....WORST GAME I HAVE EVER WATCHED IN MY LIFE. And I watched a whole season of Utah State football, so that is saying a lot. This was the very first play after the initial kickoff:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nTBZmpXsaUs

Can you believe that snap? Holy crap. So sad to watch. It was like their brains were not even in the game, at all. I have never in my life seen a snap as bad as that. And its like Heaps (the QB) didn't even try to grab the ball! He jumped right over it! So stupid.

Anyway, that was only the FIRST play! And it definitely set the tone for the rest of the game. However, we had great seats. Fourth row, up against the tunnel where the Utes came charging out. We had fun booing them, although when they were walking back in for the halftime I had a harder time booing them to their faces because hot dang, those guys are SCARY. They were so intense!

So as the game went on, I kept laughing harder and harder at every failed play. At one point I laughed so hard I cried, no kidding. Six or seven fumbles and turnovers later, the score was 10-54 and the dejected BYU fans were leaving the stadium before the 4th quarter even started.

All in all, they got owned. Big time. Thank goodness I'm not really a BYU fan or else I would've been upset. As it was, I was very much entertained. Hilarious on every level!

Towards the end of the game, the Utah mascot (Swoop the hawk) came over in our section and was taking pictures with the Utah fans that were surrounding us (somehow we ended up in the visitors section). So I'm sitting there, and Swoop is taking pics with the people next to us and so his butt is literally right in my face! So I turn to my friend Kevin and I'm like, you dare me to touch his butt? Of course he dared me, so naturally I poked the Hawk's red-spandexed butt. I also stroked his tail feathers for good measure. I didn't think he noticed.

After he was done taking pics he turns around and starts messing with me! He ruffled up my hair, then acted like he was smoothing it down with his spit. Then he blew kisses at me, and we played around like that for a little bit. And then he pointed to the side of his "beak", like he was saying give me a kiss on the cheek! So I went in for a little peck and he turns his head and somehow my whole face/head ends up in his wide open mouth! So funny, that's when I knew that he knew that I poked his butt. Of course Kevin was laughing his head off at me, while I was laughing at myself, more than a little embarrassed! I wish I had gotten a picture with him after that! Anyway, here's a pic of him so you get a visual of where my face was! Haha

So even though the game was a total bust, I ended up having a blast! ALSO, we were on ESPN 2! My mom texted me and said she saw me, cause the camera guy was filming us for a little bit, cheering and stuff. I guess it was pretty funny to see me on tv! My parents recorded it at home, so hopefully they can find that part and somehow get it online. That would be cool!

Welp, tomorrow is work and more fun so I am off to bed......

The suspense!

2011-09-13T19:20:00.000-07:00

So I've had two interviews at this place called 26.2 Running Company here in Provo. They were super impressed with my knowledge of physical therapy, and they asked me a lot of specific questions on that subject, such as how to diagnose a running injury and what I would tell a customer if they had a nagging pain, ect. I feel like I really answered those questions well.

After my 2nd interview on Monday, the lady I interviewed with said something along the lines of "Well, it sounds like it's pretty much a done deal. We'll discuss it more and then call you."

Of course, here I am, almost two days later, and no phone call! I don't really know how long they'll wait until they call me, I just hope it's soon! I WANT/NEED this job. The hours are awesome, the atmosphere is awesome, and it will really help me with my fitness goals.

Speaking of, today I downloaded a fitness/calorie counter app on my phone, and I am so excited to use it! I can log every thing I eat, and it even has a handy barcode scanner so that I can scan food packages and stuff. So sweet! Then you put in your current weight and your weight goal and it tells you how many calories to eat a day. I figure with half-marathon training and a weight loss goal of 10 pounds by Halloween, I should be eating about 1,400 calories a day. The training isn't too strenuous, so I don't need that many extra calories.

Actually, Halloween weekend (the 29th to be exact) I am running the Provo Halloween Half! I am so excited, so far I have my sis-in-law Heather and maybe another friend running it with me. I just have to figure out what we are going to wear! Everyone dresses up for it, so we'd kind of be losers if we didn't dress up! So, I am very excited for that.

Other than that, there's nothing much else new with me. I've been making tons of new friends and eating way too many brownies. Haha. Provo is pretty fun!

2011-09-03T10:44:00.000-07:00

Now I'm really starting to like Provo.

Saturday mornings (when the weather is nice) I really love to go running. There's no pressure to be anywhere else, so I can take all the time I need.

This morning I decided to drive up into Provo Canyon and run the Provo River Trail. Or a part of it (its 15 miles long). I started at Vivian Park and told myself I would do two miles out, two miles back. Well, lo and behold, EXACTLY two miles from my car was Bridal Veil Falls (above, taken with my phone camera). It totally made my day! I thought it was a lot farther than that.

Anyway, this will be my Saturday ritual as long as the weather is good. And I might even do it once when it snows, just for kicks. :)

Also, everybody runs in Provo, and I LOVE IT. I need to find a running partner soon!

New

2011-08-30T19:49:00.000-07:00

So I have started my new life in Provo. Never in a million billion years did I think that I would be living here! But you know what? I like it! I like that everyone has the same goals (finish school, get married) and the general spirit about the place is pretty nice. It's nice seeing people walk around dressed modestly, and I don't think I've heard a single cuss word since I've been here. Such a nice change!

These last couple days my sole focus has been job hunting. Ew. I've never really had to job hunt, my previous jobs were pretty much handed to me. So far I have applied to around 12 places or more, but no luck yet. It's only been like two days or serious searching so I haven't lost hope....yet. No! Must not lose hope! I will find a job :)

So...Provo. Quite an interesting place. I don't think I've heard as much marriage talk during church in my entire life. Our bishop told us straight out on Sunday that his main purpose is to get us all married by Christmas. Which I wouldn't mind. There's plenty of good guys in my ward, I'm excited to make some new guy friends! I feel like most of my friends are guys, which can be a good thing or a bad thing, depending on how you look at it. Bad- always in the friend zone. Good- sometimes you meet their cute friends, so it all works out.

My roomies are ADORABLE and I am so excited to be in a house with normal people! What a nice change! (haha jk family) But really, that was one of my only worries coming up here was that I didn't know my roommates. Well, turns out they are fantastic. Clean and nice and so cute! I definitely picked the right place to live. Plus the house is just like every little red brick, two story Utah house that I have always wanted to live in. So old, yet so perfect. We'll see how it keeps us warm in the winter, haha. Our house is called "The Lookout House", probably because you can see the street pretty well from the front windows. One of the boys called it the stalker house. Haha! That's what it feels like, I can see people coming and going when I stand at the sink doing dishes.

So, I guess the verdict on Provo is, good so far! I actually like being on my own, it feels like I'm finally growing up! Yay! About 4 years too late, but oh well :)

Back to school/work/running

2011-08-14T14:04:00.000-07:00

This move up to Utah is gonna be crazy busy! First, I have to get aquainted with a WHOLE new group of people, which I can actually see myself loving. I think it will really test my social skills, haha.

Then, I have to find a new job, and I hate nothing more than those first few weeks on a new job. Because, you know, I don't like feeling like an idiot. Hopefully I find somewhere near as cool as my old job.

Then, I'm starting school. This will be my first serious attempt at school in a long time, and I am SO ready for it! I actually really like school, and I am also excited to find new friends in my classes.

The part I'm most excited about is getting back into running!! If all goes right, I should be able to run nearly every morning which will make my life absolutely wonderful! I haven't gone on a morning run during the week in almost two years because of my previous job. So excited! Hopefully I can find a good 10K to run in the next couple months.

I move in 10 DAYS. Woof.

Pinterest....heaven help me

2011-08-13T13:53:00.000-07:00

So I think I like Pinterest.

Even though I'm not a homemaker. I'm not a wife. Shoot, I'm not even crafty.

But I like seeing other people's ideas, because I'm never creative enough to come up with my own.

My only issue(s) with Pinterest is that it is more time-consuming than facebook.

And sometimes I feel like it is just another way for us to covet other people's stuff. I was looking at all these things that I wanted for my future home, my clothes, places I wanted to go, ect. And I started to feel bad for coveting! Which has never really been a problem for me. So I'm not saying Pinterest is bad, I'm just saying, be careful that you don't spend all your time wishing for things you wish you could have, knowing you never will. Just be happy for the things you do have, and the things that you can achieve in the near future.

Okay, I'm done preaching!

Bottom line- Pinterest is fun. After an hour, it's enough. Haha

Woe is me! (kidding)

2011-08-12T18:28:00.000-07:00

Let me get something straight. Yes, I am single. Very much so. I've been single for a year. Big whoop.

And honestly, I would love nothing more than to be married, or even to have a wonderful boyfriend. All of my friends are married, and it does get lonely sometimes hearing about how "married life is the best!" and "my husband is the greatest husband in the world!" and "you're still single?".

But I've done my best to not gripe and complain about it too much. That is one of my biggest desires, to get married, but it doesn't consume every part of my day. I don't mention it in every conversation. I don't whine about it on facebook. Heck, this might be the first time I've blogged about it.

Sometimes I feel that girls who focus only on the fact that they are single give out a "desperate" vibe about them. Me, on the other hand, I like to focus on having fun while I'm single. You know, doing stuff that married people have a harder time doing, like flirting with multiple boys at once and leaving on spontaneous trips.

I figure, the right guy will come along at the right time. All I can do is be the person that I would want to marry. And always put myself in situations where I might meet new people.

Since I'm moving up to Utah in less than two weeks (!), expect some of my posts to be dating related. I'll probably be sharing stories of failed dates, fun first dates, awkward moments, and cute guys. One thing I will not do is whine about how nobody asks me out or how it's not working out with this one guy or blah blah blah....because that's not me! I am a happy person, and I am going to focus on happy things!!

Wish me luck on my move, it's a new adventure! :)

Have a soup pie....

2011-08-12T17:52:00.000-07:00

Yes, this post is about Havasupai. In case the title confused you or something.

Ready to party! Told you my pack was huge!

The whole group

The pilot was way cool!

So excited to fly out in the helicopter!

We hiked in Thursday night to the bridge and slept there. Next morning we checked in at the village and then headed to the campsite. I woke up that morning feeling kind of sick but I hoped it would pass. But nope. The rest of the trip I felt sick as a dog, with a really bad sore throat, but I still managed to play with everyone else. Friday we visited Mooney Falls as a group, then most of the group headed off to hike to Beaver Falls. I have never had any desire to go there during all of my trips down there, so me and two others headed back to camp to take a glorious nap! Then we headed to Havasu Falls to chill and enjoy the sweet waterfall.

It was starting to get dark, and I was worried why the rest of the group hadn't come back yet. Right after it got dark they came back, with the news that Rochelle had hurt herself cliif jumping. It took them so long to get back because they had to take turns carrying her back, all 5 miles. I was surprised they made it at all! Turned out she couldn't walk without pain, so we made a plan. The rest of the group would hike out Saturday afternoon, after they were done playing at the other falls, as planned. Then me, Keith, and Rochelle would pay 80 dollars each to fly out. The helicopter didn't run until Sunday morning, so we had to sleep an extra day at the campsite.

I tell you what, that was the greatest 80 dollars I have ever spent!! I've hiked out of there four times before, so I think I deserved to fly out at least once. Besides, I was still super sick and so unable to hike 11 miles anyway. That helicopter was a blessing! The flight out was so cool, I loved being able to see the trail from the sky and see just how skinny and winding the canyon is where we hike. And seeing the switchbacks from the sky makes you wonder how we hike them at all!

Even though we had some accidents, it was still a fun trip. I love that place and I still hope to visit it every year! Next time, I am bringing a smaller pack....haha!

"Don't hit me in the face with a bike!"

2011-08-03T20:13:00.000-07:00

"I have a machete, right here."

"Want to have a party at my house?"

I could watch these all day.

Tomorrow...

2011-08-03T20:07:00.000-07:00

I'm heading to good ol' Havasupai tomorrow with some pals.

I just finished packing and weighed it using this strategy.

Luckily I could SEE THE NUMBERS!

But my pack weighs a whopping 35 pounds.

WOOF.

This trip should be fun?

Lake Powell

2011-07-31T17:34:00.000-07:00

So I'm a horrible person because I almost never take pictures when I'm vacation. I guess I'm used to my mom taking them! So, sorry, no pics from Powell this week. Just know it was awesome. I went with my cousins family and all of their friends. So fun!

We were supposed to leave Sunday at 3 or 4 in the afternoon but ran into some complications, namely one of the trucks was broken and had to be fixed and then my car over heated when we were waiting out front to leave. Apparently nobody told me that you can't idle with air on full blast for 20 minutes. It turned out okay, we left my car there and took another one, and good thing it happened there instead of on the road!

Got to Powell around 12:30 that night, and just unloaded our bedding and slept on the dirt road. Next morning, we quickly set up camp in a perfect camping spot and then proceeded to just relax the rest of the day.

The next couple of days consisted of sleeping in, lounging around reading, tanning, cliff jumping, swimming to the buoys, kayaking, and eating :) The boat didn't work too well, but I at least got in a good wake boarding run once. It was well worth it, and I even popped up on my first try!

On Wednesday the boys made this huge slip n slide down the beach from our camp, they had a long downhill run and then a big ramp at the end. Only problem is, the ramp was too steep. Uncle Russ decided to test it out before they really checked the depth of the water. End result: bad concussion, broken arm in three places, dislocated shoulder. He kept asking the same questions over and over, like "Did I get some air?" and "Did I look good?" and "What happened?" It was quite crazy! Shelle took Russ to the hospital in Page, but they said he needed surgery so they headed down to the valley that night. He got a big plate and 14 screws in his arm! Talk about intense! So for the rest of the trip we were without our ma and pa of the camp, but we got along okay. Luckily all the meal making was already planned out between their older kids. Camp take down was a little bit harder than it would've been, but it all turned out okay!

So now I'm home from Powell, and I still have Havasupai to look forward to later this week! I will definitely take pictures on this trip, so maybe I'll share them when I post next.

Summer is almost over, live it up!

Happenings...

2011-07-19T20:41:00.000-07:00

So, I've decided my blog is boring? But what can I say, creative writing was never my strong point so I just write what I think. whatevs.

I only have three days left of work. So weird, considering I've been there over a year and a half and I LOVE the place. I think I laughed too much today, mostly because they were making fun of me for eating cake. My nickname for the day was "275" because I told John I had a fear of getting fat. So naturally he called me an insanely gross number for the rest of the day. Then again, I pounded down that cake (it was delish, and I was hungry) until my stomach hurt, so i don't blame them for making fun of me!

Harry Potter is officially ended. I have coined the phrase "post-Potter depression" for how I feel. I texted my bestie at like 3 in the morning after doing the whole midnight showing thing, and I was like, what am I feeling right now? So happy, and yet so empty inside? Then the phrase popped into my head, and I felt so witty :) I've already seen the movie twice, and fully expect to see it again in a couple weeks. Seriously, such a good movie and the acting is stellar, for once! Snape's death scene, hello?

I leave for Lake Powell on Sunday! My cousins go for a WHOLE WEEK and they were awesome to invite me, Hannah, and Brooke along! Can I tell you how excited I am?? Now that I know how to wakeboard, I am pretty sure I'll be thisclose to being pro by the end of the week. And I am determined to be the tubing champ. Although I have been known to bail when things get rough. NOT THIS DAY! (name the movie) (nerdalert)

I am moving to Utah soon. Sometimes I think about it and am like "What the heal am I thinking?" but most of the time I just can't wait to start something new. Obviously I will miss my friends down here, especially now that we have been having so much fun lately, but this is an adventure that I am excited to embark on!

One last note- until further notice, all running is postponed until I get to Utah. Who wants to run in 100 degree weather AT NIGHT? I know I don't! It is just too dang hot. So I say I deserve a break! But, I'm starting to get the itch again to sign up for a race, we'll see how long I can hold out!

Much love......

Random thoughts and ramblings...

2011-07-08T15:43:00.000-07:00

So, I have my last day of work in two weeks. (sad) And then a month later I am moving up to Utah semi-permanently. Story time:

Once upon a time I wanted to become a physical therapy assistant. There are two programs in Arizona for this, one at Gateway Community College (tis a good one) and one at Pima Medical Institute (bleh). So I most def did not want to do PMI (they just barely got accredited), and turns out the wait at Gateway is 4 years or more (!!!). So what do I do? I find a school in Utah, Provo College, which has been accredited for 10 years, and which I can start almost immediately. Only downside is that it is more expensive, but I should be able to pay back the student loans in a couple years. Not too bad!

So that is why I am moving to Utah. I'm actually super excited about it! I love meeting new people, and this will really challenge my social (flirting) skills. I'm pretty sure I'll be pro after a couple months. I am sad to be leaving behind my friends and job here, but I am also ready for a new beginning. It's gonna be great!!

This is the rest of my summer:

Next friday, this:

There are no words to describe how excited I am. It is the end of my childhood!

And then one week after that I am done with work. Crazy. I'm gonna miss those guys for reals.

Then a couple days after that I leave for LAKE POWELL for a whole week with my bestie friend and my bestie cousin. Legit.

Then after Powell comes Havasupai. Since I missed last years trip I am doubly excited for this one!!

Then I have two or so weeks, Josh Groban concert on the 19th, and then I am outta here!!

Try not to be too jealous, I know my life is awesome. It's called being single with (almost) no responsibility.

Peace.

Utah Valley Marathon

2011-06-16T18:42:00.000-07:00

So I ran my second marathon yesterday! And, I beat my previous time by about 45 minutes.

Warning---long and detailed post up ahead!

I had to wake up at the glorious hour of 3 a.m. to catch the bus to the start. As I sat in the warm bus, eating my pb&j, I thought about what this day would hold for me. I knew I would be able to run this one much better than St George because I had trained better and knew what to expect. The bus pulled into the start around 4:20, which left over an hour and a half til the start. It was cold, so cold you could see your breath, but luckily I had on my sweater and sweatpants (they gave us a bag with our race number on it to put our warm clothes in at the start, which we could pick up at the finish). There were fires in metal barrels spaced around on the street for us to stand by, but they were so crowded and I was dressed warmly enough that I ended up just laying on the asphalt and hoping to get a nap or something. I should have known better, I was too wired for that! So after a couple minutes of that, I decided to just party in the porter potty lines. It was fun being able to just talk to people, see where they were from, what they were going to accomplish that day, what their time goals were, ect. I love the running community, it's the best!! The people I meet at races are always so nice.

The start was fast approaching, so I had to get my ipod on, my fuel belt on my waist, and made sure my gps watch was ready to go. I also had to take my sweats off, which meant five minutes before the start my whole arms and legs were completely numb. I knew they would warm up after I started running, but I was still freezing!! About the start, we started 20 miles up Provo Canyon in a little town called Wellsburg, which I immediately fell in love with as soon as we started running. Small valley, big green fields, beautiful houses, mountains all around, horses grazing in the fields, quiet streets....everything about this town made me want to live there eventually. It was just beautiful in every way. There were some people who got up at the crack of dawn to watch us run, there was even a cute family sitting on their roof, waving and clapping for us. All 1,600 of us runners wound around their little valley, then headed towards the canyon.

It was about mile 7 that I stopped to tie my shoe, and this girl in a yellow shirt came up behind me and said don't stop, I've been following you the whole way because you have the perfect pace! I had to laugh because I was taking it super slow at the beginning, but I told her I was fine with her tagging along! It was only a mile later that we hit our first big hill, and I ended up losing her on the hills that followed. A lot of people walked up the hills, but I figured if I just kept a slow running pace up the hills I could just get them over with. I liked that much better than walking! Even though I didn't hill train that much, I was able to make it up all the hills with no problem. The downhills were fun for me because there were a lot of them, and I could let lose down those hills without losing too much energy.

I was able to keep a pretty even pace throughout the race until around mile 20. That's when I hit the dreaded "wall." This is where your muscles give up, you get really grumpy and discouraged, and it seems like you can't go on. The only solution to the wall is to run through it. So I adopted a "walk a little then shuffle/run a little" for the rest of the race. I saw my best friends (Hannah, Lolly, and Brooke) at mile 21, they were yelling "only five more miles!" and I was yelling "I hurt!!" but I ended up giving them a high five and running on. Those last few miles were horrible to say the least. The girl in the yellow showed up again and was like, let's finish together! Help each other out, you know? That lasted for a mile or two until I really couldn't run for more than a quarter mile at a time. I told her to go on without me. (I know, I'm so noble!) After that I tried to stay with this 80 year old guy, because to have him beat me would be too much to bear. He broke away from me with less than 2 miles to go. I then came around a bend with a mile to go and saw the finish line down the road. I felt instantly happier! I could see 80 year old man and yellow shirt girl ahead, but I couldn't catch them. I walked until about a half mile until the finish, then I let go and ran the rest of the way. I saw Dustin and Heather standing at the opening to the finish chute, about 200 yards til the finish line, so I waved and gave them a high five and shifted into my finishing kick, my springing gear, and ran my guts out to the finish line.

Crossing that line was amazing! I almost gave in to tears but I figured that would be dramatic, so I ended up just smiling and laughing. I found my cheering section and we took pictures (coming soon) and talked about the race. They were all inspired :) my great-aunt Larraine was there too, she is honestly the greatest and nicest person I know! I felt pretty good after that race and honestly, I cannot wait until the next one!

When we got back to where we were staying, I couldn't walk down the stairs to the basement so I scooted down on my butt like a little kid. Haha! And on the drive home, getting in and out of the car was really fun! We had a blast on the drive home, stopping for a picnic in Jacob Lake and stopping to take pics at Cliff Dwellers and Navajo Bridge. Loved every minute of this weekend, and I cannot wait for my next race! I just have to figure out when/where it will be :)

And next time an 80 year old man named Woody will not beat me by two minutes.

Success! ,

2011-05-22T16:55:00.000-07:00

Yesterday was my first complete 20-miler, and I couldn't be happier! Even when I trained for the St George Marathon way back in 2009 (have I really been running for over 2 years? Sweet!) I couldn't run the 20 miles without walking some of it. This time around I walked maybe a quarter of a mile, around mile 18, which was okay because I was still able to finish strong. I am fully confident that I can do this marathon without walking, I just have to get mind into it. This is my mindset for the marathon- 10 miles, 10 miles, and then a 10K. Running is 90% mind, 10% physical. That's been my biggest set-back throughout this whole training process, my mind continually plays games on me. Last week I was at mile 15 and I just gave up. This week I was completely "in it to win it", as Randy Jackson would say (I'm so over American Idol this year) and therefore I was able to finish the run, even after I stopped to walk for a little bit.

So now I have three weeks until the marathon. The hardest part of marathon training is over (thank goodness!) and so now begins the tapering segment of training. These last three weeks won't be about building fitness, but rather maintaining it. That means less mileage overall, but I can't decrease intensity. Which means I'll still be doing speedy runs and kind-of long runs. A lot of marathoners say they go crazy from the three weeks of decreased training, and I say they are crazy! Who wouldn't welcome less running and more time to do other stuff?? Ha ha! Now my Saturdays won't be spent in a coma after running ridiculously long runs!

Summer is officially here, but I don't have any big trips planned except for Utah in June (a week for EVMCO tour and then the next weekend for the big race!). Should be a good summer overall, though! I'm hoping to get in a lot of lake trips, I have finally learned how to wakeboard :) it's a blast, I'm a convert to water sports now!

Have a great week!

Ran for my life, literally!

2011-05-16T14:14:00.000-07:00

So Saturday I was running (no surprise there) and I was on my 13th mile of a planned 20 (which ended up only being 15, but whatever) and I was trucking along in the bike lane. I like running in the bike lane, that way I can stare down cars as they come at me and I can say hi to bike riders. Anyway, I had my head down and my hat on, so I could only see what was directly in front of me. I always made sure there were no bikes coming every couple of seconds though.

And then it happened, like in slow motion. I saw my right foot come down directly in the middle of a HUGE PILE OF BEES. Yeah. There was a huge group of bees just chilling in my bike lane! Of course I screamed bloody murder and literally broke into the fastest sprint EVER. I'm convinced I set a world record for the quarter mile. I'm sure I looked like a complete idiot, sprinting full speed and continually screaming, but shoot, there was a swarm of bees out to get me! I could see the shadows of the bees behind me as I ran, and so I kept going until I was sure they weren't following me anymore. I'm pretty sure I took the bees by surprise, which is why they didn't keep chasing me. But man oh man was I shaking like a leaf and laughing my head off for like ten minutes afterwards! I had just averted death!! That is honestly my biggest fear, is getting stung by a bee. I never have and I never want to!

Four weeks until the marathon, and luckily I lived to run another day!!

What makes me miserable, makes me stronger in the end!

2011-05-09T23:04:00.000-07:00

So, this past Saturday I set out to do one of two 20 mile runs that I have scheduled before my marathon. Which is in five weeks, by the way! Anyway, I really didn't have the best mindset when I set out. And, to top things off, about 6 miles in (hence, six miles away from my house) I was overcome with this nasty, sick feeling. The result was that the two gels and gatorade that I eaten in the last hour were now in the bushes, and I had no heart to go on. And I was six miles from home. And, it was the one time I forgot my cell phone. Wonderful. So I thought, maybe someone will see me sitting here on the curb and ask if I needed a ride home? But after 15 minutes of sitting on the curb I knew that wasn't gonna work. So then I started walking back home, and came across this family setting up for a garage sale. They wouldn't give me a ride home, even though I was pale and sweaty and obviously near tears! But, the mom did let me borrow her cell phone. Problem was, I only knew my dad's number, and he was currently out shooting guns in the desert. So, I walked home. That was the longest 6 miles of my life. So, my feet went 12 miles that day, and I am convinced that walking is much worse than running. Because it drags on forever!!

However, all is not lost for my marathon training! That's why I scheduled two 20 milers, so that if one of them didn't go right, I would have another chance. So I'm not worried. And this time I will eat a good dinner the night before so that I'm not jamming down gels and gatorade on a near empty stomach. Not good! I did have a wonderful 18-miler last weekend, which was a great confidence booster!

In other non-running related news, my little brother Weston is now Elder Clouse! He reported two weeks ago, and I suppose he's having a blast in the MTC. Who doesn't? The house is decidedly more boring without him here, and I still walk in the house after work expecting him to be watching tv or on the computer (which is all he did after he got knee surgery 6 weeks before he left). But I'm getting used to him being gone. It's just a bummer! But, he's where he is supposed to be, and I'm glad he's there!

Like I said before, the marathon is in 5 weeks and I am pretty sure I'm gonna crack 5 hours, if not 4:45. I am slow, but for my first marathon I didn't train nearly as well, and I ended up doing it in 6 hours. Which sucked. So 5 hours will be a HUGE improvement and I'll be happy with it! I'm excited to go to Utah, even though I just went last October. I get to go two weeks in a row! But I'll talk more about that some other time, if I ever get around to it...haha.

Have a good week, and happy running!!

Training so far...

2011-03-30T22:26:00.000-07:00

Well I'm about five weeks in to official marathon training, and so far I feel great! Of course, my longest run has only been 10 miles, but those 10 miles were some of the best that I've ever run. I just felt great the entire time, and I even took a new route. Turns out Recker Road is a wonderful and pleasant place to run! I ran from my house down to Recker, turned south, and ran until I hit about five miles and then turned back. I plan to do it again this Saturday, except I'll go six miles before I turn back. It's gonna be wonderful!

Also this weekend- General Conference! I went up to Utah last October for conference, but this time I'm gonna enjoy it from the comfort of my pajamas and couch. I'm excited to learn from our Prophet and Apostles, they always know what to say that hits me right in the heart! I'm also getting my hair cut in between sessions, which I'm excited about because I love new, healthy ends! haha.

Also also...me and my bestest girl friends are all going out to dinner to Gecko Grill during Priesthood session. It's pretty much tradition now! And I'm super excited cause we haven't all been together in so long. Lots to catch up on!! I just wish Annie and Rachel were here! (Annie, I wrote that for your benefit, stalker. haha!)

Welp, I had a wonderful run tonight so I'm on cloud nine! Also, I'm trying to finally fly the coop and move out, we'll see how it works out!

I hope everyone has a wonderful conference weekend!

Once again...

2011-03-06T23:08:00.000-08:00

Once again, I am starting marathon training. I'm kind of scared this time around, because last year I ended up getting injured only 3 weeks before the race. I was so sad I couldn't do it last year, and I had to take three months or more off of running. It sucked! But this time, it's gonna be awesome. I'm combining two training plans into one. One of the plans is from runnersworld.com, and it has some great workouts and it also builds up the long run mileage just perfectly.

The other plan is from this new book I got called "Run Less, Run Faster" which advocates a 3-day running week (which is what I have always done) and two cross-training workouts (cycling, swimming, ect.). The only thing wrong with this book is that the training plan starts out with high mileage on the long run and maintains it throughout the whole thing. I am not the high mileage type of person (which is why I got injured last year) and so I have to build up slowly. Which is where the Runner's World one comes in. The best thing about the book is the pace charts, which tell you exactly how fast you need to run every workout in order to get faster. Which is what I want to do! I want to get faster and at the same time keep gradually building mileage.

I think this will work out pretty good, because after last year I now know exactly what to do and what not to do during training. What not to do? Skip workouts! I used to skip my weekday workouts and instead just do my long runs on weekends. Not a good idea! Imagine trying to run 20 miles after having not ran for a whole week? Yeah, not my smartest move. This time around, I have a strict schedule and I am sticking to it!

What I am doing different this time is trying to always keep a faster pace on all of my workouts. To run faster, you have to train faster; this is something that a lot of runners seem to forget. Most runners are only concerned with weekly mileage. I, however, am sick of being a slower runner. I want to improve to where a 9-minute pace is easy. Which may seem like a stretch because right now a 10-minute pace is comfortably hard. But, with these combined training plans, I'm gonna become a mean, lean, running machine!!

I'll try and stay updated on my training, but just know that yesterday I did 8 miles and it was kind of difficult!! haha

RAGNAR 2011

2011-02-28T22:03:00.000-08:00

Warning: long post ahead!

We started our adventure Thursday night after my choir practice. We squeezed all 7 of us (me, Wes, Brooke, Kimri, Karen, Brittany, and Kendra) into the suburban, and we loaded up the car with all of our bags and food and strapped our bedding to the top. Needless to say, not much room to stretch out! We headed out at midnight and eventually made it to the starting line in time to catch a couple hours of sleep. On the asphalt. In the parking lot. Yeah, we're hardcore. We weren't even sure that it was the start, since there was absolutely nothing set up when we drove up! But we were too tired to care, haha. Luckily we were woken up at 5:30 a.m. by the crowd of people who arrived. And there was frost on my sleeping bag. It was freezing! We checked in, ate, and got Brooke ready to start at 7:00.

We were super excited to start! Haha Kimri is so weird...

Wes and Brooky before the start!!

There was six of us runners (plus Wes, our driver) in our van. Basically, van 1 rocked! Brooke ran her first leg, then it went Brittany, me, Karen, Kendra, and Kimri. We all did really great on that first section! We then met up with Van 2 at around 1 in the afternoon at Exchange 6, when they took off to run their 6 legs. This gave us several hours of well needed sleep and rest!!

Arriving at Exchange 6!

We then drove forward to Exchange 12 in Surprise to take a nice long nap on the baseball field at a high school. Well deserved and much needed!! Van 2 arrived at around 7, at which time Brooke left again to run her second leg. Brittany had a hard time in hers, she was having knee problems but we pretty much forced her to finish hers. Haha! She did great though, what a trooper! My second leg was so difficult! Not only were my legs already tired from my first run, but this run had a portion on a rocky and sandy trail. I swear, it was like they were playing a trick on us! It was like running on the beach, horrible! And then after that I had this long uphill for about a mile before I turned out of town and went back into the desert for some rolly-polly highway running. Which was kind of scary at night, but luckily we all had plenty of reflective gear and flashlights on! Which I was very grateful for! But I finished that one pretty strong. Everyone in our van continued running their legs until Kimri finished sometime around 1 in the morning in Anthem.

Arriving at Exchange 18, exhausted!!

We then had only a few hours to sleep while the other van ran (they only had 24 miles to go, which wouldn't take very long) but luckily Brooke had some relatives in Anthem who had a bunch of empty beds for us to sleep in! We took quick showers and laid down for a quick nap, with very specific instructions for the other van to call us when they were an hour away from Exchange 24. This they did, except we didn't account for us not waking up to their calls! One of us finally woke up and boy did we jump out of those warm beds and rush out the door!! We sped to the next exchange, where Van 2 had only been waiting for 10 minutes or so. Yay for not losing too much time! Since this was our last leg, we were super hyper and excited to go! Mind you, this was 5:30 in the morning, haha. Brooke did super good with her run, but since Brittany was injured the amazing Kendra stepped up and ran the longest and hardest leg, 8.8 miles of hills. Bless her heart! She did a great job, and she even ran most of her last leg too, while Brooke covered up the rest. I had an awesome last run as well, 7.7 miles of straight downhill with the prettiest view of Four Peaks and the deserts north of Scottsdale. I did it in great time!

Beautiful sunrise!

Karen and Brooke looking good!!

Kendra ended up doing 26 whole miles (marathon distance!) while Brooke did 23, and I did exactly 21. Poor Kimri had the worst run out of the bunch, I do believe! Her last run was going into Fountain Hills (key word: hills) and she was super mad by the end!! Haha, you can't help but laugh though. We gave her a ton of support and cheered her on with our dirty dancing. Hehe :)

Making our entrance into exchange 30--we were famous for blasting music and yelling with the megaphone at the exchanges. Also, we were famous for our dirty dancing on the side of the road!

So happy to be done!!

Here comes Kimri!!

We were so happy when our Van finished our runs in Fountain Hills (the other team had their last legs to do still, from FH to Tempe). We headed home to Gilbert, took some nice showers, got on our team shirts (Moms&Maidens!! We Run For Chocolate!) and headed back to Tempe to await Anna so we could our make our triumphant run over the finish line together. It was AMAZING to cross that finish after 32 hours of non stop awesomeness!

Here we come!!!

We're done!! WOOOO!!

M&M'S: MOMS&MAIDENS FOREVER!!

WE RUN FOR CHOCOLATE!

Highlights of the whole thing:

-spending time with my little bro before he leaves on his mission!

-all of the MANY HOT guys we saw out on the course. My goodness! All I had to do was say "Kimri, look behind you." And all she had to say was yes (he's hot) or no (he's meh). Haha, she always knew exactly what I was talking about.

- KIMRI! YOU RUN LIKE A WHORE! (Weston)

-the many crumping and poppin it and just all around dirty dance parties that we had every time we pulled over to cheer on our runner. People loved it (for the most part, except for that old guy that gave us a thumbs down)

- Kimri and Wes climbing on top of the van at various moments and dancing like crazy

-DIRTY BIT!

-I learned how to shake my booty pretty well thanks to Kimri

-This takes the cake for most hilarious moment (according to others, not me!): Driving in to Exchange 26, just before I ran my last leg, I had the window down, megaphone on full blast, and I was belting out Glee's version of "Total Eclipse of the Heart" to all the people gathered at the exchange point. There were many shocked faces, mostly laughter and cheering. I think Karen nearly peed her pants. I could have passed as a drunk for sure. The best part was I had to walk up to those people minutes later and act totally normal as I waited for Kendra. Hilarious to highest degree!

-singing, once again with megaphone on and music on full blast, "The Time" by the Black Eyed Peas at the biggest crowd at Exchange 30. "I've had the time of my life, and I've never felt this way before!" Definitely fitting :)

-all of the team names- The ChiChi Express, and some other dirty ones that I won't repeat :) they were all awesome!

- getting to know my team mates better

There were so many other great stories and moments that I can't remember right now, but just know that it was epic. I can sum up this experience in three words:

BEST. WEEKEND. EVER.

I'm already planning for next year!! Cannot wait!

One week til RAGNAR DEL SOL

2011-02-19T11:58:00.000-08:00

Holy heck am I nervous! And excited! And ready to go already!

One week from now I will be doing the Ragnar Relay, 200ish miles of running through the Arizona desert, from Wickenburg to Tempe. It is gonna be epic, let me tell ya. Good thing I only have to do 20 of those miles, what would I do without my amazing team?? Let's just hope for amazing weather and no blisters. I really have no words to describe how awesome it is going to be...so I won't even try. Check back next week for pics and a super long post :)

Good morning, now panic!

2011-02-12T14:47:00.000-08:00

That's how I felt this morning. My head popped off the pillow, and when I looked at the clock, it read 7:12 a.m. I had a half marathon at 7:50. Needless to say I jumped out of bed, got dressed, brushed my teeth, grabbed all my race essentials, and ran out that door in five minutes. Then, after felony speeds of over 60 mph on surface streets (don't judge) I made it to the starting line with two minutes to spare. However, I realized as I was putting on my race number that I was definitely not in the right mindset to run 13.1 miles. Remember, running is 10% physical and 90% mental. I was stressed out and already winded from sprinting from the parking lot across the street. So, as the half marathon started, I changed my race to the 10K. There was no way I was running that half!! Ha ha! Luckily, the 10K didn't start for another 20 minutes, which was the perfect amount of time to collect myself, calm down a bit, and stretch nice and deep. It felt great, since my legs were still sore from my Wednesday workout.

This race turned out to be one of the best I've ever done! Which made me super happy :) The course was pretty difficult, the first three miles are all uphill, but surprisingly enough I was able to keep a really good pace the entire way up. Then I really let loose coming back downhill, which I regretted later because there were some surprise hills near the end that I wasn't prepared for. But I kept up pace, and crossed the finish line in about 1:02 (I don't know my official results yet). I was exhausted! Hills really take it out of you! But, the whole point of doing this race was to train for the Ragnar relay coming up in two weeks, where I know I will run into the occasional hill. It was great practice! Also, be prepared for a long post after that race, it's a 24 hour, 200 mile relay :) should be a blast!!

Recently, a friend and I have tried to cut extra and unneeded sugar out of our diets, like candy, cookies, brownies, cake, ect. The first day was so hard! But after that it got pretty easy, I wasn't tempted that much. It's been three weeks and I have eaten hardly any sugar or sweets. It's legit! Now our goal these next couple weeks is a contest to see who can lose five pounds the fastest. I think I can win! Haha...maybe. It's gonna be fun!

Anyway, these next couple weeks might be stressful, given that I am planning the Ragnar for our team, so I have to make sure 11 other people are taken care of and ready to go! This has been almost three months in the making, so I am so stoked!! Wish us luck!

London's Run~~2011

2011-01-30T19:31:00.000-08:00

So, I ran my first half marathon yesterday...and it was awesome!! Even though I had already ran a full, that was a year and a half ago so this still felt like a big challenge. When I got there it was freeezing cold (high 30's) and I was in short sleeves and running capris. So, I stayed in my car until about 20 minutes before the start and blasted some tunes and the heater :) by the time I got out of the car the sun came up and it was warming up! I was so pumped for this race, I had my plan all figured out. I wanted to run a 2:20 time, which was reasonable, and to do that I would have to keep a 10:40 pace. I would also need to eat a gel every four miles...so I used my sports bra as a pocket to put two gels in :) hehe. Nobody could tell! So anyway, the race itself was super fun, I kept a glorious pace throughout and ended up running a 2:18! Haha, two whole minutes faster than planned! Kind of a big deal!! Anyway, I felt so good afterwards, I can't wait to run another one in two weeks!! Haha....it never stops :) Then the Ragnar is in four weeks, I'm so excited! We finally have our entire team so I can sleep easy at night. Anyway, I think I will make London's Run a tradition for the rest of my life, I love it!!

10 Miler...I'm ready!

2011-01-24T18:15:00.000-08:00

Well on Saturday I did my first double digit run in like 7 months, a big fat 10 miler that actually felt really great! I kept up pace the entire time and I feel like I can push it a little faster come this Saturday at my very first Half Marathon! I've done London's Run the past two years, but only the 10K, so this year I decided to go all out and do the Half. I'm very excited because I think I will be able to actually make a time goal! My goal is 2:20, and I will be happy with a 2:25. Then- and this is really stretching myself- I'm going to do ANOTHER Half Marathon two weeks after. It's called Ethan's Run (named after a sweet little boy who passed away from heart defects) and it is run through the hilly locale of Las Sendas in North Mesa. I did this one last year (10K again) and I can honestly say it is the most challenging one I've done. I'm mostly treating this as a training run for the Ragnar Relay in 5 weeks, so I'm keeping away from the time goal and just focusing on running the hills strong and just finishing. I think it will be fun, I'm trying to get the entire team to do the 10K because it will be way good for us all to practice some hills in race mode. So yeah, that's the nest couple weeks running-wise.

Normal life-wise? Work, school, and playing. I would say my life is pretty easy, eh? Have a good week!

Life is about to get a lil crazy!

2011-01-16T21:35:00.000-08:00

So, this is my schedule for this semester, if I move to full-time work (and I think I will!) It's gonna be wonderful...I think.

Monday- work, from 7 til 6. Come home, eat, run, do some homework, shower, bed.
Tuesday- work, 7 til 1. School from 1:30 til 4:15. Go home, internet class, relax or gym.
Wednesday- same as Monday
Thursday- Same as Tuesday, but with choir practice from 7pm til 10 (!)
Friday- work from 7 til 6. Go home and party!
Saturday- get up early and run anywhere from 6 to 20 miles (depends on where I am in marathon training!) then nap time, chores, errands, and party!
Sunday- Sleep in, church, relax, dinner, family time, bed before 11 (hopefully!)

I knew that this semester would be crazy, but not until now, after writing it down, did I really realize how much I have taken on. But honestly, there are people who have much more on their plates than I do! I am fully confident that I can do all of this, plus other things that need to be fit in such as scripture study, ward activities, races, small road trips, service, ect...you get my point. Routines are good...until I get sick of it. Which according to my calculations will be sometime around March...haha. Wish me luck!

On a different note, I am so incredibly lucky/happy/excited/scared out of my mind to be able to announce that I got into the East Valley Mormon Choir! For those that don't know....that's like the MoTab of Arizona. No joke. Our director takes nothing less than perfection (or as close as we can get in this earthly life) and the result of that is a sound which I have never heard or been a part of in my entire life. We are working on an oratorio that our director's brother composed. It's called Messiah in America, and the most wonderful part of it is that every single word is taken from 3 Nephi. The power of this music overwhelms me at every rehearsal, and I am so SO SO happy to be a part of it! Our performances are in March, everyone will have to come check it out!

Running updates--
London's Run 1/2 Marathon- 2 weeks.
Ragnar Relay- 6 weeks.
Pat's Run- sometime in April
Utah Valley marathon- less than 6 months.

I love running, and I love doing races and events like this even more! The Ragnar will surely be a fun time, basically it is 12 person teams doing a 200 mile relay over the deserts of Arizona. Needless to say, I am excited!!

Well this has been long and mostly rambling pointlessness, but who cares! I do what I want!

Christmas shoes! (but not the cheesy song)

2010-12-24T15:23:00.001-08:00

So my boss is awesome and bought me some new birthday shoes. I chose some new Nike running shoes, and since they came in the mail TODAY they will be my Christmas/birthday shoes. To celebrate, I think I'll go run 7 miles.

HOLLA!

Is it really Christmas? Really??

2010-12-16T21:22:00.000-08:00

Running events coming up:
London's Run Half Marathon, January 29th-- come join me!
Ragnar Del Sol Relay-- February 25th-26th, 200ish mile relay of awesomeness!! I'm so excited, more details to come! It's kind of a big deal!
Pat's Run- sometime in April
Warrior Dash- late April, should be a fun one! It's a 3.4 mile run/obstacle course
Utah Valley Marathon-- Provo, June 11th. If my training goes good this year, I should be able to nail it!

I was going to do the turkey trot, but got really sick the week before so it was a no go! So bummed :( And, I've been sick ever since! Going on five weeks now, it's really awesome.....not. I haven't been able to train for the half like I would want to, but I'm doing it anyway! Weirdly enough, the same thing happened to me last year. I got sick during the Christmas season so I couldn't train for the half in January. Oh well, this time I'm training through the sickness!

The last month has gone by way too fast! Some highlights:
~I auditioned (and made it!!!) into the East Valley Mormon Choir, which is kind of a big deal and something I am way excited about! Rehearsals start in January :)
~My deer hunt the week before and weekend of Thanksgiving. Hunted really hard for six days in zero degree weather and snow before finally bagging my deer on the last day! He's a beauty, even if my dad wanted me to get a bigger one, haha. I'm happy with him!
~This weather SUCKS. Isn't Christmas supposed to be cold and snowing up north and stuff? Last week its been 80 degrees every day. In the middle of December. Yuck. Luckily today it rained finally and cooled down a bit but I don't think it'll last. Bummer! It really takes away from the feeling of Christmas :(
~ Performing with the Gilbert Stake/St Anne's Catholic church combined choir. I got to sing and play my violin (lots of running back and forth). We performed at both St Anne's church (which has great acoustics!) and the Temple, which I LOVE doing! Good thing it wasn't too cold at the Temple!

Last week at church, in my singles ward, we had a two hour (I repeat, 2 HOUR) discussion on dating instead of Sunday School and Relief Society. Not gonna lie, it was great to be able to discuss this topic with the entire ward and learn about what is going through guys' minds! We talked about way too many things to even write down, but I will definitely remember everything that was said for future reference. It was definitely helpful! Although sometimes I feel like those kind of things turn into "guy-bashing" sessions, like the girls all gang up on the guys and tell them what losers they are for never asking us out. Haha! It did kind of get on the verge of that, but Bishop Tinker was always steering the discussion in the right direction. And he ended us on a spiritual note, which I was super thankful for.

Anyway, this just turned into a journal....haha. I guess I'll just keep writing randomness on here from now on!

MERRY CHRISTMAS!

I gave in...

2010-11-01T23:27:00.000-07:00

So this morning, it was pretty chilly when I got in my car.

So, I felt in the Christmas mood.

Somehow the Christmas music magically came on my ipod on the way to work. Not sure how it happened..........hehe.

Is November 1st too early to be listening to Christmas music??

I don't think so!

Also I can't believe it's November already!! Where the fetch did the time go!?

life in general

2010-10-29T21:42:00.000-07:00

I'm running again. And that's about as exciting as my life gets right now.

Boys are dumb. I realized this a long time ago, but it just gets reiterated every single day.

I love my institute class. The Basha's are the best teachers in the whole world. Fer reals. They teach us how to prepare for eternal marriage, and seriously the things they teach can apply to pretty much anything.

Work is still awesome, every day I laugh harder. Or want to kill my coworkers because they tease me constantly!

I've gone camping the last couple of weekends, and it makes me happy every time!

We went to conference at the beginning of October, it was a thuper de duperdy awesome trip. Except for only getting into 1 out of 4 sessions! Bummer :( but it was still fun to see the bro and sister-in-law!

Next couple weeks:

Les Miserables performances, me and Hannah and my mom are in the choir! So freaking excited!

Shun from the Sun 10K on the 13th, hopefully I can run the whole thing! Haha

Deer hunt on the 19th, words cannot express how excited I am!!!!!!!

Turkey Trot on Thanksgiving Day. Nothing better than burning 600 calories on the day of eating!

Christmas music after (but most likely before) Thanksgiving. Better start making my playlist now!

I LOVE THIS TIME OF YEAR.

School, schmool.....

2010-08-29T23:04:00.000-07:00

So school started again this past week. I was actually way excited for it, because I had signed up for 4 classes and I was looking forward to having a full semester again. Well, I had to drop one class because I found out I couldn't leave work early because someone already was, and then on the second day of school my world religions class was cancelled for the semester. So now I'm down to two classes, and my perfect schedule was ruined! But oh well. Now I have time between work and school on Tuesdasy and Thursdays to take a nap in my car :) of course I would think of that! Speaking of work, still as awesome as ever! I pity people who don't have as fun of a job as me :) haha.

I'm finding it hard to get back into running, but I think as soon as I sign up for another race I'll get incentive to train again. Also I think once I get into the routine of this whole work plus school thing I'll get a good workout schedule going. I just need a boyfriend who actually wants to workout with me, hehe :)

Other than that, I've really been thinking about moving out. But then I think about how much that costs, and I just go back to wanting to stay at home. All I can think about is the 300 bucks a month that would pretty much be going down the drain. And the food money. And the lack of seeing my family every day. I think I'd spend more time here at home than at the place I'd move out to. Haha. So pretty much a waste of money.

Welp, life is getting into a routine, and I tell you what, I HATE routine! I love being spontaneous, so I hate having so much responsibility. haha. After about 6 months of doing the same thing I get really sick of it and want a change (hence the wanting to move out). Some people are afraid of change, but I embrace it! I love trying out new things, meeting new people, going to a new school, and going to new places. I swear, spontaneous should be my middle name. I figure, why have life be boring by doing the same thing day after day, year after year? Sometimes you just gotta take a chance and do something completely new. I don't think life should ever be boring. As my seminary teacher used to say, "if you're bored, it means you're a boring person!" Haha, I've never forgotten that. Anyway, thats my rant for the day :) have a wonderful week!

Running update....

2010-08-08T23:20:00.000-07:00

So in June I was all signed up to do the Utah Valley Marathon. Well, I didn't train so well and ended up getting injured. Bummer, right?? So then I found out I also got into the St George Marathon, which was even worse because it's hard to get in to and I knew I wouldn't be able to train for it. So I can't do that one either, which makes me sad! I loved the St G race, it was so fun! But anyway, I've taken the summer off for running, but this week I'm coming back with a vengeance! I'm gonna build up a base again, which means I'm basically starting over. I'm gonna take it easy for the first couple weeks, but I'm also gonna sign up for some 10K's this fall, including the turkey trot, which was way fun last year. That should prepare me for a half marathon in January, London's Run out at Schnepf Farms. I've done the 10K two years in a row now, but haven't done the half yet. I'm excited for that one, and I'm gonna go for a time goal, which means a lot of speed training. It's gonna be awesome! So yeah, that's my running plan :) also I found a gym buddy which means it will be harder to skip a workout!

Sometime this week I'll write about my lake trip yesterday, it was EPIC.

Where have I been, you ask?

2010-08-05T21:14:00.000-07:00

Well, Hawaii for one. Like over a month ago. Haha! Best trip ever, if you can believe that! We hiked, snorkeled, ate shaved ice, tanned (a lot!), swam, pina colada'd it up, jumped off waterfalls, laughed, burned, and flew for many hours! All in all, a wonderful trip with us Clouse's (minus Dustin) and the Lambrights. Then we came home much darker than when we left, and I went back to work for several weeks before we headed to California for Dustin's WEDDING! I know, right? Whoda thunk Dustin would get married? Haha just kidding, Dust, we love you! Speaking of work...I don't think I've written about my job? I work at Rehab Arizona, which is basically the funnest job in the world! We do physical therapy, mostly back injuries and pain and also shoulder injuries, hand, ect. It is so much fun, the people I work with are hilarious and keep things fun. We watch tv all day, talk to our patients, throw things at each other, laugh our heads off at things. I love it. I kinda wanna stay there forever! At least for a couple more years, at which time I will try to get into a sports/athlete therapy kind of deal. Which would be sick!!!

We went to California last weekend for my big brother's wedding. Heather, his wife, is from Stockton, which is just over an hour from Oakland. They got married at the Oakland Temple, which was beautiful, and very cold and foggy! It was so wierd to be cold in the middle of July! The reception was way fun, the house we had it at had a zipline in the backyard, so everybody rode on it, including the new Mr. and Mrs. Clouse! Heather rode down it in her wedding dress, I think I like her! Haha, what a trooper, the poor girl was sick the whole reception, but she stuck it out! Oakland is not very far from the fabulous (as in, FaBuLoUs! , think, gay lisp. haha) San Fransisco, so after the newlyweds were off for their honeymoon, we hung out in San Fran the day after the wedding. And let me explain something here. I hate California. As in, I would rather go anywhere else for vacation. Me and my dad share the same opinion :) The traffic sucks, there's too many people, it's extremely crowded, the highways SUCK and are very confusing, the beaches in hawaii are better ( I know, spoiled!) and I'd much rather be in the mountains than the city, any day! But wait, there's a clarification. I may hate California with the fire of a thousand suns, BUT I LOVE San Fransisco!!! I know, I'm wierd. But San Fran was so fun! The redwood forest, the Golden Gate Bridge, the Bay, downtown San Fran, the cable cars (Not trolleys! haha, the conductor got upset that we called them the "t-word"), Ghiradelli's chocolate factory, Chinatown (LOVE!), and being with my cousin Kimri and her parents Uncle Russ and Aunt Shelle. So freaking fun!! We laughed way too much, so many stories that I can't even begin to tell, it would take too long, haha. Anyway, that was the best part of the trip was that one Saturday we spent just fartin around in San Fran and the surrounding areas. So, if I ever go back to California it will be either 1: Disneyland or 2: San Fransisco. Nowhere else. Haha, I'm so picky!

On a parting note, since Dustin's wedding took place in the week that we would normally go on our annual camping trip and his 'Zona reception takes place as the same weekend when I could have gone to Havasupai, I am seriously lacking in the camping department and very much suffering for it. I need my camping fix now before I go completely insane! Working is fun and all, but I really, really to get up in those mountains and clear my head before school starts! It's looking as if that won't happen, so.....sucks. That's really the only bad thing I can say about my life right now, so life is overall good!

Whew, some catch up! Props to you if you just read all that. :) Have a good weekend! Tomorrow's Friday! Rejoice!!!

two weeks til hawaii.....

2010-06-06T17:10:00.000-07:00

....and I wish we were leaving NOW!

I've lived in Arizona my whole life, so I know how brutal the summers are. So why am I always surprised when it starts to get unbelievably hot? I should know better by now :)

This is why I am so excited for Hawaii! Even though it will still be warm there, at least it won't be suffocatingly hot. It's like you walk outside here and you feel like you can't breathe, it's so hot. Although I'm not gonna lie, because my work is always really cold, I kinda look forward to walking outside after work into the heat. I enjoy it for like a second. Haha.

Running update- my leg is still being stupid. I run like five steps and it throbs and I limp for an hour. Stupid!! I can barely jump on the diving board, it feels like my leg will collapse under me. The good news now is that I don't have an excuse to not work out with the people at work during lunch. The trainer at work is totally brutal, and he worked us so hard on Thursday that my arms are still sore four days later. I love being sore, so I'm not complaining! And I love working out. I figure four more weeks off of running and I should be back to normal. Hopefully! I should try barefoot running, except it's so hot that the soles of my feet would burn right off! Ugh! Maybe if I find a grassy field... and run circles. Ha ha.

Well, seeing how my marathon would have been in a week, I was supposed to go to Utah this coming weekend. Not anymore! I'm kinda sad, but I figure I shouldn't take off work because I'm already taking off so much for Hawaii. Everyone's gotta make sacrifices once in a while!

Have a good week!

Crappity crap

2010-05-29T08:29:00.000-07:00

So, for the last 14 weeks I have been training for my second marathon. And I'll admit I didn't work nearly as hard at training as I did for the last one. As a result, I am now crippled by injuries (just in my right leg, annoying!). The reason for this is because I would barely run during the week but I would never miss a long run on Saturdays. So, one Saturday I would run 8 miles, then the next I would run like 12 or 14. You can see how this would screw up my legs, it's like a shock to my muscles! So, naturally, my muscles rebelled and now I can barely go 5 miles with my entire right leg seizing up. Talk about crappy. Here I spend every Saturday for the last few months waking up at the butt crack of dawn and suffering through miles and miles of pavement, only to have to drop out with two weeks before the marathon. GAY! Luckily for me, I can defer the registration for the Utah Valley Marathon to next year, that way I don't lose any money (but it means I still have to do it, just next year. Gah!). And also luckily for me, I have the St George Marathon to look forward to in October. Here's my game plan:

Next four or five weeks. Work out like crazy, but little to no running whatsoever. I will swim, bike, do strength work, elliptical, stair stepper, ect. After or during Hawaii (YAY!) I will jump right back into running. Hopefully by then my legs will be strengthened and more well-rounded, and I will be able to hold up better against injury. Then I will continue to work out in addition to running. And then I will destroy the St George Marathon. Sweet!

So, I'm trying to keep a positive attitude about it. Actually, it's like a huge stress relief! I was getting pretty nervous about the race in two weeks because I knew my leg was not up to it. Although, I should have dropped out weeks ago! Oh well, hindsight is 20/20, as they say.

Now I will just look forward to Hawaii (so effing excited!) and it being summer and stuff. Also I am waiting for my new phone to come in the mail, and the wait is killing me! I bought the new Droid Incredible, and I'm thinking it will live up to it's name! Hopefully it will come before we leave for Hawaii so I can play with it on the beach and take pictures with its 8 megapixel camera. Yeah. 8. Most phones have 2. Oh man. This wait will be the death of me!

Hawaii in 3 WEEKS!!!!!

16 miles....yeesh!

2010-04-25T23:00:00.000-07:00

You read that right...yesterday I ran 16 miles! I actually had fun, until the last two or three miles, when it really started to hurt. However, I didn't walk any of it, of which I am very proud of! The funny part is, I totally broke down and cried when I was done. Number one, I was hurting bad! My legs felt like someone filled them with lead. And number two, I was so glad I had finished! The day before I was feeling all down about myself and thinking I couldn't do the 16 miler, so when I actually finished, I couldn't help but cry tears of joy! Haha...imagine if someone had stopped and tried to talk to me, they would have thought I was psycho! And number three....it was that horrid time of the month, so I'm sure the tears were also partly hormonal. Hahaha! I would....

Anyway, only 7 weeks until the big day. I'm way stoked because I know this time around I'm gonna rock it. I plan on shaving off an hour from my St George time, doing it in 5 hours instead of 6. If I do it, awesome. If I don't, not the end of the world because I'm doing St George again this year! Yay for marathons!

Me and my sister and momma did Pat's Run last week in Tempe. Let me just say it was CRAZY, over 21,000 people, so I was very surprised when I managed to shave off four minutes from last year. It was so crowded I swear I almost tripped like 10 times. It was so fun though, I had a blast. My mom and Savanna both did it in under an hour, which was way good for both of them! My mom loved it, she wants to pick up running now! Yay! I am definitely an advocate of that.

Welp, this coming weekend me and some friends are heading to California for some Six Flags, I am so so so excited because I definitely need a vacation! It seems like Mexico was so long ago...when it was only just over a month ago. Haha! Time flies, I guess! This week should be exciting, a friend comes home from his mission! Woo hoo! Also, my brother is engaged. Another woo hoo! Now I'll have another sister, and hopefully some nieces and nephews before long!! Haha that's what I'm most excited about :)

Have a good week!

9 weeks til the big day!

2010-04-11T11:33:00.000-07:00

Only 9 more weeks until my marathon! And that means only three more super long runs- 16, 18, and the big 20. I can do it! I did the 14 yesterday, I did okay, had to walk a little bit in the last miles, but that's because I didn't run very good last week. Its wierd how even missing one run, even if it's just a little 6 miler, can affect my run the next week. You'd think I would learn this by now! Haha.

Anyway, this week I joined a running group that I saw on Facebook for my Wednesday run. We did a really fun hills run at Freestone, and I will definitely be joining them every week! They were so nice to me, welcomed me in like one of their own. The funny thing is, they are all way more hard core than I am...and most of them are older than 45. Some of them are in their 60's. Gotta love those older runners, even if they kick my butt every time! They all do several ultras and marathons a year, which is awesome. They might convince me to do an ultra eventually. (An ultra is any distance over a marathon, eek!).

Well, not much else new going on here. I am still working at Rehab Arizona, basically the most fun job ever. I love it! I couldn't imagine going to a job every morning at 7 that I didn't enjoy. That would suck. I dont mind the early mornings, because I get nap time in the afternoon. :) haha! I'm looking forward to Hawaii this summer (a week after my marathon! what better way to relax?), Mexico, Havasupai, camping, and many many kayaking trips. It's gonna be sweet. Hopefully a man will be thrown into that mix soon, I'm sick of being the only single person around here! But, all my guy friends come home from their missions this summer, which will make it even better! YAY!!!

Have a fabulous Sunday!

12 miles....and Mexico

2010-03-28T12:33:00.000-07:00

So, I did my 12 miler yesterday. It was actually a really good run, almost as good as my 9 miler a couple weeks ago. I'm surprised I was able to finish it without walking any of it, seeing how I missed the 10 miler since I was in Mexico last weekend. But I'm a trooper! Also, best part of the run was helping out this little kid at Freestone who was in a wheelchair. He wanted to go down the hill to where his friends were playing, and as I came up on him his friends were attempting to get him down. They were pretty little and I didn't want them to get hurt trying to wheel the little boy down the hill so I stopped and helped. He seemed really happy when we got him to the bottom. All I have to wonder is how did he get back to the top? haha. Also, where were his parents? I'm assuming they were watching another child play soccer or something (there were lots of games going on) and trusted that his friends would take care of him. Honestly, good for them for letting him be more independent! If I was in a wheelchair (knock on wood that it NEVER happens) I wouldn't want to be babied. Anyway, that was my little service for the day, made the rest of my run much easier. Of course, I had already gone about 8 miles so I still had four more to go....but still.

Mexico last weekend was AH-MAZING! I never wanted to leave. We didn't go to Rocky Point, instead we went to a little place called El Golfo. It's a small town about 60 or 70 miles up the beach from R.P. (although northwest of RP because the bay curves towards the west). It was waaaaaaayyyy better than rocky point. No crowds, and I didn't get asked to buy anything the entire time! It was so nice not to have to say "no gracias" all day. Getting there was pretty crazy, we camped with 5 or 6 other families on the beach. We had to let most of the air out of the tires on all the trucks and trailers, and even then we managed to get stuck a couple times. However, it wasn't that bad. We eventually made it to the campsite, which was a harrowing 5 miles down the beach from El Golfo. So we had like miles on both sides of beach to ourselves!! Amazing. We had the quads and plenty of dunes behind us to ride them on. We also had kayaks, which offered me the most amazing experience. The last night we were there, right after sundown, we saw a ton of dolphins out in the water. We had seen dolphins before but they were always in pairs and way too far out to kayak to. These ones were closer only because the tide was way out, so there was less water between us and the deep water they were in. So, even though it was quickly getting dark, me and this other girl grabbed the kayaks and ran out there. Then we booked it in the kayaks until we got close to dolphins. It was sooooo cool! There was at least 2 dozen of them, probably more, and they were curious about us. They would only get within 20 feet of our boats, but they would circle around us, go underneath us, and basically scare the bejeezus out of us! Haha. They would all disapear for a minute or so, then we could hear their high-pitched squeaking right underneath us, and then they would make us jump by loudly blowing air only 20 feet away from us. So awesome. Then, we got kind of scared because we didn't realize how far we had gone out there, and it was pretty much dark, so we headed back. And would you believe it? Those dolphins followed us back to shore for more than 3/4 of the way! It was like they were Jaws, I would look back and just see fins follwing us. Haha. There were people waiting for us on the beach, they were worried because they had heard us screaming (those dolphins made me scream everytime they came up for air! haha) and they couldn't really see us. Of course we were fine, and very excited! I can cross that one off my bucket list now!

Coming back from Mexico was a nightmare, we got stopped at a couple checkpoints and then had to wait 3 hours at the border. Which wasn't too bad because we could get out and walk around, but it was just time consuming and made us get home really late. Anyway, even with that whole fiasco, it was still one of the most amazing trips I have ever been on. I really hope it becomes an annual thing!!!

My training for this marathon has been way better than my training for St George last year. Probably because of my GPS watch, because now I know exact mileage on my long runs instead of just guessing (and probably being wrong). I feel in much better shape this time around, and I am able to keep a faster pace on my long runs than before. I am very very excited for the marathon in June. It's in Provo, the weather will be great, I'll probably be able to see some friends and my brother, and I just miss Utah! Never thought I'd say that :) haha
Only ten or 11 more weeks! Woo hoo!

"And totally redeemed yourself!"

2010-03-13T19:48:00.000-08:00

In case you were wondering, that quote is from Dumb and Dumber. Definitely a top 5 movie.

And the reason I quote it is because I really did redeem myself today. On my running schedule it called for 6 miles, because I was supposed to have done 9 last week. Which I didn't/couldn't. So, today I decided to run the 9 miles for reals this time. And let me tell you what, I totally nailed it! It goes on my list of top 10 runs, for sure. I figured out a little strategy. Instead of looking right at the ground in front of me or even looking out as far ahead of me as I can see, I decided to focus my eyes on the ground about 30 to 40 feet in front of me. I don't know why, but this made a world of difference! I ran the entire 9 miles without walking, only stopping twice to fill up my water bottle at freestone park. It was a night and day difference from last weeks attempt. And it made me feel great! Since I'll be missing my run next Saturday (I'll be in Mexico!) it was really important to have a super good run today. What also made the difference was running consistently throughout the week. I did several great workouts, however I ate like crap this week (again!) so I feel all bloated and gross (ugh! TMI!) but this week I should do better. Hopefully. Mexico can make you kinda gassy. hahaha!! Welp, I'm definitely looking forward to working only 2 days this week, it's gonna be a good one!

VIVA LA MEXICO!

(I don't know Spanish, I just pretend)

Lessons learned...

2010-03-07T11:26:00.000-08:00

So yesterday I set out for a 9 mile run, because my schedule told me to. I set out to do this after having not run for 10 days AND having taken my very first cycling class the day before. So, long story short, the 9 mile run ended up being a 4.5 mile run wuth 4.5 miles of walking. Still, I went the distance! (cue Hercules music)

But, let me say a little something about the cycling class I took at LA Fitness (my gym). Imagine your legs on fire for a full hour, imagine sweating so much that you have to drink 2 full water bottles worth of water, imagine wanting to throw up several times during said hour, imagine wanting to quit half way through, imagine your hardest workout EVER....yeah, that was the cycling class I took on Friday. Needless to say, in spite of all this, it will definitely be a weekly thing! However, not on Friday, most likely on Tuesdays only because I think thats the reason my long run went so horribly, is because my legs were already exhausted before I even began running. Not good! And very miserable.

Also, the whole "not running for 10 days" thing....I went to Mexico last weekend. It was fun, but could have been even more so had the weather not been so abysmal. Anyway, I came back from Mexico having eaten good yet crappy food all weekend, and it like set the tone for my while week. I ate like crap and didn't exercise once except for a short bike ride on Tuesday. But now I know what that does to my long runs on Saturdays, so from here on out I am on a very set and strict schedule! I'm excited for the marathon, I think it'll come up way faster than I want, though! I finally registered for it last week, so now I am dedicated. Also, I have a driving buddy for the trip up there, so that's exciting. Welp, have a good Sunday, I know I will! Peace....

And so it begins....

2010-02-14T21:15:00.000-08:00

16 weeks of misery, tears, pain, soreness, blisters, sunburns, crankiness, exhaustion......

yup. Marathon training begins again tomorrow.

You might be asking, why do I do this to myself?

Honestly? I don't even have an answer to that!! Haha

Happy Valentine's Day!

16 weeks from this Saturday, I'll be running the Utah Valley Marathon in Provo, UT!

~London's Run~

2010-02-05T22:21:00.000-08:00

Last weekend I did London's Run for the second time. I really like this race, because it is out at Schnepf Farms and the atmosphere is so fun! This year they had a little problem on the course because of the mud created by the huge rainstorm we had a couple weeks ago. So I guess they changed the course at the last minute, but not all of the volunteers were sure which way we were supposed to go. So I'm running along, getting a great time (because of my amazing Garmin!) and all of a sudden I come to a sign that says "Mile 5". And I'm like, wait a second, I don't even remember seeing a "Mile 4' sign! So I look at my watch, and sure enough it says I have gone 4.3 miles. About half a mile back there was a "T" in the road, some people were going to the right for a little out-and-back stretch but the volunteer guy was yelling at them to come back and yelling at us to go left. I am thinking that that little out-and-back that some people did was the .7 mile that I was missing! And, around mile 5 (according to my watch) all of a sudden there was a big group of fellow 10K runners that came out of nowhere and joined up with us, which I was really confused about. I didn't bother asking them where they came from because now I knew that the course was messed up. Also it didn't help that the 10K and half-marathon runners joined up at several points on the course! Crazy!
All in all, I only ran 5.5 miles when it was supposed to be 6.2! I told people afterwards, "I feel cheated. And I feel like I cheated." haha! Plus, I'm not complaining about the 1-hour 10K time on my record now...although I probably won't count it among my PR's. That would be cheating.
To make up for all of this, I am running another 10K on the 20th. I think I can get a pretty good time on this one, and hopefully their course will be more organized. It's at Las Sendas, which is a uber nice neighborhood in North Mesa. Looking forward to it!

Can I get a holla?!

2010-01-25T20:14:00.000-08:00

I've lost 5 pounds!! Now only 10 more to my goal, I am pretty sure I can do it!!

Holla!!

My secret? Eat less, but eat more of the good stuff. Make sense? Also, get at least 5 days of exercise in. I usually take Fridays and Saturdays off. My pilates class is kicking my butt (literally!!) and then two days at the gym on the treadmill and weights, and then Saturdays I do long runs. This Saturday is London's Run, I'm soooo excited because it was my first real race last year, so it'll be fun to revisit it and reminisce over the last year. Hopefully I can beat my time, but I doubt it. For some reason I am slower now than I was a year ago. I think it might be because of all those long, slow miles I did during marathon training. I've been doing lots of speedwork lately, so hopefully my pace will pick up! I'm predicting a 1hour 10minute finish. We'll see! Hopefully with the help of my Garmin I can keep up a good pace throughout.

Future races- I think I am going to do either the Utah Valley Half OR Full marathon in June. It all depends on whether I get into St George again, which I am really really hoping I do! I won't know until May, though. Also, another prospect is taking a trip up to Logan for a couple of days and doing the Bear Lake half or full. I would LOVE to visit Logan, I haven't been back since I left in 2008. So, it's been way too long. I'm still excited, for whatever I decide to do!

It finally feels like my life is getting in order. I have a wonderful new job, my social life is looking up, school should be easy this semester, basically life can't get any better! Actually...it could. If I had a boyfriend. hahaha!! Other than that, perfect!

My best friend.....

2010-01-05T20:10:00.000-08:00

Meet my best friend.

It's a watch, but not just any watch.

It's my Garmin Forerunner 405.

I seriously cannot get enough of this thing!!

That's all.

Christmas!

2009-12-30T23:20:00.000-08:00

Christmas was ah-maze-ing! First and foremost, we fed the homeless Christmas morning, just like we did last year. It was such a neat experience, and one I wish everyone could enjoy. We set up under a bridge in Phoenix with all of our cook stoves and fed a couple hundred homeless people. Whew, it was hard work! Good thing there was our family and a few other random families that my parents knew. My mom invited them all on Facebook. hehe! Anyway, I truly believe that serving those less fortunate while being together as a family was definitely the best way to spend Christmas. It made the rest of the day so much better, it also made me much more thankful for the things that I have! Seeing those who have nothing be so grateful for something as small and simple as a hot breakfast really changes my perspective on things. I hope that this is a tradition that we keep on having for as long as possible. I almost can't imagine Christmas without it!

Well, for Christmas my mom (I mean Santa, of course) got me an amazing device called the Garmin Forerunner 405. On first look, you might just think it's a glorified (although large) wrist watch. Don't be decieved. This baby packs a very accurate GPS system which measures my pace and the distance I run and also comes with a heart rate monitor that measures my HR continuously. This way, I know exactly how fast I am running by just a glance at my watch! Amazing, right? This will change running for me forever. The best part, my favorite part, is (wirelessly!) loading all the info from my runs onto my computer. This, in turn, is automatically transferred onto the Garmin Connect website, where I can analyze everything from average pace to total distance to my route...to basically everything else. I LOVE this thing!! Might just be the best present I have ever gotten!! Thanks Mommy!!

With the new year coming up tomorrow night (2010! where did the time go?!) I decided to give my blog a makeover. You like? I do! I even downloaded a picture editing software and made myself a header. I also changed my title to "Always an adventure..." because honestly, when am I not doing something insane? Case in point- I went skydiving for my birthday. Best. adrenaline. rush. EVER. Holy cow. Words cannot describe the feeling of jumping out of a perfectly good airplane into thin air. I would be an addict if it wasn't so expensive! I really believe in living life in the moment, but don't believe I don't plan for the future as well!

p.s.- If you have not read The Hunger Games, stop what you are doing right now. Borrow it, buy it, I don't care what you do to get a hold of that book.....READ IT. Might just be the best book I've ever read. So so so intense!! I couldn't put it down. There's also a second book already out (it's a trilogy) but the third isn't due until August of 2010!! Total cliffhanger!!! I got them both for Christmas...and finished them within 5 days. hehe :)

HAPPY NEW YEAR!!

Dreams deferred...

2009-12-15T17:24:00.000-08:00

So, I was planning on doing a half-marathon at the end of January. I guess it wasn't meant to be, because three days ago I got sick. I don't see myself running for at least a week (head cold= hard to breathe deeply!) so I decided I would face reality and downgrade to a simple 10K that day instead of the more intense half. There's no way I could catch up on training for a half after being sick. With the race less than 7 weeks away, it's not really possible.

In other news, I ran my first Turkey Trot on Thanksgiving and LOVED it! Although it was pretty warm and during the race I wanted to die, afterwards I felt great, because that is 600 calories I didn't have to worry about that day!! hehe! Also being around alllll those people was pretty fun, and it was very laid-back event. Definitely going to be an annual thing for sure!

Welp, I am for sure looking forward to Christmas. This weekend I am having a big birthday/Christmas/end of finals party at my house, and I am way excited. These parties always end up being good! Then, on Monday I am SKYDIVING on my birthday!!!!!! holy cow. Talk about super adrenaline rush. It is official. I am adrenaline junkie for sure!! Then there is Christmas, and all the awesomeness that it brings, and then school doesn't start until after the middle of January!! Can you say sweet?? (sweet!!)

I LOVE THIS TIME OF YEAR!

(except for the sick part, of course!)

Can't wait for Thanksgiving!

2009-11-09T20:35:00.000-08:00

First of all, because I am pretty sure I will be running that 10K Thanksgiving morning. I ran 4 miles tonight and it felt amazing, and I even kept a fairly good pace throughout the whole thing. I need another event to run so that I don't get lazy!

Second of all, the food. Duh. I honestly don't know how people can eat oven-cooked turkey. It is, quite frankly, like trying to eat cardboard. Dry and tasteless. Now, pit-roasted turkey.....my mouth is watering just thinking about it. Pure juicy goodness straight from heaven (or hell? since it comes from underground?). Also, besides turkey, we also roast some buffalo roast and pork roast. Now you can see why our Thanksgivings are better than yours.

Third of all, being with friends and family. This year is our "anti-family" Thanksgiving, and we're having a couple families from our ward and neighborhood over for the day. Way fun!!

Fourth of all, I get to go on my first bull hunt ever!! The day after Thanksgiving we are heading up to unit 23, and I swear I will not leave that place, nay, I will not sleep (comfortably) or eat (a lot) until I find the biggest bull in that forest and take it down with my bare hands (a.k.a. my rifle). The elk have been warned. I am coming!

Fifthly, after Thanksgiving comes Christmas. And with Christmas comes Christmas music. And cold weather. And happiness. And cute winter clothes. I have been trying my hardest not to ruin the Christmas music by listening to too much too soon, just a little bit here and there. Since August :). Can't help it! I love Christmas music way too much.

Anyway, this month is turning out to be crazy! But I like being busy much more than being...not busy. AND...I might get a full-time job soon!!! Well, between now and January I am getting interview and I desperately need this job so PRAY for me!! Thanks! :)

HAVE A GOOD NOVEMBER!

Feels like forever...

2009-11-02T15:59:00.001-08:00

It seriously feels like forever since I last went running. In reality, it's been like, a week and a half. I think tonight I'm going to try again. After all, I still want to do that turkey trot on Thanksgiving, and I can't run a 10K if I'm not prepared.

Anywho, I am so glad it is finally FALL! Although October was really hot in the beginning then really cold towards the end, I think I'd rather have the cold any day. Hopefully November doesn't heat up again. I'd be pretty ticked if it did.

Halloween was kind of fun. I am very anti dressing up, but I have a friend who also didn't dress up so I don't feel dumb. Anyway, before we went to the YSA party we went to a haunted house that was going on right behind my house. It was so fun and scary! The worst part was when people would jump out at me. And then at the end, if you run out there is a chain saw guy and he will chase you for a bit and rev up the chain saw right behind you. Yeah, I screamed. And ran, then screamed even more. It was a blast.

The single adult party at the stake center was pretty fun, actually the only fun part was seeing how creative everyone got with their costumes. I saw Nacho Libre and his friend walking around shirtless. I can't even name all of the costumes that I saw, but the Nacho one stood out because I almost got touched by "Jack Black's" naked stomach. Ugh.
The rest of the night wasn't too interesting. So I'm not even gonna bother. But that's how I like my Halloween, which in my opinion is the most pointless holiday ever. Let's dress up like buffoons, eat a bunch of candy and get fat. Sounds like a typical American holiday to me! Haha!

Welp, we are now into my favorite time of the year. Thanksgiving and Christmas!!! I LOVE this time of year. Especially the weather. It's mostly awesome because now if I want to go running or go on a bike ride, I don't have to wake up obscenely early or wait until it gets dark. Love it!!

Feel the burn(out)

2009-10-22T15:02:00.000-07:00

Now that I've finished this whole marathon thing, I was excited to start focusing on other things- like the Thanksgiving Day Turkey Trot, or the half marathon out in Queen Creek in January. I figured I could jump back into running and I'd be just as good as ever.

Not so much!

It's like my body has checked out, along with my brain. I've tried running several times over the last three weeks since my marathon, but my body does not want to cooperate! I can't even run a straight mile anymore. It is the strangest feeling, like I know I could run 6 or more miles, and I want to, but my body really does not want me to! It's the tell-tale sign of burn-out. Which is why I am still holding out hope for that Thanksgiving 10K, but these next couple weeks there will little to no running at all. Good thing I love my bike! Also this will give me some chance to do some more weight training. I actually did some today for the first time in months, and my arms are like jelly, it is hard to type! But it felt good! Haha I may not think that tomorrow when my arms are sore!

Anyway, the plan for these next two to three weeks is bike riding and weight training at least 3 days a week, if not more. I like being sore, so this should be fun! Also, I am starting to get "Relief Society arms" which is never good!

I am LOVING this fall weather, it allows me to go for a spontaneous bike ride at noon and not get heat stroke. Also, sleeping with my window open is the best thing ever! I love cuddling in all my blankets :)

This weekend is ward summit with Mission Bay Ward, and I SUPER-DE-DUPER excited!! Who wouldn't want to spend a weekend at Camp LoMia with a bunch of attractive men??

I FINISHED!

2009-10-08T08:39:00.000-07:00

This has to be one of the first New Year's Resolution's that I have actually followed through with, which is very exciting. Okay, so a play-by-play (mile-by-mile?)... (warning: this is looooonng!)

We (me, my mom, little sis Chic, and her friend Ashli) drove up Friday, got to St George by 4-ish. Then we freshened up and headed to the marathon expo, which is basically a bunch of vendors who set up booths, and also I picked up by bag that had my number in it and my sweet shirt. I also bought another cute shirt there that says "St George Marathon" on it. Just know it's cute. Then we ate at their pasta dinner, which was all-you-can-eat and was also cheap and surprisingly good! Then we went back to our little hole-in-the-wall hotel and went to bed early. Except of course I didn't sleep well. I fell asleep almost right away because I hadn't slept in the car at all, but then my dad called at 11 which kind of ruined things for me. After that I tossed and turned a lot, having at least 3 separate nightmares. They involved the marathon, such as I slept through it, I couldn't finish, etc. They were those kind of dreams where you wake up and still think they are real. Horrible!!!

Finally, my alarm went off at 4 a.m. I got up, forced some breakfast down (who eats at that hour?) milled around for a bit, got dressed, and nearly died of nervousness. Finally, I woke up my mom at 4:45 and she took me to the bus loading area, where all the runners get on buses and they take us to the start, 26 miles up the canyon. On the ride up there, I chatted with the lady sitting next to me for a bit, but eventually fell into silence. She could tell I was nervous. I told her it was my first marathon ever. She just laughed. At one point we went down this super steep hill, and she told me that was the dreaded "Veyo Hill". Of course, we had to go UP this hill on the way back, on nothing but our own two feet and willpower.

We finally arrived at the start. I felt like I was walking around in a fog. It was still completely dark, and absolutely freezing! The wind was blowing pretty hard (but it was blowing at our backs, which was good) and I immediately headed over to the bonfires. There were many fires lit by the start, but people were crowded around all of them, and I pushed through the crowd until I got close enough to one to get warm. Then, I noticed the long lines at the porter potties. I figured I should jump in line and go before the start, seeing how there was half an hour left till the starting time. So, I braved the cold and stood in line forever, but I chatted with the people around me. I love the running community! Everyone I talked to was so nice, they gave me encouragement when they found out it was my first. Everyone is also so different, but we were all the same in that we were going to finish this thing we set out to do.

Anyway, the wheelchair people started the race at 6:40, and five minutes later it was our turn. I was farther back in the crowd because I am slooooooww, so it took me about 7 minutes to even reach the starting line. I gave a cheer as I crossed that line- the journey was on!! It had taken me 10 months to reach this point, so even crossing that starting line was a huge achievement. As I shuffled along with everybody else, with "Ready To Run" blasting in my ears, I felt incandescently happy. Here I was, among these wonderful people, doing something that only 1% of the country has done. I felt mighty special!

Those first few miles were great. It was so cold that my legs were numb, which for some reason made me run faster, I guess. First mistake of every new marathon runner- starting out too fast. And I made that mistake. Bad. I was meeting my time goal at every mile (number two mistake- even having a time goal in the first place!) and I was hitting these small hills without skipping a beat. These first 5 or 6 miles looked like a hurricane had swept through there, because as people were warming up, off came their jackets and pants and beanies and gloves, and there was no where to put them except to throw them off onto the side of the road. Volunteers come by after us and pick up all clothes, and you can try to find them at the finish line. I got rid of my warm-up clothes before the start in my bag, so all I had to do was find my bag at the finish. But I digress...

I have never in my life seen so many people peeing on the side of the road. Haha! It may sound funny now, but when you're running along and all of a sudden the person in front of you darts off the road and into the trees....and you know exactly what they are up to, it's kind of weird. And some of the men don't really bother to go into the trees, but they would simply stand on the shoulder (still on the asphalt!) and just go. I didn't see anything, but there were some close calls! I figured I could wait until the next mile marker, as there were porter potties (and toilet paper!) at every mile and every aid station.

I was feeling so good those first 6 miles, until we rounded a bend and I saw it- Veyo Hill. It looked like it went straight up into the sky- forever. I was ready for it, though. I was feeling good! However, as I went through the aid station at mile 7 that was supposed to have carb reloading gels for us, I found that they were out! I really could have used a gel for Veyo Hill and beyond, but I had to settle for a banana. Actually, half a banana. So you see, this is where my troubles began. Not too disheartened, I set out for the hill with determination. I was going to run this whole hill without stopping! That lasted....for about half a mile. I ended up walking up most of this hill...and then the 5-hour pacing team passed me. That's when I knew I was in trouble. If I wanted to get a 5-hour marathon, I would have to stick with them. However, that hill took more out of me than I thought, and I couldn't continue running for a mile after the hill was over! I was so spent. That's when I knew A. I had started out too fast and B. this was going to be painful. But I didn't give up. As soon as I felt better I picked up running again, although considerably slower than when I began.

I kept running until about mile 10. I should not have been exhausted by then, but I was. After mile 10 I don't really remember any specifics. I remember that I could still run pretty fast downhill, but as soon as it had even a slight uphill grade I slowed to a walk. It just took the heart out of me. I kept truckin along as best I could, but after mile 15 or so my feet were really mad at me. I talked to myself a lot on that course, such as "You can do this" or "This doesn't hurt!" or "I can pass this person" or "I cannot believe that person just passed me!" Mile 17 was the first place where there was any real spectators besides the volunteers at all the aid stations and the town of Veyo (that we passed through between miles 6 and 7). It was called Snow Canyon, and as I thought my mom and the girls were going to be there, I picked up the pace. However, they decided to wait at mile 23. So after not seeing them there, I was a little disappointed, but I kept going. The famous mile 20, what marathoners call the "real halfway point", was also a blur. There was one volunteer there who kept yelling "You've made it to mile 20!" but all I could think was "6 miles to go!" I tried to get in the whole mindset of "okay, now I am just running a 10K, I can do this!" but it was one thing to imagine myself doing that as I was training, it was another to actually do it. I think I only ran a total of 2 or 3 out of that last 6 miles, in fact after mile 24 I only ran the last 200 yards to the finish. Anyway... my mom and the girls were at mile 23, and they cheered me on and took some pictures, and then they got in the car and drove to the finish. By this time I was completely exhausted, no running left in me whatsoever. I speed-walked as fast as I possibly could, but I still felt I was letting myself down. Which was ridiculous! I was still going to finish, I knew that.

Walking through the streets of St George in the last 3 miles, I was cheered on by countless families sitting in their front lawns, and the volunteers were still going at it, too. I was kind of alone by then, there were still 200 people behind me, but over 5,000 had already crossed the finish line! Haha at least I wasn't dead last. Anyway, as I finally rounded a corner and saw the finish line about a quarter mile away, I was so happy! No matter how much my feet hurt, no matter how nasty sweaty I was, I was going to finish this thing.

I picked up the pace, and then in the last 200 yards I started running again. Then I sped up into a sprint. Or at least, it felt like a sprint to me! There was a guy that had been running near me for most of the race, and he was also running toward the finish. I was like, there's no way this guy is beating me. So I sped up even more and passed him. Sucker. Even when I am totally exhausted, I've still got this competitive streak in me :). So, I passed the guy, hammed it up for the cameras at the finish (which I also did for every camera along the course, pictures coming soon!) and CROSSED THE FINISH LINE. It was the best feeling I have ever experienced. Not kidding. Then I ran through the water misters (yay!) and then got my finishers medal put around my neck. Then I got some more pictures taken in front of the finishers banner. It was awesome, made me feel like a real runner- even though I didn't run the whole thing.

Turns out my time was 6:08, and I know I could have done much better, but at least I finished. That's the important part. And you know what? Next year, I want to do it all over again! You could call me crazy, but I have to redeem myself. I have to get at least below 5 hours. Then when that happens, I might have to try to get below 4:30. And I will probably keep going until my body breaks down and I can't run anymore. I love this lifestyle. I love being able to tell people that I am running this race or that, and I especially love how running makes me feel. I love the running community, the people I meet and see at races. Everyone is always so happy! It makes me happy, too.

Welp, that's my marathon story. Sorry for so much detail, I couldn't resist! On the way home from St G., we stopped at the Grand Canyon among other things, and took some great pictures. I hadn't been there for almost 10 years! So it totally took my breath away. I love that place. We also climbed up and down some stairs on our many stops, and I was so sore I could barely step off a curb, let alone whole flights of stairs! Coming down was much worse, because my quads were shot from those steep downhills (8% grade in some spots!) on the course. Anyway, we eventually made it home Sunday night at like 9:30, it was such a fun drive home!

I was really, really sore for only three days, then it like magically went away. Now I feel great, except for some slight shins splints. I went on a bike ride last night, and it was amazing! I'll try running again next week, because I have a 10K to do on Thanksgiving Day! Then I am planning on doing a half-marathon in late January, and we'll see where I go after that! I am going to keep running for the rest of my life, if I can, because there is no way to go except up. I don't think I can get much worse, I can only improve!

So, sorry again for this ridiculously long story, but it needed to be written!

I still love running!! Haha

pictures coming soon....for JoLynn :)

Leavin tomorrow...

2009-10-01T21:34:00.000-07:00

...For St George!! Isn't it crazy how I've been waiting since May for this day to come? And how I am kind of freaking out because the big day is almost here and I feel so insignificant and I keep getting all these crazy thoughts about not finishing and....oh boy. I think I have been stress eating. I feel fat! Hopefully it's just a bunch of water weight from these carbs I've been eating, but we'll see come Saturday, bright and early!! If I'm nervous now (Thursday night) I cannot imagine how I am going to feel Saturday morning. I sure hope I don't freak out. I have a plan all made out in my mind, all I have to do is stick to it! And right now I am just rambling, but it is therapeutic :). Welp, as I am leaving at 5 in the morning and I need to get my sleep, wish me luck!!!!

One week from now...

2009-09-26T23:50:00.000-07:00

I will probably be crying for a foot massage.

I will probably be crying because I am so sore.

I will probably be crying because I finished.

All I know is that, for some reason or another, I will be crying.

A marathon'll do that to ya.

ONE WEEK!

Coming down the home stretch

2009-09-14T17:03:00.000-07:00

Less than three weeks until the marathon, and I can barely stand it. I remember waaaay back in January when I made the goal to run a marathon this year.
I remember lying in bed before I went to sleep and getting little jolts of adrenaline as I imagined myself approaching the finish line. Seriously. I am so weird.
I even had dreams about running the marathon, and they were always nightmares that included sleeping through it, getting a broken leg halfway through, not finishing...seriously, those dreams were horrible.
I remember telling everyone that I was running one, and I could also remember how nobody really thought I could carry through. Nobody said it straight out, but I could tell. It wasn't until I started training in May that people could see how serious I was.
I remember the feeling when I got the email saying I got into the St George Marathon. Total happiness and excitement!
I remember waking up every single Saturday this summer at 5 or 6 in the morning in order to do my long runs. Didn't particularly enjoy that part.
There are a lot of things that I will always remember from this summer, but training for a marathon will be at the top of the list. I seriously cannot wait- only 19 days and I will be standing at the starting line, ready for the adventure that is the marathon; 26.2 miles of self-discovery!

20 fetching miles!

2009-09-05T09:19:00.001-07:00

I mean good crap. It will be nice to say I ran a full marathon, but these training runs are hard! I just barely finished my big 20-miler, which is the farthest I'll go for training. Luckily for me, the weather this morning was amazing! I woke up at the obscene hour of 4 a.m., and I was out the door by 5. It was still pitch black so I stuck to the streets until it started to get light, then I cut over to the greenbelt. It was so stormy, at some points I was kind of scared for my life because the lightning was out of control! And, I got rained on three seperate times! After only 2 miles it started to rain, but it didn't last very long. Then when I was running by Freestone Park the heavens opened up and I got soaked, but it was glorious! I'd rather have cold and rain on a run than hot and sunny. Good thing I had my Camelbak so I could stow away my iPod, because it poured buckets! That one lasted about 15 or 20 minutes, and it cooled things off really good. Around mile 16 or 17, the storm started to get really bad and scary, I almost wanted to burst into tears because although I love lightning and thunder, being out in it with no shelter and miles from home was pretty stressful. Anyway, the last two miles it rained on me again, but I was glad to get home and out of the elements.

Well, now what? I have 4 weeks until St George, which will give me plenty of time to recover from this run and be in tiptop shape at the starting line. Maybe I should focus on working my abs and back for these next four weeks, because I start to slouch after awhile. Now all I need to do is eat healthy and cross-train a lot for these next 4 weeks, and I will be ready to take on the marathon!!

um ouch

2009-08-23T21:05:00.000-07:00

Okay, so yesterday was the biggest run I have ever done in my whole life! 18 MILES. Really. I didn't think it was possible, but I did it!

It all started out so wonderful. I left the house at 5:20 am, and the weather was gorgeous! Overcast, cool, with a couple sprinkles here and there. Perfect running weather, except for the 50% humidity. It didn't bother me too much though, because even though I sweated more buckets than normal, I had plenty of water in my trusty camelbak. I started out super slow, because I knew if I started out too fast that would be the end of it, I would never be able to hold out for the whole 18 miles. I took the east-west greenbelt that runs behind my neighborhood, and I ran from Greenfield to Power road, then turned around and ran alllll the way to McQueen road. Then I came back to Greenfield and ran a small loop around my neighborhood for the last two miles.

Needless to say, it was painful. When your feet aren't used to going that far, it starts to kill big time. I must admit that there were tears between miles 14 and 15, but I just complained to myself for a little bit then moved on. Seriously, my feet were screaming at me to stop, but I had no choice but to keep going. The sun came out at around 9, which didn't help me much. It turned hot pretty fast! And I won't even pretend like I ran the whole thing, I did take a couple short walking breaks and ended walking the last mile or so, because my feet just couldn't take anymore pounding.

I would not have finished this run without the Clif Bloks that I bought the day before, they're like these chewy fruit snack things that are pure carbs with some electrolytes thrown in, which gives me the energy to keep going. I ate two packs of them, and it definitely made a world of difference.

So yeah, that was my run! I am extremely sore right now, everytime I stand up after sitting down for a while it hurts a lot! This coming Saturday I have 8 miles to do (easy stuff!), then the week after that is 20 (gulp!), and then it is three easier weeks until the marathon. Oh man. I'm gonna admit, I want this to be over! Training is hard!

And on an unrelated note, I have recently become obsessed with the show Psych. Season 4 just started, and I've seen most of season 3. I just bought seasons 1 and 2 on Ebay for cheap, yay! So if you haven't seen it before, I HIGHLY recommend it!

Aren't Shawn and Gus adorable? Haha! I find Shawn (the one on the left) extremely attractive.

Reunited and it feels so good!

2009-08-10T21:41:00.000-07:00

Welp, after missing two long runs in a row and practically no running for the last two weeks because of vacations, I am back into full swing into marathon training. I ran outside just now, on the street, for the first time in a long time and it felt way good. For the last two months I have been doing mostly treadmill running, but I finally couldn't take it anymore and went for my Monday run on the street! Reunited and it feels so good! Although, I could do without the people in cars yelling, honking, and leering at me. Kind of scary when you're running along at 9 at night and all of a sudden a car honks at you. Makes me jump!

There is less than two months left until St George, but I am confident I can at least finish. At the beginning of training I had all these unrealistic expectations about what time I could finish in, etc., but now my main goal is to finish within 5 hours and with a smile on my face. And preferably not puking. Haha. Running in the heat has slowed me down considerably, but I am hoping for cooler weather in St G so that I can maintain a better pace throughout.

This last weekend I went to Havasupai, and it was freakin amazing! I was so excited to see the differences from the massive flood last year, and it sure did not disappoint! There is an entire new canyon that was formed which has two new waterfalls in it, and it also caused the river to completely bypass Navajo Falls, which are now bone-dry. I put up my pictures on Facebook, but they do not give the place justice! Also, I thought I was in pretty good shape for this year's hike, but nothing can really prepare you for strapping on a 35-pound pack and hiking 22 miles round trip. Needless to say, I am extremely sore (made tonight's run interesting!) but I am still looking forward to the next time. Don't know when that will be for sure, because of some maybe plans for the future that may involve 18 months of being away from home [hint, hint ;)] but we'll see. As it is, I absolutely loved the trip, the people I went with were way fun, and I have some great new memories. Nothing can compare to last year though, when we got caught in a flash flood on the way out, totally long story though that I don't feel like typing out.

Anyway, I am excited to immerse myself in the training once again. School starts in two weeks, I am babysitting a couple times a week for auntie Annie, and I am training for a marathon. Don't you just love being busy?

Sick...but not with piggy flu

2009-07-22T13:01:00.000-07:00

Well, this past week I have been sick, which has made it impossible for me to train! I haven't ran since Saturday, and even then I was starting to get sick which meant that my 6-miler ended up being a measly 4-miler. And I didn't even run the whole time. I tell you what, being sick SUCKS big time. And what sucks even worse is that this Saturday I have a big 14-miler to do. I'm thinking that I am just going to speed walk it, since going the distance walking is better than doing nothing at all, right? It would be suicide to try and run it after not running for a week. What is bad about this flu-like sickness is that it has given me a sore throat and a cough, so I have a strong feeling that even if I tried to run, I would be doubled over coughing before long. Okay, enough with the negative part. Done with the venting.

Come to think of it, there is no positive side to this week. So that is the end of my post. Oh wait...I lost 5 pounds. There is something positive to being sick! Haha!!

Roadblocks

2009-07-03T14:01:00.000-07:00

So I haven't given an update on training in awhile, but the most important thing is that I am still goin at it! In fact, this morning I ran my first 10 mile run EVER and it was exhausting! Basically, I feel the same after I hike Havasupai with a 30-pound pack on my back. Same achey feet and everything. But it is so worth it! (speaking of supai, August 6, 7, and 8th! I'm so excited!)

These last couple weeks I've had some issues with energy. In January, I could run 6 miles straight at just over 10 minutes per mile. For some reason, I've slowed down A LOT in the last month or so. It was starting to get really frustrating. A couple weeks ago I set out for a 9-mile run, but I couldn't even go four before I had to admit defeat and walk home. I was so exhausted after just two miles even. Then last saturday I had to do a short 6-mile run, but had to take a walking break in mile ONE! Needless to say, something was going on here. After some discussion earlier this week with Kelsey, she threw out the idea that maybe I was low on iron. It made perfect sense- I wasn't taking vitamins like I should have, and I hadn't had a piece of red meat, literally, in months (you can blame my mom for that one. All we eat is fish and chicken! haha). So I went right to work (knowing I had a 10 mile run that I absolutely had to do) and took a multi-vitamin with iron in it for the last 4 days and ate a ton of spinach. Good thing I like spinach! Well it seems to have worked, because I definitely improved! This morning I was able to run 8 miles before I got too tired and had to walk the last two. But, I did the distance, and I didn't run out of steam at mile 2 like I have been for a month or so. Placebo affect? I don't think so. There was some real energy there this morning, I could feel it.

You know what time I had to wake up this morning so as not to die of heat?

4:30. Woof.

Needless to say, I took a nice 3-hour nap after I got home and showered. Glorious!

Also, Gilbert is beautiful at dawn!

Training so far...

2009-06-09T20:36:00.000-07:00

It's been great!

Okay, but I've slacked off. I don't think I've completed a full week of training since I've started, but this week is shaping up to be the best yet! You know why? Because I just bought a 6 month membership to the rec center! I love it! Now I can run on the treadmill or the indoor track instead of in the heat and I can use the weight machines and the bike machines and...it's AWESOME.

Going to the rec center again will be a great thing for my training. Now I can do adequate cross-training, which are activities that do not involve running, on days when I don't run. I can bike outside, now, too! I finally fixed my bike after three months of a flat tire, and this morning I took it for a spin. Still works like a charm!

Something I realized after my first workout at the rec center- I have become extremely slow! I used to be able to do a 10-minute mile way back in January, but now I struggle with even that! How pathetic is this? That is why I am now implementing treadmill running into my routine. Hopefully in a couple weeks I will be back to a 10-minute mile. Also I need to work my abs every day if I am going to be able to run comfortably- all that extra flab around my middle does not help me be faster at all!

So, new training plan:

Run my weekday runs on the treadmill at the rec center, since they are only 30 to 45 minutes long.
Continue running my Saturday long runs on the streets. Several hours on a treadmill at a time may be too much for me!
Work my abs every single weekday, especially after running on the treadmill.
Stretch after every run. Sometimes I forget.
Be able to do 15 good push-ups by the end of the month.
Have at least one strength training day at the rec center, most likely Fridays.
Don't wear a gray shirt to the rec center when I run (the sweat marks are nasty!)

All in all, even though I am progressing well, I still have a lot of work with regards to speed and simple consistency.

I am still very excited for October 3rd to roll around!!! Only 115 more days!

first 2 weeks

2009-05-24T10:14:00.000-07:00

Well, the first two weeks of marathon training are done. Here is what I have learned:

Even while you're running and obviously busy, the missionaries will still try to ask for references. Sorry Sisters and Elders, I just don't know anybody who needs to hear your message! Keep up the good work, though.
Arizona weather changes fast. Yesterday I set out in cool, cloudy weather, and came back with a sunburn and near heatstroke. I did have plenty of water though!
Freestone park is a lifesaver for one reason only- bathrooms.
I should probably wake up early for my runs from now on. This week of nice weather has spoiled me.
I am still out of shape. Still. After almost 6 months of running. Oh well. It's getting much better!
New running shoes make a HUGE difference. Turns out I was wearing a size too small for 5 months. No more injuries for me!
Training runs throughout the week are just as important as the long run on Saturday, without them I would be dying on the long run!
If I think that 6 miles is hard now, imagine when I am doing twice that. Or three times that. Or four. What am I getting myself into!?
Guys like it when I tell them I am training for a marathon. Hahaha!
Running clears the mind. Really.
There is so much more, but I don't feel like writing it down...

As I really get into training, I find myself a happier (although tired-er) person. Endorphins are great!

YES! YES! YES!

2009-05-11T17:34:00.001-07:00

I got into the St George Marathon!!!

You have no idea how happy I am!

Out of over 10,000 applicants, I am going to be one of the privileged 7,200 who get to line up at the starting line on October 3rd, 2009. The reason I am so excited is because I thought for sure I wouldn't make the lottery. They put my name in a pool with these thousands of people, and it is pure luck on who gets drawn to run. I am so excited. Beyond belief. Now my running has a purpose again!

(This is the logo for the marathon....AH!)

For the next four months or more I will be kicking my butt on the roads. Right now, training is my top priority, although I may need to find a job soon....grrr. Anyway, wish me luck on this crazy venture. I must be crazy, right?

Procrastination...

2009-05-10T21:30:00.000-07:00

Yeah, I'll be the first to admit it. I procrastinate in everything! It doesn't matter if it is school or anything else, you can bet it will be done last second or I will be late to something. I call it Alicia standard time, like Mormon standard time only worse. I'm always running late, but what can ya do, you know? Anyway I suppose the reason I bring up this horrible sin called procrastination is because that is what I am doing this very second! I should be studying for two finals tomorrow... economics and math. Boo on both of them. I will be sooo glad when it is one o'clock tomorrow afternoon because that means I am done with the semester!

Speaking of tomorrow...I find out if I got into the St. George marathon.... and seriously it is all I can think about right now. And starting tomorrow evening, the running begins again, whether I get in or not! Running shoes, it has been a lonely life without you these last two weeks. Maybe first I will wash you up since you have mud and dirt and chicken poo on you. Then we will both set out on an adventure together, just the three of us. Me, left shoe, and right shoe. Those beautiful Asics 2130's...

Can you imagine if I really spoke to my shoes like that? Boy, I must be getting lonely...

Tomorrow at one o'clock is my official beginning of SUMMER!

Oh! The suspense!

2009-05-06T23:51:00.001-07:00

So I find out this coming Monday if I got into the St George marathon.....

Can it be Monday now, please?

Purty please?

Seriously though, it is so hard to get in and if I do, I shall be the happiest person ever. If I don't.... well then, the opposite will happen. And I won't know what to do with myself! I'm currently in week 2 of my two or three week break from running, but tomorrow I am FINALLY fixing my bike and going for a dang ride. And I will go swimming. And obtain a sexy tan. And find time to do a big english portfolio project. Hmmm.... priorities.

The parentals are coming home on Saturday! Huzzah! I can't wait to see pictures from their ultra-awesome Europe trip! And maybe gripe and complain about how jealous I am....

Okay this had to be the most random post ever. Are you happy to get a glimpse of my craziness?

MONDAY.

Now I know what a hamster feels like....

2009-04-23T20:55:00.000-07:00

I have been in one of these!!!! On Wednesday I had a slightly horrible day, it was just one of those days where nothing is wrong, and yet everything is wrong...ya know? Well, to take my mind off the crappy day and to cheer myself up, I went for a run to Freestone Park and back (even though I told myself no more running until official training in May, but whatever. It was an emergency). So anyway, I'm running along the gravel path and way up ahead I see three people rolling this huge white thing across the path, right by Freestone. So I'm thinkin like what the hey? So I get to where they are a couple minutes later and I see that it is a huge hamster ball, just like the one in the picture. It was that big, too! So I ask them (they seemed about my age) where they got it and they got it from New Zealand! Then the girl asked me if I wanted to go for a ride in it, of course I said yes!! So I took off my watch and my shoes, because they put water in it so that you don't get rubber burns. They held it while I got a running start to jump through the tube that was just big enough for a person to squeeze through. Took me a couple tries, but I finally got in and noticed that there was straps inside so you could strap yourself in. Well, one of the guys said that it is much funner without the straps, then he pointed me in the right direction and said RUN! Welp, I started running for about ten steps, then lost my balance, almost drowned in the water that was on the bottom, and then it started going really fast! Everything was a blur, only because it was almost dark and I couldn't really see anything around me. All I know is that when I got to the bottom it stopped and I had a huge wedgie from sliding around! It was a blast. I kind of wanted to run around in it, but it was getting dark and I needed to get home, and I didn't want to take up their time by playing with it. Seriously though, it was sooooo much fun!

I wonder how much they cost?

ah-maze-ing Sat-ur-day

2009-04-19T19:10:00.000-07:00

Saturday morning- me and Chels did Pat's Run! Although I will admit that Chelsie beat me, and I didn't do as good as I thought I was going to- it's all about having fun though, right? Chelsie did it in about 40 minutes, while I came behind at 45 minutes. I kind of wish we had people at the end taking pictures of us, but we made my mom take a couple when we got home!

Aren't we so hard core? Ha ha. The reason I think I didn't do so swell is I ate a Clif Bar about an hour and a half before, and since I haven't eaten one in a long while, and they are kind of heavy and filling, my stomach freaked out on me and I had stomach cramps for most of it. I still had a blast though, running with 20,000 people really makes it a great experience! I took it easy for the first half, although I took it a little too slow, because I was three minutes behind my goal time at mile three. The last 2.2 miles I tried to speed it up. I would look ahead, spot a "victim", and attempt to pass that person. Then, I would pick a new victim. This is actually a fun strategy only because I am slightly competitive when it comes to these things, and picking out different people to pass was pretty entertaining! All in all, it was the biggest event so far (people-wise) and I had so much fun. Good job Chelsie on beating me!

Then, I had about three hours to shower up and get ready for our big kayaking trip. We had twenty people, and we were lucky to get 18 kayaks and a canoe. It was so much fun! I love just chillaxing on the kayak on the slow parts, and chatting with people throughout the whole thing. Braden was a punk and jumped on my kayak and completely sank me! Now, first of all. I hate the river water. Hate it. But I hate the river bottom even more. Nasty algae and moss and fish and dead bodies....NASTY. So of course I screamed bloody murder as my kayak sunk from under me. It tipped over, and I hauled myself on top of it, trying my hardest not to touch the nasty bottom. I saved my shoes and my paddles though! Then I commanded the people nearby to drag me to shore. Everyone was laughing pretty hard, and I definitely was too! I don't get mad about things like that, I just laugh along with everyone else. After Julie's friend Isaac was nice enough to help me empty my kayak of water, we were on our way again. Overall, it had to be one of the funnest kayaking trips ever, only because there were so many people!

Needless to say, i was pretty exhausted after waking up at 5 for the morning's event and then kayaking, but I still had to go home, take a quickie shower, then go to the benefit concert at Gilbert High. The concert was for the family in Gilbert who were in a small plane crash last August, and the mom has horrible burns over most of her body. She has extensive medical bills, so the concert was to raise money towards that. There were so many awesome performers, including Jordan Bluth, Debbie West Coon, and......Brooke White! Now, I wasn't exactly a huge fan of hers on American Idol, I just thought she was alright. But after seeing her perform four songs live, and seeing her hilarious personality (the girl is a spaz!), she has grown on me. Her voice was so much better last night than it was on AI, and I thoroughly enjoyed the whole entire night. After that, I went home and crashed at like 10:30...first time in forever that I have been to bed that early!

Well, I hope everyone had as amazing a weekend as I did... Sunday has been awesome too!

Through rain, sleet, or snow...

2009-04-11T19:28:00.000-07:00

NOT! Ha ha. This morning I drove to Chelsie's house to do our last long run before Pat's Run next week. It was raining hard when I left my house, but I figured it wouldn't be too bad at Chelsie's. I forgot to account for the freezing coldness of the rain! We set out of her house, determined to run our four miles, but before we had gone 50 yards decided it wasn't worth it. We didn't much feel like getting hypothermic and wet, so we ran to the end of her street and back. Which is probably about an eighth of a mile or so. Ha ha! We are such wimps! But really, it was freezing. So, we set to work in Chelsie's living room doing random strength training workouts in my Running for Mortals book. This turned out to be a decent workout, at least my sore legs tell me so!

Then, later in the morning, the rain stopped. This is what I was waiting for! I set out at around 1 to finish my goal of four miles. It was definitely challenging, since my legs were already tired from that morning, not to mention they were cold and stiff! There a zillion puddles that I had to dodge on the gravel trail, which meant that I got my shoes a little muddy and I also had to run on the grass for a little bit. All in all, it was a slow but meaningful run, and I did a lot of thinking too, which was nice. I came up with my own mantra, kinda like my personal motto. I realized that I haven't run with my iPod for awhile, because I noticed that I run slower and I don't focus on form, foot turnover, or anything when I listen to music. So, my new motto is:

I don't need an iPod to enjoy a run. The steady pounding of my feet is music enough.

Inspirational, eh? Well, at least it is to me! I love listening to my own footsteps and my own breathing as they create perfect rhythm with each other. It is kind of like a song. I love the feeling of empowerment when I realize that I am two miles from my home, and I managed to get there under my own willpower and by my own two feet. It is an awesome feeling when you realize the power that you have stored up inside you, just waiting to get out and propel you toward your goal.

Wow, I'm feeling pretty poetic!

I am so looking forward to Pat's Run next week! It's going to be such an experience, so much emotion and willpower and just all around love, all in one place. It's like you are surrounded by thousands of your closest friends. That's why I love these running events so much!

The week of amazing-ness....

2009-04-05T19:12:00.000-07:00

So this week actually went really good. I got a new Runner's World issue, complete with my own training log and runner's guide. And I got my Running for Mortals book that I ordered on Amazon two weeks ago. I love getting stuff in the mail! Haha. Also, I ran with Chelsie a couple times this week, which is always fun. We ran 3 miles on Saturday, which is actually the farthest I've ran since January, so props to me! Ha ha. Also, I was crazy enough to want to do an interval workout on Wednesday. I say want because an interval workout is a speed workout that you do on a track, and it is pretty difficult for those like me who have poor running form and are not very fast. At all. So, what me and Julie did is we ran one lap around the track at max speed, took a recovery walk lap, then did it again. All in all, we did four running laps with the cool down laps in between. It was horrible. But I would definitely do it again. The sense of empowerment I got from this workout was so uplifting! This week I want to do 8x200, which is just half a lap, but you have less recovery time and you are running 8 times instead of 4. So, still a big challenge!

This week for one of my runs, I think I just want to explore. I'm going out to Chelsie's house twice this week, since I made her come out twice this week to mine. I think we'll just take an easy 3 and a half miler or so, and just explore her neighborhood and find good places to run. Sounds like fun to me, mostly because I usually have a set place in mind that I want to run to. This will be nice to just let loose and go.

This week I made some big improvements on my running form. Julie taught me some good stuff on Wednesday! I am now trying to use my larger leg muscles like quads, hamstrings, and gluts more in order to give my calves and shins a rest. My shins take some serious beating every time I run, so I'm hoping this helps a bit! Something about the way I run is making my shins hurt a lot, but even making improvements just this week has helped already. I feel like my strides are longer, but I'm still using about the same amount of energy. So, basically I'm being more efficient- going farther and faster, but not using more energy than I was before. It's great!

I'm missing the rec center! Since I'm no longer injured (as badly), I can now do my regular running workouts, instead of spending stupid amounts of time on the bike machine (which I hated, by the way. You don't go anywhere!). So now, I don't need the rec center. I might pick it back up in the summer when I might be able to pay for it myself or something, but right now I'm just gonna have to do ab work and pushups at home.

That's probably why running is such a wonderful sport. You don't need a gym or a special field to do it. You just walk out your front door and GO. All you need is a decent pair of running shoes. Now, when you want to start doing races, that's when it gets expensive! I spent 70 bucks this week when I registered for the St. George Marathon, but the good news is, is that if I don't get in then I get 65 bucks back. So, it's not a complete loss if I don't make it into this marathon. Although I would still be sorely disappointed!

Conference!! I LOVE General Conference. Although I need to rewatch Elder Oak's talk because I missed half of it while outside picking all the lemons. My dad said it was good, though. Can't wait for the Ensign!

Sorry for the long post, but I guess I'm just putting off doing my homework. ;)

Coach Julie? Haha

2009-03-30T23:17:00.001-07:00

Well, turns out I had more in me than I thought. More speed, that is. Yep. Tonight I ran an 8:43 mile! But, I was only able to do it with the help of Julie. Apparently I have not been pushing myself to my full potential! And this time, no cheating with the wind at my back! I can't remember the last time I ran a sub-9 mile...probably never! But one thing is for sure, I would never be able to keep that pace up for more than a mile. I was exhausted afterwards! So, that is my new goal. I think I would like my marathon pace to be at least 9:20, maybe even 9:10 per mile. Wouldn't that be awesome?

Basically, I wouldn't be where I am without my friends! Julie pushes me harder than anyone else, and I am so grateful for it! Kelsey is seriously my veritable mine of information when it comes to questions I have about anything running. She has helped me so much, so thanks Kelsey! Chelsie is my new found running buddy, even though we have to travel 20 minutes to run with each other...it is worth it! Annie is like my pen pal running buddy, since we plan on running a marathon together this fall. Can't wait till she gets home, so she can join me and Chelsie on our runs!

My friends are pretty much AWESOME!! I love you girls!!

Did my stopwatch really just say what I think it said?!

2009-03-26T23:30:00.000-07:00

Okay, so today was a milestone! I ran a mile in 9 minutes and 10 seconds!!! My previous mile that I had timed (probably sometime in January) was just barely over 10 minutes, so this is a HUGE accomplishment, at least to me. Granted, I did have the wind at my back. And the wind today was insane. So, although it might not technically be a 9:10 mile, at least I know I can run below 10 now. Hopefully sometime next week I will time myself again, this time on a less windy day. I ran on the greenbelt between Greenfield and Higley roads, and that last stretch between the canal and Higley seemed to last forever! I forced myself not to look at my watch during the last hundred yards or so, and when I finished and looked I was so surprised! Then I collapsed onto the grass and lay there for a good five minutes. I was exhausted! Then, on top of that, I had to walk home again. I couldn't run against that headwind! But all in all, a great day for me. Those tempo runs sure do work!! I can feel my fitness coming back, but I am seriously trying to rein myself in (and not doing so great of a job of it). I really do not want to be injured again, so I need to still try and take it easy and STRETCH more to prevent further injury.

Because being injured sucks. A lot.

Still looking forward to Pat's Run, though! 23 DAYS!

Pat's Run!

2009-03-23T16:20:00.000-07:00

So yesterday, on a total whim, I signed up for Pat's Run! It is a 4.2 mile run in honor of Pat Tillman, and there are thousands who participate each year! Now I say I did it on a whim because I was not really planning on running another race that soon. BUT my leg is about 90% better, I'm running with almost no pain, and these events are addicting. The atmosphere- there's nothing like it! Also, I can handle the 4.2 miler easy, I just have to get a couple five milers in before then and I'm set.

I got my first Runner's World Magazine issue in the mail the other day, and it has already completely changed my life! So many amazing tips on what I should eat and how I can lose some weight without losing energy and how to make my workouts more amazing....seriously the list goes on and on. That magazine is already my favorite, after just one issue. Sadly, I only get one a month. Darn it!

Anyway, on a non-running note, spring break was pretty awesome, only because I got to travel to Mexico with the family AND Cali with the friends. Mexico was so fun, we seriously lounged around, got sunburned, watched lots of TV, read on the beach, played on the beach, ate yummy food...basically everything great about a vacation. Cali was kind of on the other side- not relaxing at all, weather was horrible, and there were some frustrating moments because there were so many people with us. However, the time I spent with Julie and Matt at Six Flags was by far THE BEST. Standing in line for hours at a time is a whole lot easier when you have your best friends with you! Oh, and me and Julie and Matt did that sky-dive simulation thing when you get harnessed up, they strap you together, then pull you very,very,very high up into the air and then you pull the cord and you swing crazy fast and crazy high! If that makes sense...anyway, just know it was the funnest thing I have ever done! So the week ended up being pretty good, I got a nice base tan for the summer! On to training for Pat's Run!!

I'm almost better!

2009-03-14T23:35:00.000-07:00

Okay so, no stress fracture! Best thing I could ask for. I am figuring that it is just a sprained or torn muscle. It's almost better, too! Still not 100% back to how it was before the 10K, BUT I can run now! I ran twice this week, and it made me so happy! I'm taking it as easy as possible, so I haven't done any intense mileage or anything. I feel like I'm starting over from where I was in January but I have plenty of time to get back in shape for real training in the summer.

Oh, I have also decided to switch marathons, if I can! I started thinking about how high the altitude is in Logan, UT where the Top of Utah marathon is, and I figured that that high of an elevation is going to kick my butt. So, instead of that one, I am going to try to get into the St George Marathon! This is a little tricky because they have a limit on how many can run the marathon, I think the cap is at 7200 or something. Which is still a ridiculous amount! The way it works is, you register for the marathon between April 1st and May 1st, then your name gets put in a raffle and they draw out 7200 names. I can't tell you how much I want my name to be drawn! This marathon is much bigger (more people), and so much more of an experience because of it. If your gonna run a marathon, go big or go home, right? So instead of in September, I'm looking at running one in October. October 3rdd, to be exact. Which is my little sister Chic's birthday! That would be the greatest birthday present, wouldn't it? To watch your big sister finish a marathon? I think so!

Speaking of drawing names, I find out if I got drawn for elk or antelope fall hunts next month! At first I thought I wouldn't know till mid-summer, until I checked the game and fish website. Woo hoo! I do believe I will learn results on or before April 24th....yes! Can't wait!

Really?! I mean, really?!

2009-03-08T13:51:00.000-07:00

This is the funniest thing to happen to me to date at the rec center...
So, the other day, I go to do just a little boring workout (no running) and I decided to focus on my abs (swimsuit season is coming up!). So I'm using the sit-up thing where you lay on it and you put your feet under the bars so you can do good sit-ups. I'm facing the mirror, which coincidentally means I'm facing the weight racks. Two guys who look to be my age are working their biceps (not that I was watching them), and I happen to make eye contact, through the mirror, with one of them as I'm doing a sit-up. It was kind of an awkward eye contact, just because eye contact is always awkward.... ha ha. So two seconds later, he turns to his buddy, lifts up his shirt, and says "Dude, check out my six pack!" What the...? Is this your way of picking up women? Good crap! Anyway, I tried really hard not to smile or laugh, because I didn't want to give him the satisfaction of knowing that I did, indeed, enjoy looking at his six-pack. It wasn't the best one I've seen, but pretty good nonetheless. But really, how full of himself was he?? Too much for my taste. And frankly, I look hideous at the gym so I don't know what in the world he was thinking!

NO! Anything but this....

2009-03-01T16:16:00.000-08:00

Well, I talk to my friend Kelsey Lesueur yesterday. She is a hardcore marathon runner who is experienced about all things running. She's known about my injury this whole time, and has given me some great advice about it. I saw her last night at the adult Stake Conference meeting (which was really good, by the way) and she asked me how I was doing, running-wise. Basically I said it sucked, because it does, and she asked me about my pain. When I told her how it feels, she told me I should get it checked out, because there is the possibility that it is a...gulp...stress fracture.

So, I headed straight to Google to read up on stress fractures, and I have a nagging suspicion that I could have one. Pain gets worse with exercise? Check. Localized pain that hurts in one specific spot? Check. Swelling about the size of a half-dollar at the time of the initial injury? Check (that was when Julie was trying to massage it out and it hurt like a mother). Constantly throbbing? Check. Getting worse over time, because I keep exercising on it? Check. Happens when doing too much, too fast? Definitely check.

Basically, I'm screwed. These things take an average of 2 to 3 months to heal, which is totally not what I need right now! I've got a bloody marathon to train for, good crap! So, I'm getting a doctor's appointment this week and getting it sorted out once and for all. Although, stress fractures can be hard to diagnose with an x-ray, so I might need an MRI. Booo!

I'm trying not to be melodramatic/hypochondriac here, but I need to get it fixed! And, where else to vent but on my blog?

Oh, and one of the missionaries in my ward looks like the kid on the Sixth Sense. Only twelve years or so older. Every time I look at him I want to say "I see dead people." For some reason, I don't think he'd find it funny. That kid is creepy.

I'm startin to get the itch...

2009-02-25T15:10:00.000-08:00

So I haven't ran for over two weeks now. It's killing me! I was driving home from school today, and I drove right past my favorite haunt- the greenbelt that runs just south of the Riparian Reserve over by the library. You can take that thing for several miles in either direction, and I love it! I was so sad to see it being unused. But, alas, every time I try and even jog I get this shooting pain in the same spot as always....blah. It sucks. More than I thought it would. I'm startin to think I pulled a muscle, and only rest will bring it back to normal. BAH! So frustrating.

Anywho....I think I am allergic to something in the chicken noodle soup my mom made last night because I have hives allllllll over me.... driving me abso-freakin-lutely INSANE! The stress of that plus the sadness of not being able to run is going to put me over the edge today if I'm not careful....

But, in better news....LOST is on tonight! And I think we will FINALLY know what happened to Locke when he went back to the real world- sorry Annie, if you read that, just ignore it. 8 o'clock couldn't come faster!

Note to self....

2009-02-21T17:17:00.000-08:00

Don't go to the rec center on a Saturday afternoon. It's like Wallace Theaters plus San Tan Mall. This equals junior high (and probably freshman) kids EVERYWHERE and the most annoying part about it is the fact that they stand around talking, in the way as usual, and they show up in flip flops and jeans. Okay, so I know that the rec center isn't a full on gym, but if you're standing in the way of the weight machines, with jeans and flip flops, I can garun-dang-tee that you are not there to use that machine! Grrr I was getting pretty tee-ohed. Ha ha.

But, I would have been a lot more mad had I not made a Jack Johnson playlist on my trusty iPod before I went- I tell you what, it was extremely relaxing to listen to Jack while working out. In fact, he's relaxing anytime. Definitely one of my favorite artists!

Did more lunges, still more sore. I LOVE IT.

If you love to be sore like I do...

2009-02-19T18:19:00.000-08:00

Do lunges! Seriously, I did over a hundred of them for the first time in over a week and a half, and I did a lot more than normal. I can almost feel my butt shrinking...haha!

Today I went to the rec center, also for the first time since I got the flu. I figured out that going at one oclock on a Thursday afternoon means a hot-guy-free-zone. Grrr. Seriously, the only men there were either really old, fat, or 10 years old. Okay, I'm not one of those girls that gets all "girlied-up" for the gym and such, but fer real, what is wrong with checking out a hot guy as he works his biceps? I submit that there is nothing wrong with that. It was kind of annoying to be the only girl on the weights floor (there were some on the track, though) because this one kid, (looked to be about my age, only three times as big!), I swear he was like trying to show off or something! He sat on the quads machine next to where I was working my calves and started swinging his legs so fast and so hard that he ended up slamming the weights on the top of the machine! I just kind of made a scoffing sound (not quite laughing, and not quite loud enough for him to hear). I don't find it cool or attractive when people don't even know how to use the machines. Slow and easy does it, people! That's my workout advice for the day. :)

Oh, one more thing. There were like two or three of these kids who I swear had been dropped off there and forgotten about by some careless parent. Seriously, I was sitting there on the mat by the elevator, doing my stretches and ab workouts, and all of a sudden the elevator opens and some kids come running out, almost running me over! I just kind of laughed it off, because I am not the type to get mad over nothing. Anyway, they run down the stairs, and sure enough, two minutes later the elevator opens again, and again they come running out screaming and laughing. After about six or seven times of this I give them a dirty look the next time they come through. They didn't get the message. After that I was ready to go home, because I was done stretching and whatnot. But seriously, any moms reading this should know that the rec center is not a playground for unsupervised children! I was so peeved that there wasn't a parent around.... oh well. It's not like I can give parenting advice! Maybe they use the rec center as a way to get the kids out of the way for a couple hours. Like a babysitter. My advice- hire a babysitter next time!

New goal- be able to do ten normal pushups! No more of this "girl pushups" crap for me!

Let Me Explain Myself

2009-02-16T20:53:00.000-08:00

So, to explain myself for finally breaking down and getting a blog...I was bored. And I need to use it to get more motivation for the marathon! Yes, I am running a marathon in Sepetember. It's the Top of Utah Marathon in Logan, UT. The exact date is September 19th, 2009. I am working on just getting into good shape right now, because to tell ya the truth...I don't think I've ever been in shape my whole entire life. So, I don't know where I got the craaaazzy idea to do this, but...maybe it's 'cause I heard Annie wanted to do it. Annie, you inspire me!! Hahaa. But seriously, why wouldn't you want to make your life better by getting in shape, and not to mention look great for the men in my life. Hahah! It's great though. I love it.

I ran a 10K just over two weeks ago, and there are so many words to describe that race. Fun, a blast, exhilirating, crazy, hard, awesome.... the list can go on and on forever. Seriously, I've never felt that kind of adrenaline rush before. After the race, I couldn't wait to do another one. Unfortunately, a couple hours later, I realized I must have pushed myself too hard because my lower right leg had a crazy pain in it. I gave it a week of rest, then tried running on it again. It got worse. I was so mad!! This was more than a stupid shin splint, because I've gotten those, and they are gone in a couple days with some good stretching and icing. No, this was definitely worse. So then, this last week, I caught the flu. This totally sucked because now I couldn't work out, and I had also signed up for a 5K because I thought my leg would be well enough to do it. Mistaken!

Instead of running a PR (personal record) on this 5K, I was forced to walk the first two miles which totally took a drain on my pride. Although it was really fun to walk with my mom. We ended up getting there late, so we started the race about 8 minutes behind everyone else....haha! We ended up catching up to the last people (while walking), I'm thinking they were really slow. Anyway, on the last mile I couldn't take it anymore, so I left my mom and ran the last mile as well as I could with the flu and a bum leg. Wasn't too bad. I have no idea what my time was, but neither do I care. It was all for charity, and free t-shirts. Talk about a sweet deal. But, as a result of the running, even after almost a week of total rest, my leg acted up again.

So the moral or point of this story is to say that I am on rest for at least two to three weeks. However, being on rest just means no running. I plan on using the bikes and the elliptical to their fullest potential at the slightly amazing rec center. Thank goodness for the family monthly pass! If I had to go these two or three weeks without working out I would totally lose it. Even after this one week of being deathly ill, I'm about to lose it. Which is why I am going to the rec center tomorrow no matter what!

I apologize for the bloody long post, but maybe the next one will be shorter. Although, don't count on it.