Ogden Marathon 2011

So, here it is FOUR FULL DAYS after one of the biggest events of my LIFE and I haven't even blogged about it yet! Well, that changes now...

Last Saturday, May 21st, I had the amazing opportunity to run the Ogden Marathon. I had trained for this race for so long I could hardly believe the time had come! Serious preparation (other than training) began Friday morning.

I woke up seriously early after a short yet wonderful night sleep to run a quick two miles and get to work by 6:30. I only worked three relaxed hours and headed for an awesome temple trip with one of my best friends. As soon as our work was done there, we headed to Salt Lake so I could get a photo printed for my parents. Next, I stopped at my apartment to pack (this is when the nerves started) for the next 24 hours. Tiffany headed home and I visited Amber at work because she said she had something for me... a card with cute little kittens and a long note. I won't go into details, but it was very sweet and very motivating. Because I was able to eat white bread last week, I went to Texas Roadhouse to get a dozen rolls because I had been craving them for weeks! Um... delicious! Next stop was my parents' house to bake amazing hot chocolate cupcakes that I would be able to enjoy the next day. I went to my niece and nephews' singing group program and to dinner with my parents, then back to their house for serious sleep.

Four a.m. came SO quickly and I was feeling really jittery. I grabbed two more TR rolls with a little peanut butter and a banana and headed out the door with my dad, who was kind enough to wake up before the sun to take me to the bus. I got very lucky and ran into a group of girls from the gym as soon as I got there, so I rode on the bus with them and sat next to a really cute girl who was also running the marathon for the first time. We rode for what felt like an eternity to the starting point of the race and waited in the mud for the run to begin. A long, long time after (ok, so it was only about an hour and 45 min) we started lining up. At this point I was just ready for the race to begin! The gun went off (I think, I didn't actually hear it) and off we went.

I ran into a few people I knew on the course, but for the most part ran alone. It was so nice! I would pass a mile and notice how quickly the time was moving. I felt pretty good the most of the time, pulling out the Tylenol at mile 13, again at mile 21, and Clif Shot Bloks at mile 22. As I pulled out of the canyon and approached the beginning of mile 24, my friend Sherry who I teach Body Jam with was there cheering me on... and I lost it. I cried for a minute and then got a major burst of energy that carried me through til I saw the finish line. It was insane! It seemed like hundreds of people - including some of my friends and family - were there screaming for all the runners. After 26 miles, I still had enough energy left to sprint for the finish line. The end was amazing. My clock time was just a few seconds after four hours and my chip time was 3:57:06. I was pretty stoked about that!

My biggest supporters through this whole process were my parents... and you can bet I almost lost it again when I saw them right before I finished. Any time I freaked or thought about quitting, they would kindly remind me that I was totally capable of pulling this off!

I was also lucky enough to have a fantastic group of great friends waiting for me. I know a couple of them were only there for the cupcakes (ahem, Trent, ahem) but, still, it was awesome they were there! I admit, a few tears were shed when I met Amber after crossing, but we had previously warned each other that would happen, so it wasn't a big surprise.

Let's not forget one of the main perks that drove me through the last 7 miles or so...



SUGAR!!! And it was oh so good! My cupcakes were delicious, both the hot chocolate and key lime pie flavors I sampled. The cinnamon bears (which was the FIRST treat I ate) were divine. And the Cadbury Mini Eggs... YUM O! And the real reason I ran and finished, and why I will probably run this race again next year...



The AMAZING feeling I had when this medal was placed around my neck...

Love...

Apparently I was tired!

Since I moved into my own apartment, my mom texts me every night to make sure I'm home and safe. It's really kind of awesome that she cares enough to make sure someone didn't get me. I'm usually pretty good at texting back to let her know I'm ok. If I'm not home yet for some reason, I just let her know when I am, although sometimes I forget. Last Saturday night was just such an occasion.

I had a few different parties I was going to, and I didn't get home until later. She had sent me a message while I was at my last stop, and I told her I would let her know when I was home and all locked up. Unfortunately, I was completely exhausted when I finally made it home that I went right to bed without even thinking about it. I got a text around one in the morning asking if I was home yet. Apparently I was super exhausted and texting in my sleep because my reply was this:

Home locked sleeping and HOPPING

Yes, I actually spelled out HOPPING in all capital letters. I honestly don't know what I was thinking. It may have had something to do with my dream, although I honestly can't remember. The closest thing I can come up with is that I was sleeping with both windows open because my air conditioner is broken and it got really cold that night. I may have meant to say I was FREEZING, but I can't be sure. I'm surprised I made the effort to put all caps in the text. It was seriously weird. She replied asking what I meant, but I didn't respond. I was sleeping. The next morning she asked if I was hopping on one foot or two... that completely made my morning.

I guess I'll never know! Here's to happy HOPPING!

Holy cow!

So... anyone remember when this chain was over 100 links long?? It is now EIGHT LINKS LONG!!! I can't believe the marathon is next week. The last few months have flown by. I still freak out for a few minutes here and there, but I definitely feel like I can do this. I'm so excited for this race... so excited to accomplish something that I've been training so long for! And mostly, excited to have a little sugar back in my life!

I feel so blessed to have come this far. I've heard of so many people that who have been training and have recently gotten injured and can't run. I've had no major problems (knock on wood) and I will be able to run. Now, just watch, with it being Friday the 13th something terrible is going to happen and I won't be able to race!

While teaching RPM last night, I realized it was my last RPM class before the race. I seriously can't believe it's here! I'm excited, just in case you haven't gotten that message just yet :)

Here's to running, feeling nervous excitement, and SUGAR COOKIES!!!

P.S. If anyone has marathon tips, any pointers are welcome.

Almost TWO WEEKS!!

If there's one food I love most over all other foods, it's cinnamon bears. I love the texture, the size, the hot deliciousness of each little bear! I love to grab a handful of them, eat the bodies (to determine which one is the HOTTEST) and save the heads for last... That may be a little morbid - although not as morbid as biting off their cute little heads first - but that's how I eat them. These little treats are the reason for my post today. As I searched online for a picture (courtesy of designmom.com) I kept getting more and more excited for May 21st.

Last weekend, I tried my third 20 mile run with a running group from the gym. We actually went to the marathon course and were going to run the first 20 miles of it. However, eating foods I'm not used to the night before, starting the run at 4:45 in the morning, trying to keep up with their 7:40 min/mile pace, and not stopping as often as I'm used to for water and "going" made me severely sick. After 10 miles, I got paralyzing pains in my stomach and I had to stop. This psyched me out completely. I started disregarding all the training I've done, the 20 mile runs I HAVE made, everything. I started telling myself I couldn't do this. I know it's all in my head, but I am the kind of person that can convince myself of something very easily, good or bad.

Thinking and thinking today, I have come to one conclusion. I HAVE to run this marathon... for more reasons than just accomplishing what I have been training for. Last week, my mom posted on my Facebook wall that she and my dad will have a surprise (non-food related) waiting for me at the finish line. As much as I hate that she told me THREE WEEKS EARLY because I can't stand anticipation, I like that I have another motivation. I also told myself that I cannot have sugary treats - cinnamon bears included - until the race (very food related). I have been thinking and probably dreaming about cinnamon bears for the last week. The closer the race gets, the harder it is to resist sugar. But, I honestly can't WAIT until I can have my cinnamon bears back!

Two weeks from Saturday...

Sunshine, please?!

I just have to say, I typed in three different titles to this post, only to find that one after the other I had already used on my blog. I decided on this because, well, I'm in desperate need of sun. The rain and snow (yes, snow at the end of April) are making me even more depressed since it should be closer to summer weather than winter!

Anyway, it's been a very interesting weekend. Friday night was, of course, cupcake night. I was super excited for this particular flavor... RED HOTS! The recipe looked easy enough, except for the fact that there is no way possible to crush Red Hots. The cupcakes themselves came out ok, a little dry (and a few a little burned), and the Red Hot syrup smelled absolutely amazing! My close friends and family know how much I love cinnamon flavored ANYTHING and smelling the syrup made me a little crazy. Anyway, the frosting called for some of the syrup and crushed Red Hots. I couldn't for the life of my figure out how to crush them, so ended up using extra syrup to try and make it more cinnamon-esque, leaving no syrup to spread on the top of the cupcakes before frosting. My niece helped me, and she said they were ok in the end, so I guess it was worth it. Other critics were pleased as well. I'll admit, I was so excited about this flavor that I sneaked one for myself and put it in the freezer amongst all the other treats I'm saving.

Saturday was pretty great. I finally got a pump class in after a week of launches and then Jammed out at a club in Bountiful to help with their launch. Later that afternoon I had a wicked awesome photo shoot (of me this time) with a really great friend who helped me with my diet during the competition at the gym. She's pretty much a photo rock star, and we both think we should go into business together :) After that, delicious Cadbury Mini Egg cookies at my parents' house (pictured here courtesy of OurBestBites.com) and bed...

Sunday we heard all from our bishopric because there will be major changes coming this week. I'll be going to the ward I'm actually assigned to, which is kinda of bitter sweet.

Last night, we had our final ward activity. It was really fun and I had a blast hanging out with the ward peeps. I hadn't been to an activity for a long time, I've been missing out! Last week a bunch of them helped me move apartments and I love them so much for that!

Anyway, that's pretty much it. Except for the rain... and snow... I'm just done! One more 20 mile run this weekend, which it had better be sunny for, and then the training starts winding down. Just over three weeks left! I can SO do this... maybe :) the cookies next to me smell pretty amazing!

Oh baby!!!

Just a quick post for this week only because I can't think of what else to write about right now... I'll put up more exciting news as soon as I receive some things :) not that it's more exciting than this, just an addition!

I received a text last night that my sister-in-law was dilated to a 6 and in the hospital. This morning, we got a message that the baby girl was born at 12:05 this morning and weighed 9 lbs 13 oz! I only got a quick picture, but she looks perfect! I'm so excited she's finally here, I just wish I were in Arizona to meet her!

Another exciting tid bit, I finally got to move to a new apartment. The people above me were so noisy every night and wouldn't respond to letters and calls from the front office. I was told the eviction process is just getting started, but it can take up to 12 weeks, so they offered to move me to a third floor apartment with no moving charges. AWESOME! It was kind of crappy timing with launch and everything and I didn't know how I was going to get everything moved. The complex called Monday and told me I needed to get everything finished or they would have to start charging me for two apartments. That night, so many people from my ward showed up and helped me move everything and even cleaned my old apartment! I almost started crying, I was so overwhelmed by their kindness. They are AMAZING!

So now, when I go to sleep at 9 or 9:30 I can actually GO to sleep and get some rest! Love it :)

Ummmm...

Bought a bag of Reese's Peanut Butter Mini Eggs last night... just sayin'!

They're in my freezer until... :) LOVE EASTER!

Losing it...

Ok, if anyone is actually reading this (I'm hoping!) I really, really could use some help...

I am now officially less than six weeks away from the Ogden Marathon (aka Sugar Day) and I'm very quickly losing motivation. I've come to really loathe training. I hate waking up early just to go run and I just feel tired all the time. I'm starting to think that it's totally not worth the stress. Do I really need to run a marathon? I'm completely questioning it now.

Along the same lines, was it really smart to voluntarily give up sugar until the marathon is over? Every week gets harder and harder... sometimes I just want a cookie! It's weird, but baking cupcakes every week (which is actually really fun usually) doesn't make me want sugar so much, but seeing cookies and other treats everywhere really makes me want to break. Sunday, I brought home some cookies from my mom to give to a girl in my ward, and I seriously thought about eating one.

I know that I've been working hard and I've come so far (101 days and 20 miles to be exact) that if I quit now I would just be angry with myself for not seeing it through.

If anyone out there can lend some support, I would really appreciate it! There could even be some cupcakes in it for you ;)

Side note (as there usually is with every post): The Gold's Gym Employee Challenge ended last week. I weighed in on Friday to find out that I'm neck and neck with the girl who was in the lead. Haven't found out who won yet, but the anticipation is KILLING me! After I weighed in, I lost all motivation for sticking to a diet, so I need to get back on track to not gain it all back. That's part of the help I need, I guess.

Comments are welcome and appreciated!