Facial Side-By-Side

I lost one of my chins!!!!  Yay!!!!!  This is great progress and nice to be able to see it!

12 Mile Run!

This morning we (Jocelyn, Amber B., Amber S., and myself) ran 12 miles.  I have to say that I was VERY excited to be running just 12 miles, rather than the 16 or more that we ran last week!  The run went a lot better than last week.  I only had shin problems during the first mile/mile and a half.  After that, I felt a lot better and relaxed.  We started our run at a great downhill spot (Diamond Valley) so, it helped start the run out on a positive.  

The temperatures were really warm today.  I was sweating pretty good in just the first mile.  By mile 3 and 4, I was dripping but, it actually felt good to have it trickle down my back and neck.

Again, there were a lot of awesome and positive runners on the road!  Everyone is really good about cheering each other on and saying hello!  It makes the run so positive and such a good experience!

My feet really started burning at mile 10!  They did so good, until then!  Hopefully my shoes come in this week but, I'm really afraid they won't be in, in time for next week's 18 mile run!  So, I need to figure something out for next week, so I don't break down and want to die!

The run through town, which will be the last 3-ish miles of the race, are tough for me!  It's mostly flat, the roads are weird, and mentally it's just tough.  I am counting and planning on it being easier to push through on the day of the race.  With people lining the street and cheering, I really think that will go a long ways to push me to the end!

Time to Change Shoes....AGAIN!!!!!!!!

I bought my first pair of actual running shoes in December 2012!  They were fabulous, loved them!  They were the Brooks Ghost series, purple/teal/white!  However, my little piggies (toes) fell asleep every time I did a run on the road!  This was ANNOYING and it also caused my toes to hurt quite a bit.  I also ran a hole into my shoes, where my big toes would hit.  So, it came time to get new shoes, and in a bigger size.  Since I loved the shoe, and the only problem I was having was sleepy toes, I ordered the same shoe, but a whole size bigger.  I experienced rare sleepy toes, usually only on the "birdy" toe (toe next to the big toe).  However, a new problem came to pass.  On my runs that were anything longer than 4 or 5 miles, I started to develop blisters.  Some of them were downright nasty!!!!

Those are pictures of the biggest creatures that developed on my feet!

Today I was out doing my mid-week run.  When I had about 1 1/2 miles to go, the part of my feet that ALWAYS gets blistered, starting BURNING horribly!!!!  Usually if I run, then my feet feel better than if I walk.  Not this time.  So, I ended up taking my shoe off, within a 1/2 mile of finishing, and walking.  My pinky toes have also cut through and made a hole in my shoes. That's when I decided it was time to go into the Running Center and look at the possibility of new/different shoes.  So, they had me try on the same brand (Brooks) but, a different style, on the right foot.  On the left foot, they put on a pair of Asics.  I ran up and down their parking lot to compare.  I was thinking/feeling that the Asics felt more natural and cushioned.  So, they put them on both feet and ran again.  Oh my goodness, it felt like I was running on a cloud!!!!  And even though my foot is rubbed raw, it still felt wonderful with this other shoe on!  So, I've ordered the Asics and they will be here soon!  I CANNOT wait to run in this new shoe!  It's wider so it'll give my feet more room and my pinkies will stop hurting!  I hope to stop developing blisters and stop rubbing my feet raw!  To be continued..............

Yesterday's 16 Mile Run

Yesterday was our 16 mile run!  We met at Vernon Worthen Park this time, so that we wouldn't have to start up the Veyo hill to begin our run!  Right as we are getting ready to leave the park, I realize that I left my iPod at home!  I was SO MAD at myself for doing that.  I had no time to go and get it so, this 16 miler was going to be VERY STRANGE without music in my ears! 

The drive up was interesting/funny, well at the least the first little bit.  We start out going and I ran a stop sign and missed a turn, all within about a minute!  I was hoping it wasn't an indication of how the rest of the morning would go, ha ha!  Then, as we're driving up the highway, I keep seeing red and blue flashing lights.  We all thought it was a cop!  However, the lights would stop and then a few minutes later it happened again!  My stomach was up in my throat!  Then, I realized that Connor and Rylie's lunch boxes were in the very back, and they had lights that go off if you shake the lunch box!  So, no cop, just lunch boxes.

We started our run and it was pitch dark!  It was so weird running without music.  I was nervous about hearing coyote's or other weird noises.  The first 1/2 mile went fine, running well but, all of a sudden my shins went into a tight, extreme, horrid pain!!!!  It was AWFUL!  I had to stop running and try to stretch my leg out.  No luck.  So for another 2 miles I tried to walk it off.  It was HORRIBLE!  I cried and cried and didn't know what to do.  I couldn't stop because how was I going to get home?  Turning around, and going back to my car was NOT an option for me.  So, I just walked as fast as I could stand.  So, I had to do that for almost 3 miles, before the pain finally subsided and I could begin jogging again.  The first few miles of leg pain really put me on the slow track.  I like to at least get 5 miles in each hour.  The first hour I was BARELY able to get 4 miles in.  I had A LOT of distance to make up, if I wanted to stay on track.  I did my best and I did well the 2nd hour of my run.  I actually got 5.12 miles in on the 2nd hour.  So, I was at 9.12 miles at this point and was feeling good.  We had had a water/gatorade drop at mile 4 and mile 8.  Unfortunately, when I got to the 8 mile drop, my water was nowhere to be found, and my handheld water bottle was empty.  Well, around mile 10, there's an area of the road where there's a big space on the side of the road to park cars, or whatever.  Here comes Joel, the man who manages where we live, and he has a cookie sheet full of cut-up fruit.  There were peaches, oranges, apples, bananas, and even watermelon!  For some reason he keeps calling me Lauren, ha ha!  Anyway, he says, "Hello Lauren!  I'm so proud of you!  You're doing it!  Come stop and have some fruit!"  I took advantage of that and had THE BEST peach!  Then, he says, "Do you need some water?  I have an extra bottle!"  He was heaven sent!  So, I filled up my water bottle, drank the extra, and was on my way.  I felt refueled and excited!  So, down the road I continued.  Mile 11.5 came and I started to really feel the impact of NOT having any music in my ear.  I was bored and the thoughts of how hard this was, how much further I had to go, etc. started flooding my mind and I started slowing a bit.  My foot had had a blister, previous to the run, and at this point I'm pretty sure is when it popped.  It was BURNING and hurt a lot.  So, on I kept going.  

On our usual long runs, we end at the church that's just past the intersection of Snow Canyon Pkwy/Bluff St. (Hwy 18).  However, because of ending at the park, we ran past that church.  Last week my group did the run to the park but, I was out of town and didn't do the run.  So, for me, it was mentally hard to see all the other runners stopping at the church and being done with their run.  For me, I still had almost 3 miles to go.  That bummed me out.  After mile 14 I really felt done.  I was in tears and had had it!

This run was nearly a 4 hour run!  Sheesh, that sounds crazy saying that!!!!  However, it didn't defeat me and I'm still ready to keep moving forward and to keep pushing!  This run was fun in a lot of ways too!  There was a lot of runners out on the highway, and such a great man of them!  I'd say 99% of them would say hello, shout encouraging words, even ask where I was from, how far I was going, and were just so friendly!  I even met up with a group who were going the pace I was and that was a lot of fun!  I met a mother-daughter pair running and they were SO GREAT!!!!

I feel like I'm getting a handle on my re-fueling process during my runs!  I've been really working on doing better and drinking and hydrating better.  The last 5 or 6 long runs I've noticed I haven't been having the stomach issues I usually get between mile 6-9!  I still am getting hungry around mile 10 so, I am going to try taking little packets of peanut butter to try and fill that hunger.

Cheryl did an AWESOME thing for me, well, all of us!  Amber had to be back home asap for things they had planned for that day.  So, she couldn't wait around for me to finish my run.  I also felt bad having to have Jocelyn waiting around, especially since she had a babysitter with her girls.  So, I talked to Cheryl and Cheryl agreed to meeting up with me, after I finished my run, and taking me back up the highway to pick up my car.  That way the other girls weren't waiting on me and it took a lot of pressure off me.

Nancy did an awesome thing for me too!  Mike is out of town and I was EXHAUSTED and hurting so, she let Connor and Rylie go over to her house and play with Preston so that I could get a much-needed nap in while Corie was taking a nap!  I have THE BEST of friends!!!!!

8 weeks exactly, from yesterday, is the St. George Marathon.  I'm still nervous and scared to death but, at the same time, I'm SO EXCITED and just feeling like I just want to do it!  The training is tough sometimes and really wears me out but, I know it is really helping and definitely preparing me for the marathon.  I'm looking forward to next week, when we'll only have run 12 miles.  I laugh that I say ONLY 12 miles!  I never, ever thought, that in a million years, that I'd be thinking 12 miles was a break for me.

I'm EXTREMELY sore and stiff from yesterday's run!  Oh I hurt!  I have to waddle/limp my way around and that gets SO EXHAUSTING!  I can only imagine what I'll be like the day of and after the marathon, ha ha!  It's amazing to me to think I did a 1/2 marathon a month ago, and that since then, I've gone 3 miles past that.  And, I physically felt SO MUCH better after the 16 miles, than I did the 1/2 marathon.  That's encouraging!

The Eve of the 16 Mile Run!

I've decided I really need to be better about posting my thoughts, breakthroughs, downs, etc. on here.  After all, this IS for me and to look back on my journey.  I want to remember as much as I can.

Tomorrow morning, I will be running 16 miles with Jocelyn and Amber B.  I've never run a 16 mile run yet, so I'm anxious to see how it will go.  I've been gone the last 3 weeks so, I've missed running on the marathon route (Hwy. 18).  I'm feeling positive and ready to do this!  We will be doing something different, for me anyway.  Instead of ending at the church, right after Snow Canyon Parkway & Hwy 18/Bluff St., we will be ending at Vernon Worthen Park.  We are doing this so that we don't start on Veyo Hill!  That would be TOUGH!  I'm excited about this change because I have yet to run the last 3 miles that will be in the marathon.  So, this way I can familiarize myself with the route more.

It's 9:15pm and I'm heading to bed now.  I have the some butterflies and anxiety that I get EVERY Friday night, before the long run.  I don't think that will every go away.  I just to carry myself and tell myself that it's no big deal but, really, I'm shaking all over, nervous, anxious, and ready to do it!

A Much-Needed Good Run to Help Fuel My Mind!

On July 29th, I did a 10-miler long run!  I had to go through 4 cities to complete the run!  This included Paradise, Hyrum, Mt. Sterling, and then finished up in Wellsville.  It's crazy to me out much further the miles seem, when I ran in Cache Valley.  It was actually kind of discouraging and sad, as my Dad would drop me off each time and I would see him drive off.  One time I caught myself thinking, "Wait!  Come back!  Take me with you!"  That, of course, was my 15 mile run, when I ran through Nibley (included a BEAST of a hill), Hyrum (freezing and stinky winds from the canyon), Mt. Sterling, and Wellsville.  Anyway, back to my 10 miler, the first 2 miles were NOT pretty!  One thing I've noticed about Cache Valley is that there is no or little room on the side of the white line.  If there is any gravel, it is not level at all!  And it seems like the people of Cache Valley are either not used to runners or are not courteous to runners!  So, the first 2 miles (starting in Paradise) I found myself either running in the bushes or trying to not get ran over.  Once I rounded the corner from Paradise into Hyrum, past Mtn. Crest High School, things got SO MUCH BETTER!  I came to love the run from Mtn. Crest to Wellsville!  It was beautiful, wide enough room to run, and not much traffic so, I wasn't worried for my life.  I loved running through Hyrum, because the road that I ran on went right past my Grandma's house.  So, each time I ran by, I would stop and have a short but great visit with her and Carl!  I looked forward to this and it was nice to have a place to fill up with water and make a potty stop too!  The run around Hyrum Dam is a little tough because it has a nice hill coming up out of it but, still beautiful!  Mt. Sterling was another one of my favorite places to run!  It was BEAUTIFUL and also very peaceful!  I also loved running past and seeing all the horses!  Wellsville wasn't my favorite spot to run!  I guess because it's usually the end of my run, I'm sore and exhausted, and there's this one dang hill that kicks my butt every time!  However, the last day I ran in Cache Valley, I ran that hill and conquered it!  I felt good after this particular 10 mile run!  I felt happy, motivated, and encouraged!  Chalk another happy run up!