Drop 13 Race Report

I ran the Drop 13 1/2 marathon a few weeks ago. LOVED it. The whole race is down Big Cottonwood Canyon and is beautiful. I had been training hard and was ready to run my best race. I even lost 13 lbs, so I could get an extra medal.  And then the week of the race, my knee and leg started to hurt...an injury was coming on. So I took the week mostly off, and figured I'd power through, take some ibuprofen, and hope for the best. 

I wanted to be conservative, so I started off relatively slowly (6:45 min/mile), and sped up after the halfway point to closer to 6 min/miles. 

Miles 6-11 were between 6:15 and 5:56, and I felt awesome. My fastest mile of all time (in high school track) is 5:52, so to come that close in a 1/2 marathon felt fantastic. I also shattered my previous 2-mile (12:45) and 5k (20:00) and 10k (40:14) records; replacing them with 11:57, 18:54, and 37:40, respectively. I didn't know I could go that fast! Sure, it was downhill, but still, I was thrilled with the results. The last couple of miles slowed down a bit because it flattened out a bit, a set of stairs, a near miss when a car ran the red light, and a poorly marked end of the course. I finished in 1:23:44, my fastest time ever (by 5 minutes!). And my first negative split! Definitely trying that strategy again. It was the best I've felt during and after a race.  I just needed to prove to myself that I could get fast again after twins, and I'm proud to say that I did it!

My time was good enough for a 2nd place overall trophy. I put the trophy on the mantle, so William decided to put his tball trophy up there, too. :)  

Assuming I heal from this injury soon (2 weeks without running and still no end in sight), I have some lofty goals this season. I've been pool running and biking to maintain fitness, so between that and losing my love handles this summer (hoping for another 5-10 lbs of fat loss to get back to pre-pregnancy racing weight and speed me up a tad), I should hopefully manage ok.

My next goal is to best my all-time marathon time of 3:22 (shooting for a 3:10-3:15, I had a 3:32 last year with only half-hearted training), and hopefully break 1:20 in the 1/2. I had a decent amount of spunk left at the end, so I probably should have pushed harder. And I race a lot smarter now that I'm older...we'll see what happens come fall. 

6 months and 13.1 miles Later...

William is now officially a 6 month old baby! 15 lbs, 2 oz; 26 inches long, with a 17-inch head circumference. Still our little 10-25% guy. Where did all that time go? In celebration of his half-year birthday, we gave him a fancy lunch of solid foods. He'd been begging for food for months so we figured now was a good time to start. He LOVED rice cereal! The video is kinda long, don't feel obligated to watch it; it was mostly for the grandparents, anyway.

Yum, yum, yum!

Also to celebrate making it through the first 6 months of being a mom, I ran the Fontana Days 1/2 Marathon. It claims to be the fastest half in the world. At least that's what the t-shirt says.

1 hour, 36 minutes, and 18 seconds later, it proved that way for me despite the 90* heat. This put me in 8th place for my age group (would have been 4th for my old age group; how I miss 19-24!). Another 10 minutes and I would have won. Not bad for still trying to get back into shape! Makes me want to do more of them to see how well I'd do with peak training. Liam and Steve even came out to see me at mile 10. Liam had to fight away the paparazzi (sorry, but they didn't get a picture of me running).

Post Baby Marathon Madness

Liam and I went up to Salt Lake City for almost a week so I could run the SLC Marathon. Training for the marathon was good motivation to get back into shape (though I can't really say that I'm back in shape...yet). We chose this marathon because of the proximity to babysitters (thanks Karen, Mom, and the Irwins!).

Liam loved looking out the window, but unfortunately for everyone who sat next to us, he did not enjoy the plane ride experience. Luckily for us, we sat next to nice grandmas who understood.

It was nice to see family and friends again. Since the Irwins couldn't get back home to the UK due to the airport closures, I got extra time with them! Though we missed Steve (who had to work) we got to do (almost) everything and see everyone we wanted to. This included Stacy's baby shower, my cute new nephew Daniel, the teacher I student taught for, and of course lots of family time.

My brother-in-law, Mike, and I ran the first few miles together and split up where the 1/2 splits from the marathon course since Mike was running the half marathon. I felt good until about mile 16 or so, when I started to slow down and wear out. After mile 20, it was slow going. I was chugging along at a snail-like pace of 9:00-9:30 per mile. This is compared to the 7:00-8:00 minute miles I used to do pre-pregnancy.

Thanks, Leslie for snapping this great picture during the race! Leslie is a tough triathlete who was nice enough to bike along to cheer me on for a bit during the late teen miles. I was tired and it gave me some motivation to keep going.

I finished in 4:01, which was right about target (I was planning a 4 hour race). Overall, I'm glad I did it, but might give myself more time to train post-baby than 4 months so I could do a better job next baby. I started running again yesterday, and felt pretty good. I want to try to do a few more races this summer to get back into racing shape. Got to get that PR in St. George this fall!

Though it was nice to get away, it's always nice to come back home to a sweet husband who shows up with flowers.

Another Notch on the Belt

I love running with Nike. He can keep up with me any distance from 1-30 miles, doesn't care if I go fast or slow, and loves running as much as I do.  Even though he was sick today, he was so sad that I almost left him home that I had to take him running anyway. I have this great leash that I use to run with Nike. It has a padded belt that goes around me (gotta love hands-free), a pocket for bags and cell phone, and also a leash with a bungee cord to absorb some of the shock if Nike sees a squirrel. It works much better than just having a leash around my waist.

I've been trying to avoid it until this point, but the belt has gotten tighter and tighter in the last few weeks as the baby has been growing. I have been putting the leash up higher on my waist instead of sitting low on my hips.  Today, I finally stopped denying the fact that I was going to have to loosen the belt because today was the day I needed it. It's a good thing it fits up to 54 inch waist!

Back to the Future

I ran 4 miles this morning down Culver Blvd on a nice little dirt path. I run this path 3-4 times a week, same exact route, same exact run. Only this morning, I felt like I had gone back in time! All of the cars driving down the street were classic vehicles from the 1950s or 1960s. It was part of a classic car show/1950s celebration in Culver City today. Makes me wish I hadn't left the 1965 Barracuda in my parents' garage (but then again, the drive down from Utah would be torture with only AM radio and no A/C).   

                                                                  

Steven's Birthday, Resolutions, and Rita the Rat

Thursday, 1/22, was Steven's 28th birthday. He got to sleep in while our seminary students made him birthday cards, went to school with a pre-packed lunch (I never have time to do this, he's lucky it was his birthday), and picked me up after work to go to a nice dinner at Palm's Thai. This is a nice little Thai restaurant on Hollywood Blvd that has a Thai Elvis impersonator as entertainment (I'm not joking!). Unfortunately, we forgot our camera, but it was amazing!

Since Steve has gotten into photography lately, I thought a digital frame would be a nice gift. This way, we can display ALL our favorite photos!

In other news, I have completed Resolution #1. 2 weeks ago (1/10) Maureen and I ran a half marathon. I finished in 1:45. Since it was my first "official" half marathon, this technically counts as a PR. I should have gone under 1:30 (I did that in the first half of the St. George Marathon), but since I haven't run over 7 miles since I got pregnant and decided to run it less than a week before the race, I was satisfied with the results.

Our most exciting news however, is the newest addition to our family, Rita the Rat. We got her name from the Beatles' song "Lovely Rita, Meter Maid". Isn't she sweet? She has already grown several inches since this photo taken 2 weeks ago and is threatening to eat us out of stale bread.Ever since we lost the baby, I have needed some sort of distraction to help me get back to a normal life and get over the death of our first child (if you ever really can get over something like that). I thought a cute and cuddly pet rat would be perfect because they require minimal effort on my part, she's small enough to not cause problems (but will get big enough to handle the dogs), they only live about 2 years (long enough for us to get pregnant again, but not so long that I'll be in the market for a new dog as well) and she is smart and interactive. Steve didn't really want to get a new pet because of the extra stress it could add, but he loves me so much that he let me have Rita anyway, because he knew that's what I needed. I love you, Baby!

Beating the New Year

I love New Year's Eve. It is probably my favorite day of the entire year. 4 years ago yesterday, Steven and I met at our friend Kristi Green's New Year's Eve party and the rest is history. I also love calendars. Every year I buy 2: Page-a-Day (dogs) and a wall calendar (usually dog-related as well). I love planning out the new year in hopes of making the year to come the best one yet.

Last night, in celebration of the new year, I ran the SLC track club's annual resolution run, "Beat the New Year." The race was a 5k that started at 11:30 with the goal to finish before midnight. If you finished in time, you got a cool plaque (I finished in 22:10).My favorite part of the new year (besides my loving husband), is the opportunity to make resolutions. I love the opportunity to try to reach a little harder and become more of the person I would like to one day become. I love starting over with a clean slate.

In honor of the new year I have made 10 resolutions:
1. Set a PR (any race will do)
2. Get my personal training certification
3. Organize the closet and desk
4. Learn a new skill
5. Save enough money for a down payment
6. Make Christmas stockings for Steven and I
7. Grow my hair to the middle of my back
8. Crochet a blanket
9. Learn a new song on the violin
10. Finally lose those 5 pounds

Steve's resolutions are much simpler:
1. Graduate from law school
2. Pass the bar
3. Get a job

Here's to a fantastic 2009!

I Don't Believe in Santa Claus but I Ran his Race Anyway

Yesterday was the 31st annual Santa Monca-Venice Christmas Run. It feaures a 10k and 5k that are basically a Christmas celebration catered to crazy runners like myself. The race features Christmas music, Santa, and unique running get up. I often see runners dressed up in unusual ways, but this was the only time I remember seeing people running dressed like Santa Claus.

My favorite was a shirt that said, "Dear Santa, I can explain..."

I thought that running a race would be a good way to celebrate the season and get back to my normal self after pregnancy. The race even benefits homeless pregnant women and their new babies.

I love racing! If I had all the time and money in the world, I would race every other weekend. My favorite part about running is breaking my personal records. I cut off 11 seconds in my 10k with a chip time of 43:58 and placed 6th in my age group running against members of the USA track team. During the first half, I even broke my 5k record by 16 seconds with a time of 21:20!

My second favorite part about racing are the bathroom lines.

I kept thinking that should have brought my dog. He would have looked real cute in antlers: And even though I don't believe in Santa Claus, I made sure to have my picture taken with him just for Steve's benefit.

Through rain and wind and cold and snow...

I finished the St. George Marathon. Okay, so there wasn't really snow, but the weather was pretty miserable. It started raining on the bus ride up to the start (about 4:30 am) and didn't stop until about noon. Thousands of people ran the marathon despite headwinds never-ending rain.

It started well. Fortunately this year I got to start with the "elite" runners, so there was less of a fight for the bonfires and port-a-potties. The weather was mild at first, off and on rain and wind. I wish I would have gotten a picture of the bonfires in the wind (it was lucky for us that the fire department was nearby). It got progressively worse as the miles went by. By the time I finished, I looked like I had competed in an impromptu wet t-shirt contest rather than a marathon.

I was with the 3:10 pace group until mile 14, when I started feeling queasy (I had been sick 2 days before). Without perfect conditions, I was perhaps being too optimistic in hoping for a 3:10, but settled into a decent 7:45 pace until just before the finish line. I was able to pick up the pace a little until my knee gave out and I nearly fell just as I finished in 3:22:19

After the race, I felt awful. I had to sit down for several minutes because I was sick to my stomach and couldn't put any weight on my knee. After getting a kiss from Steven, I went to the first aid tent to recuperate. It was still raining.

I think that the marathon volunteers bought the town out of trash bags. There were thousands of people wearing these impromptu ponchos. My clothes had not yet come in from the start, so I borrowed Steve's hoodie to warm me under my trash bag. I attempted to wait for a massage, but my lips turned blue and it was clear that I had become hypothermic, so I went back to the condo for a warm bath (it's a big taboo after racing, but I had to get warm).

I was pleased with the results. Last year, I had placed 13th in my division, and this year, I went up to 7th. Plus, I beat my first trainer from work, Jim Davis (nevermind that it was his first marathon). If you are interested, I have included a link to some pretty visual and colorful results from RunPix. My # is 4089.

http://www.runpix.info/stg08/ge.php

By the way, I made the local paper. I'm in the blue shirt in the left top corner. In case you were wondering, my shirt says "My running partner has 4 legs" in celebration of Nike and Kiki, who were there to cheer me on in Veyo.

Update by Steve:

Here are some more pictures that my parents took. The first is just before the finish line.

The second was taken immediately after the race. If you look closely you can see that April is experiencing the first stages of hypothermia (she got warm again before it got serious).

The last is of the whole gang (dogs included) in front of the condo.

Marathon and Network Champion

This Saturday is a very special day in my running career. The St. George Marathon marks my 10th marathon. I started running marathons at the same time I started dating Steve. A few days before we met, it was my 20th birthday. To celebrate, I ran 20 miles. It was a crazy thing to do, but I had done the same thing on my 17th birthday, and thought it would be a good way to get back into running (I broke my foot about six months earlier). I hadn't run more than 3 miles for almost a year, but for some odd reason, I thought that I could still manage. It was a painful learning experience.

Even so, it gave me hope. I rode the bus to the U of U with the same bus driver for the 2 years prior and we became good friends. After I told him I was a runner, he convinced me to run my first marathon so I created a running plan and picked a marathon that was 36 weeks away. I figured having a marathon goal would not only make me fit, but also give me other unique qualities that would maybe appeal to my new flame (it didn't). And so a marathon runner was born. Since then, I have done 3 every year. I compiled a list of all my marathons to see if there is any pattern.

1. Top of Utah-September 2005-3:48
2. Salt Lake City-June 2006-3:52
3. Deseret News-July 2006-3:52
4. St. George-October 2006-3:38
5. Los Angeles-March 2007-4:22 (I had the flu that week)
6. Boston-April 2007-3:54
7. St. Geoge-October 2007-3:28
8. Leona Divide-April 2008-50 mile ultra-10:38
9. Palos Verdes-May 2008 DNF, stopped at mile 18
10. St. George-October 2008---3:10?

The main thing I've notices is that I run poor times when the marathons are close together, but have done very well at every St. George marathon. I have gotten noticeably faster with the Ultramarathon and increased training and hope to get into the low 3 hours this year (I made it 14 miles at 3:10 pace last year before an injury flared up). Hoping for a PR!!!

As a side note, this week, I had a project at work to create a presentation about one of Progressive's Network Shops. My friend Maureen headed up the project because she has gotten a recent addition to her title as team leader: NETWORK CHAMPION. It is her job to help the employees and customers understand our network program. My project won.

Jet to Jetty

Yesterday was my first 10K. I have run every race from 5K and under, and have done many marathons, but never have I felt the urge to do anything in between. So when a flyer came in the mail 2 weeks ago, I nearly tossed it into the trash.

There are a lot of races in the Los Angeles area, but this is not something I have taken advantage of. I am usually too busy training for another marathon. This time, however, I recruited Maureen, my running partner from work, and we decided to race.

It's called "Jet to Jetty" for obvious reasons: the race runs between LAX and Marina del Rey. It is a beautiful coure that I didn't really bother to look at during the race because I was too busy running. It is a small race, with approximately 300 participants in the 10K, but with about 500-1000 people completing the companion 5K.

Maureen and I decided on the 10K because of our distance running backgroung. The excitement of competition is always thrilling, and I was excited to see how well I could complete this race.

It started fast, with my first mile at 6:36. I slowed to a comfortable pace after that, but didn't have the energy (or motivation) to sprint out the end.

The race turned out well: I began and ended the race in 3rd place (overall women), as the first place woman in my age group (19-24), with a time of 44:05. My goal was under 42:00. Not bad considering I went into the race having biked 25 miles and run 40 miles already that week. I was intending to complete 20 miles that day , but after the race, I was too tired to bother (I did somewhere between 9-10). I did get a cool medal and all participants got a discount at Top to Top (a running store in Marina del Rey and Santa Monica). The great thing about this was that I had a good reason to go buy new running shoes (nevermind that I won't need them for a few more months.).

Running with Nike

Create Fake Magazine Covers with your own picture at MagMyPic.com

About 6 years ago, I started running with my dog, Nike. I love running with him more than any other running partner (no offense Maureen and WJHS XC). He's willing to run with me any time of day (midnight, 5 am, 9 pm, etc.), any distance (1-30), and any place (fields covered in snow, along the beach, in the woods).

The Christmas before we got married, Steve gave me a different Nike running friend, the Nike+iPod, complete w/ Mp3 player. This is a sensor that transmits from my shoe, to a receiver in my iPod Nano. It tracks my speed, distance, pace, and calories over time. I am currently at 2254.32 miles for the last year and a half. Or at least that's how many miles that have been run w/ the product.



The sensor is calibrated, but is often a little off. But it is still a pretty close indication of times and especially showing improvements over time. This was the best thing to happen to running after the Nike Air Pegasus (going off on a tangent, this is by far the best marathon shoe to ever exist. AND now they make it specially fit w/ the Nike+ Sensor).

Nike+ also has a website that you can make and keep goals, and keep track of your runs. It's pretty sweet to see how many miles you can rake up. My favorite part of Nike+ is that whenever I want, I just push a button and a mysterious man will tell me how long I've been running and how fast I am. I especially like it when Lance Armstrong or Tiger Woods tell me what an amazing runner I am. It's definitely motivating to hear that I've beat a personal best and that I am amazing. It will keep me running from years to come.

By the way, I've added a link to the track my running progress. Let me know if you think I need to change my running!

50 Mile Results

http://www.leonadivide.com/results/2008_results.pdf

The results have come out. Turns out, that even with my slower than anticipated time, I placed 3rd in my division (18-29), and was the youngest woman to run the race. Nevermind that only 3 women my age group were crazy enough to run the race in the first place! Most women who ran the race were in their 40s. It seems kind of funny---how many 40-year-olds do you know who will run for hours at a time?

Overall, I was somewhere in the middle of the pack. Not too bad for my first try, though I was hoping to place higher. Maybe in the Palos Verdes Marathon next month...

More about the insanity

Just so you know; April seems to be recovering from her race. She even made it to church yesterday (now that’s a testimony!). Fortunately, we were off for nursery so she didn’t have to chase a dozen or so little scrappers around the room for two hours.
I won't add much to her post but just in case you somehow still think that running 50 miles is not that bad, I’m posting some pictures of the terrain she ran across, or more accurately up and down. These are some serious mountains-and I’m from Utah!




That little blue and white dot in the bottom picture is April.
One of the most salient features of the race was that all of the runners I encountered there were insane. I don’t mean that I thought they were insane just because they were running fifty miles. I mean they were insane because they all did this kind of thing all the time.
The race was out of a little town called Lake Elizabeth, in the mountains between Palmdale and Santa Clarita, a couple of hours north of LA. It’s kind of a biker hang-out. In fact I hadn’t seen so many motorcycles since the last time the Hell’s Angels held a rally in West Yellowstone. Here's a picture I snapped of the biker bar on the main drag.

I’m very proud of April for finishing even though I think she’s nuts. It took a lot of will power to finish and I have no doubt that she can accomplish anything now.

Youtube of The Week
I’m adding a new feature now that Catherine taught me how to put Youtube videos in my posts. It’s called Youtube of the week. This week's edition is meant to compliment April's top ten list from her post. I thought this was pretty funny