Santa Run 5K

From the first time I heard about this race I wanted to run in it. How could I pass up running a 5K in a full Santa suit?! Instead of a swag bag/shirt you get an entire Santa suit to run in (pants, jacket, belt, hat and beard!).

Over 700 people ran in this race. The start was at 22nd street and Washington Blvd in Ogden at 4:30 PM on a chilly Saturday afternoon.  The street had been closed for the race. The race director had everyone line up at the starting line 15 minutes prior to the start time to do warm-ups. About every minute or so the race director would announce how many minutes were left until the start. I was starting to get nervous. Before the race I ran into a couple of people from my triathlon team. We chatted and discussed what time we wanted to get for this race. I decided that I wanted to beat my previous 5K time of 24:30. I'd set this goal for myself to accomplish by the end of 2012.

The course was 2 1/2 laps of four city blocks. It started at 22nd street and then the turnaround was at 26th street. The race started and off I went. 700+ Santas rushed down the street. I wasn't a quarter mile into the first mile before I realized I was overdressed. I started burning up. I wore my normal winter running gear and didn't account for the fact that the Santa suit would add so much heat. Wearing the Santa hat made my head hotter than the inside of an oven.

About a mile into the race I picked out a woman in front of me that I wanted to keep pace with. She looked about the same height and weight as me. I would get bursts of energy and get ahead of her, then she would pass me. Back and forth it went. Towards the end I decided it was time to make my final move and sprint past her to get to the finish line. My heart was racing as a pushed myself harder and harder. I passed her. I then realized that I wasn't as close to the end as I thought I was. I thought I had to turn on 25th street where the finish line was a 1/2 block in. In reality I had to run down to 26th street and turnaround for the 3rd time and THEN run to 25th street to the finish line. I still had 2 1/2 large city blocks to go and I had spent all my energy. The woman passed by me and got 1/2 block ahead. For a brief moment I was kicking myself that I'd done such a stupid thing. I then dug a little deeper and decided I'd try to pass her one last time. I sprinted again and passed her 1/2 block away from the finish line. I was about to cross the line when I see her out of the corner of my eye. She beat me by two whole seconds.

After I crossed the finish line I found the woman who beat me and congratulated her. I asked her how old she is...25... dang it... she's in my age group. We talked for a bit. I found out she's training for her 5th marathon so I didn't feel so bad about her beating me. I found a guy handing out cards the final times on them. I told him my name and he handed me my card. Final time - 22:55. I beat my previous personal record by 1:35. I placed 3rd in my age group (out of 69) and 10th overall female (out of 421).

They had cold milk, hot chocolate, cookies and candy canes available after the race. I ran into a woman I went to high school with. She ended up placing 1st in our age group. There was only six seconds that separated her time from my own. What a close race. I had so much fun running with so many Santas to kick of the 2011 holiday season. What a blast! For more information about this race visit runsanta.com.

Save Your Skin 10K

This is the second race this year that was hosted by my coach Lora Erickson.  For more info visit saveyourskin10k.com

The course was the same as the Race for Grief 10K.  I was eager to see how my time would be a few months after the previous race there. We left the house with plenty of time to get there early but the railroad crossings had another thing planned. We got stuck behind a crossing with the arms down for over 20 minutes. No trains passed. We kept driving further and further south and all the crossing were the same.  We eventually found our way to the event with just minutes to spare before the start time.  We had just enough time to pick up our packets, put on our bib numbers and start. 

I ran this race with my husband and my friend Holly.  Holly and I teach sunbeams together at church and we became running buddies.  I kept a steady pace until the half way point and then slowed down after that. I was still about a mile out when I realized I might be able to make it under 50 minutes.  I pushed myself and finished with a time of 50:25.  I'd trimmed off 1:35 off since the last time I'd run that exact same course. I was very pleased.  I managed to match my husband's Race for Grief time down to the exact second.  Cameron decided he'd be a speed demon and get the time of 45:40 this time around. He placed 1st in his age group. I thought I'd placed 2nd in my age group until they announced that I'd actually gotten 1st in my age group.  The girl who originally got 1st place in my age group ended up getting 1st place overall female which bumped me up. Hooray! I got 4th female overall.  Great race!

Holly and me

Labor Day Triathlon

After I registered for this race I found out  most of the people on my triathlon team were also running it.  I was excited to participate with my team members. The night before I went to bed at around 10:30 PM and didn't wake up until around 6 AM. 7 1/2 hours of sleep! That's boats loads better than the 3 hours that I'd gotten in the past.

I lined up for the swim.  I felt much more confident in the pool since the last triathlon.  I passed three people in the water and was pumped to move on to the next portion. My 350 meter swim time was 8:31. I'd cut off 1.5 minutes off of my swim time in a month! The bike portion was good.  I passed a lot of people and only got passed by one guy because I was stuck at a red light.  I yelled out to my team mates and people I knew on the course.  12.5 mile bike time 42:58. I got on my bike and ran out of transition 2. My legs were numb and felt like dead weight.  I've decided I love that feeling.  It makes me push myself so much more than if I felt normal. I passed many people on the run and even caught up to some of my team mates who were ahead of me in the swim.  In past races I've done there has been that one girl that passes me and just flies by and gets my 3rd place spot. Not today! I passed at least a dozen people.  I kept pace with a guy with a bountiful bicycle tri kit on through the bike and run.  At the last mile he started walking and I passed him.  I sprinted to the finish line and felt elated. My run time was 29:18 which at first I was a little upset at myself but then I found out that the run was 3.5 miles not 3.11. Total time 1:22:45. 3rd in my age group! After three 4th places this year I got my 3rd place finish! My coach Lora Erickson also place 1st overall female! Go TBR!

Bountiful Triathlon

This race was exciting because my husband decided to run the race with me.  It is a reverse sprint distance triathlon, which I'd never done before.  I was very nervous the night before and I didn't fall asleep until 2 AM. I woke up at 5 AM.  Once again I'm doing another triathlon with only 3 hours of sleep. 

My mom came down to watch us race and take care of our daughter.  I was happy to see a couple of gals that I went to high school with at the race. We lined up to start the run and I was off.  The run went ok. I finished that portion with a time of 26:57. Not my best 5k time by far. I completed the 12 mile bike course in 39:05. An improvement from my last triathlon.  Last was the swim.  I jumped in the pool and started the swim.  It felt great to jump into that nice water after the run and bike portions. I kept my face down in the water the entire time. I had a lot less anxiety on this swim versus the last triathlon I did. I contribute a lot of it to the fact that I was swimming in the pool that I practice every week in. I was a lot more comfortable there.  I completed the swim in 10:09.  I was happy with it but knew I could do much better.  Total time 1:18:26, 12th out of 30 in my age group and 110th place out of 259 overall.  I really enjoyed trying out the reverse triathlon.  I still prefer the standard order though. I push myself much harder on the run when my legs feel like stone.

Legacy Midnight Run 10K

I was lucky to get into this race. My coach, Lora has just posted online that the registration was almost full with only a couple of spots for the 10k left.  I think my husband and I got the last couple of slots.  This race was unlike any race I'd done or heard of.  It was done at night along the Legacy Parkway.  The half marathoners started at 10 PM, 10kers at 11 PM and 5kers at 11:30, all with the goal of beating the midnight hour.  They gave you glow stick of various sizes to attached to your body while you run the race.  The trail lit up like a rave party as all the runners started the race. I was determined to beat by previous time of 52 minutes and get on the podium.

The first 3 miles went great. I felt good and was running at a pace that would get me to my goal.  At the half-way turnaround point I took some Gatorade and kept my pace. Shortly after that point though I started to feel terrible.  I've never felt that bad during a race before.  I kept running determined not to walk.  Thoughts flashed through my mind... "This is definitely going to be your last 10k race... This is awful.... never running like this again...".  Lots of people passed me.  I finished with a time of 54:27. Two and a half minutes slower than my last 10k. I ended up getting 4th place in my age group again for the 3rd time! Cameron managed to capture 3rd place in his age group. I was disappointed in myself. I started wondering if my first 10k time of 52 minutes was just a fluke.

The next day I read a post from some of my pals from the South Davis Road Runners that said they got sick during the race.  Come to find out everyone that took the Gatorade at that one aide station got sick. I didn't feel so bad for not making my goal.  Even with getting sick it was still so much fun to run at night under a full moon, my body covered in glow sticks.

South Davis Road Runners

My First Triathlon - Cache Valley Super Sprint

Ready or not the day had come! Cache Valley Super Sprint 2011.

A couple of days before the race I thought it would be a good idea to rent a hotel room the night before to save myself from waking up at 4AM to drive there.  Little did I know that this decision would actually end up with me getting less sleep than if I had just stayed home.  My daughter Olivia was 9 months old at the time.  My husband wanted to see me run the race so we decided to make it a family trip.  We drove up Friday evening.  I picked up my packet and went to our hotel.  Later that night I went to the orientation.  At the end the presenter was giving out prizes to people who could answer trivia questions.  Since this orientation was for first timers no one could answer any of the questions he was asking.  One of the questions was, "Which man holds the current record for the most Ironman Championships?". At least three people yelled out "Lance Armstrong!".  He ended up just drawing random names to give away the prizes. Too funny.

I went back to the hotel and realized that this was the first time my daughter has spent the night away from home. We'd brought along the pack n' play for her to sleep in.  At around 10 PM I turned in.  About 30 minutes later Olivia woke up and decided to stay up ALL night long.  At around 3 AM my husband Cameron took her for a car ride to get her to go to sleep.  I woke up at around 5:30 AM to get ready with a total of 3 hours of broken sleep. 

We arrived at the venue and I setup my transition area.  We lined up according to swim time and they started at around 8 AM.  I was in the middle of the line so it took at least 20 minutes before I entered the pool.  I completed the 500 meter swim in 12:39.  It was a bad swim for me.  I was so anxious I couldn't keep my face in the water and ended up doing most of the swim on my side.  Once out of the pool, I rushed to the transition area and grabbed my bike. The bike course was beautiful.  Completely flat, open fields in Cache Valley Utah. There was a block of the street that was under construction so it was a bit bumpy for a while. I did the 12.5 mile bike portion in 43:37.  I rushed back into transition again and headed out for the run.  The original run course was flooded so they ended up doing an out and back with two loops.  My legs felt like lead.  If felt like I was running a 15 minute mile pace.  I pushed myself to run faster.  I loved having every one's age marked on their calves.  I picked out 4 girls that were ahead of me in my age group and passed them.  I did the 5K run portion in 25:54.  Total time...... 1:24:34.  I felt wonderful afterwards.  I wasn't sore and wanted to keep going.  I was handed a card saying I was currently in 3rd place! But.... I was bumped to 6th place in my age group once all of the racers came in. I placed 27th out of 99 women.  What an awesome day.

I gained 50 lbs when I was pregnant with my daughter (the last 6 weeks of the pregnancy I was on bed rest). I had lost all of it within 4 months after delivery. (strict diet and exercise) I was super happy to fit into this tri gear!

In Transition 2

The finish line

Centerville Freedom 5K

I decided to run this race a couple of days before the event. I'm going to keep this review kind of short and sweet.  There were lots of runners at this race.  I felt like I was going to throw up during the first mile.  I pushed through it and completed with a time of 25:10.  I placed 4th in my age group and 25th place in women's.  This was the 2nd time I'd gotten 4th place this year in a race.  I really want that 3rd place spot!  I need to work harder!

My First 10K race - Race for Grief

My triathlon coach Lora is the race director of a local 10k running race called Race for Grief.  The proceeds of the race go towards counseling services for people who loose babies or infants.  See raceforgrief10k.com for more details.

I'd never run a 10k race before. I'd previously done a few 5k races but this was double the distance.  I've had knee issues in the past so I was nervous about re-injuring it.  The race started off with a bang and I was off.  I was happy that I was keeping a pretty consistent pace throughout the race.  I came to the first aid station and recognized the volunteer as someone from the South Davis Road Runners. SDRR is a local running club also headed up by Lora.  I went onto the next aide station and the volunteer was again someone I knew.  In fact, I knew every volunteer at the aide stations and the people directing traffic.  How cool is that?! That fact made me want to run even faster. A couple of girls kept passing me and then I passed them. It went back and forth, back and forth.  I saw the end and sprinted to the finish.  My time 52 minutes.  Not bad for my first 10k.  I placed 4th in my age group and 15th place overall. I was so happy when I finished I was already thinking of when the next time I could run another 10k race.  It was also the first time my husband had run a 10K.

The Team

I was accepted as a member of Lora's triathlon team. Hooray! Team Blonde Runner (TBR).  Being a stay at home mom the idea of having teammates and working out as a group was very appealing to me.  I love the TBR team.  At my first track practice with them every time someone would pass me they'd say positive things like, "welcome to the team!" or "good work!".  I've always been kind of shy around others that work out around me.  Thanks to that group environment I'm not anymore.  I always yell or wave hello to cyclist or runners when I'm working out.   

The team is extremely supportive of each other.  I was amazed to see other teammates go to each other's races to support them and cheer them on.  What a great support system!

My Bike

I'm now the proud owner of a 2011 Trek Lexa SLX! My very first road bike.

In the Beginning

The date was May 15th, 2011. I was at my in-laws house and had just eaten a wonderful Sunday dinner.  I was on facebook and I was looking at a friend's photos.  They had a triathlon suit on.  I told my husband how amazing it is that people compete in triathlons.  He mentioned it wasn't that big of deal.  It was then that I learned that not ALL triathlons are an Ironman distance.  I went straight to Wikipedia and read all about the different triathlon distances.  I immediately had a strong desire to complete a sprint distance triathlon.  I went to trifind.com and found some local triathlons.  I also noticed a link for a triathlon coach not 15 minutes away from my home.  I thought about it all night and couldn't get it out of my head.

The next morning I went to the coach's website, blonderunner.com and read as much as I could about her triathlon team.  I emailed her an entire slew of questions about how to get started.  Lora, aka "the Blonde Runner", emailed me back almost instantly and asked me to call her.  We talked for about a half an hour.  She told me based of my current fitness level I could complete a sprint distance tri in about 8 weeks.  My heart skipped a beat, I was so excited.  I committed to training with her.  She wanted to interview me to make sure it was going to be a good fit.  Looking back I'm very happy that I pulled the trigger on doing triathlons and didn't sit around and think about it.  I don't know if I would've gone through with it if I had sat on it. 

The next day was my interview with Lora.  She agreed to train me and we went over to the local recreation center to see how I was in the pool.  I hadn't swam since I was a kid so I naturally thought it was going to be the easiest part of the triathlon training.... right..... boy were my eyes opened as soon as I tried to swim my first 25 meters.  I realized at that moment I didn't even know how to swim.  My legs were flayling all about, I couldn't keep my head in the water and my arms were swinging around like a drowning gorilla and I was out of breath.  I'm surprised that Lora didn't laugh or even giggle at me.  She gave me some awesome advice and my second attempt was much better. 

After that swim I started working out everyday towards my goal.  I had picked the Cache Valley Super Sprint as my first triathlon put on by onhillevents.com.  It was 9 weeks away and about an hours drive to get there. It's on!