Running in 2014

It has been so wonderful for me to get back into running and racing.  I used to race before Andy was born.  I liked it, but never really understood what moms were saying when they said they loved their exercise time.  Running (and exercising in general) was always a love/hate thing for me.  But lately, I just LOVE it.  It's my sanity!   The first few months of running (March-May or June) were really hard.  I started with just 2 miles or so and even had to walk a few times in there.  It didn't seem to get easier for a few months.  Running 3-4 miles at 10 min/mile was still killing me in May, and I wondered how I'd ever do a half marathon again.  Maybe partially due to the fact that I was still getting up with Max a few times a night and then getting up early to run? It was all very discouraging, considering I'd run 26.2 miles a few years before at 9:06/mile.  Anyway, I increased mileage VERY slowly (I was nursing and didn't want to lose supply) and prepped for the Deseret News 10K on July 24.   For me, I think longer distances become a lot easier as soon as I pass the 4 or 5 mile threshold.  Everything felt easier in June and July as my mileage increased.  

My sister Rachel did the 10k with me.  We had a blast!  Such a fun race.  It was fun running by the big crowds who were waiting for the parade to start.  I finished in 52:42, averaging 8:29/mile.  I was thrilled considering I wanted to do somewhere around a 9:00 mile!

Then began the prep for the Big Cottonwood Half Marathon.  I was still pretty terrified of running that many miles.  The nights before my long training runs, I was always so nervous!  But I pressed on.  Rachel and I did one of our long runs together.  Cameron even did one with me in Park City.  The big day came Sept. 13.  Rachel and I did it together and had a great experience.  Such a fun, well-managed race!  Gorgeous to run down Big Cottonwood as the sun is rising.  It was a great day for me.  I just kept thing, "I did it!  All the nights Max woke up a million times, I woke up and went running!  All those times I thought 3 miles would kill me, I pushed through! And now I did it!  I just ran 13.1 miles.  I can do hard things!"  It made me feel so good to work so hard to accomplish a hard thing.  I finished in 1:47, 8:09/mile, a new PR for me.  I was thrilled!  

It was FREEZING up at at the starting line.

So fun running with Rachel!  We couldn't train much together, but we'd always text each other about our runs.  

I decided to do the SLC Haunted Half in October.  I did lots of speed work and trained pretty hard to try and get a new PR.  Hopefully around 1:45.  And then the cold of death introduced itself.  It was awful!  I was so sad that I'd worked so hard to be fast for the race, and I knew it would be a struggle just to run it considering how sick I was.  The first 6 miles or so felt great.  I was on track to PR, averaging about 8/mile.  And then the cold of death said, "Hey!  Remember me? I'm here!  You can't keep running this fast!"  And then I DIED.  Oh my goodness, those last 7 miles were torture.  My lungs were dying.  I slowed way down.  Some of my miles were way slower, like 10 min/mile.  I still had a pretty good time, all things considered.  1:52, which is an average of 8:32/mile.  I pushed it a little too hard, my body revolted, and I ended up being sick in bed for a few days.  

I couldn't end the racing season that note, so I signed up for the Thankful 13 (on Thanksgiving Day) with my friend Lindsey!  We've always wanted to do a race together.  It was harder to do those long runs in the cold!  And, as luck would have it, I got sick AGAIN the week before the race.  I was so mad.  I whined to poor Cameron constantly about it.  I was so bummed thinking I'd be as miserable as I was during the Haunted Half.  And I didn't want to feel so sick for the rest of Thanksgiving weekend.  I decided I'd take it pretty easy and try to just enjoy it.  I took the first mile pretty slow (9:30ish) and then realized I felt pretty good so I sped up.  I felt great during the run.  I ended up finishing in 1:49, 8:18/mile.  I was thrilled!  I thought I'd be much slower, so it was a nice surprise.  Especially since it's a flat race and my PR time was for a mostly downhill race.

How grateful I am for running!  It's done so much for me this year, mentally, emotionally, and physically.  And of course, I'm so grateful for Cameron who has been so supportive.  He's on kid-duty during my runs, and never rarely complains.  ;)