Feeling Nostalgic

This morning we slept in until almost 9:30! Our room is just pitch black and there's no clock in there so there's no way to tell what time it was. I had this plan to get up, get some waffles from the free breakfast downstairs then go running and have plenty of time to shower before we checked out. Well, this is what I get for over planning everything! Breakfast was over at 9, and we had to check out by 10 so we had to just hurry and get out of there.

We went over to Pete's mom and dad's house to see everyone again before we left, and have cinnamon rolls. I had one roll, then headed out for my run. I'm kind of off schedule for my new plan, but that's ok. I had 2 runs to choose from, and I decided to run over to the track at Dixie College to do 400 meter intervals.

I went to college at Dixie, and that track is the first place I ever really ran. I would go in the evenings with my roommates who were tough soccer girls, and I remember being so amazed when I worked up to 2 miles.

So, after running to the track which took 6 minutes, I did one nice easy lap to finish warming up before starting my intervals. I'd do a fast lap, then a slow recovery lap. I really tried to do my fast laps in 2:00. Here are my times:

1. 2:06
2. 2:01
3. 2:00
4. 2:00 (these ones I thought I was going so fast)
5. 2:05
6. 1:51

Some people came just before I did that last one, a guy and a girl and the girl looked like a soccer girl, like my roommates who taught me how to run. I wonder where they are now...

I also stopped before the last one to find a good song to help me go fast. Sweet Caroline, you'll have to wait for the run home. I got a good Muse song going (not all Muse songs will cut it for intervals btw) then did my last lap as fast as I could. I think it also helped that I wanted those people to think I was fast! Ah vanity.

I was very happy with that 1:51 even though I had to walk for a minute when it was over, and I ran home feeling really good! The song I listened to seemed to sum up how I was feeling: "Sweet Caroline...ba ba ba... Good times never seemed so good!"

I ran back the same way I used to walk to the park with Mindy, and a little dog barked at me that I remembered barking at me before. When I got close to Pete's parent's house (across the street from said park), I wasn't ready to quit so I ran up the little hill and around the temple that Pete and I were married in. I just felt so happy, and so glad to be running outside again!

It was cold for St. George, probably in the high 30s and starting to get stormy, but I thought it was a perfect day for a run! Later in the afternoon, it even almost started snowing so we knew we needed to get started driving home because the roads might be bad. It seemed a very fitting end of the trip to listen to Weezer as we left St. George. Every time I listen to the blue album, I can't help remembering dancing to it on an upside down table (???) with those same roommates who I used to run with. Good times.

It did snow most of the way up, but the roads weren't too bad until we got to Salt Lake so that was a relief. When we got home, there was about 5-6 inches of new snow in our driveway, and inside our house it was 41 degrees since we had turned the heater off. It's still getting warmed up, but we had a nice evening sitting in front of the fire. The kids all went to bed with extra blankets and sweaters on. I hope they'll be warm enough! It's so cold here! Yuck. Right now I miss St. George!

Snow Canyon Ride

My ride today from St. George, through Snow Canyon and back down the highway:

This morning I really wanted to get a bike ride in. We weren't able to find anyone to watch the kids so Pete offered to just stay with them so I could go. I was kind of sad I wouldn't get to ride with him since it's almost our tradition now to do a long ride (or 2) in St. George during the winter. Oh, well, I was happy that I still got to go at all.

I got all ready then noticed that my back tire was really low, but that the stem was broken so I couldn't just pump it up. I had to change the whole tube. What a pain. I really tried to do it myself because I know I need to be able to do it in case of emergency, but it was taking me forever and I was getting really frustrated so Pete finally helped me do it. I suck at changing tires! What would I do without Pete? I wouldn't have been riding my bike up Snow Canyon today if it weren't for him, for so many reasons!

Anyway, I got my tire all fixed and headed out. Three minutes into my ride, I turned up the road to go over the Red Hill. What was I thinking? I Wasn't warmed up at all! It was one of the hardest hills I've done. Ever. And I wasn't warmed up for it. As soon as I started up it, I knew it would hurt, but I still did it. I was really tempted to get off and walk a few times, but I didn't. I pushed through and made it up and over that hill! It was awesome!

#1 (from the map). Um, this picture doesn't really do the hill justice. This is just a small part of it, I had to go all the way over The Red Hill.

#2a. Here is the entrance to Snow Canyon National Park. I just love being able to ride my bike through such beautiful scenery! It was a pretty nice day - overcast, but not too gloomy. It was probably in the low 40s so I would have liked it a little warmer, but I wasn't about to complain. I was so happy to be out on my bike again! It's been way too long!

#2b. Here I am at the entrance to the park, completely forgetting to zoom out before taking this picture...

#3a. This is one view at a little past half-way up the canyon.

#3b. And this is looking the other way from that same spot. It didn't really come out in the picture, but you could see the fence that runs along the bike trail I rode home on at the top of that hill.

I got to the top of the canyon in 1:17. I stopped at the beginning of the bike trail to eat my animal cookies before heading down. We forgot to bring Gatorade or hammer gel or anything, but the cookies and water worked fine for this little ride.

Coming home was really fun and fast! And cold. I was nice and warm for the first part of the ride, especially going up all those hills, but when I started cruising down the bike path at 20 - 30 mph, it got cold quick! It wasn't all down hill, it's got some little roller coaster hills to make it a little more fun, but it was a really cold roller coaster!

Before I knew it, I was back in town and trying to figure out where I'd get some hot chocolate. I wish I would have planned for wanting that after a cold ride! I got to our lovely hotel room, decided to forget the hot chocolate and start a hot bath. Only, I couldn't get the temperature gage to turn, so it ended up being a luke-warm bath. It felt really good on my stiff and numb toes, but the rest of me just kept on shivering! Pete came to pick me up (everyone was at his parents' house) and was like, "You're freezing!" I was just trying to push through it and get dressed, but he reminded me that we had a key to the hot tub! This was a brilliant idea! Sitting in the hot tub for a few minutes warmed me right up, and I felt much better!

It was a really fun ride, I'm glad I went, even if I got really cold at the end. I felt good with the fact that I wasn't tired or sore, though. I could have kept riding. I mostly just wanted it to end because I was freezing.

It was a total of 22.4 miles and I did it in just under 2 hours. About half an hour faster than last year! It wasn't the exact same route, but pretty close.

We had a fun time the rest of the day at Pete's Mom and Dad's house with a bunch of cousins and aunts and uncles. My sister in law (Aunt Kathy) taught Mindy how to knit, and she did really well!

She only got one line done, but it's hard for a 7-year-old to focus on something like that for too long.

Here are Ethan and Elle with their Grandma Jane. We always love to come visit her!

Baby Teeth

Swimming this morning:

I almost went back to bed this morning because I did not sleep well last night. But I knew I would just feel bad if I didn't go, so I went.

200 kick

200 swim

200 pull

200 swim

2 5 x 100 - every 2:00 (goal: 1:50)

1. 1:40
2. 1:45
3. 1:50
4. 1:53
5. 1:53

Rest.

I deliberately went slower on the first 100 of the next set. I think it made things worse, though:

1. 1:50
2. 1:50
3. 1:55
4. 1:57
5. 2:00

150 cool down - alternating slow and back stroke.

I'm really glad I got my swim in because I didn't get the run in I had wanted because as soon as I got home from the pool, we got ready to drive to St. George. We got here at around 2:30 and stopped at In-N-Out Burger for lunch. We sat down to eat and Ethan's lose tooth fell on his first bite of Fry. The poor kid was so sad about it! He was like, "I don't want my tooth to fall out!" He was so worried about having a hole in his mouth. I tried to explain that everyone's teeth fall out and that he's going to get a grown-up tooth now, and that he's lucky he didn't have to go to the dentist to get it pulled. He was irreconcilable, though, and wouldn't even eat his food. In fact, we threw away 3 almost full boxes of fries because they weren't very good. Oh well.

Ethan cheered up when we got to Grandma and Grandpa's house and he got to show everybody the hole in his mouth, and his little tooth.

Then we went to Chuck-a-Rama, or "The best restaurant ever!" according to Ethan, so I think he's ok now. Plus, he's very excited to have it under his pillow for the tooth fairy.

We were hoping to stay with some friends, but their kids ended up being sick so we got a hotel room. Actually it's a suite, and it's like a little apartment. When we walked in, Ethan was like, "This is so nice!" (That's what I said too, but it's funnier that he said that before I even came in). The kids all went from disappointed about sleeping in a hotel to so excited it took me an hour and a half to get them to sleep. I'm excited too, though. This should be nice to have our own little place while we're here.

Oh, and by the way, it is SO nice here! We played at the park across the street from Pete's parents house until it got dark and it was just slightly cold! It sure makes me miss living here! Now we just need to figure out how to get our bike rides in tomorrow. I can't wait!

8 Week 10k Plan

Christmas was wonderful and busy around here. We got to spend it with a lot of family and have a lot of fun opening presents, eating good food, and playing Beatles Rock Band. Plus we went to Sherlock Holmes so it was a pretty awesome day!

New PJs on Christmas morning.

Santa brought Linkin' Logs - just like what we used to play with when we were kids! So fun!

We had some delicious eggs benedict for breakfast (if I do say so myself).

Elle did her own hair (with a little help) and she's making her, "I'm cute" face. She's so funny!

Me and my sister, Katie.

Elle and her cousin, Aria.

Now it's getting close to New Years, and you know what that means. Resolutions for the new year, and for me, that includes training resolutions. I don't function very well without a training plan. It's now been...oh, I don't know how long, probably 6 months since I've had a real training plan. I've decided to remedy that by making my own. I've never done this before, I've always just found training plans online and followed them so we'll see how this goes.

First of all, I need something to work towards, and I found the perfect race! It's a 10k in Ogden put on by Striders Specialty Running, and it's the weekend before my "official" marathon training starts! I'm excited to see how fast I can do it.

Now for my training plan. I'm not completely on my own creating this one. I used chicrunner's plan for inspiration, and I also found this 10k plan that had a lot of speed work to look at. I only used 4 out of the 6 runs it suggests, though, and added some swimming and spin classes because we can't forget those. Also, Sunday isn't on there because that is my rest day.

(click on the picture to get a bigger view)

If you know more about training plans than me, does this look good to you? Does it look do-able? I really hope I can do it, but I might be adjusting a few things after I get started. We'll see.

Tomorrow morning we are heading to St. George to see some more family so I don't know how well I'm going to do with the first week, but I'm brining my bike and hoping to at least get a good ride in while I'm there. I think I will also get up and do my swim workout before we go. I haven't really done anything for the past 5 days so I really need to make sure I do something tomorrow! I'm so excited to have some warmer weather for a few days!!

Merry Christmas!

It's Christmas Eve, and I'm just about ready to go to bed, but I thought I'd post a few picture first.

We had a lot of fun cooking up some goodies to give to our neighbors (and a little for ourselves too...)

Here's our finished Christmas tree complete with huge candy ornaments and presents. Also our living room complete with the usual mess and a fire in the fireplace. How cozy!

On the way to church last week:

Merry Christmas everyone!!

Swiming!

This morning when my alarm got off, I took Sonja's advice and just didn't think. I just got up, got my stuff, ate, and headed to the pool. True, I did sit in the locker room for a few minutes with my head against the wall and wondered what I was doing there, but at least I made it!

Eventually I made it out to the pool and started warming up. I did:

200 kick board and flippers

200 swim

200 pull buey

200 swim

Then I decided to do some fast 100s. I started them every 2:00 and here are my times:

1. 1:40 (wahoo!)
2. 1:50
3. 1:50
4. 1:55
5. 1:50

After that I decided to just do 500 all out and see if I could do it in under 10:00. I couldn't. I finished that in 10:08. Dang. I've definitely lost some speed, and I have a long way to go before Battle at Midway. That's just gives me something to work on though!

After the 500 I just cooled down by doing 100 slow and 100 on my back.

In all, that totals 2000 meters. That's not bad. I'm sure my arms will be feeling it later.

Back to Speed Work

Today was yet another smoggy day in beautiful Salt Lake City. It's sad that such a beautiful place can have such bad air sometimes. It was also the first day of my kids' "Winter Break." I guess they can't call it "Christmas Break" because that wouldn't be politically correct. I had planned on going swimming at 6 in the morning, but when my alarm went off, I couldn't help but think, "Hey, wait, this is supposed to be a vacation day!" Sleep just sounded so much better than swimming at the time, and I ended up getting 2 more hours of it!

When I finally rolled out of bed, I got the kids all ready and we went to the gym. Mindy and Ethan were so excited because they never get to go to the daycare, and feel so left out whenever I talk about taking Elle. I got them all signed in and headed to the treadmills. I was a little saddened by the thought that the more I work out, the more they sit and watch TV. I wish childcare places didn't always have the TV on. I need to make sure I find active things for them to do as well as for myself.

I picked a treadmill looking out the window today, and I thought it was nice to be able to watch the cars drive by and look at the houses just like I would be doing on a real run. I warmed up for 10 minutes, and didn't quite do a mile in that time. UG.

Then I did .5 mile with the speed on 7.5 which is supposedly an "8-minute mile pace," but boy did it feel faster than that! It was so hard, I'm amazed I made it the whole half-mile without being rocketed off the treadmill! I only did .25 miles for the rest of my intervals, but I think I was able to do a little more that way. One more of those .5 miles would have surly killed me.

My whole workout went something like this:

~1 mile @ 5

.5 mile @ 7.5

.5 mile @ 5

.25 mile @ 7.5

.25 mile @ 5

.25 mile @ 7. 5

.25 mile @ 5

.25 mile @ 7.5

.25 mile @ 5

.25 mile @ 6

~.25 mile @ 7 (this was unplanned, but Foo Fighters came on and I wanted to run fast to it, 7 was a lot more fun than 7.5)

walk for a while...

At least I'm pretty sure that's how it went. It's hard to remember all the specifics! I did about 4 miles before I started walking, and I did it all in about 45 minutes. That doesn't sound like much of a speed workout does it? I just really had to go slow on the recoveries.

When I got done, I only had 15 minutes left before the daycare closed, and I really needed to take a shower since we were going to go strait to the library so I didn't do any ab work like I wanted to. I told myself I'd do it tonight, but I don't know if that's going to happen.

When we got home (at around noon), I was getting sandwich stuff ready for lunch when I reached up to open the cupboard to get plates out, and it was already open! The back of my hand hit the corner of the door really hard, and MAN did it hurt! I thought it would feel better after a few minutes, but I ended up having to do everything one-handed for the rest of the afternoon. Even at 5:00 when we went to the store to get stuff to make Christmas goodies, it was still hurting really bad and I couldn't really use it. I told the kids we'd have to make the treats tomorrow.

When Pete got home, he asked me if I'd taken anything for it. "Um, no." I hadn't even thought about taking anything. What would I do without him? I took some ibuprofen, and it's feeling much better now. It's still a little sore, but at least I can move it without wincing. I hope it feels better tomorrow, I'd feel really dumb if it was broken. That would surely put a damper on my new resolve to start swimming again!

I will get up to swim tomorrow!

Running On A Treadmill Is HARD!

Today the air is still really bad so I had to do my "long" run at the gym, on the treadmill.

I thought I'd do 7 miles because that's what I did last time, but I didn't realize how hard that would be! I tried to run with the speed on 6 (10 minute mile pace, easy right?), but I couldn't even keep that up for more than a mile. Most of the time, my speed was on 5, and my heart-rate was still really high (in the 170s) for pretty much the whole time!

I found myself just trying to make it to 3.5 miles because that would be half-way. That was hard. I haven't wanted to just quit running like that for a long time! I had to keep compelling myself not to stop and walk the whole time. When I got to around 4 miles, I actually had to slow down and walk for a minute, and I decided that I'd be happy with 6 miles. I started running again, but not for very long before I decided to take a bathroom break.

Having that little break helped a little, and I was able to make it the 2 more miles I needed to get to 6 miles. I put the speed up to 6 for the last half-mile, and it was like sprinting. I'm thinking the speed has got to be off on that treadmill or something was wrong with me. Or is that just the way treadmills are?

My favorite part was running the 3 blocks home. Muse was singing, "NO ONE'S GONNA TAKE ME ALIVE. YOU AND I MUST FIGHT FOR OUR LIVES...," I was being self propelled, going at my own speed, instead of being compelled to keep moving by a machine. Running outside is so awesome!

I really am grateful for treadmills, though. I probably wouldn't have even gone today if I had to run outside. The air is so bad right now, you can especially tell now that it's dark, yuck!

Treading Hills

This morning, I left Elle watching cartoons while I dropped Mindy and Ethan off at school then went to the grocery store. When I got home, I looked around and couldn't find her, and got a little worried for a minute. Then I looked into our bed and she was asleep in there with Pete. It was the sweetest thing! I thought I'd wait around for her to wake up, then we'd go to the gym. She ended up sleeping until almost 11, though! Of course, she must be sick, why else would she sleep so long? It was too late to take her with me to the gym, and I wouldn't have taken her anyway with her being sick so I was relieved when Pete ended up staying home because he was feeling a little sick too.

Today wasn't too cold so I could have run outside, but it was a red air day. I don't know if that's the exact wording, but the air is really bad. Because of the mountains we get inversion which means all the pollution gets trapped in the valley and the air gets really smoggy sometimes in the winter.

I didn't really want to go running today, but I didn't get to go yesterday because I was seriously running around all day to the dentist and the eye doctor, dropping Pete off at work and picking the kids up from school, and I was feeling really stressed out. I knew I would feel better if I went today so I just got ready and put my headphones on. The next thing I knew, Muse was playing and I just couldn't get out the door fast enough. Funny how fast things can change!

I ran outside for about 3 blocks to the gym then I ran on the treadmill. It seemed like such a shame to be running inside, but at least I was looking out the window at a lot of mud (where they're working on the new building!) so I pretended I was trail running. It kind of felt like trail running too because I did hills.

I ran for half a mile with the incline on 1, then turned it up to 6 for a quarter of a mile, then 7 for a quarter, then back down to 1 for half. I did this 4 times, and it was really hard. I had the speed on 5 for the hills and the first quarter-mile of the recovery, then I'd turn it to 6 to finish off the half-mile before turning it back down to 5 and the incline back up to 6, then 7. Is that confusing?

I did a total of 4.5 miles in about 52 minutes, not counting jogging to the gym and back. I liked this gym because there was actually a fan that I pointed right at myself, and when I first got there there was only one other person in there. It was almost like my own personal gym! It was a good run, but I can't wait for the air to clear up so I can run outside again. I would do it tomorrow for sure if the air wasn't bad. I'll probably end up on the treadmill again. That's ok, though, I'm getting used to it.

Half Iron Distance Triathlons on Saturdays

I believe that Sunday is a sacred day and should be spent, going to church, worshiping, visiting family, and resting from our labors. Racing does not really fit into that, especially when the race requires me (and probably my family) to miss church. I just don't want my kids to think I think racing is more important than church. I did do Coeur d'Alene on a Sunday, but I felt bad about it and swore I would never do a race on Sunday again. Learn more about my beliefs.

This leads to my plight for figuring out a race schedule for 2010. I had planned on doing the Bear Lake Classic Half, but it doesn't look like it's happening again. It's such a shame, we were really looking forward to camping up there again (I don't know why, we had a pretty miserable night there this year...), and it would have been a perfect way to end the season since it was at the end of August.

I asked all my good friends on Twitter if they had any suggestions for a Half I could do, and one awesome person (goSonja) suggested "rev3!!!! Then we can meet!!"

I thought that sounded perfect, I had kind of been wanting to do that one anyway, and it's even at an awesome amusement park so my family could have fun while I'm racing! Plus I would LOVE to meet Sonja, she's my one of my biggest triathlete heros!

I got really excited about it, immediately went to their website to get more info, and it's September 12 so that's just around the time I want! I look on my calendar for September 12, and BOOM, it's a Sunday.

Dang it. I can't say I wasn't tempted. A lot. The fact that it costs $250 really helped curb my enthusiasm, though. I reminded myself of my goal not to do any more races on Sunday and put that race out of my mind. Dang. So, I've got to find another one.

I was a little annoyed that the race I wanted to do was on a Sunday, and it was starting to seem like all the races outside of Utah were on Sundays, and I could only find one half in Utah. Do people prefer it this way, I wondered? So, again, I turned to twitter to do a little pull about what day people prefer racing, Saturday or Sunday. I didn't quite get the number of responses I wanted, and probably half the people who responded are actually from Utah so I know my survey's not really scientificly (is that a word?) viable, but here are my responses:

1. "I have no preference. I just like getting out there!"
2. "prefer racing saturdays but during school year can usually only do sundays."
3. "Saturday, Sunday is a day off."
4. "Saturdays. It gives you an extra day to recover before attempting the stairs at work on Monday."
5. "Saturdays. I need a Sunday before Monday comes."
6. "Saturdays!"

So, according to my (very scientific) survey, most people actually do prefer Saturdays for racing. So, why all the races on Sundays then? I asked my tweeps:

1. "Sundays outside of Utah because it's the lightest traffic day of the week. Easier for road/intersection closures. Less impact."
2. "racing on Sundays. it gives you a day to travel to the race."

Ahhh, that makes sense. Thanks to everyone who helped me with figuring this out!

Back to finding a half for me:

I knew that Boise 70.3 was on a Saturday, but it's on the same Saturday as the Utah Valley Marathon which I'm doing with my sisters so that one's out. I started looking around for Half Iron Distance Triathlons on Saturdays and there's not just a list anywhere so I thought I'd make my own. Hopefully this will be able to help somebody else too. Here it is:

Abu Dhabi (Dubai) - March 13 (3km swim, 200km bike, 20km run or 1.5km swim, 100km bike, 10km run) Has anyone heard of these distances before?

Oceanside 70.3 - March 27

Rage Half (Las Vegas) - April 17

Washington Half (NC) - April 24

Wildflower Half - May 1

Napa Valley Vintage Half - May 1

White Lake Half - May 1 & 8

Gulf Coast Half (FL) - May 8

Kinetic Half (NY) - May 8

Headfirst Performance Half (KY) - May 16

Harryman - May 22

Hawaii 70.3 - June 5

Rock 'N Rollman - June 5

Deuceman (AZ) - June 5

Vikingman (ID) - June 5

Boise 70.3 - June 12

Liberty Tri (MN) - June 12

Steelhead 70.3 - July 31

Sebagoman (NY) - August 14

Utah Half - August 28

Quakerman (PA) - September 11

Pumpkinman Half (Las Vegas) - October 17

Miami 70.3 - October 30

Beach to Battleship Half or Full (NC) - November 13

If you know of any other Halfs that are taking place on a Saturday, please let me know so I can add them to my list.

So, for an end of the season (preferably August - October) half, looks like I could go to New York, Pennsylvania, Las Vegas or Miami. Now, are any of those close enough to drive to? Wait a minute, what about Utah Half? It seems pretty obvious that I should just do that one hu? I don't know why I've been avoiding that one. Silly me. There's also Pumpkinman that isn't too far away. Why did I make such a big deal out of all this? Oh well, I hope my list helps somebody.

By the way, I hope I haven't offended those of you who race on Sundays. That is totally your choice and I don't hold it against you one bit.

Fun Stuff

Ah, look at the beautiful vehicle! Just look at it! And it's ours, all ours! The last payment on the Jeep went through on Monday, and I just realized it today! What a good feeling it is to have that paid off, and it only took us 3 1/5 years! :) I keep thinking, "man, if only we'd put the money we've been paying on that into savings, we'd have over $20,000 right now." Of course, we would never have done that so it's useless thinking things like that. We're done buying cars with credit, though. We're going to save up for the next one. After Switzerland.

To celebrate the ownership of the Jeep, Elle and I drove all the way to Bountiful so we could go to our favorite carwash. That was fun, and Elle fell asleep on the way home. Bonus!

Another exciting thing that's happened recently is I've started an etsy store! So far there are only 2 blankets up, but they are so pretty, you've got to go see them!

simplysquares.etsy.com

Well, that's it for now. I did a lot of resting today, and plan to do a killer hill workout on the treadmill tomorrow!

A Good Treadmill Run?

I've been having such a hard time running on the treadmill so far this winter, and I've wondered if it was a bad idea to even get the gym membership. But I've had some breakthroughs, and I'm going to keep working on it.

I recently joined the Get Fit Runner's Club, and on their blog they've got a good article on Treadmill Training for Winter. I read this article Monday, then set out to do my own treadmill workout on Tuesday.

First of all, I dressed in cooler clothes. I wore my sleeveless tri top which also made me feel more like an athlete just wearing it so I think that, not only kept me cooler, but also helped me feel more into the workout.

I took the advice of Get Fit and put the treadmill on a 1% incline. This really helped a lot! It was so much more uncomfortable and unnatural feeling, and the treadmill was even shaking more, with no incline.

The next thing I did was try not to worry about the speed. I just started off nice and easy, then increased or decreased the speed according to my music, which is what I would do outside. I still worked hard, and I was still totally soaked by the end, but I didn't feel like I was going to throw up the whole time or anything.

I also brought some poweraid and a towel which were very nice to have. I think dressing cooler and having a drink helped a lot with not overheating in there.

I didn't worry too much about distance, and my workout got reset twice so I'm not sure exactly how far I ran, but I think it was between 5 and 6 miles in about an hour.

It was actually a really good run! I kind of had fun and felt good about it!

The best thing about this run was that it made my back feel better! I hurt my back last week shoveling snow. I do this every winter, I need to remember not to shovel, but I figured, I'm an Ironman, I can shovel a little snow! Then instead of being careful with it so it would get better, I let Pete practice his Krav Maga kick on me (I had a cushion of course). I lost my balance and fell down. I felt so stupid, and it made my back start hurting again. That was on Friday, then on Sunday I was stupid again and carried Mindy across the slushy street to church. It actually felt fine on the way over, but on the way back it hurt it again. Dang it! So, I wore my back brace for the next few days and was really careful after that.

I went swimming on Monday thinking that would make my back feel better since that's what I would do when I hurt my back 2 years ago in spin class, but this time it actually made it feel worse. It was really good to be swimming again, though! I did about 2,000 meters and my arms were sore from it yesterday! That's what I get for taking a couple months off swimming. I wanted to go again today, but then decided (in the middle of the night) that I didn't want to risk making my back more sore again, and I didn't want to get up that early anyway. What am I going to do today now? I don't know. Maybe I'll just run errands all day.

Not Going Anywhere

Pete went to San Francisco on Sunday and, despite my hinting about him leaving his laptop here, he brought it with him. He thought for sure he'd need it. I wanted to ask, "What for, taking notes?" But I figured he knew what he was talking about.

He got back last night, and he hadn't even opened his laptop once. Oh well, I guess now we know I can survived without the internet for 4 days! I did tweet from my phone but I couldn't read any tweets or anything, so sorry if you felt like I've been ignoring you for the past few days.

I really needed a plan B for working out this week. Not only because Pete was gone so I didn't have anyone to watch Elle, but because I don't think it's gotten any warmer than 20 degrees all week. Brrr! What happened to my toughing it out and running outside all winter? Well, that didn't last long did it? I would be scared to run on the icy, slushy, snowy sidewalks/streets right now anyway, not to mention it's hard to even breath out there sometimes.

Anyway, to make a long story short ("Too late!"), I went in and got the All County Gold Pass I was telling you about. It's great, and when the new, big rec. center opens up right by my house, I'll already be a member!

For now, the closest rec. center (that has the free daycare) is about 3 miles away, and it's a pretty dinky little gym, but it's got everything I need including a pool so I'm happy to be able to go. Elle really likes it too. She didn't even put up a fight the first day we went, just sat down and started coloring. The second time we went, it took me 10 minutes to get her to leave. I think part of the reason she likes it so much is that it's not very crowded. There were only a few other kids in there with her, and that's how the gym is too. There's no fear of not getting a machine here! Plus the lady at the daycare is really friendly and talkative which is nice.

Ok, so the first day there was Monday:

I got on the treadmill and, after warming up, I decided to try putting it on 7. The other day I told my sister about my run on Saturday and she said, "Wow, that's almost 7 miles an hour!" I hadn't even thought of it that way, but she's used to running on a treadmill so that's how she thinks about running speed. Well, I thought, if I can run 7 miles in almost an hour, I should be able to put the treadmill on 7 for at least 3 or 4 miles...

Wrong!

Oh my gosh, I could not believe how hard it was running on the treadmill! I was able to do the 7, but only for a mile. I did 3 miles total, and I was dead! I couldn't stay long that day because by the time we got there, we only had a little more than half an hour before the daycare closed.

I had been so worried about getting signed up and figuring out where everything was, that I forgot my ipod too. I blamed the hard, monotonousness of the treadmill on that.

The next day it snowed really hard, and I didn't want to drive any further than I had to so I just hung out at home, worked on my quilts and shoveled snow when not driving the kids around.

Wednesday I headed back over, and this time I had plenty of time, and I remembered my ipod. I even chose a treadmill facing the window, hoping this would make me feel more free or something. I don't know.

It was still miserable, though. I did a mile at 6mph, then one at 7, then one at 6, one more at 7, and then a really slow one to cool down because I was dead. I felt like I was going to throw up the whole time. Pete says this might be because of over-heating. I was sweating a lot and they don't have any fans in there. Looking out the window didn't help either, I just felt sad that the tree I kept looking at wasn't getting any closer.

In the end I did 4 miles in 39 minutes. It was way harder than my hilly 7 miles in 1:03, and there aren't even any hills on a treadmill! What's up with that? Some people say running on a treadmill is easier than running outside. I really just hope I need to get used to it or it's going to be a really long, painful winter.

Today I went in and just did a tone/abs class. It was weird because there were only 4 of us (counting the teacher) and they were all much older than me. I felt a little silly at first and wondered if I'd even get a workout, but my abs are feeling it so I'm glad I went.

What this gym really lacks (other than fans) is a spin class. I don't know what I'm going to do about that. How could they not have spin? That's usually like the most popular class!

Catching Snowflakes

I didn't get out as much as I would have liked this week, but I did go to spin class on Thursday! I missed my good ol' Thursday spin class. It was a great class and I got a really good workout.

I made it a month and 2 days without a gym membership, and I just couldn't take it any more! I didn't get a new membership, but paid for one day plus one hour of child care for Elle. That came out to $8.50! Yikes. I can't keep that up, and I'm not going to. I just found out I can get an All County Gold membership which gets me into all the rec. centers in the Salt Lake County, along with FREE daycare! It sounds too good to be true, but that's what I'm planning on doing on Monday. Then when the new rec. center opens a block from my house, I'll be able to go there. I'm so excited to start swimming and going to spin and being able to run without rushing again!

I actually took this picture Nov. 22, but this is about what it looked like by the time I got home, maybe even a little more snow than that...

Today. I had to get out and run. It had been way too long - since Tuesday! Besides, I don't ever feel like my day is complete without a run, or some kind of workout.

It was cold, cold, cold (maybe 25-27 degrees F) so I didn't rush out the door first thing in the morning, but left at around 10:30. I only made it a few blocks before it started snowing lightly. It really didn't bother me at all, and had no effect on my running plan. After all, it was just barely snowing. I warmed up after about a mile, but I did wish I would have worn gloves because I kept needing to put my hands into my sleeves (which is fine, but gloves would have been ok too.).

I had to stop at Einstein's Bagels to use their bathroom, and I was kind of frustrated about that. I actually haven't needed to pee while running for quite a while so I was hoping I was done with that. Oh well, one time won't kill me. The bagels smelled really good to...

I ran up the hill for a few more minutes after my bathroom break. When I turned around and headed back down, the snow was starting to stick. Running down the hill in the Avenues, I got up to a 6:28 min/mile pace, and I just kept praying I wouldn't slip! It was fun to go that fast! I felt like I was flying! I kept a pretty good pace the rest of the way home, and felt really good, even to the end. Pete asked me if I could have kept that pace up for longer, and I think I could have. At least a little longer.

It was really snowing for the last few miles. Big fluffy flakes! It was so pretty! I love to watch the snowflakes come down, and I couldn't believe how happy I was to be out there in it. This is me. Someone who hates winter and hates the cold. I was thinking, "Why am I so freaking happy lately?!" (But I'm not complaining!) I just smiled at everyone I passed, and just kept on running! I felt so reckless and adventurous being out there in the snow like that, and I couldn't help but try to catch the snowflakes in my mouth as I ran. I didn't even mind too much when they'd land on my eyelashes. I'd just brush them away with the sleeve that was conveniently already over my hand.

It was a great run, I'm so glad I got to go! If I would have waited any longer, I probably wouldn't have gone with an inch of snow already on the ground.

Here are my splits (I must say, the snow sure did not slow me down, even though I was worried about slipping most of the time.):

1. 8:47
2. 9:45
3. 10:03
4. 9:13
5. 8:08
6. 8:34
7. 8:57

Total Distance: 7 miles

Total Time: 1:03

Average Pace: 9:04 min/mi (!!!)

Guys, I really am getting faster and I can hardly even stand it, I'm so excited about it!

2 More Reasons to Like Winter

Reason 1

Reason 2

Yep, that's right. I've got TWO Christmas trees this year! I had the little white one from the past two years, but I was really wanting a big, more traditional tree this year. While we were up in Heber for Thanksgiving, I was talking to my dad's awesome girlfriend, Angela, and she said she got a little tree this year because she doesn't have room for her big one any more. I mentioned (maybe a little too conveniently) that I wanted to do a big one this year. Of course she jumps right in and gives me hers! We had to cram in into the back of the Jeep to get it home, but we made it, and now we have such a beautiful tree! I love it! It looks a little sparse right now, but Angela also said she had some big ornaments that go with it that she'll give us when she finds them. I got the little tree out today for the kids to put the fun ornaments and colorful lights on.

Anyway, I really do think we have Thanksgiving, Christmas and New Years in the middle of the winter because otherwise can you imagine how depressed we'd all be in the winter without the holidays?! I've just been feeling so festive lately (is that a way someone can feel?) and excited about decorating and putting lights up for Christmas, and today was really fun because I got to go out and get ornaments and lights for my beautiful new tree!

I didn't run today, but I did yesterday despite the fact that I felt like I was going to puke in the morning. I really was getting worried that something had happened to my IUD and that I was pregnant, even to the point of going to the dollar store to look for a pregnancy test (I wasn't worried enough to pay more than $1 for it though!). They didn't have any, and by the time the afternoon came around I was feeling fine so I didn't worry about it any more. This morning I felt fine. I'm sure it was nothing.

But, oh yeah, my run. I wasn't feeling very good, but I figured a run would make me feel better, and I didn't want to take too long because Pete needed to get to work. I decided to do intervals since I haven't done that for a while. I just took Pete's Garmin to watch my distances. I did a mile to warm up, then I did 3 half-mile (800 meter) intervals with a half-mile between the first two to recover, and only a quarter-mile between 2 & 3. That was probably a mistake since it was a little slower, but that also could have been because a conference talk came on during that one and I had to click through to find a good song, it's sad how dependent on fasts songs I am to go fast. It's also sad that I have conference talks on the same ipod I use for running. What is this the dark ages?):

1. 4:02
2. 4:02
3. 4:04

I did a total of 4.18 miles in 41:16. I went pretty freaking slow when I was recovering. But, I'm happy that I was almost able to run as fast as on the indoor track for my intervals. It's harder outside.

Oh, and I didn't feel better after that run, it just made me want to puke more, but it was still fun. Am I crazy or what?