motivation

Winter and I use to be good friends. I loved the months of fluffy, white snow, icicles, sledding and snow angles. Wintertime was the highlight of my year. I still enjoy winter. I still find snow to be magical. However, the cold is really getting to me this year! And I find myself craving a long run OUTDOORS.

I do better when I run outside. The simple fact that the earlier the go, the less people I will have to pass motivates me to get up early. And if I decide to take a 3-mile loop, I can’t decide to quit running 2 miles into it, because home is still another mile away! The fresh morning air and the sun rising over the mountains are beautiful! I really enjoy running outdoors. The last time I ran outside was in December, and I came dangerously close to falling flat on my face because of black ice. So I am trying to make friends with the treadmill.

I do try to run indoors. My problem is that if I decide to run the same 3-miles, around mile 2 it is easy to just step off the treadmill and be done. So I have been trying to find my motivation for running inside. And I think I may have found it!

I have started watching “The Biggest Loser”. I have never watched an entire season before, and I am LOVING it! I watch it while I run, and can I just tell you, it is so incredibly motivating! It is the best workout I have all week! It’s awesome!

So until the weather warms up, the ice melts, and the air clears from all this pollution (doesn’t that sound heavenly), I will continue to find my motivation with the Biggest Losers!

5K Number 5

When I started running at the beginning of the summer my goal was to run five 5K races by the end of the year. Today I ran my fifth! It was a perfect day for a run, though the long sleeved shirt and pants were not a good idea. I finished at 29:01. I was hoping to improve my time more than that, but I haven’t been running as much as I should, so I really can’t complain. I think it was the last race for the year (due to the cold) but I am looking forward to running more next year! I think I may even move up to some 10K’s!

Racin' in the Snow

Today was the Red Ribbon Run against drugs. There was a 5K run, and a mile walk. My friend, Bethany, and I did the run, and I talked my family into doing the walk. All week they have been predicting snow for today, but I didn't believe it. I woke up this morning to howling wind and trees bent over. I prayed that the weather would hold off just until after the race.

Apparently it worked, because as the race was about to begin it cleared up a bit and the wind backed off. It was CHAOS! I would guess that over a thousand people showed up, even with the insanely cold weather. The 5Kers started first, so Beth and I were off. Yes, I ran in this hat. At least until it got too hot and I took it off.

As I rounded the first corner the ipod I was using died. So I ran the race musicless. My Newsies couldn't get me through. Thank goodness Bethany was with me! It actually wasn't that bad. When we had about a half mile to go it started snowing pretty hard. I was so excited. I love snow! But I can't believe that it is snowing in October.

As we approached the finish line we began to pass the mile walkers. I was looking around for my fam, and then we passed them! Dad and Karl ran with us the last half block, and we crossed the finish line as I created a new personal best - 28:44. So exciting!

My cute parents.

When we crossed the finish line we all got these medals. Madison wasn's sure how she felt about the race, or her new green marshmellow coat, but she sure liked her medal! It was so much fun! Give me another year and I will have them all running the 5K with me!

confession

I have a confession to make. When I go running, (sigh) I listen to the 'Newsies' soundtrack. It may come as a shock to some of you, but it is true. I know that most people run to music that is a bit more "cool", or some people even manage to run with no music at all (I was even told that the no music method is the best way to run). I, however, find that if I listen to myself gasping for breath, I don't get much running done. So I prefer to drown out my labored breathing by the sound of Christian Bale and Bill Pullman singing. I find it inspiring. I mean, what could be better than watching the sun rise over the mountain your running towards, while listening to 'Open the Gates and Seize the Day'? 'King of New York' is another favorite. You can pretty much always find me lip syncing the words. And if you catch me at just the right moment, when there are no cars around and I feel confident that no one is watching, there is a good chance I am dancing as I run. I just can't help it! It may be slightly dorky, but it is true. I run with the Newsies. That is all.

Duathlon . . . WE DID IT!

A couple of weeks ago my dad came home with a registration form for a duathalon. I had never heard of one before, and I still think they may have made up the word just for this event :) It is a race consisting of a 2 mile run, a 13 mile bike ride, and then another 2 mile run. There was the option to either do it individually, or on a team with one person running and the other riding. I told my dad that I would run it if he would ride it, and so we signed up!

It would have been a perfect day for the race, if it hadn't been for all of the wind. As I was doing the first 2 miles I was struggling, and I knew that my dad was going to have quite the headwind going up in the canyon. I got back, tagged him, and off he went.

Here he is riding into the finish line. He said it was the hardest ride he has ever done. Besides the wind, there are lots of hills, but he did a great job! Good job dad!

And here I am at the end. It was a very different racing experience. Because of all the switching we were quite spread out by the time we crossed the finish line. Our goal was to finish in 1 hour and 30 minutes. We almost made it. I really tried to push it at the end, but we still ended up with 1 hour, 30 minutes, and 22 seconds. 22 seconds away from our goal! But we did it! And it was lots of fun!

A running bunny and another 5K

Weeks ago I registered to run another 5K. I was really excited about it. It is a well known race with lots of people involved. I was training for it, hoping to beat my best time. Then last weekend, all at once, I got super sick. I was down for over a week, and worried that I was not going to be able to run my 5K. On Wednesday I ran for the first time since being sick, and it didn't go so well. Thursday was a bit better, and Friday better still. Definitely not up to my regular speed and energy level, but to the point where a 5K was possible. I was guessing that it would take me around 35 minutes to run the race, since on Friday it took me around 40 (which is A LOT slower than my last 5K which was just over 29 minutes, but what can you do)

Today was a perfect day for running, and the race really was cool. During my last 5K they just wrote down your times as you came in. This time I got to wear a cool chip on my ankle that was activated when I went across the starting line and then clocked my time when I came across the finish line. It looked like this.

This is at the beginning, while we are all trying to find our spot on the road. Unfortunately, you can only see my shoe. It is blue. I am behind the lady in the while tee shirt.

And this is me crossing the finish line (right hand side). Thank goodness for blurry pictures that make it so you can't see my face at this moment!

I was really excited when I came across the finish line at 29:58!!!! I made it in under 30 minutes! I was so happy! It is still 40 seconds slower than my last speed, but after being sick it is all that I could ask for!

Nesquik was one of the sponsorers of the race. They even had a mascot there. But get this, he ran the entire 5K in costume. And he finished in less than 20 minutes. Anyone who can run that fast while wearing a hot and awkward costume (look at that head!), and then walk around giving out free bottles of chocolate milk is my hero! YAY for Nesquik!

My First 5K

Today I ran my first 5K race with my friend, Marie. It was so much fun! I really wanted to prove to myself that I could do it. I have been training for it for a few weeks, and based on my times from this past week my goal was to finish in less than 33 minutes, and hopefully run the whole thing without walking breaks.

My dad and I rode our bikes out to the city park where the race began, I got my number, and off we went! It was such a cool feeling! The last time I ran in a race was in 5^th grade when they made us run a mile. This was so much more fun! The course wasn’t a difficult one, and there was only one hill, but somehow I managed to run the whole thing. It was a perfect day for running. Lots of sun, a nice breeze, truly perfect!

When I came around the last corner and started sprinting to the finish line I was shocked to see the time at less than 30 minutes still. I thought ‘That can't be right, I don't run that fast!’. Yet sure enough, my time ended up being 29:40! I was so excited! I know that to many this is not very fast, but for me it is great!

The coolest part for me to see was all of the families that were there. There was both a 5K race, as well as a mile race. Lots of families with small children were there, with everyone in the family racing. The parents and older children were doing the 5K and the younger children (even 4 year olds) ran the 1 mile. It was so cute!

Now my goal is to run four more 5K’s before the end of the year. Hopefully I can improve my time a little by the time the last race in November gets here!