Rock N' Roll San Diego Marathon 2013

Saturday we drove into San Diego and headed right to the race expo.  It was cray cray!!  I got my bib and such without having to wait in a line which was awesome.  Then it got a little crazy, there were oodles o’ people which made it hard to walk around.  We did stop by Pro Compression’s booth to say hi to Mike, what a fine young lad.

#keepittight

Sunday I woke up at 3:50 a.m. and Jake drove me to the starting line.  We were quite fortunate to be some of the first ones there because an officer let Jake drive on closed roads to get me to the start…AWESOME!  Jake had said that he would wait with me for a bit but to find a park would have been near impossible so I sent him on his way.  There were lots of people around so I felt safe.  As soon as Jake drove off a photographer asked me to take my sweatshirt off, to which I replied “Are you some sort of a pervert!”  He thought that was pretty funny and said, “A minute ago I had to ask a girl to take her pants off!”  We had a fine chuckle, he took my picture and that was that.

Once the photographer got me with my shirt off I realized that it wasn’t cold at all, it was 63 degrees and felt great.  I sat on the grass and watched all the people.   I do so love me some people watching!  Everything was so organized.  They had 26 or so UPS trucks alphabetized for the bag drop.  I walked to the end of the million trucks, dropped my bag and headed to the corrals. 

I had no idea what corral I was in so I asked some people.  They looked at my bib and said “You are in corral 3, you must be fast…you’ve practically already won the race.”  That made me feel good, I don’t think I’m fast at all but I’ll take the compliment and run…literally!

The music was blaring and I was ready to go.  There was a moment of silence in remembrance of Boston and we were off.  I went into this race without any goals at all besides finishing.  I didn’t know what to expect seems how I had just done 26.2 miles 2 weeks prior.  I started behind the 3:55 pacer and was content to stay there.

At .2 mile there was a guy standing with a sign that said “Only 26 miles to go!”  I was ready for it.  There was also a guy running who was dribbling 2 basketballs.  I guess he likes to go balls to the walls on his races.  He ran the whole race like that…#weird ;)

The first mile was slow because of all the people and I didn’t feel like weaving so I just went with the flow.  I ran without my music for the first 13 miles and just listened to people around me and soaked in my surroundings.

I was feeling really good so I glanced at my watch at mile 3 and it was a 7:23 min mile…what?  I didn’t feel like I was pushing it at all.  I told myself to slow down, I didn’t want to go crazy and end up bonking and hating it.  I felt like I slowed down but the next mile was another 7:23.  I decided that I had better start paying closer attention to my time, I had to slow down.

I think it was at about mile 10 that I saw the winner heading the opposite direction, I cheered for him and ran on.  It was fun to see him flying by!

There were LOTS of hills, it was a pretty tough course.  This wasn’t a Utah race that sends you running down a canyon.   Even the winner thought it was a tough course.   “I am excited to win,” said the 32-year-old Njoroge, who went through halfway in 1:05:03 but slowed during the course’s hillier second half. “I ran just to win but I am also happy with the time because this course was hard. Really hard.”

I fueled every 5 miles with 3 Shot Blocks and I made myself take water at every aid station.  It was quite humid so I started drinking half of the water and dumping the rest on my head.  I never felt really hot though, the sun wasn’t out so it felt awesome.

We ran around Mission Bay which was gorgeous…loved it!  I started to feel really good and started passing people left and right.  I kept it steady, I was still afraid of going too fast and hitting the wall.  I hit the wall BAD at Ogden and didn’t want to do that again.

People kept telling me that I looked strong and to keep it up.  It’s always nice when people look at you with huge smiles and encouragement rather than like they feel sorry for you because you look miserable :)  

I heard some people say that they didn’t love the course but I love San Diego so I enjoyed every minute of it.  Well, I didn’t love the 2 mile hill at mile 20…#RUDE!  We were running on the freeway straight uphill for 2 miles.  A ton of people were walking but I refused to walk, I eat hills for breakfast ;)

I figured that once the 2 mile hill was over it would be downhill or flat…NOPE!  Hill after hill after hill after hill!  Back at about mile 18 I thought that I may just have a chance at a 3:30 marathon.  I hadn’t wanted to push before then for fear that I would bonk.  When I finally felt like I was close enough to being done to push the hills wouldn’t let up.

Mile 22 to almost mile 26 there were rolling hills, my legs were starting to feel it but I knew I could stay strong until the end.  Of course, I was a sure that every hill I ran would be my last so I would power up it just to get to another one.

There was a nice downhill to the finish so I let the hill carry me and went pretty fast.  I ended up finishing in 3:35:35, Lou said that I ran 26.43 miles.  #UltraMarathon ;)

Not sure what was going on here.

I didn’t go into this race for a PR so I didn’t care.  I just kept running and enjoying myself.  They had bands every mile and HUGE cheer sections, it was amazing.  Such a fun race! 

I am super photogenic.  Check out that HUGE rose my familia gave me.

 I was shocked that my body allowed me to do what I did.  It could have been the elevation.  It could have been that Ogden was just a craptastic training run for this one.  Who knows?  Had I known when I started that I was going to feel so good throughout the race I would have allowed myself to do the early miles a tad bit faster.  There was never a point during the race that I felt uncomfortable, I didn’t feel like I was “racing” I was simply enjoying the run.  Maybe I should move to San Diego…it does a body good!

I was a soaking wet mess.  They handed out sopping wet towels at the finish.

That rose is nearly as big as mama's head!

My family found me stretching by a tree soon after I finished.  My parents have never seen me finish at a race so it was fun to have them there.  It was Kobe’s 10^th birthday so I gave him a huge sweaty hug.  I ran every single mile for him and thought about how I was in the operating room having him at the exact same time that I was racing.  Heck if I could make it through the pain of that day I could make it through anything ;)

Another beauty shot.  I really should be a super model ;)

This race may just be my new favorite!

I attempted to take an ice bath in the ocean…I don’t get in the ocean so that was kind of a big deal.  Unfortunately the water wasn’t very cold.  We went to Coronado which was beautiful.  I think the reason I was able to stay in the ocean as long as I did was because the water was clear, I could see what was lurking in the water.

I’m still on a runner’s high from this race and hope to do more Rock N’ Roll marathons in the future. 

Mike got some great pictures but I can't seem to make them work, sorry for the lack of pics.  I had some good race photos too but who wants to pay $70 for pictures???  NOT ME!  I think that if these picture company's would let you buy your images for $20 they'd make a whole lot more money...just sayin'!

Run of Remembrance 5K 2013

On Monday the whole fam damily did the Run of Remembrance 5K and it was #AWESOME!  I ran it with Kobe which is pretty much my favorite thing EVA.   When the gun went off Jake, Kobe and I started together.  McKenna, Kaden and Steph Numero Dos started together.

#ItBeBright

The first mile was VERY congested so we had a 9 minute mile.  Holly caught up to us with her buggy and Jackson.  I told Kobe to set the pace where he felt comfortable.   The second mile was a 8:34 minute mile and that was with a big hill.  Kobe had said that he wanted to slow down on the hill by the cemetery, it’s a BIG one!  When we got to the hill I told Kobe to think of my daddy who was up in heaven looking down on us, surely he would give us his strength.  As soon as I said that Kobe got a little burst of energy and zipped right up the hill.  I’m guessing this is where we lost Holly, Jake and Jackson.

My cute boy...love him to pieces!

I thought I had it rough having such short legs I can only imagine how hard Koko had to work!

I loved running through the cemetery with all the flags lined up.  I really loved after the cemetery because it had a nice downhill.  We cruised down the hill and again Kobe said that he wanted to slow down, so we did.   Soon after that we passed a guy who was talking to his little boy, he was saying that the pain would only last for a minute and to keep pushing.  And with that Kobe zipped off again.  I wondered if I could keep up for a minute.  I told him to hold off for a little bit so that he could finish strong.  We got to the firehouse and I told Kobe that once we turned the corner to go for it. 

We turned the corner and he started to sprint…then he slowed down so I told him we were almost there and to keep pushing…so he did.  People were cheering for the little feller and I loved it.  We sprinted to the finish in 25:30, the last mile was a 7:33. 

Kobe shaved a few minutes off of last years time which I believe was in the 27 minute zone.  He did awesome!  I wish I could run with him every.single.day!  

Jake and Holly finished right behind us, around 27 minutes I think.  Jake made Run of Remembrance's Facebook page and it is AWESOME...so I stole borrowed it!

He is flying, I wish I looked like that when I run...without the goofy face ;)

Group shot!  Kaden, Jack Jack, Nicolas, Jorge, Holly, Jake, Steph Numero Dos, Koko, Steph Numero Uno and Kenna Corn!

Silly kids!

Holly and I ran back for Kenna and Kaden, they were grinning from ear to ear!  I can't remember when they finished maybe around 32:00, they did great.  

Watching Nicolas finish his first 5K was awesome, he is such a cute little guy!

#I'mADork

LOVE!!!

MUH!

If only Kobe could run my marathon with me on Sunday.  I'm doing the San Diego Rock N' Roll Marathon all alone.  Sunday is Kobe's 10th birthday so I may just run every single mile for him, hopefully he can run with me for a little of it but who knows.

I've never done 2 marathons so close before so I'm a little nervous. I've been feeling good though so hopefully I don't die!

I have no time goals, my only goal is to go have fun and take in all of the sights.  I love, love, love San Diego.

We are spending the week with my parents going to Sea World, the beach, Disneyland and whatever else we feel like doing.  It is sure to be a partay, I'm so grateful to have such loving parents that take us on awesome trips. What a great way to start off the summer :) 

Ogden Marathon 2013

Considering the kind of day I had on Saturday, May 18th I really had no intentions on doing a post, obviously since it's been 2 weeks...#FAIL.  This race was nothing short of craptastic for me, the race itself was AWESOME, very well organized and everything from the packet pick up to the finish line was perfect. 

This is the only picture I have from this race!  I hope you like my HUGE muscles :)

I had done quite a few things different leading up to this race to insure a PR, too bad for me it didn't work!

Looking back on DailyMile I realized that I was a complete idiot leading up to my last 2 marathons, can't remember what I did before DailyMile but it was probably more of the same.  I came up with a fabu plan for the week that would leave me well rested and ready to run.
Monday-Shoulders and abs with a 3 mile run.
Tuesday-Chest, triceps, back and biceps with a 3 mile run.
Wednesday-Core workout with an hour long spin class. NIGHT-Jorge's House of Pain(massage)
Thursday-Slept in and rode my spin bike for about an hour.  Yoga at night.
Friday-Slept in, rode the spin bike for 40 minutes and did a 2.25 mile run. NIGHT-P90X stretch

I also watched everything I ate and had my feedings every 3 hours I'm a hungry little gal!  I can't think of anything more I could have done to set myself up for a good race.  I had a good solid 5 hours of sleep before my 2:50 a.m. wake up call.  Got all ready and Holly and Jorge picked my sorry butt up at 3:30.  We drove up to Ogden, about an hour long drive.  I felt ready to run and have a grrrreat time.

We met up with Josh, Joanna, Dr. Lloyd, Joanna's friend and Paul.  We said goodbye to Pam (who was supposed to run but is injured) and Ashley (She be prego)!

The wait at the starting line was beautiful.  It wasn't raining...yet and it wasn't very cold.  We had a great time and then it was time to line up.  We had talked to Bill about pacing us to a sub 3:30 finish and we finally found him at the starting line.  By this time it was raining and it rained for the remainder of the race, seriously?!?

For the first 7 miles we were right on track, we had banked a little time and we kept a good pace.  My heart rate was good, I felt like I could maintain the pace for the remainder of the race.  Then I started feeling weird.  My quads were frozen and I felt like I couldn't control my legs, I didn't know how I was still running.  My body didn't really feel cold but my quads did...weird.  I tried to pay attention to my form, I prayed...a lot!  I was slowing down and I knew it.  At mile 8 Holly asked how I was, I sarcastically said that I was good.  She admitted that her legs felt the same as mine and from there it was all downhill.  I don't mean that the course was downhill at this point, but our pace was!

Mile 16 was for McKenna and I'm so glad it was.  It was a beautiful mile, painful but then again Kenna has experienced a lot of physical pain this past year so I sucked it up and kept going.
I was having a VERY hard time eating or drinking much of anything.  I think I wanted my PR so bad that trying to get my fuel was taking too much energy so I just gave up on it.  At one point Holly said to refuel before our big hill near mile 13.  I got my Sport Beans out and ran holding the bag until mile 17 when I finally decided that I HAD to eat some.  By mile 16 my stomach starting getting VERY angry!!!  My stomach NEVER hurts during marathons...ever.  We had finally reached the downhill, fast part of the race and my legs wanted nothing to do with any of it.  It felt better to run uphill but unfortunately the rest of the course was pretty much straight downhill.

Around mile 17 Holly threw her pace band as a souvenir for Jorge, I wonder if he ever saw it?!?  We were hating it but kept plugging along.  I thought to myself "Wow people must be feeling really good, they must have saved themselves for the downhill."  No IDIOT, you are slowing down, waaaaay down.  Our splits are actually quite comical.

I had to take a potty break at mile 21-ish, which I shouldn't have even bothered.  Thought it might help my tummy issues but nope!  At mile 22 we saw Pam and we were a mess.  We were all bawling all over the place, we wanted to stop to give her a hug but she yelled at us to keep going.  We love Pam!!!

At mile 24 a lovely man offered us cookies, did I hear him right?!?  Yes, yes I did and grabbed one and went on my way.  I wasn't sure what it would do to my tummy but at this point I really didn't think it could get much worse so why not.

Mile 25-26.2 were for Kobe, Pam and Holly's Aunt Leslie and late Uncle Dave.  I wanted to walk soooooo bad!  We chanted Kobe, Pam, Leslie, Dave!  We kept repeating that and somehow it helped.  We saw the Ogden Temple and I told Angel Moroni to play his horn...louder I can't hear it!!!  At this point I think we were both hallucinating, here came the unicorns and Smurfs ;)

We saw Jake, Kobe, McKenna, Jenne, Kenya and Kaiya cheering for us.  They had made signs and it really meant a lot that they had all come out in the pouring rain to cheer for us.

As soon as we crossed the finish line I saw a table with water bottles and COKE!!!  I yelled, “I NEED A COKE!”  I don’t even like Coke but at that moment that was all I wanted.   We got our medals, took a couple of goofy pictures, spilled Coke on my shoes and then Jake and the rest of the fam found us.  We were freezing!  Jake, being the gentleman that he is, gave me his hoodie.  Then me, being the gentlewoman that I am, shared it with Holly…it was a big hoodie!  We got our drop bags and got outta there as fast as we could.

We ended up finishing in 3:42:17, only 12+ minutes off our goal time…POOP! 

7 Mi:	54:51 Pace: 7:51
Half:	1:45:27 Pace: 8:03
18 Mi:	2:26:47 Pace: 8:10
23.1 M	3:12:33 Pace: 8:21

Average pace was 8:29

Since it has been 2 weeks and I’ve had time to search, ponder and pray about this :) I have decided that although we didn’t reach our goal at least we didn’t quit!  We were smart enough to listen to our bodies and slow down.  I knew I had another marathon in 2 weeks that I REALLY didn’t want to miss because of a stupid injury!  I’ve come to the conclusion that maybe I’ve already had my glory day in the hot sun maybe my current PR will remain my PR forever.

With all that being said, I would HIGHLY recommend this race!  The biggest thing I noticed was that there was no weaving in and out of a huge crowd when the race started.  I have NEVER ran a race like that.  The course was beautiful and for Pete’s sake they had Otis Spunkmeyer cookies and Coke. 

I didn't get even one picture from this race, not even a pre race outfit shot, nothing….lame!

Dino Half Marathon 2013

You know those races that you love beyond what words can describe?!?  That would be today's Dino Half Marathon.  We ran down a canyon in Vernal, UT...yep I said Vernal.  It was so beautiful and the course was perfect.  Just the right amount of downhill, along with some rolling hills.  The temperature was PERFECT.  It was freezing cold at the starting line but once we got going I warmed up fast.  

RYR Pacers with all our razzmatazz!!! Pic borrowed from RunYourRace Pacers of Utah FB page

#keepittight Me, Holly, Jorge and Josh are rocking our Lime Green Pro Compression socks!

It was a pretty small race with just about 200 runners which I quite enjoyed.  There were some complaints at the starting line about there not being enough potties but really for the amount of runners we should have been fine.  People were staying in the Honey Buckets for like 20 minutes and I'm not exaggerating.  The lines weren't long at all, people were just taking their sweet time.

I was set to pace the 1:45 group and for the first time I had a follower by mile 2.  Her name was Kelli and this was her first half marathon.  She had started in the back of the pack so she was about 2 minutes off of my time.  She had mentioned that her husband, Parker, was running the race also.  Within a mile or so Parker caught up to us and the 3 of us ran together for a majority of the race.  No one else, just us :)

At mile 6.2 they had what they called the Sprintasaurus race, it was a half mile stretch where the fastest runner would win an award.  I thought that was a fun thing to do, you didn't have to run the fastest 13.1 miles to win an award just .50 mile.  I made sure Kelli and Parker knew about the Sprintasaurus and encouraged them to go with how they were feeling, I was going to stay at a steady pace.  Kelli wanted to stay with me but Parker zipped off.

For the first time ever I was pretty much right on pace the whole race...yay me!  The miles clicked by so fast, my pace felt awesome the entire time and I loved every minute of it.  At about mile 10 Kelli started falling behind, I tried encouraging her but could tell she was getting tired.  I had to go on ahead, after all I didn't want to get fired!  Plus, I knew she was a good 2 minutes faster than my time because of our different start times.

I had slowed down a bit hoping that Kelli would catch up so I had some time to make up.  I zipped by a couple of people and then saw Holly coming back to run with me.  When we got to the last little stretch McKenna, Kobe and Kaden ran me in.  I just LOVE having my family at races and I especially love when they run with me :) I finished in 1:44:52, according to Lou my Garmin!

I handed Jake my medal and ran back to find Parker and Kelli.  Parker was right behind me and Kelli was right behind him.  They both did AMAZING, especially considering that this was their first half.  They both got 2nd place in their age division, so awesome!!!  Did I mention that Kelli had a baby 6 months ago, she is awesome!!!

Parker, me (a people McNugget) and Kelli

I was surprised to see Jake volunteering at the finish line, what a gem!!!  He took his job very seriously too.  I wanted to get a picture with Kelli and Parker and had to convince him that it would be okay if he left his station for a minute.  Jake was awesome to help out.  My kids helped too.  They filled cups of water and Powerade and Kobe cut up some bananas.  I had to put a stop to that right quick before he chopped his ding dang hand off.  It was frightening!!

Then we had a little fun... 

Koko and Dino

Oh how I love my cornies!

We busted out our Monica poses

Me and Holly

Our 1st attempt at a jumping picture...we should have stopped there :)

We got Josh to join us for a "jumping" picture but we just look like a bunch weirdos.

Uh oh, that one was even worse :D hahaha, raise the roof!  Maybe we were doing a squat assessment???

We got showered up and headed to the Dinosaur Museum!  We were nearly eaten alive

but don't worry we got away.  It's a good thing I have my water bottle...that looks weird!  Hydrate, hydrate, hydrate!

Lovely family photo! 

I was impersonating the Stegosaurus and got some strange looks.  My leg was supposed to look like my tail...duh!  Okay I'll admit it, I was high...on ENDORPHINS!!

Kobe, Kaden and McKenna...they are special!

We had a great time, the race was AMAZING!!!!

Oh yea, I almost forgot the best part.  I won a pair of Pro Compression marathon socks in our pacer team raffle.  I do so love me some Pro Compression! #keepittight

If this doesn't make any sense or if there are 576,489 grammatical errors please forgive me, I got little sleep last night!

Salt Lake City Half Marathon 2013

I was a good girl and got everything all laid out the night before the race just like I always do.

Black tank top, black skirt, my Boston shirt (to represent), Shamrock Pro Compression (people on the Facebook were saying to wear green to honor Boston...gladly, any excuse to bust out my lucky socks) and of course my beloved Kinvara's.  Matching is overrated people!

Holly, Jorge and I headed up to SLC at 4:30 this morning.  It was raining but for some stupid reason I believed the weather reports and assumed it would stop or be a slight drizzle by the time the race started.  I'm sure you all know what happens when you assume :)

We hung out under a big ol' tent until it was time to head to the starting line.

We're glowing and I'm Satan ;)

#keepittight

I added this shirt to my ensemble that I got from the founder of Altra at the starting line.

The Back

I guess you'll just have to turn your computer on its side cause I tried to flip the ding dang picture 3 times but for some reason it wants to stay on its side, whatever!

Right before the start they had a moment of silence and then blasted Sweet Caroline as a little tribute to Boston, it was awesome.  There were quite a few runners there that had just done Boston on Monday, some even did the FULL.  That's hardcore baby!  One guy even ran carrying an American Flag the whole race.

The bomb squad was at the starting line and there were helicopters flying around.  There were more cops than I've ever seen at a race before.  Almost every corner had at least one cop.  Holly and I tried to thank as many of them as we could.

So did I mention that it was raining?!?  Yes, it rained and then it rained harder and then it poured and then it turned into more of a hail.  As we were running I actually quite enjoyed the rain, it reminded me of TOU...I LOVED that race!!!  I could have done with out the wind though.

There were a lot of people cheering along the course, they actually cheered, that's kinda rare for Utah!  It was such a fun run.  Holly and I photo bombed a news anchor doing a story :D  I yelled "Woohoo!"  And Holly said, "Hello, news anchor man!"  He actually stopped his story and the camera guy got us, too bad I have no idea what channel he was with.

Holly was pacing the 1:45 group and I "helped" her.  A lot of help I was though because Lou, my dumb Garmin, froze up on me and never started.  I tried everything but he wouldn't listen, lame!  I need to write a letter :)

We finished in 1:44:59 pretty much nailed it, AWESOME!!!

This is where it all went down hill.  First we broke a photographers camera with our beauty ;) sorry dude!

Then we realized how freaking freezing it was.  All I wanted to do was get on a bus and get to Holly's car ASAP!  That didn't happen.

We waited forever to get Holly's drop bag and tried to figure out how to get back to her car.  We saw signs that supposedly led to a shuttle to get us to TRAX.  Never found the flippity flappin' shuttle.  We walked past some motorcycle cops and I asked if I could borrow their motorbike for a minute.  They didn't seem too amused and assured me that I wouldn't be any warmer on the motorbike.  True 'dat but it would have gotten me to the TRAX train a whole heckuva lot faster than walking 20 blocks, or 6 but who was counting.  I know 6 blocks doesn't sound like a lot but when you are frozen to the bone it seems like 20 miles.  All I wanted to do was lay down and cry, I was miserable.  Wearing layer upon layer of soaking wet clothes, socks and shoes after finishing 13.1 miles is no fun!

We finally made it to the TRAX loading station and sat there for about 20 minutes...dying!  After an hour and a half we were finally back to the car.  Even with the heat cranked up, seat warmers and blankets we were still frozen when we got home 50 minutes later.  I do declare that we were suffering from some kind of hypo!

I loved the race but the shuttle situation at the finish area was a big ol' #FAIL!

I think it's funny that last year at Boston we got an aluminum blanket...when it was 90 degrees but today when it was 40 degrees and pouring rain we got nothing #FAIL! 

 Shoot, I plum forgot to get my Beer...oh well ;)

Here's a picture of the marathon winners

The guy on the far right, you know the one with the HUGE muscles, that is Mr. Seth Wold!  I used to work with him, he is pretty much the nicest guy in town aaaaand he is super speedy!  YAY Seth!



Runner's Unite!

"If you're trying to defeat the human spirit, marathoners are the wrong group to target."Mighty Brighties

 

I want to do a post but don't really know what to say.

Yesterday I thought about my Boston experience all day. I thought about what a wonderful trip we had.

You can read my Boston post HERE!

We went to Fenway Park which was awesome!

We found the Athletes' Village the night before the race and had some fun.

I think Holly was telling me to bow to her...so I did, I'm very obedient!

Here we are after 26.2 very HOT and quite miserable miles.  I'll take it though.  It was a great experience that I will never forget.

  Yesterday I couldn't wait to get home from work to read everyone's FB updates and blog posts.  Then I got a text from Jake telling me what had happened.  The remainder of the day I got Facebook messages, text messages and phone calls from people saying how glad they were that I wasn't running it this year.  To say that I felt loved would be a bit of an understatement.  To say that I felt honored that people associate me with the Boston Marathon would be a HUGE understatement.

It's so sad that there is so much evil in the world.  As soon as I heard what happened yesterday all I could think, was why on earth would anyone want to hurt runners?  We are pretty much the jolliest, nicest people around.  In most cases, you see another runner and you either smile or say hello.  You may even try to give each other a high five, just like the dude flying down the canyon on Saturday tried to do to me.  I didn't dare give him five for fear that I would end up in the river...the dude was FLYING!  I did give him a fine smile though :)

I then realized that people kill innocent children while they are at school, innocent people sitting in a movie theater and innocent people shopping at the mall.  It's pretty sad that we really aren't safe anywhere.  I never would have even thought to be scared at a race.

Last year Jake and Jorge were standing under all of the flags which is where the first bomb went off.  As soon as I watched the video and saw where it happened I started to cry.  I can't imagine the fear that everyone felt.  To go from being over joyed to have just finished the Boston Marathon to pure terror. 

 

Who knows why on earth someone decided to target a marathon.  But if their intent was to scare people from doing races they have failed miserably.  Runner's are uniting together more than ever!

I am running the Salt Lake City Half Marathon on Saturday.  Is there a tiny bit of fear?  If I said no I would be lying, but guess what?  Life goes on, we can't live in fear and we certainly can't let some psycho win.

My prayers go out to all those affected by this horrible act of terrorism.

Koko and I wore our race shirts today!

 

A Special Deal For You!!

I said that if I heard of a promo code for Aspaeris compression shorts that I would share it and I am a woman who keeps my word...most of the time.  So here you go, use the code word SPRING and get 40% off at Aspaerispivotshorts.com !!  Yahoo for compression.

Speaking of Aspaeris Pivot Shorts, it just so happened that I wore mine this morning for my 5 X mile repeats.  They really do help you to keep good running form :)  Now I need to wash them up right quick so I can wear them later on to recover in, or better yet I should use that fancy code and order me some more!

I am SUPER excited about an upcoming race that I am pacing, it's the Dino Half in Vernal, UT.  What's in Vernal Utah you might ask?!?  Well, apparently a beautiful canyon and DINOSAURS of course.  I wanted to do this race last year but wasn't able to, so I am really looking forward to it this year. 

Borrowed from Dino's FB page!

Here is what the medal will look like.  I'm going to have to fight Kobe off of this one.

I believe there is a kids race as well.

I happen to have a promo code for this as well.  Use promo code Dino5 and receive $5 off!  Go to Dino Half.com  I would love to have some fun friends there to pace :)

Jorge also worked out a deal for everyone to go to the Dinosaur museum after the race for only $3 per person, just use promo code "RYRpacers" for the special rate.

It's sure to be a party so come on out to Vernal for a weekend of fun!

Just watch for stray dino's running about the city, they might get ya'!