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Sunday, November 29, 2009

Running With the Ho-Ho's

There is a race called the SANTA RUN that I heard about last year and really wanted to do with my friends, but we heard about it too late and couldn't get registered on time. Sooo...we all planned on doing it for sure this year! Not everyone could do it, but three of us did and we had a BLAST!!!

SANTA RUN 2009



















Click to enlarge

Me with my friends and fellow running Santa's ---Heather and Jen.































Here we are hanging with the other 297 Santas listening to instructions before the start of the race. The race was held at 4:30 p.m. right before the Holiday Light Parade.

We dressed alike and even though there were tons of others dressed just as unique, we got a lot of compliments and stares (and people taking our picture). Must have been that we were all three alike! Or possibly the socks or suspenders??? No, it had to be the cute shorts Jen made us!































They had us do SANTA WARM-UPS before the start of the race.


We did "Hat, Beard, Belly, and Boots" (a version of Head, Shoulders, Knees, and Toes) and then some calisthenics while we counted with HO-HO's. VERY FUN!

























On our marks... get set...

GO!!!!! We are just to the right of the yellow stroller. The first green light is above Jen's head. Look for the socks! lol (click to enlarge)





















We are seriously having TOO MUCH FUN! Okay, not seriously...we took nothing serious about this race at all!















The 5K route (3.1 miles) went down four blocks and then turned back the other way and repeated three times along the Holiday Light Parade route.

We saw a lot of interesting sights along the way!
















As I said before, we didn't take this race seriously. We all carried our cameras and stopped A LOT to take tons of photos. Jen cracked me up because she wanted to NOT SWEAT because she knew we would be freezing by the time the parade started that we were all staying to watch. A good idea, but not really possible in a 5K...even when you are stopping a lot and not pushing it.



The aid stations had cute little elves serving COOKIES and MILK!!!






















Yes, we had to stop and take our photo with the Santa's little helper and PRETEND we are eating the cookies and milk. They just don't sit well in your stomach when you are running a race... but cute idea anyway!!!

One of Santa's larger elves....




































Yes, another stop! We just HAD to take our picture with this band!!!


















Back to the pavement.....



















We turned a corner and saw the FINISH LINE. For some reason this race seemed longer than most 5K's. Hmm...I wonder if it's because we stopped to take photos so much?!!! As you can see below, sometimes we didn't even stop to take the photo!














Our time was pathetic, but all in all not too bad considering all our stops! lol





































We had to stand in line after crossing the finish line to turn in our race number. That's a first.


Some photographer guy that stalked us the entire race, asked if he could photograph us after we finished.
















MY cheerleaders!!! AND action photographer!
















It was just a little windy at times!!!















Look who we found!!! ↓ He was just walking down the street as if some normal pedestrian. We stopped and asked if we could have our photo with him. He said sure. He was the REAL thing! It was HIM, I know it!





















A little later Jen took her son Logan over to see him and look what he gave her!!! ↓ SEE I TOLD YOU! I JUST KNEW IT!!! It IS him!!!!










We stayed and watched the Holiday Light Parade. HUGE crowds even though it was FREEZING!!!





















After the parade (well, after WE had seen enough) we all walked to Costa Vida to eat dinner.
















A HO-HO time was had by all!!! I can't wait for next year!!!

Tuesday, November 10, 2009

I am still alive...really

You know there's been ENOUGH winter when...























Slacker Slacker Slacker!!!

ME!


This winter has been a bigger challenge to keep running for me than last year. Last year I was out in the very freezin' temps nearly every day. I was a he-woman! This year I have been a she-man. Not sure what that means but it seems like it would be the opposite of he-woman and so I am going to use it.


Last year my cut off temp was 11 degrees. This year it started about 28 and then kept going up, and now it's about 40! I am not a fan of the cold. I did my best and went out as frequently as my wimpy body would tolerate, but then I discovered the treadmill. I have never owned a treadmill. Now I know why. When the weather got to be too dangerous with ice packed roads and snow covered streets, I decided to stay at the gym after my Body Sculpt (weight training) class and run on the treadmill. I never run farther than about three miles on it though and so I know I am losing some of my stamina. I have learned one thing though....I HATE THE TREADMILL!I don't like to see how far I still have left to go when I am already feeling like killing over. When I am outside running it isn't an issue how much time I have left. I know how much farther I have to go and that has never been something I focus on when I am outside. There is something to be said for fresh air and being out in the world around others. They also added two cardio classes at the gym that I attend each week that helps to substitute for a couple of runs. I enjoy them even if it is a pain to get up at 5:30 a.m. five days a week now.

There hasn't been any races to train for either and so that has contributed to my lack of motivation to get out as well. I was asked to be part of a team for the Wasatch Back in June or July and I am having serious doubts if I can do it or not. It sounds very grueling, in many ways harder than a marathon. I have been really stressing about that.

I just want winter to END so I can get back out there and enjoy my runs again! Has anyone else ever got in a winter rut before? I hope I haven't lost too much in my slump!

Wednesday, November 4, 2009

I'M BACK!!!! I FIXED IT!!!! YIPEE!!!

Well, I have been AWOL from this blog for NINE MONTHS!!!! Yes NINE!!!! That is because I lost the ability to see and read the posts! Yes, this little section of what you are currently reading simply....

VANISHED! DISAPPEARED! VAMOOSHED!

I really had NO idea what happened. It is impossible to get a hold of blogger and so I asked other bloggers but no one had any idea.

Then the other night as I was laying in bed, the thought occured to me to take off the last post to see if that had some glitch in it that may have caused it. I honestly didn't think it would help, but VIOLA! back to normal! YEA!!!! It was the photo in the post that seemed to be the problem. No more picture! Small price to pay to have my blog back!

Now the problem will be to see if I can keep it updated! I have slacked off with my regular one and so I hope I can keep this one going. The other problem is I am positive I have lost ALL my readers...of course! Oh well, maybe someone will stumble onto it and find something worth commenting on!

YIPPEE!!!!!

Monday, September 7, 2009

Peach Days 10K

This year I ran my third Peach Days 10K. I was not as prepared for it this year as the last two years, but what the heck, I did it anyway.















Heading out the door↑



"Trying" to head out the door! ↓ Yes I am on the phone! Talking to Sego Lily telling them I am going to be needing a massage soon! :D

















In the parking lot before the race...getting ready to make a run for it.

















I really wish I had a picture of the racers all lined up before the gun went off. There were a LOT of racers again this year! Almost 400! The conditions were NOT very conducive to getting a good time because the WIND was just blowing and pushing so hard. The temp was perfect, but the WIND was a pain! Running against the wind is one of the hardest and most grueling energy depleters there is for a runner. It's ten times worse when it's uphill! There is a part on the course that has a killer uphill, and this year, the wind happened to be the worst at that point.

I was trying so hard to get catch up to a couple of big guys so they could break the wind for me. I kept pushing it and pushing it so I could. Going uphill on the hardest part of the course is not a good idea when the wind is blowing so hard against you. I felt like I was running in slow motion because even though I was really pushing it, it felt like I was barely moving. When I finally got behind my big wind breakers, I didn't notice any change. Other than I was exhausted! Luckily after I reached the top of the hill, I had about half mile of downhill to recover.














Still running. This was just after the hard hill and wind! Only about half way. That's why I'm still smiling and giving the thumbs up.















The course goes right past my cul-de-sac. Almost to my house. So tempting to go up and grab some Gatorade and a little nap!

The last part of the race is a steady TWO mile uphill climb that you run in front of the parade spectators. The good thing about it is that there are so many people cheering you on when you need it the most. The bad thing is that if you want to quit, you don't dare! Well, maybe that's a good thing too!



I have to admit, this was the FIRST race I have ever ran that I honestly wanted to quit. Either that or DIE first!!! Not even the two half marathons were this hard. I was really feeling it and wasn't sure if I had it in me what it took to cross that finish line this year. I kept pushing it and began looking for my fam. My sister-in-law told me where she was going to be saving a spot for all of us. When I finally got to that point, I saw her on her cell phone and a male runner that had just collapsed laying on her tarp. He didn't look so good, but I kept going knowing she had it under control. Each year, there are runners that collapse or are taken off in an ambulance. I have to admit the thought crossed my mind that if I fake a collapse then I won't have to finish this! In fact, I was beginning to think I might not need to "fake" it. As I kept running uphill towards that much desired finish line, an ambulance came rushing by me. I was certain it was going to the man on my SIL's tarp. I was right. (See sidenote at bottom)



I don't know where it came from, but I found what I needed to cross the finish line. It was hard. It was very hard, but I did it. I don't know what made it so tough for me this year, other than the wind. Most runners were complaining about how much harder it felt this year. The Peach Days course is touted as the hardest 10K in the state. Runners come from all over for the challenge. This year there were runners from Canada, New York, Hollywood, and all over the west.



My friend Mont (on right) about to storm across the finish line.















Oh! Almost there! NOTHING has looked this good to me in a very long time!!!















I REALLY wanted to beat my last year's time. Just missed it by a minute! Guess that's not too bad considering the wind really slowed me down. At this point, all I wanted was to STOP running!!!














WATER! I NEED water!!! This is the first race EVER that I sat down! It was also the first ever that I felt nauseated after I stopped. I was feeling EVERY inch of those six miles! Luckily, I started to feel much better after about 20 minutes.




















Wow! Even a smile! Jen, ALWAYS my supportive friend, asking me how it went.














Survivors of the grueling 2009 Peach Days torture run! ↓

Julie, Mont, and me. Mont is holding our pal Mike's number because he had to "dash" off.




So happy we made it and lived to tell about it! And I am NOT joking about this either!!! (read SIDENOTE at bottom)














The best part was I got a MEDAL!!!! I placed third in my age division! WOOT-WOOT!!! I was sooooooooo happy!!! Was NOT expecting that!!! I came in 153rd out of 389 runners! Not bad, for an old woman!!! Especially considering the majority of runners are much younger than I am! Well, I don't want to emphasize "much", but you know what I mean! Ha!



















Me and my medal!!!!


Another Peach Days 10K down! I hope next year's is a little more of a fun run! Fun run? Did I say that? I am sure that's an oxymoron!



VERY SAD SIDENOTE:
The runner that collapsed and was laying on my SIL's tarp, didn't make it. He stopped breathing and the paramedics were unable to revive him. He was only 32 years old (I believe) and a seasoned runner. He ultimately died of cardiac arrest, but I still haven't heard the report on the autopsy. It has been very hard on my sister in law as she was the one that saw him start to stagger in the road and so she went up to him and asked if he was okay. He didn't respond and so she helped get him off the road and onto her tarp. He collapsed on her before she could get him all the way off the street. Several people started CPR, but were never able to get a pulse. Once the ambulance arrived, they shocked his heart, but no avail. It was very sad. Isn't running supposed to be GOOD for you???