Cross Stitching Update

I know you all have been wondering how my cross-stitching is going. :) I finally finished the school house that I started a long time ago. Ta-da!!

I still have to clean it, stretch it, and frame it, but here it is. And some close ups...

Greenville Marathon

I started training for the Greenville Marathon about 4 months ago. My goal at the beginning of training was to be able to run a sub-4 marathon in Greenville. I had already signed up for the Goblin Valley 50k which was the week before, so I knew I would be running on very tired legs. I was pretty confident that my fresh, rested legs would be able to run the sub-4, but I wasn't sure at all about running on dead, tired legs. But I continued with the training. During training, I had a couple more bouts of tonsillitis (which takes a lot out of me), but I finally got to a point where I was like, "Okay, I might get a sub-4 this time". I was not feeling 100%, but knew that I could gut it out if I was close.


Anyway, I started the taper for Goblin Valley so I'd be able to at least go into that with fresh legs. I ran the 50k and had some knee issues, but otherwise felt pretty good. Then I woke up the next morning... Coughing, sneezing, sore throat. My sister-in-law, Jen, was really sick going into the 50k, but she did it anyway--drugged up and all. It was probably just a coincidence that Melanie, Megan, and I all got sick during that trip. Love you, Jen! :)


So I woke up sick on Sunday. 6 days until Greenville. By Wednesday when we got home from Utah, I was couch/bed ridden. No way I was running Greenville. We drove up to Greenville on Friday and spent the night with Aunt Jenny and her family with the intent of cheering on our friends who were running. I brought my running clothes in case I felt up to switching to the half. I woke up Saturday, race morning, with one thought: If Jen can do it, I can do it. So I did it.

I told Travis I would just quit whenever I was ready to go back to bed. :) Sub-4 was out. I wasn't even necessarily going to finish. The plan was to just start slow and keep that pace. Walk whenever I needed to. I ran the first mile with a friend who had a faster goal than me, then let her go on as I slowed down. I saw Travis at mile 3 and told him I was still alive. I happened to find the 4:15 pacer, so I followed him for a few miles. Which made me forget to take walk breaks. I started the walk breaks around mile 5 or 6 when I finally remembered. I met Travis again at mile 12 and I was ready to stop. I was really hoping that he would tell me to just stop (he told me earlier that no one would think less of me if I didn't finish). But I finally just told him to keep his phone close, because I would call if I needed him to pick me up anywhere in the second half. Then I told him to go watch a movie or something because it was going to take me a while to get to the finish.


I slowed down the pace a lot and took walk breaks whenever I felt the least bit like walking. :) Although I was coughing and dog-tired the whole way, it was actually kind of fun to be out there. The second half was a lot easier than the first. Even when you're sick, it's mostly mental out there on the marathon course. It was really weird to be running by myself, in a race, at a completely comfortable pace. No racing at all.


I finally made my way back to the Greenville Drive Baseball Stadium. With about a mile to go, I called Travis and told him I was coming and I needed tissues and cough syrup. :) He told me everyone else was there waiting for me. What?! If I had known that, I might have sped it up a little bit. :) Travis, Jenna, Scott, Crystal, and Jonathan were all there waiting for me. I hobbled through at 4:55:59. I was happy to be done. I was glad I had run. I will never do it again (when I'm sick, that is).


I forgot my camera, so I didn't get any race-day pictures. I looked for an official race photo, but they didn't get me either (that's a first). So this picture is the only proof I have that I actually ran it. :)

Even though that sneaky sub-4 has eluded me once again, I still had fun and can't wait to get out there and try it again!

PS--Jenna ran an AWESOME half marathon and Scott qualified for Boston yet again. Congrats to both!!!

Goblin Valley Ultra Marathon 2010

About a week and a half ago I ran the Goblin Valley 50k in Utah with some of my favorite people. It was loads of fun! Travis and I met Dad and Janie in Salt Lake, then hung out while we waited for everyone else to trickle in (Adam and Jen, Scott and Annie, Melanie and Megan). Once Megan finally made it (smiley face) we made the trek to Green River, Utah about 3 1/2 hours away. We got our race packets and joined the other runners for a potato bar the night before the race. Very yummy! Then we headed to our hotel (cringe). Travis, Megan, Melanie, and I all shared a room. Travis asked how in the world he got stuck with the three sisters. Yeah, I felt kind of sorry for him. But we didn't party too hard-y because we had a long day ahead of us. Megan hit the sack as soon as we got there while Mel, Trav, and I watched the bit in Galaxy Quest that takes place at Goblin Valley. *A little history--Melanie, Jen, and I have been training for the Goblin Valley race "together" through dailymile.com for several months. Melanie or Jen (not sure who started it) started leaving little "Nnnever give up! Nnnever surrender!" posts (from the movie Galaxy Quest) on dailymile and it became a thing. Whenever any of us had a bad run, we'd motivate with the mantra. It actually worked. Then one day Travis and I were watching Galaxy Quest and could not believe our eyes when we got to the scene where they go to the planet to look for a beryllium sphere. The scene was actually filmed at Goblin Valley! Seriously, I laughed for about 5 minutes straight at the coincidence. Anyway, we brought the movie and watched the goblin part the night before our race with the goblins. Pretty cool. Pretty funny. Well, at least to us. :)

Moving on. We woke up early to make the hour long drive to the start. It was cold and dark when we drove up, but the sun came out shortly and started warming things up a little. Here are some pictures of us waiting around nervously for the start.

Dad, Lisa, Melanie, Travis

Jen and Adam

Janie and Dad

Travis, Scott, Annie

My goal for this race was to have fun and not hurt myself so I would be able to run the Greenville Marathon the next week. Travis and Annie ran the 10k (and rocked it!) and Megan and Janie waited patiently and took lots of photos. They got to enjoy the goblins more than we did because they were surrounded by them all day. We saw them at the start and finish.

Travis and Annie at the start

50K runners: Dad, Scott, Sadie, Melanie, Adam, Jen, and Lisa. The last four were all first-timers. We started off nice and easy and tried to find our groove. Dad wasn't feeling 100% ready for the 50k, but he wanted to make it at least half way with us. He had it in his mind that he might be dropping out half way and he was okay with that. So we ran and ran and walked and ran and walked for a LONG time. Take a quick peek at Scott's blog to see pictures of the course (he and Adam were the only ones who brought cameras along for the ride). He got some really amazing pictures.

I was feeling pretty good for a while. I was nervous because my legs were really sore the week before the race. I didn't know if they would hold up for 31 miles, then be able to do 26.2 more the next week. But they were doing pretty good. We took lots of walk breaks and that really helped. But around mile 12 or so my left knee started having issues. I took a LOT of ibuprofen and prayed that the pain would go away. In my experience, when the knee starts to go, that's the end of it. So I was pretty nervous. I even told Melanie and Jen that I might not be able to make it. But after about 5 painful miles, then pain started dulling and I was able to continue pretty much pain free (well, other than the usual long run pains). Phew!

At the turn around point, about halfway, Dad was in a lot of pain and thought he might not make it. So he told us four first-timers to go on so we wouldn't miss the cut-off time, and Scott and Sadie stayed with him. Scott was planning on running with Dad until he had to stop, then catch back up with us (yes, he's that fast). For the rest of the race, it was just Adam, Jen, Melanie, and me. There was no cell phone service, so we had no idea of knowing where Dad and Scott were or if they were even still running. At every aid station we asked if they had heard anything about a runner dropping out and we asked the sheriff when he drove by, but nobody had heard anything. That was good news. It meant Dad and Scott were still running.

The last half of the race was really long and enjoyable. We pretty much talked the whole time inserting the occasional, "Can you believe we're actually running an ultra marathon?!" It was pretty cool. We trudged on and everyone was in really good spirits. With only a few miles to go, Jen's foot started hurting and we had finally gotten to the point where we were thinking, "Okay, let's just finish." With about a mile to go, Melanie and I saw Travis running toward us. They had seen us coming around the bend, so he decided to come out and meet us. It was great seeing him because it meant we were almost done!! We made our way to the parking lot, then we were ushered to the valley of the goblins--finally!! They had jack-o-lanterns set out that marked the 1 kilometer course back to the finish line. It was fun finally seeing the goblins up close and personal. We made our way up the hill to the finish, then in unison, the four of us chanted "Nnnever give up! Nnnever surrender!" as we alien-walked throught the finish line together. There really wasn't a better way to finish, right?

This is where Travis met us (Adam and Jen were right behind us).

We are running through goblins here even though they didn't make it in the shot. :)

Man, it felt good to be done!
We finished in 7:31.

As we were coming up to the finish, Melanie noticed her watch saying that we had only run 28 miles (only, right??). A 50k is 31 miles. After we went through the finish we asked the race director about the other 3 miles, and she said we could just run those extra miles on our own if we really wanted to, but it wouldn't be timed (part of the course had been damaged during a storm the day before). So Melanie and I ran the extra. We started running back down the course and after about half a mile, we ran right into Dad, Scott, and Sadie!!!! They had been only a couple miles behind us the whole time! So we ran in with them to get in our extra miles. It was really cool. Dad was all smiles.

Lots of happy people!

We hung out at the finish just long enough for the rain to start (about 5 minutes), then hopped into the cars to make the trip back to the hotel. I enjoyed my first ultra marathon and I'm ready for more!! Stayed tuned to see what happened going into the Greenville Marathon only 6 days later...

Extras:

We weren't sure where this energy came from after running 50k.

Megan and Travis hiked over to this cool goblin formation (that we named The Three Sisters).

Travis

Megan

We went to the Copper Mine while hanging out in Salt Lake. The mine is HUGE and so are the machines!

Travis and I got to Salt Lake first, so we got to run with Dad along one of his favorite trails--Corner Canyon. It was really beautiful with the fall leaves and the view of the valley wasn't half bad either!

Utah Here We Come!

We're leaving bright and early tomorrow morning for Utah. We'll spend a few days chillin' with family in Salt Lake, then on Saturday we'll spend a few hours chasing goblins, then back to Salt Lake, then back home. Hopefully I will have some very exciting stories to bring back and post on my blog. Hopefully they will have something to do with me and several other family members completing our first ultra marathon together :)--along with a couple veterans. Anyway, I'm excited. See you all on the other side!!!

24 Days Until the Goblins Eat Me Up

Only 24 days left until the Goblin Valley Ultra Marathon 50k. A normal person would be running. I haven't run for over a week. I'm stuck on the couch with tonsillitis...again. No biggie. I'll be over it in a few days and hopefully be back to normal. At this point a tonsillectomy is an option and I'm being referred to a specialist. Blah blah blah.

I've gotten in a 20 and 24 mile run so there's a little bit of cushion there. I'm supposed to run 28 this Saturday and still planning on it. We'll see what actually happens. I've been feeling so good lately in my running. My weekly mileage is the highest its ever been--and it feels really good. I don't feel like I'm pushing too hard or anything. My speed hasn't really improved much so we'll see what happens in Greenville. I'm pretty confident I can beat my 4:18 time, we'll see about getting under 4 hours. One thing I've learned this time around is to be flexible. And frankly, every time I cross that finish line my heart smiles--no matter my time. So I'm going to enjoy it no matter what.

I CAN'T wait until Goblin Valley. I love getting together with my family no matter what we're doing. But I just remember when Scott, Melanie, and I ran the Austin Marathon and we had everyone else there supporting us. Pure joy. So I can't wait to do that again but with more of us. This time we'll have Dad, Scott (brother), Melanie (sister), Adam (brother), Jen (sister-in-law), Travis (husband), and me running with Megan (sister) and Janie (stepmother) there supporting us. I mean, doesn't that sound like so much fun?! Anyway, I'm excited and can't wait to see everyone. Until next time...!

Labor Day 5k

Travis and I got to run a Labor Day 5k yesterday. Of course, our race photographer, Megan, came to support us. The race was for a local Middle School raising money for their orchestra. The orchestra was playing in the field before the race, and they also had a small ensemble playing along the race route. It was really neat. Reminded me of my orchestra days back in Intermediate school. And made me feel a little bad for not getting out my violin in a really long time...

Moving on. My goal for this race was to get a PR. Like always. My last 5k I got a PR, but it was kind of a bad run for me. Really hot and not much training going in to it. So I was thinking I would be able to PR this time. Oh yeah, my training has really made a turn for the better since my last training update. I'm feeling really comfortable and enjoying running every day now. I'm positive it had something to do with the weather. I can usually start off my runs in the high 60's or low 70's these days. And it just keeps getting better! Anyway, the temps for our 5k started probably in the 60's and we were definitely in the 70's by the time we left.

Here we are waiting for the start. A small race again. Maybe 130 or so for the 5k. And it started in the grass. We didn't know this until we got there. Ugh. I asked one of the volunteers how long we were in grass and he said we pretty much just run around the school on the grass, then it would take us to the pavement. I could handle that.

And we're off. I started off right in the front like I always do at these small races. And after about 3 seconds this always happens. I get passed (I'm in the red hat, gray shirt). I wanted to run my first mile comfortably fast. At my last 5k, I ran the first mile as fast as I could and I was paying for it later. I did not want to repeat that. I ended up getting to mile 1 in exactly 7 minutes. I felt okay, but was really nervous about not being able to keep it up, so I slowed down. Good thing, too, because the pavement we got on soon turned to dirt and gravel. Okay, I can handle that. After about a mile it then turned into soft dirt. Like running on the beach. What? Yeah, that was not fun. I guess it would have been okay if I had been aware of it before the race. My mind was just not ready for it. It ended up being okay and we got back onto the pavement for the last bit. At mile 2 I knew I was keeping a good pace and would probably PR. I definitely sped it up when I turned a corner and saw the school (where the finish line was). When I got close enough that I could see the time at the finish line, it read 23:50. Oh man, I knew I had the PR, but now I really wanted to get under 24:00. So I kicked it into high gear.



Here's a picture of me kicking it into high gear. Yeah, not that impressive.

I whipped it through the finish at 23:57!!! I was the 18th finisher, the 2nd female, and the 1st in my age group. And a PR! Woo-hoo!

Here are the official results. Megan stands at the finish line waiting as everyone comes through and records who comes in first, how many men, how many women, etc. She's done this a few times and I wanted to get a picture of it this time. The 23:58 actually turned out to be 23:57. Sweet.

Yes, I was happy.

Travis also had a much better race than the hot, sticky one in May. Here he is coming in to the finish--blue and red.

He was really just wanting to beat the girl in the pink shirt. They kept passing each other throughout the race. :) Great job, Travis!

We decided to stick around for the awards ceremony. This is when it started getting hot.

I got my 2nd place medal and we headed home.

Thanks, Megan, for coming to support us again!

I don't have any other races planned until Goblin Valley. Since I finally got under 24 minutes for the 5k, I think I might want to start focusing on the 10k. It's weird, but I've only done one 10k I think. It's just that the 5k is so much fun. I guess it's because the pain is over quickly. :)

Summer Trip 2010

Travis and I got to spend a little bit of time with my family in August. The trip actually started out as a mountain cabin adventure in the Ozarks with Melanie, Mike, and Zoe. We planned on spending three days there (Arkansas), then driving back home. But during the trip we realized that we were really pretty close to Texas, so we decided to drive to Cameron to surprise Mom and Eddy for a few days. School hadn't started for me and Travis was all finished with CPA exams. The whole trip was soooooo much fun! I hope you enjoy the pictures.

Zoe showed us her super-duper ABC skills when we stopped at her house on our way back to SC.

Mom bribed us (with Promised Land chocolate milk) to help cut back the tree line on the farm road.

Here is the end result! Oh yeah, it was like 200 degrees out that day. :)

Mom starting teaching the girls on the farm how to sew pillow cases. Livvy loved it, so we got her to sew some for us (I didn't get a picture of ours, but they are lovely).

Eddy and Travis talking shop.

One of Mom's many flower gardens.

Here's another. Yes, that's Travis mowing the lawn.

Pretty Zoe at the cabin.

I think Zoe should be a hair model.

This is the cabin we stayed at in the Ozark Mountains. Very relaxing and fun!

The men cookin' up some steaks.

We spent lots of time on the hammock....

....and especially in the hot tub!!!

We cooked 'smores almost every night we were there. Yum!!

One afternoon we had lunch at this quaint little restaurant and inn. The food was yummy....

....and the view was even better.

Outside the cabin at the tree line we could fill up the deer feeder with corn. Travis is showing Zoe how it's done. The first time we saw deer, we were at the window snapping pictures like crazy. Then we realized the deer never really leave. It was pretty cool.

There really weren't any bad views anywhere you drove.

Zoe got to feed the fish in the pond every day. It was right out the front door of the cabin.

View from the front porch.

Stick bugs are apparently really scary (well, according to Melanie). :)

A few more random pictures:

ps--good luck to my brother, Scott, who is running across Idaho tomorrow!!!