23 miles of AWESOMENESS

Family update! Click [HERE] for the individual post.

"He didn't run from something or to something, not for anyone or in spite of anyone; he ran because it was what his body wished to do... All he felt was peace."
-Laura Hillenbrand about Louis Zamperini

23 miles!!!!!!!!

This was the best run of my entire life. This was my final long training run before my marathon, and you know what? It took all I had NOT to run 26.2 miles on Saturday. Simply awesome. My average pace ended up being a 9:00/mile average, but what I'm most proud of was my final four miles. Darcy had to bail a little early, so I ran the last four alone. I put in my ipod and just ran what I felt comfortable doing- I didn't look at my Garmin. My last four splits ended up being 8:08, 8:09, 7:59, 7:41!!! My body felt strong and I didn't even notice any real aches or pains. It wasn't until I took my shoes off that I realized I had a small problem:
Bloody toes. It ended up being bloody toe- singular. My nail was long on one of my toes and sliced my other toe open. It was really small and I know it won't bother me.

2 days out- Monday- I'm still feeling great. My hip flexors are a little sore, and my toes feel bruised (I think my new shoes run a little smaller than my old pair), but besides that I am good to go! I'm going to do a nice and easy 4 mile recovery run tonight to assess how I'm really feeling, but I think I'll be able to complete my training week no problem.

Don't you think it's amazing what our bodies are capable of doing? All this time I have imagined hitting the 20 mile mark and just having my body fall apart on me. I've envisioned myself limping across the finish line and collapsing with shin splints, throbbing IT Bands, and blisters on the bottoms of my feet. After this last week's run, I know that isn't going to happen.

I was so afraid to run this for some reason. I was up at 4AM and praying in my bed. Pleading- please let us be safe... please let our bodies to be strong and do this thing we are asking them to do... please help us to feel peace.

We have a wise and loving Heavenly Father that created our bodies to do extraordinary things. Whether it be surviving years at the hand of physical and mental abuse in a POW camp like Louis Zamperini, breaking a 4 minute mile like Roger Bannister, or willing our legs to carry us for hundreds of miles like Scott Jurek, we can do very hard, and incredible things if we have the courage, and the motivation, to do so.

My prayers were answered. It went so quickly, and I felt so good; I couldn't even comprehend that I had actually run 23 miles- it honestly felt more like 10. I couldn't feel more grateful, more humbled, and more loved by my Father in Heaven. He cares so much about me, and He cares about what I feel is important. Know something else? I know He feels the same way about YOU.

New post on the family blog- click [HERE].

And for those of you that care- I actually cross trained yesterday! Go me! I melted down with some Yoga by Jillian.

Vote for Rachelle!

I have a friend named Rachelle Wardle. See her below:Rachelle is a fellow blogger and she is awesome- not only because she's fast (she can run a 5K in under 21:00, and she ran her last marathon in 3:31 and I KNOW she's even faster than that now), but she is energetic, compassionate, and truly cares about other people.

She is trying to earn a spot for team Refuel. Do me a favor- click HERE, type in her name- Rachelle Wardle, click on her picture and click "Vote for this Athlete." She deserves it. Go. NOW!!! You can vote once/day/computer, so vote away. Thank you!

One Step at a Time

And the night runs return! My vest and I have had a long break, but it was nice to see its return. Dallas has to leave by about 6:20 every morning, so I don't have time to complete most of my runs unless I wake up sometime in the 4's. I'm sure that might happen sometimes, but seeing as how he has homework and I just sit by myself at night after I put the kids to bed, I would rather sleep in in the morning and run my butt off at night.

We got a new camera! It's a Canon Rebel T3 and it is by far superior to my little point and shoot that I was using before. I love it! It takes great action shots :)

My tempo run Monday night was so sweeeeeeet. I had a goal to stay at 7:45/mile. At first I had a hard time keeping it there, but after about 2 miles I had a hard time holding myself back. I ended up running at a 7:33 pace and I felt so so so good! So much better than any of my runs last week! It made me excited for the 10K I'm running next week- I'm so going to PR :).

Last night Darcy and I ran our second set of ten Yasso's. This time I was smart and brought a bottle of powerade and made sure I was drinking consistently. It made a world of difference!!!!! My paces were:

3:18, 3:26, 3:24, 3:23, 3:29, 3:22, 3:28, 3:24, 3:30, 3:03

I tried to not kill myself off so that I had enough juice at the end to finish strong. On my last set I ran as hard as I could and was pleased with my last 800! I was hoping my pace would be in the 5's, but I can't really complain about a 6:06 after 9 previous Yasso's :).

I keep thinking about the marathon and wish that it would just get here already. However, I know I have to take things one step at a time. I'm learning a lot training for it, and everything will make me a better racer when the race finally shows up on September 17th. This is my peak week- I'm running 22 miles on Saturday and I'm honestly excited for it. This is really happening. I'm really, truly, running a marathon in less than a month!

Do you prefer running at night, or in the morning?
I think I prefer running at night best. Although I love the crisp mornings and watching the sun rise, I seem to feel better at night. My stomach holds out on me most of the time, and it doesn't take me so long to warm up.

Does it bother you to run with a reflective vest?
No way! This amphipod vest is my best friend. (This is not sponsored or anything, it is just what I've been using for over a year). It is super comfy and I hardly notice it when I'm running.

A different kind of exhaustion.

Family update! Click [HERE] for the new post.

My husband started back to school today. I had a rough time last night (read, mental break down, tears, and frantic cleaning of the house to calm nerves), but I'm doing MUCH better today. We are back to real life! This means morning runs will be the exception rather than the rule, and that I will be spending a majority of my time with these 4 rug rats:
The two on the right are mine, and the two on the left are my good friend Lindsey's. They will be spending every Monday, Wednesday and Friday with us. For my work out today I have:

• Fixed 4 breakfasts and 4 lunches.
• Wiped tears and kissed cheeks.
• Killed 4 hobo spiders (I'm aware this has nothing to do with the children per se, but it was all in protection of them!)
• Gathered ants for the ant farm- which is much more difficult than you might imagine.
• Helped spur creative juices and they made their own "Super star!" with their name on it.
• Tucked in 4 tiny bodies for nap time.

It may not be my typical Monday speed work, but it has been pretty exhausting all the same. All I have left to do is finish making dinner for my family of 4, plan a spiritual thought for Family Home Evening, and tuck Will and Annie in for the night before I head out the door for some "real" exercise- 5 mile tempo run planned for the evening.

What's more exhausting- running 20 miles, or children?
CHILDREN!!! I could also argue that children are more rewarding as well.

Slug

Family update! Click [HERE] and [HERE] to see what's up with the Nicoll's!

This week has felt so weird because the last 2 days I've been living in my house without my kids. What does this mean?

• I sleep in.
• I go to bed late.
• I don't make food all day long.
• I've spent zero time listening to whining (unless it's my own during a fast 5 mile hilly run).
• I eat treats without hiding in the pantry to do so.
• Did I already mention that I sleep in?

My husband and I are celebrating our 8th wedding anniversary on Sunday and we thought it fitting to send the kids away so we can enjoy being together before he starts school on Monday. It has been glorious!
However, I really miss the munchkins. How could I not? Look at these faces!!

This training week has been really weird. It's a step back week, which means my long run was only 12 miles. For some reason, it has all felt hard. My training is peaking and my body is really feeling it! I feel like I could sleep for an entire day just so my body can rest and heal itself. I've felt really sluggish, slow, and out of breath. Yasso's were hard, the 12 miles was hard, and my run this morning felt hard. I'm hoping that by the time I taper and then run the marathon that I will feel strong and fresh for the race.

Although today's run was hard, it was awesome- I ran the Valley Hills route by myself and beat any of my previous times. It was 5.3 miles up and down some wicked hills, and I did it with a 7:48/mile pace. I remember running it in February of this year, right before I left for the Del Sol Ragnar, and I thought I was at my peak completing the course with an 8:15/mile pace. It just goes to show that you never really know what you are capable of if you keep working hard and pushing yourself.

I also ran the route in brand new shoes! I ran the heels off my Asics- literally- and bought a new pair of Mizuno Wave Nexus 5's. They were awesome! I think I can run faster and jump higher in these bad boys :).


I had 2 of my favorite friends, Holly and Mindy, run the Hobble Creek Half Marathon today, and both girls set a new PR!!!!!!!!!! WAY TO GO LADIES! I ABSOLUTELY KNEW YOU WOULD KILL IT!

I'm going to enjoy the rest of today and tomorrow taking it easy with the husband before we get back to real life on Monday. Hope y'all enjoy the weekend.

Do you feel slow and like every run is hard when your training starts to peak before a race?
Yes. Especially right now!!!!
Is it possible to sleep all day?
I'm not sure if it's entirely possible, but I would really like to find out.
Do you like getting new shoes?
Yes and no. A new pair of shoes is always exciting, but I hate paying for them! I also worry that I'm not going to like them and then I'll be stuck in a pair of shoes that bug me for the next 3-5 months.

Highlights (and LOWLIGHTS, as it were)

I've been out of town for a few days sans computer and camera. If I made a billion dollars off of my blog like some people, then I would have scheduled something to keep you occupied, but we all know that doesn't happen here.

I'll just pretend like you missed me.

To keep this relatively short, I'll include the highlights and the lowlights of the last major running activities:

UT Blogger meet up in Orem-
HIGHLIGHT: Having an actual conversation with Cory, Rachelle and Julia. Bloggers are real people!!! Shocking, I know. If at all possible, they are even more cool in real life than they are on the blog.
HIGHLIGHT #2: Jumping picture!!!!!

Me, Julia, Rachelle, and Cory

LOWLIGHT: Why did I only get one flavor of froyo? Why?! I had red velvet cupcake with all the berries I could fit in my cup. It was good, but it wasn't full fat ice cream. Or one of my sugar cookies.

20 Miler-
HIGHLIGHT: Our planned route ended up following a hand bike race for the last 3.5 miles of our run. It was awesome! I can't imagine taking myself up some of the hills they did using only my arms. It was very inspiring. I'm so grateful I have the ability to run.
LOWLIGHT: I felt so. tired. I didn't feel like I got in the groove of things until mile 15. Yikes. Our pace ended up being 9:15/mile for the 20.15. Not bad for how out of it I felt.

Yasso's x 10-
HIGHLIGHT: I finished.
LOWLIGHT: The entire run. Ugh. Ten Yasso's in a row are, no joke, tough business.
LOWLIGHT #2: Darcy wasn't there so I had to do it alone :(

My times for the 10 Yasso's were : 3:15, 3:25, 3:23, 3:22, 3:21, 3:25, 3:23, 3:28, 3:26, 3:21. I'm pretty sure this was my slowest set so far.

I'm optimistic for my long run of the week- only 12 miles! Aren't step back weeks the best? Well, next to tapering, anyway.

Family Update

Click [HERE] to read the individual post.

Shhhedules

Let's talk about training, shall we?

I first started thinking "marathon" about a year ago. I remember talking to Darcy on one of our runs and being shocked that people ran marathons in under 4 hours! I thought that it would most certainly take all day. Darcy warned me about how the training was kind of stressful on your family, and it made me really think. I wanted to run a marathon, but I didn't want it to completely take over my whole life.

Fast forward a year.... I was registered for the Top of Utah marathon, Ragnar Wasatch Back was about a month away, and it was time to pick a training schedule. I looked and looked, but most training schedules had me running 5-6 times a week. Now, y'all know I love running, but I don't love running that much. (Heck, part of the reason why I love it is because I can be lazy for half of the week and call it "resting.") Anywho- I knew that wasn't going to fly. I also have a husband that doesn't necessarily love all of the running. (This is not to say that he isn't supportive- he's the BEST).

The search continued through blog stalking, Runner's World tips, marathon training books, etc. What did I end up using? Why, the first one I stumbled upon, of course!!!!

I feel like I've been running enough that I'm able to tailor a training plan to what I like. Which means:

1. I don't like running more than 4 days a week.
2. I don't like running much over 30 miles in a week. (40 MAX)
3. I don't cross train. I would like to, but telling myself I'm going to is just lying to myself. I'll cross train with cookies, thank you very much.
4. I wanted my specified workouts to be flexible.

This is why I landed on Hal Higdon's Novice 2 training program. The mileage is spelled out and doesn't increase rapidly, and your options for your work outs are up to you! He suggests your week consists of a long run, a run at race pace, and a recovery run. Easy peasy, yes?

This gave me the flexibility to do what I really wanted. Since I have this big BOSTON GOAL, I knew I needed to work on speed. To do that, I have 2 runs a week that are focused on speed work. I do Yasso's, and I do hills. Hills, as experts say, are speed work in disguise. PLUS, you won't want to die when you hit that big hill at mile 18 and 22 because you've trained for it (at least I hope that's the case!). Hills are my favorite work out, so I didn't want to give those up. Then I do my long run, and an easy recovery day. I try to work on my form on my recovery day. Since I'm running slower, it works out well.

Long runs are different from week to week. On the normal weeks I try to run them under a 9:00/mile pace. That way I don't stress about speed AND mileage (AND bathroom issues, but that's a whole other ball game anyway)... This has worked well for me! This is about 45 seconds/mile slower than I plan on running the marathon in. On the "step back" weeks- when you go from building up mileage for 2-3 weeks, and then take an easier week with a shorter mileage long run- I run it as a long race pace run. Our goal is to always complete these under 8:23/mile. So far we've been successful! (I'm always saying "WE" because I'm talking about Darcy and myself).

When you are first looking for a schedule I would suggest that you write down the things that are important to you- like I did at the beginning of this post- and then you can tailor your schedule to suit. Don't be afraid to cut some days out of your schedule, or add a little more to your mid week runs if you are already used to running 5-6 miles consistently rather than 3-4.

Even though I try to follow my training schedule as if it were the bible- it's not. It's okay to change it sometimes. If you are feeling particularly sore because of a hard workout, then take an extra day off to rest (or cross train if you are in to that sort of thing).

It's about getting to the start line, not about crossing off every box on your training schedule.

Below you will find a copy of the schedule I am currently using (including some of my adjustments). I've really really liked this schedule. I've never felt like I was running too much, or not enough. It hasn't made me feel overwhelmed. In fact, I feel like it has been way easier than what I do to train for a Ragnar (read- I'm not running up a mountain multiple times a day).

Marathon Training Schedule: Novice 2

Week	Mon	Tue	Wed	Thur	Fri	Sat	Sun
1	Rest	3	5	3	Rest	8	rest
2	Rest	3	5	3	Rest	9	rest
3	Rest	3	5	3	Rest	6	rest
4	Rest	3	6	3	Rest	11	rest
5	Rest	4	6	4	Rest	12	rest
6	Rest	4	6	4	Rest	9	rest
7	Rest	4	7	4	Rest	14	rest
8	Rest	5	7	4	Rest	15	rest
9	Rest	5	7	5	Rest	HALF	rest
10	Rest	5	8	5	Rest	17	rest
11	Rest	5	8	5	Rest	18	rest
12	Rest	5	8	5	Rest	13	rest
13	Rest	5	5	5	Rest	19	rest
14	Rest	5	8	5	Rest	12	rest
15	Rest	5	5	5	Rest	20	rest
16	Rest	5	4	5	Rest	12	rest
17	Rest	4	3	4	Rest	8	rest
18	Rest	3	2	2	Rest	MARATHON

In other news, I had a nice conversation with my Mama on the phone today.
Mom: So, do you think you will qualify for Boston?
Me: I really think that I will. I think I'm fast enough.
Mom: Okay then. I'm coming with you. I already told your Dad that I was planning on it.
Me: !!!!!!

It's gonna happen.

I also learned today that if I run my marathon in under 3:35, then I can register for the Boston Marathon on the same day I run Top of Utah! I'm crossing my fingers and toes that it doesn't fill up or something before I get to register because wouldn't that suck.

Family Update!

Click [HERE] for a detailed post about our Chicken Slaughtering Festival :)

Slacker.

I managed to sleep through 2 of my runs last week. I'm a slacker. That means I only ran twice last week. I was all sorts of fretting about it on Saturday (when I realized I wasn't going to be able to get in a third run) and Sunday. However, all rest and no run makes for some fast Yasso times today!

9 Yasso's were on the chopping block today, and I slaughtered them! My times were:

3:14, 3:14, 3:12, 3:10, 3:15, 3:14: 3:13, 3:06 and 3:04

That means my pace was between a 6:34-6:16/mile for the half mile splits :). I guess sometimes it's okay to be a slacker. It's about QUALITY of miles and not QUANTITY of miles. I have to remind myself of this sometimes. If I would have run on Saturday, it would have simply been to just clock the miles rather than to get the most out of my workout. So I guess nothing was lost.

And speaking of slaughtering.... Know what I did instead of running on Saturday?

I killed, plucked, gutted, chopped up, and froze 50 chickens.

For real.

You can just call me the Pioneer Woman if you want because I totally am.

I did this with my in-laws. My father in law has been raising the birds through the spring and most of us made it up there for the great event. We all had different assignments. Dallas was the executioner, the other girls caught the birds, my BIL Beau put them into the plucking machine, and my FIL and I were the ones to gut the birds.
I'm made of tough stuff. A marathon ain't got nothin' on me!

It took 3 hours to get the birds all plucked and cleaned up, and then it took another 3 hours of cutting and chopping to get them ready to go in the freezer. It was a loooooooong day! One weekend of this was enough! I'm happy to get back to more running and less slaughtering this week.

Are you afraid to kill animals for food? Do you think it's wrong? Would you be brave enough to gut a chicken?
I'm definitely not a vegetarian, however, I don't like to do the actual killing of the animal. In fact, this weekend I couldn't even watch it. Once it was dead and I could think of it as food, then it wasn't a big deal. I'm proud to say that I'm brave enough to gut a chicken... or 50!

How do you feel when you miss a run?
When I'm in the middle of training for something, then I follow my schedule like it's the bible. I very rarely miss runs, and when I do, I usually fret about it. In fact, I usually only miss runs due to injury or sickness. Last week was a big exception to the rule! I feel better about it after seeing how great my run was this morning.

Miracles happen EVERY DAY

How do I know about this?

Well, a miracle happened to me today.
18.15 miles and NO BATHROOM BREAK!
For real. Want to know my secret???
Seriously! 2 Tbsp. before bed, and 2 Tbsp. when I got up at 4:30AM to run. It was a recipe for success.

Don't be shy. Admit that you are grateful that I let you in on this little secret. You can send me a "thank you" in my comments if you would like.

The run was great! I also cut back on the shot blocks. After my first 3 at mile 5 I started to feel the stomach grumble and so I backed off. I felt tired towards the end, but my stomach was still feeling great! I always eat a granola bar before I head out the door, so on my next long run I'm going to try refueling with those and see how it goes. It's all about trial and error, my friends.

My pace was my best yet on a long run- 8:41! I planned a difficult course with hills in the last 3 miles, so I was pretty impressed that I did so well. When we hit the hills Darcy and I had to go at our own paces, so I ended up running by myself the last 3 miles. I ran steady and strong up the hills, and was able to pull out a 7:45 and a 7:49 for the last 2 miles! It was so good.
Did I want to go further? Not really. Could I have? Definitely. I'm getting pretty excited or this marathon thing.

I finished things up with foam rolling, a protein shake with bananas, chia seeds, and blueberries, and an ice bath. Ice baths rock my world. Although you wouldn't know that from my face in the picture. You just have to get past that initial drop into the water.

Aren't my feet lovely? You're welcome for me showing them to you. However, you can't get the full effect without a normal foot next to mine. FREAK FLAG FACT: To give you a little more information- as a child my mother used to joke that we should buy shoes, throw them away, and I could just wear the box instead. After trying on the Nike Frees the salesman asked if I wanted to try on the men's sizes since I had exhausted all efforts in the women's. I tried on Vibram's and it took me 15 minutes, NO EXAGGERATION, just to put the dang things on! High arch + extraordinarily wide feet = a shoe buying nightmare. My foot length is only a 7.5, but I usually have to buy a 9 for the width. It's ridiculous.
All in all, my run took me 4.5 hours this morning. Although I only ran for 2 hours and 37 minutes (which is an insane amount of time to be running, by the way- we are all nuts!), with stretching foam rolling, replacement shake, and ice bathing, it takes a. lot. of. time. to be a crazy runner.

No wonder they call us crazy!

Do you stop your Garmin during walk breaks or water breaks or bathroom breaks?
I used to stop it when I would get a drink of water or something, but I don't anymore. I've stopped doing that since I started training for my marathon. (Truth be told, I didn't use to stop running at all before because I never used to drink or eat at all during a run). I do still stop my watch when I have to use the bathroom most of the time. It's a mental thing. I can't let something I can't control beat me up mentally. I NEVER stop my watch during a race.

Does it take you a lot of time to go through your running "process"?
I miss the days when all I did was lace up my shoes, hit the road (for 30 minutes!), and then come home and crash on the couch without a worry of injury on my mind.

What do you use for a replacement shake?
I use the Cytosport protein powder made by Muscle Milk (found HERE), and blend it with blueberries, a banana, and chia seeds. I freeze the blueberries and bananas to make it like a milk shake. It's super yummy.

PS

Fast Cory posted this quote on his blog that was so appropriate for how I've been feeling lately:

"Set your goals high because what a person accomplishes is in proportion to what they attempt."
~ Mitchell Naufell

I'm going to Boston.

Funk-eriffic

Today was speed work day! There may be an exclamation mark after that sentence, but don't let it fool you. I was NOT excited to run Yasso's today. I just felt so tired. My watch was doing something funky on the first set and I couldn't figure it out (it was more than likely USER ERROR), but thankfully it worked on the last 7.

8 Yasso's is tough.

My sets were: 3:18, 3:18, 3:21, 3:27, 3:28, 3:23, 3:31, 3:18

I definitely slowed down this week compared to last week, and it felt so much more difficult. Weird. It's so funny (read= annoying) how you end up in a funk some days.

After we did our cool down I came home and hopped in the car to get some much needed groceries. I refused to go over my budget for last month, which means I hadn't been to the grocery store in over a week. We were out of everything- including (but not limited to):

• milk
• eggs
• bread
• bananas
• strawberries
• cereal
• marshmallows
  
• soy milk

The list goes on. About the only thing we've had worth eating in our house is Tillamook Cheese. We've been living on a steady diet of pancakes, nachos, corn dogs, pasta with sauce from the can, and chicken nuggets around here. It hasn't been good.

After running my guts out, you can imagine what my workout clothes looked like. Yikes. Even the coupon machine knew I stunk-
Next time my kids might just have to go without milk at breakfast until I can shower.

I always look forward to the end of the month when I can review my stats and see how far I've come. Remember how I made the goal to bump my average speed up to 7 MPH? Well...

DISTANCE: 123.23 mi
TIME: 17:28:55 hh:mm:ss
ELEVATION GAIN: 4,902
AVG SPEED: 7.0
AVG HR: 172
MAX DISTANCE: 17.04
AVG DISTANCE: 7.70 mi

Right on the money, baby! This was also the month with the most miles for me (although, only by a few). I really love my training schedule. Although I'm training for a marathon, I'm not overwhelmed with the sheer amount of miles I have to run every week. With my schedule, I still only run right around 30 miles- which is perfect for my body. I am going to talk about my schedule in a later post this week since I've had a few people ask me about it.

Overall, July has been good to me. I've felt great, and I've really enjoyed myself out there on the road. How has it been for you? Any new goals accomplished or PR's set?