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.