Sister Run #SpringBreak

Today I flew to California to visit family and friends. Our Friday night?  We all went for a run.  It was my sister-in-law's idea and it was a great idea!


What a great way to start my Spring Break.

We got to run from their house to a lake.  I had run around this lake the last time I visited them and I fell in love with it.  I was glad to go back there again.  

I logged 4.7 miles.  

The first little while my sister-in-law ran with me.  We split after that and I ran alone.  Then I ran with our friend for a short time and eventually we all came back together again.

Running in California is quite amazing.  I can't wait to run some more.

Runaway Girl

20 Mile Journey and an Ice Bath

As you can guess from the title, I went on a 20 mile run.  That's the longest distance I've ever gone!

I woke up knowing I had to go for a long run so I could feel more prepared for my marathon.  I made sure to have my iPhone charged for music, that my outfit was good for the weather, that I had a camel back with water, and that I had one of those goo packs to try and see if I like it.

I was going to put sunscreen on and even brought it downstairs with me, but I forgot to put it on.  I wanted to wait until I was ready to leave so I could have it last more time on my actual run.  I realized this as I was not that far from my house, but at that point I didn't want to back track.  So I just told myself it would be okay (it wasn't okay).

I basically took a tour of the city.  I went to Liberty Park, Sugarhouse park, Foothill area, up to the avenues, over in memory grove area, to the temple, and then home.  It was a blast.

I had two large hills on my run.  The 900 south run came around mile 3-4.  It was rough, but I had done that before so I knew I would be okay.  The other hill, up Virginia street, was around mile 13-14.  I knew that once I got to the top of that hill, I would try the goo thing that runners use.  I got to the top, had the huckleberry flavored good, and well, I liked it!  The bad part, I ran out of water at that point.  

I was a little worried because I was dehydrated, needed to log more miles, and the sun was beating down on me. I considered calling my mom to bring me water since my parents house wasn't too far away.  But instead, I figured I'd tough it out and cut my original route so I could get to memory grove faster and fill up my camel back at the drinking fountain.  I was so happy to get to that drinking fountain.  

The next part of my run was to the Salt Lake Temple.  I was so excited for this part.  I knew that I was going to take a break there and just bask in it's beauty.  It reminded me of the goals I made and how lucky I am to be where I am.  It was the last break before that last stretch to hit 20 miles.  

It took a lot, but I ran.  I watched my tracker to make sure I would know how much longer and where to run.  I wanted to run even more, but my pace was so slow I knew it was time to get home.  By the time I got close to my house I was around 19 miles so I had to run past my house and get that last little bit in.

I made it.  20 MILES!  Even though my pace wasn't the ideal pace, I was proud of myself.  

I decided to reward myself.  I went to the story and bought 3 giant bags of ice. The cashier asked me if I was having a party.  I thought to myself, of sorts.  I told her about how I was going to take an ice bath and had to explain to her what I meant, and why.  

The ice bath was the right idea.  Yes, it was freezing.  Yes, it was amazing.  I wasn't even sore the next day!  I felt healthy and good. 

Now I need to work on my time.  And bring enough water for the journey.  Haha.

Runaway Girl

Never Let Them See You Cry

Being a lacrosse coach is an amazing experience and I love that I get to do something that I am passionate about.

Being a lacrosse coach is also emotionally draining.

After some of the games I just have to sit in my car and give myself a moment.  Sometimes I shed a tear or two.  I would never want the girls to see that. The girls really are super awesome.  The part that gets to me is that they keep losing and keep getting injured.  I want them to do well and sometimes I wonder if I am doing enough as their coach to get them to where they need to be.

After today's game I really just needed to go for a run, and that's what I did. I ran 3.9 miles at an 8:42min/mile average pace.  It was a great run and a night run.  I love night runs.

Coaching give me the opportunity to help the girls on the team, but it also pushes me to use my talents and become a better person.

I love it.



Runaway Girl

Triple Park

Today was the day I went on a long run.  The plan was to run at least 10 miles.  I went ahead and ran 14! And it was so nice outside, I wore shorts and a tank top.  Great day.

My knees were both feeling it.  But the pain wasn’t the “I’m in so much pain so please stop running or you might damage me”…..it was more “we haven’t run this far in awhile, but we will make it”.

I had an average 8:54min/mile pace. 

I had a blast.  I hit three different parks on my run.  Liberty Park, Sugarhouse Park, and Reservoir Park.  It was so much fun and I knew that I was going to accomplish something.  I was happy to get home and realize that I ran 14 miles and that my training didn’t all go down the drain during my recoup time.

I made sure to hydrate like crazy, and I iced both my knees that night. 

I’m taking care of myself.  My runs are taking care of me.  God is taking care of me.

I'm on the uprise.

Runaway Girl

Dark Night

I wanted to get a quick run in before the sun went down, but the sun already went down.  So I still ran.

I ran 3 miles, but it felt good.  I hadn’t really been running a lot lately so I wanted to make sure I still had it.

I still have it.

I ran 3 miles in with a time of 23:20.  That’s an average pace of 7:41min/mile.

I think that’s faster than what I ran in cross country when I was in high school.

I still have it.

Runaway Girl

No Brace

Yesterday I ate at Tucanos for dinner and didn’t get to bed until 2am ish.  Not a good combination knowing that I had to run in the morning. 

I let myself sleep in and was finally out of my bed at 11:35am.  I felt a little sick and knew that I couldn’t run right away if at all.  I watched a little bit of tv and ate some multigrain cheerios.  I didn’t want to eat anything that might make me sick on my run.  So…..no milk, and no heavy meal.  I also made sure to drink water so I wasn’t dehydrated.

Finally, I put on my running clothes, updated my running playlist, and stretched in order to prepare myself.  It was time.

I went out the door hoping for a long run.  I debated in my head what exactly to do.  As I got more into my run I decided today was the day to get in some miles.  Today was the day I ran a longer distance.
But today was also the day I wouldn’t push myself too hard in order to keep letting my knee heal and get used to all this.

I ran my usual route and turned up 1700 south.  I knew I wasn’t running as well as I normally do, but I was going to be fine.  When I got up to 1700 East I wanted to try a new route (and honestly I was feeling like I couldn’t make it as far as I wanted to).  I turned left and well…..I turned back once I saw that the street didn’t look like it was normal and curved into what I didn’t know.  That would have been an adventure though!  Instead I went back and went the route I usually do.

I’m glad I did.  I got my smile back at a point and my playlist played the right song at the right time.  I think the smiling really started when I saw a unicyclist.  I saw a man carrying his unicycle to cross the street.  Then he cycled on the other side of the street from me in the same direction.  It was sort of fun to run with him, but not really.  Haha.

I was also happy that my knee was doing well as I ran down 500S.  My knee also did well as I ran down south temple.  Those were the two downhills I was worried about, and in the end I survived!

I ran a total of 9.2 miles at an average 8:48min/mile pace.

I feel really good.  I still have a long way to go, but considering the roadblock I had, this is good.  My pace will get faster as I get stronger.  And the miles will keep going up.

I’m not giving up and I’m determined to keep moving forward.

And I love the knowledge I am gaining along the way.

Runaway Girl

Night Run

Tonight I knew I needed to run at least 3 miles.  I told myself no slacking, so no more slacking.  Before I went out the door, I decided to run my 4 mile route instead.  

It might not be the safest thing to do, but when the sun is down and I go for a run, there’s a certain feeling of power.  I felt like I pushed myself a little more (because it’s dark and I need to get home).  It’s a time to end the day the right way.

I also learn to focus a lot more.  When it’s dark (even with the street lights) I can’t always see the sidewalk cracks and such.  I have to make sure I don’t trip.  I definitely thought that I had a higher chance of tripping on the uneven sidewalks, but luckily I didn’t.  

The funniest part of my run was when I was flying down south temple at the end of my run.  The song playing was about to end and I was thinking about how i always like to end on a good song, but I didn’t want to deal with fidgeting with my music and just finishing strong.  I thought to myself, ‘I hope it’s not ‘Trumpets’…..and I bet now that I’ve thought that it’s gonna be that song’.  

The next song was ‘Trumpets’.

I laughed and let it play as I sprinted home.  I ended with an average pace of 8:09 min/mile.

Tonights run let me smile again and just feel the happiness of running.  

God knew that I needed running back in my life.  He also knew that I needed to have a humbling and reflecting break.  My knee made it so I had to stop running, which was really hard.  But I was able to see so many things.  I was able to slow down in life, and I needed that.  I learned that I can’t always run away from things.  I can just enjoy what’s right in front of me.  :)

Runaway Girl