sports, fun & therapy running

I had a fantastic weekend with my family.  I started my weekend with an 18 mile run on Friday morning.  Surprisingly it was the best run I've had in a long time.  I finished my 18 miles in 3 hours and that includes stopping at stop lights, stretching,  and climbing hills.  I averaged a 9 min/mile.  I honestly couldn't have felt better.  I didn't even feel sore after.

We went to Utah for the rest of the weekend, because my baby sis graduated from BYU.  I feel old.  My parents came into town and the weather was beautiful.   We hiked the "Y" at BYU, we went to Bridal Veil Falls, and we went to a BYU Men's Volleyball game.   The VB game was so awesome.  My sister wanted us to really experience the game, so we got baseline seats and I'm telling you...you had to watch out otherwise you'd get smoked in the face with a ball.  Great times.  The fans were crazy and the gym was loud.   It makes me miss sporting events.  By the way....we made it on TV.  What?  We be famous now, yo!

We look confused, I know. Haha!

  
Have you ever had a workout that was therapeutic? 

I have....a lot.  But, this past week I had a first, I was literally crying.  It wasn't because of physical pain, but joy and happiness-- and I felt a strong witness of God's love for me.  As you know, my grandpa recently passed away, and my thoughts were flooded to the 3 grandpa's that I've lost.  My Grandpa Lester, Grandpa Jim, and Justin's Grandpa Elliott.  All great men with strong values, and men who cared about me.   As I ran I watched the sun rise over the mountains and watched the majesty of the earth as the sun peeked over, my mind flooded with thoughts of gratitude for all that God has given me, and grateful to know that there is life after death.  The birds started to wake up and chirp, and as I looked around I could see Spring bringing life into the trees, flowers and animals.  As I turned the corner, the temple was bright and beautiful, and reminded me of God's love for all of His children and the plan he has for each of us.   It was a great run to strengthen my testimony  that life does go on.  And happiness & warmth can be found after the bitterness of winter or death.



Not the greatest photo, but I was moving pretty fast ;) 



Running Resources #2- Garmin Forerunner

If there is one running gadget I'm obsessed with the most...it's my Garmin Forerunner.  I LOVE this thing, and it's my best bud. 

What does this thing do? It may be easier to explain what it can't do.

• This gadget will not magically transport you to the finish line.  You will still need to put in the effort to get there.

Other than that...it pretty much does everything you'd think it could.   Some of the features I like to use include:

• Uses a GPS to track your pace, distance,time and route
• You can upload your runs to the Garmin Website (using the USB chip) and look at each specific mile's pace, as well as view a map of your run. -- Crazy part is your watch will save the memory of each run you've completed until you upload it to the internet. 
• Race a virtual partner on a downloaded course
• You can buy the Heart Rate Monitor strap to track your calories burned.
• You can pair the Garmin with a foot-pod so that if you are running where you can't get a GPS signal (treadmill, indoor track, etc) you can still track your distance/pace/time/etc
• Ability to turn on backlight in the dark.

I love the sleek design!  I have this product in BLACK, but I secretly want the green color.  Right now they have a killer price on some websites...only $160!  That's 30% less than what I originally paid for mine.

The Garmin uses something similar to a touch screen to set up your watch.  During a race you can lock your touch screen so that it doesn't change if you accidentally bump it. 

If you run in humid climates, or if it's raining.... be sure to have your watch ready prior to the race/run and locked.  The humidity or wetness makes it hard to recognize the touch sensors.  It IS waterproof (to an extent...I mean don't go plunging it in your bathtub or anything).

The battery life is pretty great on this watch.    Using the GPS satellite after you're done with your run will suck out the battery life, so always remember to turn it off afterwards.  I can usually run Monday-Friday without charging it.  And then I charge it up good Friday night for my long Saturday runs.  And I charge it after my Saturday long run.  I haven't ever ran long enough for it to die in the middle of a run.

I honestly can't think of any cons......I've had ZERO problems related to the watch.  Most of my issues are with the user...derr.

Long runs & the future

I've had a crazy couple of weeks.  My grandpa passed away and we did the long drive to Minnesota (20 hours driving).  It was hard to say goodbye to him and to know that I won't see him again in this life, but I know he is in a much better place and I will be reunited with him again someday.  Despite the somber weekend, it was also a great weekend.  We spent a lot of time with family, and it was great to have my immediate family all together.  It's been almost 3 years since we were all together.  And, it's been over 8 years since we last spent Easter together.

I love my family!!!  What a great looking bunch!

As I mentioned...the driving took a lot of time.  Basically we were driving 4 out of the 7 days we were gone.  Typically we split it up 14 hours one day, 6 hours another day---and the same way on the way back.  We ate a lot of Subway sandwiches and salads from Wendy's.  We tried to hustle at each gas-up point, but yet we chose healthier alternatives.  Nothing worse than being stuck in a car for hours and feeling like crap because you've got nasty grease sloshing around in your stomach.  No thank you!


On Saturday I completed the longest distance I have yet to run....17 miles.  Afterwards I felt conflicted, it was my worst pace (11:20 average), but yet, my personal record for distance.  I decided to forget about the pace and be happy that I completed it.  This week I'm going to go for 18.5 miles.  I know it's going to be a challenge...but by golly...I'm GOING to do this.  I can do hard things!  I'm currently reading an AMAZING book by Elain S Dalton called "A Return to Virtue".  She compares her marathon training to life and her reflections and analogies on are very similar to thought's I've had.  Life is hard, and running is hard.  But, it's so worth it.  I've just started the book, so I hope to share at least a few insights as I read along.

My husband graduates with his undergrad in Accounting in July and we still aren't sure where life will be taking us.  I get a lot of questions like "Where are you going?  Are you stressed that you don't know?"  And my answer honestly, right now...is No.  I am not stressed at all!  I feel like we've done everything the Lord has asked of us and we have done all that we could, and wherever we end up, and whatever we do....will be the right thing.  We've spent a lot of nights on our knees praying for guidance as we seek for help with our future, and I have no doubt the Lord will answer our prayers.  It may not be what we thought we would do....but it will be the right thing. 

I love learning about healthy snack ideas for road trips.   So, if you have any good ideas or tips...let me know!