Learning to Love the Treadmill

If someone would have asked me a month ago if I thought I might learn to enjoy a treadmill run, I'm pretty sure the answer would have been "NO WAY!" However, over the past month, I've learned to really enjoy my treadmill runs.  In fact, I've chosen to run on the treadmill instead of running outside multiple times.  That is something I never thought I would do.  Today, while I was running 7 miles on the treadmill in a really hot room, I started thinking about why I'm learning to LOVE the treadmill.

In the last couple of months, I've read a couple of articles in different magazines and online about the benefits of treadmill running.  The articles talk about improving form and cadence.  They also talk about monitoring effort and output and intensity.  I've thought about those articles and really, mostly I just thought they were relevant to professional athletes.  However, I think they may be right.  In fact, I'm pretty sure that they are right.

Here's what I've learned about loving the treadmill...

I push myself HARD on the treadmill.  I haven't had such great runs in years...literally years.  I'm fatter than I've been and I'm running faster than I have in years!  Today, my entire t-shirt was soaked...there wasn't a dry spot on it.  I'm pretty sure I could have wrung a cup of sweat out of that shirt.  I was running at puke pace with a smile on my face!  It feels SO good to push myself SO hard.

I can mentally challenge myself better on the treadmill.  I love the positive self-talk that rolls through my head when I'm pushing myself through some hard intervals. I love banking those hard runs and I'm certain that these mental challenges will absolutely pay off in my races.

I love the intervals I can do. There is something seriously cool and dare I say fun about bumping up the speed and pushing myself.  I think it's hard to run "a little bit faster" when I'm running outside.  I'm really loving the intervals.

I'm really getting into the numbers.  It's been great to see legitimate improvements in my runs and to especially see those improvements through actual data.  I'm running faster and my HR is staying the same, so I know my fitness is improving.  The numbers are definitely working for me.

How great is it that Tim and I can go running "together" and run at our own paces.  Tim and I do not run at the same speed, so running outside means that one of us has to run faster or slower to stay together.  When we're on the treadmill, we can run next to each other and do our own workouts.  Oh and Tim totally cheers me on and pushes me by reminding me of my goals, and yelling things out like "Bikini!"

When I'm running on the treadmill, I can totally focus on my running.  I don't have to think about dogs running out of yards or cars driving past me or stop signs and crosswalks.  I can totally get inside my head and pull things out of myself that I'm not sure I would pull out if I were running outside.

Mostly though, what I'm loving about these treadmill runs is that I'm running faster and harder than I have in a long time.  I'm totally feeling like a RUNNER again and I'm LOVING the feeling!

February Workouts

February 1 - KenpoX. 59:00. Burned 376 calories. Max HR 156. Avg HR 118.
CardioX. 41:57. Burned 284 calories. Max HR 155. Avg HR 122.
One of the complaints I have about P90X is that the "cardio" workouts do not burn enough calories, except for Plyometrics.  I would rather go run or cycle because I feel like I get a much better burn, plus I'm doing something that is specific to the sports I enjoy.  Kicking and punching...yeah...its just not something I see myself doing.

February 2 - Treadmill Run. 4.0 miles. 39:24. Burned 466 calories. Max HR 180. Avg HR 163.
5 min @ 5.7 mph
5 min @ 5.8 mph
1 min @ 6.5 mph - I realized I should be going faster so I bumped it up on the next set.
2 min @ 5.7 mph
1 min @ 6.7 mph
2 min @ 5.7 mph
1 min @ 6.7 mph
2 min @ 5.7 mph
1 min @ 6.7 mph
2 min @ 5.7 mph
1 min @ 6.7 mph
2 min @ 5.7 mph
1 min @ 6.7 mph
2 min @ 5.7 mph
1 min @ 6.7 mph
2 min @ 5.7 mph - I also realized that I probably should have been recovering at 6.0 mph.
1 min @ 6.7 mph
2 min @ 6.0 mph
1 min @ 6.2 mph
1 min @ 6.4 mph
1 min @ 6.6 mph
1 min @ 6.8 mph
I'm feeling really good about my running lately.  I think my speed is definitely improving.  I'm able to go faster without my HR going up.  I'm recovering quickly.  I'm really loving these high intensity workouts.
StretchX. 57:01. Burned 239 calories. Max HR 135. Avg HR 101.

February 3 - Core Synergistics. 57:59 Burned 370 calories. Max HR 159. Avg HR 118.  Used 5, 8, and 10 lb dumbbells.
This was one of those days when I waited for Tim to workout with me and he decided to have a rest day.  I thought about adding another workout to this one, but I also knew that I had a run workout on Saturday, so I just took it as a great core workout.


February 4 - Treadmill Run. 7.0 miles. 1:09:43. Burned 845 calories. Max HR 186. Avg HR 166.
5 min @ 5.7 mph
5 min @ 6.1 mph
5 min @ 5.7 mph
4 min @ 6.3 mph
4 min @ 5.7 mph
3 min @ 6.5 mph
3 min @ 5.7 mph
2 min @ 6.7 mph
2 min @ 5.7 mph
1 min @ 7.0 mph
5 min @ 5.7 mph
5 min @ 6.1 mph
5 min @ 5.7 mph
4 min @ 6.3 mph
4 min @ 5.7 mph
3 min @ 6.5 mph
3 min @ 5.7 mph
2 min @ 6.7 mph
2 min @ 5.7 mph
1 min @ 7.0 mph
45 sec @ 6.0 mph
15 sec @ 6.1 mph
15 sec @ 6.2 mph
15 sec @ 6.3 mph
15 sec @ 6.4 mph
15 sec @ 6.5 mph
This was an AWESOME run!  I can't remember the last time I ran 7 miles and I especially can't remember when I ran 7 miles in under 10 min/mile pace.  I did have to talk myself through this workout.  I didn't want to run but once I got going, I mentally talked through each mile.  There was not a dry spot on my t-shirt when I finished and I have forgotten how my legs feel when I run long and hard, but I feel great.  It's nice to know I still have some speed left in me.

February 5 - Rest.

February 6 - Chest, Shoulders, and Triceps. 1:01:52. Burned 327 calories. Max HR 143. Avg HR 109. Used 3, 5, 8, 10, 15, and 20 lb dumbbells.  I'm hoping that I'll like this workout better next week.  I worked hard, but I sometimes think I need to do a workout once or twice before I can really know how hard I need to work.
Trainer Ride. 32:00. Burned 212 calories. Max HR 139. Avg HR 119. Since I signed up for Little Red, I need to get back on Oscar.  Apparently, I have lost my saddle calluses.  That means I need to spend lots more time on the bike before June.

February 7 - Jari Love Get Extremely Ripped 1000. 1:23:46. Burned 744 calories Max HR 188. Avg HR 139. Used 5,8,10 lb dumbbells.
Treadmill Run. 29:32. Burned 311 calories. Max HR 178. Avg HR 160.

February 8 - Back and Biceps. 24:39. Burned 128 calories. Max HR 149. Avg HR 109. Used 10 and 15 lb dumbbells.  Tim and I didn't get to finish this workout, so we finished it the next day.
Ultimate Calorie Blaster. 45:59. Burned 367 calories. Max HR 165. Avg HR 131. Used 8 lb dumbbells.

February 9 - Back and Biceps. 45:35. Burned 237 calories. Max HR 158. Avg HR 108. Used 10 and 15 lb dumbbells.

February 10 - Rest.

February 11 - Treadmill Run. 59:51. 6 miles. Burned 645 calories. Max HR 175. Avg HR 155.
5 min @ 5.7 mph
5 min @ 6.0 mph
5 min @ 5.7 mph
4 min @ 6.2 mph
4 min @ 5.7 mph
3 min @ 6.5 mph
3 min @ 5.7 mph
2 min @ 6.7 mph
2 min @ 5.7 mph
1 min @ 7.0 mph
1 min @ 5.7 mph
4 min @ 5.8 mph
5 min @ 6.1 mph
5 min @ 5.8 mph
4 min @ 6.3 mph
4 min @ 5.8 mph
3 min @ 6.5 mph

February 12 - Rest.

February 13 - Chest, Shoulders, and Triceps. 57:09. Burned 390 calories. Max HR 148. Avg HR 122. Used 5, 8, 10, 15 lb dumbbells.
Legs and Back. 58:19. Burned 486 calories. Max HR 166. Avg HR 135. Used 10, 15 lb dumbbells.

February 14 - Jari Love - Get Ripped Slim and Lean. 1:06:34. Burned 411 calories. Max HR 159. Avg HR 116. Used 5,8,10, 15 lb dumbbells.

February 15 - Rest.

February 16- Back and Biceps. 53:06. Burned 356 calories. Avg HR 163. Avg HR 121. Used 10,15,20 lb dumbbells.

February 17 - Treadmill Run. 3.1 miles. 30:52. Burned 380 calories. Max HR 181. Avg HR 167.
5 min @ 5.7 mph
5 min @ 5.8 mph
5 min @ 5.9 mph
5 min @ 6.0 mph
2 min @ 6.1 mph
2 min @ 6.2 mph
2 min @ 6.3 mph
2 min @ 6.4 mph
2 min @ 6.5 mph

February 18 - Rest.

February 19 - Rest.

February 20 - Legs and Back. 1:00:48. Burned 511 calories. Max HR 167. Avg HR 136. Used 10, 15 lb dumbbells. I felt so pukey and tired during this workout. 

2012 Races

Earlier this year, I was talking with Tim about how I was missing doing races.  Last year, I think I only did a few events and I realized that I really miss racing and training.  So, because he's such an awesome hubby, he's been encouraging me to sign up for races and making sure that we have the $$$ in the budget so I can race like I like to.

I haven't really come up with my race schedule for the year, but I am registered for 3 big events.  Here they are!

May 19 - Ogden 1/2 Marathon

June 2 - Little Red Riding Hood Century Ride

September 8 - Bear Lake Brawl 1/2 Ironman

Like I said, I haven't decided what else I would like to do, but I'm kind of toying with doing the Top of Utah 1/2 Marathon, but I think it's just a week or two before the 1/2 IM, so that probably won't happen.  However, there are lots of other options.  I'm just excited to get back into racing.

Awesome Killer Dreadmill Workout

The other day, I came across some new dreadmill workouts from Triathlete magazine, so today, I finally got motivated to try one of them.  Of course, I modified it because while I was running, I realized I needed to be successful and not discouraged.  So, this is what I did.

5 min warmup
5 min @ 10K pace
5 min @ 5K pace
2 min @ 5% incline
3 min recovery
2 min @ 6% incline
3 min recovery
2 min @ 7% incline
3 min recovery *At this point, I was supposed to start the incline at 6%...I stayed at 5%.
2 min @ 5% incline
3 min recovery
2 min @ 6% incline
3 min recovery
2 min @ 7% incline
3 min recovery
10 min @ increasing speed each min
5 min cooldown *Except I did some strides and finished with 2 min of sprinting.

I finished 5.25 miles.  My average heart rate was 169 and I maxed out at 182.  Definitely a great workout.  I've decided that dreadmills are much more bearable when I do intervals.

Oh and the picture...LOVE IT!  I'm pretty sure this is me...in the form of a hippo!  :)

The Ogden Half Marathon! We're In!

I woke up at 5:55am this morning to register Tim, Kyra, and I for the Ogden 1/2 Marathon in May.  This is one of my very favorite races and I'm totally excited because this will be Tim and Kyra's first 1/2 marathon.  Oh, and our friends Tom and Andrea and KeniaAnn and even my mom are signing up.  What a fun day we will have! 

"Treading" #2

Since I had such a great run doing the "treading" workout, I decided I would hit the treadmill and see how today went.  I also thought maybe I should write down these workouts to see if I have any improvements.  Here's how the "treading" went down today.

5 min @ 11:32 min/mile
5 min @ 10:31 min/mile
5 min @ 11:32 min/mile
4 min @10:00 min/mile
4 min @ 11:32 min/mile
3 min @ 9:27 min/mile
3 min @ 11:32 min/mile
2 min @ 0\8:57 min/mile
2 min @ 11:32 min/mile
30 sec @ 8:31 min/mile
30 sec @ 8:00 min/mile
1 min standing on the edge of the treadmill taking deep breaths and keeping the puke down
2 min @ 12:00 min/mile (trying super hard to stop dry heaving)
1 min @ 11:32 min/mile
1 min @ 11:00 min/mile
1 min @ 12:00 min/mile

I ran for 40 min.  I burned 490 calories.  My average heartrate was 164 bpm. I ran 3.?? miles on the treadmill.  Darn it...why can't I remember. So, how does that compare to last time?  My warmup and cooldown and recovery times were at 11:32 pace instead of 12:00 pace. I'm pretty sure that my distance was longer this time.  My last interval and first intervals were not as fast.  I'm wondering if that's a difference from a first thing in the morning run to an early evening run. 

Anyways, that run is in the books.  Now, I just need to convince some of my running buddies that this is a fantastic workout!

A Monday in the Life of a Trophy Wife

I should probably explain the "trophy wife" in the title...I think being a housewife sounds so dull and drab and boring.  Trophy wife sounds WAY better and definitely more glamorous...so when people ask what I do, I tell them that I'm Tim's trophy wife.  Of course that comment gets all sorts of looks, but I'm amused by it.  Anyways, on to my Monday.

Mondays are always super busy for me.  I do that to myself on purpose.  I prefer to get all of my cleaning, laundry, errands, tasks, duties, etc etc etc done on Monday so that I have the rest of the week to hang out with Tim and to do whatever other stuff comes up. 

Here's what I've done today:

-Read my scriptures
-Worked on my lesson for Sunday
-Made oatmeal for breakfast.  Tim cleaned up breakfast so he gets lots of gold stars and lovin for that.
-Unloaded and loaded the dishwasher.
-Took the dog out to do his "business"
-Went over my calendar for the week
-Took the dog out to do his "business"
-Got ready for errands
-Went with Tim to Lowe's to buy paint for our reindeer project.
-Went with Tim to his dad's house to work on the welder.
-Went to Praxair with Tim to get parts for the welder.
-Checked out my mom's thumb since she's injured.
-Ate some of my dad's yummy pineapple.
-Took the dog out to do his "business"
-Ate lunch with Tim.
-Started the laundry

-Used the lady drill to unclog the shower drain.  I joked with Tim that it may be time for me to cut my hair.  He said absolutely not.

-Cleaned and mopped the bathroom.
-Cleaned and mopped the kitchen. Decided not to "restore" the floor since it takes 24 hours to be completely dry.  Who has time to not use their kitchen for 24 hours???
-Dusted, vacuumed and cleaned the ceiling fan in my bedroom.
-Worked on the laundry.
-Took the dog out to do his business.
-Worked on my blog while waiting for the kitchen floor to dry.

I still have 3 more loads of laundry to do, a workout to get done, a floor to "restore", dog school with Kona, and make dinner for my cute husband.  Oh and we need to do FHE.  Like I said, Mondays are busy, but hey...I'll take one busy day if that means the rest of the week goes smoother.

Happy Monday!

"Treading"

This morning, as I was lying in bed, I was sort of feeling like I wanted to go for a run...but I was coming up with a long list of excuses. Excuses like, I'm tired...Its cold outside...I don't want to run by myself...I don't want to be out in the middle of the neighborhood and feel all poopy...Yes, excuses like that.

Suddenly, I was inspired. I thought about Time Out for Women and a talk by Laurel Christensen. For her "Choose to Become" journey, she decided that she wanted to become a runner. She also wanted to lose some weight, so she headed down to the Biggest Loser Ranch in southern Utah. She explained a workout called "treading". When I was listening to the talk, I thought, "I totally need to do that workout." So, since that popped into my head, I decided to head over to the Clubhouse and hit the treadmill. And I had the BEST RUN IVE HAD IN MONTHS!

Here's what my workout looked like.

5 min warmup @ 12:00 min/mile

5 min HARD @ 10:30 min/mile (I actually sped it up to 10:00 min/mile for the last 2:30)

5 min recovery 4 min HARD @ 10:00 min/mile

4 min recovery

3 min HARD @ 9:30 min/mile

3 min recovery 2 min HARD @ 8:57 min/mile (This was puke pace.)

2 min recovery

1 min HARD @ 8:01 min/mile (This was definitely puke pace)

1 min recovery (This involved standing on the edge of the treadmill trying super hard not to dry heave.)

5 min cooldown @ 12:00 min/mile

This was not a fast workout. I think I only ran 3.75 miles. I will say this, I felt super strong and tough and I loved the challenge and I especially loved puke pace. I'm sort of thinking I may need to turn this into a once a week workout!

Kyra and Cross Country Regionals

This afternoon, Tim and I had the opportunity to see Kyra compete in a regional cross country meet from Logan High School. This may not seem like such a big deal, but there is definitely more to this story.

As long as I've known Kyra, she has despised running. I don't mean disliked...I mean hated running with every fiber of her being. Any time the topic of running came up, her mood turned immediately sour. So, I'm sure you can imagine our surprise when Kyra came home at the beginning of the school year to tell us that she had joined the cross country team.

I couldn't believe it. What in the world was she thinking?!? Why in the world would anyone who truly despises running join a running team?!? Especially the CROSS COUNTRY team?!? Tim and I talked about it. He said that if that's what she wanted to do, then let her do it, but she was not allowed to quit.

So, over the past several weeks, Kyra has been staying after school to run. She doesn't run fast. In fact, she is the slowest runner on her team. However, she has continued to train and work hard. Last week, we saw her run at a meet at SkyView High School. She came in last place and was even lapped by the guys.

Over the weekend, Kyra was super wound up and worrying about the meet today. She was putting all sorts of pressure on herself (unnecessarily) and was actually pretty difficult to be around. She kept talking about running well today. I decided to share a story with her.

When I was in 10th grade, I had a friend talk me into trying out for the softball team. I didn't really like softball. I was already playing volleyball and basketball and it was kinda nice to have the spring off. She really didn't want to go to tryouts by herself, so she convinced me to just go with her and I, being the super nice friend that I am, said, "Sure." Well, she didn't make the team, but I did. I have no idea how. My first year, I rode the pine. My batting average was .000. I didn't play hardly ever. Seriously... However, I worked hard and showed up and cheered like a crazy person. My second year, I was playing first base and if I remember correctly, I started every game. My batting average went up, but still wasn't great. I had improved tremendously. My senior year, I batted over .400 and was on the state all-star team. I explained to Kyra that you don't get good in one season. Performing better requires lots of hard work and dedication and determination. It requires stick-to-it-tivness.

Kyra is one of the most stubborn people that I know; although I still have her beat. The tricky thing is that she typically doesn't use her stubborn powers for good. She told me that she wants to become a better runner. She wants to lose weight and become faster. I told her that I could help her do that...but she can't expect it to happen overnight...or in one week, or in one season. If this is what she wants, then she's going to have to spend MONTHS working towards it. This is when she decided that she wants to do the Ogden 1/2 Marathon in May 2012.

Fast forward to today...we saw Kyra before the start. Her and her friend Harriet barely made it to the start when the gun went off. The rest of the girls took off and Kyra was in last place. I went back to the car to get the super cute flowers we got for Kyra (gorgeous red gerber daisies and yellow tiny mums that looked like miniature sunflowers). I caught Kyra walking, so I yelled at her "Get going!" Then I went and found Tim. We waited for Kyra and we waited for Kyra and we waited for Kyra. There were girls finishing the race and we hadn't seen Kyra yet at all. We started to wonder if she quit. How was it taking so long?

Then we saw her...jogging along. She kept going and she even pushed herself up this hill.

She jogged past us on the road.

She headed out for the rest of her run. Tim and I yelled to her "don't quit" and I yelled "no more walking". We headed back towards the center of the course to wait for her to run by. I'm pretty sure that she got lost, which has happened in all of her races this year, because next thing we know, she comes up to us and has been finished "for awhile." She may or may not have cut the course short.

The moral of this long story is that Kyra didn't quit. She did something that was SUPER HARD for her. She stuck with it. She even wants to run cross country again next year. And she wants to train for a 1/2 marathon. I can't wait to start the training... *insert evil laugh*

Needless to say, we are SO PROUD of her! She proved to herself that SHE CAN DO HARD THINGS! What a great thing to be able to say about herself! I think that the feeling of self worth that comes from running (or whatever challenging activity you enjoy) will always always always improve your view of yourself. I'll be sure and provide updates on how her running is improving.

Saturdays are Busy

This has been a super busy Saturday. Kona woke me at 5:30am to go outside and then I was awake, so I decided to head out for a run.

I actually got 6 miles done and felt great! When I got home, I took Kona for a walk around the neighborhood to cool down. He decided he was in kind of a naughty mood.

Then it was home for a shower. At some point, Kona found a kleenex box and we ended up with this in our living room.

Tim and Rylan headed off to put the bumper on the cruiser (more on that in a minute) and I headed to the Cache Valley Gardener's Market. Tim says I am a sucker for farmer's markets and he's probably right. I went with the intention of buying some lettuce. I came home with 2 bags of gourmet organic lettuce, a bag of spinach, a bag of over the top delicious arugula, a jar of raspberry jam, 2 mini strawberry pies, 2 mini razzleberry tarts, and a bunch of radishes. I'm thinking that Tim is probably right.

When I got home, I dropped off the yummy goodness I bought, and Kyra and I headed to my parents. We were planning on finishing planting our vegetable garden, but the soil is too wet, so we helped my parents plant 25 arctic willow bushes.
Here's the before picture.

Here's the after picture.

Oh and in the middle of this, Kona decided that he's lost his fear of water and went to play in the canal.

He got to come home smelling like a swamp.

When the planting was done, we headed out to Tim's dad's house, except we had to turn around and head home to bring the jeep Tim's dad is selling to a mechanic for an inspection. Anyways, Tim came to pick us up and we headed to McDonald's for a quick lunch. Then, we got to spend the next 5 hours helping Tim put the new 200 lb bumper on the cruiser.


Here's the mostly finished product.

In the middle of all of this, Tim sold his dad's jeep. Here's my father-in-law's dance of joy!

I headed home with the kids and pulled out the chicken for dinner tomorrow, as well as the frozen pizza for dinner tonight.

While dinner was cooking, it was off to McDonalds to pick up our movies. We love the redbox!

So, now we're lying in bed, with Kona, watching "Knight and Day"...dumb movie, but entertaining... I'm just glad that the day is almost over.

Braveheart 5K - First Race of 2011

This morning was our first race of 2011. I didn't want to go. I woke up early to take care of my parents' dogs and came home and crawled back in bed. I was really really hoping that Tim would say "Let's skip the race and stay home in our warm bed." Nope...he got up and got ready and so I decided to get it together and head out.

The Braveheart 5k-10k is a local race here in Logan, sponsored by the USU ROTC and the funds raised go to a local "need". The "need" this year was for a woman in my parents ward named Molly. Her son Mason was born with a congenital heart defect and as you can imagine, the costs are staggering. He's doing well and has had his second surgery and will be "cured" after his third surgery. Anyways, we thought it was a GREAT cause, which is why we decided to run.

We picked up Kyra and headed up to the university to get registered. I was overwhelmed with the number of runners and walkers who showed up. I'm guessing (from bib numbers) that there were about 500 participants which was awesome! There was some confusion at the start due to the number of people, but at 9:15 the 5k participants (that's us!) headed out.

Tim planned on staying with Kyra, who is not a runner, and told me to go ahead and run, so off I went. I got stuck around these super annoying college girls who were just whiny, so I sped up a bit and got past them. I didn't feel like I was pushing too hard and I was feeling good so I just kept up my pace. I skipped the water stop and kept plodding along. I looked at my watch and was trying to gauge how far I had run and how much further I had to go, but I had no idea what my pace was.

When I left this morning, I mentally set a goal to finish in under 36 minutes. I haven't been running much at all, except for a few runs in the past couple of weeks, so I was thinking that 12 min/mile would be a good pace. Boy was I surprised when I finished in 32:07! I can't believe that I did 11 min/miles and I probably should have/could have gone faster!

Once I crossed the finish line, I headed back out to find Tim and Kyra. I found Tim easily. He was about 6 minutes behind me. He told me to go and find Kyra and that she was far back. I kept running and running and was thinking "yikes, where is she?!" when I finally found her. I guess she had about 1.25 or so miles to go. I got her jogging for 1 minute intervals and then we found Tim. We could see the finish line and Kyra wanted to walk. I told her to catch the woman in the blue jacket ahead of her and beat her. All of the sudden, Ky had this burst of speed and off she went. I think her finish time was around 48 minutes.

After the race, we grabbed some super concentrated Gatorade...yummy! I also grabbed a slice of Great Harvest cinnamon bread and then it was time to head home to get ready for dog school. I'm so glad that Tim got me up to go to the race. I forgot how much I love racing. It was also a surprise to see that I'm not as out of shape as I thought. Now, I just have to get into better shape.

Racing is definitely not a bad way to kick off the weekend!

P.S. We forgot the camera this morning, so no pictures. Oh well...I'm sure there will be more races to come.

Kona's First Training Run

This morning, when Tim woke up, he asked Kona if he would like to go running. Apparently, our workout today was going to be a run. Kona has never gone running with us before, so this was a new experience for all of us. Because he's a great dane, we have to be careful with how much impact he has on his joints, especially since he's still a puppy and still has alot of growing and developing to do. We've got approval from the vet for him to start running, but the weather has been sort of iffy and we didn't want a filthy, muddy dog. So, today was the day!

As you can tell from the picture, Kona was ready to go! We didn't take the camera on the run, so no "running" pics, but Kona had a great time. He did pretty well and stayed fairly close to me or Tim for most of the run. He did start pulling on the leash on the way home. I think he was ready for his breakfast. Oh, and while we were on our run, we saw 7 deer. There were 3 bucks and 4 does. They were gorgeous!

After the run, Kona had breakfast and then wandered around the house, watching us clean. He's opposed to the vacuum, unless we're vacuuming him off, so he usually just paces around in whatever room we're not cleaning in. After things quieted down, and he got vacuumed off, he crashed. You can tell how wiped out he is in this picture.

The Joys of Running

Last summer, after the Boise Ironman 70.3, I was burned out with training. I did a few more races, but just didn't feel much like really doing any structured workouts. This continued right on up through the St. George Marathon and then went right on through now. I haven't been following a training program for awhile and it has been nice. I've been working out and doing alot of walking and just enjoying being active without training. This has sorta been weird for me because I always like to be training for something...however, with the wedding planning and the job stuff and everything else that is going on in life, it has been really nice not to have the pressure of fitting in training sessions.

On March 1, I signed up for the Top of Utah Marathon. I knew that I wouldn't have to start training until May which sounded pretty good to me. I also knew that I would have some training partners, namely Tim and my mom. I should probably make it clear that Tim is not doing the full marathon, but he did sign up for the Top of Utah 1/2 Marathon that occurs in August. Anyways, I signed up and then didn't think any more about it.

All last week, we had gorgeous weather here...sunshine, wind, and the temps were in the 70s. I kept saying to myself that I would go for a run after work. However, other things came up and I ended up going for walks instead. Saturday morning, I woke up and went for a 2 hour walk with my friend Julie and enjoyed the rain and the social interactions...it actually made me want to run.

Sunday morning, I woke up and laid in bed for about 15 minutes and decided that today was the day I was going to start running again. I got out of bed, pulled on some running clothes, grabbed my running shoes and headed out the door. I only ran for 30 minutes or so, but I ran and it felt so good! I had a smile on my face and a spring in my step. I had to mentally remind myself not to go too far because I don't want to be injured. It was a fantastic way to start off Easter Sunday.

I ran again this morning. It wasn't as joyful. My legs felt heavy, and it was humid, but I was running. As I was running I couldn't help but think that running is the perfect way to start off the day. My mind was clear. I was completely in sync with my body. I enjoyed the beauty of a hazy sunrise. I saw happy dogs going for their morning walk. I saw tulips starting to open. I felt great!

I guess this means that I'm a runner again...yay!