Each Day Is a Gift

March 28, 2024

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Location:

UT,

Member Since:

Oct 14, 2008

Gender:

Female

Goal Type:

Age Division Winner

Running Accomplishments:

85 marathons, 5 times Utah Grand Slam finisher (division winner twice).

7 Bostons (2008, 2009, 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2016).

Two 50Ks, one 50 miler (Pony Express).

A handful of AG wins in all distance races.

Marathon PR: 3:57:09 (Boston'08)

Half Marathon PR: 1:48:41 (Bryce Canyon '11)

10K PR: 47:50 (Spectrum 10K '09)

5K PR: 22:31 (Nestle 5K '08)
 

Short-Term Running Goals:

2017 Races:

June 10 - Utah Valley Marathon (5:13:43)

June 24 - Morgan Valley Marathon (5:49:01)

July 8 - Hobbler Half (2:19:37, 2nd AG)

July 24 - Temple to Temple 5K (27:43)

July 29 - Timp Half (2:08:01, 3rd AG)

Aug 26 - Mt. Nebo Marathon (5:16:16, 3rd AG)

Sep 16 - Huntsville Marathon (4:48:53)

Oct 7 - St. Geroge Marathon (4:57:11)

Nov 4 - Canyon City Marathon (5:30:07)

2018 Races:

Jan 13 - St. George Half (2:19:45, 3rd AG)

Mar 3 - The Woodlands Marathon (5:01:35)

Apr 6-7 - Ragnar So. California

June 1-2 - Ragnar Wasatch Back

June 9 - Utah Valley Marathon (5:19:22)

June 30 - Morgan Valley Half

Sep 1 - Pocatello Marathon (6:00:43)

Sep 15 - Huntsville Marathon (5:37:08)

Oct 6 - St. George Marathon (5:25:43)

Oct 20 - SoJo Marathon (5:29:23)

2019 Races:

June 1 - Utah Valley Marathon (5:44:24)

June 22 - Morgan Valley Marathon (6:15:13)

Aug 31 - Pocatello Marathon (5:38:47)

Sep 14 - Big Cottonwood Marathon (6:03:51)

Oct 5 - St. George Marathon (5:57:46)

Oct 12 - SoJo Marathon (5:55:45)

2020 Races:

Jan 18 - St. George Half (2:38:28)

Feb 15 - Sun Marathon (5:51:54)

May 5 - Conquer Covid-19 Virtual Marathon (5:49:07)

May 16 - Clear Creek Canyon Half Marathon (2:32:15)

May 25 - Utah Valley Virtual Marathon (5:33:110

June 9 - Independence Run Virtual Marathon (5:55:22)

 

Long-Term Running Goals:

Run happy and healthy all the days of my life. Be an example and inspiration to my family.

 

Personal:

I'm 64, retired RN, happily married, nana to 14 beautiful grandchildren, mother to 6 children (1 daughter, 5 sons) who are kind, hardworking, caring, wonderful people! Wish they live closer!!!  :)  :)  :)

Picked up running in 2005 at age 50, to stay healthy so I can take care of my husband who had endocarditis resulting in AVR and MVR in 2004, end stage renal failure in 2014, kidney transplant on Dec 30, 2015.  Six months after the kidney transplant, we discovered that he has a rare auto-immune disease that was probably triggered in 2004 with then the undiagnosed infective endocarditis.  The doctors had to make up a name for this rare disease, Monoclono Gammopathy with Renal Significance (MGRS).  It is not curable.  After desperately trying different chemotherapies, the doctor finally found one immuno-therapy, Daratumamab, that works to treat the MGRS.  It is a miracle!!! 

Grateful for the gift of life, blessings, dear friends and loved ones!!! Thankful for the ability to move, walk, jog, and yes run!!!!

 

Favorite Blogs:

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Miles:This week: 0.00 Month: 0.00 Year: 0.00
Saucony Guide ISO Wide Lifetime Miles: 311.91
Saucony Guide ISO Lifetime Miles: 313.31
Sacony Guide ISO (2) Lifetime Miles: 225.26
Altra Torin (sz 7) Lifetime Miles: 44.49
Saucony Guide 10 (2020) Lifetime Miles: 60.91
Easy MilesMarathon Pace MilesThreshold MilesVO2 Max MilesTotal Distance
19.002.500.000.0021.50

Got up at 5am.  Lowell and I had a quick breakfast of banana and OJ before heading over to Karen's so she could follow us to Thanksgiving Point.  Got there at 5:50.  Used the bathroom.  Met Toby, Catherine and RAD at the packet pick up pavilion.  Temps was in the high 30s, calm.  PERFECT running weather! 

We ran the beginning miles of the course;  RAD and Catherine turned around at the hairpin turn (2.5 miles).   Lowell, Toby, Karen and I ran further north then turned east around the backside of the Thanksgiving Point business park and back to the start.  Had to walk to take my albuterol on the uphill climb east of the Marriott Hotel.  So mad at my asthma.  Forgot to restart my Garmin so lost a mile data.  But Karen's Garmin showed that we've run just a tad under 5 miles so I ran to the car to ditch the jacket and gloves to make 5.

Ran to the start as the announcer said 60 seconds before the race.  Waited for the gang to go over the timing mat.  Got to hang with Misty a little bit and cheered JakeK and Walter.  SO EXCITING to see the Elites breezing by! :)  Rachel shot out in front of the 1:55 pace group.  That girl is on fire! :)  Lowell, Karen, Toby and I hang back at the 9:20 pace.  All was well until we hit some uphills where my lungs just wouldn't let me run!  It was very kind of Toby and Karen to stay close.  

Running thru the gardens is crazy fun, beautiful tulips in full bloom, the rose garden arbor was romantic, so was the merry-go-round, the butterfly garden has fun hedges to run thru, my favorite was the children's discovery garden and the biggest man-made water fall.  :)  Then comes the golf course with its undulating rollers...yikes...it kills any oz. of my rhythm...I would blast down the downhills only to come to a halt on the uphills.  When I say hills...I mean rollers...but they felt like mountains! :)  They are so NOT fun!

Got a little bit of headwind when we headed south which took my measly breath away.  That was the beginning of my "wall".  I could not pick up my pace without a hint of asthma attack coming on...so I jogged/walked until we got off the golf course.  Toby and Karen and Toby's friends started pulling away.  When I saw them at one of the hairpin turns, I cut across to meet them.  I would've been DQ'd twice today...hahaha!!! :)

On the straight stretch (NOT too many of those, this course has more turns then Rapumsel's curls) I was able to keep a steady pace but still couldn't keep strides with the gang.  I saw a prego girl and wasn't about to let her beat me so I ran with her until the last turn north with about 0.2 or less to go.  Her family was there to cheer her in.  I "kicked" it in after the turn into Electric Park.  I could see Toby but couldn't catch her.  I peeled off a few yards from the finish just before the barricade and continue to run on the walkway to circle around the finisher's corral.  I didn't reset my Garmin, so not sure what my time for the Half was. 

After finding the gang, we used the pop, dropped off Lowell's finisher medals in the car and went out for 4 more miles.  We ran about a mile out and turned back to see if Lowell was coming and realized he must've decided not to come.  Debated whether to call it quit...I would've if RAD didn't stay with me.  I had to take a lot of walk breaks.  THANKS Rachel for staying with me! :)  Karen and Toby ran up ahead and turned west to make sure they got in 4 miles, RAD turned to join them.  I ran the last mile of the race and passed some of the half-marathoners.  Got some cheer from the people in my Stake (both during the race, after and now)!!! :)

It was SUPER COOL to see Lily, Walter and met in person JakeK, Andrea and Runningafterbabies who all took podium.  CONGRATZ!!!  WINNER WINNER CHICKEN DINNER!!!! :) :) :)  Lowell took 2nd in his AG!  After the award ceremony, we went to IHop for yummy brunch!  :)

OH!  How could I forget the Altra Maniacs (jun and Matt).  They were running everywhere cheering and spreading AWESOME STUDNESS!!! Got to see them 3 times on the course and they even ran a little bit with me on the golf course rollers AND hang out at the award ceremony.  I'm still smiling thinking about it! :) :) :) :) :)

*****Hit 55 miles this week!  At this stage of my training, I feel fortunate that I can put in the mileage...but...my fitness is not there...I am running SO SLOW!!!!  Will just have to accept the fact that I am getting oldER and I may never ever PR again! :(  With that said, I have not lost my love of running...well, it's the only thing I know how to do! Hehehe! :)


Elixir (ski Patrol) Miles: 21.50
Night Sleep Time: 5.50Nap Time: 0.00Total Sleep Time: 5.50Weight: 0.00
Comments
From Teena Marie on Sat, Apr 28, 2012 at 15:38:35 from 174.27.199.63

Sounds like a FANTASTIC morning!!! :)

I love you! :)

INCREDIBLE miles. :)

From runningafterbabies on Sat, Apr 28, 2012 at 15:38:43 from 71.195.219.247

You are just as cute and peppy in person. I really wanted to snag your awesome Boston threads! So nice to meet you in person.

From catherine on Sat, Apr 28, 2012 at 15:39:35 from 98.202.112.38

Aww Smooth...I didn't know you were struggling with asthma today. Amazing job on pushing through it and still loving the running. :)

From Carina on Sat, Apr 28, 2012 at 15:39:44 from 204.15.86.83

So fun to chat with you this morning :) You looked so great and then you said you just ran 21 miles, I couldn't believe it. I wish I looked that good after my 21 miles!! Fun morning :)

From Smooth on Sat, Apr 28, 2012 at 15:48:28 from 174.27.212.157

SSF ~ It was a FUN morning! I miss you so much! But am happy that you are doing so well with school, having fun with your family. Hope you're still basking in the glory of your AWESOME Boston!

Melody ~ It was SO GREAT to meet you in person! You're a tiny little thing and SO BEAUTIFUL! CONGRATZ on your win!!! :)

Catherine ~ thanks! You're an amazing runner! You DID AWESOME this morning!

Carina ~ You are seriously the CUTEST prego runner girl there ever is! THANKS! Can't wait to see you RACE after your baby is born! :)

From Jake K on Sat, Apr 28, 2012 at 16:54:54 from 67.182.215.126

Great meeting you today smooth!!! :-)

From Tom Slick on Sat, Apr 28, 2012 at 16:55:45 from 69.171.160.0

Good to see your recovering fron the Boston Death March.....

From RAD on Sat, Apr 28, 2012 at 19:48:57 from 98.202.23.178

All right girl, I'm gonna lay it down. YOU RAN 21 MILES!!! I don't care how fast, slow or in between... YOU did it! How many people (even close to your age) can say that? You are amazing and your love of running will keep you going forever. Speed schmeed. Running isn't all about speed, it is about the LOVE of the sport, and you know that better than anyone. Chin up Smooth! We all love and adore you and I couldn't HELP but run with you, because I love it (and you) too much. I would've walked all 5 with you :)

I had a wonderful time hanging out afterward as well. I've missed you! We need to do our Porter Rockwell before Ogden to put it all together. I can't wait!!!

From Toby on Sat, Apr 28, 2012 at 21:20:29 from 199.101.229.6

It's been awhile since we've run together and it was SO fun to catch up! I had SO much fun chatting with you and Karen....it made the time go by SO fast! I'm so inspired for your ever diligent running. I need to be better!

THANK YOU for a great morning!

From Nancy on Sun, Apr 29, 2012 at 07:13:34 from 76.23.21.118

Great job. I don't know how you can go so far with asthma bothering you so much. You are not slow. I had a hard time for a while about how I am slowing down so much, but I decided that I am just glad I can still run.

From Chad on Sun, Apr 29, 2012 at 11:47:28 from 71.199.13.143

Wow, 55 miles this week! Nice job. I wish I could have run this race with all my running friends. What a wonderful day you had. I can't wait to run with you again. It's been too long.

From Kendall on Sun, Apr 29, 2012 at 20:50:04 from 65.100.247.159

So nice meeting you Smooth (& Larry). Good luck with the running. Hope you enjoyed your day with us.

From RunMatt on Mon, Apr 30, 2012 at 10:51:01 from 199.190.170.21

Super job! See you at Ogden!

From Rhett on Mon, Apr 30, 2012 at 21:44:16 from 184.12.173.100

Wow Smooth, I can't believe you ran so far so soon after Boston. Never say never. If you want to PR again you'll just have to give your body some extra recovery time that you never take. Then focus speed for a while and then build back up to the crazy miles you run. Or you can just enjoy the fact that you can run insane amounts of miles just slower than you used to. Either way you are amazing!

From Smooth on Mon, Apr 30, 2012 at 22:29:29 from 174.27.212.157

RAD ~ you always say the right things! THANKS!

Toby ~ Thank YOU for the run! You made it fun for me. I felt bad that I couldn't keep up with you and Karen!

Nancy ~ you are an inspiration to me. Thanks for the understanding words!

Chad ~ You would've loved this run. We miss you!

Kendall ~ it was so nice to meet you. You put on a GREAT race. Lowell and I and the girls had a WONDERFUL morning. The course is absolutely scenic and never boring...challenging yet fun. I originally was going to volunteer since I was nursing a stress fracture before Boston. But since I was playing host to Lowell, I couldn't do both. So may be next year. THANKS for all your hard work! You and your staff and volunteers were AWESOME!!!

RunMatt ~ will you say hi if you see me at Ogden! :) Thanks!

Rhett ~ You mean I can't have my cake and eat it too? I'm thinking at my age, there's not gonna be any PR left in me. That's ok. I still hope to run as many marathons as I can before Larry and I go on a mission. :)

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