Each Day Is a Gift

5 easy in 47 min flat.  AP: 9:23  Going to get me some new running socks.

Didn't sleep well last night.  Had a training meeting at Temple Square this morning.  Got home in the afternoon, ate a big lunch, was very sleepy.  The weather forecast said it would rain/snow tomorrow.  So rather than take a nap which would ruin my sleep tonight, I changed into running clothes and went out for a hilly run.  I was over dressed.  Took off the jacket 1.5 mile into the run.  Legs were sluggish at first.  Turned around at mile 3 and sprinted up the 1.5 mile hill.  Felt good running uphill and good steady pace throughout.

6 miles in 56:56.  AP: 9:29  Splits: 9:46, 9:23, 9:42, 9:02, 9:32, 9:28.

***My Boston "racing wardrobe" arrived from Adidas this afternoon.  I LOVE the jacket.  The neon yellow shirt is awesome.  The fabric is soft and stretchy.  The color is very vibrant.  Hubby should be able to spot me unless thousand others are wearing the same yellow shirts. The adiStar split shorts is a bit too short.  I think I will exchange the shorts for something more modest.  I am getting SO excited for Boston!!! ***

Conference weekend means family dinner at my house which means I have to clean and cook.  I'd rather be running.  O well... it's too windy, cold with snow/rain anyway.  I did take a nap after lunch.  Why do I get so sleepy after I eat?  Do you ever?  

OK, we're meeting at 7am tomorrow at the Lehi JRP for long run.  You are all welcome to join us.  We are water-proof-dye-in-da-blue-nut'n-gonna-stop-us-fun-lovin'-red-hot-pink-chicks-crazy-runners!!!!   FUN!!! FUN!!! FUN!!!  RUN!!! RUN!!! RUN!!!

17 years ago today,  a Monday morning after General Conference,  I went into labor and gave birth to a beautiful perfect baby boy who completed our family of 8.  This morning that baby boy towered over me, scarfed down breakfast and off to conquer AP History and Calculus.  Where did all the time go?  

In two weeks I will be standing in the corral with thousands of excited runners at Hopkinton, watching the F16s zoom overhead in a hopefully calm blue sky.  This morning  the Utah sky is clear blue, the air is fresh, trees are budding, birds are chirping.  What a perfect day to do my last 10 Yasso's run.  

Had a breakfast of yogurt topped with Kashi cereal, 1/2 a blueberry muffin with milk, water.  Did the Dynamic Flexibility Exercises: Tilt Walk, Zombies, Trunk Rotation, Lunge Walk, Lateral Lunge, Foward Leg Swing, Lateral Leg Swing, Heel Bounce.  Wore my Boston 08 s/s shirt and shorts (ahhh, no more tights and jackets), sunglasses and set my Garmin to show pace, average pace and lap pace on 3 different screens.

Ran 1.5 mile for warm up.  Ran 10 Yasso's around the block just like last week,  10 x 0.5 mi at 5K race pace, 0.2 mi recovery at marathon pace in between.   Legs were tired but felt good with 1.6 mile cool down.

10.25 mile in 1:29:15.  AP: 8:42.  Splits: 9:13, 8:16, 8:15, 8:06, 8:59, 8:23, 9:02, 8:37, 9:11, 8:54, (last 0.25 @ 8:58)

Ran west to 12th W. downhill then uphill for 2.6 mile as warm up, keeping steady effort for the uphill.  Then ran the remainder 5.15 miles on gentle rolling terrain at tempo pace.  Other than a brief moment around mile 3.5 where the anterior ligament above the left knee was achy; felt great and strong throughout.  Stretches post-run.

7.75 miles in 1:07:49.  AP: 8:44.  Splits:  9:21, 8:57, 9:03, 8:38, 8:32, 8:38, 8:25 8:14.

I was about to call my friend, Wendy to see if she wants to go for an easy run with me.  I had not run with her since end of Oct after SG.  Right then the door bell rang.  Guess who were standing there all sweaty and smiling, Wendy & Mary.  They came by to wish me luck for Boston and informed me that they hadn't run all Winter, subsequently are not running Ogden and now just starting to train for SGM.  How time past when you're busy.  I can't believe I've been training for 6 months.  We had some fun giggles about their winter "fat" and my humongous legs.

Ran 4 easy at average pace 10 mm.  Glad I got the key workouts done the last two days; a storm is brewing.  So much dust from the wind that I can't see the mountains.

Off to a busy day making leadership prep. and refreshments for tonight.  I'm making 100 yogurt parfeit...hope the brethreans like it; I know the sisters will. 

I could not fall asleep last night.  Early morning meetings.  Off to go to the temple now.  Busy day with shopping and evening events.  Hope to get some core workout in today. 

My feet are killing me!!!!  I was in heels (only 1.5") all day yesterday.  I even ran on the streets of Salt Lake to make it to WICKED.  I wish I could wear my running shoes to meetings, temple, shopping, wedding and the broadway show.  But people already had to look "down" at me with my 4'10.5" frame.  Sigh!  Vanity won over sanity!

I just had to test my feet to see if I could run.  I thought I was running slow.  About mile 3.5 my left knee and right calf started to complain.  Yikes!!!  I hope all these little ailments go away in 10 days.

5.25 miles in 47:42  AP: 9:05   That was dumb! 

Around the World Core and Fast Abs

AM/PM Yoga

When I went to bed last night, the legs and left foot were still sore.  Hubby was up early to go to the 6am temple session.  I debated what to do.  I couldn't go back to sleep.  Saw that there was no rain and not too cold (T. low 40's).  Bec's counting on me to pick her up.  What the heck, I got dressed, ate breakfast, and did a few stretches and was warm enough to wear shorts.  Picked up Bec at 6:40 and arrived to the Porter Rockwell Park at 7:00.  Didn't see anyone other than one lady who kept smiling at us (who turned out to be Metcalf).  Sorry to see a text message from Marion that she's up all night with sickness.  Maurine arrived, then Kelli, Rachel and Heidi showed up.  They have already run 6.  Maurine gave us a "run-down" of the parkway lay-out.  Off we went.  

Rachel and Bec lead the pack, Heidi and Kelli were the middle pack, Metcalf and I stayed at the back of the pack while Maurine ran up on the equestrian trail.  It was fun talking and soon we're running up to the base of Traverse Mountain.  The parkway took us up to the point of the mountain for 5.6 miles where we turned around.  We got back to the park where there were families of Easter egg hunters.  Rachel and I ran around the park at the end for another mile.  

I'm glad I went.  The calf muscles were a little tight on the way down at around mile 8; but otherwise it was a nice recovery run.  THANK YOU Metcalf for helping make the miles go by so fast.  I would have been lost without you since I'm severely directional challenged.  It was so fun chatting with you.

Kelli brought us yummy Kneaders sugar cookies in the shape of bunnies.  Rachel brought us orange juice.  What a treat after a fun run with friends!  Kelli presented Bec and I bags of Boston Baked Beans for good-luck send-off.  THANKS, KELLI!!!  WHAT AN AWESOME, THOUGHTFUL FRIEND!  You girls are the sweetest, nicest running friends ever!!!!  It was a perfect taper run on a perfect day!  

12.15 miles in 1:57:57.  AP: 9:42  Splits: 9:45, 9:20, 9:17, 10:16, 9:59, 9:53, 9:39, 9:33, 9:49, 9:41, 9:41, 9:31

My legs felt tired on Sunday.  I spoke with my son who advised me to not run at all this week (may be couple of miles on Thu. or Fri.) and to get 9 hrs sleep daily to let the legs recover.

Well, I did not listen.  The gorgeous weather and the brand new Boston race shirt was calling me to go for a "test run".  From the get go the legs were dead.  2.5 mile into the run my right calf and left quad started to hurt.   I had experienced those pain the last two weeks of running and would seem to get better as the run progress.  Not today... It was a painful death march home.  I should have listened to my son.   I will take the rest of the week off and hope my leg muscles recover in time.

I did NOT do any running or exercise today!  My body felt like a freight train had run over it this morning.   I took my blood sugar after Teena called.  I didn't want her to panic.  I was only able to do 3 of the things on my list; none was strenuous, y'all can rest assured.  

I'm gonna take my blood sugar first thing in the morning and hopefully it is normal.  I do have a question.  Has anyone lost weight during taper? 

I just got a call from my son's friend's mother telling me that her child was diagnosed with Pertussis and Steven was exposed.  Wonderful...I get to call the health department tomorrow to find out what I need to do.  

Couldn't sleep having nightmares about Boston.  Called the health department and left message... hadn't heard back yet.  Snow/rain/cold was my excuse for NOT clearing the tree branches from pruning we did.  Living on an acre with 25 fruit trees and a jungle of poplars is a real pain.  

Got on the treadmill and did workout #10 with variable speed and incline.  Max speed was 7, max incline was 10.  Kept pace steady on the three "hills".  Legs felt tight around mile 2.5 but loosen up afterward.

5.25 mile.   AP: 10:00.  Around the World Core 25 reps.  AM Yoga

Had a fabulous lunch.  It was a burst of sunshine in the midst of a stormy day.  THANKS Teena!

Today was almost an identical day as last Thursday minus going to see Wicked.  Went to the temple.  Shopped for last minute Boston stuff:  cheap air mattress, snacks, gum and lots of Costco frozen food for Steven (he operates the micro-wave oven like a French chef).  Got the house ready, started the laundry.  Went to a wedding.  I'm so pooped.  I need to go to bed early.  Too much to do...too little time!

Just HAD to run a little to make sure I still remember how.  I got all warmed up and didn't realize I was running at marathon pace.  Promised myself not to go too far.  4.25 miles in 37 min.   Oh, I gained one pound, I'm so excited, must be the cake and ice-cream at the wedding last night.

Going to pack now!  So much to do...so little time.  I hope I can sleep on the plane.  Last year I did not sleep a wink for 3 days.  I dozed off on the bus ride to Hopkinton 'cause our bus was caught in traffic.  I hope to have more time at the Athlete Village this year to soak in the pre-race vibes and energy from all these other awesome athletes.  I am running this race for three very special girls.  It's gonna be GREAT!

THANK YOU SO MUCH EVERY BODY FOR YOUR WELL WISHES, LOVE & SUPPORT!!!  YOU ARE MY VERY BESTEST RUNNING FRIENDS!!!!

Getting to Boston

Late Friday night, Hubby and I went to pick up Da Coach (TomSlick) in Sandy for our red-eye flight to Boston.  I could tell Coach was trying to sit still and quiet so I could sleep.  Bless his heart, none of us could sleep sitting upright.  We got to NYC at 6:00 am Saturday and sat at the JFK airport for another 3 hours.

We finally made it to Boston Logan airport where Jeff, my son, flying in from Chicago was waiting at the luggage claim.  It took us an hour to get to our hotel, the Radisson where my brother-in-law, Gary, from Hong Kong was waiting.   The best way to get in and around Boston is riding the T.  For $15, you can get a 7-days-unlimited-ride "Charlie Pass". 

After checking in the hotel and a quick lunch we went to the expo at the Convention Center to pick up packets, gather some freebies, did the marathondvd personal message, etc.  It is a mega expo, runner's mecca, skinny people convention all in one!!!!  I saw lotsa Kara Goucha look-alike.

While leaving the expo I got a call from my oldest son, Eric. We chatted about Boston and all the hoopla when he finally said: “BTW, I’d like you to meet the newest member of the family!” What???!!! I just became grandma for the 4th time??!!! His baby girl was born at 6:54 am weighing less than 6 lbs and 17” long on the new mother’s own birthday, 3 weeks early, but healthy. What a wonderful news!!!

At 5pm we met up with MarcE, Canyon (Marcie N.) and Rhett to go to Fenway Park for the Sox game. I learned all about the Green Monster and America’s favorite pass-time from Canyon. I confess that I do not care for the Fenway food-fair. My carb-load dinner of a cup clam chowder, a pretzel, a roast beef panini sandwitch and a bottle water cost $22. I was getting cold so after seeing a home-run (the most important thing to see) at the end of the 6th inning; we went back to the hotel.   The Red Sox beat the Oreoles 6 to 4.

Gary was carb-loading in earnest (I should say: he FORCED himself to eat). Every time Gary ate, hubby would question why I wasn’t eating. I must not be doing the carb-loading right. The two of them brought back some Chinese take-out and forced me to eat. Aaagh!

The Day before the BIG DAY!!!

Sunday we went to Sacrament at the Boston 2nd ward which turned out to be a Haitian Branch. It was neat listening to Creole. They sure sang beautifully.  Rhett came with us and I could tell he had a hard time walking with his PF foot pain. After church we stopped at Chinatown for lunch…more carb loading!!!

Rhett was such a good sport. He has such a happy disposition and positive attitude about everything. We really loved his company. In the afternoon, I went back to the expo to exchange the shorts and saw Lark. I was sad to learn that he had just turned in his chip.

In the evening we met up with the gang (my family, Slick, Canyon, MarcE, Rhett, all stayed in the same hotel) for the pasta dinner. It was disconcerting for me to sense Slick’s struggle with the idea of his longest race the next day.  He had knee surgery in September and had been trying hard to rehab that knee to the point he can run slowwly.  I felt so helpless...such is life.  But I know he would be fine and would probably offer kindly advice to fellow first-time-Boston-runners along the way. 

Celebrating 24 weeks of Training

Boston 2008 was such a wonderful experience that the moment I crossed the finish line I wanted to return and run it again. I had the best time in more ways than one. I wanted Boston 2009 to be as wonderful. I began training a month after SGM’08 for 24 weeks. I was disappointed that Teena had to defer. But I was happy that my brother-in-law, Gary, from HK was running (he deferred the last 2 years); and my son, Jeff, from Chicago was coming to see me and his friend, Becca run. I think I was more excited about seeing them and my running friends than the race itself.

My three goals were:
Satisfied ~ Finish without charlie horse (which has plagued me in races).
Happy ~ Run a qualifying time (need 4:05:59 to BQ).
Ecstatic ~ Run a PR (Boston’08 was 3:57:09).

I followed the 24 weeks training plan to the tee. I felt that I peaked around week 20 and was loosing steam during the last month. The week before the race I felt very fatigued. However, I have learned much about core strengthening and getting better at finding my pace.

I could never sleep the night before race. Gary and I were up before the alarm. We met the gang and walked to the bus line. It was fun talking with Canyon, Rhett and Gary on the bus ride. We got to Hopkinton with 2.5 hours to spare. Thanks to Lark’s air-mattresses, we made ourselves comfortable at the Village. All that carb-loading really did me in... visiting the PoP three times.

Soon everyone headed to their corrals and I was left all by my lonesome self. I called Lowell several times with no luck. I waited till the last possible minute before heading to my corral. It was hard deciding what to keep and drop off. I ended up wearing shorts, short sleeve top and gloves. The temp was in the low 40’s; but the wind chill made it feel more like 30’s. I was glad to have a kitchen garbage bag on for the walk to the corral.

The race started just as I got in the corral and all of a sudden I felt another “need to go”…too late. It took 8 min. of walking to the start line. I started out really slow (9:28 pace). There were just too many people. I kept looking for Lowell and Terry with no luck. I did talk to lots of 60ish men along the way. 

My plan was to run the whole thing at steady pace or at least even effort. I dedicated the first 10Ks to Emi, my new granddaughter, having fun and enjoying the crowds from all these little towns.  Gotta love the quaint homes and shops in New England.  10K time: 56:38

The next 10Ks was for Teena…funny how many girls I saw resemble her along the route.  Oh, how I wish we could run these middle miles together.  I momentarily lost the hearing on my right ear to the Wellsley girls’ crazy screams. I passed a girl dressed as Minnie Mouse, a girl or boy in tutus, lots of “Go Liver” and “Run for Dad/Mom/Son”.   20K time:  1:53:54. 

I passed the Holts father-son team.  What an inspiration.  I passed Jay (the guy with oxygen tank) and two amputees who reminded me of the third girl I dedicated the third 10Ks to, Jeane, Teena’s cousin whom I finally had the pleasure to meet a few days before the race at the hospital. She's one courageous lady.  30K time:  2:50:23.

I saw Coach Slick chugging ahead after mile 17 at the beginning of the Newton hills chain. I wanted so bad to run with him; yet too selfish to let go of my BQ goal. I gave a meager encouragement and offer to "pace" him. I gained a much greater respect for Slick for his toughness and tenacity. I was lost in my own thoughts during this stretch and lost count of the hills. I started to feel twinges of cramps and saw my PR dream faded. Thanks to the great cheering of the Boston College crowd, I found a second gear and dedicated the remaining 10Ks, a mile each, to my six children.  40K time:  3:50:04.

My quads started to burn with 3 miles to go. I fought the urge to walk, praying for Charlie horse to stay away. I concentrated on picking off road-kills, passing many runners.  The crowds were incredible.  I couldn't possibly disappoint the spectators who called out my name.  I side-fived lots of kids along the way.  At the Citgo sign I looked at my Garmin and realized that the sub-4 goal was not gonna happen. However, unless something disasterous happened, my BQ goal was in the bag.

My next mental focus, the last 0.2 mile was dedicated to my husband, the love of my life, the reason I run.  Imagine my joy after running up Hereford, among the sea of cheering people, I saw my hubby standing behind the barricade on the right side on Boylston by the Convention Center. Tears welled up and I wanted to run towards him; but I was afraid my legs would cease up if I stopped to kiss him. So I gave him a smile and wave and sprinted towards the finish. I punched my Garmin reading 4:03:00. It accidentally got restarted when I put my jackets while walking on Stuart St.  My official time was 4:02:51, good for another entry to the 114th Boston.

Everyone in our group did very well. Gary met his goal of running every major marathon under 3 hours. His time was 2:58. We bid goodbye to Rhett; amazed at how fast he ran with a painful foot coming in at 3:08. MarcE triumphantly nailed his goal at 3:19.  Canyon (Marcie N.) running her 50th marathon finished in 3:48. 

The fun resumed as the whole gang met at 5 pm to head to the post-race celebration dinner at Durgin Park where Slick had made reservation and good to have Lark joined us. We then went to the post-race dance. It was neat to watch the race video. Great Fun!!!

The next day, hubby made me send a check to Marathon Tour and reserve a room at Radisson. We really like the location. Hope y'all sign up for Radisson now. Can’t wait for the Celebration of Boston 2010!!! WooHoo!!!

THANKS everyone for such a wonderful Celebration of Boston 2009!!! You're AWESOME and the BESTEST!!!!

Went to hotel swimming pool, (ok, I don't know how to swim) to do 45 minutes of water jogging, stretching, running.  I was able to walk normal; but getting down the stairs (there're lots of them in the T stations) was a different story.  We walked to Chinatown and had an early lunch at the Hong Kong Eatery, a little hole-in-the-wall cafe.  I got to eat some dishes from my childhood days.  It was memorably yummy.

Jeff met up with Becca and her family to tour Concord.  Hubby and I took the T across the Charles River to tour the Harvard Square.  I've always wanted to study at Harvard.  It was raining all day.  We then visited the JFK Presidential Library and Museum (indoor staying dry). 

I was so tired that everytime we sat down to watch a film presentation, I would fall asleep.  But wearing a Boston jacket got me the sympathies of other visitors.  Other Boston jacket clad folks would give me a "good-job smile" or chatted about our times.  Locals would give us the "congrats".  It was really neat.

Happy 31st Anniversary to hubby and me!

It was heavnly to sleep in, no need to make the bed.  I went to the fitness center with swimming suit and crocs thinking I would do some pool running.  The pool was temporarily out of service.  So I jogged 2 miles on the treadmill and 2 miles on the elliptical with my crocs.  The other people in the center must think I was some loonie-toonie.  Finished the workout with Around the World Core.

We walked to the Boston Commons (same location as the race bus pick up) and met Becca and her family.  Her mom presented me with this beautiful pendant/necklace which was custom-made by her sister to commemorate our Boston race finish.  THANKS Jana and Jenny and Becca.

We hung together and walked the Freedom Trail.  We had lunch at Quincy Market, same location as the post-race-dance-party.  We visited the Bill Rogers Running Store.  We went to Mike's Bakery for some sinfully delicious calzoni and Boston cream puffs.

In the evening hubby and I went to Loesw's Theater by the Boston Commons to watch "State of Play".  Our hotel sits in the middle of a theater district and very close to a hospital and Chinatown.  It is 0.4 mile from the finish line, couple of blocks from Boston Commons and T stations.

I figured we must have walked 10 miles today.

I slept in again today and only had enough time to pack.  My suitcase was small so had to discard lots of stuff.  It was sad to leave Boston.  We had a 4 hour lay-over at New York.  A kind gentleman, Tom, saw my Boston jacket and was so "proud" of my running it that he took me and hubby as his guests to the Crown room.  Wow, I didn't know you could wait at the airport in luxury.  There were comfy seats, TV, all sorts of food, salad, petite sandwitches, mini fruit tarts, mouuse, vegies, cheese, snacks, drinks for us to enjoy free of charge.  I only wish they had a treadmill 'cause I was itching for a run.

We made it home around 9pm.

6 recovery miles with strides.  Total time 58:15.  Legs were a little tight but otherwise felt great.

Went to see the show "the Soloist", a thought-provoking movie about the homeless in L.A.  Jamie Foxx is an amazing actor portraiting a mentally ill musically talented cellist living in the streets of L.A.  I love the music in the movie.

It was supposed to be a recovery easy run.  The 20mph NNE wind at Boston must have followed me all the way to the Lehi Bench.  The run turned into a "trying to stay upright normal running form" training run.  Man, what's with the wind?!!! 

It felt great to be running with no time goal, just me and my reflective thoughts of Boston and upcoming Ogden marathon and going to see my new grandbaby girl in Iowa.  The lawns in the neighborhood have turned a vibrant green, tulips and daffodils are everywhere.  I love Spring.

8.3 miles in 1:16:01.  AP: 9:09.  Splits: 9:34, 9:13, 8:55, 9:10, 9:15, 9:15, 8:54, 8:58, 8:58

Can't believe it's been a week since Boston.  How time flies!  A year ago this time I was on my way to see my new grandbaby in Texas.  I can't wait to see and hold my new grandbaby in Iowa.  These two baby-cousins were both due on May 10, a year apart.  In years to come, I'll have to take them to Boston to celebrate their birthdays and to cheer their Nana!!!

A beautiful morning for a run, a bit on the cool side, perfect race weather.  T.35 sunny, slight breeze, wore l/s top and condition tights.  Ran same route as Sat.  Felt great. 

8 miles in 1:08:15.  AP: 8:32.  Splits:  8:55, 8:42, 8:18, 8:08, 8:23, 8:30, 8:41, 8:34

Off to lunch with Olga and Wendy.

Ran 3 miles with Mary, Wendy & Beth, then 2.5 solo.  Mary and Beth will run their first marathon if they win the SGM lottery.  Wendy is in via the Runner Series.  All three just started their training last week.   They had a zillion questions about Boston.  So fun to recap and get them excited about marathoning.

5.5 miles in 50:40.  AP: 9:13.  Splits: 9:54, 9:21, 9:12, 9:02, 8:58, 8:32

Around the World core

Bicep, tricep

AM yoga

What a gorgeous day.  Wore s/s shirt and shorts, a bit chilly running north with the breeze; but perfect once warmed up.  After 1.8 miles of warm up around the block, I hit the hills.  It felt good to run the hills and thought about the Newton Hills.  After the run, I walked 0.25 mile for recovery.  I'm gonna walk after every key workout and stretch frequently.  I think that's the key to muscle recovery.

6.5 miles in 56:15.  AP: 8:39.  Splits:  9:11, 8:41, 8:01 (downhill), 8:18, 8:47, 9:00, (0.5 mile @ 8:30)

Another beautiful day!  Ran west to 16thWest about 2.4 mile and up onto the Murdock Canal Trail.  I haven't run on this trail since last Fall.  The water level in the canal is medium as it hasn't got any snow run off yet.  It was nice going east with the snow-caped mountains against a clear blue sky.  The trail is about 2.75 mile long, easy on the joints and keep me from running too fast.  The legs started to feel the residual of the marathon during the last mile.  I will take a rest day tomorrow.  Walked and stretched.  Made a protein smoothie with tropical fruits and blue berries, yum!

7 miles in 1:04:50.  AP: 9:16.  Splits: 9:44, 9:09, 8:58, 9:03, 9:13, 9:18, 9:22