Only when HALE freezes Over

I went to support my friend who was running in a race in St. George, while there I ran into Bobby Swenson. He an LDS actor. He played Zak in the movie Singles Ward. He is the one that tries to bungee jump a car in the movie. I went up to him and chatted with him for a good 30 min. He told me about a race up in Orem UT, which will help fund the Hale Theatre where most of the actors started.

The race's name is called "When Hale Freezes Over" - b/c it is for all people, even those who would never run unless Hell freezes over; for those people they had a one mile walk. I signed up a week before the race and was pretty excited, and thought I would be able to do well in the race. Well I ended up getting a cold the day after I sign up and there are no refunds. I was bummed cuz I really wanted to run it and do well. I had a cough all week and haven't been running two weeks before due to foot pain, and I was counting on this week to get back into running endurance.

I decided to run the 10k race anyway and visit a few friends while up there. The night before the race I didn't sleep much because I kept coughing - even though I took extra meds to knock me out. My friend Lisa decided to run in the 5k race, so in the morning her dad came with us.

Right before the race I ran into Bobby again and he was glad I actually came up to run it. I was signed up for the 10k, but thought I should probably just walk the one mile.

I ran the 10k anyway. And I was proud of myself that I didn't stop at all. There were a few hills - and normally I enjoy them - but not feeling well - I hated them. AND it was really COLD! At least the mountains looked really pretty. I sucked on cough drops while running. When I got near the end of my race Lisa joined me encouraging me to run faster.

I finished 3rd in my division and 7th overall. My time wasn't the best, but I had fun. And my coughing was SOOO much worse after the race. Bad idea to run in it I know :)

Snow Shoeing By the Light of the Moon

So I decided that I need to get out and meet new people. I guess apart of this is I am sick of being set up on blind dates which seems to be one sided. By this I mean that the mutual friend who sets us up usually is looking out for the guy rather than what I would be interested in. My guess is they tell the guy: "she is in good shape, runs a lot, has long hair, oh and she has a house, you want to date her right?" Or they know that I go to church all the time and think that me dating that guy will bring him religion.

But no one tells me about the guy, just that he has a job. Well it turns out that most of these blind dates the guy has a job, but may still be living at home, and had never moved out, or they can't save their money cuz they spend it on toys, and they sit and watch TV/Movies all the time and has no idea what running is. AND I don't want to be someones mom nor babysitter. If they know what they are supposed to be doing - DO IT!

SO since I am an out-doorsy type of person and athletic, I decided to try hanging out with the Outdoor Rec people at the college. I went out of my comfort zone and signed up for night snow shoeing. I was nervous b/c I was the first to sign up, and was worried no one wanted to go. Turns out it was filled with 12 spots and even a waiting list for more pple to come.

I met some really fun/cool pple! People who shared my same love for the outdoors, and could almost keep up with me doing it. I am not a fan of the snow, but I found a new sport that I could really enjoy - it is like hiking/running - but in the snow. We went up a canyon and hiked through some woods. The moon was full and it was beautiful! I recommend anyone to try it at least once!

My Great Journey to the North West

So my dad is the only one who reads this - and tells me I need to update it. I told him I didn't have stories to write - so he told me to make one up and tell about my travel to the North West. So Here goes:

So I currently live in Cedar City, UT where the snow in the winter is a normal thing. The last time I had been home for Christmas was about three years ago in southern WA where it usually just rains. Not this year my friend. This year it snowed - a lot; causing many delays at the airport. I had planned my itinerary a few months ago - so luckily I still had reservations for the first flight out of Vegas to Seattle and some people were on it who had been waiting for a couple of days in the airport. It even snowed in Las Vegas!

The journey started with a text message from my friend Erin, she told me I should leave Monday instead of Tuesday morning b/c a storms was coming and I wouldn't be able to get to St. George on time with the roads being icy. So I hurried and packed and drove to St. G. as it started to snow. So this made it so I drove a lot slower. When I got to St. G. I went shopping, then I called my Adoptive fam and asked if I could crash at their pad - which was a given.

I got there and we talked for awhile, and ate french toast yum. In the morning they drove me to the shuttle. Surprisingly the shuttle was packed. There I met some pretty strange but friendly people. We all talked for most the ride. Arriving in Vegas I made it thru security just fine. They never did find my prison shank I was hiding in my shoe :)

On the plane I sat next to two nice gals from Germany. When I arrived in Seattle I secured my bags and found the bus stop. There, I sat on the bench for 40 min or so. I talked to a few pple and even took a small nap. ;)

The bus was pretty interesting. Usually it is a 55min trip - but it took us 2 1/2 hours. I was surprised at how close pple got to each other on the bus, and they didn't mind. I had one guy standing above me licking his chomps. And the gal next to me was canoodleing with me and sleeping - I think she drooled on me. The other gal next to me sneezed on me and the guy next to her often fell asleep - on her shoulder, and would wake when his single loud snore would stir him. Then was the lady across from me. She often would talk to herself and carry out full convos. Turns out she had a bluetooth headset on. And when this one guy got a phone call, everyotherword from his mouth was the F bomb. He apparently didn't like whomever he was on the phone with. I made sure to take many pictures of my adventure with my phone - so I will have to add them later.

When I got to Lakewood, my sis came and piked me up. The roads were covered in slushy/hard snow - and many pple were getting stuck. WE made it outta there and she dropped me off at the ferry. On the ferry the dude in charge got after me for having my feet on the bench - so I utilized my luggage as a foot rest. On the ferry I met two nice guys. One being my sister's friend - and the other his older brother. He was pretty cute and went to school to become a minister.

Now here I am on the island, and my dog doesn't remember me. He is pretty old and deaf and can't see well either. sad. At least it isn't snowing right now :)

Lets hope I make it back home - since there are more storms to come!

Logan-A-thon

I DID IT!!!

My goal this year was to run a marathon. I made the goal sometime in February for my 'new years resolution.' Tho guess I didn't take it serious and decided that I should, But also realized that time was running out and I wouldn't be able to get into a marathon before the year was over. Another problem is I developed some pain in my left leg that started far before I ran my half marathon.

It began hurting again more intense a few weeks before the marathon - which is about the time I started training for it. I planned on running 22 miles on labor day - but was hesitant b/c my leg hurt. I ran anyway - but got lost and only ran 16 miles, but it was great! On my run I saw snakes, prairie dogs and pretty flowers. Then on Thursday I ran ten miles. And my goal on Saturday was to run 2o miles. But I spoke to Brother Gudmenson - who has run many many marathons and told me I should take it easy for the next two weeks or I may not be able to run it at all.

I went swimming instead but it was not as good of a workout as running - and it was boring. I ran a few more days the week of the race and wrapped my leg. I constantly iced it too. Turns out I had a stress fracture in my leg. Many people told me to not run the marathon and tried to discourage me from my goal - saying things like: I wouldn't be able to ever run again, and I would end up in a cast blaw blaw blaw. I didn't care. I was going to run it - and I was going to reach my goal.

The race is in Logan. I drove up alone and stayed at my friend Tim Belmont's house. After sleeping a few hours I woke at 4am. Outside it was pouring rain! I was worried the race would be ruined with lightning and rain. I remember hoping it would be canceled earlier that week, scared my leg would hurt too badly to finish the race.

I got on the bus, made a few friends, and huddled with others at the top of the cold canyon. The furthest I had run at once was 16 miles. I was surprised at my 1st mile's time of 7:11 - b/c I was taking it easy - nervous about my leg.

I used the porta-potty at mile 13. Mile 26 was THE HARDEST MILE EVER! I was using hard candy the whole time to keep my blood sugar steady and give me some energy. Sadly I ran out of candy at mile 22 so by mile 25 I was going to faint.

Then an Angel in disguise came running next to me and told me I could keep going and to push it - so I did and I ended up leaving her behind for a bit - then ran outta energy again she caught up to me and encouraged me once more to keep going. SO we ran together for a bit and I remember and old lady with a cane telling us that we only had three blocks left to go. I remember wanting to take her cane and hit her with it - I'll show you three blocks!!

When I saw the end I took off in a sprint - once again leaving that angel behind and finishing in 4:02:58 I didn't reach my goal of 3:40 nor my goal of under 4 - but i reached my goal of running a marathon this year!!

Afterwards I fell down on my back in the mud and the Sky opened and poured even more rain! I just layed there clutching my cookie and ice cream bar - laying in the rain.

Later on that Angel came to me and thanked me for running with her - I gave her a hug and told her she was the one who helped me!

Keep Runin' Runin'

August 9th 2008

My race was scheduled for Saturday at 6:30 am. Sarah Challis drove up with me, and will be running the race with her sister Lauren. I dropped her off at the motel where her family would be staying; they came down from Wyoming. My friend Dustin found me a place to stay a few doors down from him in some girls apartment. I was lucky enough to stay in their empty bedroom for the night. My goal was to get some good sleep so that I could do well in the morning. (I had been up in Orem earlier this week for a work conference and haven't gotten much sleep)

I got plenty of sleep that night and was pretty excited to go running. After taking the bus up the canyon and meeting some new friends on the bus, I used the port-a-potty and got warmed up. I was dressed up in 80's gear. I had a headband, and wrist bands. I had shorty-shorts and I wore a shirt that hung off my shoulder a bit. I wore "old-skool" head phones and tube socks that reached my knees with the two black stripes up top.

To stay warm and to get my muscles warmed up I danced around in a ska kind of way - kicking my feet and swinging my arms - all while pretending to listen to music. There were many who found it amusing and probably a few more who thought i was odd. However, dressing up was the best thing i could have done because it helped me be excited rather than nervous and brought smiles to a few faces.

I was nervous that I wouldn't be hydrated enough for the race so I made sure to drink more than enough the night before and the morning of. This was very problematic because when the race was about to start I had to use the port-a-potty again - but not too badly - so I just ignored it.

The race started when the gun was fired- and I was no where near the start of the race. There were 2500 people running in the race and we were all packed pretty tightly and actual running was a joke. So I turned on my music and starting singing and dancing next to people who were trying to run. I then starting skipping and walking faster than some were running. I decided that I should try to run so I followed after some people who were running off the side of the road in the weeds. There were times you had to make sure to not fall off the cliff though.

I made pretty good time on my race - however the WHOLE TIME I had to use the port-a-potty so that when I was finished with the race - that was the only thing on my mind - and we ran next to a river the whole time.

AND there was not one port-a-potty to use when the race was over. I was SO full of liquid it was about to leak out of my eyes! - for real - I had tears in my eyes I had to go so badly. So I found a restaurant and went straight to their restroom. After that I was a happy camper again.

My brother and sis-in-law joined me and took some rad pictures - it was awesome to have some support there!! My time was unofficially around 1:42:ish.