winning and losing

With temps in the low teens at noon, and -4 when I wake up.... I have been hitting the treadmill for the last week. I have to admit, I really don't mind the treadmill. The first few runs kind of mess with my head, but after a week.... I am settling into a routine and only missed half of my long run on Saturday, due to needing to be a mommy. ;)

After my 7 miler today, I had a gentlemen next to me ask if I had won my race. I laughed, because I guess I did. I felt great today and really felt as though I could have run forever. I sweat like a pig on the treadmill and it makes for some gnarly chaffing. yuck. I like that I can play with my speed, and the incline to make for a more entertaining workout. I don't own a treadmill, so I hit the YMCA. I am such a people watcher. Running for over an hour on the mill, at the YMCA makes for some great people watching. I am scheduled for 14 miles this weekend. I pray it warms up enough for my wimpy butt.

As for the Sporty Girl Giveaway I posted about last week... guess what?!?! I won. Wahoo. Time to shop for some bling to showcase my passion. I love winning. As for losing, the only thing I like to lose is weight... which I have been doing well at. YAY ME! Double yay to The Biggest Loser Finale on tonight. Go Aida. I will be tuning in after my 5 year old's Christmas program at school. Did y'all watch the Biggest Loser Marathon last week? I love that episode. Even though I have run 13 marathons, it is still so motivating to watch them cross the finish line.

The hubby is still doing well in his half marathon training. He ran 6 miles last week, his longest run ever. I am so proud of him. Also, my twin sister started her marathon training to run her first full in April.... which I will be able to run with her. So exciting.

RUN FAR!

Give away....

me me me... I want one.

Holy crap. Go check out this super cute athletic jewelry by Sporty Girl.

Stacey over at Runner Girl is having a giveaway I want the race bracelet.

I am not sure which marathons I would put on the tags.... I think 13 tags would be a bit much. Maybe Boston '08, STG '07 and RUN FAR.... huh??? I will have to think about it.

Time to fix it.....

Hello, my name is Janice and it's been 3 1/2 months since my last post.

Funny how my last post was on August 10th and I was posting about being a blog slacker. I have kind of fallen apart since my last post... physically, mentally, Spiritually and emotionally. I am working on getting this all back to normal. I focused on the Spiritual side and the mental side first. The emotional part is kind of being fixed just by fixing the other stuff. Time to fix the physical part. I am embarrassed to admit I have gain a lot of weight since July. I have not been watching my calories, and I have not been running or exercising like I use to. Time to fix that and get it together. Not the best time of year to get focused on LOSING weight, but I have to. I want to run a marathon on March 12th and training started like... last week.... eek. I was able to squeak out 7 miles this morning. It was slow compared to where I was 6 months ago. Time will fix that too. I have also been checking out the marathon calender for 2011 and I am thinking about running 3 marathons in April.

March 12th Land between the Lakes marathon, Grand Rivers, Ky
April 3rd Knoxville, TN
April 16th Salt Lake City
April 30th Kentucky Derby

I am also looking at a few in May and June. I figure... "train" for one marathon and then squeeze a few in and kill 2 birds with 1 stone. Or maybe I am just a little crazy with a few screws loose. ;)
Since my last post, we have moved. The hubby got a new job at a bigger hospital. We are still in Ky, but moved 4 hours west. So far so good. I am hanging in there and trying to not think about myself... except when it comes to running. I think I may have convinced the hubby to train and run his first half marathon.... He is a busy guy so "time" will tell.

Which races are you planning on running in 2011?

marathon #13.... and other stuff

Why yes, I am a blog slacker.

I had a fabulous trip to Utah.... of course. It couldn't be anything but fabulous. I was able to see plenty of family and friends. My cup (heart) was running over with joy by the time I went home.

Just a few things we did... bullet point version.

* Sisters retreat. (I have 6 sisters, 2 sister in laws and a wonderful mother, and 1 niece that made it this year for our 10Th annual retreat in southern Utah.)

* Hiked Angels Landing at Zion National

* Saw "Tarzan" at the outdoor theater (H.O.T)

* met up with this amazing lady (Stacy).... most of you know her as Runner Girl. Check her out. She is amazing. We were able to have dinner, chat it up and she came with us to see "Tarzan"

* Swim with lots of cousins

* Lunch out with family members

* Do plenty of hair cuts

* Play Bunco with my twin sisters group of lady friends

* Run my 13Th marathon with my older sister, Maria. It was fabulous. We had such a great time. I loved every minute of this marathon. OK, the last mile was torture for me. Hot, and I was hitting the wall fast.

* girls night out.... miss my peeps

* date night with my hubby and his family members.... I was missing him after a week and a half

* My hubby's sister is a photographer and she took our family pictures. They turned out great....

Here are some pictures of the Deseret News marathon (in Salt Lake City) I ran with my sister. It was an early start, very DOWNhill, It got super hot toward the end of the race, but all in all, I loved it. Of course this may have something to do with the fact that my hubby, twin sister and niece met us along the course at 3 different spots and gave us ICE cold water, Gatorade and salty treats. Between the two of us, we ended up stopping 7 times along the course. We were not in any kind of a hurry to get to the finish line. We enjoyed being together and running a race TOGETHER for the first time. We still managed to finish in 4:08. I was pretty pleased with our time. Here I am catching ICE that my sister was throwing at us as we approached. YUM-

Here we are at the finish line. Hot and very sweaty.... and very happy to have crossed the finish line together.

Des News marathon

In 2 weeks I am running the Deseret News marathon in Salt Lake City. That's right folks..... a July 24Th marathon in Utah. What the heck was I thinking? Oh that's right. Vacation+Sister+marathon= awesomeness. Can you tell I am super stoked about running #13 with my super cool older sister?!?! She is only older by 16 months, but she is still older. This is Maria while running her last 50 miler.... yes, that is snow behind her.

She is amazing. Maria just recently ran her 4Th 50 mile Ultra marathon. She inspires me everyday to be a better mother, sister, wife, friend and runner. If you have been reading my previous posts, you will wonder what happened to the twin sister, who was also suppose to be running this marathon with us, as her first 26.2..... well, let's just say ITB... ya, sucks.

This marathon takes place on one of the hottest days of the year for Utah. It also happens to be on a state Holiday, so the last few miles are run down a huge parade route. The race starts up the canyon, so it will be about 50 degrees to start, but will warm up quickly. It is a fairly small marathon. I think I read somewhere that it only has about 500 runners each year. Needless to say, I am still very excited and feel ready. Well, after tomorrow's 22 miler, I will feel ready. Hope the humidity stays low. Good luck to all you runners racing this weekend.

question

Any of you other runners who are suffering through this awful humidity.... I have a question for y'all. Does the humidity slooooow you down? I have felt as though I have slowed down my average speed so much in the past 6 weeks or so. The only thing I can think of is the humidity. Growing up in Utah and living there until just 2 years ago, I am just not use to it. I hate it. It makes for a loooong and hard run. I find I lose my energy faster. I feel as though it is sucking the life out of me. Any of you other runners feel this way?

B.L.A.H.

HUMIDITY + LONG RUN + POURING RAIN = BLAH

It has been so humid here the past couple weeks. I know other parts of the country get it a lot worse the Ky, but where I grew up in Utah and then moving to Ky 2 years ago, it is still a shock to my system. BLAH. I got up at 5:30 to run and still was slapped in the face with humidity and rain. Blah.

It has been over a month since my last post. You may be wondering what I have been up to. Hmmmm, nothing. Running and trying to keep my kids busy and keep them from whining. I love/hate summer break. I fly to Utah in a month and I will be running marathon #13 in Salt Lake City with at least one of my sisters. My twin sister was training for it, (her first) and then her ITband went wacky. I suffered from ITband about 8 years ago, and went through a month of PT. She can't run at all right now and so she most likely wont be able to run with us on July 24Th.

My hubby has started running since my last post. He started out slow at about an 11 min pace an now he is between a 9:30- 10:00 min pace. In a month. He is up to 4 miles, but he is suffering from shin splints, so he has backed down. We are picking him up some new shoes next week. Should help. He was also having some trouble breathing and I kept telling him to be patient, it would get better. Well, he started to have tightness in his chest and talked to one of the doctors he works closely with, and they decided it was exercise induced asthma. So he is using an inhaler and it has helped tremendously. YAY! How great it will be to get him trained and doing a 10k and then maybe eventually a half/full.