I never thought....

I'd wear a skirt to run in. But I'm telling you... it is fantastic! No chafing, no riding, and fashion at 5:30 in the morning... hahaha

Found this one at the expo and love it! I would buy them over shorts I think.

SLC: THE FULL REPORT

30 SECONDS UNTIL GUN... DID I MENTION IT WAS FREEZING?


Jessie and I at the start.... FREEZING OUR BUTTS OFF! LET US RUN ALREADY!

The day started early and cold, 3:45am actually but I was excited and ready to get running. After riding Trax up to the Olympic Bridge with Dave we had about an hour wait until our race began. The bike tour and durational marathoners started at 6am along with the wheel chair and hand bikers. We sat and talked to these funny ladies who planned on walking the race.... etc.

Is this boring you yet? haha

NO ONE CARES KARI! Just tell us how it went!

Well.... I DID IT!

I achieved the goal of running in under 90 minutes with a finishing time of 1:29:01 to be exact. 59 seconds shy. That was a close one. I felt great the whole time and even ran my final mile in 5:32! That made up for the lagging, uphill mile 12. That was NOT fun.



Me running to the finish... only 20 yds to go


I took 5th in my age division (557 girls in that division)
I was the 11th girl to finish (2544 women ran)
And 77th overall...out of 4125 runners!!!

Those numbers have to be worth smiling over right?

So the bad news?

I missed 3rd place and prize money by only 13 seconds! Darn that girl in the blue shorts who I just couldn't catch in time.

I loved the course, the weather, and even stood next to and ran by the Kenyon who won the the marathon in an insane time of 2hrs. 15 min! What a great race to log as my personal best 1/2 marathon.


Though next year I WILL BE winning that money!!!

And props to Jessie who ran an OUTSTANDING race finishing WAY faster than her goal time. Thanks for sharing SLC and lunch with me. Can't wait to start logging the miles with you!

Salt Lake City AHOY!

It's now less than 48 hours away and I am SO EXCITED! Nervous buy mostly excited. The journey of training this season for running has by far been my most memorable season yet.
I was finally able to overcome a very discourging ITBand injury with the help of the GENIUS foam roller (thanks a million ABBIE!)
I kept up training through the winter this year with purchasing a tredmill (thanks honey).
I committed completely to training this go around, and not just my body. I spent lots of time reading and researching mind/body connections and including vizualizations, affirmations and lots of other cool stuff into my routine. I'm most excited about seeing the affects of that.

So off I go. Not by any means my first race but definitely the most anticipated. I am going after my PR afterall, a 1/2 marathon in under a 7min mile pace. My bags are ready and the sub at school is too, so tomorrow I leave with Dave (my cheerleader) to see if any or all of this really will pay off. A little stressful....

ALTHOUGH.....

This is what i keep telling myself this week.

Kari, the training is over. You've done all you can do. Be confident that your body will do what you've trained it to do. Now you can relax, rest, and enjoy the ride. It will be a great run!!


Wish me luck... I'm going to need it.

I wan this shirt...

OR possibly this one...

We're glad we didn't have to walk the OREGON TRAIL

But we loved learning about it on our mini American Falls hiking day.

Sadee loved walking in the real ruts the wagon wheels made with Grandpa.


Ava loved our picnic lunch and seeing real bunnies.



No it wasn't some great hike but we did learn some really cool historical stuff about the Oregon Trail and enjoyed a day away from Idaho Falls.






Thanks Grandpa for driving!

HUGE props to P90X

I have NEVER had back muscle, nor the ability to do pull-ups in my ENTIRE life.... until Tony Horton, the P90X master. I was shocked how much back definition I have after faithfully doing pull-ups this year.

And the best part? This August I have morning workouts at convention with the dude. I will thanking that man in person.

Do your pull-ups... THEY WORK!!!!

Do you see it?

Dave says we look A LOT alike. I agree with that statement when it comes to pics of me at 6 yrs. old... but now. Do you see it?

COLD + IDAHO = SPRING BREAK

I don't think my kids have played outside for even 10 minutes this week. Not even 10 minutes. I decided that I will be on the calendar committee next year and beg to have spring break mid-April. Though my luck the warm weather won't show until May. ARGGGG!

My kids have enjoyed sleeping in until 9 or 10 some days, staying up late with Dave and I, and spending time with friends, something they get very little of during school weeks.

So....

Thanks sis for coming up with Collin... that was entertainment in itself, and the coupon talk always leaves me laughing. And the swimming was classic. Collin and that thumb.

Thank you Gina for speaking up Sunday. Sadee was overly thrilled to have a day with Kate.

Thank you Jami. Can't believe your taking the girls today so I can run errands by myself. You rock. Plan on your gang over here on Saturday.

And finally, I guess thank you bad weather. I did catch-up on ALL laundry, cleaned out a significant amount of cupboards, and even finished two books.

Cryotherapy....I'm a believer

Most of you are saying cryo what? It actuallys means cold therapy and I am here to tell you it is genius....painful and tortuous yes, but genius. The past 3 months training I have soaked in a 50 degree water after every long run and on most sprint days to avoid injury and soreness and I think it's worked. And I've mastered the art of doing it without tears (the first time I cried it hurt so much). So, for those of you who run, play sports, bike, etc. try it. The steps below will ensure you won't die of pain and you'll reap HUGE benefits. Don't trust me? Research cryotherapy online and see what great benefits sitting in ice has.

1. Fill tub with 2 inches of luke warm water.
2. Make hot tea, or hot water in a ceramic cup to hold while submerged.
3. Put on a warm sweatshirt and hat
4. Grab your favorite reading material

Now for hard part

5. Get into the luke warm water (this is the key- you don't shock your body by already being in warm water).
6. Turn on the COLD water. Let the water fill up until you are hip deep
7. Have your hubby/wife add ice (about 1/2 bag)You can actually go wo/ice too- I've tried both

Yes it will sting
Yes your legs will feel like frozen steak
Yes the "rethaw" hurts .... a lot!

BUT

Yes, you will be amazed at the results. I can run 17 milers or a day of HARD CORE sprints and I feel completely fine the next day.

I also give props to these two items.... which have been most critical

The foam roller and this saying.





2 weeks until race day... I'm already getting nervous. Pathetic huh?