So You Think You Want to Run a Marathon

I claim zero expertise. I am not an experienced marathoner. I didn't run competitively for anyone. But...I did just complete a marathon. And... I remained injury free

Maybe you've always had this secret compulsion to run a marathon. To see just how far your body can actually go. But the furthest you've run is a 5k. You aren't a runner. You have bad knees. Welcome to my world.

After this adventure of training for a marathon, I believe you can do it. In my humble opinion, do the following or best of luck. (You will need it as you run head first into the proverbial wall.)

• Follow a training schedule

• Don't try to do it alone

• Make cold your friend

Follow a training a schedule

Goggling "marathon training schedule" provides more than a few. I looked for the easiest to understand. Straightforward and simple. I recommend Hal Higdons. This is the beginner schedule. (I would drop the Sunday crosstraining for a rest day, to keep the Sabbath sacred. Then either rest or crosstrain on Monday.)

Week	n	Tue	Wed	Thur	Fri	Sat	Sun
1	rest	3 m run	3 m run	3 m run	rest	6	cross
2	rest	3 m run	3 m run	3 m run	rest	7	cross
3	rest	3 m run	4 m run	3 m run	rest	5	cross
4	rest	3 m run	4 m run	3 m run	rest	9	cross
5	rest	3 m run	5 m run	3 m run	rest	10	cross
6	rest	3 m run	5 m run	3 m run	rest	7	cross
7	rest	3 m run	6 m run	3 m run	rest	12	cross
8	rest	3 m run	6 m run	3 m run	rest	13	cross
9	rest	3 m run	7 m run	4 m run	rest	10	cross
10	rest	3 m run	7 m run	4 m run	rest	15	cross
11	rest	4 m run	8 m run	4 m run	rest	16	cross
12	rest	4 m run	8 m run	5 m run	rest	12	cross
13	rest	4 m run	9 m run	5 m run	rest	18	cross
14	rest	5 m run	9 m run	5 m run	rest	14	cross
15	rest	5 m run	10 m run	5 m run	rest	20	cross
16	rest	5 m run	8 m run	4 m run	rest	12	cross
17	rest	4 m run	6 m run	3 m run	rest	8	cross
18	rest	3 m run	4 m run	2 m run	rest	rest	race

I trained using the Intermediate II. What you see below are my slight alterations. I don't run on Sundays. You can click on the link to see the original.

Week	Sun	Mon	Tues	Wed	Thur	Fri	Sat
1	rest	3 m run	5 m run	3 m run	rest	5 m pace	10
2	rest	3 m run	5 m run	3 m run	rest	5 m run	11
3	rest	3 m run	6 m run	3 m run	rest	6 m pace	8
4	rest	3 m run	6 m run	3 m run	rest	6 m pace	13
5	rest	3 m run	7 m run	3 m run	rest	7 m run	14
6	rest	3 m run	7 m run	3 m run	rest	7 m pace	10
7	rest	4 m run	8 m run	4 m run	rest	8 m pace	16
8	rest	4 m run	8 m run	4 m run	rest	8 m run	17
9	rest	4 m run	9 m run	4 m run	rest	9 m pace	12
10	rest	4 m run	9 m run	4 m run	rest	9 m pace	19
11	rest	5 m run	10 m run	5 m run	rest	10 m run	20
12	rest	5 m run	6 m run	5 m run	rest	6 m pace	12
13	rest	5 m run	10 m run	5 m run	rest	10 m pace	20
14	rest	5 m run	6 m run	5 m run	rest	6 m run	12
15	rest	5 m run	10 m run	5 m run	rest	10 m pace	20
16	rest	5 m run	8 m run	5 m run	rest	4 m pace	12
17	rest	4 m run	6 m run	4 m run	rest	4 m run	8
18	rest	3 m run	4 m run	rest	rest	2 m run	race

I actually jumped into the schedule late, at week 7. I had been training for my triathlon the 7 weeks before. But before that I was at zero. Just had a C-Section, basically bed rested for 7 months to protect my blood pressure. Also I always did a hill run each week. Either a 5 miler or a 10 miler with at least 1-3 miles of brutal uphill.

Don't try to do it alone

If I am going to be totally honest, just about every morning was brutal to wakeup to my alarm clock. Knowing Marie would be waiting for me on the corner got my lazy self out of bed. Find a friend or a club, anything. But trying to do it alone....it probably won't happen.


Make the cold your friend

I suffer with the notorious "bad knees." I never have had surgery or anything to that extent, but boy do they hurt. Especially when I am just coming into it, after 9 months off for a baby, or upping my mileage, or trying a new trailrun. But Marie and I religiously waded into the Provo River, up to our waists and iced our legs. We shivered in the snow run-off for 10 minutes and walked away injury free. I also kept two bags of frozen peas in my freezer whenever I felt an ache, out came the peas. Ice. Ice. Ice.

Throw a few races in. A 10K, a half-marathon. My longest race prior to this year was a 10 miler. I had a fabulous experience training and competing. I highly recommend the challenge to everyone. I will give you moral support if you are far away. If you live by me, come run!

Boiling the Tepid Pool of Ignorance

George Moore said "We can become educated persons, no matter our stations in life, if we never quit learning."

Speaking of George Washington "...he never went to school. That's why he was an educated man, he never quit learning."

When I feel in a funk...as I have a bit of late, it appears in direct correlation to my own laziness. I quit learning.

Spiritually.

Intellectually.

Emotionally.

Politically.

Physically.

Any one of these could be the culprit. No longer intensely training for a marathon...the business is languishing...distractedly watching the General Conference of my Church. The last few days have been revitalizing. In a concerted effort I have stretched. I am thankful for a husband who is the epitome of a "learned man." Not one educated by the Ivy Leagues.

Far better. Educated by a thirst to constantly eradicate his own ignorance wherever and whenever it rears its ugly head. If only I, and everybody else for that matter, had his insight and courage.

Too often I let my own ignorance fester in a tepid pool inside me. No heat driving me to churn and boil out the stupor, the pollution.

May the flames of knowledge ignite in me and in you. Onward. Forward.

Temptation

Hmmm....
Anyone looking?

Caught!
Delicious....

Why I Love My Backyard

Glorious leaves.

A refuge, shared with the man I love more than life itself.





My children's laughter.

Why do I ever give it a second thought when they beg to be pushed on the swings?

Vitamin Packed Smoothie

I just realized this never posted. Sorry....I did it forever ago...back on the October 8th.

Vitamin Packed Smoothie

kale
spinach
parsley
banana
carrots
oranges
peaches
mixed berries
flaxmeal
water/orange juice

By popular demand I am posting my recipe for "Salad in a Bottle" as my husband so lovingly describes our smoothies. I swear by these to stay healthy. They kept my cold to a minimum before the marathon. A much better alternative than "Airborne" and the likes.
The first 2 staple ingredients kale and parsley. I love just snipping these in my garden all summer long. Kale is super hardy. The plant you see above actually came back from last summer. Both are very high in vitamins and minerals.Take a couple handfuls of each and wash well. Especially watch out for the little bugs on Kale. They love to hide in all the crevices of the leaves. A fresh bunch of parsley. YUM.Next I added a couple handfuls of carrots and a banana.If you are having trouble getting it to blend, add a bit of water, or OJ if you prefer.
Next I put in a bunch of peaches I froze from my tree, and 3 apples from my tree.

I blend 2 cupfuls of flaxseed in my coffee grinder. We like to call it the "Spice Grinder." It ends up being about 3/4 c of meal. I put it directly in and blend it up!
At this point, my refreshing green smoothie is complete. But of course, it needs a little doctoring for the rest of the family. I encourage you to try it green though. It is delicious. Many times I add whatever veggies I have on hand. Including lots of spinach and broccoli.Add the magic pill.
The magic "purple ingredient." I wonder how the smoothie is "Disgusting. Don't like it Mom. No." when it is green. Add a few frozen berries (I get those big bags from Costco) the smoothie is purple and all of sudden "Yummy. Mmmm Mom can I have more purple smoothie?"I also sometimes add pineapple or orange juice. In the winter, I add tons of fresh oranges or clementines. My family also likes it a bit thinner than I do. The juice helps to thin it out.

The finished smoothies. This particular batch made must enough for our family. Enjoy. Healthy Living to all!

Ramblings of a Superprotective Parent (some might say "overprotective")

Where are they?

What are they doing?

Who are they with?

These are "the questions" when it comes to my children. You may find me a bit fanatical. My kids only watch a select few PBS cartoons (Caillou, Curious George...) a very select few Disney Movies and no video games. I'm fussy about their food, their clothes (no looking like "Pop Princesses"). I know I can't control everything. I don't want to. But the more time I am with my children the more attuned I am to answer "the questions."

Tangent...Think of all those Moms who encouraged their young girls to idolize Britney Spears. Afterall, she was a "wholesome Mouseketeer" once. Not me. Sorry Hannah.

This being said...

We are a house of parties. Kid parties that is. We have lots of parties for my children. Planning and pulling off a party with 17 little hooligans is truly a labor of love, but one Brent and I are willing to make. Here are a few shots from our most recent "Haunted Halloween Bash"

Ellery posing as a "Spooky Black Widow" Her words: "But mom when I dress up for my school party I want to have a black face and white lips. To scare the girls."
I love that the kids went at these doughnuts with gusto unmatched even by the large black flies. BTW, I think these were the first doughnuts my children have eaten. Look how lenient I am :)
Callista and Mallory we bent the rules for just a little bit...
I see some candy on Pip's Haunted House here. But mysteriously there was no candy at the conclusion of the party...hmmm.... Her Rapunzel wig lasted about 5 minutes. Be sure to take notice of the "made from scratch gingerbread." This was a serious faux pas on my part. Never try to make 20 gingerbread houses. As you may notice...an emergency run that morning to Harmons supplied interspersed graham crackers. Who would have thought it would take sooo much dough!
I can't believe I was the first witch to introduce all these children to a "bubbling brew" such as you see below. They were petrified. Brent in his usually brave and chivalrous manner stepped forward to taste it. He promptly gagged and fell over. The poor children looked on in horror.


Their eyes grew even wider and a few screamed "Noooo..." as Emmett proceeded to grab the cup and dump it into his mouth and all over the front of him. Brent and I had a good laugh. Emmy thankfully pulled through. I barely coaxed Callista into a sip of the "apple juice brew."The final hurrah...apple bobbing. If only Ellery and Callista had 500 friends, maybe we could have cut a dent into the proliferate tree.

The whole bunch of us. Brent is the hero at these parties for certain. He endured in remarkably good humor, quite a few tackles from the rash of football players we found amongst us. He may have even been the instigator.

Good times for all. Little kids are the best. Here's to keeping them little and at home as long as possible.

I am a Child of God

I am a Child of God.

There is so much in that simple phrase.

A lifetime worth of teaching moments for my children.

I am so grateful for a religion which helps me understand I am a daughter of God. We are all children of a loving Heavenly Father. Families are eternal. The gift of temples ensures I will be with my family through the eternities.

My sister and I spent an afternoon at the LDS Church History Museum. Our children ran around wildly.... and I hope gleaned a bit of these glorious truths.

Emmett snuggling with the little lambs surround the manger scene, where the children relive and place themselves in those first precious moments of the Saviors life.

Callista with Aunt Amy and cousin Noelle. Building little temples.

Ellery and cousin Elizabeth. Caring for the little ones....as mothers do, as the Savior did.

Looks can be Deceiving

And he looked like such a good driver....I think any woman would have been fooled.
(Thankfully this blowout happened literally around the corner from our home. At the conclusion of our 2 hour drive home from Northern Utah. I guess the truck was loaded down with a bit too much. 4 wheeler and almost 5oo lbs of grassfed, freerange, organic beef. Straight from Grandpa's pastures.)

Mom's Review at Simple

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Priceless Pictures

There is something priceless about a picture with your great-grandparents. I only have one. I was 3 years old with my Great Grandma Cross. I'm smiling and clutching my pooh bear. Last night provided an opportunity to seal up some of those treasures.

We attended a lovely wedding dinner for my cousin Nick and his fiancee Shaylee. It was at the Snowbasin lodge. Nestled in the mountain, tucked neatly away from the light pollution of the city, it was a picturesque setting. The air was cool enough to keep me pressing Emmetts little body against me. He was toasty in his generous layer of baby brown fat. Which BTW was quite the topic of conversation. Ellery and especially little Pip were skin and bones, it is novel for my family to see me holding a chunky little thing.
Grandma couldn't get over how heavy he was. And she reminded me (as she does most everytime I see her) of my 3 year old birthday party. She made me beautiful Angel food cake. I took a single look and burst into sobs. How could anyone think of serving "white bread" to little girl on her birthday. I refused to take even the smallest nibble. And I wonder at the drama in our house :)

I had to include this picture of Emmett lunging for Grandpa's name tag. Emmett was a man on a mission last night.
His mission: to seek out, grab, and quickly shove into his mouth every name tag within arms reach. All this before Mom, or some other spoilsport adult confiscated it from his chubby little fingers or slobbery mouth.

Going to Boston!

I stood frozen. My eyes quickly darting between the ground in front of me and Brent buckling the kids into the minivan.

A middle-aged man sipping a 64 oz diet coke looked out at me over the dashboard of his early 90's Blazer. His expression a mix of perplexion and amusement.

Should I call for help? I sputtered out a faint "Brent...". He couldn't hear past the kicking and back arching of carseat belting 3 children. I took a deep breath. And stepped down.

If there has been a day you have ever stood paralyzed at the edge of a 4 inch curb at a gas station....I am pretty certain you've run a marathon too.

Exhilarating. Painful.

That's best way I can describe the marathon.

Oh, and lest I forget WET!

I did better than I ever anticipated with a Boston Qualifying time of 3:31. Incredibly, the most amazing part came the last 3 1/2 miles. It was a true testament of the power of the mind. Here is a breakdown of the whole experience.

I better start with Friday. In this tempered and censured version I will describe my demeanor as anxious. My nerves were on edge, including short fuses and free-flowing faucets. This looming fear of not qualifying, working so hard and then cramping up....it was more than I could handle. Somehow I muddled through packing for 5 people, a 4 hour car ride, a tension filled dinner, a bewildering expo, and a quick emergency change in accomodations.

The original plan consisted of staying at my neighbors vacation home in St. George. We arrived at the house and it was beautiful. But...the stickers were on everything. The garage was full of boxes for TV's, appliances, sheets, towels, candles.
It was a moment as a mother of 3 children ages 5 and under, you dread. Brent made an executive decision to call the local Best Western and relocate the family.

Four scattered bags of trail mix, one catapulted apple/banana/cereal mixture, two little bed jumping monkeys, and $150 of price gouging later, I was certain Brent was much more sagacious than I gave him credit for. Grandma, the caretaker for the trip was extremely relieved.

By about 8 pm Friday, the anxiety succumbed to exhaustion and peace. I packed my sweats, gloves, beanie, food, water (it never crossed my mind to prepare for rain...this is St George we are talking about, red rock desert), pinned on my number, re-laced my shoes (3X), and strategized the best way to carry my hammer gels. (Which btw I totally recommend. They have no simple sugars, no artificial colors or ingredients, and are the only energy supplement I can stomach, cliff gels, shot blox, gu's, literally make me gag!)
Lying in bed about 9 pm, I was lulled to sleep my the piercing screams coming out of my tiny Pip. Children like Callista should definitely come with volume control. It felt like forever until I was finally asleep. I stayed in that semi -comatose state (so familiar to me from my freshman year of College, certain I was hearing everything my professors said as my head lay on the crook of my elbow...only to awaken at the end of class unable to articulate anything from the last 50 minutes) until about 10:30, when finally my mind closed.

Three baby feedings later at 2 am, Emmett was ready for the day. Thus, so was I. At 3:30 am, I grabbed a banana, a piece of bread and my husband and we headed out to catch the 4 am bus. He left me with a kiss and hug and prayer for luck.
Lesson 1: Bring a camera. Why didn't I bring a camera? The staging area at the start of the race was hopping. Spot lights, emcee, music blaring, bonfires raging, port-a-potties not yet brimming, and a few light sprinkles. The only slightly foreboding feature came as I looked up and the flags, flapping violently towards us. Not the direction I wanted.

Within a half-hour the wind had not let up and the rain was coming steadily. We took shelter, hugging our knees inside large black garbage bags. My spirits were still high. I thought the rain would pass, remember this is the desert I kept telling people. The emcee carried on a continous cheerful monologue filled with fun facts about Sunny St George (I couldn't tell if he was joking. I don't think he was.) and the marathon "to build a vacation around." Out of 32 years of marathons, this was only the second time it rained.

6:20: I located Camie my running partner. I never saw Marie my training partner. She was one of those "Elites." You know private toilets with no lines, and exclusive barrel fires :) Still no anxiety. I was pumped.

6:45: Gun shot. Soaked through but spirits high we started our run. All 6000 of us.

Miles 1-13: My body cooperated with all of my demands. I shed the garbage bag after 3 miles and my gloves at about 10. Camie and I discussed strategy and held our anxious, adrenaline filled bodies back. Compelling ourselves physically and mentally to hold the pace on our Garmins. Above all, we wanted to finish strong, which means starting slow. We fearlessly blazed up "Veyo Hill" and beyond.

Mile 15. Don't our faces say it all? We had the amazing unexpected surprise of seeing Brent!
Camie actually teared up, and she's only met Brent once in his role as the 4-wheeler hero of our Hope to Hobble run. I didn't anticipate seeing Brent until mile 21. But at 15 it was exactly what we needed. Just about this time, I started to notice my knee and the cold, and the hills... I still felt amazing and we were ahead of pace. Right on track for a faster second half.
Miles 18-21: These miles were the hardest. There were some serious drops in elevation and Camie was pushing me hard. I lost a gel and felt a bit flustered. My feet felt like saturated bricks (not possible I know) every joint from the hip down ached. The head wind blasted rain into my face making it hard to open my eyes.

At this point I made a decision.

I could suffer through the next 4 miles or start singing Rocky. I chose the latter.

Miles 22-26.2: My mind said absolutely not to my rebelling body. For 3 1/2 miles I was elevated into an amazing runners high. I hooted, hollered, sang, and cajoled the spectators into cheering the entire way in. Camie stared straight ahead and as I encouraged her I only got dirty looks. I was certain she was furious with me. But a little part of me knew. Keep her going. She wanted me to leave. By this point it was clear we would qualify. I knew we could even break 3:30 if we pushed. If the table were turned, I wouldn't have wanted anyone to leave me, no matter what I said. I didn't leave. We started together and we would finish together.

I think the crowds thought I was bonkers. All these pained faces pushed by them, zoning in only on the pavement ahead...and here I was screaming and cheering and trying to get as much clapping, thumbs up, high fives as I could. It was fun to see the surprised grins on their faces as they burst into supportive cheers. (To the spectators credit, they were freezing and soaked. I'm certain in years past they were more vocal.)
At mile 25 we saw Brent again. Another perfect boost. I told him to hightail it to the finish line. He didn't quite make it. But don't worry. As we ran through the final .2 mile shoot I lifted my hands and beamed and got the crowd roaring. It was the ultimate feeling of accomplishment. I don't think I stopped smiling those last miles. Not to mention I ran splits in the low 7's.
The official time came in at 3:31.23. I had alot left in me. I could have easily shaved a few minutes off, but it was more important to come in together. As we got across the finish line, Camie threw her arms around me. "You crazy woman, your ADHD got me through." It was worth it.

After 5 minutes I started to shiver with cold and fatigue. I was exhilarated and exhausted. I found my extremely nutty running partner Marie. She came in with a PR of 3:03. But she didn't escape passing out as she crossed the finish line. (A bad habit of my highly competitive friend.) She finished top 20 for women and 7th in her age division.Camie and I. We'll all be in Boston together!The ice cream sandwiches, and ice massages would have been better replaced with hot chocolate, broth and steam showers. Who would have thought. Remember this is the desert.

Yesterday afternoon the 4 inch curb was a hurdle I wasn't sure I could cover. Today I am taking the stairs gingerly, but amazingly I don't feel wasted. So how do I feel? I bit disillusioned...what should I tackle next? :)

Off to the Races

I have been trying to get over a yucky virus, nurse my kids and keep the jitters at bay. So the blog has been neglected. Wish me luck. What will you be doing at 4 am on Saturday? 3:40 or less, I'm keeping my fingers crossed the stars align. Run, Run, Run!