I will.

I've said all along that if I follow my marathon training plan, the marathon will be work but it won't kill me. I am starting to think that I was wrong. Very, very wrong. Friday I ran 16 miles. By mile eleven I was ready to quit. I stopped for about 30 seconds after every mile for those last five. It was torture. I felt sick. I was hungry. My legs hurt. My toes were numb. But I pushed through and pounded it out. It took be 2:26, which is slower than I wanted, but nonetheless I got the job done. Mentally it is frustrating because I know how hard I struggled, and the marathon in 10.2 miles longer than that. I have my work cut out for me, but I am up for the challenge.

One of the things that has helped me the most is having mantras, songs, quotes, etc to repeat to myself when it gets hard. Luckily Friday morning Under Armour posted this video and I repeated to myself over and over "I will."



The good thing about having a bad run is that I get to learn from it. I am learning a lot about food and how to fuel my body for what I put it through. One thing that I know is that I haven't been eating enough fruit. I've been trying to shy away from it since I still want to take off a little weight, but now I know that my body needs the glucose so that I have glycogen stored in my muscles for endurance runs. I also know that I need to eat A LOT during, and after a run. Part of what set me back was that I only refueled with some coconut water and one packet of Gu. I also know now that I need to stay away from Gu. My next run will be with honey sticks and raisins or Lara Bars, which is much better for my body.

Because I spend a lot of time at the gym there are a lot people that I "know." Some I chat with, some I compliment when I can see that their hard work is paying off, some I like to stair at, and some I avoid (like that stupid wench who tells me my headphones are too loud). Recently I have noticed a growing trend that is ridiculous. Apparently, people think it's okay to COLOR THEIR HAIR IN THE LOCKER ROOM. Seriously? Just because someone doesn't want to make a mess in their own home does not mean they should have the opportunity to make a mess at the gym. It's almost as gross as the lady who uses a foot file on the bench by the lockers. Do people not have manners?

Scout, trends, and tunes

Fortunately while I was in Utah, Erica and her kids were there too. Since Erica is a stay at home mom she has a little more flexibility and was able make it out there a whole week before me and stay a day later. Harper (who I like to call Scout) asked several times a day "want to play? go play?" She takes turns asking every member of the family and does not discriminate towards anyone. One of her favorite playmates is my parents dog, Rocko. He generally tolerates with her hugging on him, pulling at him, and sneaking in his room to play with him. Unfortunately it was too much to handle last Tuesday and he bit the poor thing in the face. She had to have stitches in her nose and her lip and spent 5 hours at Primary Childrens before heading back to LA. Erica said she was super brave at the hospital. Please remember the cute little munchkin in your prayers as she heals.



I was thinking about it today, and I AM a hair and make-up artist, so maybe I should blog a little more about that? My clients come to me for beauty advice so I must be doing something right some of the time. You can also check out the salons website (salonfoushee.com) for the beauty tips section from all of the lovely SF ladies.

Here are some trends I am loving right now:

Feather Extensions




These started as kind of Boulder/hippie trend but have been spreading like wildfire. I spied a few people in Utah with them, but I do believe that Colorado is doing them better. A single bundle of multiple feathers like JLH has is what's hot. Not big clumpy ones, or 6 different single strands throughout the hair. The bundle I have in my bright red hair has a couple of striped ones, but several solid bright colors as well. It's a fun way to temporarily spice up your look without color commitment. What's also great about them is that they can be washed, blowdryed, smoothed, curled, etc. I even did a Brazilian Blowout with mine in.


Nail Polish



This particular look is on the darker side, but it's so popular that it's nearly impossible to find. It's part of the Katy Parry collection and it's so fun. You paint the Black Shatter over whichever color of nail polish you want and it crackles. Very unique and fun. Also for spring and summer we're seeing lots of BRIGHT colors.

Make-Up
If you had asked me any time in the last 6 months what's in trend of make-up, I would say "a flawless face." It's true, and it's still true. However, we're also seeing some super bright colors. To sum it up for spring I would say metallic eyes, bold bright liner, and thick brows. A lot of people overlook their eyebrows but they frame the face, accentuate the eye, and should not be forgotten. I personally use a soft shadow (MAC Texture on myself) with a thicker angled brush. It can be done more dramatic when my make-up is darker, or lightly for days that I'm not wearing much. They also make brow gels, pencils, waxes, or Benefit makes a wax/powder combo that is incredible. For blondes and lighter brunettes I love Omega from MAC.

Clothes
This is not my expertise. When I do laundry everything is gym clothes, socks/underwear/, or black. Today I had 1 colored shirt in my laundry. I apparently need to go shopping because guess what's in style for spring for clothes? Color. Of course. It's popping up everywhere. Citrus hues are big again this year. But really, big chunky bright bangles, bright mismatched patterns, bright this, bright that, I guess it's time for me to branch out. We're also seeing one piece swimsuits, scarves, stripes, long skirts, tassles, bell bottoms (retro everything), biker gear, crocheted clothing, and sheer fabrics. I might redirect you to lookbook.nu or tandsdaybook.blogspot.com for more some people with a little more fashion sense than me.



After a week of working out with crappy headphones and an old ipod shuffle, I broke down and rebought what I had before. What can I say, I am a creature of habit. I love my Nike Vapor headphones because the sound is clear, they're extremely comfortable, and they stay in my ears. Some models have a cord that splits in the middle in case you're working out with an arm band. Brilliant. The ones I love are a little sturdier and can handle all of my sweat, so they are worth the extra money. I also decided to stick to the 5th generation nano because I like the click wheel and the video. I can't use my sweaty finger on a touch screen! I don't know what they were thinking. Lucky for me, the Apple refurbished site had an 8gb for $99. Now I am back to square one on my playlist. I like to keep one long running "running" playlist that I can put on shuffle. Does anyone have any suggestions of some great tunes? Great music is imperative for a good run.


this week:
walked 3ish miles with Kelly
ran 3.5
ran 5
ran 6
elliptical for 30 minutes/1 hour Zen Strength
ran 8 miles/abs
rest

Today's 8 seemed pretty easy after last weeks 14. My original plan today was wake up, get my emissions done, run 8 miles, home and shower and be ready by 11:30 to meet Reece for the Zoo or a movie to celebrate his birthday. I got to the emissions place a little late, waiting for 45 minutes, and then they informed me that there was some piece of paper that was covering my VIN number and that I had to leave. Ugh. I spent 10 minutes in my car trying to shove papers/cd jackets/anything to move it out of the way. And then, I discovered a fork. Fantastic. I got it moved, then rewaited in line and got it taken care of. I didn't even finish my run until after noon and he had to work at 4:00 so the zoo/movie plan didn't happen. Instead we walked over to City Park (my favorite!!) and enjoyed the beautiful sunshine and Colorado 65 degree weather. After he left I still had to go to the DMV but it was less painful and my registration is taken care of until next March. Phew.

Utah

This last weekend I headed to Salt Lake to see Chase along with the rest of the fam. The best thing about the flight to SLC is that it's usually only about 45 minutes. If you're smart like I am, you'll book a flight at the crack of dawn and sleep through the entire time. I was excited that Chase volunteered to pick me up from the airport. After I got in I headed to the eye doc for a new pack of contacts and new pair of glasses. I got the privilege of having my eyes dilated which led to some confusing text messages and a super fun drive in paper sunglasses. Friday night we all went out to The Pizza Factory for some grub and I enjoyed a delicious salad bar. I should have just had pizza and breadsticks because my eating was shortly derailed completely leading to ridiculous amounts of cookie and brownie consumption instead of the asparagus and broccoli my mom bought for me. Oops. Moving forward.

Hailey and I at dinner



Greg and Gavin:


Saturday I decided to pay the $10 fee to work out at Gold's Gym for my long run. I wasn't familiar enough with the area to map out my own. More than anything I was nervous about running this far of a distance in such a hilly area. So I hit the treadmill and busted out 14 miles. I'm pretty sure the guy next to me during the second half of it (machines shut off at 60 minutes) thought I was a little off, seeing as at mile 2 (which was really mile 9) I was dripping in sweat and downing a packet of Gu. My final time was 2:06, which is good enough for me. I'm hoping to shave off a little bit more per mile before my half, but I'm not too concerned. I must have been a little disoriented afterward because I left my ipod and favorite headphones on the treadmill and didn't realize it until Monday morning. When I called they didn't have it. Darn. I also got to have lunch with my bff Dave, trial run Sam's hair and make-up for her June wedding, and attend an engagement party for my cousin Allia. She is a traditional Muslim (my family is so diverse), and is following the customs for her engagement. It was fun to spend time with her and her sisters, I am really excited for her.

My heart is full of love and gratitude today for my little (not so little) brother Chase. Today he returned home from serving a two year mission for our church in San Antonio, Texas. I am impressed with his dedication and service, and am thankful for the blessings our family has received in the two years that he has been gone. Next weekend I am heading to Salt Lake to spend the weekend with my family. I can't wait to see my nieces nephews/brothers/sisters/parents/friends/ and see Chase again. Here is a couple of pictures of us together before his mission. The first one was I think in 2006, and the second was taken the day of his farewell talk at church.

Going into this week I knew my schedule was going to be different than normal. I headed up to Boulder on Monday evening to see one of my favorite artists, Joshua Radin. I just saw him in November and the set was almost the same as last time, but it was still an amazing time. Laura Jansen and Cary Brothers opened for him and they were both fantastic. Here's a picture of Julianne and I at the show.

Because of the concert and having a meeting on Wednesday I knew my running schedule was going to have to get rearranged. Since I ran 12 on Friday I didn't know how my Sunday morning run would go. I was scheduled 4 on Sunday, 6 on Tuesday, and 5 on Wednesday. Sunday morning I started out hoping to complete 6 but was worried that my legs would be too fatigued from Friday. Luckily they felt great and I knocked out my 6. Tuesday I did my 5, and Wednesday I did 4. It's been a while since I've ran three days in a row, and I could feel it. Fortunately I rested Wednesday and cross trained Thursday. Today the goal was 7 and not only was it easy, it felt great. I am starting to really love running. My next race (Platte Half) is in 5 weeks and I am getting really excited. My goal is sub 2hrs, and I am on track to reach that goal.

ran 6 miles/arms/abs

ran 5 miles

ran 4 miles/abs/chest/back

rest

elliptical 30 minutes/1 hr zen strength class

ran 7 miles

I also started a running journal via recommendation of some of my running mentors. It gives me the chance to record my work outs, and how I felt emotionally and physically about each run. Hopefully I will be able to learn from challenges, learn more about my body and mind, and make sure I am fueling before and after correctly. So far all I have in it is a bunch of quotes that I find motivating, just in case I need a little pep talk or a reminder of why I'm doing what I do.