Ashley!

This morning I woke up excited that it was the Boston Marathon. For the first time I understood what it meant to qualify for Boston, knew the names of people expected to win, and had friends who had been working their tails off in preparation for the race. I read about a bazillion running blogs and loved the buzz about the girls that were running today. It's amazing how the running culture is shared through blogging, and I was super excited for these girls that I've never even met. Personally, I had 3 friends running today. My friend Peter who lives in DC not only ran the race, but raised $2,342 for the Boston Living Center. Brady, a friend from Colorado who lives in Utah now. And Ashley. I know I have mentioned her before, so let's introduce you a little more.





This picture is the one and only time Ashley and I have ever been together in normal clothes.

This is how I normally see her:





I met Ashley at the gym in September. She was chatting with my trainer, Joe, and somehow we got introduced. I quickly learned that she was training for the Rock N Roll marathon, I was training for the half. I had absolutely no idea what I was doing, and had absolutely no idea that she knew EXACTLY what she was doing. She started running next to me and we started chatting, getting to know each other, and becoming friends. She rocked the Rock N Roll in 3:27 and qualified for Boston.

Monday runs have always been pretty miserable for me, but having Ashley there has made it fun. She might run a heck of a lot faster than me, but she is always incredibly encouraging. It's because of her inspiration/encouragement that I decided to sign up for the Colfax Marathon. She has been there to calm my nerves, pump me up, keep me going, and to tell me "get it girl!" I jokingly call her my "Running Coach," but I don't think she realizes that her coaching has been the one thing to keep my from backing out from this race.

The girl never gives up, never compares herself to her crazy amazing running friends (her boyfriend ran the Platte Half in 1:13:05), and always gives it all she's got. She completed the Boston today in 3:22:18 and I couldn't be more proud of her. Next month she will be running miles 13 to 23 with me and the thought of it brings tears to my eyes. Her incredible determination is exactly what I am going to need that day!

high mileage week

This morning when I woke up my legs felt refreshed and ready to run. I spent Monday on the elliptical and took Tuesday off from working out since I had a class before work. It was only half an hour before my normal start time but I am learning the importance of recovery and am glad that I listened to my body and let my muscles repair. I really wasn't all that sore from Sundays race since it was only 13.1 miles but I did run it at a faster pace than I train at, speed walked 5 more later that day, and my shins took a beating from the concrete trail. My 5 miles on Wednesday were relatively easy but it was nice to wake up today feeling ready to tackle my long run. After already pounding out 23 miles already this week, 10 seemed like a breeze. To think a month or so ago I was stressed to tears before a run that long.


Along with learning to become a better runner, I am also learning how to be the best girlfriend ever. My new relationship seems to be going really well, so I thought I would share with you some of my great gf secrets.

*Spread your time equally between the gym and your boyfriend. I have Fridays off, he goes to work at 3:30. I only spend half of my morning at the gym so that I can spend the other half with him before he goes to work. But maybe decided to do an extra few miles on his birthday and missed going to the Zoo and/or movie in celebration.

*Always be (un)fashionably late.
Text from me at 11:30 today: I should be over by 12:15
Reece:Great! See you soon!
arrival time: 12:35

*Be super low maintenance. Guys don't like when girls spend too much time getting ready, right? Natural product (no hair washing since Wednesday and running 10 mile on it is a great natural texturizer!) and greasy beach waves are hot! I made sure to let him know that I didn't have time to blowdry my hair, but might have forgotten to mention that the wet hair was made by sweat and not freshly washed hair.

*Let your boyfriend rub your tired achy legs for you, but don't shave your legs very often.

*Talk to him all about running, racing, upcoming races, all things running, blah, blah, blah, blah, blah, blah, blah (<---- I am sure this is what he hears).

*Offer to make him dinner but never ask him what he wants. I just assume he likes all of my healthy Paleo food, the way I prepare it, and has no preference when it comes to which healthy Paleo foods we eat together. Especially on his birthday. And on race day when it's time for a cheat, always suggest the food he's allergic too (frozen yogurt).

*Shower him with gifts.
"Sorry I'm late, but I brought you a cookie."
"Sorry I'm not ready yet, but I made you banana bread."
"Sorry I procrastinated my run and now you have to leave for work in an hour, but I brought you some hair gel!."


These my friends, are CLEARLY ways to keep your relationship thriving.

Platte River Half Marathon

When I came back from Christmas I was excited to hear that my coworker and friend, Stephanie, was signed up for a half marathon as a surprise from her personal trainer. She was less thrilled since she is not a cardio kind of girl, so I told her I would sign up too. I don't like running alongside my friends, but it's fun to have someone to chat with about training, the expo, and be there on race day. Not only was the race only $45, you got 30% off of a pair of Brooks shoes- double score. Since I had already committed to running the Colfax Marathon in May I thought it would be fun to have a race as one of my long runs. It turned out not to be the very best weekend as far as my training schedule was set up, but since I have already completed at least the half distance a good 5 times now, I was feeling confident and excited.

I prepped by eating a little more fruit over the last few days, and added in a little bit of potato and rice yesterday. Dinner at Garbanzo? Yum! I was a little worried about the rain that was forecasted to happen and anxiously awoke to hail in the middle of the night. Thankfully when 6:45 rolled around it was sunny, and today ended up being perfect race weather with the exception of some crazy wind. Going into this race I had two goals. The first, was to finish in under 2 hours.The second, to have fun and enjoy the run. My last half I finished in 2:01. That was in October, I was definitely less trained and conditioned, 10ish pounds heavier, but since I'm marathon training I have been focusing more on endurance than speed. During the drive over I was reading through my Pinterest board trying to get inspired and "in the zone." I like to write quotes, reminders, mantras, etc on my arm to help remind me of why I am doing it. I also like to pick one person for each mile of the race to run for. I was trying to go over my 13 people and I suddenly realized we were on Santa Fe near the Belleview exit. For those of you who don't know, I lost a dear friend in a TERRIBLE car accident right at that spot a few years ago. Goosebumps covered my arm and I knew exactly who I'd be running for(and with) today.I think Reece thought I was a little crazy this morning. He was such a trooper. He worked til 3:00 this morning, picked up my race packet yesterday, took me to the race, took pictures, cheered me on at the finish line, and ate Yogurtland with me even though he's lactose intolerant.

I was able to get a pretty good spot right at the front of the 9:00minute mile pace line. That was my goal, just stay under 9:00/mile. I bumped into my client Mike, and his wife Jackie, who I apparently talked into signing up for the race. Her goal was the same as mine and he was determined to beat me (which he did, by 4 minutes). I splurged and bought a Garmin Forerunner last week and it was one of the best decisions I've ever made. I set it to beep at my if I got under that pace and was happy it really only beeped during narrow entryways, and when I was grabbing water. I started out strong and stayed strong for the first half. So strong that I was able to slow down a lit bit for the second half. At mile 10 I realized that even if I ran 10 minute miles I would finish within my goal. What a great feeling. I soared through the next 2 miles and in the last mile was faced with one very steep hill. Wow, what a climb. Not a whole lot can make my calves hurt, but they burned as I trudged up this ridiculous hill. I was planning to run my last mile fastest of all, but this killed me and slowed me down during and after.

My official race time was 1:54- an 8 minute PR! I know I've only ran one half marathon but it was a PR nonetheless, and was a full 2 minutes faster than I've ever hit the 13.1 distance in my training. I can honestly say that I had tons of fun at the race and am so glad I decided to do it. Stephanie ended up finishing in 2:30 and Sarah (also from work) finished in 2:10. It was both of their first half marathons and I was so impressed with both of them. Kelsey, Lindsay, and Kim from the salon came to cheer us on and it was great to see them at the end. To my surprise, Ashley also ended up at the race because her boyfriend, Matt, decided last minute to run it. He finished in 1:13, and took second place. Typical Matt. I am so grateful to have so many people in my life supporting me and cheering me on through this crazy journey I have been on for the last couple of years. I can't believe that I went from getting winded walking a mile, to running a 5k in 42 minutes to running 13 8:45/miles! Colfax is in 5 weeks and I am feeling refreshed and ready to tackle that crazy distance!

Pinterested

A few weeks ago at church, my friend Valerie mentioned a website she likes called Pinterest. The next day I happened to come across it and have been glued to it ever since. It's more or less a virtual dream board, where you can hoard images under any particular topic. You could make a board of stuff that you want, hairstyles you like, wedding ideas, ANYTHING. You can follow your friends, or choose to follow people whose boards you like. You can create your own pins or re-pin other peoples. It's seriously addicting. So far I have only created one board, a collaboration of quotes and images that inspire me to run, work out, push harder. I keep a running journal and already have a bazillion quotes scribbled into the front of it, but this is definitely more fun. I love finding something that inspires me. When I am running I have am repeating a lot of these to myself over and over. Check out my board at pinterest.com/misskarat

Who else has a board?

Tape-ring

Everyone's been blogging about tapering, with less than 2 weeks til Boston. I figured I should taper too:





Oh wait, tapering doesn't include actual tape? Oops. My bad. I earned myself a mighty big blister last weekend from my street shoes, and a bandaid plus packing tape were the closest thing I had to moleskin or blisterguard. Luckily since I'm a mid striker, it doesn't really affect my running but my work shoe choices have been limited. It is *kind of* a taper week for me with the half on Sunday but really I'm just having a taper day on Friday. Since my marathon is more important to me than this half, I'm trying not to compromise my training too much.

Today was my last real run for the week and I loved every minute of it. I am actually getting really excited for Sunday! Maria was in today so we had nerdy Paleo carb loading talk and I am feeling really prepared. She also gave me permission to eat frozen yogurt after the race. Yogurtland, here I come!

Have I Done Any Good?

Not to steal a line from one of my favorite hymns.. but I am pretty sure the message of SERVICE was loud and clear in today's General Conference. This morning as I set out on my very windy run, I tried to clear my head to soak in the good word and messages I'd be hearing today. My mind wandered off onto a blog post I read over at Rust Belt Runner. Her local radio station has started a movement called The Drive Through Difference. The idea more or less is to do selfless acts of service in little ways like paying for the person behind you in the drive through, and encouraging that person to pass on the good deeds. As I fought the wind this morning I tried to think of little ways I could create opportunities to do this. After watching conference today I will definitely be looking for extra ways I can serve others.

With only one week til the Platte River Half Marathon , I am crossing my fingers for good weather. It was 82 degrees here in Denver yesterday, and 68 at 7:30 this morning when I laced up my shoes and headed out for a run. By 1:00 today it was cold and rainy, and by 2:00 it was snowing. I'm not really sure what tricks Mother Nature has up her sleeve, but this is really not funny.

I have been a little bit stressed out about the race, but am trying to be excited. I have set myself a time goal and have been training hard to be able to attain it. I know that my body is conditioned to complete it even faster than my goal, but sometimes the negativity takes control and I get nervous that I won't be able to push myself hard enough. After having terrible 16 last week I was unsure of how to go about my schedule and include tapering at the same time. Fridays run was scheduled to be 10 miles, and next Friday is supposed to be 18. Since I'm doing 13.1 on Sunday it is clear that 18 on Friday is not an option. I am still unsure of if I will be able to make up the 18 (considering running 5 more after the race), but I decided to do 13.1 on Friday within my goal time to remove all doubt of if I am capable of my goal. I put my playlist together, fueled up, brought appropriate refuel (honey stix, coconut juice, and a Lara Bar cut up), and ran with purpose. I'm feeling pretty confident, but now just have to work out the logistics- where to park, how to get my packet, what to wear, etc.


One thing I am really excited about is having people there. When I ran the Rock N Roll in October, I went it alone. My friend Nic dropped me off but didn't make to back to the park before I finished. As excited as it was just to finish, it was a little anti climatic to cross the line and then hang out waiting for my ride. For this race, Sarah and Steph from work are also running the race. Hopefully we will have a few of the salon girls there to cheer us on, and Reece promised to come watch me finish as well. Regardless of the outcome I need to remember that I am doing it for fun and to ENJOY all 13.1 miles.

workout this week:
ran 5 miles/abs
ran 6 miles/arms/chest/back
stair climber for 60 minutes
ran 5 miles/shoulders/abs
30 min elliptical/1 hour zen strength class (btw, I found out this is a lot of Vinyasa Yoga)
ran 13.1 miles/abs
rest

Does anyone have any specific examples of little acts of service they have performed? Or have been done to them? What songs would you suggest I add to my 13.1 playlist? What mantras work for you when you're giving yourself a pep talk?

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.