Reason #502 why I love my husband

...he gives up every Saturday morning so I can run! As I get ready to run my second marathon in 11 months, I have to take a minute to thank the one person who has truly made it possible. I have been a "runner" off and on our whole marriage. In the beginning it was 2 mile runs just to get some excercise every once in a while. After Dallin, my oldest, was born I knew I needed a goal to motivate me, so I signed up for this crazy Oregon relay race called Hood to Coast. I trained pretty regularly, and he bought me a CD skip-proof walkman to show his support. Let's jump ahead about a year. We went through fertility treatments(another blog for another day) and I gained about 25 pounds before getting pregnant with Emily. After she was born, I decided I had a lot of weight to lose and needed a big goal again. I contemplated the marathon, but was not really sure if I would be able to run it. The most I had ever run at one time was 9 miles, and it was not pretty. :-) Well, for Christmas 2004, Jeff surprised me with an MP3 player and told me, "This is for your marathon." It was very sweet, and for the first time, I thought maybe I really could run a marathon. He has always made me feel I could do anything I set my mind to and he has always given me wings to fly. He supports me in all of my crazy goals and all he asks in return is that I am happy. This past year I think I only missed one Saturday long run, and he never once complained. I do try to run early so that it isn't too burdensome, but it is every week. I wondered if he was getting tired of my committment to running, until this Christmas he bought me The Watch! (Garmin Forerunner 301) This was something I had looked at for a long time, but could never justify because I just run for "fun." Well, he surprised me with it and I LOVE it. It tells me my heart rate, how fast I am going, how far I have gone, and I can plug it to the computer so I can graph every run I do. The science nerd in me loves this stuff! So, now he knows I definitely won't quit. He knows that running is "my" time and makes me a happier wife and mom. He was my shoulder to cry on when my first marathon didn't go how I wanted. He said the perfect thing, "Kelly, you didn't do all the training JUST to run a marathon, you did it for all the things that came with the training." He understands me and why I run. (Kind of!) Also, when I was dying to have a run where I averaged under an 8 minute mile, he ran a 5k with me and stayed by my side the entire run. Now, he is helping me stay focused the week after the Boston Marathon when the crazy part of me starts thinking I am ready to try to qualify. So, even when I sound bummed that he doesn't want to hear about Boston again, I know he is doing exactly what I need, reminding me of why I run. He wants me to have a great marathon. I love him for that. So, thanks Jeff, for always being there for me.

Halfway to Boston...

I am on Cloud 9 right now because I had an AMAZING run yesterday. It started out with a 4 mile warmup, 3 of which were with two of my good friends and running buddies. It was a nice comfortable pace. Then I met up with Suzie and Ted, my fellow friends and Ogden Marathon buddies. I had told them that I wanted to do this 12 1/2 mile run at around 8:45 pace, which is the pace I think I could run Ogden on a perfect day. Well, we started the first mile at 8:38 and I felt great and thought that was pretty close. The next 2 miles were a little fast, 8:04 and 8:10, so Ted suggested we slow down. My heart rate was getting a little high so I agreed and we slowed down a little. I won't write every mile, but it was awesome!! I felt pretty good the whole time. It was definitely harder than normal, and I couldn't really carry on a conversation, just listen to Suzie and Ted. Well, were making such good time that I wanted to run the full 13.1 miles to have a half marathon PR (personal record.) So, I ran past the Y, when Ted and Suzie went to their cars and finished the last mile at 7:54. The total average was 8:23 minutes per mile! That is officially what I need to average to qualify for Boston. Woo Hoo! I didn't know I could run that fast for so long. I still have a ways to go, but it feels possible. And I felt awesome at the end. And the even better news is that Suzies shin splints feel better-yeah!! So, two more weeks and I finally get to crush my marathon PR with the help of good friends.

Trying to get motivated for Ogden

Okay, so it is taper time for the Ogden Marathon on May 6th, and my mind is playing games with me. To combat it, I am trying to think of all the progress I have made since my running disaster at the Newport Marathon last year. Here goes:

My racing times over the last year:

10k- 57:13 in March 2005 to 49:15 in September 2005
1/2 Marathon- 2:38 (very hilly trail course in the mud, very difficult for me) in March 2005 to 1:58 in November 2005
5k- The last 5k I ran was in May 2002 and it was 27:10 and in August 2005, my goal was to average 8 minute miles and I ran a 24:15 (7:47)!
Hood to Coast- I ran Leg 1 in 2003 and in 2005. In 2003 I ran it in 48 minutes (8 minute miles and the fastest I had ever run a mile in my life. It is straight down a mountain road, so gravity helps!) In 2005, I ran Leg 1 in 44:10- again the fastest I had ever run a mile in my life!)

I feel like in some ways I am fighting the fact that I am not a "natural" runner. I have loved getting faster and I am curious to see what I am capable of.

For all of the disappointment that Newport Marathon was, I am very proud that I stuck to the training. I had my darling little girl in October 2004 and started running consistently again in January 2005, working up to the Hal Higdon Beginner Marathon Program. In 18 weeks I only missed one day on the schedule. I am not usually so dedicated to anything, so I was very proud of my training. I averaged 30 miles a week, with a peak at 40. I didn't run any speedwork. (And I was still crazy enough to start my first marathon at 8:50 a mile when my training runs were at 10-ugh! What was I thinking?!) After the marathon, I kept up my training averaging between 25-30 miles a week. In January 2005 I picked up to 5-6 days of training and 30-40 miles a week, now peaking at 50 miles. I know I am a stronger runner physically and mentally. I just have to remember that on May 6th. At least I will have Suzie there to remind me.

How Far I've Come

One of the things I love about running is how quantitative it is. You can know exactly how fast you run a familiar course by looking at your watch, or if it is my watch, you can know your heart rate and elevation also! I love that when I run a particular hill more than once I can compare how I feel and see improvement. Elwert Rd is one of these hills for me. It goes from 150 feet to 300 feet in a half mile. It usually comes at the end of a run. The first time I ran it was about a year ago. It was my longest run so far, a 9 miler. I had mapped out a course that included Elwert. I was running with 2 stronger runners and they seemed to be doing fine, while I was struggling. I was staring at the telephone pole at the top of the hill, trying to will myself to keep going. All of a sudden a huge diesel truck came up behind me and just stopped. He was waiting for me to move out of the way. Since there was no shoulder, I had to step down a little bit into an area that I couldn't run in. My momentum shifted, and I would begin to run, only to give up again. I was so disappointed. The very next week I ran Elwert again, this time determined to win. I had my music with me and turned on "Eye of the Tiger." I loved the feeling of accomplishment when I reached the top. I felt I had conquered the world. Elwert is still hard for me, but it is a great measuring stick. This week I ran it by myself at the end of an 8 mile run. I ran up it faster than I ever had and felt great. I love when I can prove that I can push myself harder and not give up.

Finally, a cleaning system for me!

Okay, so my quest is over. (I hope!) I have been on this kick to figure out how to keep my house clean in such a way that I can still get out and enjoy playing with my kids. I can follow a system, I struggle with setting up the system. So, some friends told me about "Motivated Moms". It is a calendar that gives you a checklist each day of what should be done. For example, one Friday it will say to change the sheets in the master bedroom and the next Friday it will say to change the sheets in the kids' bedroom. No more guesswork! It rotates the cleaning chores so that nothing gets left undone, yet it is so easy to follow that you aren't overwhelmed! I already printed out my calendar and it is up on my fridge! I will keep you posted on how it goes.

My Favorite Kiddos

I love seeing pics of everyone else's kids, so I thought I would share mine with the world.

My son, Dallin. He is a carbon copy of his dad and truly makes me laugh all the time. He loves Thomas the Tank Engine, and has since before he was 2 years old. We keep thinking his interest will fade, but so signs yet! He is 4 years old and loves to ride his bike, play soccer, and watch Cyberchase. He is also a master at the Tivo. I don't know if I should be proud of that or embarassed.



My Hurricane Emily keeps me very busy. She loves to "help" in any way she can. She just turned 18 months and she is so much fun! She is stubborn and does not want to be treated like a baby.

Well, that is it for now. I love being at home with them and just hope I am doing a good job raising them.

So who is Marathon Mommy?

So, thanks to Suzie, people have actually visited my blog now, so I thought I should show that there is more to me than running. (Thank goodness, since I am not great at the running, I just love it!) I will tell a little about me. I met my cute husband at BYU and we have been married for 7 1/2 years. We have an awesome little boy who is 4 years old and a crazy, sweet 18 month old little girl who keep us busy. I am still trying to figure out the whole security of blogging situation, so I am not sure how much to tell. I actually do try to update a family web site, but I am not sure if I am ready for my blogging world and the real world to collide just yet!

So, that is all for now! I want to keep my public begging for more information. (All 3 of you! But I do appreciate you.) Now, if any of you are truly reading this, please comment. I NEED the validation. (Thanks for your comment, by the way, Emma Jo) I am still new to this whole blogging thing.

What our kids think of us...

It was my birthday 2 weeks ago (no, I am not saying that to make anyone feel bad, it is just important information for this story!). I asked Dallin what he was going to give me for my birthday and he said "a kiss." Very cute, but I decided I wanted something tangible. So, I pressed him again and asked him if he had all the money in the world to buy me something, what would it be? He said, "One of those exercise things...a treadmill!" So, there you have it. :-)