found this quote on Janae's blog:

"When we feel stuck...going nowhere....even starting to slip backward-we might actually be backing up to get a running start."

love it.  =]

PCHM

(or provo city half marathon for those of you who don't know)
i ran my first half marathon on saturday and i have to say that it was the hardest thing i have ever done in my entire life. my goal was to finish and in under 3 hours would have been nice. my official time was something like 3:03:17 (just ballparkin' it....=] )

so, close enough to 3 hours and i wasn't last! i think that means success.

i'm going to try to explain to you my thought process at about 

mile 4 and i might fail horribly so...bare bear with me. 

(also i might have to go into a tangent about the phrase "bare/bear with me" haha)

in order to help other understand my thought process, 

i guess i have to explain how the race went. 

i ran/jogged almost the entire first 3 miles to
the second water station. at that point i was
pretty tired and my muscles were a bit fatigued
(keep in mind i did almost no training didn't train
as much as i should have for this race)
so i started a brisk walk. from then until mile 11 it
was a steady switch off from jog to walk as i felt
was appropriate and then the rest of the race i just
wanted it to be over so i pushed myself and jogged to the finish.

so, when i initially started walking i started to be a bit disappointed in myself;

wanting to run the entire thing, 

wanting to pass this person, 

not let that guy pass me, etc. 

i quickly stopped that thought process by thinking 

"why?!" 

why do i care if i run the entire thing?
why does it matter if that guy (who is 50 lbs overweight) passes me?
why do i care if i pass that lady or keep up with those two?

my goal was to finish and there was no way that i was 

going to quit unless i passed out or broke a leg. 

besides, i bet they all trained for this more than i 

did so why should i compare myself to them? 

it was a really interesting experience bc i realized
that i really didn't care what people around me were doing.
sure, trying to keep with someone is a great way to push
yourself, i'm not saying it's bad, but i was pushing myself
by simply trying to go 13.1 miles without much training!
i could gauge my level of intensity bc i knew what i was
feeling, not what anyone else was feeling or what anyone
else had done to prep for the race. i decided to really take
some advice that my dad gave me and just relax and have fun.

i started looking around at the things around me 

and enjoyed going through a part of provo that 

i'm hardly ever in. i saw tons of yard sales and a 

little girl gave me a high five as i was running by 

and i saw a guy on a riding lawn mower except he 

was standing on this tiny platform on one wheel 

that was connected to the mower and well, ya i just 

had fun with what i was given. 

and then miles 5-9 went by pretty quickly. i always thought it
was dumb when people would say that parts of a marathon
went by really fast, not because they were running faster but
just because they got into a rhythm i guess....well, at about
mile 2 i was sure that was NEVER going to happen and that
this half marathon was going to last foreverrrrrrrr.....but, to
my surprise, it didn't!
ok, it wasn't all puppy dogs and rainbows.

at mile 10 i hit a serious wall and my hips were killing me. 

i didn't even give myself places to run to like i normally do, 

i was just going bc there was nothing else for me to do. 

i certainly wasn't going to stop after 10 miles. so the last 3.1 

miles were terribly painful and hard but I FINISHED!!!! 

and after crossing that line i wanted nothing more than to lay
in my bed and go to sleep. i don't know that i would classify
this experience as fun quite yet, tho i'm sure at some point i
will look back and think it was.

ok, i'm sorry for the intense novel, i know blog posts are much more fun when there are lots of pictures but i didn't take my camera & i just wanted to share my experience! here's me at the finish with two girls from my ward-tippe and lauren. lauren finished her first half in 2:17:45 and tippe finished around 2:5  these girls ROCK!!!!

picture post!

 this is after the workout with my brother when i biked/he ran 

then we sneakily switched and he gave me challenges along 

the way. it was like a game! you can see that post here

 and this is the crazy look on my face after i saw the first picture 

of how cherry-red and on the verge of death i look!

(i promise i'm not dying!!)

 zucchini oatmeal chocolate chip cookies! i actually added 

green food coloring as it was st patrick's day but they were delish!

 the st patty's day spread:

lime jello shots

irish soda bread (soooooo good!)

green fresh squeezed lemonade

zucchini oatmeal cookies

corned beef and cabbage 

(this will definitely be an annual tradition)

i would type out all the recipes but i'm just too lazy so i have 

linked them all in case you want to try these out!

now (drum roll please) the moment you've ALL been waiting for........

SPLASH 'N DASH!

ok, so i don't have that many pics of it and they're not 

that exciting but it was fun and a great workout!!

 puttin on my number - 718

 

yep-that's my proud excited nervous pose!
 

 gettin stoked!

yes that is me using all random crazy made-up 

strokes to get myself through the water. 

should've trained more....

 ok, not the best pic quality but 

had to get a quick transition picture!

you can tell im super excited to run soaking wet....

 

YESSSSSSSSS........best. feeling. ever. =]

i conquered the beginner splash 'n dash! woo!

now i just wanted to show off some of my most 

sweetest bestest friends. they make me o so happy =]

 this is tierre. she didn't know we 

were taking a silly picture!!

 

tierre, danielle, and me. 

we like to eat food.....

 

 ...like this salad!!

romaine lettuce, tomato, broccoli, and avocado. 

sooooooo yummy

 um ya...we were supposed to do funny poses and 

i tried i really did but danielle's funny pose was 

just too hilarious i couldn't keep it together. 

and tierre didn't even try.

and this is marissa! we also like to eat food. 

sensing a pattern here? 

if you are, i have no idea what you're talking about.

we have cooking adventures every sunday together. 

she's A-W-E-S-O-M-E!!

blog neglect

i promise i have a good reason! or maybe just an excuse. or excuses, i should say.
1) the past few weeks have been CRAZY.
2) the past few weeks i've had a crazy headache that i
think might be FINALLY going away (yay!!)
3) next week is finals week so...i guess that will be my
excuse for blog neglect until next..wednesday? possibly...

regardless, i have been found guilty of blog neglect. 

sad day! i think there's just so much i want to blog 

about and i keep getting overwhelmed into not blogging 

at all. also i haven't uploaded my pictures from, well, 

anything in the past month and i want pictures in my posts!

{fyi, i did just take a photo booth pic with my mac
but i woke up late and didnt actually get ready this
morning so i will save your eyes from the horror.
wish i could do the same for those in the library
right now...o well!}

i will say that splash 'n dash was AWESOME 

and i got the coolest t shirt! pics to come!! it was 

so fun, in fact, that about a week later (on a 

monday early in the morning-that's my excuse 

for the momentary insanity) i signed up for a 

-half marathon in provo on may 7th, 

-a beginner triathlon in st. george on june 4th, 

-and a sprint triathlon in park city on june 18th. 

i'm a nut....actually, i think i just get really ambitious in the
mornings and think i can conquer anything! i can, right?....
anyway, the next two months promise to be interesting!
however, as a result of my not feeling well and being crazy
busy i didn't work out at all last week. shame on me!
actually, my legs will just be hating me come half marathon
time and i will have to take lots of breaks during that race!
so, yes, this is my life.

i feel so bad saying i'm sooooo busy 

sometimes when people like Erin at See Mom Run Far find 

time to train for MARATHONS while raising 12, yes that's 

right, 12 children! i am just so amazed by her and her passion 

for running. it's contagious! read her post

How I "do it"- she's pretty much my hero!

one thing i really got from that is that she MAKES time to
do the things she loves and that is supremely important!
if i don't make time to run, i just won't do it and i know i
won't feel as great as i do if i had ran. (makes sense, right?
in my brain it did...) anyway, i am recommitting myself to
working out every day and i hope you will too!

Will Smith on life

this is a-MAZ-ing. his crazy positive outlook on life is
infectious and can apply to exercise as well as...well, anything!




i have a new-found LOVE of will smith :)

12-Week Swim Workout Plan for Sprint Triathlons | Active.com

12-Week Swim Workout Plan for Sprint Triathlons | Active.com

busy as a beaver

i feel like mondays and tuesdays will never be work out days. (at least not this semester)
i start each day at 8am and have evening classes both days. i'm basically on campus all
day and always have something to do.

fyi splash n dash is in 11 days. i've got to get my butt in the pool so i don't drown! 

honestly since i've just barely started swimming i'm just making the goal now that 

i will not stop in the water. o boy, i feel like that might even be too much to ask but 

that's what i'm goin for! 

i am very strongly considering going to the pool tomorrow at 6am in hopes
that there will be less people and i can focus on relaxed breathing rather than
worry about what people are thinking of the crazy air gasping girl in the black
swimsuit. (that would be me) so that means bedtime will be early tonight!!!

what do you do when you feel you 

have no time to exercise but really want to??