Riding our bikes

The weather has been really nice here, so we have been going for frequent bike rides.

I got second place in my age group! I got this in the mail a few weeks after the race because we left to Mexico a couple days after my race. It was a nice little surprise :)

Death Valley Marathon

Phillip and I left Bakersfield early Friday evening and stayed a few miles away Death Valley because the prices of the resort there were so not worth it for us ($265 a night). We found a place that was much more affordable and just stayed there.

I really didn't get much sleep the two nights before the race. Sometimes I think my body performed a miracle running this race. I always ran on at the most 6 hrs of sleep. For the most part I got less than that. Phillip was in the middle of school and I was training at the same time. I knew I had to sacrifice my sleep so I could accomplish this goal of mine. Anyway, back  to the story... We woke up bright and early and drove to Death Valley. This is a very small race, which was perfect for me. Every runner picked up their race bib the day of the race. I had a banana and some pretzels and used the potty a few times before the race started.

We took off at 8am. I was feeling so good for the first 17 miles. I completed the first half of my marathon in 2:02 minutes. I felt so good! Then out of the nowhere my knee locked up, I couldn't bend it. This had never happened to me. I didn't know what to do. I stopped and stretched and that seemed to help. I kept going but I noticed that whenever I would speed up my knee would start locking up again. I had to slow way down. There were some miles where I was going at 10:45- 11:00 minute pace. I was sad and discouraged, but I knew I had to keep going. I had to stop and stretch  about every mile which was horrible for my time. My goal was to finish much faster than 4:26, but I still felt very accomplished when I finished. There is a lot of room for improvement at least. I hope my next marathon is much better.

A week later I went running with Phillip while we were in Bucerias. We ran 10 miles I believe and I felt really good and strong. My body was able to recover quickly and I am grateful for that.

I can't wait until I train for another marathon, maybe Santa Barbara in the fall and I hope to kill my time and get an awesome PR.

I also forgot to mention that I had a friend and two of my primary boys come and cheer for me. I felt very special.

I just about cried when they handed me that medal. 

With Josiah and Brayden 

I am way behind

I completed week two of my training last Saturday. My longest run so fur has been 12 miles. This week is easy, my longest run will be 9 miles then I will increase my mileage to 14 for my long run next week. I am doing really good so far. My pace last Saturday was 9:28 for 12 miles! I took it nice and easy. It felt so good!

 No excuses when you are training!

Day 3

I am still cold from my run, I think a warm shower will do me well. Today I ran 4 miles. I ran 16 seconds per mile faster than Monday. The first mile I always take it easy. The last 3 I tried to push it. I have to cross train tomorrow, then Friday I will do 6 miles. Saturday I will be doing 11! I have not done anything above 8 miles in a while. I am so excited to run longer. I always enjoy long runs.

DAY 2

Today I ran 6.66 miles at a 10 minute pace. I have been feeling more rested lately. I am not doing double work outs right now. I think my body needed me to slow down. My legs feel fresh and strong.  My partner just found out she is expecting so I will be doing my long runs solo. It will be good to reconnect with my thoughts once again. I love having  Holly with me, but some solo time might be good. 

He is the best little guy to come home to after a run.

1st Day of Training

Today's run consisted of 4 miles. Pace was a little on the slow side, but it is my first day. My average pace was 9:45. I know I will get better with time and training. I don't know if I am shooting too high, but I am hoping to run my marathon at 9:30-10:00 minute pace. Only my time and dedication will tell. I also got a good solid 7 hrs of sleep, they were very much needed. The night before I was up with the baby for about 4 hrs and the night before that I only got 4 hrs. of sleep. I think sleep will be the biggest challenge in my training. I just don't seem to ever be able to sleep a decent amount.The weather was a little bit cold and I ended up wearing my running jacket. I don't know why I opted to wear my jacket, I got hot and sweaty fast. Overall it was a good run, and it is always a plus when you can see the moon and the stars here in Bakersfield.