65#

It was chest day at the gym. Today I lifted 65lbs on the decline bench!  Considering that I started off in the fall of last year lifting the 30lb bar, I am thrilled!  I will also likely be very sore tomorrow. And the day after.

That is all.  Just thought you should know.

Goal #1

Let's talk injury prevention, Goal #1.  In order to get stronger, run longer, run faster and run happy I have to be injury free.  I actually believe that if I can achieve my other goals: cross train, lose weight, do hills, do speed work that will be a huge part of staying injury free.

Mostly I can't complain about injuries.  I've had nothing serious.  I've had a fair bit of trouble with my periformis over the last year, which in turn effects my whole right side.  Mostly I get hip and foot pain on the right side.  Honestly, I have to credit my massage therapist friend  Melissa, for helping me figure out the root of the problem and how to solve it!  I've kept it under control with stretching, foam rolling, massage and lots of visits to the chiropractor.

Here are some links I've found helpful.
How to strengthen the feet.
More foot strengthening exercises.
Periformis Syndrome
More on Periformis Syndrome

A few other articles worth reading.

Uhan's Three Laws of Running Injury
I've mentioned this article before, but it's worth revisiting. Injuries by Anton Krupicka
Amby Burfoot's Simple Secrets to a Lifetime of Running

Bosho Marathon

Today Katherine and I met Lindsay on the Bonneville Shoreline Trail above Salt Lake City to run the Bosho Marathon.  Bosho Marathon is, as I just learned last night, a bit of a underground marathon.  It's more like a group run and you won't find it on any websites.  I was excited to be part of this trail running experience.  We set out at 7am the wrong direction on the course in order to cut out one loop.  We were aiming for 10-13 miles.  It was a beautiful section of the Shoreline trail that I'd never been on before.  It was mostly uphill on the way out and then some perfect screaming downhills on the way back.  I nearly ate it cruising downhill at around mile nine.  Luckily I recovered, because that fall would have hurt.  Bad.  It was cloudy and cool and the perfect temperature for running.  Lindsay, Katherine and I had a blast together.  As we ran, I was really appreciating the fact the the three of us all run at the same pace.  It's so nice to run with these awesome ladies!

Heading into the mountains.

We decided we wouldn't be eaten by any mountain lions, as clearly they'd already eaten already.

The views on the ridge were stunning.  I love these mountains! 

Down town below me.

Blurry, but fantastic Katherine.

Lindsay leading the pack.

New running buddies.  Fun, fun times!

Yes, we are grown women.  Yes, we play with toys.

Thanks for the fantastic run ladies!  This was my fastest marathon ever!  Oh, wait, it was only 12 miles.  Whatever!  We rocked!

12 miles 

2 hrs 57 min

14:45 pace

I'm famous!

So, do you remember when I posted Run Buddy = Run Better?  Well, Utahrunning.com chose my story, along with a few others from local runners, to go into this issue of Run Utah online magazine! So, before you do anything else, click HERE and go download the newest magazine and check out Running Groups.  Thanks so much to UtahRunning.com  and Run Utah Magazine for adding my story!

Here is part of the article...

Parley's Historic Nature Park

Ever since the Buffalo Run I haven't been wanting to spend much time pounding the pavement.  In fact, I'd nearly rather go to the gym than run on the road.  I decided to see if there were any dog friendly trails near me, so what did I do?  I Googled it, of course!  Being that a lot of the Wasatch is a watershed, dogs aren't allowed on a lot of trails*. Now, I already knew that Mill Creek Canyon is a great place to take dogs.  On odd numbered days they can even be off leash.  However, today was the 10th and I really wanted to take Ozzy with me (I very much dislike running on trails with him on leash) so I opted to check out Parley's Historic Nature Park, which starts at Tanner Park.  It was a nice little trail, and Ozzy had a blast running around with all the other dogs there.  It's not the kind of place you could get a long run in, but it was perfect for a quick run.  I'm sure I'll go back again.

3.6 miles

45 min

12:30 pace

*Check out this resource on dog friendly parks and trails and the Wasatch Front.

Goal #3

Thinking more about my goals for the year, I decided to talk about why each of these is important to me.  I'm not, however, going to talk about them in numerical order.  I picked #3 to talk about because I'm sure this is the one that draws the most skepticism.  "Why on earth does she think she need to lose weight?!"  Yes, I know I'm skinny.  It's not totally about that.  Even at my heaviest ever (160lbs at 26 years old) I wasn't what you'd call fat.  I've always been skinny.  But, it's genetic.  Hey, take a look at my dad for crying out loud!

My Daddy is so skinny, he has to hop around in the shower just to get wet!

It's how I'm built.  So, for me 130 lbs, or even 120 lbs isn't out of line. I'm 5'7 1/2" and at my current weight of 137 I have a BMI  of 21.5, which is right in the middle of normal. That's great and all, but I want stronger, faster, leaner.  Now let me just clarify what I mean by faster.  I'm not talking Mo Farah fast, or even Karl Meltzer fast.  I'm talking eleven and a half minute miles versus twelve and a half minute miles.  A real land speed record, I know, but it would be nice to be able to finish my next 50k in less than seven and a half hours!  I know that weight is only one component of this, and may or may not even help me out in that aspect.  But hey, even if it doesn't make me faster  it wouldn't be such a bad thing to see my abs, now would it?

2013 Goals

I've been thinking a lot about what I want out of running this year.  Honestly how I feel now is much different than how I felt in the dead of Winter.  Now that I have my first 50k under my belt I'm already thinking about the next one, the Antelope Island 50k to be exact. My goals all intertwine.  As I've been running lately, I've been thinking of ways to become stronger, faster and stay injury free.  All of these things boil down to my goals.

Running Goals for 2013
1. Stay injury free (goals 2 & 3 should help with this)
2. Cross train twice a week (one weight lifting session and one yoga session)
3. Get to 130lbs (lighter is faster, right? I'm currently hovering between 135.5-138)
4. Do hills
5. Do speed work
6. Enjoy running (easiest goal of them all!)