Soooooooooo....about that.

Apparently I took a really really really long time off from blogging.  But don't you worry--I was busy writing posts; I just didn't post them.  Oops?  Most of them are about races that Jason and I have been running, and there is also an Australia post in there as well.

Anyway, check out them out here in all their very belated glory:

Ragnar Florida Keys Recap
Sweethearts 5k Recap
Thanksgiving Point Half Marathon Recap
Australia Trip
Ragnar Wasatch Back Recap
Legacy Midnight 10k Recap

And I'll try to do better with posting in the future! Yikes!

Legacy Midnight 10k - Race Recap!!

I bet you guys didn't even know I had a race this weekend...

Somehow it slipped my mind to mention it, but indeed, I had a 10k race this past weekend.  Since it is darn hot in Utah during the summer, we have a fair amount of midnight races to choose from.  Jessica picked this one out last year and I've been looking forward to it since then.  What's not to love?  Midnight runs = cooler temperatures, crazy costumes, and tons of glowing items.

How can you not get excited?

There were three different races going on on the same trail--a 5k, 10k, and a half marathon.  We had opted for the 10k which started at 11 pm.  Originally, we had planned on running the race together.  However, because I am not skilled enough to run at 180 bpm without music (like my physical therapist recommended to stop the IT band pain), I opted to just run the race at my own pace and blast my music the whole time.  Jessica opted to run with her sister for most of the race.

At 10:55, they had us line up at the starting line.  There was a guy on a megaphone shouting some last minute information that sounded REALLY important, but we certainly couldn't hear it.  Something to the effect of "RUNNERS--please be sure that you absolutely DO NOT asldjfiu asdf *mumble mumble mumble*.  I repeat - DO NOT asuoidufojlj." 

Yep.  That was not very good.

I think the jist of it was that we should stick to the right lane of the trail because the half marathoners were going to be passing us going the opposite direction and we wouldn't want to get creamed by them.  Good advice for the few that could hear it.  Luckily, I knew that the runners would be passing us so I stayed on the correct side the entire time (unless I was passing someone).

As we were standing around waiting for the gun to sound, I was checking out the sheer number of runners doing the 10k.  The Legacy Parkway trail is one of my favorite places to run, but it is not meant for hundreds of runners.  I'd been concerned that the start of the race would be a giant bottleneck, and my fears proved true as the gun start went off.  It was chaos.  It was hard not to trip over all the runners.  Some were trying to go way faster than me, others were trying to walk right off the bat, and it resulted in a whole lot of stopping and starting.  It was like that for the first mile because there really wasn't anywhere for the runners to go to allow them to spread out and find the appropriate pace.  

However, once I got settled into the pack and found a comfortable place to run I started having a lot of fun.  I was decked out in glow stuff (and because I'm 12 it made me super happy), and the temperature was a nice cool(ish) 73 degrees.  The moon was out, and I could just settle into the running.  I looked down to see what my pace was and realized that I couldn't see the time on my watch because it was so dark outside.  I opted to just run on feeling rather than relying on my Garmin for this race.  I paid attention to my body and tried to run at a speed that I knew I could maintain for the 6+ miles.  I was feeling good!

Before I knew it, a half marathoner came blasting past me as I reached the first water exchange.  He was going SO FAST!  You could barely see him in the dark.  Luckily he had a flashing baton thing.  Otherwise, I am sure that he would've taken out several runners.  I definitely don't think this was the safest race!  I saw a lot of "near-misses" during this run.  

I did have a small hiccup where I thought I had seen a sign signifying I was at mile 2, and then a half a mile later I saw another sign that said mile 2, so that was confusing.  Like I said--it was dark and hard to see!  When I reached the turnaround just after mile 3, I was feeling good.  I knew that I was having a good race (especially compared to my last 10k) and I was looking forward to seeing my time.  I was hoping for a 1:10 time or less.

At this point in the race, I was starting to pass some people that had started out too quickly.  This is the first race I've had where I actually got to pass more people than passed me!  I was super excited about that.  At my last 10k I finished 5 from the bottom.  I knew that there was absolutely no way that would happen to me this time.  The happiness that brought kept me going strong.  

With 1.5 miles left, we encountered the turnaround point for the 5k.  What a mess!!  There were hundreds of runners turning around RIGHT in the path of the 10k-ers and half marathoners.  It was a cluster, and kinda dangerous.  I went from having about 10 people within my area to suddenly having about 50 people.  It slowed everyone down.  I definitely think they should rethink this portion of the race next year.

Once again, I got situated within the pack at the correct pace and continued on for the last mile or so.  By this time, I was starting to feel tired.  I knew that I was going to have nothing left once I hit the finish line.  I could see the bright lights from the finish line, but knew I still had about half a mile to go.  I tried to pick up my pace, but it just wasn't happening.  

Finally, I could see the finish line and decided to give it my all.  Admittedly, there really wasn't much left.  But as I crossed that finish line and looked down at my Garmin and saw that I had finished a 10k in 1:02:55, I couldn't have been happier.  I couldn't believe how fast (for me!) I had ran those 6.2 miles.  I had shaved nearly 14 minutes off from my previous 10k time.  Now THAT is a cause for celebration!

Pre-Race Dancing

Love this girl!  She's my partner in (running) crime!

I think it was the fancy glowing shoes that made me run so fast...

My official time from the chip was 1:03:17.  I'm not sure where the extra 22 seconds came from, but I'm not too worried about it.  Either way, I had an awesome race!  I finished 15th in my age group (out of 41) which is WAY better than I did last time.  I finished 134 out of the total 780 racers, which puts me in the top 18% of racers.  For me, that was huge.  I'm normally at the back of the pack!

Overall, I loved the race.  It definitely had some technical issues that it needs to work through for next year, but it was fun enough that I can totally ignore those little hiccups.  The race had a great vibe, and I look forward to doing another midnight race sometime in my future.

Ragnar Wasatch Back

I was supposed to be runner 6, but due to my IT band flare-up my team captain switched me to runner 4.  It was a little less distance and not as much downhill (which tends to aggravate the knee).  Admittedly, the Wasatch Back race had snuck up me; I had known it was coming for months, but once I got back from Australia it suddenly dawned on me that it was GO TIME.  I wasn't even sure I could run!  I had taken 5 weeks off to rest my knee as per the doc's advice, and I was more than a little bit nervous to dive back into running.

My dear friend Jess helped out with that.  She met me down at my house and we went for a nice, easy starter run.  We ran/walked 3 miles to test out the waters and see how my leg would perform.  There was a little bit of tightness, but not enough to be concerned.  Overall it was a good run and it felt SO nice to be back outdoors and being active.  I missed running more than I had let myself believe.

I decided one run wasn't enough to confirm that I would be able to run Ragnar, so I opted to do one more small run with my sister in Idaho before committing to the race. I had less than a week before Ragnar and my team was anxiously waiting for an update on my leg's condition.  We were all hoping that I would be able to run the race as we had no other alternates!

The run with my sister was also nice and easy.  We opted to do a 2 mile run with a 1 mile walk.  The knee felt fine, and I even had some downhill sections in that run.  My pace was slow, but I was feeling confident that I would be able to run Ragnar with no issues and that my IT band had gotten enough rest to allow me to perform well.

However, my body decided that I needed a bit more of a challenge for my race, and a few days prior to the actual event I came down with a wicked cold.  I had the fever, the aches, the COUGH, the sore throat, the works...it was miserable!  I took a day off from work and tried to recover.  I started feeling better by Thursday just in time for the race to start on Friday.  I still had a cough, but the majority of the other symptoms had calmed down enough that I didn't think they would be an issue.

We were in Van #1 and had a start time of 6:40.  Jason was runner #1 and he actually got to start the race off with his cousin who was running on another team that had the same start time at us.  With around 14,000 runners in the race, this was a pretty rare chance!  When the clock hit 6:40, the runners were off and the race had begun for us!




I was SO nervous for my leg.  I had 5.1 miles which would be the farthest I had ran in 6 weeks.  It's crazy how quickly you lose the ability to run far when you have to rest because of injury.  Scary stuff!  I anxiously waited for the runner before me to make it to the exchange.

It was approaching 11 am and it was getting steadily warmer as I waited for the runner to show.  Something you should know about Becky--I do NOT do well in heat.  Seriously.  I'm a big wuss.  I knew that the temperature was going to be an issue for me on this run.


And the handoff!!  I decided to ease into the run nice and slow and not start off too quickly.  I knew that I should take it easy on the leg and let it warm up because the last Ragnar I had ran made me so sore at the end that I could barely walk, and I wasn't even injured that time!

When I looked around I realized that I was running near one of my most favorite places in the world.  There is a beautiful town in Utah called Paradise and Jason and I used to visit it when we were dating.  It is very picturesque and I was happy to be running near a place with so many good memories.  Well, I was happy until the heat kicked in.  Then I got tooooo warm.  My heart rate shot up and my energy level dropped.  There was a small creek that was running along the road next to me, and it took a lot of willpower not to just jump in and forget the race!  It was far too tempting!

Around mile 3 my knee started to hurt (due to the IT band).  I wasn't expecting the pain to show up so early, and I became extremely nervous for my next two legs.  I knew I needed strong legs to finish Ragnar, and I was hoping that with some good stretching and icing I could undo the damage I was doing to them on this first section.

Approximately 2 hours later at mile 3.3 (okay, so it just felt like 2 hours...), the heat started to really get to me.  I started walking (boo!) and was cursing the hills that seemed to never end.  My team was awesome and kept my spirits as elevated as possible through their cheering and support, but when the van was out of sight I had to dig deep to just finish the first leg.  I couldn't believe I was struggling so much on a 5-mile run when just a few weeks ago I had been running 13 miles!

My van stopped to give me some more water, and Jason told me that his cousin was only about 100 yards behind me and she had been that distance behind me the entire time I had been running.  We had talked before the race started about how fun it would be to run together, so I opted to stop and wait for her to catch up to me.  Not only did I want some company to my misery, I also wanted a nice rest stop!  I was so happy to see her, and she was happy to see me.  We were both having a hard time in the heat!

Having a running buddy made the run SO MUCH BETTER.  We were able to distract each other from our frustrations on the run, and when we couldn't help but feel the heat, we could complain together.  Somehow it made it okay.  :)  It was definitely a highlight for me that I was able to run with her.  We had the same pace and we were able to help each other finish strong.



When the exchange line was finally within our sights, we knew we were home free and nearly done with the pain.  I know I'm totally being dramatic, but in the moment I seriously thought I was going to pass out before reaching the finish line.  Like I said, I totally suck when running in hot weather.  I was SO HAPPY to cross the exchange line and pass off our super awesome baton (aka slap bracelet) to my next runner.

Except he wasn't there.

Talk about a defeated feeling!  I had pushed hard through that last stretch only to find out that my efforts were in vain because no one was there to pass off to.  Where was he?  I bet you can guess!  He had a date with the Honey Buckets...and that's not a term for a cute dance group.  Yay porta potties!  And I shall quote him: "It's an awful feeling to be hanging out in a port-a-potty and suddenly hear your name being called at the top of someone's lungs and know that you are super late to an important event."

No runner for me to hand off too...sad!

After all of our runners finished their first leg, we went to the major exchange to see our comrades in Van 2.  It was nice to know we were going to have a 5 or 6 hour break to get some food and relax a bit.  We even had time to take some team photos.

Yeah, I don't even know what to say about that photo...

If you are ever debating whether or not to run Wasatch Back, you definitely should stop debating and just sign up.  It's a beautiful race.  The relay experience is such a unique thing that you have to experience at least once in your life, and the scenery during this race is breath-taking.  So yeah...sign up for the nice views.

Nice scenery indeed.  :)

Anyway, back to the race.  Most of us got a nice short nap in at the second major exchange waiting for our Van 2 runners to finish up.  It was nice and refreshing.  However, by that point all downhill sections and stairs I encountered while walking around were causing me issues.  I couldn't walk down to our Van without hobbling a bit.  I knew that I could run through the pain on my second leg, but I knew that my third leg (with an 800 ft descent) was not going to happen for me without a miracle.  I did some icing and stretching while at the exchange, and prepared to run my second leg (a nice 4.2 miler).


Yeah...it's best to pretend that you don't know me when I'm making faces like that.  That kid behind me is totally in my van and he's doing a good job of pretending he isn't running with me.  By the way...here's a hint about me:  when I'm realllly nervous, I tend to look realllllly excited.

Guess how nervous I was?  Hee hee.

But, the good news is I was better prepared for my second run.  I busted out my tank top so that I could battle the remainder of the heat.  I had stretched, I was warmed up, and I was ready to run.  And thankfully, this leg was mostly flat.  I let myself get distracted by the beautiful mountain views (and random kids dressed in camouflage hiding out in the bushes scaring runners...so awesome), and settled in for a nice comfortable run.  It went MUCH better than the first.  My knee definitely was having issues, but not enough that I couldn't run through them.  Overall, this was a much nicer run for me.  I still had to walk a couple of sections (my lungs were killing me from all the coughing), but I had a faster pace than my first leg and I finished strong enough that I was even able to blast past a runner at the exchange line after one of her supporters said, "I just told her that you weren't fast enough to catch her.  Let's see if I'm wrong."

I'm not one to back down from a challenge if I can help it.



Wahoo!  Girl in Gray?  You've been PASSED!  And don't judge me by my face...I don't look it, but I was super stoked at my last minute victory.  It's the little things in life that make me happy.  Not to mention she had passed me earlier in the race and this was my way to erase that.  :)

That night we crashed at a park and slept outside under the stars.  It was beautiful, but so very very cold.  My lungs were screaming at me from all the running I'd put them through, and the cold air was making it much much worse.  By this point my knee pain had settled into a constant throbbing, and any time I turned in my sleep to lay on my side the pain in my leg would wake me up.  Needless to say, it wasn't the best night of sleep I've had in my life but that's part of Ragnar!  I was still having fun.

However, I knew that my knee was not going to be able to hack an 800 ft. descent.  It was time to find a solution that didn't involve me dropping out of the race or having someone run my leg for me.  I was lucky enough that one of the people in my van was hoping to run some downhill, and his leg happened to be (mostly) flat and approximately the same distance as my leg.  We agreed to switch and were both happy with the exchange.  It was about 30 degrees when we got ready to run, and he didn't have any running tights to keep warm and I did so it really ended up working out best for both of us.

Not gonna lie.  The last leg hurt and I was ready for it to be done.  I didn't want to hurt my knee anymore than I already had, because last time I ran hard on it I ended up having to take 6 weeks off from running and it nearly made me crazy.  So, I took it easy and tried to enjoy it.  Mostly, I just kept telling myself over and over again that I was almost to the finish and that I was almost done having to run.  Those were some happy thoughts.  :)

Apparently they were happy enough thoughts that I ended up running my last half mile faster than I'd ran the entire leg.  Nothing like a motivating finish line!  I crossed the line and celebrated having been able to run all three legs on limited training.  It was super fun, and I'm glad I did it.  It wasn't the perfect situation, but it was still a blast.

We met our whole team at the finish line of the race and ran together to cross the true finish line.  It was a very happy moment and we were so thankful to be done.  I was running with coworkers who had never ran a race before, and it was very exciting to see their pride at having accomplished such a feat.  

The company I work for is awesome for sponsoring 2 teams of runners.  My boss even ran on my team, and he had so much fun he's agreed to let our company have 3 teams next year!  My boss had never ran farther than 6 miles before, and the day of the race he found out that one of this legs was 10 miles!  But he ran it like a champ, never walked, crossed the exchange line, and promptly puked his guts up.  Hahaha.  Apparently he still thought it was fun enough that he'll be running it again next year.  Runners...we're all crazy!

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So...that's the recap.  It was hard, it was fun, and it was unforgettable.  The next day my cough was so bad that I took a trip to the doctor and found out that I had ran the race with bronchitis.  Not my smartest moment...but I'm still glad I did it.  And for those of you worrying about my knee, you'll be pleased to know that I went and saw a physical therapist and I am working with her to get back on the running track.  I am seeing her again this Thursday and I'm hoping she will give me the all clear to start running again.  After all, I do have a full marathon in 11 weeks.  It's really do or die at this point!  Keep your fingers crossed for me, k?

Sydney - Mega Photo Post!

Wow...it has been a whirlwind since getting back from Australia!  We barely had time to get settled into the work routine before having to drive up to Idaho to celebrate my dad's 60th birthday with my family.  It was a great time, but we are definitely ready for a day or two of relaxation!  Unfortunately, both Jason and I have come down with a cold so we are down for the count.  I missed work yesterday, and he's missing work today.  Boo!  Also, I encountered some sort of bug that left me with no less than FIFTY bug bites that itch worse than mosquito bites.  I may go crazy.  It's almost like I have chicken pox even though I know that's impossible!

So...before life gets too overwhelming and I forget to post my pictures, I am going to do a few mega-photo posts from Australia!  Today's photos come from Sydney...beautiful, wonderful Sydney.  We loved this city!  Even though we spent nearly every day we were there working, we still managed to get out and see the sights.  If you ever have debated whether or not to go there, stop debating and get yourself some plane tickets.  It's worth it!  Hubster was even looking for jobs in the region because he loved it so much!  Too bad it's so dang expensive to live there.  Also, they drive on the left side of the road which was a bit difficult to adjust to being a Yank like I am.  Luckily, Hubster and I survived driving in Australia.

Without further ado, I present Sydney in photos:

The opera house!

The Sydney Harbour Bridge (we climbed to the top!)

I had no idea the opera house had this texture...thought it was neat!

I may have gotten a weird look or two...

Biking around Manly

Lookout Pointe at Manly

Love the feeling of the sand between my toes!

Joy!  (side note--it was freezing!)

Manly Beach where one manly man braved the cold and wore a speedo in the ocean.

He is not in this photo.

Climbing the bridge with dorky hats!

Awesome views during the easy climb

Our outfits are sexy!

Giant Lego man!!

Penguinos!

I *may* have once thought I was Ariel

I showed my dad this picture and told him I took it while we were snorkeling.  He believed me and freaked out.

On top of the Sydney Harbour Bridge Pylon

I love lizards!

Grumpy  bird!

So soft!

Loooooved the kangaroos!

Care for a cuddle?

Feed me!!

At the top of the Three Sisters Hike that kicked my butt (or more specifically my knee)

Hundreds and hundreds of steep steep stairs...pictures don't do it justice!  IT band pain--commence!

...but I kept going anyway!

It was a beautiful hike!

And I may or may not have ended the day with some kangaroo filet.  And I felt horribly guilty for it after spending the day playing with kangaroos.  But it was delicious.

After working and playing in Sydney for a week and a half, we departed the lovely city and headed north to Cairns.  Cairns is a port town with the closest access to the Great Barrier Reef which is what made it an ideal place to anchor for a few days.  

Have some fish...

Happy on the Dive Boat!

Snorkeling while Hubster dives!

I snorkeled to my heart’s content on that reef that beautiful day.  And got sunburned.  The worst sunburn of my life.  OUCH OUCH OUCH.  Pictures don’t do it justice.  It blistered and then peeled twice.  Let’s just say it hurt and that it took a LOT of willpower to force myself out of our hostel to go sight-seeing the next few days.  Luckily, I am one who can’t stand the idea of spending money to travel clear across the world just to sit in my hotel room and stare at the tv.  So, out we went.  We saw the beautiful rainforest via Skyrail and then took a scenic train ride back to Cairns.  The Barron Gorge was phenomenal!  Such a beautiful area.

It was worse in real life.  Puffy and swollen and ouch.

On the Skyrail to Kuranda

The beautiful Kuranda train

Cheese!

Barron Falls in the background (but you can't see it!)

This is me pretending I'm getting sun on the beach.  I've got massive loads of sunscreen on and after this picture was taken I promptly hid in the shade.

That night we took a midnight Greyhound bus (always an adventure) to Airlie Beach.  We were told by nearly every Australian we encountered that we couldn’t miss the Whitsunday Islands.  They were an absolute “must” so we rearranged our travel plans to fit in a visit there.  I am SO glad we listened to the locals—I’ve never seen such beauty!  We spent 3 days and 2 nights aboard a sailing vessel (we slept in a pontoon!) where we traveled from island to island and spent our days snorkeling, hiking, tanning (not me!), and relaxing.  It was a perfect way to finish our vacation.

AWESOME way to spend a few days!

The highlight of the entire trip was White Haven Beach.  I’ve never seen a more beautiful beach in my life.  The water was crystal clear; you could see baby sharks and sting rays swimming around within just a few feet of you.  The sand was a bright white—I was told it is the whitest beach in the world.  It is made of 98% silica and feels so weird on your feet!  It squeaks!  I could’ve spent my entire vacation (or life) on this beach and been a happy camper.  If you ever get the opportunity to go to Australia, don’t miss this island!

Gorgeous beach!!

No photo shopping---those are true colors.

Eventually, real life called and we had to fly home.  After a few travel snafus (Delta LOVES cancelling my flights), we finally were on a plane home to return to the real world.  And what was waiting for me?  A big ol’ race known as the Ragnar Relay Wasatch Back.  Oh yes…after taking 5 weeks off from running to let my knee heal, I was about to put it to the test via a 30+ hour race.  How did it go?  Well, I will let you know tomorrow!