Remember me?!

Wow! It's been awhile, eh?  After my last half-marathon in March,  I found myself floundering about without a training schedule and with no real motivation.  I was still running but it was so hodge-podge and lackluster that it was unimpressive at best. It took me a couple of months to find my footing again and I am now finding myself in the midst of all kinds of fun personal running news. Since I heart lists, here's a list to bring you guys up to date.

 

1. I'm training for marathon #2! My husband and I are running the Top of Utah Marathon on Sept. 18th in Logan, UT.  We tried to get in the St. George Marathon and didn't get picked out of the lottery to receive an entry so this marathon is actually our Plan B. All in all, I'm really getting excited for it because everyone I've talked to who has run it talks about how beautiful and fast it is. What could be better?! Today, we rounded out the 4th week of our 18 week FIRST training plan. So far, so good!  

2. Last weekend, I PRed at a 5k! I got a free entry into a 5k from my favorite local running store.  I was really excited about this one because I knew it had potential to get me a sub 24:00 time, which I really wanted to do. This was my attempt at a pre-race photo with my Blackberry. 

I was in too much of a hurry to try again so this one will have to do.  The short of it? I PRed by more than 2 minutes and finished in 23:23!! Overall- 30th out of 180, overall female- 9th out of 109 and age bracket (31-45)- 5th out of 47.  Boy, it felt good! Well, that is after the initial "I think I'm going to hurl" in the finish line chute. Haha! It was possibly the first race I've run where I truly felt I left it all out on the course.  A great feeling.
3. The Ragnar Relay- Wasatch Back is next weekend!! I have been stressing over this race because somehow I became the team captain even though I've never run it before. There is SO much logistically that goes into these relays it could make your head explode. I am really excited to get the team meetings, safety meetings, e-mails, phone calls, etc. all behind me and just enjoy the race and the company of all my teammates (which all happen to be my neighbors and great girlfriends.) Should be a blast!
4. Train4Autism has kept me very busy the past couple of days as I've been manning a booth at the Utah Valley Marathon expo and finish line. One of the race directors was kind enough to provide me space for free and I have thoroughly enjoyed talking to so many people that have been touched by autism.  I received lots of positive feedback and encouragement and have even already gotten an email from some parents that want to be involved in our chapter. I feel so blessed to have found something that I can be so passionate about. Here's a pic of me and Sam Felsenfeld from Operation Jack.  Go and visit his blog HERE to read about the amazing work he's doing to raise awareness for Train4Autism.

So, that's what I've been up to! Time to see what you guys have been doing! Hope everyone is having a great weekend!