Anyone want $15 to RoadID?

I have a $15 certificate to RoadID won this year and I'd like to pass it on. I'd like to email you the code or mail you the certificate for Christmas purposes by Wednesday, so post a comment and tomorrow, Tuesday night I'll choose a winner. Simple and sweet.

Leslie's Birthday Challenge

A fun video running partner Craig made of our urban birthday run yesterday.  4:39 running time

29 for my 29th

I finished my 29 mile run today for my birthday accompanied by good friend and great ultrarunner Craig as well as my husband for the last 6. 4:56 total, and somewhere around 9:30 pace when you take out wildlife sighting and picture time. We started at 5am, wasn't super cold but was a headwind for the first 13 or so. We ran a big canal road loop. I would have loved mountains but couldn't be away all day.  Stomach didn't feel good the whole first half basically then eased up, my pelvis hurt bad around miles 15-20 (can't put off core work any longer!) but the eased up as well (I did take 1 200mg ibuprofen which I've never done during anything but packed just in case, maybe it was that). Outside of my left knee was tight for a little bit and a funny sharp pain in my right knee for a few minutes.  Probably not stretching enough.... My husband met us around mile 23 after playing dad to 4 kids including taking the oldest to early morning choir practice, then our youngest 2 to preschool and the sitter, then our boy to school as well. Whew! I'm tired just thinking about it...oh wait, I do it everyday :) Anyway, he met us with a bottle of coke that was nice to sip a little of too. Then the 3 of us ran the last 6 which actually felt really good! My 2nd farthest run ever. We went out to Kneaders after and I even got a nap, great day so far!

I LOVE llamas!

Another great video - determination

Saw this on Facebook, had to share.  I think what impresses me most about this man is his determination.  I am lucky to get 3-4 workouts in a week these days, seriously, for a few reasons.  It's the off season, life is busy, I'm not triahtlon training really and have never run every day, but mostly just because I come up with an excuse or am just too lazy.  I don't plan my days out well enough, and I'm not following a schedule which is really key for me (I want to blog about that soon), and it just doesn't get done.  When I do get out it's great and usually long, but I'm just not as committed as I should be.  I probably take my currently good health and fitness level for granted.  All that said, I am so impressed that a man with struggles so big as this, not just not having time or motivation, but having so much work to do, did it.  He put in the time and energy physically and more important mentally, and look what he accomplished!

Ultra running at it's best - a must watch video

A fellow ultrarunner friend of mine made this AMAZING video.  Seriously, it's awesome.  My mom doesn't understand why I want to do this ultra stuff. 
She clearly needs to see this video.  Enjoy!

And yes, I'm very behind on blogging and have every intention of catching up....sometime

 

 

How to be really sore for a week

Really, really sore.

Did around 200

Antelope Island 50k!

My first ultra!  As I said earlier it has been a goal of mine this year to run a 50k, so yesterday I did!  The Antelope Island 50k/100k.  Was lucky enough to have good friend Matt Williams to run most of the race with.  He talks like he was my pacer even though he was entered in the race too.  Thanks so much Matt for getting me through the hard stuff and teaching me a lot in those hours together. 
It was a neat experience.  I was glad to only be watching time and not distance, I think that would have distracted me more.  I simply listened for a 15 minute timer when I'd take more nutrition and that's about all I knew about where we were other than glancing at the overall time occasionally.  I was unfamiliar with the island so even more thankful for Matt who could kind of prepare me for what was next.
Speaking of nutrition, I took 7 gels, 2 cups of Coke (probably 4oz each), 6 salt pills (Salt Tabs I think, they were whatever my husband put in the pack last since procrastinator me was late getting ready and forgot to put any of my own in, haha).  I used 5 Vi gels, a new brand we've been testing and using and I'm happy with them.  Peach cobbler is the best!  Also took 1 Hammer for something different and 1 Roctane at 4:05 for the caffeine. Took the other gels at :40, 1:20, 2:00, 2:40, 3:20, 4:05, 4:35 and took a salt pill at 1:00, 2:00, 3:00, 4:00, 4:20, 4:40.  Drank probably 60oz of water from my Ultrspire Surge pack.  I was torn there because I figured why carry the extra weight when I can fill up water at aid stations (in which their bottle pack would be awesome, or a handheld), but I was used to carrying all my own water so just went with it, and it was a good plan.  I always had enough and had it when I needed it.
Didn't run into any buffalo, saw a couple dozen of them, but never close enough to make me worry.  I did however consider riding one to the finish when I was about a mile out  :)  My friend Dianna had to wait 5 minutes or them to pass out of her way though, she took video of it if you're interested.  Also saw a herd of antelope and a few big black ravens.
My stomach didn't have any serious issues, but felt kind of hollow pains the first couple hours for some reason.  I left the race with a light vest, arm warmers, gloves, and a beanie and decided to shed it all about 2 hours in because I was feeling kind of clammy.  I think that helped.  My right hip flexor bugged me a little around that 2 hour point to, but went away eventually.  I was curious to see what it would feel like going that hour longer than I'd ever run (1:12 actually).  My hips and hamstrings were very tight like at the end of a road race and quite sore at times, but I luckily just got into a rhythm that last 8 or so miles and plugged along.  Only stopped to walk twice and skipped the last aid station because I was too afraid I wouldn't get going well again.  My legs for the first hour after the race were more sore than I think I've ever felt.  I just had to sit down, even took a couple ibuprofin's which I don't usually do.  And today upon waking up it's my back, shoulders, and triceps surprisingly enough that are the most sore.  My legs, not too bad.  I have however been eating everything in sight  :)
I finished the last mile or so really strong (thank you flat and downhill last mile) and that felt great.  I don't have any negatives coming out of this.  Yes it was hard and long, oh how long miles 25-28 were, and I'm very satisfied with my 5:12 time!  My goal was to be under 5:30, and 5:12 is closer to 5 so that's great.  I was 3rd place woman.  I was a little surprised at that because neither Matt nor I ever saw any other women in front of us and there are some looong open valley stretches you could see far.  Maybe it's because the lead woman beat me by a little over 30 minutes!  Wow!  Results and pictures (I'm hoping there's pictures) aren't actually up yet, so I'll post those if I see them. I'll also post more specifically about splits and times and such, but wanted to show my photos and experience. 

Driving in on the causeway was really cool.  It was dark, all I could see was the narrow road in front of me and the lake out to either side.  I could also see the sunrising in back of me and the mountain we'd run around to my left.  It was cool thinking there were already runners an hour into their race there for the 100k.

Buffalo crossing! 
Did I mention how cold it was at the start?  I mean not snow cold, but really chilly with a breeze.

Great friend Matt Williams on our first walking climb

This first side of the island (which I thought was west but may be north actually) was really cool scenery wise!  Big mountains off to the left with sweeping hills down

with the beautiful Great Salt Lake off to our right.  Love these long open valleys with the trail able to be seen the whole way

This was after a probably mile long section low on the shoreline with either big cobbly awkward rocks to run over, or loose deep sand to run on, not the funnest section.  Then we'd climb up high above the water, several times.
This side of the island is one people aren't typically allowed on because it is breeding ground for the animals.

This was the middle I believe of a long 1000 ft climb up to the second aid station 13.5 miles in.
Don't know if you can see them but there are 3 round bare dirt patches here.  They are where the buffalo roll around!
Thought of you here Sis :)
A mile or so after the top we headed down a steep long hill to the ranch where I ran off the trail to the bathrooms, which of course resulted in nothing except having to run fast to catch up with Matt over a mile, and pass 2 ladies that had passed me during my stop.

Once on the east side of the island the scenery wasn't amazing, kind of barren with the city in the background here).
And while the last 10 miles were flat, that doesn't necessarily mean easier.  They were monotonous on the legs and mind.  No real reason to walk, and no coasting down.  And everything was sore by this point.  This is about where I went on ahead of Matt at the 4th aid station because I was too worried I wouldn't keep moving well if I stopped long.  At this point I put music on to help keep me moving too.

Then finally I saw the fence I knew we went up along to the finish.  It was longer than expected, but we were finally headed in the right direction so I was positive and happy.  This was a neat view at the top of the hill before descending to the finish of the mountain we went around at the start and the beautiful lake.

And then finally my first glimpse of the finish line (all those cars and white tent down there)
Halleluiah!

I did it and was so happy to be done!  I came into the finish line all smiles, very happy with the day.  It was nice to have a small group cheering too, sometimes finish lines in ultra's can be pretty dead. 
Instead of a medal they give a mug.  Something new and useful.  Also got a tech shirt of course.

Probably the closest I got to the big furry beats...in the car on the drive home

Volunteers were great, race director is a hoot and does a very good job.  Sat at the finish with Matt in a nice comfy camp chair for about an hour cheering others in enjoying all the aid stations had to offer that I didn't partake of (fruit, chips, candy, cookies, soda), as well as some of the huge pot of buffalo chili they cook after every race.
It's so funny, my mentality.  I of course had a little bit of racing mentality when I thought I might be in first.  When I had to stop for that break I was really pushing to catch those ladies and was quite satisfied when I got back in front of them.  Even though I felt kind of wiped out when I caught up to Matt, it felt good to open up and go a little faster for a mile or so.
The other part of me that's funny, strange, masochist is wondering if I should really consider this a long race, an ultra (even though by definition it is).  Yes it was my longest run ever, longer than a marathon, yet I didn't get the night time, pacer, etc experience that I think of when I think of ultras.  But don't get me wrong, it was great and I'm proud of it!  Gotta start somewhere.  I'll just have to get a few of those additional ultra perks next year  :)

My first 50k!

It's been my goal this year to run a 50k.  I've run 4 marathons (and Ironman of course) on the road, and have raced 14 miles on trail twice along with a few shorter trail races, and have run almost 20 on trail while training.  I really feel like this 50k/31 miles is a good goal for right now.  I don't worry about not finishing, but it's enough new that gives me the satisfaction of accomplishing something I haven't yet.

I've been really happy with my training.  I really have only ridden my bike once (for a race) since the Utah Half the end of August, and have only swam a handful of times since then as well.  But I've ramped up my trail miles and have done some true up in the mountains climbing/power hiking runs, not my usual canal roads or flat-ish trail along the side of the mountain trail runs.  They've been amazing!  I really need to get photos posted for you.

My plan was a race called the Elk Run 50k in 2 weeks which goes up more than flat.  That's how I've trained.  Unfortunately the race isn't happening this year for some reason and I just found out last week.  So with only 1 other 50k in the state before the end of the year I finally talked myself into committing.  I was going to go to Michigan to see my sister but then finances didn't make that possible.  So I toyed with taking the kids down to St George with my husband while he works the St George Marathon expo.  They love hotels and it's nice when the company pays for it of course, but our 3rd grader who's in a gifted program in school is really being challenged this year and I was fearful of giving her any more work than she already has.  And yes, I really wanted to get this goal.  Of course I could just run the distance, but you all know it's just not the same.  Antelope isn't very hilly, but I'll take what I can get.

So Antelope Island 50k, here I come!  On Saturday.  Yes, this Saturday.  Figured I'd at least post this preview even though there's only 6 days to go, it's nice to have some hype leading up to a big race, and this sign up last minute - fly by the seat of my pants racing I've been doing since we started trying to get pregnant almost 2 years ago doesn't always give the satisfaction of the mental build up and excitement one should feel from big races.

To close this post I thought I'd paste in the waiver I signed to sign up for this race.  Trail/Ultra racing truly is a whole other breed of sport I am thrilled to be entering  :)
Ok, you know the drill.  This entry contains limitations of your legal rights, so read it. If you get hurt, it’s your fault, you shouldn’t have been here.  I know that there are hazards associated with running this race. These hazards can include, but are not limited to, bikers, hikers, horses, very large wild animals, roots, rocks, trees, other assorted wildlife, flora and fauna, and other crazed runners. Having read that last sentence, I am certifying that I understand these risks and I am properly trained to participate. By running this race I, and my estate, will hold harmless anybody or organization officially associated with the race. This includes Antelope Island State Park, the State of Utah, the Race Director and his minions, Buffalo Run Adventures, LLC, and any of our sponsors. I also agree to abide by the rules of the race and acknowledge that the Race Director’s word is final. I also agree that by running ultras, I know I’m nuts and should know better than to do something like this, but, hey, it’s fun and impresses the opposite sex. If you are under 18, you can run any race, with your parents and the race directors’ permission.

Jubralee Winner!

Congrats Reb!  You are my winner for the Jubralee!
Email me for info on how to claim your lovely new bra  :)

Thanks to all for entering!  Even if you didn't win one, find a way to welcome a Moving Comfort member to your family.  If you're a B cup or larger (or even an A), I promise you won't regret it!

Moving Comfort Jubralee + giveaway!

I love this bra and photo of my 4 year old and I that was a random catch when I was just trying to get a photo for this post.

So I already wrote a bra review on the Moving Comfort Juno bra, but they have another great bra I have been using and she deserves attention too.  So here it is.  The Moving Comfort Jubralee is a soft, smooth, pretty bra that supports great and is easy to put on.

From the company:
Jubralee combines the best features from Moving Comfort’s top selling styles to create a state-of-the-art, high impact bra featuring hidden side and under bust support, front adjustable straps and, subtle-contour cups. 

Jubralee utilizes a unique combination of encapsulation, compression, and elevation to deliver unmatched support and comfort in a flattering, streamlined, and sporty design.

Consider this:· In one hour of aerobic exercise, an unsupported 34D breast moves about 1,000 vertical feet. Jubralee reduces vertical motion by roughly 450 feet, the height of a 45-story building.
Source: Moving Comfort Biomechanics Testing Research, 2011
The acceleration (how quickly the breast stops and starts) of an unsupported 34D breast is approximately 2.9g. Compare this to airplane take off and landing accelerations ranging from 1.7 to 2.1g. Moving Comfort’s Jubralee cuts breast acceleration in half, minimizing pain during exercise. Source: Moving Comfort Biomechanics Testing Research, 2011

The fabric is really soft.  A thin and smooth outer layer and a cool mesh on the inside.  Not a bad, too loose mesh, it's sewn really well, but just a mesh that breathes and fits well.  The actual inside of the cup is another very smooth and soft fabric and the mesh is above and between the cups.
It has a great firm band which is so important in sports bra support, and buckles in the back like a normal bra making it easy to put on.  I used their great fitting room part of the site (which I highly recommend using) and went with the 32 band they suggested and while I worried it was too small, I appreciate how firm it is now.  Cup wise I think the Jubralee might run just a tad smaller than my Juno.  I have a D in both, but I feel like the Juno is a little bit bigger.  I don't think the size discrepancy is enough to go up or down a cup from what I have, just something to keep in mind if you're in between sizes, I suggest going with the bigger cup size in the Jubralee.  D sounds big to me even though I am nursing, but that's what the fitting room said and that's what fits.
The Jubralee has the same style straps that thread through the bra and have smooth not scratchy velcro in the front making the bra easy to adjust and another nursing friendly bra!  The fabric of this bra like I said is smooth and thinner than the Juno so it doesn't thread through as easy when I undo it to nurse, but for most women who aren't nursing with it, that isn't a concern.  The velcro doesn't seem quite as strong as the Juno's and has come undone a few times when I didn't want it to, but ironically not when I'm running, but mostly right after I fasten it again and get up to move around.  So one shouldn't worry too much about the velcro coming undone, it was just something I noticed.

The support in the bra is just as good as the Juno, high impact (and I am a C-D cup right now so I do have something to support).  Something I wear to run and teach my water aerobics classes that involves jumping and plyometrics and such.  Moving Comfort does actual bio-mechanical testing with this bra.  I remember seeing them debuting the testing and the bra at summer Outdoor Retailer show last summer (they're actually kiddie corner to our Altra booth).  So the Jubralee keeps me from bouncing, but still looks very attractive.  I'm vain sometimes, but we'll just call it building my confidence beacuse I like the way I look ;)  If I ever choose to run in just a sports bra and shorts, THIS is the bra!  It's just so pretty.  They have several other awesome color choices I love too.  This company run by women really does a great job aesthetically as well as functionally of course.

I don't have any complaints with this bra.  Haven't had any chafing or rubbing, and the velcro has only slipped a few times, but not when I was actually running.  I'll take it for the ease of nursing and adjustment access it gives me.  The bra breathes great and has good shape.  The traditional style straps don't bother my shoulders in back at all like I wondered if they would since it's not racerback style.  I find the Jubralee being my go to bra lately because it's so easy to put on and supports great!  Definately check it out.  Moving comfort is priced similar to other high quality brands and is totally worth the money.  I tell you ladies, you spend the $50 (they have some colors for $32 right now too - that's a deal!) on a bra like this and it will not only support you way better than your $15 Target bra, but it will be more comfortable because it breathes better and will surely last longer.  I've given my Moving Comfort bras a beating this last 6 months running, biking, racing, and teaching in them all week and undoing and pulling them up and down all the time to nurse and they're holdilng up great!  Like any other important piece of equiptment like running shoes, you really need to pay for quality.  This bra and any Moving Comfort bra really (I have 3) are worth the money, worth the money, worth the money.  I am not sponsored or paid at all by Moving Comfort, just a happy customer.  Check em out!

Or how about winning one?!  Leave me a comment telling me which Moving Comfort bra you think you'd like the best (or which you already like the best if you have one) and I'll enter you in once to win a Jubralee!  You can have a second entry if you like their Facebook page and mention my blog on their wall, and then let me know you did here in a comment.  I'll draw a random winner on Saturday September 15th, so enter by 11:59pm Friday September 14th. Good luck!