Napa Valley Ragnar Relay

Oh Ragnar, how do I get talked into doing these races? :)

I ran the Wasatch Back Ragnar a few years back with a group of my pacing buddies. It was definitely an experience tackling 200+ miles in an overnight race, but after that race, I swore when it came to Ragnar, I was a one-and- done type of gal.

Then my sisters-in-law asked me to join their team.

Sure! I thought it would be a great way to familiarize myself with the Bay Area. Our Star Trek-themed team (which is funny since I've never seen Star Trek before) ran the 200-mile relay through San Francisco, Napa, Sonoma, etc. one week after the Big Cottonwood Marathon.

It was fun, but I really mean it this time--I am done running Ragnar. :)

Big Cottonwood Marathon Results

Big Cottonwood was a fast weekend trip for me. I flew in Friday evening, picked up my packet, and headed right to bed. After a bus ride at 4:00 AM and catching up with old friends at the start, we began our descent down Big Cottonwood Canyon.

I've ran this race every year since it started three years ago, and every year they change the course. With the addition of the Wasatch Blvd. out-and-back, I didn't enjoy the 2014 course as much as I did the 2013 option, but it was still a spectacular run. I shaved four minutes off my course record, caught a quick bite with family, and boarded an early afternoon flight back to Cali.

San Ramon 5K

To celebrate our fresh start in California and Troy finally having a regular 8-5 job, we spent our first weekend here at the San Ramon 4th of July race. Troy surprisingly opted to do the 10K distance since  the 10K and 5K were the same price. I don't share that rationale, and stuck with 3.1. :) It was technically my day off from running so I kept my pace rather conservative and finished in 25:05--only a few seconds behind the 3rd in AG gal. Shucks! Troy rocked his race, though, and placed 3rd in his group!

Squamish/Whistler/Vancouver, Canada

After the Drop 13 Half Marathon on Saturday, Troy and I wrapped up a few projects and officially left our house the following Monday. Since Troy wasn't starting his new job until the first week of July, we seized the opportunity to sneak in our yearly international trip before heading West to California. This year we chose to visit Canada.

Celebrating our sixth anniversary in Squamish

Seeing the sights in Vancouver

Whistler Ski Resort

Seattle, Washington

Drop 13 Half Marathon Results

I love running Big Cottonwood Canyon, and between all the BC marathons and training runs with my team, I've put in countless hours flying down that canyon. It seemed somewhat fitting that my last race as a Utahn would be in Big Cottonwood.

I hadn't done this particular event before as I typically had a conflicting race. I passed on a pacing offer for a local marathon to ensure I made it to Drop 13. With us leaving town 48 hours after this race, my training had been less than stellar. We were finishing at our jobs, getting things squared away with our property managers, planning a vacation, moving logistics, etc. so if I could just squeeze in a run, I thought of myself as quite accomplished.

Overall this was good run. I was sluggish from late nights spent packing, but all in all the 13 miles felt only mildly uncomfortable. :)

No PR on this race, but a 1:45 finish.

Push To The Finish 5K Results

 June 7th was my second opportunity to run with Push To The Finish. This race was a 5K is West Jordan, UT. My little running buddy was the sweetest gal--as rounded each corner, she would yell out an excited "Wee!" followed by "Faster! Faster!".

My running buddy

Push To The Finish team

We had a great run, and earned a 32-minute finish.

Some exciting news, our story was picked up by Runner's World, and our March race was featured in the June 2014 magazine. I have been an avid reader of this magazine for years so I must admit I was quite proud to see us on the pages. :) 

Homestead 15K Results

Homestead 15K is a challenging course. Not only is it held in the late May heat, it is a very hilly run. After two miles of rollers, you come to Memorial Hill--a 1.25 mile run to the top of the hill pictured below. The comforting thing about running Memorial Hill is knowing you get to run back down. :) 

After the hill, the climbing didn't stop. The last five miles had their fair share of rollers before we finally crossed the finish. My time was nothing special, but still good enough for first in my age group.

Park City 5K Results

Here it is, marathon week and I finally have time to put a few, very overdue posts up. Funny how tapering frees up quite a bit of time. :)

The Park City 5K was held Memorial Day Monday, two days after the Boys Chase Girls Half Marathon. Though still tired and heavy-legged from Saturday's event, I went into this 5K like any other: focused on making each mile faster than the last. It all went as plan--I hit that first mile slightly faster than a 9:00 min/mile and chipped a few seconds off each time I hit that mile marker. When I came into the last .1, I sprinted with everything I had left.

...and then came .2...
...and then .3...
...and don't forget .4...

3.6 was my total mileage. I had heard this 5K comes up a bit long, and they weren't kidding! 30:19 was my official time so definitely no PR. :)

Boys Chase Girls Half Marathon Results

The inaugural Boys Chase Girls Half Marathon was my only pacing assignment this year with the American Flyers. This course starts at the bottom of a very big hill. Be aware--it's a bum kicker! Even with pacing a super leisurely 2:10, as I was trucking up that first mile, I thought, "What did I get myself into?!" But once you conquer the first 2-3 miles, the course opens up to a gradual downhill with beautiful views of the Snowbasin area. It's well worth the climb!

Still climbing. Almost there!

Coasting on the downhill!

Flyers enjoying the post-race celebration

This was definitely a bittersweet race. I'm always incredibly thankful for the opportunity to pace, but the one thing I knew I'd miss most about our move was leaving my running/pacing friends, and sure enough, I miss every single one of them. I have a few Utah races on my upcoming schedule, which will allow me to get together with these awesome folks again, but it still miss my buddies...especially when I'm pounding out solo long runs. :)

Salt Lake City Marathon Results

I struggled with the idea of running SLC for weeks before the event. I had been dealing with some high hamstring issues for months, which caused me log quite a few less-than-stellar runs. With our upcoming move to California, I knew this would be my last time at this event so I really didn't want to skip it. I thought about switching to the half, but what's the fun in that? :) So I stuck with the marathon distance, and just aimed to have fun.

Every year I've ran SLC, the course has changed, and it happened yet again this year. Though I loved the finish at Gateway, the addition of Memory Grove made this year's course my favorite option. It's still not an easy run by any stretch of the imagination, but it's more scenic than in the past.

I took the run nice and easy, taking breaks to stretch out my hamstring along the way, and came in at 4:50.