Girls On The Run 5K Results

This May was my second time volunteering as a running buddy for Girls On The Run. Like last year, I volunteered with my former students at Whittier Elementary. I was lucky enough to be paired up with Hannah, the same 4th grader I ran with last fall. Hannah is awesome. She's a girl who doesn't like to lose. During one of our practice runs she told me, "I was in the school spelling bee, and I took first. I realize I really like winning trophies."

She's my kind of gal. :)

Our 5Ks are always held in Sugarhouse Park, which is a pretty hilly park. My buddy was so determined to win that she didn't take a single walking break, and we finished off those three miles in 34 minutes! Not too shabby for a fourth grader. Heck, that's not too shabby for most adults. :)

Chicago, Illinois

View from the Field Museum

We were home for less than a week, just enough time to see my little brother graduate from the University of Utah, before Troy and I boarded a plane again. Our third vacation was a quick three-day adventure in Chicago. Troy had a conference to attend our first day in Chicago, but we were able to get some fun in. By the time we returned to Utah, Troy and I had spent 14 of the last 17 days on the road. We are ready to stay put for awhile! 

**Range Creek in two weeks**

**South America in five months**

Provo City Half Marathon Results

I had originally planned to do the full marathon for Provo City, but the Salt Lake Marathon caused some tendonitis to flare up in my knee. I must say I consider myself pretty lucky that tendonitis is the only injury I've ever faced, but I made the mistake last year of pushing through a race when my knee was nagging me. This year I'm trying to do better at listening to my body, and frankly I don't want to spent another few months babying my knee, especially this early in the running season. So when Provo City finally rolled around, a mere 14 days after Salt Lake, I chose to switch categories to the half marathon. The course is easy -- a nice run down Provo Canyon to the south side of University Avenue. I didn't push too hard on this run, but still finished in 2:03.

**Next full marathon in two week**
**Ragnar in one month**

Florida Keys

A few days after the SLC Marathon, Troy and I jetted off to the Florida Keys for our second vacation this year. We chose to stay at Island Bay Resort in Tavernier because it was a pretty central location for the activities we wanted to do. We absolutely loved the Island Bay Resort as it provides a cottage rather than just a hotel room. Our biggest gripe about traveling is having to eat out so a place with a kitchen is always a major perk. There is also a private beach with kayaks provided for guests. We made great use of those. :)

Everglades National Park

We entered the Everglades via the Miami side of the park. It was drizzling the day we drove up so the man at the entrance gate was kind enough to waive the park fee. The funny thing about the Everglades is there's not much to do inside the park; maybe that's just the Utahn in me speaking. :) It only took us about three hours to hit up all the recommended sites on the east side of the park.

A gator along the Anhinga Trail

Key West

One of the things I wanted to do was drive the Overseas Highway to Key West. This was actually a really fun drive, but Key West was -- how do I put this nicely? -- ghetto. Yes, that would probably be the best term. While in Key West we visited the beaches, drove around the town, and snagged some lunch. I'm glad we went so I can scratch it off my travel list, but honestly it's not a place I'd ever have a desire to visit again. 

On our way home from Key West, we visited the Bahia Honda State Park to walk the original seven-mile bridge.  Blogger is being silly, and won't let me add a caption to my picture. The above photo is Troy walking up to the bridge. 

My absolutely favorite spot we visited was the Turtle Hospital on the key of Marathon. This place, about an hour south of Tavernier, is a rehabilitative center for turtles injured in the wilderness. Troy and I signed up for a tour that included a lecture about different species of turtles, the history of the hospital, and current cases they're working on. After touring the facilities, we were able to see all the turtles, and feed them. :) If you're ever in the Keys, this would be my top recommendation. 

Troy kayaking in Tavernier

Tavernier, Florida

Besides these activities, we spent a little time in Miami and Fort Lauderdale. 

More blog posts to come!

Salt Lake City Marathon Results

Well, well, well.. who's been a slacker when it comes to blogging? This gal! These past few weeks have been a whirlwind, and I'm now playing a serious game of catch up.

Salt Lake was my first of roughly five marathons this year. The race started out well-- I hit the half at 2:10 and mile 17 just past the 3 hour mark. But it started to get hot. Really hot. The week of Salt Lake, a doozy of a heat wave swept across the nation affecting races such as Boston. And Salt Lake was no exception. Utah hit an unseasonably hot temperature of 85 degrees on race day so I added in plenty of walking breaks when those temps started creeping up. I finished the 26.2 miles in 5 hours and 25 minutes. This was quite a bit slower than my previous marathon finishes, but hey, I'm not going to beat myself up about it. I still have plenty of races to go this year.