Haunted Half Marathon Results

October 20th I ran the Haunted Half. This half marathon started in Emigration Canyon, climbed through Research Park, and finished in Memory Grove. I didn't push hard in this race since I had to pace a half the very next day. There were some kinks in the race, but that can be expected with inaugural events. I ended with a time of 2:16.

Utah Open Taekwondo Championships

First off, I apologize for the quality of the above photo--I snapped it from my phone. I competed in the second annual Utah Open earlier this month. I usually compete in forms and sparring, but since I had tickets to the afternoon BYU game, I opted to compete in the morning events. A gal has to have priorities, right? :)  Sparring is always last in the competition, and can easily run well into the evening. So this year I signed up for board breaking and forms.

The competition went really well, and I walked away with two first place wins! Yay! So far in my Taekwondo training, I've competed in three tournaments (seven events total). To date I've earned five first place wins, and two second place wins. I'm on a roll!

Stampede 5K Results

The Hogle Zoo's fundraiser 5K was the week after Big Cottonwood. I could feel some lingering inflammation in my knee from the marathon, but that didn't deter me from racing the 5K. This 3.1 miler was pretty hilly, but I ended up snagging a 23:28 finish. Not a PR for me, but honestly I wouldn't expect a 5K PR after running two marathons within the same month.

Big Cottonwood Marathon Results

I ran the inaugural Big Cottonwood Marathon on September 21st. This run ended up being a mere 14 days after I ran the Little Grand Canyon Marathon. This is the closest I've ever scheduled my marathons--usually I have at least a month in between.

I've realized my biggest issue with marathon running is my caloric intake. I definitely don't take in enough calories, which ends up leaving me totally depleted around mile 20. I've been mindful of this during my training runs, and have been tinkering with my nutrition. I feel the changes really worked well for me during Big Cottonwood, and I completely avoided the bonk during the last 6 miles! I ended up finishing the marathon in 4:38.

I've been scouting out an ideal marathon for a big goal I'm working on in 2013, and I've decided Big Cottonwood is going to be it. So stayed tuned, my friends. Come September 2013, I hope to have a big announcement!

Little Grand Canyon Marathon Results

2011 Little Grand Canyon Course

I first ran the Little Grand Canyon Marathon in 2011. It was my favorite race last year so for me there was no question that I wanted to run it again this year. But after Desi got sick on Tuesday, and eventually passed away the Friday morning before the race, I thought I would have to take a pass on LGC. I was mentally and physically exhausted from staying up all night with Desi, and dealing with her passing. Compound that with working a 60+ hour work week, and I was in no mood to pound out 26.2 miles. It wasn't until late Friday evening that Troy and I both agreed a change of scenery would do me good. I threw my stuff in the car, and at 6:00 PM, drove down to Price.

LGC starts in Huntington, Utah, and runs deep into the heart of the San Rafael Swell. The course is open to traffic so this year my amazing parents decided they wanted to come see how a marathon works. They pulled up along side me at mile 20 with a nice, cold drink and snacks. I wasn't running for time so I took my time chatting with my folks, and enjoying my beverage at each mile marker. At mile 24 we took a little detour from the course to check out the Buckhorn Wash Panel. I ended up completing the course in 5:18.

This really is a stunning course so I'm glad I didn't end up skipping it. I do have plenty of pics from the race, but of course they're being held hostage on my parents' camera. :) I'm sure I'll have to wait until I make my way to Price again to retrieve them. So check out this post again after Thanksgiving for some pics of my time in San Rafael.

Desi

This is a hard post to write so I'll keep it brief. During the first week of September my sweet Desi passed away. It came without much warning. That Tuesday she began to have seizures -- the same condition that affected her sister, Lucy, at the end of her life. I knew then Desi's time with us would be brief, but I didn't realize how quickly she would slip away. When Lucy began to have seizures, they were infrequent, and she ended up passing away about three months after her first episode. Desi didn't even make it 48 hours. The seizures hit her hard, and come Thursday we knew she wouldn't make it through the day. Troy and I stayed up all night with her as her breathing became irregular. Come morning, she had the look like she knew it was time to go. She walked over to my side of the bed, the place where she slept every night, and laid down. Within a few minutes she was gone.

We adopted our Corgis from Friends Of Animals when they were 12 years old. Their previous owner, Jean, had passed away, leaving the two sisters without a home. Troy and I received them through our fostering program, but after a week of having those two at our house, we were hooked. We promptly filled out the paperwork, and made them official residents of the Madsen home.

The Corgis instantly became my little shadows. Wherever I went, there were eight stubby, quick-moving legs close behind. I couldn't even shower without two black noses pressed against the shower door. :)  It didn't take them long to realize the love went both ways. Whenever they passed through the garage they would plop down next to my car knowing I'd load them up, and take them for a ride to get a treat. This eventually became a move they would pull three to four times a day, and the routine carried on for two years.

And now, a month since Desi passed away and eight months since Lucy left, I still miss them every day. But as hard as it is to let go of the best dogs I've ever known, I know they're happy to see each other again.