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.

Emigration 10 Miler Results

Wow, thank you for your patience, blog world! Troy and I are all settled into our new home in sunny California so prepare yourself for a flooding of blog posts over the next week.

The Emigration 10 Miler was a chance to get another good mid-distance run in before the SLC Marathon. I took the first 7 miles nice and easy, keeping my HR low, and hit the last 3 miles at goal pace.

It was a great run, and my time came in at 1:32.

Running Of The Leopards 5K Results

This was my goal 5K for spring. My training was getting heavy and I wasn't totally fresh on this run, or like my coach would say, this was a "run with heart" race. :)

My splits were as followed:
7:07
7:17
7:15
7:10

Even with tight tangents, the course came in .1 long. I set a new PR (yay!) and placed 2nd in my AG.

Goal completed!

Push To The Finish 5K Results

In March, I had the honor to volunteer with the local, non-profit organization Push To The Finish. My pacing friend, Bill, first turned me on to this wonderful group so naturally, I was thrilled to jump on a spot when the chance presented itself. 

Antonio and I ready to go!

last .1 to the finish!

This run was the season opener for P2TF, and Antonio and I finished our 3 miler in just over 30 minutes. We also have some very exciting news concerning this race that I'll share in a future post. Stay tuned!

2013 Race Recap

Yeah, I'm finally putting out my 2013 race totals. June isn't too late to recap last year, is it? :) 

2013 was another heavy race year. I logged a total of 8 5Ks, 4 10Ks, 13 half marathons, and 5 marathons. I began pacing full marathons, made my debut with a national pace team, PRed in every category, and ran my first international race. I also began working with an amazing coach who I know will be a key component in my future success.

This would also be a great time to let our secret out of the bag: Troy and I are moving to California! Yes, in two weeks, we'll head even further west to the beautiful bay area. So with this news, I had to tweak my race schedule. I will be backing off pacing quite a bit this year, but will get the chance to make my California pacing debut at the San Francisco Marathon this July! I am focusing really nailing the marathon distance, and making big time improvements in this category. I also have my first ultra marathon on my schedule for this November!

           

Striders 10 Miler Results

The Striders winter series is a fun way to tune up during the winter. Last year I did the 10K to keep myself motivated for my summer goals, and this year I opted for the 10 miler. 

This race has A LOT of climbing! I wasn't full on racing this event--my game plan was to knock out three miles at goal marathon pace with the remaining miles at high z2. I nailed my plan, but those goal pace miles were tough on those hills!

I finished this run in 1:38, and 9th in AG.

Troy's Birthday

This year for Troy's 39th birthday, we took a weekend trip to Zion's National Park. 

Narrows 

Sunset hike up Angel's Landing

Resolution Half Marathon Results

Finish line!

My running buddies talk me into doing some pretty ridiculous things. :)

I've heard of the Resolution Run, but until this year, I've never ran it. Basically, this is a 5-hour event where you see how many laps you can log around a track. Yes, this entire race is on a track! I had a few friends knock out a 5K, some did a 10K, but the bulk of us did a half marathon. If you're curious, that's 48 laps!

To call this a race is a stretch. My friends and I put in a few miles, stopped to chat, ran, stopped again for snacks, etc--we clearly weren't going for the gold. :)

My finish time was 2:30. Congrats to my few crazy friends who managed to put in a full marathon/ultra during the 5 hour window! I don't know how you did so many lefts turns!

**Please note, on August 31st, this blog address will be changing to laurastrate.blogspot.com**

Freeze Your Dash 5K

My first 5K this year was the Freeze Your Dash 5k in Liberty Park. With just two laps around the park, the course came up a bit short, but I finished in 22:08 and earned a 1st overall female award.

Melbourne, Australia

Our 2013 international trip was a visit to Melbourne, Australia. My amazing hubby planned the whole adventure and surprised me on our fifth anniversary in June. And oh boy, was I surprised!

Twelve Apostles

Great Ocean Road

Love the wildlife!

Grampians National Park

Foster Care: Year 4; Months 5-12

We finished up 2013 with the following dogs, bringing our grand total to just under 100 dogs so far during our four years as a foster home! 

Robert (Bichon, Friends Of Animals)

Max (Lab, Paws For Life)

Zoe (Terrier mix, Friends Of Animals)

Teddy (Papillon, Friends Of Animals)

Australia 10K Results

This year's international travels lead us to Melbourne, Australia! My darling hubby surprised me for our fifth wedding anniversary with a wonderful nine-day visit to the land down under. But before I get to the travel write up, here's the scoop on my first international race!

Our last day in Melbourne, I ran the Sussan Women's 10K race. Again, my coach laid out a progressive plan for me to follow. I had a set time to hit the first 4 miles, and the last two miles were an all-out effort. This race was an incredibly fun out-and-back course along the St. Kilda beach. I was right on with my race plan and crossed the finish in 51:48.

Thanksgiving 5K Results

Post-race elation! 

Last 5K of 2013. I followed the same game plan as the American Fork race. Though my finish time was a bit slower on this course, I again nailed the race plan. I finished in 25:05 and earned 2nd overall female.

American Fork 5K Results

Second 5K focused on progressive running. Nailed it! 24:47 finish. 

Sandy 5K Results

After I concluded my half marathon running in 2013, I switched gears to focus on speed. In the summer of 2013, I began working with a running coach (best decision I've made!), and we wanted to use the winter months to nail some progressive runs.

First race was the Sandy 5K. My coach gave the time to hit for my first mile, and my job was to make each subsequent mile faster. Though I was a few seconds fast on that first mile, the game plan went well, and I earned a 25:08 finish.

Snow Canyon Half Marathon

My 13th and final half marathon was the Snow Canyon Half Marathon in St. George, UT. I lucked out, and was paired up with my friend Becky, one of my favorite running buddies! She's the type of gal who can make 13 miles feel like 5. Seriously, every time I run with her, I catch myself thinking, "How are we already 8 miles in? Didn't we just start?"

This race went smooth as can be, and we earned ourselves a 1:54:59 finish for the 1:55 group. Only one second to spare!

Haunted Half Marathon Results

What a fun time we had at the 2nd annual Haunted Half! One of my pacing buddies, Jorge, started his own pacing team last year so when Halloween weekend rolled around, I had a choice of pacing either the Haunted Half down Emigration Canyon or the Provo Halloween Half. I've rocked the Provo race twice so far so I jumped on with the Run Your Race pace team. This was also my first time with team--now my fourth pace team I'm running with!

I had slight technology mishap at the start (a pacer's WORST NIGHTMARE!), but some quick thinking got me back on track by mile 2, and the 2:00 group coasted across the finish line in 1:59:58!

The Other Half Results

The Other Half is my favorite of the Moab half marathons. I was lined up to lead the 2:10 crew for this event, but a last-minute change up by the race officials landed me with the 3:00 spot. It's funny the only other time I've ever paced 3:00 was at this race last year because of yet another change up.

This course is one of the most beautiful courses I've ever had the privilege to run, and this year I had the chance to lead an extraordinary runner to a PR. I met a man at the start line who took up running around his 70th birthday, and after three previous attempts, he was aiming to finally break the 3:00 mark at this race. I was impressed, to say the least. During the race he told me how he struggled to run more than a minute at a time when he first began, but after a year of continuous practice, he had finally finished his first half marathon.

Though he hit a few hard spots, this man stuck close to my shoulder during the whole race. In the last quarter mile, he forged ahead and earned himself a major PR and a sub-3:00 finish! I was so happy! I came in a bit early with my pacing time (2:58:10), but that's ok.

I hope to make it to Moab again this year for this fall race!

Pink Series 5K Results

Christie and I post race

This was a fun 5K. I didn't have it on my 2013 race schedule until Christie offered me an entry fee I couldn't resist. :) We started in Kimball Junction in Park City and did an out-and-back on the trail. After pacing Top Of Utah, I took two full weeks off running, and I certainly felt it at this race. My legs were heavy, and holding what is normally an easy 8:00 min/mile pace was quite hard.

I finished in 24:40--good enough for first place in my age group.

Come back soon for some more race reports, and details about our trip to Australia!

Top Of Utah Marathon Results

A week after Big Cottonwood, I paced the beautiful Top Of Utah Marathon in Logan, Utah. This was my first time in the full marathon (I've ran the half before), and it really helped to snap me out of my funk over my Big Cottonwood results.

The race went perfectly--I successfully got a handful of marathon newbies and seasoned runners looking for a sub 5:00 across the finish line in 4:59:24.

BIg Cottonwood Marathon Results

Ugh, this is the blog post I've been dreading. I was so looking forward to this race. I ran sections of the course every other Sunday all summer long. I trained hard, and this I feel was my biggest race upset to date. I know my original goal of BQing was lofty, but every training run indicated I should have easily been sub 4:00 on this race.

I don't want to go into too much detail, but I got sick on the course. I got hit with some wicked nausea, which I initially figured was due to nerves and intensity, but at mile 21 it turned out to be more than just nerves. I spent most of the last 5 miles sticking close to a trash can. Let's leave it at that. ;) 

I ended up finishing in 4:27. It's still a PR, but it's incredibly frustrating knowing how well my training runs went, and after all the time I put into this specific race. I won't lie--I was really depressed after this race. I actually thought about giving up running all together, but I snapped out of that pretty quickly. :) It has inspired me to train even harder this winter, and hit it harder in 2014. I won't let one bad experience stop me so here's to learning from the experience and a successful upcoming race season!