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.