20 Miles

My poor dad is having such problems this year. He was supposed to hit the road with us this morning but he has had one bloody nose after another. A few days ago he couldn't get his nose to stop bleeding and had to go to the doctor again. Needless to say he wasn't allowed, or in the shape, to run today. So me and Todd went out by ourselves.

The run was pretty fun. I changed up the course a bit. We started at the usual spot but instead of going west we went north on 89 until we hit Mutton Hollow. Oh how fun Mutton Hollow was. About 2 1/2 miles of fun downhill. Then we ended up in west Kaysville and west Layton. We found our way to Syracuse where we ended up at Stacey's.

Todd started struggling around mile 16. Luckily I was feeling great so I gave him a mile long pep talk. He perked up a bit and I knew he would make it. We separated a bit but both finished by dropping on the grass once we hit 20.

We were so tired we again forgot to get pictures. BUT...Todd later sent a picture of the toenail he will probably lose in a few days. :)

**STATS**

ME

Distance: 20 miles
Time: 3:25:25 (Todd came in at 3:26)
Pace: 10:16 min/mile
Temperature: 59 at the start - warmer at the end

Time of Day: 9:00 a.m.

Goldenwest 5k & an EXTRA 7

This morning we got to participate in the Goldenwest CU 5k. This run benefits local schools and we were there to support my mom's school, TH Bell. It was a pretty good course with some fun hills.

I had my mom sign up Jeremy since he is "training" for the half marathon. I say training very lightly since he only runs maybe one time a week. I like to give him a hard time but I know it is hard to find the time to run because he is so busy with work and building a house. It is fun to do things like this with him so I was excited.

Todd and Tom took off at the starting line, me and Jeremy stuck together pushing the double jogger, and my mom and Ava hung with the back of the pack. My mom is still having knee problems so they walked most of the course.

It was a fun run. Jeremy and I took turns pushing the jogger until about the last half mile when I turned him loose. After finishing we cheered Ava and grandma on as they came in. Ady thought that was fun.

**STATS**

Distance: 5k

Temperature: ? Warm

Time of Day: 8:30 a.m.

ME, ADY & IYLAH
Time: 31:30.9
Pace: 10:08 min/mile

TODD
he wore my mom's running bib but he wore it under his shirt so it didn't pick up his time

TOM
Time: 28:34.2
Pace: 9:11 min/mile

JEREMY
Time: 30:28.3
Pace: 9:48 min/mile

CYD & AVA
Not sure of their time



Cheering for Ava & Grandma
Ava had a hard time at the end but my mom said she did so good.

After we finished the 5k we gathered our gear and headed off again for more miles. We headed towards Weber State via Old Post Road. It got windy so the last few miles were tiring. Coming up Harrison was hard. Tom kept going up Harrison while Todd and I ran around McKay Dee. By the time we were in the last stretch I was mentally done. Todd caught up with Tom and we all headed home. Todd was bouncing off the street like a deer and commented on how it's funny how each week we see a different strong runner. Last week me and Tom ran really well and Todd was soooo done. This week Todd was running like it was nothing and I just couldn't force my feet forward. Hopefully we can ALL have a good run come marathon day.

**STATS OF 2nd RUN**

Tom took a small short cut home & Todd finished about 4 minutes before I did.

ME
Distance: 7.35 miles
Time: 1:19:06
Pace: 10:46 min/mile

At the end of our 2nd run!

18 Miles

On Saturday Tom, Todd and I kicked out 18 MILES. What?! That's right. 18 LONG miles. Well if I'm being honest I was the only one who truly made it to 18. Tom was done around 16 and Todd quit around 17.4. But more of that in a minute.

We took off at our normal 193 starting point and headed on our normal route. But I had to change it up a bit for Todd. He gets bored easily and doesn't like looking at fields and cows. He likes to have a change of scenery that has stuff to look at...like cars. Since Gentile is such a long stretch I decided to change it up a bit right there. So once on Gentile we headed south on Flint over to Kaysville where we turned west on 200 N. We ran on Angel street until we hit my house. That is where we stored some extra food & water. We refueled and then took off again back out to Gentile. This is where Todd and I separated from Tom. He was taking it easy because he hasn't been able to run consistently. He was only planning on doing 15 while Todd and I were shooting for 18. Once me and Todd got to Jensen park Todd started to struggle. We were running on Bluff when he kept asking how much longer....3.5 miles.

Oh let me back up for a minute. It seems like this year of training has been full of wind. I swear every time we go out for a long run it is a really windy day. This day was really bad. We knew the wind was coming up from the south but I swear it was coming at us from all directions. When we turned south on Flint we literally just put our heads down and leaned forward. We were waiting to head north on Angel thinking it would really push us but I swear the wind stopped when we got on that street. No help at all.

OK back on Bluff. Todd and I ran to the roundabout where we turned south on 2000. Of course the wind was unbearable. We tried to run but it was impossible. We had to walk this entire stretch. We circled into Jensen Park where we had about 1 mile to go but Todd was done. We came to an intersection when I told Todd we just needed to go straight for 6 more blocks. Todd didn't even think about it. He took off in the direction of his car yelling he was done. I finished the rest on my own. I was glad to be done.

Tom said he kept going around the park until he found us. He ended up with 16 miles. He said he was feeling really strong and could have kept going but he didn't know the route we took. Overall I think we all did pretty good.

Although I must have been tired because I forgot to insist on pictures at the end.

**STATS**

ME

Distance: 18.00 miles
Time: 3:04:35
Pace: 10:15 min/mile
Temperature: 59 & windy

Time of Day: 9:00 a.m.

Striders 10 Miler

Yesterday was the much talked about Striders 10 miler. It is much talked about because it is pretty brutal. The hardest 10 miles I will ever do. It has uphill stretches that just seem to go on forever. You will see a turn at the top and think that that has to be the end of the hill but just as you get to the corner you realize the climb isn't over. It's kinda crazy. But with the uphill there are some fun downhills too. Overall, I feel pretty accomplished having done this run.

The weather was perfect. The sun was shining. There was no wind. We were ready to tackle this run. The only thing missing was Tom. Poor guy. He has had a cold for the past two weeks and has had numerous nosebleeds. So he sat this one out.

The run for me was actually somewhat "fun". I ran by myself and just tried to concentrate on getting through it. I have not been running consistently at all and was worried how hard this was going to be. The worst part of this run was the first 3 miles when I desperately needed to pee. I was praying that if there wasn't a porta potty at the first aid station that Ogden High's swimming pool was open so I could go in there. If there was neither option I was preparing myself to just walk back to the starting line. Yup, I had to pee that bad. Luckily there was a porta potty at the aid station. Quick stop and I was off again. The rest of the run went pretty well. The only disappointing thing was that my time was better last year. I was hoping to improve or at least stay the same. Oh well. Not bad for not running much.

Todd said the run was brutal. He ran with Neil, who is one of those people who is just made for running. Neil hasn't ran at all but can run a race like it's nothing. Todd kept telling Neil to go on but he wouldn't leave Todd. On the steepest, longest hill of the run Todd said he stopped 3 or 4 times and told Neil over and over to go on ahead. He was getting pissed because Neil wouldn't leave. This of course made Todd feel like he had to run faster than he probably should have. So at the finish line Todd was spent. He felt good but he was done. Neil was busy talking on his phone while Todd was ready to leave. I was laughing. I also found out he slept for 3 hours after the race. haha

**STATS**

Distance: 10 miles
Temperature: low 30s
Time of Day: 8:00 a.m.

ME

Time: 1:37:54
Pace: 9:46 min/mile

TODD

Time: 1:28:04
Pace: 8:48 min/mile

TOM

No Show


Shay, girl I don't know, Me

Me and the girl I met at the last race. She has a cool accent. Wonder where she's from.Todd, Neil & Me

Todd's the Man!

Well Todd is the only one who has done any running lately. Jeremy and I have been so busy with house building that I haven't had any time to go out. Tom has been busy with work and busy with being sick. We really need to get it together. I feel like we are falling further and further behind.

Todd set out to run by himself. He said he pretty much did the same route me and him did a few weeks ago. Way to stay on track bro!

**STATS**

TODD

Distance: 10.03 miles
Time: 1:35
Pace: 9:29 min/mile
Temperature:?
Time of Day: mid morning