Showing posts with label Ultra Ragnar. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Ultra Ragnar. Show all posts

Monday, June 30, 2014

Wasatch Back Ragnar 2014

Wow, what an experience my fourth Ragnar turned out to be.  Pro Compression, my very favorite brand of compression socks, gifted us a team this year...thank you Pro Compression!!!  Holly, Jorge, Josh and I all knew we wanted to do an ultra.  We wrangled Jessica, Holly's sister in law, into joining us and even convinced Julia to join us.  This was Jessica's very first Ragnar, I am so impressed that Jessica was willing to do an ultra not knowing what a regular Ragnar was like.  She is a brave woman.
We had a 9:15 a.m. start time...perfect!  Holly was up first and then it was my turn.  Holly and I have pretty horrible luck when it comes to the weather when we are doing a race.  This time we got extremely lucky, both Holly and I had perfect running conditions for all of our runs...hallelujah!

AutoMaxx let use this Suburban...we like to call it the Beast.
Jake was not only our driver but at times our photographer.

Team Pro Compression
Josh, Jorge
Jessica, Holly, Me, Julia and our driver Jake #allofthejs
We decided that Holly should be Jolly and I should be Jeph...just so we could fit in.

#keepittight
I went into this run extremely worried that it would end up like last years, you can read about that HERE.  My left ankle had been bothering me a bit, luckily I found out last Saturday that running slow helped a lot.  I had gone on a 10 mile run with Holly and felt my ankle A LOT.  I then ran 5 slow miles with  my kids and I felt nothing.  I had to tell myself repeatedly that it was better to run slow and  finish uninjured than to run my normal pace and end up hurt.  I watched my Garmin quite closely, not to keep a fast pace but to keep a safe pace.  Maybe that's why this was such a great experience, I took my time and actually enjoyed the scenery and the fact that I was able to run.  My first run started close to 11:20 p.m.

I don't think the 6.7 miles was "hard" all I know is that it was beautiful.

More beauty!

The cloud cover made the temps perfect and there was a tiny drizzle from time to time.

Holly got some action shots of my first run.



Did you notice how cute my shoes are?  Josh did and pointed it out every chance he got...I think he may have been making fun of me a little but that's okay.  I took my family to Utah Run to pick up the new Saucony Kinvara 5's for my birthday.

They are heavenly...see they glow :)
I believe I got 27 kills in those 11 miles.
I was very good about doing my dynamic stretches after each run and drinking my Tru Moo, after my last run I said forget chocolate milk I want Dr. Pepper...and that's what I had.
He's da man in da pan! 
Julia during her super hard first run.  Luckily the rain made this part much better than usual because it wasn't so dusty.  She rocked it!  I'm so grateful for the friends I have met through running.
My second run started pretty close to 9 p.m.



  I ran the first part alone and convinced Jake to join me on my 4.2 easy mile run, he doesn't really run but he was nice enough to join me anyway.  I married a good man :)  I got 46 kills.  I ended feeling great!
We got a little bit of sleep while Jorge did his crazy long 19 mile night run.
My final run started at 9:15-ish Saturday morning with perfect weather, it got a little warm by the end but nothing crazy.  We really lucked out this year.

Running much slower this year made this leg so much better, I didn't have to walk at all except through the water stations.

I held back a lot on the huge downhill because downhill running is what causes me problems with my calfs.



Jake ran me into the exchange to finish off my Ragnar. 81 kills on my last leg...yeah buddy! I felt amaze balls and had so much fun.

Dr. Pepper for the win!!
I'm so thankful that Jake joined us on this grand adventure.  He is the best! 
We are just like 2 people :)

Let's finish this thing but first let's take a weezie!

Just a little gun show, we had to show you how cute our shirts were.  Utah Run made them for us and we love them.

The view at the top of Ragnar Hill is amazing.

We chatted with the Pro Compression gal for a bit, I believe her name is Suzanne and she is as cute as can be.  She gets to travel all around for Pro Compression...lucky!

We finally finished...YAY!!!  Julia had to leave after her third leg, we were sad to see her go.

Outtake numero uno with Nacho...Jake and Jess wondering what the heck Nacho was doing.

Outtake numero dos with Nacho...Holly and Josh wondering what the heck Nacho was doing.

And there's the money shot :)
We had so much fun but I was told at the beginning of Ragnar that what happens in the burb stays in the burb so all I will say is YUP! :D
This was by far my favorite Ragnar!  I loved everyone on our team, we all got along and there wasn't any drama.  We had a few set backs at exchanges that slowed us down a bit but everyone did their best and had fun doing it. Everyone on my team amazed me but Jessica REALLY amazed me.  She was awesome, not only was she entertaining but she did an ULTRA on her first Ragnar...and the girl can twerk like you wouldn't believe.

Monday, December 31, 2012

2012 Recap!

Here is my recap of 2012.  Feel free click any links that excite you, heck if you have 12 days go ahead and click them all but I won't feel bad if you don't!
McKenna and I went on our first girls trip which you can read about HERE, I will warn you that it is a very loooong post but kind of entertaining.

I made a job change that seemed like a good idea but it wasn't!

Jake, Jorge, Holly and I went to New York and Boston so that Holly and I could run the Boston Marathon, that was definitely memorable.

Did the Utah Valley Half Marathon while over trained, that was really somethin'!

I ran my own version of an Ultra Ragnar at the Wasatch Back Ragnar.  I actually quite enjoyed that, crazy huh?!?  I would love to do an Ultra Ragnar again!!!
I ran the American Fork Canyon Half Marathon which I loved with all my heart, this was the only race that I actually raced.  I PR'd but didn't get the time I was hoping for...boo hoo!
 Ran the Freedom Run 10K another PR but again I was disappointed with my time.  I'm starting to see a trend, maybe I should be happy with my PR's rather than compare myself to others who are much speedier than me.  There will always be someone faster you know!
I ran a 20 Mile Half Marathon which sounds odd and it was!

I started pacing races which is my favorite.  I paced the Top of Utah Half Marathon and loved every second of it!
Paced the Mt. Nebo Half Marathon and found one of my new favorite races!  If you want to PR this is the race for you.

Another PR race would have to be the Big Cottonwood Half Marathon.  That was an amazing race.  I totally forgot to post this fancy video they sent me.  They made videos for every runner which is just awesome!  Big Cottonwood Video!  You can try the link but I don't know if it will work or not :(

I ran my most favoritest race EVER!!!  No race will ever live up to the Nike Women's Marathon!  That family trip was amazing...SO FUN!
I quit the job that I thought I wanted!  It turns out that lazy people annoy the crap out of me, wow that was blunt wasn't it?!?  I got so sick of people complaining that their heart rates were high...DUH!  That's sort of the point.  Obviously working out is hard otherwise everyone would do it and there wouldn't be a huge obesity epidemic.  I know I am strange because I actually enjoy torturing myself but seriously if you were paying $35 an hour for a trainer wouldn't you put a little effort into doing what you are being told?  I had to hold my tongue so many times when people complained about my workouts being too hard.  Seriously, if they wanted hard I would give it to them, I was actually really nice to them :)

I quit as soon as I got back from our San Francisco trip and truth be told I wasn't working enough to make it worth it anyway.  Basically since I quit I have been caring for McKenna with her migraines or either one of my kids for different illnesses.  I truly do think that everything happens for a reason and I think that I needed to be home these past 2 1/2 months.  It was hard for me to accept that training wasn't for me.  Rather it was because I wasn't a good trainer, motivator or that I just didn't fit in where I was working or maybe all of the above.  I know that I needed to be here for my kids no matter how horrible I felt about myself being a jobless twit.  Where do I go from here?  Quite frankly I don't know.  I am working on getting certified as a cycling instructor but will that really be enough?  That is a good question.  I guess I am on a quest to find what I want to be doing.  Actually, I know what I want to do.  I want to get paid to workout and blog, is that too much to ask?  Not, if you ask me :)

Paced the Halloween Half Marathon, this one was tough for me, I don't think I was quite recovered from my marathon but still managed to finish in time!  I was shocked!
The last race I did was the Thankful 13 Half Marathon.  I loved the race but it was very hard for me!  It was a great way to kick off Thanksgiving!

That is 8 half marathons, 2 full marathons, a 10K and partridge in a pear tree!  I also ran 2 5K's with Kobe which was sooooo fun!  Jake and McKenna ran them too but Kobe and I ran together.  I really wish I would have done a blog post on those races.  If Kobe could run every race with me I would be pleased as punch!  I ran a grand total of 2405.59 miles (I don't know how I ended up with such an odd number, that will drive me crazy for eternity) and here are some other interesting facts that the DailyMile told me.
2,516 Total Miles (I thought this was what I ran, I was so sad when I found out that it included my walks)
426.40 Total Time
48 Lbs Burned
329 Total Workouts
0.10 Around World
351.92 TVs Powered
132.42 Gas Saved
918.30 Donuts Burned
It looks like I can eat a few donuts if I so desire ;)

Overall I would say it was a year full of awesome races, fun trips, lots of trials and even more self doubt.  Maybe my new year's resolution should be to believe in myself a little more.

If you made it through that post you should get a medal! 

Friday, December 21, 2012

10th Day of Christmas!

Wow, can you believe it's already the 10th day?  Hallelujah, this blogging every darn day is hard work.  I might have to retire after this 12 day adventure!  Let's get on with it shall we?

On the 10th day of Christmas Lil' Mama gave to me...a necklace from Scott James Jewelry!  Actually I will be giving away 2 today so your chances just increased!  Here is the necklace you will get.

Oh, I love it!
Now instead of wearing your race medals around town you can just add charms for each race that you do.  I don't know about you but I don't like to wear my medal any longer than 3 days ;)

I absolutely LOVE my necklace.  I may not have realized just how much I loved my necklace until I thought I had lost it forever.  I will admit that since receiving my Tiffany necklace from the Nike Women's Marathon I have not worn my beloved Scott James necklace.  I had worn it everyday for well over a year so when I got a shiny new necklace I was excited.  I needed to shine up my SJ necklace so it was just easier to wear the new one.  My friends, after the day I have had I promise from this day forward to rotate the 2 necklaces equally!!!  I loved the San Francisco race so much that I really don't think any race will ever live up to it.  I didn't have the best race but having never been to San Francisco made it amazing!  I wanted to remember that race from that day forward so wearing the necklace each and every day reminded me of the race and of the wonderful family trip we were able to take.

This morning as I went to get my SJ necklace I FREAKED out to see that it wasn't in it's spot.  I was fighting the tears with every ounce of my being, okay I cried :*(  I realized that that necklace meant more to me than anything.  I have charms from different races.  Races that came with many, many memories.  With my necklace gone I felt lost and helpless.  I almost called up Scott himself seems how we are practically BFF's now ;)  I hoped that he would have mercy on my soul and tell me to keep one of the necklaces he had sent for the giveaway. 
Here is my necklace way back when I first got it.

I racked my brain trying to figure out what had happened to my beloved necklace!  I am quite OCD, on certain things, and I always put my jewelry in the same place...ALWAYS!  I thought of a place to look while driving home from Costco, just to come home and be disappointed not to find it.  I nearly cried AGAIN!  I finally decided to look in a piece of our luggage we had taken to San Fran.  I was sure I had seen it since then but figured it was worth a shot.  And lo an behold I found it!!  I was so happy that I shouted with joy and hugged my little necklace with all my might.  I shined it all up and it is beautiful again :) SEE.

Each charm has special meaning to me.  I got the chain, 26.2, run and stone at the Utah Valley Marathon Expo in 2011.  You can read all about the race HERE!
A week later I added the Ragnar symbol, race recap HERE.  I bought the charm before my first leg of Ragnar and will wear it as a badge of honor for surviving that miserable race ;)
Holly gave me the ultra charm for my birthday right after my "Ultra Ragnar" you can read about that HERE.
While at Ragnar Holly and I talked to Scott about getting a Boston charm, for THIS race!
See all the charms have precious memories attached to them, I treasure my necklace.  I also have cute little runner girl earrings that Holly gave me.  Next on my list is one of their super cute rings, check them out on their website.

So like I said I have 2 necklaces to give away, so get busy.  You know the drill right?!?
Like Scott James Jewelry on Facebook HERE!
Go to their website and tell me your very favorite thing.
Share this giveaway on Facebook, Twitter or your blog!
Be sure to leave a comment below for each thing that you do.

Before I recap the giveaways I have a dumb Steph moment to share.  I just went to pick my kids up from gym and I walked past a fellow, he said "what's up?"  To which I said "good!"  Ha ha ha, what a dorkus! 

Don't forget there is still time to enter some of the giveaways.
On the 10th day of Christmas Lil' Mama gave to me...a Scott James necklace. Ends 24th.
On the 9th day of Christmas Lil' Mama gave to me...a stocking full of GU. Ends 23rd.
On the 8th day of Christmas Lil' Mama gave to me...a Twete Bird headband. Ends 22nd.
On the 7th day of Christmas Lil' Mama gave to me...$20 to Yogurtland.
On the 6th day of Christmas Lil' Mama gave to me...a Handful brazier.
On the 5th day of Christmas Lil' Mama gave to me...4 FREE meals to Costa Vida.
On the 4th day of Christmas Lil' Mama gave to me...a bottle of Sportlegs.
On the 3rd day of Christmas Lil' Mama gave to me...Good2Go protein bars
On the 2nd day of Christmas Lil' Mama gave to me...a pair Pro Compression
On the 1st day of Christmas Lil' Mama gave to me...Terra Miaaaaa.

And the winner of $20 to Yogurtland is...

Like on FB
Congrats!!  Email me (kyt1976@gmail.com) and I'll mail you your prize :)