It was a cold windy March morning...

Friday night Bill was looking forward to date night.  I looked at the clock and realized "Bill, I have a race tomorrow."
He groaned.
I started planning my costume.  There would be a contest for shortest shorts.  But how short do I dare go?  And how cold will it be?
Clover tights, a green lucky theme  -   BUT WHAT WILL I WEAR?
I tried and several pairs of really short shorts and various forms of undies and did the squatting tests.  I really didn't want to show off my "parts is parts".  But I had to find something that would work and put me in the running for shortest shorts.  This would be more important than actually running a good race.

5:15am my alarm goes off and I post on facebook that all I really want to do it sleep in one weekend.  This is a normal wake up time for me Monday-Friday.  It seems so much earlier to me on a Saturday for some reason.

Get dressed in 3 layers of clothes
It's early March and still chilly out in the mornings especially.  Gloves, snow hat, scarf, warm up pants... extra socks... 2 pairs of running shoes...
Oh yeah don't forget the fun part
 - Green makeup and nail polish
- Hair Glue
 - and Food - Jerky, Trail Mix, gatorade, various fruits and nuts and some peanut butter treats.
My ride shows up at 5:45 amand we are off to pick up the other runners on our team.

Katie Demille and her Nursing baby are in the back seat.
Jessica Hickman and Nikki Richins are 2 people I just met for this race - new friends.
 The driver and Team Captain - Wendy Smart - long time friend and client of mine.
This will be a great adventure!
Jessica keeps grumbling "it's early."  I laugh.

We arrive at Gunlock resevoir around 7am and decorate the van, paint our nails, put on green make-up and try and keep warm until start time.  I get out of the van with Wendy and we join in with some guys with ugly wigs playing LMFAO music and get a little rowdy and warm while dancing up a spastic dance storm.  I just can't help myself , It's how I roll.

Katie quickly feeds her baby and starts leg one of this 52 mile relay.  The relay is a 52 mile race with teams of 5people that take turns running specific "legs" of the race.  We started at Gunlock resevoir and finish at Sand Hollow Resevoir.

I get Leg 2.  It's still chilly at 9am.  I realize just then that I would be running right by my friend Kim Mower's house and My Brother Robert Proffit's as well since my leg finishes in Ivins.  I text them to let them know right before I start my leg of the race.  5.8 miles of rolling hills.

This was my first race where I purposefully left the electronic devices behind to just connect my mind and body without distraction.  I wanted to run how I felt without music telling me to go fast or a device telling me my pace.  It felt good to just run how my body told me it wanted to run.  My competitive nature kicked in.  every time I saw someone in front of me, my goal was to catch them and pass them (kills)  I had 4 kills and no one killed me.  My brother and his wife Peggy were about .5 miles (or less) from the finish line cheering me on - AWESOME!  Robert joined me and helped me push it in for the final stretch.  I loved opening up and pulling out what was left in me for the finish.  My team wasn't expecting me for another 10-15 minutes.  apparently I had given them a poor estimate of my running pace.  ooops.  Jessica was "taking care of business".  :)

Then Jessica was off after she found out I was waiting for her at the finish line.  SORRY JESSICA!
Oh well...

I ran 8.6 minute miles average on that leg for almost 6 miles.  I've never done that.
My knees felt amazing.  I think my knees feel better when I run faster.  when I plug along slower and keep a pace I "feel capable of"  my knees get more of a plodding and pounding. 

I decided that this is how I will race from now on.  Plus I figured out solutions for all the world problems at the same time as I had only my thoughts during the run.  :)

I stretched for a few minutes - said Hello To my friend Cherie (I still need a copy of the picture she took of me right then. I am sure I looked "amazing"), said goodbye and thank you to my brother and his wife and then we were off again to meet up for leg 4.
Wendy had Leg 4.  Our team was doing better than we expected.  How fun!  I saw my friend Cathy Ford and her team.  These relays really are just a big party  I tell ya.

Wendy finished strong and looking good and then Nikki gets a tough climbing hill for her run on leg 5.  We are keeping pace with a team in fluffy skirts "Off like a Prom Dress" is their team name.  so much fun!  I love all the crazy wigs, costumes and crazies out there.  Nikki KILLS IT!  She did amazing!  Lots of "kills" and beats her estimated running time.  we keep on this way for each leg of the race.  Wendy got leg 8 - a killer of a hill and a long run for her. 

I felt tired and ready for a nap but needed to get ready to run leg 9, 4.4 miles of trail running and hills.  It's a tough run after a long day and it's now pretty warm outside.  I take a shot of a drink called "Zenergy" for a boost of energy.  I hate those energy drinks.  I had bought it just in case I needed a pick me up.  ugh....  my brain was a mess.  It was like I was having a weird anxiety attack of some sort.  I was trying to prep for my next run and my brain was a mess.

We had been joking about how awesome we were that we were beating my friend Cherie's team and how cool that makes us.  LOL.
I was shocked and happy to see their car drive up to this transition point of the race. I adore Cherie and she told me her team's story I forgave her bad cheating  of needing to hop in the car as a team and skip a portion of they race since they race directors had given them a call to find out where they were.  They only had 4 people on their team and Cherie had already run 13 miles or so. She was tired and worn out.  I was happy that she was planning on running this leg of the race and was going to wait with me for Wendy to come in so she could run with me.  It helped me to calm down a little and I really looked forward to this run.

There were people yelling at Cherie as we took off.  If only they knew her story.  I was glad I had that time to think about how much I had criticized other teams we had caught "cheating".  I had no idea if there were injuries or if the race committee had been on their case because they were taking down barricades before they got to transition points.  So I became a nicer person and less judgmental right then.  
Cherie was in pain.  I felt great.  She told me to not wait for her - no worries - love you Cherie, But I'm feeling good and I parted ways with her.  It was such a gorgeous day.  I shook off the earlier brain fry I had and found my mind body connection I was looking for.  I loved passing people on this leg.  Each Hill was just an obstacle to put one foot in front of the other - 4 kills!  and even one of those other cheating teams that cheated to pass my team a long time back  I killed them!  LOL!  that always feels good. 

I was running past cows and horses and there was no one around that I could see at this point. I started talking to the cows  when I heard a breathe behind me.  Crap!  where did this chick come from?  I was just enjoying my jog...  "You're not passing me."  I tell her.  She looked annoyed.  I picked up my pace and kept with her as a pacing partner.  I still felt great.  I see my team ahead with my water bottle held out for me.  "run with me and the water - I can't let this chick pass me."  She looks even more annoyed.  "how much further?"  "one more mile!"  "Great!"  The woman I was pacing with groan out "another mile?  aaarrrgghhh..." poor girl.  she was tired.  I felt good.  I leave her behind....

2 more kills and a hill in front of me and then I am done.  One final push up this crazy hill...
AWESOME!  I actually love hills.  I chose this leg for the hills and short run.  So as people are walking the last stretch up this hill I am running past them.  I feel awesome!

Nikki takes the final leg of the race and I stretch and wait for my friend Cherie while I cheer on the other runners I had passed.  and of course I dance to other team's music they play loudly.  I can't help it.  It's how I roll.

My knees still feel good.
I have no idea what my pace was still today as I write this.  I am curious, but it doesn't matter.  I did great.  I ran hard and faster than I would have normally and I have no idea how fast it was.  I just like feeling good and passing people.
 Cherie comes in a little later - sweaty hugs... ugh...

Time to meet up at the finish. 
We head off to Sand Hollow and wait for our runner to finish up the race for us.
As we meet for Nikki at the finish we cheer on the ultra runners that ran the race solo (no teams - just them and 50 miles - cool!)  and we cheer on other teams.  we dance some more and we meet other people.

Nikki comes in strong and we cross the finish line together.  The race director is at the finish line and takes a look at my shorts "those just might win the shortest shorts contest.  But there are some guys out there that have some really short shorts.  We may just have to see who really has the shortest shorts."
  hmmmmm.... I think I need to wear these to the awards dinner just in case I have a case to prove.  

My husband Bill is on the lake with his SUP.  I was glad he came for the final part of the race - even if he didn't see us finish or take any pictures of us...  I was glad he got on the water and enjoyed himself for awhile.

We went home and got ready for the awards dinner.  What to wear?  My sweaty shorts again?  Really?  Yup.  I took a shower and put the sweaty shorts and tights back on (clean undies though - LOL)  and then put on some loose purple sweats on top.  Just in case...

Bill and I sat at a table with Wendy and her husband, Shelly and Darin Thomas (track coach and amazing runners) and... Oh dear... I forgot the other person's name - on Shelly's team... and her hubby.  Saw my friend Ben Ford and waived "hi" and chatted for a while.  It was nice to finally see some familar faces I had no idea were even in the race.  There is Heather Stout... Liz and Tom Dansie...  Strong runners and great people...

The awards... Ben and his buddy took first in the 2 man team category - awesome!  They just happened to also set a new record for the race.  way cool! 

I was looking for Cherie - couldn't see her.  She must be home cuddling her kids I assume.
The awards were given out to all the faster teams that won for being fast.

Then the important awards started... Costumes and ridiculousness...
best costumes - Supermoms
best decorated car... I think it was Heather's team and their Tipi on top...  that was cool.  I liked that Cowboys and Indian theme they had going on...
others... the ridiculous wigs... the crazies...
and then...
Shortest Shorts - some guys team was mentioned... and then he said "and a woman on team 44.."
"Hey that's me!  I won!  I won!  I won!"  I scream and pull my sweats down and run up for my award with my sweats around my ankles showing off my lucky tights and short blue shorts.  My mother would be proud  (or not - can't be certain).
I got a $20 gift certificate for a pair of shorts from Saint George running center. I'm stoked.  but I'm even more stoked about the really cool picture of the 70's man in short running shorts and cheesiness of the whole scrapbookable certificate.  I told Bill I was going to just scrapbook the thing. He told me to just scan it and use the certificate.  He's so smart.

There are some great things about these relay types of races.
 - I love that you get to know other people.  It's not just a start and finish - it's a party the whole way there as you cheer on your team and other teams.  You talk to people as you wait for your team to come in.
 - I love dressing like an idiot.  It's a great way to make friends.  People you normally would never talk to come up to you and comment on your outfit and a new friend is made.
 - I love connecting with the crazies of the world.  It's always good to know you are in a safe place as a fellow crazy.

All in all - it was an awesome experience.  can't wait for the next one!  I think I am signing up for a Ragnar Relay in California in April or May my big brother Robert tells me.  Can't wait.  What will I wear?
Definately not using anything electronic to tell me how fast or slow to run.  That was a first for me and it was awesome!

Running really is a team sport. no really it is...

They say running is an individual sport....  I beg to differ...
Saturday I ran the 10mile Dam to Dam Sand Hollow race.

Part of me is really disappointed in myself for coming in so much toward the last.   I had told my hubby before the race that I would average 11 minute miles with stretching breaks and that he would see my in almost 2 hours. so I should feel great about my results of about 9:43 minute miles.

I have to keep reminding myself that 4 years ago I could NOT WALK AROUND MY BLOCK! One year ago I was injured from not training for a half marathon I decided to do on a whim and I couldn't run at all for several months after. So really -   I should be flippin thrilled!
Why the disappointment in my results?  I have some serious issues...

 I struggle with the balance between my competitive nature and just focusing on my own personal journey.
I placed 11th in my division (women 35-40) and like 21st overall in the Women.  yup.  I was last in my division.  :)  ahhhh well.   there were only 26 women doing the 10 mile race. BUT if I were in ANY OTHER division - I would have placed!  LOL!   In fact the woman I ran with toward the end and then passed at the finish (Diane) - she finished in first place in her division and I was last in my division.

I started out with a decent pace and kept toward the front half of the pack.  I was running with a man named Tony from Apple Valley area -   A really TALL man with a great stride and I decided to pace with him.  I felt awesome. We talked about his running life.  Many Many years ago he qualified for the Boston Marathon and never went and did it.  He had brain surgery a year ago.  coming out of that he decided he would get back to that place and do it!  I love that people I meet doing these events.  THIS IS WHY I LOVE RACES! The people I meet always impress me.
 About mile 5 I asked him what our pace was he told me just under 9 minute miles.  I was like - "crap... I can't keep this pace the whole time.  I'm only half way through and I've never done 10 miles before."  So I slowed down and he pushed on without me.

 I wish I had never known our pace.

 About mile 7 my knee started bugging me and I stopped to stretch out.  tons of people ran right past me.  it bothered me.  ugh!  seriously bugged me.  so I got back into the run and stopped to stretch again.  my knee was really bothering me.  About this time a man in his 70's caught up to me and said "Don't let me beat you! You had a great pace keep going!"  so I did.  This man had passed me and I was determined to catch up to him and not let him beat me.  no way in hell was I going to let an old man beat the pants off me.  LOL - seriously?  I have some issues.

SO I ran with a 76 year old man that would yell at me everytime I stopped to stretch "Don't you dare!  Keep moving!  Concentrate on your turn over and not on your knees! You can't finish after me!"
um..... ok....  I am a sheep - I am a good follower.
I was torn - walk and stretch like I planned and let this old guy beat me?  Or Keep going and push through it and make sure some 76 year old man finishes after me.  UGH....
So I ran harder and faster than I thought I should and I kept up with the old man until the finish line was close.  and like a good little runner I kicked it in and pushed hard to as much of a sprint as this tired body could do with a limp as I crossed the finish.

My thoughts as I crossed:  "what have I just done?  will I be injured?  will I go through another year of not being able to run because of this?  crap.  why?"
So I stretched and stretched and stretched and stretched.  guess what?  NO PAIN the next day (well not in my knees anyway and that was the biggest worry)

So I am thanking that man.  I assume he MUST be a genius runner of some sort.  I keep making up stories in my mind about who he is and what he must have accomplished in his lifetime so that I feel more awesome about finishing barely in front of a 76 year old man.  I do thank him for pushing me to my limits.  I love finding out that I am capable of more than I thought I was.

Would you like to know the Story I made up about the old guy that pushed me?  I think his name is Jim Way.  I Don't know anything else about him other than the information I got off runner card.  His name, age and city of residence.  So my story about him is something like...  um.... he was a track coach and ultra marathoner.  and he must have some amazing race stories about who he's ran with and all his races.  He probably does a few marathons or more every year.... and.... He runs 10 miles a day just for fun.  sure... why the heck not?  I wonder how close to the truth I am?

anyway, thanks Jim for pushing me.
thanks to Tony from Apple Valley for pacing me and sharing his story.
and thanks to Diane Patrick for being my buddy toward the end and pacing with me there.


They say running is an individual sport.  But I have found it isn't.  any success I have in any race usually is because I have been pushed or supported by another runner.

finally I won!

hero worship is a dangerous thing. By that, I mean putting anyone here on this earth in a place of higher importance than yourself. Celebrities, political leaders, religious leaders, business icons... etc.... they are all human. I have see it at conventions for network marketing companies - someone has made a financial success of themselves and suddenly they are surrounded with admirers that think so highly of them and want to take photos with them and put them on this weird pedestal of creating an idol of that individual. Celebrities that have been in a few successful movies are suddenly worshipped for their ability to act and become our role models? Religious leaders are held on a pedestal and expected to be perfect and flawless? Business leaders become experts on everything? I remember talking with someone at one of these business conventions that many had placed on this crazy pedestal and she gave me some great advice. I was what was called a "unit Leader" in a company, Creative Memories and was attending a National Convention where all those amazing leaders are recognized on stage and guest speakers and performers come and there is all this great hype to get you excited to drive forward in your business. During a lunch break at one of these conventions I challenged myself to find a table with someone I respected or looked like they were a success and join their table. So I found this woman, Vickie Morgan, she was one of those women that was at the very forefront of the company's growth. She was making more money in a month than I did in a year combined with my husband. She was someone I wanted to pick her brain and get all the secrets from. I learned one amazing secret - she was a human being just like me. I was so nervous to talk to her and stumbled over my questions to her. she sensed my weird nervousness and told me that she was no different than me, just older and had been working hard at it longer than me. and she cautioned me about idolizing anyone. she said" when you put someone else on a pedestal, you are putting yourself below them." That has always stayed with me. I had an experience with a Bishop in my church back when I was 21 yrs old that I felt made a wrong decision that directly affected me. I was so thrown by what I beleived to be his bad call that I let it affect my belief that God wanted him as a bishop for that ward. It effected me so greatly at the time that I considered leaving the church I knew to be true. Later I came to the realization that although called of God - these men of God are also just men doing their best and my job was to handle my grievances better than I did then. To put them on a pedestal of someone incapable of mistakes is to allow yourself to be thrown completely for a loop when something isn't as you think it should be. I have often admired experts - especially female leaders: Oprah Winfrey, Tosca Reno, Suzie Orman and Jillian Micheals. I admire their drive, leadership, business sense, expertise in their fields, etc... and for a while I made a mistake of holding them as role models. BUT ALL of these women are missing something ciritcal that I have - a family with a devoted husband and children. so... are these the women I want as my idols in life? no.... I can respect them for the work they do. but to put them on a pedestal above me is to believe that I am lower than any of them. we are equals. although I am not on TV or in books (yet), I have had a different life I have chosen. That also does not make me better. just different. What about your neighbor with the perfect family? You have no idea what they struggle with. To hold that other mom up on a pedestal is to say that she is better than you. She isn't. I admire a certain blogger/friend of mine that has this amazing ability to create beautiful art, crafts, and delicious dinners. She has a great talent at home decor, she always dresses amazing and her make-up is always perfect. She and I are different. while she spends time on those things, I spend time on other areas of life. I am not better than her or she better than me. To believe she is better than me is to believe that my talents are less important. My hope is that I can encourage everyone to live up to the talents God gave them, never to feel like they are less than anyone else. Hold your head up and look at everyone in the eye as an equal. recognize that everyone is capable of mistakes, sorrows, and struggles no matter the outward appearance. Your feelings of self worth directly affect your ability to accomplish your goals in life. and your feelings of self worth are directly affected by whether or not you compare your talents and abilities to everyone else around you. You are just as capable as the next person. even if you haven't accomplished what you hope to just yet, You are CAPABLE AND WORTHY OF IT! Just my soapbox for the day. thanks for letting me get my thoughts out of my head.

If it's not one thing, it's another...

My arm started hurting last week. ugh. really?? like my life can take me falling apart..
The toughest part about recovering and starting over is knowing what you used to be able to do and not pushing to that place when you shouldn't.
I think I hurt my elbow screwing around attempting some stunt I should not have tried. It's a pattern in my life. I can't accept that I am not 15 anymore.
SO, now I get to let my arm heal.

My knees? They feel great!
I have been taking it easy and letting them heal and retraining my stride.
I love running in my vibram 5 finger shoes!
Today I only did 2.16 miles and ran with Trisha and Wendy and others that showed up for Couch to 5K running.
I took about 30 minutes to do that run so it was a slow 15 min/mile pace. I need Thursdays as a recovery day from my intense fitness day on wednesday.
yesterday I taught FOUR Zumba classes. OUCH! I hurt so bad last night and am pretty sore from all that dancing. So just doing a slow pace with lots of walking was ok by me. I focused on my footfall and kept pretty good form.

So now... I heal my arm.

My knees... They are fine! YAY - and after a full day of high impact Zumba? yes, I am happy right now.

my first knee massage

I had Amber Smith come over and give me a knee massage yesterday.
HEAVEN!!!!!!!!!!!!
apparently I have a lot of scar tissue surrounding my knee I never knew about. Lots of past injuries that I ignored or something I guess.

But anyway the massage was heaven. at times it was so painful I thought I would cry (But I didn't)

SO... I am going to do it again. She really did an amazing job.

Here's Amber's plug:
She lives in LaVerkin and works at Massage Envy in Washington.
She can work you in her home or yours. She came to my living room - set up her table and went to work while my 3 year old watched Rolie Polie Olie movies.

Give her a call!
435-770-4678
Her name is AMBER

The damn knee....

I have always been really proud of the fact that I never have any serious problems with injuries keeping me from doing what I love - running, dancing, playing sports. I see people with knee or joint issues and I think; "so glad I don't have those problems."

Then somebody planned a goofy 13 mile race with a goofy theme and all my friends were doing it.

I haven't really been a distance runner yet. I have done 3-5 miles but nothing more. so of course I can't miss the 13 mile Hostess Half Marathon.

I ran it - had a blast until about mile 7 where my knee started having issues.
that's only halfway into the race!
so I ran the rest of it and walked about a mile and then sprinted across the finish - cuz I am smart and my knee can take it since I am invincible! right?

right....

My knee hurt so freaking bad! I told Steve Hooper that owns St. George Running center about my issues and he said:
"so you trained exactly how you tell your client NOT to train? (yup) "let me guess, your friends were running the race, you weren't ready for it, but decided not to let the party pass you up?"
yup - pretty much sums it up.
Then he thunked me on the forehead.

(by the way - ideal long distance running training - you work up bit by bit to the distance you plan on running. I USUALLY follow the plan of about .5 to 1 mile added per week to get joints and muscles trained up to the new activity you throw at them - yeah... I know... I am mad at me too!)

Ideally - you let an injury like that rest before you run again or push it in a Zumba class.
Ideally - you aren't running with your clients and teaching Zumba. So my injury never got a chance to heal. I decided to try and take it easy for a bit and was taking some supplements and shakes and stuff to help with healing.
I felt pretty good a couple of weeks ago and it looked hopeful.

2 weeks ago on a Saturday, I went Longboarding with my kids. at a park. I thought I was freakin awesome and went to show my son a little trick he could try. I ran over a pebble - lost my balance, landed on my knee pretty hard and twisted. But I jumped up since I was fell in front of a crowd of senior citizens telling me what a bad mother I was since I didn't have a helmet on. Had to try and look good in front of them and pretend it was nothing. oh yeah - I am REALLY cool now!



and that picture would be my back side while on the longboard.

The next day, I couldn't move my knee. for the next week I could hardly move my knee.
It was Spring Break and one of my ZUMBA trainers quit so I had to cover her class and 2 other instructors were on vacation so I covered their classes too - SO...
IDEALLY - you let an injured knee rest. Ideally you aren't teaching everyone else's classes when you get another injury on the same freakin knee.

I have been trying to take it easy for the past 2 weeks. It is TOUGH to hold back.

Monday I went for a SHORT run. just .3 miles at a time for 3 rounds. felt fine. Last night I taught a Zumba class ALMOST full out - held back a little (for me) - my knee felt fine.
This morning did another .9 miles identical to Monday. I felt a little knee ache coming on as I rounded the final few yards. Bugger....
Grrrrr..........

So...
Today I taught Gold Zumba which allows me to relax my knee quite a bit. Tonight it's Pilates. We will see how we do with any knee stuff. Sometimes I feel it worse when I stretch a straight leg or go down onto my knee.

Tonight is Zumba - I am not teaching but I need to be there. I think I will ride the stationary bike while they do Zumba.

hmmmm....
Must Heal. I have a race coming up in September. Can't miss the Red Rock Relay! Now that is a FUN party!

at age 20 I decided I wanted to run a marathon.

This is about joining me on a journey. I am trying to find my way back into a more fit happy and healthy person

1989 - 1992 "ish" my high school years - A long time ago I was really active and fit - I played basketball, ran in track, cheered and danced. in 9th grade I was told by my track coach that I had amazing potential. (This was the day I quit cross country track since my grades were bad). I was a Freshman.
I quit running in track. But I continued with church sports and cheering and dancing all the time. I would occasionally run with my friends or my dog (when we had one that could run - by the way - Basset Hounds are lousy running dogs - I'm just sayin...) When we lived in Wyoming I would run up and down the hills surrounding our ranch or run barefoot down the 2 mile dirt road and back home again. It always felt good. I was "born to run".

(1994) age 20 - I decided I wanted to run a marathon.
I started training and about about 4 months from the race date I found out I was 5 months pregnant so I quit training for a marathon.


I used to dance and exercise all day long in college and work.

1992-1996 (pre-marriage) - My days used to be:
4am - get up and work loading trucks
8am - go to school and dance and lift weights and study nutrition and do Yoga and workout in another exercise class, study anatomy or other fitness related class
5pm - I would go to my second job at the gym and do sales or my other part time job at GNC (General Nutrition Center).


1998-2001 I was married - living in California for quite some time - Then I had more kids - life happened, running just wasn't a part of my world.
I had no real reason to run. no dogs, and strollers bugged me.
But always at the back of my head was the memory of the goal I had once set that seemed so far away.

The only thing I did at this point was teach a weekly fitness class for people who had difficulty with exercise and I played church ball once a week - certainly not the same level of fitness I was used to.

2002-2005 I was now living in Utah - I would go running with my friend Robin at 5:30am and we talked about one day doing a marathon together. But when the running got longer and more intense she and I joked that we really only wanted to LOOK like we could run a marathon. But really my heart was aching.
I was a different person now - A busy busy mom with lots of kids and no time for me. So I decided to let it go.


THEN - I moved to a home that was directly in front of the St. George Marathon finish line. Literally. The finish line pointed to the driveway of my town home.

The first Saturday of October I would go out and watch runners cross that line all day long. Or at least until the last guy across finally finished - crying - puking - collapsing... I loved it!

Everyone that crossed that finish line had a story. Some held hands with sisters or friends, some limped across, others collapsed in tears. And some were BIG people that had amazing journeys that saved their lives. There were those who came from other countries and marked off their 100th marathon. There was the 75 year old man, the guy in the wheel chair... all of them were amazing to me. I wanted to be one of the amazing ones that set out to do something and finished.

But I didn't do it.
Instead, I quit taking care of my health - slipped into depression and decided that because I was busy I no longer had the time for me.


In 2008 - we had been living in Laverkin now for a couple of years and had had another baby - 6 MONTHS after the baby was born I went on a walk with my family around my block and I had to sit on the curb and catch my breathe just a half mile from my home.

I went on a hike with my dogs and couldn't make it back to my car without assistance.

My health was bad, my nutrition was bad I no longer exercised at all!
my weight actually skyrocketed for the first time ever. I had never ever been overweight in my entire life (in fact I had had the OPPOSITE problem of near anorexia at one point - another story for another day - it was bad) and now I was 40-50 pounds overweight!
Plus I would find myself crying in my closet - sometimes for no reason.


I was a stranger to me. I was depressed, angry, and hated that I couldn't enjoy playing with my kids anymore.

That is the beginning of my REAL fitness journey.

I couldn't do much any more. I couldn't last through any of my workout videos (I have an extensive library of videos I used to study). I would do a couple of minutes at a time and then take a break. Or I would turn on some music and dance with my kids in my living room. I began walking my dogs every morning at Sunrise on Laverkin Overlook - these little things were the start of my life being saved!

Walks turned into run/jog/walk. 2 minutes of videos turned into 30 minutes eventually. Dance time with the kids turned into me trying to learn breakdancing (ever try that crap - it hurts!) I loved getting sweaty with my kids with the music on.

I went from about 180 (ish) I didn't weigh myself at my peak - this is a guess - to about 150 ish...
Or a size 14-15 to a size 10-12.

I really felt like I needed to return to full health - not just for me but for my family. I felt this urgency to work and to bring in income. I felt VERY Strongly that I needed to go work back in the fitness industry after being out of it for so long.
SO - I got a job at a fitness facility and learned everything I could - worked sales, was in charge of marketing and eventually was a staff trainer.
About this time I began thinking about starting my own thing and looked into Bootcamps.


2009 - I left the fitness facility I was working for and hired 2 bootcamp trainers to whip me into shape while we built a business.

BUT more importantly - I ran the first 5K race I had ran since before kids.
then another - then I invited friends to run with me and my clients started running 5K that were once like I was - out of breath after 1/4 mile. we were running together.

September 2010 - I did the Red Rock Relay - a 186 mile race divided between 12 team members that trade off every 3-7 miles depending on the leg of their race. It was tough - But I LOVED it. I felt like I had come so far from where I was just a year or 2 before!

December 2010 - I decided to jump into a silly race called the Hostess Half marathon. 13 miles of eating hostess crap at every aid station. I was excited about something goofy to go do.
I went from running 3 miles to 7 miles to running the 1/2 marathon in 3 weeks.
my knees did not like me about mile 7 or 8ish during the race - So I did about a mile of walking and was so angry at my damn knees. but I did sprint in to the finish! you gotta at least be able to finish strong! right?

So now...
March 29, 2011
here is where I am in my journey...
I have a 1/2 marathon under my belt - my knees are hating me a little still from doing that and teaching Zumba instead of really recovering and then falling down while trying to skateboard.... yeah - I am SO cool!
my size is 8 my weight is around 140 with muscle on me from strength training. I am working on pull-ups and push-ups and other fun strength training in addition to doing Zumba, Pilates, bootcamp and running my own fitness studio.

I still want to train for a marathon.
I want to do it by my 40th birthday at least. My 40th birthday is on October 2nd 2013. That weekend will be the st. George Marathon and I want that to be my party!
I may do a marathon sooner - If I train smart and treat my knees right. I do NOT want to be one of those runner with messed up joints from pushing too hard to fast. I want to be able to dance and play into age 90.

So... I will still do a marathon - I may even do more than one.
Right now I am going to train for 5 and 10K's.
Tomorrow I will run with my 9 year old daughter and get her started on her journey with me.
I can't wait to get training again. My life is back and I am happier than I have been in ages - now that I am taking care of ME, I feel like a better mom too!