potato chips and taco bell

So, I still haven't posted any photos from my new camera. I was just too tired and lazy last night to hook the cam up to the compy. Hopefully I'll get around to it tonight so you can see my first attempts at becoming a photographer.

I know it seems like I've posted a lot about running lately but it's what I've been focusing on the most. So, sorry if it's boring to you. Personally, it is fascinating to me to watch myself go through this training process especially because I consider myself a non-runner.

In so many areas of my life things come pretty natural to me. It's not that I'm amazing at everything I do but I can at least find a measure of success in most things. For better or for worse, this means that I haven't had to work very hard for things that I want to do or accomplish. This has served me well in my life but it has also created an interesting mind set when I'm faced with things that do not come naturally. Something in my head tells me that if I can't succeed right off the bat then I will never be able to succeed at that particular thing so don't even try.

I don't know why, but running has become my vehicle for proving that part of my head wrong. The 10k in July and a lot of inspiration from friends has motivated me to push myself past what I thought my limits were only to discover that there are no limits. I am seeing the value of setting and working towards accomplishing goals, the value of hard work and absolutely swimming in the exhilaration of meeting my goals. It's amazing!

Here are the upcoming races that I'm seriously considering this year:

• Canyonlands 1/2 Marathon - March 8 (already in)
• Salt Lake 1/2 Marathon - April 19 (lots of downhill looks so appealing)
• Saint George Marathon - October 4
• Las Vegas Marathon - December 7 (would be nice not to have to worry about accomodations and be very familiar with the terrain)

I'm sure no one is super interested in seeing my running times but if I don't write it down here, I'll never write it down and I don't want to forget this journey.

Saturday was a 5 miler and I was a little nervouse about how it would go since I haven't done more than 4 miles for at least 6 months. I mapped out a route and was excited to do an outdoor run for a change. The weather was great even though I left a little later than I'd hoped to. I was following the 4songs to 1song jog/walk method and feeling in good form. However, tragedy struck half way through the run when the battery on my Shuffle died! DIED!! (Mental note: always charge the battery before a long run.) To add insult to injury the sun went down right about the same time. So I was running in the dark (I know... not smart) and with no music and it was cold. Turns out, it wasn't as bad as I thought it would be. I pushed myself and found a really good pace throughout most of the run. Finishing time was approx 60mins (approx because I had no timer) which is about 12mins per mile. It was a good run and has me excited for this coming saturday's 6 miler.

Yesterday was a 4 miler on the track at the gym and can I just bitch for a moment about how many people were there?! Seriously, it was packed! I hate people who join the gym in January! But, I love that 99% of them will dissappear by February. I just have to endure for a few more weeks. Ugh. Anyway, I thought the run would be horrible since I'd only eaten potato chips and Taco Bell that day. Turns out they are pretty good fuel for a 4 mile run. Haha. I finished in 42:20mins which averages to a 10:35min mile. Awesome! I was so happy with my time. I tried to push myself but not past the point that I could handle. My pace felt pretty good the whole time and I tried to keep my walking breaks to a minimum (.2mi at 1.5 miles and again at 3mi) and to keep up my pace especially towards the end when I was tired.

I love running! Hurray!