Our Crazy Life

Four years ago in January Les took a job working for a company based in Hawaii.  We spent most of 2013 in a rented Waikiki condo.  2014 and 2015 were filled with back and forth travel.  2016 we spent nine months renting part of a house in Hawaii Kai.  We've already made two trips to Oahu this year.  On top of the Hawaii trips, Les visits clients here on the mainland and attends industry conventions.  I'm fortunate enough that I don't have to work a paying job and can tag along often.

Plans for a busy June are starting to firm up.  Les will be in four states/three time zones in the first week and a half of June.  We are also planning to go back to Hawaii some time in June.  Oh, and I have a marathon scheduled on June 10th. As our plans have firmed up, my "racecation" was looking more and more like a solo endeavor or a flyby. I have never been to Utah and really wanted a few days to see at least part of the state.

I checked the race website and saw a "defer" option.  I can defer to 2018 or 2019.  Les will be flying home from a convention that takes place in Orlando.  This particular event takes place each June and moves around the country each year.  In 2018 it will be in Nashville.  Les grew up there so we have tons of friends and family in the area so I definitely want to go on that trip.  In 2019 the convention will be in Phoenix, considerably closer to Utah.  The more I thought about it, the more sense it made to defer to the 2019 race.  There was a $15 change fee, but with so many "nonrefundable, nontransferable" races out there, this seemed like the right decision.  I wasn't going to let my free entry fee go to waste!

In case you're wondering, Les never even suggested that I not race.  He would have flown from Orlando to Salt Lake City (about 50 miles from Provo) just to be there.  This would have meant him being home about 48 hours the entire month of June.  Some things just don't make sense no matter how much you want them to.

I've been a runner for over 20 years.  In that time I've run a total of nine races.  That probably seems strange to some people, but I'm okay with it.  I ran 2600 miles one year and didn't run a single race!   I don't regret the training I've done.  It's gone well, not great, but good enough that I know I could have finished the marathon.  But the expenses to just go there, race, and come back home were adding up to more than I wanted to commit to.  So... Utah Valley Marathon 2019 here I come!

Right now I don't know if I'll try to run a marathon this year.  We tentatively have something really big on the calendar for this Fall so I'll just wait and see.  If we're on Oahu when they are having any of marathon readiness races I might do one of those because they are usually 12-15 miles and the registration fee is pretty small for last minute decisions.

Do you or any of your family members do a lot of business travel?
Ever deferred a race?

Three Things Thursday ~ 1st Quarter Wrap Up

We're almost through the first week of April, but I wanted to recap how the first quarter of this year went:

1.  Running
My focus for January was to build my endurance.  February I wanted to focus on hills and I completed the Strava climbing challenge for the month with over 6500' of climbing .  I also found out that I had won a free entry to the Utah Valley Marathon!  That puts my running in focus until June 10th.  I've completed all my long runs so far and my legs are feeling good.  I've continued to cross train on the bike and still really love it.

I don't always eat dessert, but when I do...

2.  Nutrition and Health
My second January focus was to decrease sugar.  I went the entire month without dessert and felt better than I had in about six months.  We are now allowing ourselves one dessert a week and sometimes we don't even have that.  I'll always love sugar, but my body doesn't love it nearly as much.  My anxiety/heart palpitations have been completely absent and I feel pretty strongly that sugar was a large contributor to those issues.  Bonus:  I lost 12 pounds in the first 3 months of the year!

3.  Gear
I've got over 60 miles on my new Brooks running shoes and I'm very happy with them.  My iPod shuffle finally died completely about a month ago after refusing to shuffle for months.  Since my new phone has a ton of memory I decided to just use it for my running tunes but hated the long earbud chords constantly getting caught in my equally long hair.  I finally broke down and bought the Yurbuds Inspire 500.  I've taken them on several long runs, they are comfortable and stay in.  They got the "sweat test" this morning, we are back in Hawaii and I ran 9 miles with them in without any problems.  While I'm talking about gear, I just want to say how much I still love my Suunto Ambit2.  I have had it for almost four years and it is so solid.  It's a little on the big side, but I love all the screens that are completely customizable.  I have the screens set up differently for running, cycling, walking or intervals.  Good gear isn't necessary for good running but it sure is fun!

Total distance for Q1:
Running: 202.72
Cycling 207.79
Walking 53.35
Total: 463.86

How was your first quarter?

CA Riding, HI Running (Week 7/52)

Sunday - Rode 9.40 miles
I knew I would be off the bike for the rest of February so I decided to go for back to back rides.

Monday - Rode 12.20 miles
I'm glad I did not have back to back crashes!

Tuesday - Travel day
I was excited to learn that I won a free entry to the Utah Valley Marathon.

Wednesday - Walked 1.20 miles

Thursday - Ran 4.81 miles +0 elevation
The weather when we arrived on the island was pretty unpleasant.  Kona Winds bring a stillness that is hard to describe, the air feels heavy and there is just no movement.
Also walked 3.35 miles

Friday - Ran 8.91 miles +345' elevation
I ran the Diamond Head loop with extra credit by running up Pokapahu, the road the leads into the crater. I really suffered through this run.  In spite of drinking plenty of water and taking Endurolytes, my left calf kept cramping.

Saturday - Walked 3.3 miles
I had big plans for Sunday so I took it easy on Saturday.

February Run Climbing Challenge Progress:  998 meters/3,274 feet - 49% complete
This number changed drastically this morning - I ran Tantalus for an additional 1,557 feet bringing my progress up to 74%, but that's for next week's recap!

Total
Running 13.72
Walking 7.85
Cycling  21.60
Total  43.17

Although we aren't in California, it continues to rain.  The total for our city is now 18.5 inches for the season, just a little less than the past two seasons combined!  We haven't received a drop of rain since we've been in Hawaii, which is due to the Kona winds.  That is suppose to be changing in the next couple days with a "cold front" bringing lows in the 60s.  Pretty sure that would be heat wave in Montana!

How was your week?  What's the weather like?

What a Week! And It's Only Wednesday...

Me and my Valentine

This is turning out to be an interesting week!  Sunday was our typical up early so Les could prepare a Sunday school lesson while I went for an easy spin.

Monday morning we hopped on the mountain bikes and hit the trail.  My legs were like lead and I couldn't seem to get warmed up.  Once we got to the trail I told Les to go for it and I'd meet him at the turn around.  After about a mile on the trail my legs finally loosened up.  Then it was pedal to the medal and I got my 3rd best time, only 8 seconds slower than my PR!

We bombed our way back down but because of the rain there is a barrier that we can't ride over. We had to get off the bikes for a few steps.  When we got back on the street it's downhill for about a mile with a stop sign about a third of the way down.  We were just rolling from the stop sign when Les realized he was in the wrong gear and almost came to a complete stop.  I didn't realize until it was too late and my front tire clipped his back tire.  I was on the ground before I had a chance to process what was happening.  My right knee is bruised and slightly scraped but no major damage thanks to good tights and full finger gloves.

We were up a little after 4:00 yesterday morning for our 7:45 flight to Honolulu.  After picking up our car at Les' office, we headed to the Ilikai where we'll be staying this time.  I opened my emails and saw this:

A free entry to the Utah Valley Marathon!  I may have shrieked a little in the car!!  I never win anything.  I am so excited to have a won!  The Utah Valley Marathon claims "its gentle downhill course not only enhances your speed but won’t beat up your legs."  The course elevation looks like this:

And before you think I'm crazy for running downhill, let me remind you of my most recent marathon, the Revel Canyon City Marathon:

It looks like the Utah Valley Marathon is going to be much more gentle!

So what happens now?  I pulled up TrainingPeaks to reapply my marathon training plan and guess when my 16 week training starts?  Next week!  The timing couldn't be better. Thank you, Wendy, for hosting this giveaway!!  I am so excited to have this race on my calendar.  Once again I'll be posting my training schedule each week followed by a weekly recap.

When is your next race?  Downhill running - yay or nay?
Anyone running the Utah Valley Marathon?  Have you run it in the past?  Any advice?