My running journey

I didn't always LOVE to run.  I even used to think running equated to misery and could easily be used as a form of torture.  I played basketball in high school and at least running had a purpose in my mind.  But just to run for the sake of running, now that was crazy!  When I first met Chad, we went for a "run" around the block which was not even close to a mile.  That happened maybe twice before we both decided that running wasn't our thing.  Playing roller hockey or tennis was a lot more fun, so that's what we did.  After having my third child, Trevor, in August of 2006, I desperately needed to get back into shape.  I remember playing basketball at the church and having a hard time making it up and down the court.  I couldn't play ball like I wanted to and I knew I needed to condition.  So we went out and bought a treadmill - the cheapest treadmill that we could find.  Chad thought that I was just going through a phase and was sure that I would soon lose interest and move onto something else.  (Well it has been a pretty long phase and that treadmill is still going!)   I am a goal-oriented person and I love a challenge so I needed something to train for if this running thing was going to work out. 

A race would provide just the motivation I needed and I had to prove that the treadmill wasn't a wasted investment. In talking with my brother-in-law, I decided on my first running challenge.  He had recently just finished a marathon.  A marathon!!  That is so stinkin' far!  I told him there is no way I could EVER run a marathon.  He told me to shoot for a half marathon first.  He said that running long distance is all mental.  Your legs take you to a certain point and then it is all in your head.  He told me that I was mentally tough and that I could totally do it! That was just the encouragement I needed.  I signed up for my first race, the Salt Lake City half marathon (April 2007).  I printed out a basic training schedule and began.  I did most all of my training on the treadmill.  It was exciting as I added a mile to each long run I would run every Saturday. Besides recovery weeks, I was running a mile farther than I had EVER ran before.  For my final long run before the race, I decided to go down to the Jordan Parkway trail.  I didn't want to run it alone so Chad agreed to rollerblade it while I ran it.  About halfway through, Chad discovered that rollerblading 12 miles was a lot harder than he thought.  I ended up going ahead and  finished before him and then waited and waited and waited for him to roll in.  This would be the last time he would ever join me on a training run on roller blades. :)

Salt Lake City half marathon

Race day came!  I didn't sleep well at all the night before, getting about 2 hours in (this lack of sleep the night before a race day still plagues me today).   I was excited, anxious, and nervous.  My goal for this race was to keep a 10 minute/mile pace and to not walk.  The race started.  13.1 miles to the finish line.  I knew it was important to stay hydrated so at the first aid station I grabbed a cup from a volunteer of what I thought was water, but it ended up being Gatorade.  I tried to drink it without stopping to walk and soon realized I didn't have the technique down and ended up spilling Gatorade all over my face and down my shirt.  Sticky!!   I saw Chad a few times on the course cheering me on as I passed by.  He supports me in anything and everything I do!  As I ran, I felt pretty good and had a pretty good pace up until mile 10.  The last 5k was HARD!  I was running a lot faster than my training runs and my body was feeling it.  As I was pushing forward through the final miles, I saw the mile markers for the marathoners . . .23, 24, 25, 26.  I remember thinking to myself, I will NEVER run a marathon!  Those numbers will never be for me.  This half was challenging enough and even though I didn't have to walk, I was in pain. I

 was so excited to finish in  1:51:53.  A pace of 8:32 min/mile. 

After the race, I was talking with my sister, Angela, and I told her that I was glad that I ran it but I would NEVER run that far again!  After having a day to think about it, I started back into training the next Monday with thoughts of how I could improve my time.

West Valley City Tri

I jumped back into hard training too soon without giving time for my body to recover and ended up with an IT band injury.  I had to back off running for awhile, but it opened the door to triathlons.   Our neighbor and good friend, Chris, is a triathlete.  He shared the ins and outs of tris and I made the plan to start to incorporate cross training in my run training schedule.  Chad went out and bought me a starter out bike and then Angela and I started watching Youtube videos to teach us how to swim.  My first couple of training sessions in the pool felt more like I was drowning than swimming.  Eventually, I was able to swim far enough to be comfortable to sign up for my first sprint triathlon - West Valley City triathlon (August 2007).  After completing just one, I absolutely loved triathlons! 
In 2008, I would complete my first open water sprint tri (Salem) followed 2 weeks later with my first Olympic distance tri (Cache Valley).   I was having so much fun doing triathlons that's what I focused on.

Salem sprint

Cache Valley Olympic

In 2009, I was pregnant with my last baby, Lindsay.  I kept running, biking, and swimming while pregnant, but chose not to race.  After I had Lindsay (November 2009), I had another challenge in mind - the marathon!  I convinced Chad to sign up with me for the Utah Valley Marathon (June 2010).  We would take on 26.2 miles together!  As with any challenge I start, I include the Lord right from the beginning.  I knew that He would watch over me and as I relied on His strength I could accomplish anything.  It was tough getting back into training after having a baby, but it felt good to run again.    We had some ups and downs.  Some runs felt great while others were difficult.  Chad ended up getting shin splints, but with a little band work he soon was back to running without pain.  It came to the point in our training that we only had 3 long runs left until the marathon (18 miler, 20, 22).  Then it all fell apart.  We set off on our 18 miler and between mile 6-7 the outside of my left foot flared up.  I can usually run through pain, but the pain was so sharp that I was unable to run.  I could barely walk and was reduced to limping.  So with Chad's help, I limped about a mile back to our house.  I was mad at first.  I couldn't believe I got injured.  I had followed my training plan perfectly and was being careful to strengthen my muscles to prevent injury.  When we got home we jumped on our laptops to self diagnose the injury.  It wasn't looking good!

I asked Chad to give me a blessing in which he said that the Lord wanted me to be happy and that I would be able to run the marathon I had planned for.  This gave me some hope.  We talked to our neighbor, Dr. Seegmiller, who happened to be a podiatric surgeon and he said that it was probably peroneal tendinitis and that putting inserts in my shoes would solve the problem.  He told me to come see him on Monday.  Chad and I looked up peroneal tendinitis online.  It looked like weeks to months for recovery.  Very discouraging!  I only had 6 weeks until the marathon and I needed to get more long runs in to be ready.  I went in on Monday to see Dr. Seegmiller.  He confirmed that it was peroneal tendonitis and gave me inserts and a prescription for an anti inflammatory.  I was still limping.  I hesitantly asked him how long it would take until I could start training again.  "3-4 . . . .(please don't say weeks) . . . . .days."  Really!!!  3-4 days!  This was good news!  He said after this I could ease back into training.  I still hoped I had enough time to fit in enough training to be prepared.  So after 4 LONG days, I tried to run.  I made it only 1/2 mile before I was reduced to limping again.  Yikes!!  This was taking longer than I thought and I was running out of time.  I didn't think that I would recover fast enough to be ready for the marathon. I talked to Chad and convinced him that we should sign up for a different marathon in September.  I posted on the Utah Valley marathon Facebook page that our 2 spots were for sell.  It didn't take long before someone wanted to buy our spots.  I was about to respond when I had the thought, "oh ye of little faith."  I knew I had a blessing and it promised that I would be able to run in the marathon I had planned for, but I didn't think it was possible.  I didn't have enough time.  I kept having the same thought over and over, "oh ye of little faith."  I had to make a decision.  I decided to trust in the Lord and go forward with faith.  I replied back that the spots were no longer available.  2 weeks after hurting my foot I eased back into training.  I had to modify our training plan and cut out the long runs, but at least I could run and the pain was minimal.  I was going into race day not nearly as prepared as I would have liked to have been, but I was relying on the Lord.
 My original race plan, before the injury, was to break 4 hours and not have to walk  But I modified that plan to just make it to the finish.  After an hour of sleep, Chad and I woke up and got ready to board the bus at 3:45 a.m. to the starting line.  The race started at 5:45 a.m. and for the first 17 miles it poured down rain.  The rain killed my headphones to my i-Pod so I had to survive without my music. :(   Coming down the canyon, my IT band hurt and foot started to ache, but not to the point where I had to walk.  I kept telling myself to keep on going and at each mile marker I would think you never have to run this far again, just make it to the finish.  There were so many times during the race I asked my Father in Heaven for strength.  Lexi, Elise, and my brother, Jason, were cheering for us at mile 20.  It was so good to see them!  Chad and I ran the first 20 miles together and then he said that he needed to walk for a minute.  He told me to go ahead, and so I did.
The last 6.2 miles were the hardest.   Before the race, I was talking with one of my running friends, Shauna, who is an inspiration to me!  She told me that the first 20 miles you run with your legs and then the last 6.2  is all about what is in your heart.
I knew I needed to dig deep and give it all I had.  My thoughts were directed towards my family and the Lord to inspire me.  I ended up running the entire 26.2 miles without walking!  And I made my time goal - 3:56:21.   My faith was truly strengthened!  With the Lord all things are possible!  Even though I was ecstatic to finish, I remember telling Chad, as I hobbled up the stairs at our hotel, I will NEVER run a marathon again!  I told him if I ever wanted to sign up for a marathon again to remind me of the pain I was feeling right as this moment.

Ogden 2011

It took me a year before I would run another marathon and I only signed up because of my totally AWESOME friend, Heidi.  She was training for her first marathon and I decided to go along for the ride.  I loved training with her and to this day, I love to join her for a run.  My second marathon was Ogden (May 2011).  Ogden is a great course!  I had a good run and accomplished something I thought that I would NEVER be able to do.  I qualified for Boston!! 3:36:16.  At the end of the race, in my delirium, I told Chad that I would never be able to run that fast again!  I have come to realize that every time I have said NEVER it ends up meaning, yep it most likely will happen, just give it some time.

Love these girls!

Throughout the past few years, I have had the opportunity to take on new challenges and participate in a lot of fun races.  I love the experience that each new challenge brings.  You always remember your firsts and that holds true for my first Ironman - Expedition Man 140.6 in Lake Tahoe.  If you would have told me 5 years ago that I would complete an Iron distance triathlon, I would have laughed and said not a chance.  It is incredible what levels your body can achieve when you set your goals and back it up with training.  The best motivator to do a race is to sign up.  That is exactly what I did!  I chose Expedition Man because it was in beautiful Lake Tahoe and it fit perfectly into my racing schedule. Plus it was easier to get into than an Ironman sanctioned race and a heck of a lot cheaper!  It was the inaugural year for this race, so I expected things not to run perfectly smooth, but that was okay with me. 

A few days before the race I got a head cold that just would not go away. The night before the race I asked Chad and Chris for a blessing.  I woke up race day and still had the terrible head cold.  How was I going to survive the day?  I remember saying my morning prayers and I felt a reassurance that I would be able to make it.  Usually before races, I get nervous, but this morning I felt pretty calm.  The race started and the swim in Lake Tahoe was absolutely beautiful.  The swim seemed to go by pretty fast and I was feeling surprisingly good.

The bike portion of the race started in Lake Tahoe and ended in Reno.  It was a gorgeous climb out of Lake Tahoe, and then after the climb a screaming fast 10 mile descent.  After that it turned into a desert ride where sagebrush was the only scenery.  As the hours went on the temperatures rose and the winds picked up.  And because of my head cold my teeth began to ache and my head felt like it was going to explode.  I was pedaling away at mile 90 on the bike and began to feel despair and was starting to have a mental breakdown.  I felt miserable.  and I still had a marathon to run in 95 degree weather.  I was seriously beginning to doubt if I was going to finish the race.  At that moment I knew what I needed to do - I turned to my Father in Heaven in prayer.  The pain wasn't taken away, but immediately I was flooded with the thoughts, "You've got this! You can do this! I will watch over you. You will make it to the finish.  Hang on!" 

And with that I finished the bike and started on the run.  It was hot!!!  My friend, Chris, had already completed the full Aquabike and had an incredibly fast finish.  He ended up in the medical tent with an IV after he was done with his race - hot temps are hard on the body!  As I started the run I felt like I was in an oven.  The heat was radiating from off the ground.  I kept thinking, "one foot in front of the other."  Luckily, they had towels at the aid stations which you could dip in buckets of ice-water and then run with it around your neck.  Along the run course I found different people to run and talk with which helped keep my mind off the pain.  I made it through the first part of the run which was an out and back.  Then I started my 1st of 3 loops around the marina.  I hit mile 14 and my stomach became way upset and I couldn't bring myself to eat anything.  I knew I needed something, besides water, to keep going or I was going to bonk.  The aid stations on the second half of the run were well stocked with licorice, cookies, pizza, and gels.  They were supposed to be stocked with Heed, which I needed, but they didn't have any.  At that point I had to walk.  I would walk for a minute and then run for a minute.  I caught up to this one guy who was walk/running and decided to join him.  Having someone along on the journey made it easier.  After a few miles I saw my family and my friend, Daniele, who had some Gatorade. Both were a tender mercy!
I was able to down the Gatorade, which solved the sickness in the stomach and I was able to run again.  Running the final miles and then making the final turn to the finish line, my thoughts and heart were full of gratitude and love for my Father in Heaven.  On my own, there is no way I could finish, but with the Lord's help I could overcome things that seemed impossible.  Crossing the finish line was oh so sweet! 12:44:12.  First place female - it was a really, really small race. :)  Expedition Man video recap (thanks Chad!)

When I crossed I was spent.  My body was toast.  I was ready to down medication and be knocked out.  I looked over and saw the guy I had walked/ran with.  Ironically his name was Chad.  He still had another loop around the marina.  He was walking and looked defeated.  I ran out to him and asked him how he was doing.  He said that his legs kept cramping up and that he didn't know if he could finish.  I told him that he only had 1 loop left and that he could not give up now that he had come so far.  He said that he was dehydrated and was hurting pretty bad.  I showed him my finisher's medal around my neck and said, "You want this don't you."  He said yes.  I reminded him that his son and mom were waiting for him at the finish line.  "You can do this!  You don't want to have any regrets."  I told him that I would go out and finish the final loop with him.  He was shocked, "really?"  "Absolutely!"  He said that if I was willing to go out with him than he would not quit.  I said a quick prayer - please be with me for a few more miles.   My pain was set aside as I focused on helping Chad get to his finish line.  He was in a lot of pain.  He couldn't bend over and his feet were swollen so I loosened up his laces and retied his shoes for him.  I carried his water and towel and encouraged him along the way.  We would set goals along the course.  Just focus on making it to this point and then when we would reach that point and I would cheer, "woo hoo!" and then set up another point on the course to reach.  Eventually, Chad completed his final loop and made it across the finish line.  His finish was more emotional than my own.  That is a moment I will always remember. Chad's race report  The reason why I love running so much is that not only you can draw so many spiritual parallels from it, but that it is in of itself a spiritual experience. Sometimes hard things, trials, in life are not immediately taken from us, but we are given the strength to endure.  We need these things to refine us and make us stronger.  And then in turn, we can help others in their journey that have the same struggles as us.  As we lift one another, great is our joy! 

I have fallen in love with running!!!  Just putting on my running shoes brings a smile to my face. 

I am grateful for my aMAzing running friends and the people that I have met in the running community.  Everyone has a story of why they run.  They inspire me!  What started as an effort to get back into shape has transformed into something much more meaningful.  I do love the challenge running brings and the races I have been able to run, but running even goes beyond that.  Running has been a tender mercy and a blessing in my life.  I have my own struggles and trials in life.  Times of darkness and despair.  Times where I have felt that the heavens were closed and where I have felt all alone.  Times where I have felt weak.  Times where I have hated everything about myself and could not find purpose and meaning in my life.  Times where I have given all my effort to be happy but then ended up feeling like a complete failure when the darkness won't go away.  You never know what trials you will have to overcome in life; what trials you will have to endure.  Running has given me confidence in myself, the strength to press forward, and the will to live.  Running brings joy to my life and draws me closer to my Savior.  There are moments when I run that I listen for answers to my prayers; moments where I feel the Spirit and the Lord's love for me.  It's not up to me to decide when my finish line in life is, but it is up to me to rely on the Lord's grace to endure.  I am grateful everyday for the ability to run.  Running allows me to be who I truly am - crazy Soper - full of energy and life!  Running does wonders for the mind, body, and soul!   Mile by mile, one foot in front of the other, I'm not going to give up!  I'm going to run on!  :)