Too many running pictures?

...but i LOVE sharing them.

Actually, i am just not sure how i missed posting about my fourth half marathon. The weekend before Ragnar Napa Valley, (Sept 13th) i ran the Big Cottonwood Canyon half. It was freezing at the start line, and pretty hard to shed the layers up in the canyon at the race start.

The race was the biggest (except for Ragnar) that i have done and was beautifully organized. There were huge mile marker signs along the course, texts sent to my family members as i passed certain check points and photographers along the way snapping shots of the runners. 

The course was stunningly beautiful. The leaves were just starting to turn and the road was windy and interesting. 

yeah...i ran that

i finished the first 10 miles with a 8:50 min/mile pace. My last 3 miles slowed down a bit and i averaged 9:01 min/mile. Coming in at the finish, i was pushing so hard and fast that i felt like my feet weren't even hitting the ground anymore. And then i saw this picture and realized that they weren't! ;)

Home stretch

i got my best time ever.

i also wanted to share one of my favorite pictures of myself of all time. The Ragnar crew snapped it of me when i was on my last mile of my last leg of Ragnar Napa Valley. i was running on sheer will-power at that point. 

i love this shot because i had no idea that my picture was being taken. i was tired but i knew how close i was to finishing. i had never pushed myself so hard in my life and even though i thought at some points during the run that i wouldn't make it, when they took this shot, i knew i was going to conquer. For me it captures the essence of me, the reason that i run and puts an image with these words:

"Running strips life back to the bare essentials. When we challenge ourselves, it breaks down barriers. It brings us back to our essence and peels away the layers of ego we surround ourselves with. Emotions flow freely, the struggle is obvious, and most of the competition is with yourself." -Granak Cunningham

Things to Do when you are sad in October

* Listen to Halloween music (today it's the "Corpse Bride" soundtrack)
* Eat a honey crisp apple
* Hang lights around the house--all orange and purple
* Wear a big soft sweater (i feel like i'm wearing a hug)
* Buy a pumpkin
* Cry
* Sleep in a pile of blankets
* Drink hot chocolate
* Snuggle with a kitty
* Visit the library
* Walk (or run) down a tree-lined street
* Brew some coffee and breath deep
* Watch an "October" musical (yesterday it was "Phantom of the Opera")

i was very sad the last few days and did ALL of those things.

They help :)

It's finally here!

Yesterday October started. The leaves are barely starting to change and pumpkins are starting to decorate people's porches. For me it was a day full of leggings and boots, hot chocolate, hot bubble baths, windows open with the cold filling the house, and snuggling into bed with an Autumn book. 

Plus, for the first time in my life, i started October with a nice 10 mile run. i want to get in as many crisp outdoor miles as i can before i end up on the indoor track.

Tonight will bring tomato soup and grilled cheese, Halloween decorations and another 8 miles.

i love you, October.

Running through the Fall

i know it's not October yet, but yesterday was the first day of Autumn. My favorite season. It's still a little warm here (although we have had a day or two where i wore leggings and drank hot chocolate) but i know the fall will be over all too soon.

"Fall has always been my favorite season. The time when everything bursts with its last beauty, as if nature had been saving up all year for the grand finale." -Lauren DeStefano


i had one last summer race before Autumn arrived. And it was a big one. My second Ragnar of the year.

Ragnar Napa Valley: From San Fransisco to Calistoga. 205 mile relay race. i only knew one person on the team and she ended up in the other van, so it was an adventure and a perfect opportunity to make some brand new friends.

i got all "dolled up" for the race.

After driving all day on Thursday and sleeping for about 5 hours in a hotel that night, my team met up at the start line in San Fransisco to send off runner #1.

i was in van #2 which means that we had about 6 hours to wait until we sent our runner off. It also meant that my first leg was in the blazing heat of the afternoon. i got to run 6.6 miles up a very long hill with no shade and no way for my van to stop and assist me. i was sweaty and overheated, but happy to be out and running.

By the time our last runner finished, the sun was setting and we decided to try to get some sleep before our legs in the middle of the night. We pushed all the seats down in the van and thought we would all be able to sleep on the floor. It wasn't the most comfortable and all of us slept except for most of us. i don't think i even got 30 mins of rest.

After not sleeping, our van took over the middle of the night shifts. My second leg started around 3am. i wish i had gotten some sort of photo documentation, but i was honestly too tired to think about it. It was a stunning run. i ran 8.3 miles through a heavy fog. It was dark and the roads were deserted. The leg started in Santa Rosa and ran out into the country. Even though i could see very little, my head lamp illuminated the way enough that i could tell i was running down tree lined lanes with vines dripping down into the road. When i finished, i was soaked to the bone and unable to tell what was sweat and what was dampness from the humid humid air.

Once our final runner finished, we were all struggling to keep our eyes open (and some runners had completely given up). The last runner finished as the sun rose and we knew we had to sleep before the third round of legs. So we found a field at our next exchange point where many other Ragnarians were spread out sleeping. i never thought that i would be so happy to plop my sleeping down in the middle of the dirt. i got about 2 stunningly beautiful hours of sleep.

My third leg was brutal. It started at 2 in the afternoon. There was a 100 degree heat index. i was running through the rolling vineyards of Napa Valley which offered very little shade. And once again, because of the course, my van was unable to support me. It is one thing to run 11.4 miles, but quite another to do it in the heat of a California day with only 16 ounces of water, after very little sleep and having already run so many miles. My van passed me when i was about 2 miles in and i hollered at them to chuck me a water bottle to dump over my head. i was already burning up. But the landscape was absolutely stunning and the other runners on the road were so supportive. They helped keep me going.

 

i have never been as happy to see a sign in my life

When i reached the exchange and sent off the next runner, i started to cry. i had never had a more physically demanding task in my life. i was so overcome that i had finished and so grateful and so emotionally and physically exhausted. Ragnar volunteers handed each runner finishing that leg a present. It was a sweat band with embroidery that said "Ragnar Napa Valley. Leg 34- 11.4 miles. Eternal Glory!" Maybe it was just a little thing, but i was so grateful that they acknowledged how hard that last run really was.

After running 26.3 miles in about 26 hours

Our team of pretty amateur runners didn't do so bad! We finished in 35:08:15.7 In other words, 35 hours, 8 minutes and 15.7 seconds.

We pretty much felt like rockstars

When i finished i was trying to figure out why the races aren't getting easier! i mean, i'm running so many miles and yet every time i compete, i feel like it's the hardest thing i've done! Then i realized it's because i keep pushing myself. Faster, longer, harder in each race. i am getting stronger. And the training continues. 

i don't have a race in October because MONEY, but i am looking forward to some LONG Autumn runs through my cool and flat Idaho.

Run Jennifer Run

Well, friends. i have run 161 miles this month. "I run because somehow exhausting myself is the most relaxing part of my day."

i have also competed in 4 races over the last 3 months.

Here is a photo journey of my races:

RAGNAR (end of June)

This is a 200 mile race (from Logan, UT to Park City, UT) over the mountains. There are 12 runners and two vans per team. Two days and one night...always with someone on the move. Each runner completes three legs. There is something completely insane about Ragnar and i instantly fell in love. i had convinced my boss to sponsor a team which means we rode around in style. Our team finished in 34 hours and 40 minutes.

With my co-captain

My van at the start line

Our sweet ride

After finishing my three legs

Our whole team at the end!

Swag

COLOR RUN (beginning of July)

After such an intense race, a 5k was perfect for my next event. Not only that, but my guy was able to run it with me! He has been dealing with IT band problems so running longer distances at the moment is not possible. Plus, getting plastered with color was so much fun.

At the start line

At the finish line

Before and after

Colorful Pavement

R.A.T. RELAY (end of July)

One of my teammates from Ragnar contacted me about this race last minute. It was a relay from Mesa Falls to Rexburg. The best part is that it was Run And Turn (runners AND bikers). Each member had two legs, alternating between a runner and a biker. Since my guy is first and foremost a biker (road and mountain) he was stoked to be able to compete again with me....with each of us doing what we love most. The race was around 80 miles long. We finished in about 4 hours and 25 minutes.

My guy crossing some gorgeous country

He is happy to be competing!

Starting the team off with a trail run

Finished!

Two bikers and me

Long, hard, beautiful race

TOP OF UTAH HALF MARATHON (end of August)

i was so excited for this race. Since i had been building up miles all month, only running 13 on a Saturday was a nice break for me. Except i pushed myself SO HARD. i have never felt so empowered on a run before. i didn't once feel the need to stop, rest, walk or slow down. My phone battery was almost dead when i started, so i ran the first 10 miles in silence. When i hit mile 10, i pushed play and felt a SURGE of energy rush through me as the music blared. So, i picked up the pace. When i hit mile 12 i realized that i would still be able to keep running after i crossed the finish line...so i picked up the pace even more. About a half a mile from the end, i could see the finishers arch....so i started to sprint. And that is how i crossed the finish line...running as hard as i could, grinning from ear to ear, music blasting in my ears and full of fire. 

i finished in 2hours3mins35secs.

More race swag

  "I always loved running...it was something you could do by yourself, and under your own power. You could go in any direction, fast or slow as you wanted, fighting the wind if you felt like it, seeking out new sights just on the strength of your feet and the courage of your lungs." -Jesse Owens

Celebrations

i like celebrating other people's birthdays because i am so happy that they were born and i love letting them know this.

Yesterday was my birthday. My friends, coworkers and family made me feel so very loved.
 
Nothing really huge happened, either. It was the little things that made the day so nice: coming to work to find my office decorated, employees who brought in sweets, a package from my mom, lunch with my coworkers, my guy taking the day off to come all the way up from Utah just to hang out with me for a day, friends from different areas of my life coming together for ice cream, calls from my family, dinner left in my fridge from my lovely neighbor, texts from old and far away friends, being serenaded by my brother, and a silly plastic crown to announce that it was my birthday. And, oh my, there were so many smiles and laughs and hugs.

i guess this post really is to say two things:

1- i have the best people in my life.
2- Today i am happy i was born too.

Introspective

This post has been knocking around in my brain for about a month now and it's time to solidify the thoughts in published words. i have continued to hesitate posting, for one, because this topic leaves me very vulnerable. It is something that i struggle with and always have. i would like to think that i will overcome my insecurities (after all, i know all the right answers) but internalizing truth and eliminating my faulty core beliefs proves to be a difficult task. i know that i am far from the only person to struggle with this, but i can only speak from my personal experience.

i don't like my body. When i look at it, all i see are my faults. i think "if i can just lose x amount of pounds" or "if i was one cup size bigger" or "if i could tan just a little more" or "if my hair was a little more red or a little longer" THEN i would be happy.

i know that's not true. i KNOW. But believing it? That's the hard part.

Here is the thing...i have always struggled with body image (don't most people?) and some of the trauma that i have experienced solidified in my soul the belief that if i don't look a certain way, i won't be loved. Every time my spouse acted out, i believed somewhere inside that it was because i wasn't good enough or sexy enough or beautiful enough. i craved for the compliments from those around me...and especially from my significant other.

Now i know it didn't have to do with me. But it wasn't until recently that i realized i still believe that it did. That it was somehow and on some level my fault. Also, that the compliments of others won't help me with my self worth. Unless i feel good about myself, i will minimize any compliments i receive. And if i do feel good about myself (real, true, deep worth) it is not going to come from compliments.

A friend that i have been hanging out with since about March asked me the other day "How many dress sizes have you dropped since i met you?" i was shocked! That SAME DAY i had looked in the mirror and thought "When did i get so chunky? i have never been bigger."

Sometimes i am able to detach my worth from my physical appearance. But when that happens, i usually automatically attach it to something else: my ability to run, finishing a big work project, or having a beautifully clean home.

As a divorced person, i also go through periods of thinking that i am lesser because i do not have a happy marriage and beautiful littles. Or i swing the other way and see these amazing divorced women who are going back to school for higher degrees, living all over the world as volunteers, starting their own business or charities and touching thousands of peoples lives. i feel lesser because i do not have those goals....that my desire is just to be me...just a little bit better. And somewhere along the way i have lost the feeling that it's ok to just be me.

In my definition, true self worth would be to look in the mirror and be able to accept myself...just as i am. Whether i'm 5 pounds heavier or two dress sizes smaller. Whether i ran a marathon or whether i took a week break from getting any miles. Whether i am wearing makeup or not. Whether i am almost 30 or whether someone tells me that they don't believe i am any older than 23. Whether i have 3 children or whether i am single. Whether i am traveling all over the world, or whether i stay right here in Idaho. Inside and out, i want to be able to accept who i am and know that i am beautiful. That is my worth.

So here is the question....WHERE DOES SELF WORTH COME FROM?

And that is what i am working on. My sponsor and my therapist have given me some assignments: Every night i am on my knees pleading with my Higher Power for the ability to see myself as He sees me. Every time i look into a mirror i say "You are beautiful." Every night i stand in front of a full length mirror and look at myself and thank my body for what it does for me and tell myself that i deserve someone who loves me for everything that is in the mirror and everything that is inside me. (That someone is not ONLY a significant other...but also MYSELF).

i am also changing one of my 30 before 30 goals. Number 18 said: "Get down to 125 pounds." It will now read "Accept myself no matter what my weight is." That is healthy. It will also help me to reach #30 "Learn how to take a compliment" because once i can accept myself, there will be no need for me to minimize or put too much stock into what others say to me.

In order to succeed, i not only am disposing of my bathroom scale, i have pulled myself off Instagram. i recognize that social media for me is poison. i do not deny that it can be used for good and sometimes i miss staying in touch with others, but i find that it is too hard for me not to compare myself to others. The comparison is toxic and therefore, at least for now, Instagram will be like Facebook to me--nonexistent.

This is not me digging for compliments. This is not me saying that i can't (or don't want to improve). This is just some emotional honesty and a whole lot of vulnerability.