A 10 Year Recap

As I approached my 30th birthday, I have been reflecting a lot on the things of this past decade (and my whole life). Some people may get nervous about this "milestone", but thinking about what has transpired over the last 10 years has brought a smile to my face and helped me look forward to the next 10 years. Here are a few of my highlights:

Finished 2 year mission in Taiwan

Found and married my Eternal Companion

We have 2 beautiful children

Started and Finished Bachelor Degree in Finance

Graduated with an MBA

Landed my first full time job

Learned to Slalom ski

Began running for fun

Completed 3 half marathons, 2 Fish Lake Relays, 1 Ragnar (lots of 5ks and a 10k)

traveled to China

Thanks to all of you that have helped make my life amazing! I get a little emotional when I think about all the help I have received over the years in making this possible. My favorite memories are of those when I have been surrounded by family and friends. 

Non-typical Ab Workout

I have never been a big fan of ab work outs... but if it involves my children, I am in. You are in for a good laugh by watching this. Well, at least a smile. 

I guess ab workouts can be fun.

Back to the Basics

Yesterday I went on a 6 mile run. It was not about how fast or how far I ran. It was just a way for me to clear my mind. It felt fantastic. I can get lost in my thoughts and make sense of things - it is a way for me to evaluate where I am and where I want to be. It is one of the many reasons I love running.

Running is one of my outlets for the stresses that I am feeling and experiencing. My life only continues to get busier and more complicated with things that are required of me.

When I begin to feel overwhelmed due to responsibilities, feeling lost or wondering if I can get it all done, I have this "checklist" in my mind. What is my checklist? It is a list of "the basics" that help me to get back to... well me.

• Scripture time (daily)
• Personal prayers 
• time with my wife
• time with my children
• exercise (running or biking for me)
• service
• personal hobby

Another great thing about this list is if I ever feel out of balance or that something is wrong, I go back to these things and see what I am missing. One thing that I have realized is that when I spend quality time in each of these areas, I am at my happiest.

What are things that you do to get "back to the basics"?

Avoiding Injury

This post was originally written for Running Towards Home. (You should check out Josh's blog. Definitely an inspiring story.) I thought it would be appropriate to share it here on my blog.

When I began training for a marathon 2 years ago, I did it with my eyes closed. Not literally, obviously. In terms of my knowledge of running technique and knowledge of this wonderful sport, I did it with my eyes closed. The result? I started having pain in my knee. I tried to do too much too fast.

After multiple doctor visits, physical therapy and an MRI, I found that nothing was torn just "overuse" as they described it. Great, I just spent hundreds of dollars to be told "tough it out you panzy". It ended up being my IT Band.

I stopped running for a few months and took up other alternatives (swimming and biking that were much easier on the knees. I still do these on my alternate days to strengthen support muscles.) In the meantime, I talked to a few running friends who I consider to be more of an expert in this field. My desire was to learn how to "run the right way".

Here is what I learned:

1. Running form is not important it is ESSENTIAL When it comes to running form, my biggest pitfall was the heal strike. Avoiding landing on your heal. Landing more on the middle or front of your foot is better for you. Something that I was told to do is to take your shoes off and jog around. Where do your feet land? This is a great indicator of how you should run WITH your shoes on. When I started running again, I started small by only running a mile or two with this knew form. I had sore muscles, but no pain in my knee anymore.

Here is a video that shows proper running form.

2. Follow a training schedule  - I've been using Hal Higdon's training schedule www.halhigdon.com. It does not matter what level of running you are at, there is a training schedule that can help youl. It helps to increase mileage, but at a pace that your body can handle. There are also other great training schedules. Just google “Couch to 5k” if you are looking for something to get you off that couch and running.

3. Pay attention to how you feel (before, during and after a run) - When it comes to running listening to your body will help you develop into a great runner. Your body knows what you can and can’t handle. While you are running, evaluate how you feel. If you need to slow down or walk, do it. It’s okay. Pushing yourself too fast, will only increase your likelihood of injury.

4. Have fun. It is one of the best feelings to get out and run.  It is exhilarating.  I get to see amazing scenery and I’ve never been in better shape. I find joy during the run, but my wife finds the joyful part after the run. It doesn’t matter when you find “fun” during or after, as long as you get out and experience it.

Based on me implementing these four steps, I’ve been able to increase my mileage. I have completed three half marathons. Each time, I have shaved off at least 5 minutes per race. I’m now training again for a marathon and excited to complete it with no injury.

Massage out the Ache

When it comes to running (or other forms of exercise), sore muscles are often a result. At the suggestion of a close running friend, I purchased a "stick" that is used to roll out muscles.

The reason that I grown to love this more than the foam roller (I still use foam roller, but will discuss that in a later blog), is that it is small and can massage out just about every muscle group.

You can pick up one of these sticks (or similar product) at your local running store or purchase it online (like amazon). I picked mine up at Runners Corner in Orem. (I am in no way getting paid to mention them or this product)

Whether you are just starting out running, adding more miles, training for uphill or downhill, this type of stick will help you to recover quicker by rolling out your muscles. Pressure and tolerance is determined by you.

I was able to take this with me during the Ragnar Relay - Wasatch Back. It was more than helpful to have on hand in between my legs of the relay to keep my muscles from being to tight. I feel that this is one of the reasons that my recovery time was shortened immensely due to this.

Fish Lake Relay - Preview

I am really excited for the 3rd annual Fish Lake Relay. I have participated in the first two and have really enjoyed them both. In fact, I am super excited for this year. It truly has been a blast each time. I get to run and be with family and friends. It isn't quite as exhausting as Ragnar, but still just as fun. Our team name this year will be "Aches Over My Hammy". 

 One great thing about this race is that for 6 people the total is $225.00. I have looked into other relays and this price is a steal compared to others. Another positive is that it is definitely not as crowded. I'm a big fan of this. It truly allows for you to enjoy the scenery.

As of right now, I am scheduled to be runner #4. This is the same leg  that I did last year. I feel that this will give me a chance to improve on my time from last year.

Here are my assigned legs.

Here is a video from last year (I am at 35 seconds and 1:10). It shows you a little bit of the course.

Again, this is a fun relay. One that I enjoy, mostly because of the people that I run with and the other teams that also cheer us on.

The Asthmatic in Me

The Asthmatic in Me wants you to know know a little bit about my past.

When I was 4 years old, I was told that I had Asthma. It was not hard to miss by the many moments where I just could not get breath. Have you experienced this or do you know somebody that has? Well, it is literally one of the worst things to experience. When I was younger panic would set in and make it worse. For me asthma was both exercise and allergy induced.

For me, I grew up in this mentality that I could not run a long distance or ride my bike very fast without having to use an inhaler. (Do these look familiar to any of you? thanks to google images for providing this array of inhalers.)

It was just what I lived with. I even recall missing a lot of school to get tested for "this" or for "that". A kids dream right? Not for me. It was at a time in elementary school where they were taking field trip to cool places, and I got stuck in a doctor's office. When it came time to sports, I played baseball. I was that kid that could barely make it to second base without having an asthma attack take place. But I lived with it. I should add that thanks to the help of organizations like the American Lung Association, I learned to live with asthma.

In high school, I turned to tennis thinking that it wouldn't require too much in terms of "physical ability". I still had those episodes of not being able to breath even in tennis.

The main reason that I write this is to tell you there is hope. I spent two years (ages 19-21) in Taiwan, riding a bike as my main mode of transportation. During those two years of riding a bike, I stopped using my inhaler. It was difficult at times. I kept it around as a "just in case" scenario. I weened myself off of it. When I returned to the U.S., I no longer sought a doctor's prescription to refill my inhaler. This was big for me.

A few years after that I participated in a 5K. (I used the term participated because I did not complete it running.) My sister asked me to run a marathon with her and so I began my love affair with running. It was something that was difficult for me in the beginning because I could not go very far without being extremely sore or tired. However, it was not something that asthma stopped me from doing. My lungs and legs adjusted to the distance training.

Why do I still run to this day? It is exhilarating  It is fun. I love getting up and running before the sun comes up. It is something magnificent to see the night sky give way to morning light. There are times when I just stop in awe because of what I witness.

Please realize that I had dealt with Asthma for more than half of my life. I write this to help others realize that there is hope.  If you have not experienced Asthma, great. Consider yourself lucky. Now, I am not the fastest runner, I didn't run competitively in high school. I don't run competitively now. I run for fun. I participate in half marathons just because I can. I want to break my PR's to see my improvement, not to say I can run faster than another individual. (Because there are a lot of other people that can run faster than me.)

I hope you can avoid using excuses to not run (or participate in any form of exercise).

Ragnar - Wasatch Back

RAGNAR Recap

Are you ready for this?

I finished RAGNAR - Wasatch Back! I am a big fan of relay races. I've ran a few races since I started running a few years ago and relay's are definitely at the top of my list. When people ask me "How was Ragnar?", I want to prepare a presentation to show and explain everything about it, but I end up just showing my enthusiasm for the race in the sound of my voice and a quick reply "It was freakin' amazing!" It truly was. 

A few words to describe this event? Chocolate milk, muddy buddies, ready, unicorns, rainbows, gatorade, fig newton, uphill, downhill, sweaty, sleepless, hot, cold, shoes, medal, $100 t-shirt, dance parties.

What is ragnar? Here are some statistics about the race.

By the numbers... 
70,200 Safety Pins
18,000 (or so) Ragnarians
3,300+ Amazing Volunteers
3,000 Goodie Bags
1,500+ Cones
1,500 Teams
700+ Honey Buckets
198 Miles From Logan to Park City
130+ Staff and SWAT Volunteers that stayed up well over 24 hours to make it all happen
70 Police Officers working odd hours
22nd of June, 2013 - Official "Utah Ragnar Day"
21 Stations of Medics and/or Local EMS
10 Year Anniversary Event
6 The number of runners that make up and Ultra Team
3 Days
2 Relays
1 Crazy Awesome Experience

Now let me show you a few pictures depicting the course and the legs of the race that I covered.

Above - Course map

Below - My 1st Leg (I was runner 9). Dedicated to my son Kyden.  avg pace 8.04 m/mile

Above - Leg 21 - My 2nd leg and by far my favorite. Middle of the night serenity! Dedicated to my wife Kelli. She inspires me! Avg pace 9.32 m/mile 

Below - Leg 33 - 3rd and final run. Middle of the day. Blazing heat and insane uphill. Dedicated to Jennifer Hovinga and all of her family. Avg pace13.19 m/mile

Below - Picture from 3rd Leg. When I reached the end of this leg, I yelled as loud as I could because I had done it!

My team (Both van #1 and van #2 together)

This race was exhilarating. It was great to learn more about myself both physically and mentally. I am grateful that I was able to push myself farther than I have before. There were moments on the 3rd leg where I didn't think I was going to make it. To the gentleman that encouraged me halfway up the hill, I am grateful. His suggestions of "run 10 seconds then walk 10 seconds" is what helped me to finish. It doesn't necessarily matter how fast we finish, just that we finish what we started.

Now I have a ragnar medal, t-shirt and Ragnar 2013 window decal that I can hang in my car for the world to see :D

Thanks van #2 - Josh (+Joshua Snow Hansen) , Whitney (+Whitney Ulrich), Whitney F, Kaylynn (+Kaylynn Zoe Young), and Chris. Your words of encouragement also helped to keep me going. 

Here are a few more photos from the experience. Top - sleepy time. Middle - prepping for night run (yes those are my shorts that are drying). Bottom - pre race team photo with our cool shirts.