REX LEE RACES 2008 & 2009

So, I forgot to upload the pictures from the Rex Lee race last year, so I will do it along with this years photos. Last year, my family that resides in Utah came out to support me. My sisters Jonelle and Maren, along with my brother and his then girlfriend Leia (now wife), and grandparents waited in the stands for me to cross the finish line. My two little brothers, Trent and Eric, helped out from home by putting together a "pumping" playlist to help keep me motivated. The playlist consisted of:
1. "The Second Coming" by Juelz Santana & Just Blaze
2. "Anna Molly" by Incubus
3. "11h30" by Danger
4. "The Final Countdown" by Europe
5. "Seventeen Years" by Ratatat
6. "Remember the Name (Non-PA Version)" by Fort Minor (Featuring Styles of Beyond)
7. "Headstrong" by Trapt
8. "Rainy Monday" by Shiny Toy Guns

Here are some pictures from 2008:



The playlist was perfect and I used it for the first race completely and ended that one with a time of 28:03.

The second race I used most of it, but added "Stronger" by Kanye West into the mix.

Last year I ran the race by myself (5K) for my uncle Steve Hansen. This year, I ran for Steve again in the 5K and Paul ran the 10K trying to beat my last 10K (which he did, and he would've beat me in the 5K this year as well). It was a lot of fun, I could've pushed myself a little bit more, but all in all, I was only 1 minute slower than I was last year.

These are some fun pictures of Paul & I this year 2009. My time was 29:02, much better than I expected. Paul ran it in 51:04 which reached his goal of beating any of the 10K's I've run previously.

Racing Season

Its that time of year again and I need to get geared up for races coming up this summer. I need to figure out which ones I want to do now, so I can budget for them. Races can be somewhat expensive, but I enjoy them. If I could get better, then I could start making money off of them. I would really have to push myself, but it is possible. Anything is possible if you put your mind to it. The lottery for the St. George will be coming up in April. Maybe I'll make it in this year. :)

Running Partners

So, I decided I need something else to help me get out and running. I have solicited my sister-in-law to wake up early in the morning to meet me at the local indoor track and run at 6:15 am with me. Tomorrow will be the first of a number of mornings. I can no longer have any excuse. I NEED to push myself. I need to be my own personal trainer, and have a partner that will help me to be more on the ball.

More Dedicated

I have not been a very dedicated runner or blogger. I thought that if I had something to write down my pursuits, I would be able to accomplish my goals better. The problem is I never get on here to write! I will be better. I need to get my mile time down. I ran an easy mile last week and it was at about 9:50. After a whole winter of not working out, not horrible, but not great. I have to learn more about blogging and how I can keep track of my goals. I would also like to write down some good health tips that I learn, or how to run better. I thought that I would be better prepared for the Rex Lee run this year, but I don't know. Sixth grade teaching can soak up all of my time. I need to be more efficient there, so that I can pursue other worthy goals. I've even dropped playing the violin. I will be more dedicated from this point on. My roommate is a dedicated blogger, so I'll have her get on my case. I hope this will be a more exciting blog from now on. And it won't be just running, because a true runner has other pursuits and learns how to balance them all.
So as of right now, I am running a 9:50 minute mile. We'll see what happens after I run today. My next race will be the Rex Lee in Provo, UT. I haven't decided on the 5K or the 10K, but I'll know by the end of the day.

Resolutions

It seems the harder we try to do something, the harder it becomes to accomplish it. I don't know why, but since I started this blog, I had two car accidents (minor hits from behind), but enough to hurt my back so I could not run. Then I ran a 1/2 marathon that I did not prepare for as well as I should have and hurt my ankle for a few weeks. Then I started a new job as a sixth grade teacher and that has fully consumed my time.
I was talking to my dad a couple of weeks ago and he asked how my running was. I answered that I get out maybe once every 2 weeks, if lucky. Otherwise, once a month. Then he reminded me of something I read and related to him a year ago. It doesn't matter how long or how much you run every day, as long as you go out and do it. I remember reading an article that said you should try to run for at least 10 minutes a day, or however much time you can allow. I think the point is, once you get out there, you can determine whether or not you want to continue or stop at the allotted time you gave yourself. So, my new resolution is to not think about it so much, just do it.

At the Beginning

So, I decided to go to the BYU indoor track last night and time my mile (not pushing it). I came up with a time of 09:05:58 (mm:ss:msms). Definitely not my best. I think I could run a 7 minute mile in high school, but that of course was when I was on the soccer and volleyball team. However, I am not discouraged. I have a ways to go, but I have lots of resources and I am going to start using them more often. For now, I am just going to work on getting into the habit of running consistently. I am going to go running outside today, probably 2 miles. I need to get back into the swing of things gradually, or I will injure myself and damper my progress.

The Transformation of a Runner

I have been a runner all of my life, but the frequency of training has ranged from very good to very bad. Recently, I was talking to my Uncle Dave at our family's annual Easter Egg hunt about all the running that I had done in the past years.

• Rex Lee 5K Run four times (2002, 2003, 2007, 2008)
  
• Ragnar Wasatch Back Relay Race with some other crazy people (June 2007)
  
• Freedom Run 10K (07/04/07)
  
• Deseret Morning News Marathon (July 24, 2007)
  
• Spanish Fork half-marathon (09/08/07)
  

At the time I was just happy to complete all of these races, but it has instilled a desire to now work towards better times, better health, and overall a better life as I learn to set goals and reach them. I kind of joked with my uncle that it might be good for me to set up a blog site so that I would have to post my progress and be accountable to write up my runs.




I just ran the Rex Lee 5K for 2008 on March 15th. I wanted to beat my time last year, which I did (2007 - 28:39.53 vs. 2008 28:01), but it wasn't enough. I really want to run a 5K where I can win my division. In order to do that, I need to run a 5K in 20 minutes if not less. That means that I need to get my mile down to a 6 minute mile. I even had my brothers (age 14 & 16) put together a playlist of running songs that would help to motivate me. Even with that I was not able to reach my goal this year. I was really bummed, but I had to remember that I had bronchitis for 2 weeks beforehand and was not allowed to train properly. On the positive side I have next year and lots of other races to run in between to get ready for it.

I now have a goal to run the Boston Marathon someday, which means in order to qualify, I need to run a marathon in 3 hours and 40 minutes. My first marathon was run in 4 hours and 35 minutes. Not bad for a first time runner and very plausible to get my time down. I would also like to run a marathon/race in each state in the USA. I am signing up for at least 2 more marathons in the next year, St. George & the Sedona, AZ marathon (which I will run with my good friend Lachelle, her husband Rob and her father). Within that time I will look for 5K's, 10K's and half-marathons to help me train and keep up my training.

I am going to use this blog to write down my efforts and I hope that my friends and family will use it to give me pointers and encouragement throughout.

"When performance is measured, performance improves. When performance is measured and reported, the rate of improvement accelerates." -Elder Thomas S. Monson, Improvement Era, Dec. 1970,

This is only the beginning. . .