First Race of '11!

A favorite race of mine is the Frozen Hog. It's held at Lambert Park in Alpine and over the years the conditions have ranged from 1 foot of fresh snow TO snow that's melted and turned into puddles therefore being frozen on race morning TO 8 inches of mud. You never really know what you're going to get with this race you just know that it's going to be a blast! I always plan on racing it, but this year I checked the starting list the week of the race and there was like 1 or 2 girls signed up (and I didn't know either of them and they weren't going to be racing in my category). I don't want to go pay money to race myself so I still hadn't signed up the day before the race.

Picture of me at Frozen Hog in '06

Frozen Hog '07

Frozen Hog '10

On Wednesday I met Bobby down at the Orem Rec Center to run on the track with him. We had decided early in the week that we would do sprints. The boys from Telos were also there working out. So after warming up for 4.5 miles we lined up to start our sprints. It was me, Bobby, and a couple Telos boys. They said go, I looked up from starting my watch and saw they were already halfway down the straightaway. I was floored and knew I could do better than that! I also knew that I couldn't let all these boys outrun me. We walked the corners and lined up to do the next straightaway. Same thing: Ready, Set, Go! I look up and they're halfway down.  We did this 16 times and I do have to say for myself that I started beating them around number 10 sprint ;) I was soooo sore the next day I walked like I had an accident in my pants and needed a change. It was bad. I rode the trainer for an hour and a half Thursday, thinking it would help loosen me up. Nope! It actually added to my soreness. So Friday night about 10pm I decided I would go do my husbands race (10k) that his work puts on rather than the Frozen Hog. I'm still not able to walk normal and obviously I'm not thinking normal because who wants to go do a 10k in the dead of winter with hip flexors and inner thighs that hurts if you look at them wrong??
Saturday I wake up still sore as can be, run on the treadmill for 20 minutes and head down to Orem for the race. I started out really slow because 10k's HURT and I'm not going for a record time after taking 3 months off from running not to mention it's JANUARY, plus my legs killed. Excuses excuses I know :). I was actually the first lady 10k'er for the first 1.5 miles. After one lady passed me I stayed in 2nd until mile 4 at which point I was passed. So I'm sitting in third and as soon as the course went up a longish steep hill (from Geneva Rd in Orem up 400 North. It's steep!) I passed her back and picked up my pace because 2nd is better than 3rd ;) I finished in 2nd, despite a slow time for me. It felt soooo good to race again and I am just so thankful that I'm able to train again let-alone race.