When Hale Freezes Over

This past Saturday I skipped out on my team run to attend my very first race. Put on by the Hale Center Theater in Orem, the 5k began at the theater and dipped down to Geneva Road, looping back up to the Hale. And because it was just a 5k, I had so much fun running it.

Training with my team, we've made it up to about 8 miles now. So, the 5k was pretty easy for me to run. Though, I wasn't anticipating the huge, long hill that brought us from Geneva back up to the theater. I was hoping for a PR but I didn't take that hill into account. It slowed me down quite a bit. Still, I ended up finishing right smack dab in the middle for my age group and about the same overall. I placed 14th out of 28 for my age division and then 47th out of 86 overall.

I really wasn't looking to be competitive. I just wanted to have fun. And since it was super chill and super stress free, I had a great time. And it was fun to have my family there at the finish line, holding signs and cheering me on. It warmed my heart :)

To celebrate my first run, we went up to Sundance with some friends to go boarding. HOLY CRAP! Running the race was SOOOOOO much easier than snowboarding! While riding, I'd have to sit every few minutes or so because my quads were burning! And poor Ryan and the rest of my friends, they had to keep stopping and waiting up for me because I was so slow! Never mind the fact that I almost pummeled a couple of them trying to get off the ski lift!

For the record, I used to be pretty dang good at boarding. My Freshman year at BYU, I actually took snowboarding classes as part of my wellness requirements. My teachers were great and I actually learned how to 180. In fact, I loved snowboarding so much and got so good at it, that I ended up doing nothing but riding my entire Sophomore year...aaaaaaaaaand that's when I failed my classes and lost my scholarships for the semester. (Don't worry. That very next semester, I worked crazy hard and got my scholarships back. Phew!)

But, a few years later, I tore my ACL and had surgery that kept me off my knee for one whole season. The following season, I was pregnato. Finally, last year, I got myself back on the mountain, but only about twice. So this season, I thought it was finally time to jump back into it. Well, my bank account and quads disagree.

Sorry to my husband and friends for complaining. I don't know what happened to me. I used to be good! I promise! Now after having a baby and almost killing myself in rugby and while longboarding, I'm a big fat baby. Though, I'm sure my family would disagree and say that I've ALWAYS been a big fat baby. They're right. I'm drama.

Regardless, I did have fun on the mountain. Though I complained a lot and my legs felt like they were on fire, I was happy to get back on a board. I bet if I went a couple more times I'd get back into the swing of things. Maybe I just won't try snowboading again after I've just run a race. I probably need to let my body recover in between physically demanding activities.