Memories for a Lifetime!

Adding to Tiffany's post below~ Thank you to all my fellow Lifetime Ladies for making this such an amazing and rewarding experience! I had such a blast at RAGNAR!!! It has been so fun getting to know each of you better throughout our training, meetings, and racing. What a rush! I will cherish this memory for many years to come! Who had any idea that 'running, driving, sleeping, and repeating' would be so incredible?!

Stay tuned for pictures and video clips... :)

~Brandy

WE DID IT!!!

WE DID IT!!!!!

GREAT JOB EVERYONE! IT WAS SOO MUCH FUN AND I AM SO PROUD OF US! I WOULD LIKE TO ESPECIALLY THANK THOSE WHO STEPPED UP AT THE LAST MINUTE. WE WOULDN'T HAVE FINISHED WITHOUT YOU!!!!

~THANK YOU LIFETIME LADIES~

TIFFANY

DetermiNation Welcome Package!

Who else received their DetermiNation welcome package in the mail this weekend?!! :) It came with this running shirt (the cut's similar to our pink Lifetime Ladies shirt)...

And this welcome packet.

How exciting! Thanks for setting all this up Tiff and thanks to all those that have participated! It really has been exciting to watch us meet and exceed our fundraising goals. And it is so fulfulling to know we're doing this for a greater cause that touches each of us in some way. If you haven't signed up yet, remember there's still time!

~Brandy

Exactly A Week to Go!

A week from NOW we'll be ringing in the Wasatch Back!

Go Lifetime Ladies!!


~Brandy

It's Almost Here!

Today was our last team run before the week of Ragnar!

It was at the infamous 'Big Dip' in East Layton.


These Lifetime Ladies pushed through like troopers!

I really missed running with you guys!

And I had so much fun with all you gals at our meeting tonight! What a fun group we have! I think my abs actually hurt from laughing so hard! :)

Congrats Jillian and Melanie on kickin' Trappers trash this morning! And thanks Shaylee for taking pics! We should totally post them!

Let's all just keep our legs warm over the next week and go show Ragnar what we're made of!

~ Brandy

Where Has The Time Gone?

2 more team runs until the week of Ragnar! Ahhhhh!!!!!!

Thanks ladies! It was nice to get yet another run out of the way! It's so much better running as a team than running alone! We loved having ya Krista and we're glad to have you back Sharon! :)

~Brandy

I trained on my first leg!

It was a good running weekend! I started off by running Friday just before dinner and first thing Saturday morning to get a little taste of 2 runs in 24 hours. These times are within a few hours of when I anticipate I'll be running my Ragnar legs so I thought it was a pretty good test. It wasn't quite as bad as I thought it would be, but I did get a good night sleep in my own bed for training and I didn't run quite as far as my first and second legs so I could save some energy for Monday. :) This weekend I'm going to train for my 3 runs in 36 hours.

Today I went and trained on my first leg up Old Snow Basin Road. Wow, is all I have to say! I really under estimated how difficult it would be. I think it was harder mentally than physically! I couldn't tell what was coming up after each switch-back I was on and I was worried I wouldn't pace myself and would run out of fuel. It actually looked a lot scarier and much longer driving it than running it, so I think I kinda psyched myself out. I'm not gonna lie~ I had to walk parts of it. But I was so glad I got a chance to get up there and do it! And I know I can only improve now that I've run the course!


Though I was really disappointed I had to stop and walk parts of it, I actually beat the time the Ragnar Pace calculator predicted for this leg by 25 seconds based on my average time we put in when we were estimating what times our runs would be! My goal is to train on this course once more before Ragnar and shave off another couple minutes (even a minute would be nice) by the actual race.

Here are some pictures of our drive back down after my run, so every downhill you see was actually an uphill on the run. (I swear the pictures don't do it justice). lol!

The views were gorgeous!

I can only pray it's nice and overcast like this during Ragnar! :) These pictures actually look quite a bit darker because they were taken through our slightly tinted front window.

How did this weekend go for everyone else? I would love to hear from others! Post! Post! Post! :) I think it's good motivation and pumps everyone up to see what everyone's up to. :)

~Brandy

Thursday Run

4 more team runs until the week of Ragnar!

It was weird not to have a team run on Thursday. Hopefully things calm down next week and we can all run together again.

Thanks Kellie and Lisa for taking a picture of your run on Thursday so we can continue the countdown with pictures.

And I just have to say~ I hate running in the evening this time of year when I'm hungry and I can smell everyone barbecuing! LOL!

~Brandy

The Countdown Continues!

5 more team runs until the week of Ragnar!

Thanks gals! Gentile was a fun run and it was nice to sit around and chat for a bit afterwards!

Get feeling better Shaylee! It really was motivating to see you sick and still running!

We'd love to have more teammates join one of the next runs. I know life gets crazy and it's hard to all meet up on the same days, but if you can make it, it really is fun company and we don't have much time left to train together!

~Energy and persistence conquer all things~ Benjamin Franklin

Go Lifetime Ladies!!

The Countdown Begins!

6 more team runs until the week of Ragnar!

(Sorry we didn't get pictures before you left Mandy! If we were more computer savvy we'd photo shop you in).

We want to try out Gentile on Tuesday. It's a 4 mile run with a gradual incline the first half and we'll turn back for a gradual decline the second half. Who's game?...

Training~ Rain or Shine!

Happy 1 month 'til Ragnar!

Here are some pics of our East Layton hill runs! It was nice to get a run in tonight, even if it was raining! There's not a lot of time left for training. Ahhhhh!!!

Our goal is to make it up all these hills without walking in the next 7 runs before Ragnar.

We are what we repeatedly do. Excellence, therefore, is not an act but a habit.~ Aristotle

Go Lifetime Ladies!!



~Brandy

Ogden Marathon Relay Pics

Sean and Melanie invited me to join their Ogden Marathon relay team for the race last Saturday since Sean's wife wasn't able to make it. Thanks guys! A couple from their neighborhood (Ryan and Becky) was on the team as well.

We had a great time and it was neat to get a relay race under our belts.

Here's the whole gang!


Here are some shots of the runners in the canyon.

The exchange.

And what it looked like while we were waiting for our runners to take the hand off.

This got us even more excited for Ragnar! We're gonna have such a great time gals! :)

~Brandy

Clinton 5k!

Here are some pics from the Larry H. Miller Clinton 5k!



It was neat to run for a good cause. Over $3k was raised for the American Diabetes Association.

~Brandy

East Layton Hills!!

Lisa, Shawna, and I have trained on the East Layton hills a couple times this week. I like running with friends so much more than running by myself! It's fun, time goes by faster, and it's harder to make an excuse to skip out on a run. This is the course we ran tonight! We started up at 89 and ran (we ran almost all of it with very minimal speed walking) to the top of the Antelope dip and back. We finished 4 miles in just over 45 minutes! Next week we'll do it in reverse order. Some of the guys are running this course to prepare for Ragnar. If this doesn't get us in gear I don't know what will! We would love to have more teammates join us next week. Go Lifetime Ladies!!

******Goals are the fuel in the furnace of achievement. - Brian Tracy******

~Brandy

A Few Tips to Share...

I wanted to share a few things I've learned that might help some of you gals as well. :)


Co-Op

Since we've all been trying to eat a little healthier... Here's something that's really helped me...

We've been part of a produce co-op for almost a year now. I LOVE it! Every other Monday we get a big laundry basket full of produce for $22. Above is a picture of what we got on Monday. There's a little something different in it each week, but it always has the same staple items. This week we got lettuce, potatoes, asparagus, celery, zucchini, broccoli, cauliflower, baby carrots, bananas, apples, pears, oranges, grapefruit, and green and red grapes. A lot of times we'll get pineapple, onions, green onions, tomatoes, avocados, cucumbers, cabbage, squash, strawberries, etc. It just depends on the season and what's cheap that week.

Fresh produce seems so expensive to me at the store. I wouldn't get half this much for $22. And I've found that when I have it at home already, I find ways to use it. I puree a lot of our fresh veggies in our food processor so my kids don't even know they're in our meals (our 2 year old has hit the picky stage). I love to be able to grab a fresh fruit to have with my breakfast and a fresh veggie to have with my lunch. I'm able to freeze most of the items I don't use before the next co-op delivery.

Our co-op doesn't have any openings right now, but Bountiful Baskets at http://www.bountifulbaskets.org/ does if anyone's interested.


Good Protein Foods

Here are some of my fave foods to help us get more protein on workout days...

Protein Crunch plain cereal (1/2 cup) 26 g
Chocolate Milk (8 oz) 4-8 g
Boiled Egg 6.3 g
Cheddar Cheese (1 oz) 7.1 g
Cottage Cheese ( 2% fat, 1/2 cup) 15.5 g
Mozzarella Cheese (part skim, 1 oz) 6.9 g
Swiss Cheese (1 oz) 8.1 g
Milk (skim, 1 cup) 8.4 g
Dannon Flavored Yogurt (8 oz) 11 g
Baked Cod (6 oz) 38.8 g
Baked Halibut (6 oz) 45.4 g
*White Tuna canned in water (6 oz) 40.2 g
Cooked Shrimp (6 oz) 35.6 g
Cooked Beef (6 oz) 33-54 g depending on type
Ham (6 oz) 28.2 g
Pork (6 oz) 37-50 g depending on type
Chicken (6 oz) 41-50 g depending on type
Almonds (whole roasted, 24) 6.1 g
Peanuts (2 T) 7.7 g
Black Beans (1/2 cup) 7.6 g
Canned Chili Con Carne w/Beans (1/2 cup) 11.6 g

*Fresh Market is having a case lot sale this week and you can get tuna for 39 cents a can! A case of 48 is $18.92.


Stretching

I've learned it's best to warm your muscles up for 5 to 10 minutes before stretching before your run so there's more elasticity in them. This can be done by walking or jogging, placing your feet/legs in warm water, or putting a heating pad over your feet/legs. After you're done running and stretching it's a good idea to ice for 5-15 minutes. I've been told to especially concentrate on warming up your muscles in the morning and icing them in the evening.


Happy Running! Go Team!! :)

~Brandy

Lifetime Ladies Update!

I am sad to say but, due to some injuries and an unexpected expecting mother, we are down a few girls for the Wasatch Back. Although they won't be running, Sinahi, Tressa, and Jo are still going to be our group of cheerleaders! We are going to hold you to it girls... we're definitely going to need ya. So, Sinahi... CONGRATULATIONS and to the others, GET WELL SOON!

~Shay

Lifetime Ladies VS. Striders 10k

Well the team has finally participated in an official race together! This last Saturday we all ran in the Striders 10k and EVERYONE did so well. Way to go ladies, I am so excited that we finally have a race under our belts and we can continue to move forward. Here are a few fun pictures before the race...

It was so much fun to have the whole Lifetime gang together, including the guys that ran. They've been really supportive throughout this whole process so to actually run in the same race was really fun. Even though they finished before the rest of us, they stayed to cheer us on at the finish line. Even Coach Craig showed up to show us all some love!

I am so proud of everyone that showed up and finished the race, it was a real eye opener for what we have ahead of us. Now that we know what the course will be like let's get training to do it all over again in 5 weeks, this time just FASTER :) Congrats to everyone!

~Shay

Here's to a New Year!

So, first let me start saying that EVERYONE should have a New Years resolution to blog at least once before Ragnar! Way to go Brandy!

I have finally realized how set back I am with this whole training schedule for Ragnar. So, I decided to start on January 1st! What better time than day one of the new year? I wasn't sure how I'd do since I hadn't run in quite sometime so I didn't set a goal, I just ran until I was tired. To my surprise, by the time I got home I had run just over 3 miles! Now that doesn't sound like it's very far but I was shocked that I made it that far before dying.

To be honest, it wasn't the running that did me in, it was the air! I was having such a hard time breathing and it was because the air was just so dirty. Those are the days that I need to be running on the treadmill. I went out again for another 3 miles this morning and it was a little better outside. Hopefully I'll be able to balance out my indoor and outdoor training so it doesn't kick my butt. Hope you all are doing well, keep us posted!

~Shay

Happy New Year Gals!

If your holidays were anything like mine they were very sweet! I don't even want to know how many calories I've consumed over the last few weeks. Now I remember why I don't bake very often. Because then I eat it! LOL!! I can definitely feel a change in my body with eating more (a lot more) sweets and running less. It's motivated me even more to kick my running up a notch starting today. And that's just what I did! It felt GREAT to run a little faster and a little farther than I have been. One of my New Year's Resolutions is to do that every week up to the point I need to be for Ragnar! I always feel so good after running!

Remember~ 'The future depends on what we do in the present'- Ghandi

Go Team!!

~Brandy