two-thirds distance... starts now

Tomorrow some of us are doing our 17 miler...  This is huge!  Huge I tell ya.  Here is what Hal has to say about it:

Run Long:  Seventeen miles! That's two-thirds of the distance you'll run in the marathon, and most coaches agree that this is where the true training benefits start to kick in.  Now you are teaching your body to burn fat and conserve glycogen.  Now you are learning the discipline you need for running 26 miles.  During this training program, I'll ask you to run four long runs at this two-thirds distance and beyond.  (These longest long runs come in weeks 10, 11, 13, and 15)  They are very very important.  By now, you should have begun to adapt to the rhythm of these long runs.  don't do them too fast.  Take walking breaks if necessary.  Drink plenty of water.  Yes, you have the right to finish a 17-miler feeling tired, but you should not finish exhausted.  Running steady pace will get you to the finish line on time. 

This is from my my Hal Higdon's Marathon Novice 2 app. 
 I'm trying to focus on eating good for energy tomorrow.  So mostly trying to not eat crap.  I feel pretty good about my energy level it's just my stupid knee..  so I'm randomly rolling it today and doing strength exercises and hopefully D.O. will work on it tonight!  Let's go Fishes...  17 miles has nothing on us!!!

And because it's Thursday, I'll throw it back to last year when we did a Chirstmas eve run...  in the snow.  We wore santa hats.. It was awesome.  We ran this same  8 mile course yesterday.  When we ran it on Christmas eve it seemed sooooo long, now, not so much.  hmmm..... 
-Becka

Throw it back to the one that started it all

The Inaugural Top Of Zion Relay 2012

Ok, so all the girls were already runners before they got into this race, but this race started it for me and it is the race that kinda brought us all together and it is the one that gave us our great blog name:  RUN LIKE A FISH. 
Ebbi is always going to claim the fame of getting you into running, Becka. But let's just remember who told her to ask you to run this relay!! Ebbi I'm trying to think where we even saw the Top of Zion Relay flyer? Was it at Adobe?

First how it got us all together.  Lexi and Ebbi were our team captains.  We needed another team member.  We had thought about MaryAnn, but she was doing the Ragnar Wasatch back two weeks before.  Finally we decided just to ask her, what would it hurt.  Who knew she was a crazy addicted runner who would just consider Ragnar a warm-up for TZR.  Yay!!! (Crazy thing was, I was dying wanting you guys to ask me to run it with you!  I just thought it was a little too forward to invite myself on the team! So, so GLAD y'all asked me!  I now have some pretty amazing close friends because of it!) 
So glad you decided to run with us MaryAnn! 

"Run like a fish" came about after a TZR meeting, we were all leaving and Ebbi shouted as we went out the door, "Run like a fish".  Her pregnant mind was a little....  well, you know how preggo minds are.  We laughed our heads off and even wrote it on the side of our vans for the race.  We probably wouldn't have laughed so hard had we known we would literally be running like fish in upwards of 114 heat.  We were dumping water on our runners so yep...  we were running through water..  like fish.  =)

The actually running in TZR killed me, I didn't train enough. but I loved the cheering each other on, Dancing and stuff!  I'm all over that!  So as we traveled along down that last dirt road, all of us dying, we went around the group and all vowed NEVER to do TZR again.  I think it took us all of 24 hours, if not less to start planning for the next year, which is coming up in a month.  Go Jalapeno Hotties!!!

I was one of those girls that SAID no way in H will I run this relay again.  I know that I can even be quoted as saying "this relay should be posted as for elite runners only!" I am sure that was after running in 114 heat and seeing some of my teammates having to keep running even though there was dust and heat blasting us!  I also think I was the first one to post on our Facebook group asking who was going to run it with me again next year!  Yes I am addicted!  Pretty sure you were!  jaja 

I am sad we were all in different vans. I wish we could be in the same van this year! I still had a blast with my van 1 girls. It is definitely a tough relay and I remember thinking this is insane. We will NEVER do this again. But wow... changed our running lives! ja ja. I compare the toughness of every race to this relay! I'm so glad to have done this with all of you.  I can't wait to take our annual Jalapeno Hotties picture in the year 2042! We will set records!  ja ja. 

Here it is one month from TOZ! I must admit I am scared beyond belief! I was so glad I was 23 weeks pregnant last year and decided not to run. After seeing what these girls went through I was sure I would have gone into labor! The only thing that comes to mind when I think of TOZ is "What doesn't KILL you makes you STRONGER!" I have so much respect for those who ran it last year! It was such an emotional experience (and I was only the driver hahaha). As we were driving to Tory the day before we drove over van 2 first legs and I was sure Becka was going to kill me! I felt horrible (Let's just say the course description did not  give us any insight on how difficult this really was), but to my surprise Becka and her van were all fired up and excited! They showed TOZ who was boss!! I really wish we were all in the same van this year! It really sucks that we aren't! I'm pretty sure after this year of  TOZ is over we will vow to never do it again, only to find us making plans for the next year a few days later! We are crazy like that!