To Bone and Back Report ...

It has been a little while, but I got all caught up in training for my triathlon right after doing our relay this year and didn't get this up.  We really LOVE the To Bone and Back relay.  We look forward to it every year.

We have never had the same team members each year, although we have several repeats, but this is our 6th year of being Team Faster Than Tar.   This year we were also lucky enough to be sponsored by a local running company Personal Best Performance.   They support and put on so many local events in Idaho Falls so it was fun to be able to run free :).  Maybe it helped me be faster!

Anyway, the race starts at 7AM and we all meet at the start line and pile in the truck.  This year we had the whole team with us all day.  It was lots of fun to all be together.  My husband was out on the course and was with us in spirit.  He did the 40 mile ultra marathon this year!  YES, he is AMAZING!

We 'stay' with our runner for most of their race, leap frogging with them every few miles to cheer them on, make sure they don't want any water/food/help and then meet them at the next hand off station to get the next runner on their way.

This year, we were really FAST!  We beat our last years time by almost 40 minutes!  It was a very strange feeling to be out in front when we are usually right in the thick of things.  Way to go team!

My leg was #3.  I went out strong, going down hill and had about an 8 minute mile!  Yahoo...that is SO fast for me.  Love that down hill stuff.  It was good I did the first mile so fast because I got progressively slower as the leg went on. I felt great through mile 2 almost to mile 3 when there was this HILL.  Oh boy, a hill.  I had only run on them once before and that was the week prior when I found out I would be running them on race day.  I knew I could do it, I had done it before, so I shortened my stride and ran right up that hill.  That was so empowering.  I had done it barely even slowing my pace down!  YEAH!  After that mile 4 and into 5 was fine.  It was a nice day with a nice wind to keep things cool.  I finished in just about 48 minutes ... yahoo!

Until next year ... Team Faster Than Tar!

You do get better ...

When I first started running, it was almost a joke.  Nobody in my family EVER ran past when we had to in school *anybody remember the Wellsville Mile?* or what it took to get us around the bases in baseball. I thought I didn't like to run. I thought I was too 'fat' to run.  I thought 5 miles was going to be TOO far for me to run.  Oh boy, did I THINK.  I truly over thought every part of it.  But, Coach J convinced me that I could if I really wanted to.  

If you change your thoughts, you can change your world!

And change my world it did.  Now, when I go out for a 2-3 mile run, it doesn't seem as monumental.  Now, when I start to train for Bone to Back the 40 mile relay team of 8 (so I run 5 miles) I don't get intimidated, I just do it!  In fact, when I have to take on a harder leg because it has hills, I embrace it.  I know I can do it, I know I will survive and I know I will LOVE almost every minute of it.

And just so you have a witness that exercising/running/eating healthy does get make you better with time, when I completed my 5 mile leg, I was on a harder 5 miles and I had not run more than 3 miles before that day, I got a Personal Record (PR) time and felt GREAT after I ran.  YEAH!!

 Enjoy a Beautiful Day!!

---What do you do to help realize things get easier? 
---Have you done something that was once hard and now isn't?