Rambler Trail Run - Pictures

Park City Mini Trail Series Race Report

 On Saturday Audrey and I ran in the Park City Mini Trail Series 5k put on by R-U-N? Events. They do 3 different trail races during the summer; a 5k, 10k, and 15k. Last summer we did the 15k, and Audrey was one of the female winners which won her a free entry into this year's 5k. So we decided we better run it since it was free for Audrey.

The race started at 8:00 a.m. and we showed up around 7:00 a.m. to get our bib numbers and everything else squared away. One of the cool things was that Pearl Izumi was allowing runners to demo their new trail shoe; the Peak II. So, I figured I would run the race in them!

5k's are over so fast that you don't really have time to conjure up a race plan. You just go out hard and basically kill yourself until it's over. At least that's what I did with this race anyway. The lead group of guys was about 30-50 yards ahead of me after about a mile when my shoe came untied (stupid new shoes!), so I did a quick stop and retied it, leaving me no chance to catch them, but I was sitting with a good cushion behind me so no one passed me.

The rest of the race went well. I finished 8th overall and 2nd in my Age Division. Audrey came in pretty stinkin close behind me and she was the first female to cross the finish line which netted her a $50.00 gift certificate to Salt Lake Running Co.

And my 2nd place Age Division netted me a sweet water bottle....

 We also got a couple of post race massages for free.

Ross completes national personal trainer certifcation (The Other Ross That Is!)

Modified: Thursday, Jun 23rd, 2011
BY: Nancy Banister, Gazette Reporter


By Nancy Banister

Gazette Reporter

It took more than 14 months of studying and testing, but local marathon runner, Audrey Ross is now a certified personal trainer. She grew up in Rock Springs and has a Bachelor’s of Art degree in youth ministry from Barclay College.

“I knew I wanted to go back to school in health and fitness,” Ross said. “I wasn’t sure where I wanted to go.”

According to Ross, the Obama administration was giving financial incentives to women wanting a higher education. “That is how we were able to afford it.”

Ross had to decide where to study and daily travel to Utah wasn’t high on her list, especially during the winter months.

“I took the online course for my certification from Penn-Foster,” Ross said. “I always had a professor to talk to and ask any question any hour of the day.”

“The hardest part of the certification program was my Anatomy and Physiology class, but the nutrition class was a breeze,” she said.

Ross graduated with a 97 percent and received her certificate June 6.

Her certification encompasses all aspects of fitness, including nutrition. The Penn Foster program is affiliated with the National Council on Strength and Fitness. The certificate from NCSF will give her the ability to practice in different states

To keep her certification with NCSF, Ross will have to re-certify every three years, but Ross doesn’t want to stop there.

“I hope to continue in my education and learn more,” she said.

She looks to further her education with more certificates like National Exercise and Sports Trainer Association, the American Fitness Association of America and AFPA.

“The more education I get the better I can serve my clients,” Ross said.

She wants to see more people learn about improving their health, not only exercise, but also nutrition.

“One thing I have learned through my studies is that I have been running the wrong way,” Ross said.

Ross has been a distance runner for a long time and has suffered from IT Band Syndrome. She has realized that the problem, the painful tightening of a “band” across the knee, was caused by how she ran.

“Once I started training myself to run correctly, I don’t have the knee problems as before,” Ross said.

She also knows that clients are more successful when exercising outside the home. She would prefer a different place, or even outside, for her clients to keep a regular fitness schedule. Ross has worked very hard for over a year to receive this certification and has decided to take the summer off, but she has a few clients.

“I am not sure what I want to do yet, but I am praying about it,” she said.

She would like to incorporate her knowledge of health and fitness with a ministry.

“There is such a need in the ministry for being aware of your health,” Ross said.

According to Ross, many ministers have stress and heart problems and the proper diet and exercise can help.She knows that having too many clients will prevent her from one of her personal goals, to run in the Boston Marathon. She will work with the personal goals of each client.

“I want my clients to understand the importance of the right kind of exercise and how what you eat is a large part of a healthy lifestyle,” Ross said.

Until the time is right for her to start her business, whether she works independently or with a group, look for Ross along the road as she trains for the next qualifying marathon.

Never Quite Reaching Where I Want To Be

Somewhere along the pathway of life as of late I either took on too much, or life just decided to throw a lot my way. I feel like I haven't been able to catch up with everything that I need to or want to get done. I have a list of everything that needs to be done and it seems like when I cross one off the list three more magically appear at the bottom. It's like the snake in some movie I watched where you cut it in half to kill it, but instead you now have two snakes instead of one. Then you try and kill those two by chopping them in half, and BANG, now you have four.
But I am going to keep slogging through it all, not necessarily knowing that I will catch up, but hoping that I will at some point soon. In the meantime here are a few things that have happened, and a few others that are on the horizon of life.

1. We decided to give Mountie a little shave since it has finally decided to become summer here in Wyoming. We took the haircutting buzzer we have and went to town. He looks a little bit funny, but he is way cooler!
2. Audrey and I are doing a 5k trail run on Saturday in Park City, UT.
3. I am officiating my second wedding of the summer on July 2nd, at the Fossil Island Golf Course in Kemmerer.
4. I just finished up reading and writing a critique for "A Handbook on Domestic Violence for Wyoming Faith Leaders". This handbook is yet to be published, and I had the opportunity to go through and suggest changes that needed to be made. It will be published in September by the Wyoming Coalition Against Domestic Violence and Sexual Assault.
5. I'm in the middle of reading "King's Cross" by Timothy Keller. It is incredibly good, and very thought provoking which takes me more time to get through. You should read it.

I guess I can cross blogging off my list now, but I'm afraid if I do, three new things will appear!

Short Trail Run With Maya

Today Audrey and I decided to take Maya with us on our 3 mile still recovering from race weekend trail run. We took a bet on if one of our favorite single track trails was dry and it was. I think this was the first time that we had taken Maya out on a single track. She ended up doing great, mostly in part due to the fact that she couldn't really run anywhere else besides the trail, which is nice if you are the one holding the leash.
But, the best part of the run was when we came across a ground squirrel... Maya has been known to catch a few mice and other rodents in the past, and it brings her joy to catch these little varmints. So, when we caught this ground squirrel off guard I knew that since I was holding the leash I was going to have to help give Maya a chance at this thing.
We dodged, weaved, went forward, backward sideways, up, down, and all over before Maya finally caught it. I'm sure it looked hilarious. Audrey had fun watching. Maya, the proud hunter, pranced around in circles for a while with her catch, head raised high, joyous in the fact that she succeeded.
It was pretty funny.

Utah Valley Marathon Report

Let's get the most important part of this blog out of the way first. I set a personal record of 3:35:37! I beat my other PR by 17 minutes. So I am pretty pumped to write this report because of that. Quick recap of the weekend - Audrey and I left Friday morning for Provo, UT - Made it to the Race Expo in the afternoon - Got our Bibs & SWAG Bags and checked out the booths at the Expo - Checked into our motel - Drove our morning route to make sure we knew where the buses were going to pick us up - Walked around the Mall for a little bit - Picked up my Subway supper - Set out all our gear for the morning - Went to bed.

Saturday morning started at 2:45 a.m. when the first of our three alarms went off. We have missed a race once because our alarm clock died; won't happen again. Audrey and I started getting everything ready; shower, breakfast, race clothes, warm clothes to wear to the start, etc... The one thing about this race that was different than all of our other races was that we were running two different distances in different starting places. Audrey had to drop me off at my bus pickup at 3:45 a.m. so I could be bused the 26.2 miles up Provo Canyon to the start. Then she had to drive to the half marathon pickup for her. She went for the half because she didn't have enough time this Spring to do the training she needed for the full. You'll have to check out her blog http://www.audreyross.blogspot.com/ to hear about her race.

I loaded onto my bus around 4:00 a.m., headed to the back, and sat down. After about 10 minutes the bus filled and we headed up the canyon. I sat next to a high school kid from Cleveland, Ohio who was running his 2nd marathon and his parents were there with him. The ride took about 45 minutes, and they dropped us off at this little side road in Wallsburg, Utah. It was dark and cold, and I still had an hour and fifteen minutes to wait until the start. Luckily I had an over sized XXL coat that I was going to get rid of at the race start to keep warm. They had fire rings set up in different places, but breathing in all the smoke wasn't very beneficial. And then people started burning their clothes because there was no more wood. I steered clear of those.

Finally it was time for the race to start. The canon went off, I threw off my coat and headed into the moving pack of runners. The first couple of miles go through the small town of Wallsburg, and I was just trying to get feeling to come back into my feet and legs after being out in the cold for so long just sitting and waiting.
I warmed up after about 3 or 4 miles and was moving along a decent pace, not wanting to get drawn in by others who were going faster, still wanting to remain pretty comfortable.
The mountains were amazing to look at while running, and a couple of horses along the course made me laugh because they were running around all excited. I think because they saw 1,500 other people running they thought they should too.
I decided to carry my own water bottle for the entire course. The Camelbak Pro Chill.

It worked out great to be able to drink whenever I wanted and not wait for the Aid Stations. I think I refilled my bottle 4 or 5 times throughout the entire race, twice with Powerade. I also carried 4 energy gels and 4 electrolyte tablets and used them all. I even got 2 more gels and 2 half bananas from other Aid Stations and ate those too. I never felt hungry and I really didn't want to run out of energy.
From mile 7-9 there are a couple of good uphills, but the rest of the course was pretty much down the canyon. I felt pretty good up to the halfway point; 13.1 miles. I was wearing my Saucony Kinvaras which don't have a lot of support on the upper, and the longest run I had done in them up to the marathon was 10 miles. So my feet started to ache some then.
From there until about mile 22 I tried to focus on listening to my music, keeping a steady pace, watching other people, looking at the scenery; just about everything to keep on going.
At mile 22 I experienced a little bit of crampage and had to stop a couple of times for a quick stretch to hopefully loosen up the muscles that were causing me massive amounts of pain. I kept going and they actually subsided a little bit, and by that I mean enough for me to not have to stop and walk.
The last 3 miles I took it one mile at a time and was gutting it out. I knew that I could still finish under 3 hours and 40 minutes if I ran 10 minute miles at that point, and I knew I could at least do that.
Within the last half mile I realized that if I pushed a little harder I could possibly finish in 3:35, so I picked up the pace some and came across the line in 3 hours 35 minutes and 37 seconds.

I got my finisher medal and started hobbling around knowing that it was going to take a while for my legs to stop cramping. Audrey found me and took this wonderful picture. I was in some definite pain at this point. It's kind of amazing how your body feels okay while you are running that far and then when you stop it hurts so much worse.
I got some water and sat for a while, stretched some, walked around a little, got my results, and then ate 2 pieces of pizza and an ice cream bar, and then headed for the motel to shower. Overall, I really enjoyed the race because 1. the weather was just about perfect 2. I set a new record and ran really well 3. I got to do something that I love. Things I would have changed 1. The early bus ride and waiting for over an hour 2. Not being with Audrey.
Here are some other pictures:

Mile Marker 21 on the pavement

My results in my age division

The back of the shirts

Mass of people coming down the canyon

Iron and Wine Video

Audrey's Birthday Weekend

Don't have tons of time, but wanted to post a little about Audrey's birthday weekend. We went down to Salt Lake City on Friday because one of the big items on the birthday list was the Iron & Wine Concert on Friday night. We got in line for the concert around 6:00 p.m. when the doors opened, and after about 20 minutes made our way inside. The venue was really cool with a pretty big stage, standing room in front of the stage, and then they had a balcony that wrapped around the top that was open air.
We headed for the balcony because we saw that there were some cushioned benches that we could sit on. The concert itself was amazing. The opening band was "The Head and The Heart" from Seattle Washington. They were really surprisingly good. Usually you just want the opening bands to finish so you can get to the main act, but not this time. I will be buying their cd for sure.
After about a 45 minute set it was time for Iron & Wine. One of the coolest parts was that he (the lead singer & main man) had 10 other people on stage for his band. A barry sax, trumpet, normal sax, drums, another guy who played some drums and other instruments, another guitarist, bass guitar, and two back up singers. And they did work! They played for 2 hours, and did some amazing jamming in the middle of different songs. It was really awesome to watch and listen to.
After the concert we crashed at our motel. The next morning we went for a short run, breakfast at Jamba Juice and coffee at Starbucks, hang out time, showered and cleaned up, lunch at Sage's Cafe, then to the Gateway Mall, then got some groceries, and headed home. It was a fun trip & birthday! At least it was for me anyway and it wasn't even my birthday!
I'll post pictures when blogger decides to let me.

Memorial Day 5k Fun Run in Park City

Audrey and I signed up for another race on Memorial Day, so that made 2 races in 3 days; which is pretty fun. The only bad news was that we woke up on Monday morning to 30 degree weather and snow flurries. The trip down to Park City was a little more eventful than I would have wished trying to navigate on the snowy roads. I thought winter was supposed to be over by the end of May?

We ended up making fine, just in time for the race. Because of the nasty weather there weren't as many runners there as they were hoping for. Audrey and I lined up at the start line and she said, "I think we can win this one." So when the director said go we took off. There was only 1 high school aged boy in front of us, and after about a mile he slowed down and we cruised on by. The race course was on part paved trail and part hard packed rock trail, with two loops. After we had finished up the second loop and were headed back towards the finish I knew that there was no way anyone was going to catch us. So we just eased on into the finish, crossing the line together in first place.

It was a lot of fun. I also won a Rossignol dress shirt and hat at the raffle afterwards too. Here are some pictures of race day.

Western States Movie

Draper Trail Challenge

 On the Saturday of the Memorial Day Weekend, Audrey and I traveled down to Draper Utah to run in a trail race. The Draper Trail Challenge had a choice of a 4 mile, 6.3 mile, 10 mile, or 15 mile option. It is my goal to run a 50 mile race this September; the Grand Teton 50 Mile Race. So I chose the 15 mile race to start some of my training towards the 50 miler this fall. Audrey chose the 6.3 mile race because she has been coming back from a small but nagging injury, not letting her get in all the miles that she would like.
All the races started together so you really didn't have any idea who was running what race until much later on. But the good thing was that Audrey and I got to run together for the first 4 miles or so. The course was really really pretty and also really tough. Lots of up and down. 3,000 ft of total elevation gain and loss throughout the entire 15 mile race. I know by some ultra standards that's not much, but it was enough for me.
The weather started to warm up, and I think eventually it got to around 60 degrees. I felt pretty decent the entire run. At about the 11 mile mark there were 4 of us all kind of running together. I was made a few calculated moves on some hills and passed everyone hoping to put some distance between me and them.
Unfortunately I started to hit the wall about mile 13, which was all uphill. Got passed by 2 guys, and then I just settled into a nice steady pace to finish. I rolled across the line in 2 hours and 22 minutes. I felt good about the whole day, finished 6th overall and 4th in my age division. My Brooks gave me one blister on my right big toe. After the awards (Audrey got 2nd place by the way) I put on my recovery tights, and we went to eat lunch at Chili's. I totally believe in recovery tights in helping with DOMS (Delayed Onset Muscle Soreness). They totally helped because we ran a race only 2 days later on Memorial Day in Park City.... but that is for another post. Here are some pictures.

Running up the trail towards the start of the race.

Felt pretty good at this point in the race.

It was a beautiful race course.

Coming into the finish.

Just a little bit farther.

I was pretty sore by this point.

As soon as I stopped running my legs started to cramp.

Scanning my bib number for my time.