Thursday, March 31, 2011

Kristen Ogden - 2011 Plans and Goals


Hey Everyone!
 I’m excited to be a part of Utah Elite and I’m already motivated by your entries and race stories.  A little bit about me, I ran Cross Country and Track for BYU awhile back and since finishing have had a hard time getting over my running addiction.  I teach Junior high science and also Coach the track team there. On my free time I try to get as much running in as possible.  I don’t have the time to train like I use to, but I love jumping into road races and especially love running half marathons.  I raced the Boston marathon last year and swore off marathons after that, but have found myself surprisingly start thinking about the St. George marathon this year. (That’s when you know it’s an addiction;) My goals are to really just have fun running, win what I can and try to PR in my road race times. I found when I set specific times to race or races to focus on I get injured so easily!  So since then I just train as hard as I can and jump into the races when it’s close and see what happens.  I am planning on the Utah Valley Half, which I’m sure I’ll see many of you there. I look forward to seeing all of you in road races here and there throughout Utah.  Happy Training and Good luck!

Tuesday, March 22, 2011

Fernando Ramirez - 2011 Racing Plans and Goals



Hey Guys!!!!

Crazy winter huh?! Spring yet??? It is good to be running. Last winter I was plagued by a series of small injuries that kept me from training well. I slowly started building my mileage over the summer, jumping
into some small races, trying to use them as workouts. Now, finally, I feel pretty fit. I still have a ways to go, but I’m pretty stoked
on the steady progression. 

Training has been consistent. And…different. My wife and I own and operate a dog sled touring co. in Park City; and so most days, I trail ahead of the dogs, running along side them as my employee drives our costumers. The snow makes a challenging 8-10 miler, but I like getting off the asphalt as much as I can. I believe it also strengthens my ankles by running on uneven tracks. 

A couple of weeks ago I was itching to get into a trail race. So, I entered the Simi Valley Trail 15k. Total elevation gain of 1900ft, rocky terrain, and pure love of running. Nothing felt better than running out in God’s creation appreciating nothing but the pure joy of pain’s threshold. All the hard snow running definitely paid off. 

Some goals to aim for this summer would have to be to stay healthy, happy, try to lower some more P.R’s, and meet some awesome people along the way! Some races to come soon in April! If we happen to run in some races this summer stop by and say hi!

Run well! Spirit of the Tarahumara!!

Fernando

Tuesday, March 8, 2011

Brad Osguthorpe - 2011 Plans and Goals

Brad leading the 2010 Mesquite Half Marathon


First off I would like to send a huge “Thanks” to Nate Houle and 26.2 Running Company for all their effort and hard work they have put in to making Utah Elite happen. It’s been a great ride so far and I look forward to the future with Utah Elite. They have collaborated an excellent group of athletes from the state and much can be learned from them. There is a deep amount of knowledge on Utah Elite and hope those that follow can learn and help progress the sport even more. I know I can learn much from the people on this team and those around the sport. I believe that one of the keys to running and life in general is to never stop learning. You can never know enough.
It’s amazing how time flies. It’s already March and runners are starting to come out of hibernation. Fortunately I’ve been able to stay focused and put in some decent mileage over the winter months. At times I would wonder what I am doing out in this snow storm when it's 0 degrees out and then I remember I love to run and I love every minute of it. I feel very blessed to be able to run and we can never take it for granted. I feel that I was able to put in a quality amount of mileage over the last few months. I am looking forward to some warm weather though. The last few weeks I’ve turned up the volume a little bit by having two quality interval/tempo days during the week along with a long run. I still have a long ways to go to reach where I want to be. I would like to get in some shorter races this spring and then build up to the longer races. When I say shorter I  mean 5k/ 10k and longer would be the half marathon. Maybe some half marathons later in the season.  I would like to get in as many local races and a few out of state, possible the Las Vegas Rock & Roll Half Marathon again. I don’t think I am ready for the marathon anytime soon. As always I hope to stay healthy. I been pretty fortunate to not have any serious injuries other then the few aches and pains that all runners have. I look forward to learning more and improving as a runner and in life. I have been very fortunate to have a great supporting cast around me, being my beautiful wife, family and employer. I look forward to this season and hope to see you all out there running.  I remember a wise man telling me “plan your race, race your plan.”  Best of training to all you and stay healthy.  Just run………