2 good legs--Lorie Hutchison

Our guest blogger today is Lorie Hutchison. She has found a way to turn what she loves into a way to serve others. Her mission is to raise money for the Challenged Athlete Foundation(CAF) through running. Thanks Lorie for reminding us to be grateful and giving of the strengths, health and talents we have.

How do I condense 25 years of running down to a page?Especially when the only part of the last 25 years that I really care about has not happened yet, and is only days away from beginning.

I began running in college when I decided that triathletes looked so cool. They had hard bodies with numbers written in black ink on their arms and legs and lots of specialty equipment. I kept at it until I just could not stand jumping into a cold swimming pool one more time. I still remember sitting on the edge of the pool at the University of Utah hating the fact that the water was so cold and the only way to swim was to submerge myself in it. I sat there for about 5 min and finally decided that I should not force myself to do something that I hated that much. So I left. I went to the dressing room, put on my biking clothes and decided to become a biker. Biking was and is fun, however the cars and the pavement hurt, and then I just got scared. That is when I became a "runner." I love running because it is relatively inexpensive, I can do it anywhere and so far I have been able to avoid cars and most of the pavement.

I ran my first marathon in St. George in 1988 or 89. It was the hardest thing I had ever done. I swore I would never run another one. I was sick at the finish line and it took me most of the day to recover and I was sore for a week. But just like everyone else who has ever run more than one marathon the pain and nausea eventually passes and so does your memory of just how horrible it was. Now I run marathons as my training runs for my "big" races.


I went to the dark side and started running Ultra Marathons in 1999. There are very few things in life that bring me as much joy as running in the mountains on trails. I have been chased by moose, rattled at by snakes, stared down on a trail by a baby skunk, scared up many deer and elk, attacked by hawks and still waiting to see a cougar. I love being in the mountains. That is why I am still running ultras. My running resume is at www.2goodlegs.org if you are interested in dates, times and finishes.

What I really care about now is combining my love of challenging myself and my desire to open doors for people to do the same thing for themselves. I have teamed up with the Challenged Athletes Foundation (CAF) to raise money for physically disabled people. I want to help those who want to be active, push themselves, or just get back to the activities they did before they lost a limb or use of their legs.

A few years ago, good friend contracted an infection that nearly took her life. She lived but she lost her right arm and both legs. She may have lost a lot of parts but she kept her character, sense of humor, and determination. She received a grant from CAF for a bike, which allowed her to return to an active life. I want everyone to be experience that. I want people with physical disabilities to be able to have the tools they need to pursue what helps to bring joy into their lives. Money should not be a barrier for someone to be able to run, hike, bike, fish, canoe... Go to www.2goodlegs.org and watch the short video. You can see the determination in the athletes’ eyes and hear it in their voices.

Beginning Sept. 17th I am going to run from the Idaho/Utah border to the Utah/Arizona border, one marathon at a day, for 17 days. My 17th marathon will begin with the St. George Marathon and my 18th day will be a 9 mile “recovery run” to the Arizona border! I invite you to come and run with me or visit me and my "Bionic Team" at one of the events along the way. The "join the run" link has an events calendar that identifies the route, events, locations, and times. During the run I will be wearing a SPOT tracker so you can track me at any time. Most importantly, please go to the website and donate! Prosthetics are very expensive. One running leg costs $36,000! Money should not be a barrier for people to do something that we do for free! Come run with me, donate, and meet amazing, determined athletes.

TJ Tollakson--It all comes down to the run

Last month, we were lucky enough to have TJ Tollakson come and give some great information during the Jordanelle Triathlon packet pickup. TJ is a pro triathlete (here is his blog about SLC) who worked his way up from an engineer racing the age group scene up to Ironman 70.3 pro champion and a full Ironman force to be reckoned with. It was fun and interesting to hear his story. And I think that TJ’s background is a good example of how important it is to know your limitations and then commit to making that limitation a strength. He rose to the top ranks of age group elite using, oftentimes, the fastest bike split of the day. But, when considering taking the next step into the pro ranks, it became obvious that TJ would indeed have to focus on improving his run leg.

After being swept up into the USA Triathlon Olympic training center in 2005, TJ started learning from the best coaches and athletes in the world how to train effectively for the run (and everything else!) That trend continues today as he has moved into the world of the longer races and is always training with and learning from other world class professional triathletes and coaches.

It was great to hear what TJ had to say on not only run training, but several training topics. Here is the 30 minute podcast from that evening where he gave easily applicable ideas for all in attendance. His talk was followed by some fabulous Q and A. The presentation generated information on the following topics :

• Run training tips-which workouts are important
• Run workout examples
• The difference between an open marathon and ironman marathon
• Bike/run (BRICK) workouts for olympic distance, 70.3 ironman and full ironman tri’s
• Practical beginner triathlete tips
• Long race nutrition tips

Oh and one last thing. We want to give a big thanks to not only TJ and his equally talented, although more beautiful, girlfriend Ashley for coming, but to Ryan Dolan from TYR swim company for arranging TJ’s special trip.

PODCAST-- download or stream

Marathon tips by Seth Wold

I would like to thank Seth for sharing some of what he does to prepare for and race a marathon. Some people may think that fast people do things totally different, but I know runners at every level who approach their marathons the way Seth is describing. The commonalities are consistent and adequit preparation, well thought out objective race goals, well planned preparation and focused on tasks do be done not how they feel during the race.

Marathon Preparation and Race Day Rituals of Seth Wold

I am a young new marathon runner who enjoys running enough to compete in all of Utah’s major marathon’s this year. In my past two years of marathoning, I have won the Ogden marathon twice, won the Utah valley marathon, and placed respectably in many other marathons including; Salt Lake, Deseret News, Bryce Canyon Half, Top of Utah Half, etc. In 2008 I went and competed in the US marathon championships, placing 28th overall. I married my highschool sweetheart who is also a runner. We were track captains together, and then both ran in college.

The mind set for marathoning. When preparing for a marathon it is important to create a realistic goal. This goal should be a measurable result which you can control. For example, I shouldn’t go into races with a goal of taking a certain place, because I can’t control who comes to the race or how well they will perform. But setting a time, heart rate, or effort goal helps me run strong no matter what the race day circumstances may be. As part of this goal, find a marathon training plan with daily workouts written out. (i.e. The Salt Lake Running Company Website is a good place to start;)

The next step in mental preparation for a marathon is just as important as the first. Reevaluate your goals weekly. You may find that an injury has slowed the progress towards running to your goal. This is OK. It is normal to hit speed bumps along the way. Just be proactive, and find ways to overcome, and prevent future injuries.

The most important part about marathon preparation for me is remembering why I am training for and running the marathon. I am in it for the fun. It feels good, and I gain a real sense of accomplishment from preparing for and completing such a large goal. It is hard to stay consistent with training for a marathon. But the feeling I get completing a race is so great that it is worth all the hard solo runs I muscled through in preparation.

Race day thoughts for me are pretty simple. I think positively about all the work that I have put in preparing. Sure, I could have trained harder, but I am happy with what I did. I have my gels (taken every half hour), salt sticks (taken every hour), and sport legs (taken every 2-3 hours) measured out in plastic bags pinned to my shorts. My shoes fit, with a pinky to thumb width in front of my longest toe to the end of the shoe. I am wearing tech clothes; singlet shorts, socks and gloves when needed. I have applied a liberal amount of Body Glide to avoid painful chafing late in the marathon. With all the physical needs taken care of I shift my focus to the mental aspect.

The gun goes off and I get out quickly to settle into my planned race pace. I feel out the field to see who I should run with. Once I decide to run a certain pace I try to relax my breathing, even out the cadence of my steps and slow my heartrate. I glance occasionally at my Garmin to check the pace, because I don’t want to stress too much if I am feeling good. I am always relieved to see the aid stations, and I grab waters in both hands so that I can stay hydrated. By focusing on doing all the little things, eating gels, drinking water, controlling my breathing and racing according to how I feel, I gain confidence and I am able to race the marathon a mile at a time, rather than mentally attacking the whole marathon at once.

No matter how the marathon finishes, I am genuinely happy with the results. Whether I obtained my goal or fell short I am happy that I had the courage to go for it. If some of my competition has a great race, then I am ecstatic for them. It is fun to watch others achieve their goals, and inspiring to watch others continue to try to catch an elusive goal.