Mission Accomplished: 400 Miles

Sometime before I ran the Ragnar Relay in Las Vegas, I had realized how many miles I had logged so far for running in 2011. I thought to myself I can totally make 400 miles this year. No sweat. Well, actually there would be lots of sweat. It's the only way I get any miles in. But the point was that 400 miles would totally be doable and easily doable. The problem: after running Ragnar I subconsciously or many consciously decided to take a little break from my running schedule. That led to me running a total of three times in November! That would be about a third of what I had been regularly running in the months prior to Ragnar. So when the Santa Run came around I rededicated myself to reaching my goal of 400 miles. It was still really doable. I set out a schedule running right up to the last week of 2011. Well today, December 31st, I thought I could go spinning this morning (I hate to miss Rona's class) and then I could go back to the gym later to get my 5K in which would barely put me past the 400 mile mark. Sure I procrastinated much of the day by doing other activities and even a little lounging around the house. I got over to the University Gold's Gym at 4:20pm and panicked when I realized that they had already closed for the day! I mean who closes at 4 or sooner just because it's New Year's Eve?! That's crazy! I had some false hopes that maybe the 800 North location would somehow be open but of course they were not. I resigned myself to the fact that I was going to have to run outside in 40 degree weather with the sun starting to set. I had talked about this goal so much on Facebook and to my friends that there was no freaking way that I was going to just forget it. I rushed home, changed into much warmer running clothes, and got off and running. It really wasn't as bad as I expected it to be. And my time was better than I thought considering how the Santa Run went for me. You can check it out by clicking right here.

So now I just need to know what I'm going to publicly commit myself to because I know how well it works for me.

Brooke & Zane

Brooke & Zane - December 28, 2011

My sweet niece, Brooke, got married yesterday to a super nice guy, Zane. I wasn't sure Brooke would find someone that deserved her. But Zane seems to be just that guy. He's been right at home with our family right from the very beginning. One of the things I love about Zane: he's a hugger. In case you didn't know it, I'm a hugger. It might have taken me a long time to get to be a hugger but I am. I love that Zane doesn't hold back. He initiates hugs often. Brooke is a hugger too! It's just one of the many things I love about her.

Over 100 Facebook Fans

Borup Photography has reached over 100 Facebook fans! Last November I decided to try promoting my business a bit through Facebook so I created a page. Through out the year I have added photo albums as I've had new photo shoots. Now I regularly get inquiries for my services from people that I do not know. Oh the power of social media.

Provo Santa Run 2011

Last year I began running and ran my first 5K ever the day after Thanksgiving (Santa Run 2010). I thought it would especially be fun to run it again this year to see my progress. Of course since I ran the Las Vegas Ragnar I haven't been very good about getting my running in. In fact I had only run 4 times since Ragnar which was over a month before. Sad! I was trying to reach a goal of running 400 miles this year and if I keep up my current pace I will not make it. I have another 27 miles to get in. That is at least 9 more times running.

On the bright side, I have at least doubled the number of times I spin each week. I have started back up playing racquetball. And I have begun to do some regular weight lifting, hitting upper body at least 3 times a week for a few weeks now. (I just don't want you thinking that I'm completely slacking off because I am not!)

Anyway I did get a better time in 2011 than I did in 2010 but only by about 30 seconds. My time was 30:16 minutes. I was really hoping and planning on on something more like 28 minutes. And even though my time this year was better, I placed lower in my age group, 5th place instead of 3rd. I placed 74th this year in all the men out of 155 -- solid middle of the pack. Here's the results from this and last year:

2011 Results - Men  -- 2010 Results - Men

Thanks to Chris for taking photos for us!

Kyle, Me, Ty, Erik, & Bryant

Me

Kyle & Me

I Love a Bargain!

If you know me, you know that I love a bargain. I don't even need the item. I will just buy it if the deal is too good to resist. Therefore I like to frequently visit some of the "bargain" websites like:

• www.bensbargains.net
• www.hot-deals.org

It was on one of these sites that I found some of my latest purchases. First off on 11/11/11 I purchased two pairs of shoes for $11 each with no shipping! Its from a website called 6pm.com where I've bought shoes a few times. It was a one day deal only. Sorry if you missed it! ;)

And then today I just bought a Philips Sonicare toothbrush from Walgreens.com who is selling the toothbrush for $39.99 with free shipping. They had a coupon for $10 using a SONIC10 coupon code. Then there is also a $10 rebate from from Sonicare themselves. So in the end I will get this $75 toothbrush for $22.04! Merry Christmas to me!