Going With The Flow

AM - Shortened horsepark loop 4.1 miles.

PM - Original plan was 10-12 x 400m at 5k pace. I was a little nervous about running fast because of my recent tight hamstrings so modified a bit.

Ran a 2 mile warm-up with Redd and Jake. Ran 2 x mile in 6:00 average (HM + 5s) then 7 x 400 at 80.5s average (5k A++ goal pace) with 200m jog in between all reps. The mile repeats served as a transition into 5k pace so it wasn't such a shock to the hamstrings. Worked very well. I wanted to do 8 400s, but it would've taken a little more effort than what I was shooting for today. Good workout overall. Finished off with a 2 mile cooldown with the guys.

AM - JAKJAF Run, Kevin joined us today. SH Park-Tanner Park-Wasatch Blvd-1900E-SH Park. It's a very challenging run, especially when running with the fast guys and having a workout the night before. Great workout and I'm glad to get in a medium-long run during the week. 

So I went to an orthopaedic specialist during lunch about my chronic SI joint/back pain. After examination and imaging, he confirmed that it was SI joint dysfunction (although I do have a bone spur at the bottom of the joint and my L5 vertebrae is crooked, of course!). I was pretty sure that the SI joint was to blame, but I'm no doctor and wanted to make sure I didn't have any serious mechanical issues (stress fracture, disk rupture, etc). The treatment is basically focused around strengthening the deep abdominal muscles and adductors/abductors. I have been doing this on a regular basis, but the doctor said it wasn't enough :o( with the amount I'm running. No magic cure - bummer. If it's still as bad as ever in 4-6 weeks, he'll do injections into the joints.

AM - Easy 4 miles. 

PM - Workout with Allie. 2 mile warmup, then 8 x 200m w/ 200m jog recovery in average 38.5s. Felt strong - really nice to have company! Then we cooled down with Jake and Rob for a mile or so.

Here is a good Food Advisor that analyzes your nutritional status and provides you with information regarding the nutrients which may be found deficient in your diet as well as recommendations for which foods and recipes will help fulfill your nutritional needs.

I now have the pleasure of stuffing my mouth with a handful of spinach before every meal.

AM - 4.2 jog with the Birthday Guy! Jake is the big 28 today - make sure to wish him happy birthday!

I made a Wasatch and Beyond post with a slideshow of pictures from the last year. Lots of fun and adventures (and you can tell that he doesn't like to wear a shirt!) :)

AM - Provo City 5K. Warmed up 2.5 miles and then ran 5-6 strides. Didn't feel great but that doesn't mean anything before a race. Was really worried about the course being accurate because the marks were way off, but it turned out fine (just glad I had a Garmin on for mile splits).

The race started with about 15 kids that took off with Jake. Threw my pace off at first but then settled quickly into 5:30ish. The first mile had a little hill, and I hit the mile split at 5:32. Nice gradual downhill for the rest of the race. I maintained a solid pace through mile 2 in 5:25. It got hard at this point, so I was just trying to hang in there for the rest of the race. Mile 3 was 5:30. Final stretch might have been a tad long, but I'm not complaining. 0:41 for a total time of 17:08.

I feel really good about this time. Although the course is a net downhill, it is several seconds slower than a flat sea level. So I'm on the right track for that sub-17!

Ran a 5 mile cooldown with Redd and Jake. Probably should've made this a long run day, but the timing didn't really work out well with the other races, awards, etc. Not a big deal - will run a little more later today and am planning a group long run next weekend.

Hung out at the crazy Provo-inspried Cinco de Mayo after party, complete with bounce houses, face painting, french toast, etc. Lots of friends ran today and many new PRs - Emily Bates, BrandonD, Fritz (kinda), Rachelle, Allie-and-James relay duo, and lots more I'm sure. Fun times!

AM - Sunday JAKJAF run 10.5 miles. A little chilly, but a beautiful morning for a nice run. Average 7:22 pace. 

PM - Skinning and skiing at Alta. The snow is melting FAST! I was feeling pretty worn out and didn't want to overdo it (workout tomorrow), so we only skied one run. It was a 2000ft run, though, so that's not too wimpy for afternoon exercise.

AM - 2 mile shakeout, just to make sure I'm ready for a workout this afternoon.

PM - 2.2 mile warm-up with Jake. Then, 6 mile tempo in 37:20 (6:13 min/mile). The goal was to run at 6:20-6:25 pace, but I ran the first mile too fast and never slowed down. The effort level was harder than it needed to be today, especially since I was running on tired legs. I blame the annoying wind, New Kids on the Block, and Allie. A great workout though! 1 mile cooldown home for a total of 9.2 miles.

AM - A couple miles with Jake on his run commute to work and back home for 4.5 miles. 

PM - 5 miles around Sugarhouse and the track, easy 8 min pace. Drills afterwards.

A super entertaining  race report from Jesse Thomas that won the Wildflower Triathlon and Lauren Fleshman's (his wife) blog about the win. They are both so witty and honest in their writing - I love it!

AM - 12 miles with the JAKJAF crew. Back hurts today.

Here is an article with Julia Lucas, who ran 15:08.52 for 5000 meters at the recent Payton Jordan Invitational at Stanford. A couple points she made which I thought were really good -

I found that spark. It's hard to articulate exactly what it is. But running all the miles and doing all the weights, and icing, and eating right and sleeping right, it's just gathering dry material and at the end you have a pile of sticks. And just remembering what it's like to catch fire; I caught fire again.

How much has it meant to see Sally Kipyego at practice every day, and see the example she sets for the rest of you?
JL :  It's really easy to forget how good Sally is. She's just there every day doing exactly what we do. In December, when practices started back and I was looking better than I had, she grabbed me by the shoulders and said "Julia, don't try to be great, just do every day pretty good like you're supposed to, and then you'll be great." That's really out of character of her to grab me and give me this advice, but it's true and I know that she meant it.

And I think about that all the time. I don't need to blow any workouts of the water. I take great pride. I hit my splits right. I'm not trying to show off in any interval. I trust my coach. I do everything he tells me. I don't do anything more, I don't do anything less. And following orders, with a coach I really trust, really works. It's great pressure off to have that kind of trust.

AM - 3.2 miles with Jake this morning.

PM -  Track workout. Warmed up 2 miles with Kevin and Jake, then ran 6x1000m + 4x400m with 200m recovery jog between all intervals. 1000s at average 3:38.3 (5:51 pace) and 400s at 1:28.3 (5:55 pace). The initial plan was to do 8 reps of 1000, but I couldn't maintain the pace after 6 so I dropped down to 400s. Obviously I was tired because my 400s are slower than my 1000s. Not upset about the workout at all, I'm actually pleased - I got almost 5 miles at goal half marathon pace. I was working pretty hard too, mentally and physically. I think the 15 mph wind played a pretty big factor in the workout today. Cooldown 2 miles with J and K again around the park perimeter.

Also, not sure if everyone saw this on Jake's blog a couple days ago -

FYI - If anyone is interested, we're doing a longish run (15-18 miles) on Saturday at Jeremy Ranch, and then planning on breakfast at Ruth's Diner afterwards (brunch around 11:30 if you want to skip the run and just eat!). Thinking we'll meet around 8:30am and then drive up there in as few cars as possible. If anyone wants to join, let me know. Ritz, Rupp, and Farah are likely to be up there as well, although no one is required to try and hang w/ them :-) 

AM - 4.4 miles, a couple of those with Jake.

Yesterday during the repeats, I realized that I wasn't driving my knee forward and instead was extending my legs back too far. This is something I need to focus on for the next few weeks - working on form and strengthening the hip flexers with high knees, leg lifts, etc. 

PM - 3 miles followed by drills.

AM - 17 miles out at Jeremy Ranch Road with Redd, Fiddy, JakeK, Chad Robinson, and MarkP. Fun goofy crew, although I would like to see another girl or two thrown in there! We kept the run at a decent pace, average 7:24 pace. It's a tough, strength-building run with the altitude, so many hills, and the uphill coming back.

Afterwards, we met up with Rob Murphy and kids, Tina and Nate, and LuluWalls at Ruth's Diner. My first time there and it was awesome! Especially the monstrous biscuits :) Crazy how I am already hungry again - this is why I love long runs.

And yes, all those spikes are actually hills, not just the Garmin!!

AM - 3 miles around the block with Jake. Today is my designated cross training day with minimal running! :) I'm trying to do this at least once every two weeks to give the legs and back a break from the pounding of running.

PM - Headed up to Alta for some ski fun. Skinned to the top of Wildcat chairlift then bootpacked up one of the east chutes of Mt. Baldy. Skied a really fun run - perfect spring conditions!

Happy Mother's Day!!

AM - Just a super short shake-out run. I was going to do 2 miles but got frustrated because the Garmin was off by 0.2 miles this morning (doesn't take much, huh?). I think someone in our neighborhood has some kind of electronic device that messes up the signal because both Jake and I have had this problem. This run was just bonus miles anyway because I have a hard 8 mile tempo run this afternoon.

PM - I decided to do my workout during lunch, thinking that it might be a little cooler than this afternoon. It was hot - 80 degrees with the sun high in the sky. The Jordan River Parkway down in Sandy (9000S) is much different than that around 3300S - it has no shade at all! 2 mile warmup then I started out the tempo, planning to do a progression from 6:35 to 6:00. It was just not happening. I started telling myself at 4 miles "just stay around 6:30". Ran the 8 mile tempo in 51:40, 6:28 average (6:33, 6:25, 6:23, 6:25, 6:28, 6:27, 6:35, 6:25). There was a bit of a headwind on the way back. As soon as I finished, I chugged a 32 oz drink in about 30 seconds :) Although the workout wasn't quite what I wanted, it was a great marathon pace tempo and longest I have done in a long time! Can't be upset about that :)

AM - 4.5 miles, a couple of those with Jake. Felt surprisingly good this morning after the workout yesterday except for my new sunburn!

PM - 5 miles in the Sugarhouse area. 

Interesting info. about how much pro runners make - pretty sad, in my opinion.

- There is wide variation across each event and within the highest rankings. In aggregate though, combining all T&F events:

• Approximately 50% of our athletes who rank in the top 10 in the USA in their event make less than $15,000 annually from the sport (sponsorship, grants, prize money, etc.) and
• Approximately 20% of our athletes in top 10 in the USA in their event make more than $50,000 annually.
• Athletes outside of a top 10 USA ranking, other than some sprinters, milers, and distance runners, can expect to face very limited (if any) income support.

AM - Wednesday Workout, JAJAK style with MarkP and friends. 1.75 mile warmup then 6x800m w/ 400m recovery + 2x400m. Goal was 5-10k pace (targeting 2:47). I ran the 800s in avg 2:46.5 and 400s in avg 1:23. I felt great today - the weather was perfect (except for the sprinklers watering lanes 1-6 of the track) and I felt very strong through six 800s. It's amazing the difference between 200m recovery jog (which I've been doing for repeats) and 400m recovery jog.  I decided to run 8 reps after the 6th, but my hamstring twinged and I stopped on the 7th rep at 400m. Took a 30 second break to stretch then joined Allie on her last rep for another 400m. Cooldown around the track watching the guys do strides and Allie almost kill herself going over a hurdle, then more sprinkler madness around Sugarhouse Park. Felt like I had a lot left in the tank which is a good sign :)

The hamstring twinge seems to only happen on the track when I'm running faster than half marathon pace. It's my right leg, so I'm wondering if it's just a little too tight and the extra push-off on the turns is triggering the twinge.

PM - 1.8 miles. Distal hamstring attachment not happy.

AM - 10 mile Holladay loop with Jake, 7:45 pace. 

Heading to the Dick's Sporting Goods in Layton and SLC this afternoon to teach the employees about Saucony shoes and how awesome they are.

AM - 4.6 miles up to Sugarhouse with Jake and back. 

PM - 5.3 miles, ran 4x200m in 37.5s. Hamstring not quite ready for 200s - not my brightest moment!

FYI - Jeremy Ranch run again this Saturday - meet here at 8:00am. We'll run b/w 15-18 miles again, then refuel at Ruth's. If you just want to eat brunch, we'll meet at Ruth's at 11am.

AM - 16.6 miles at Jeremy Ranch Road with Jake, Kevin, Allie, James, and MarkP. A little chilly at first but warmed up nicely. My upper right leg struggled today - maybe muscle compensation for the hamstring tendon issues (or something). It was very sore and tired while the left leg felt fine. Trying to decide what to do and if this is turning into something serious. Easy day tomorrow so will re-evaluate then.

Hung out at Ruth's after the run. That place is awesome - I love relaxing out on the patio after a long run with a huge plate of food.

AM - Busted out the road bike for the first time in almost two years! Had to ride a lap around the neighborhood to make sure I remembered how to clip in and out of the pedals. Met LuluWalls at Riverside Park and rode the JRP-Legacy Parkway for a marathon ride - 26.2 miles. We had fun :)

AM - 4.5 miles, caught up with Jake on his cooldown then added extra. Right hamstring feels too tight and too loose at the same time. Workout today is definitely cancelled...we'll see about tomorrow.

I did prove to myself yesterday that I am not a slave to my mileage goals - I was at 69.4 last week and was supposed to be between 70-75 miles. It's so pathetic how much I care about that 0.6 miles that I know makes no difference in my training, but it took a lot of will power not to run! Instead I did a bunch of upper body strength training as my start to "the ultimate beach body in 5 days" (going to the beach this weekend!!).

PM - 5.2 miles at 8 min pace. The first mile felt like my left leg went to the spa while the right leg got thrown down the stairs a few times. But surprisingly, throughout the run they seemed to balance and almost even out. Weird, but good!

AM - Took a caffeine pill on an empty stomach this morning and was totally wired within 10 minutes. Literally started shaking. Ate a half of a banana to try to settle down, heated my hamstring, then was out the door. 2 mile warm-up. Goal today was 8 miles at MP or as fast (or slow) as I could run without any hamstring issues. 

Started out with a 6:28 mile. Felt a tiny discomfort in my hamstring but was also hyperfocused on it. Each mile I ran whatever pace felt "safe". Naturally dropped the pace without much effort until the last mile when I decided to run half marathon pace. Splits were - 6:28, 6:25, 6:21, 6:17, 6:14, 6:07, 6:04, 5:55 for an average of 6:14 pace. Two days of easy training feels really good :) 1.1 mile cooldown back home.

This afternoon my work is putting on a 5K...my goal will be to break 25!

PM - BD Medical Fitness Day 5K. The fitness director misread my map of the 5K (which I totally blame her b/c I know what I'm doing with gmap) so we ended up running 3.45 miles. No one seemed to mind - bonus miles :) I had no watch so ran comfortable - came out to 24:38 for 7:15 pace. There's just something about a "race" that makes 8 min pace end up being 45 seconds faster. Fun times - my group at work dominated but a pretty good crew overall too. No one over 9:30 min/mile!

AM - JAJAK Run 11.3 miles. Kevin and I dropped the rest of the crew then crushed that 8 min/mile on the 2 miles back to Sugarhouse.

I gotta say, I'm excited to have the rest of the day off from running. Don't forget to get your free slurpee from 7-11 today!

AM - 3 miles around the block. Planning to do some kind of workout some time today. 

Fitness Day at work today - Olympics theme. 100 yard dash, race walking, obstacle course, javelin, long jump, etc.

PM - Drove to JRP but found a neighborhood loop instead that seemed more enticing for a workout. Had nothing planned for the workout except to start at marathon pace. Warm-up of 1.5 miles then 6:20, 6:21, 6:18, 6:14, 6:25, 5:40, 5:46, 5:45. So 5 miles at MP and 3 miles at 10K pace, 6:06 average overall. I felt awesome today - was really holding back until the sixth mile. It's these types of days when my training is rejuvenated and I get really excited about running again :) Most exciting thing about the run was no hamstring issues! I'm becoming a big fan of the "we'll just see how I feel" tempo workouts.

AM - 5 miles slow, half of those with Jake. Using today as my recovery day because I'm traveling to Tybee Island, GA for a bachelorette party. Then heading home (Knoxville, TN) for all of next week. Humidity training!

This is a very informative article about Tibial Stress Fractures and stress reaction: the role of bone structure, impact, and calf strength. I would highly recommend reading the whole thing but definitely the conclusions and recommendations for prevention  -

AM - 7 miles in Tybee Island, 7:25 pace. Fun times at the beach!!!

PM - 3 miles easy after a day in the sun - walking on the beach, wave-surfing, volleyball, and drinking Pina Coladas :)

After a very late night of bachelorette fun, I woke up and saw 7:45am on my watch. I decided that I could sleep a little later b/c the rest of the girls wouldn't wake up until 11am or so. Woke up again at 9am, got ready, then realized my watch was still on Mountain Time and it was already 11am. Dang! I didn't want to hold the group up on doing fun things, so I cut the run from 2 hours to 95 minutes (good thing I can get ready in about 5 minutes). For some reason my ipod didn't charge last night, so I was running with no music in the heat of the day :(. I had to stash a water bottle and carry a washcloth - just like the ol' days living in TN.  But I got in 13 miles with the last 1.5 miles at 6:15 pace. 

AM - 4 miles in the rain - fun and refreshing before a long drive back to Tennessee.

PM - 4.1 miles back in the rolling hills of TN. Good to be back home...haven't seen my family since Christmas so I'm excited to be here all week!

AM - Morning workout, another "see how I feel" one. I drove to the least hilly area that is close by to home. By the time I got going, it was already pretty hot and humid - reminded me a lot of Boston. Warm-up of 2 miles then -

4 mile tempo at 6:22 pace, 0.5 jog
2 x 0.5 mile at 5:54 pace, equal recovery
2 x 0.25 mile at 5:45 pace, equal recovery
2 x .125 mile at 5:45 pace, equal recovery

Not a stellar workout, but 5.75 miles of faster running. My effort level was much higher than the paces I was running. Will try to get up earlier on Thursday and get in a faster workout. I need to work on my turnover if I want to try to break 17 minutes in ten days at PTF!

PM - 3.1 miles once the sun went down. Really pleasant and relaxing run.

AM - Medium-long run, out and back on the bike path along the lake. Not nearly as fun as our typical group Wednesday runs, but nice and relaxing knowing that I didn't have to work. I wore my bathing suit on the run (luckily anything goes in TN!) b/c I promised my bride-to-be that I wouldn't have terrible tan lines for her wedding :)

AM - Workout at my high school track. Ran 4x1600m w/400m recovery, then 6x400m w/200m recovery. 1600s were 5:46, 5:45, 5:44, 5:47 (10K pace) and 400s were 78, 79, 80, 79, 78, 79 (5K+ pace). I ran the first mile counterclockwise but got paranoid about my hamstring. So I switched directions and didn't have any problems. The mile repeats seemed very controlled and I felt strong through most of the 400s (obviously tired by the end).  I could tell a difference in the altitude difference with my ability to recover from each interval which was nice. A great workout! 

PM - Hiked 8 miles at Frozen Head State Park with my parents, 2050 vertical ft. Went up to an old Fire Tower to get views of the area. Beautiful mountains, in a totally different way than those out west. Was pretty exhausted by the end and figured that was enough exercise for one day, so no afternoon run.