Going With The Flow

JAJA RUN! They are coming back :) We ran up the summer road to the campground very slowly (~1000ft) then back down. Luckily we hit the 1 hour time window when it wasn't pouring rain. I felt super tight as soon as we stopped but the post-run hot tub worked wonders. My legs feel like I ran a hard half marathon yesterday but otherwise feel good. Seems like I do a lot better when I'm running uphill/downhill then running flat these days. Or maybe I'm just not thinking about how I feel quite as much when I'm running with people. Doesn't matter - 35 miles this week!

PM - 9 mile bike ride with Jake. Best-feeling bike ride since last year. 

AM - 5.8 miles around Millcreek with Jake, 8:15 pace. We ran a hillier course than usual since I seem to feel better on hills than on flat terrain. I'm going for 40 miles this week! :)

Interesting summary of a study about interval training in Sweat Science - "Jog or walk the Recovery?". 

4.1 miles around the tempo loop. Ran 1/2 mile and 1/4 mile hard during the run just for kicks (3:00 and :82, respectively). I could feel a lot of fatigue in my legs from increasing mileage, but it's a good fatigue. 

Does anyone know how to fix the weird formatting of my blog entries?

7 miles (!!!) with Jake up to Sugarhouse and back. It was raining the whole time and we both got completely drenched twice from car splashes.

Great read by Science of Running: "State of the sport - Rescuing running from life support"

5 miles up and down the hills close to home, 8:15 pace. 

I just had a conversation with a new coworker of mine that was apparently into cycling racing back in the 70s. The topic of doping came up and she said that she used her share of steroids and EPO at that time. It was all so nonchalant and casual - she even mentioned that it was "just what you did back then". I'm still unsure what to think of this conversation...

Easy recovery day - 3.3 miles around home.

I can't decide between running a 5K tomorrow and doing a long (10 mile) run. I am really interested to see how I have progressed since Draper Days 5K two months ago and get an idea as to where I'm at with six weeks around 30 mpw. But I am a little nervous about trying to run fast and how everything will feel. I am planning to run TOU 5K next weekend, so I don't know whether the extra week of slow running will help or not. It would also be nice to get in a 10 mile run on the trails...I am way overthinking this. 

Flat as a Pancake 5K! Great race today - I am so glad that I ran it. The race was a fundraiser for the West Jordan XC Team, and the kids did a great job putting it together (except for maybe promoting the event to get more people to race). The course is as flat and accurate as you could hope for with about 1 mile on the road/track and 2 miles on dirt.

I ran a short warm-up with Allie and James (1+ mile) then a couple strides. The race started and a large group went out fast. I tried to hang back, knowing that going out too fast would be detrimental because of my lack of speed work. The first 1/2 mile is on the road then it's an out-and-back on the dirt canal trail. No mile markers and I forgot to start my watch, so I have no idea how fast/slow I was running. I passed several of the early sprinters then was solo for the last 2 miles. I got to see Allie and James duking it out right before the turn-around and wished that I was in better shape because they were already a good 45 seconds in front of me! My breathing was pretty out-of-control, and I just couldn't get my legs moving faster (not surprising). I hit the road again at 2.5 miles and got a boost from the faster surface. The last 350 meters are around the track and I finished in 19:13.

I had absolutely no pain and felt very much like my old self, except for slower time :) I am so thrilled with this - I ran what I thought I was capable of (my guess was 19:15) and seriously no discomfort! This is 2:15 faster than Draper Days 8 weeks ago.

I asked Allie and James how they did, and Allie ran an 18 second PR (17:30)!! James ran his best 5K in over a year....so a satisfying day for all of us. We cooled down for 2+ miles. Our rewards were the choice of a jug of orange juice, grape juice, or milk! You had to be there, but this was just hilarioius. You can see how happy Allie is - she chugged all 100 grams of sugar in that healthy chocolate milk.