A clydesdale no more!

Trying to think of something exciting to report about today's run but it was pretty uneventful.  Typical GA run.  I'm noticing that it is taking a little longer to get into a groove because of the cold and increased mileage. 

My motivation for running was very low this morning.  I really was not looking forward to 2 hours on the road.  Despite my poor attitude, I headed out the door and put one foot in front of the other for a couple of hours.  My pace was much slower than it should have been and the effort was not even close to what I would have wanted but it is done.  

I'm really starting to appreciate recovery runs.  Nice and easy pace.

Spent 10 minutes looking for my Garmin this morning to no avail.  I didn't need it for mileage tracking but really wanted to use it to make sure that I kept my pace honest.  Started out with a good pace (I think) and maintained it for the first 8 miles.  There was just enough moisture in the air and it was just cold enough that the road had a layer of ice for the last 3 miles.  I had to back off the pace so I could maintain my footing.  Felt really good during the run and wish that I could have run harder for the last few miles.  Got home and found my Garmin sitting exactly where it was supposed to be even though I checked there 5 times.

Recovery run.  My left knee and right ankle are a little sore.  Nothing to worry about just making note of it.

Drove to the Kaysville Poop Trail (KPT).  Don't know what it is really called but it seems like a fitting name considering the aroma from the surrounding pastures and the amount of horse and dog stuff I had to dodge on the trail.  It's actually a really nice trail and a great place to run.  It was nice to run someplace new.  I was planning on getting 10-11 miles before the club met.  Started out and for the first 3 miles I was very light headed and was seeing spots.  Could not figure out what the problem was and thought it was going to be a long 2.5 hours if this kept up.  I only ate half my lunch and half my dinner yesterday and I realized that I was very hungry.  Started having lots of cravings: Dunford chocolate donuts, a big stack of blueberry pancakes, eggs, sausage. Thinking about the food that I wanted help distract me but my pace was very slow.  After 4.25 miles the paved trail ends and it was loose gravel (I missed the turn I was supposed to make).  Ran a mile on the loose gravel then turned and headed back.  Was able to pick the pace up a little on the way back and started feeling good.  Turned out that running 10 super slow miles was a smart move.  Met the club and Jim wanted to run 9 miles and push the pace.  A little faster and a little more than I was planning but thought I would try to hang with him.  We ran at or below 7:00/mile pace for 8 miles then ran the last mile at 7:30/mile pace.  It was a good pace and, while it took a lot of work, it didn't kill me.  There were a few times that I started to drift back but convinced myself that I wasn't tired, just having a mental lapse.  Despite the poor start, it turned out to be a good run.

Just once I wish I would wake up on tempo day full of energy and excited to run.  Was awake between 1 and 3 for some unknown reason then up at 4:30 to start the day.  Warmed up with 3 easy miles then started a 4 mile tempo run.  Warm up miles were slower than usual (8:45/mile) which had me concerned.  Once I got my legs moving during the tempo miles I felt a lot better.  Pace and form felt very good and smooth.  Splits were: 6:27, 6:25, 6:26, 6:27.  Maybe I need to start working on getting control of the erratic pace.  Cooled down with 2 easy miles.

My legs felt tired and heavy during the run which made my feet too slappy.  I thought my weight would come down a little once the mileage started to increase but I have put on a couple of pounds.  There are a few things I should be doing differently with regards to the way I eat.  I just need to find the will power to do something about it.

Recovery run.  My legs feel like lead.  Good sign that training is going just as it should.

Looked out the window and saw a fresh blanket of snow on the ground and it was still coming down hard.  Wasn't expecting that.  Other than a little fatigue in the legs, I felt really good during the run.  The miles seemed to go by pretty quickly.  The pace felt faster than it was so my internal speedometer must be out of whack. 

Recovery run.  Started in a very light snowfall that progressively picked up but wasn't too bad.  I'm running a 5k tomorrow and also have a 20 miler scheduled.  I haven't decided how to handle it.  My initial plan was to move the 20 miler to Monday because next week is a recovery week with lower mileage.  Thought about doing 17 tomorrow morning and finishing it off with the 5k.  The only question is if I want to sacrifice my 5k time.  I don't think that I do so I'm leaning towards running the 20 on Monday.

Warmed up before the race by running the course plus a little.  The weather was really nice although it was drizzling.  Went with shorts, long sleeve shirt and gloves just so I would be comfortable.  Legs didn't feel particularly snappy but I felt alright.  My goal for the race was to run under 19 minutes and finish in the top 3 (not a very competitive race).  As they were doing the countdown I felt like I was forgetting something.  It was strange but the way I was standing just didn't feel right.  We were off and 2 guys took off very fast.  I knew one was shooting for 17 minutes and he built a good lead pretty quick with the other not too far behind him.  A quarter mile into the race I realized what didn't feel right at the start was that I did not have my finger on my watch to start it.  Who forgets to start their watch in a race?  I started my watch and figured that I could use the average pace if nothing else.  A female runner went by me and I could not believe that I was going to get chicked.  I guess it would only be fitting at a Valentine's day race.  After 1/2 mile of being in 4th place I decided to speed up just a little.  I closed the distance on the female runner and the 2nd place runner started coming back to me.  Passed him and was comfortably in second place.  Made the turn at 1.25 miles and was able to see how much distance I had on 3rd place.  It wasn't a lot.  I tried to run as smooth as possible during the small climb but 3rd place was closing.  At the next turn I noticed that he was very close.  He caught up at the 2 mile mark and we ran together for 1/4 mile before he started to build a lead.  My legs were not burning too much but I didn't feel like I could push any harder than I was.  Made the mistake of looking back and realizing that I had 3rd place locked up and probably relaxed a little.  Cruised to the finish.  Final time was 18:53 and I would estimate my splits at: 5:57, 6:12, 6:11, 0:33).  I felt good about the race (only 6 seconds slower than when I ran the course in 2007).  The biggest issue was not being able to push to the next level.  Physically I was capable of running faster but since I have not spent a lot of time running 5k pace I was not mentally ready for it.  I never hit puke pace which is something that I shoot for in the last 1/2 mile of a 5k.  My girls ran the kids k and seemed to have a lot of fun.

Cold, dark, gloomy and rainy.  Not exactly the weather I would chose for a long run.  I wasn't sure if the battery in my Garmin would last the entire run so I wanted to do an out and back run so it would only have to last 10 miles.  Ran to the LPT and followed it to the end in Farmington.  Still needed another 1.5 miles so I ran through the neighborhoods in west Farmington.  The freezing rain started to pick up on the way back and my feet were soaking wet.  Felt good for most of the run but the last 3 miles were brutal.  This is technically my long run for last week and I am not sure how I will handle the rest of the week.  It is a recovery week so I may only run 1 of the 2 medium long runs during the week. 

My shoes were still wet from yesterday so I rummaged through the closet to find a retired pair. I quickly realized why they were retired.  There was no cushioning left in them at all.  In addition to the dead shoes, the back of my heal was rubbed raw by my racing flats on Saturday and it was pretty painful.  All things pointed to a short recovery run today.  So I stumbled through 5 painful miles and all I have to show for it are sore legs and a bloody sock.  Hopefully everything will feel better tomorrow.

Ran out to the LPT for a good run in a light snowfall.  Kept the pace at 7:30/mile and felt good throughout.  Left ankle was a little sore at first but wasn't an issue once it warmed up. 

Nice and easy recovery run.  Ankles are sore so I wasn't able to push off very well.  

First few miles were a little blah but started to feel good once I got going.  I'm breaking in a new pair of shoes and it always takes a while for them to get comfortable.  Got home and ran 1K with my girls.  Gracie wants to do a 5K so I am going to try to make this part of the routine.

I so badly wanted to meet the group in Lehi but the Trib is doing an article on Lora (the leader of our running club) and they were going to meet the group this morning.  A reporter interviewed me last night about her and I wanted to be there for her this morning.  Drove to the KPT and met the group.  It was a pretty good turnout this morning.  Ran the first 4 miles with Jim, Lora and Sylvia at a pretty leisurely pace.  They turned back and I headed out through the west side of Kaysville.  It is very rural and was a nice and peaceful run.  I picked up the pace a little once I was on my own and felt good.  I ran without my fuel belt this morning and I could feel it after 12 miles.  I've been better about taking fluids on longer runs so my body has gotten used to it.  Probably good to do it every once in awhile so the body does not become so reliant on the fluids.  Possible JD sighting???

Total Time: 1:48:28 (7:45/mile)

See Teena - you do run faster than me.

On tap for today was a 5 mile tempo run.  It was cold this morning and I was feeling some negative energy so I was concerned about being able to handle a tempo run.  Warmed up with 3 miles (8:41/mile).  My splits for the tempo miles were: 6:22, 6:26, 6:31, 6:24, 6:28.  My concern for not doing well caused me to push too hard during the first mile and run it too fast.   I never could get comfortable and felt like I was forcing the pace the entire run.  I let the pace really slip during the third mile and overcompensated on the 4th.  Mile 4 is also along a stretch of road that I hate and I convinced myself that I was running too slow which caused me to push the pace.  For a minute, I considered taking a break after the 4th mile but realized that these are the feelings that are important to push through to learn that, despite the fatigue, I can still run at a decent pace.  Pace felt erratic and took too much mental effort but it was a good learning experience.  Cooled down with 2 easy miles (8:47/mile).

Total Time: 1:15:47 (7:35/mile)

 My left achilles tendon started hurting on Sunday and yesterday's run aggravated it.  I wanted to run as flat as a course as I could today to avoid making it even worse so I ran out to the LPT.  Achilles was very sore to start and I was hoping that it would feel better as it warmed up.  Unfortunately it never did and actually started to hurt worse towards the end of the run.  I didn't really feel like I was pushing the pace at all but could not run very fast because of the sore achilles.

Total Time: 1:51:13 (7:57/mile)

Achilles felt better this morning so I was hopeful as I set out on my 5 mile recovery run.  Two steps into the run it started to hurt again and I was running with a significant limp.  As I was limping along, Kathie's words were echoing in my head: "Do what you would tell the rest of us to do in the same situation."  Got to the 1/2 mile marker and turned around and headed home.  I'm icing it now hoping that it will feel better by tomorrow.

Achilles did not hurt this morning until I put my shoes on.  The extra little lift the shoes give my foot must be causing the problem.  I started wearing new shoes on Friday and the pain started on Sunday.  It's gotta be the shoes.  I've been wearing the same model for over 5 years so it's strange that it started causing problems now.  There was pain during the run (6 out of 10?) but it is manageable and I should be alright once I get used to it.  Running did not seem to make it any worse.  The only issue is that I could start to feel my right ITB because it was compensating for the left achilles pain.

Total Time: 1:30:04 (8:11/mile)

I'm doing all that I can to resist the urge to run today.  I feel alright but know that the smart thing to do is let me achilles have a break today so that I have a better chance of getting through tomorrow's long run.  The probability of aggravating the injury with an 8 mile run far outweighs the benefit that I would receive from it.  I have always been one of those run through anything runners but am trying to be smarter about things. 

I bought some KT tape last night and taped my left achilles.  After putting the tape on, there was no pain at all.  I was very hopeful that this would fix the problem.  Once I put my shoes on this morning I could feel a little discomfort.  Drove to the KPT to get in 11 miles before the club run.  Started out at a comfortable pace (around 8:00/mile) and my achilles was killing me.  After 5 miles at this pace I sped up to 7:30/mile and it felt a lot better.  This seemed to be the sweet spot where the pain was the most tolerable.  Met the club (big crowd today) and ran 9 more miles alone.  Some guy caught up to and passed me so I decided to use him as a target and keep up with him.  He was going just under 7:00/mile and I could tell he was really laboring.  After 1 mile he stopped and I passed him while he was bent over holding his kness and gasping for air.  He must have been doing a tempo run.  Other than the achilles pain, I could not believe how great I felt during the run.  It really felt effortless until the last 2 miles which took more concentration.  Maybe focusing on the pain in one spot made me forget about anything else that may have been hurting.  After the run, I took my shoes off and there is very little pain.  There is a noticeable bump on the achilles which I am going to try to roll out with the stick.

Total Time: 2:31:43 (7:36/mile)