A clydesdale no more!

Supposed to be a speed day.  I opened the door and felt a blast of arctic air and decided there was no way I was going to run fast outside.  Thought I would give the treadmill a try (for the first time in 3 years).  Started with 3 miles at 8:00/mile then attempted a speed workout.  Was shooting for 4X1,200 at 5K pace.  The first one was alright but felt too hard.  Got halfway through the second one and backed off the speed to 9.8 mph.  Finished it and decided that speed work on a treadmill is not for me.  Ran another couple of miles progressing from 7:20/mile down to 6:00/mile and called it good.  I don't know how you guys do it on the treadmill day in and day out.

Put on a few extra layers of clothes and headed out the door.  It actually wasn't that bad. My legs didn't move particularly well.  I'm not sure if it was because of the cold or just one of those days.  

One of my kids is sick so I stayed in and ran on the treadmill.  Twice in one week.  That's a new record for me.  I kept it at a robust pace.  It felt good.  The one good thing about the treadmill is that I am forced to keep an honest pace.  I have a tendency to get lazy on the road because I am so used to it and slip into a comfort zone.

Very important question: Where is a good place to buy a running skirt (not for me obviously)?  I'm not looking for the best online store but someplace where they can be tried on.

Short on time so I was short on miles.  

Wanted to keep a nice an steady 7:30 throughout the run.  Haven't run on the LPT for a long time so that is where I headed.  First 12 miles were great. The pace felt comfortable and I was gradually speeding up.  The last 3 felt like I got hit by a truck.  I was completely wiped out and I had to shift into survival mode.  I think these types of runs are good every once in a while so you can build the mental strength to keep going when your body is not cooperating.  Running a respectable time at the Moab 1/2 next month is very much in doubt.

My legs are sore and I have very little energy.  Not sure what is going on.  I checked my blood pressure yesterday after the run and it was pretty high.  I don't know if the run caused it to go high or if it being high caused the run to be so bad.  All of the kids have been sick the past week so maybe I've got a little bug.

Had a difficult time sleeping because I had one kid coughing all night and the furnace went out so the house was freezing.  Just couldn't muster up enough energy to push myself out the door. Excuses, excuses. 

7 very "blah" miles.  Almost felt like it was a waste to run.  Tried picking up the pace after 3 miles but the body violently refused to cooperate.  Averaged 8:15/mile and struggled to do so.

Felt better today.  I am definitely noticing a correlation between my blood pressure and how I feel when I run.  And of course the blood pressure is related to stress so I guess I simply need to focus on having a stress free life and everything will be good.  Any suggestions on how to accomplish that?

Feeling a little better each day. 

Have not felt particularly speedy lately so I had my reservations about racing this one.  Ashton and Becky both ran the 5k so I considered running with them but realized I had to face my fears and run hard.  Warmed up with 2 miles and felt pretty good.  There was a problem with the timing system so the race started 15 minutes late.  I was anxious and ready to go so it was a bit annoying having to wait.  My Garmin was dead so I was going to be running this one naked.  Not thrilled about it but didn't have much of a choice.  The race finally started and I was in the lead for about 1/4 mile.  I let a pack of runners go past me because it felt too fast.  I felt like I was slower than goal pace (6:00/mile) and was working too hard. As we approached the 1 mile marker, I sped up to catch the girl ahead of me so I could find out what the split was.  She said it was 5:45 and I was a bit shocked.  Decided to just keep pushing and not let the pack ahead get too far away.  I had a real hard time getting my legs to turn over.  Tried longer strides, short and fast strides but nothing seemed to feel right.  Was caught by another runner at the 2 mile mark.  I stuck with him for as long as I could but he put a little distance on me towards the end of the race.  Having him as a target definitely helped me push harder than I would have otherwise.  Got a little pukey during the last mile.  Finished in 18:51 which was 2 seconds faster than last year (although it was only good for 8th place).  I have raced this course 3 times and have finished in 18:47, 18:53 and 18:51.  Not sure if I would consider that being consistent or in a rut.  I am happy that it was at least the same as last year.  Maybe my fitness has not dropped off as much as I thought. 

Becky finished with a PR of 24:12 and we are still trying to find out Ashton's time.  The timing and results were a mess.  Getting a new timing system 2 days before a race was probably not the best idea on the rec centers part. The kids ran the 1k and Gracie got first for her age group and Emma got 3rd.

Too sick to run (stomach).  I haven't had this many illnesses in a long time.  

Nothing spectacular but at least I got something in.  

The roads were very slippery.  Felt really good even though I couldn't really push the pace because of the poor footing.

We are in St. George for a soccer tournament.  Unfortunately, it was quite a bit colder than I would have liked.  First 4 miles were pretty slow but last 4 felt good and were at a decent pace.

Very little time for a run this morning because the games start early.  Only got in a few miles.  I will try to get in a longer run tomorrow.  

It is cold and rainy and the girls are not playing well.  They are still having fun and it is a good getaway.  They have played well enough to make it to the semi finals on Monday so all is not lost.

Another cold and rainy morning.  Ran from the hotel up the marathon course for a few miles then headed back.  The first part of the run was terrible and very slow.  Felt like I should have just crawled back in bed.  Felt better towards the end and probably should have extended the run to get in some miles while I felt good.  

Why do I do this to myself?  I had way too much sugar during the weekend and especially during the drive.  My weight sky rocketed but I think it is an artificial increase and should come off quickly.  Felt alright during the run but not spectacular.  

I'm feeling a little guilty that so many of you are injured and cannot run and I am physically fine and am just not in the mood to run right now.  I will keep plugging along because I know I will regret letting myself get too far out of shape.

Decent run in a nasty snow storm.  Body felt alright although a little slow.  Run was going well until the last 2 miles when I got a call informing me of my $860 car repair bill.

Becky wanted to do her long run outside now that the weather is getting a little better . I thought I would keep her company since she is not used to running by herself outside.  She did really well.  We averaged 9:15/mile with the last few close to 9 (last mile in 8:47).