A clydesdale no more!

Exercises at the gym included a 0.7 mile run.  Boy, did I struggle this morning.  I don't think the exercises were particularly difficult but they really kicked my butt.  Collapses in a sweaty heap a couple of times.

Today's edition of tempo Tuesday was a good, hard run.  Tara wanted to some faster stuff and my goal was to attempt to keep up as long as I could.  Wamred up with 4 easy miles then ran 6X800 at 6:00/mile with a 2 minute active recovery.  Splits were: 3:00, 2:55, 2:57, 2:57, 2:57, 3:00.  Tara finished a few seconds ahed of me on the last one.  The 5th and 6th were tough.  I gave up on the last one and just wanted to keep it at 6:00/mile.  Even though I lagged behind on the last one, it felt good to get in a hard, fast run.

Talked myself out of running several times this morning.  Evenutally got out the door and got in a few miles.  Almost turned back for home after getting to the top of the street.  Just one of those mornings.  Ran the Orchard Dr. loop at an easy pace.  Keeping the mileage low this week so that I am ready for Big Cottonwood next week.

I may have been bumped up to the 3:25 pacer for Big Cottonwood.  Makes me a little nervous.  Today's run made me absolutely terrified.  I waited for the storm to move through before I went running which ended up being a mistake.  It was a little warmer than I thought and the run was a struggle.  First 6 miles felt fine.  Averaged 7:40/mile and the effort felt good.  When I turned for home, I immediatley lost all of my energy.  No explanation for it.  Just felt super light headed and my body did not want to move.  Ended up taking a short cut home and even walked 1/2 mile because I just wasn't feeling it.

I think that I will skip the gym this week so I don't do any unwanted damage before the marathon.  Ran an easy 5 in perfect running weather.  Still felt a little of whatever was going on with me yesterday.  Pretty sure it is dehydration as my weight has dropped a few pounds in the last couple of days.

Kam and Tara were nice enough to make today's run an easy one.  Nice, relaxing run on the LPT.  Still don't feel great but am a little better than the last couple of days. 

Bought a new pair of shoes figuring that 3 short runs should be enough to break them in.  Stepped out the door and it was a torrential down pour so put the shoes back in the box.  I can't remember the last time it rained this hard.  Considered not running at all but had to return a redbox dvd that was alreayd late and if I didn't do it while I was thinking about it, I would wait another week or two to return it.  Run felt good.  Legs are starting to come back.  Now the debate is whether or not I should wear the new shoes for the marathon on Saturday with only 2 runs in them.

Nice and easy taper run.  The new shoes felt good.  They fit a lot better than the last pair of Adrenalines.  My heels started to feel a little warm towards the end of the run so my feet are moving around in them a little too much right now.  One more run should mold the insoles to my foot a little better and get the laces where I want them to be so there will be less friction.  There was the slightest hint of snap in my legs during the run.  That helps ease my nerves a little bit.  Still not 100% confident with the 3:25 pacing duty.

Just a short, quick 2 miler to shake out the legs.  Spent the day at the Big Cottonwood marathon expo selling pacebands.  We got a booth to see if there was any interest.  People really seemed to like the idea of the bands and really liked the elevation maps and course analysis we provided.  Still trying to decide if it is really worth the time and stress it takes.

Originally volunteered as the 3:35 pacer because that was Becky's goal time for her first marathon.  Her training went so incredibly well that she changed her goal time to 3:25.  When I saw the 3:25 spot available I asked to move up to that time (actually talked into moving up).  This made me very nervous.  Hitting that time on this fast of a course was not a big concern physically but I haven't run a fast marathon in almost 3 years so I had a bit of a mental barrier I needed to get past.  My other concern was that I haven't been through a proper marathon training cycle.  The last few months have mostly been 3 days of boot camp and 3-4 days of running.  I have had plenty of long runs (four 20+ mile runs) but my weekly mileage has been lacking.  Logically, I knew I could easilty do it but there is always that irrational fear the you have to overcome.

Had a very adventurous bus ride to the start.  Three miles from the start line, a bus took a hair pin turn to tight and got stuck and was completely blocking the road.  Panic started to set in as we thought it would take at least an hour to clear the road.  After 20 minutes of waiting around, they said to walk up the hill 1/2 mile and the 3 buses that had already made it to the start would shuttle us the rest of the way. Made it to the start line and being there alleviated a lot of the stress.  Still had no idea when the race was going to start but at least we were where we needed to be.  The race only started 30 minutes lates which was incredible considering what they had to deal with.  As we were preparing to start the race, I stripped off my outer layer of clothes and threw the drop bag in the bus.  About a minute later, I realized I left my GU belt in my bag.  Had no idea what I was going to do.  Wasn't about to rummage through 1,000 identical orange bags and there was no way I was getting through the race without GU.  Becky had extra so I could take some from her but I really didn't want to take hers.  Just hoping they would have some along the way.

Thought I was pacing alone so was happy to see Matt with the 3:25 sign.  Pacing a marathon solo is stressful because so many things can go wrong along the way.  Becky's plan was to stick with us for the first few miles so she wouldn't be tempted to go out too fast.  We maintained a good, steady pace coming down the canyon.  I could feel the downhill in my quads early in the race which caused a little concern.  Even thought it is a severe downhill race, there were a few sections that flattened out that gave the downhill running muscles a break.  After 9 miles, I could tell Becky was itching to go so I told her that she had done the smart thing by starting conservatively and if the effort felt easy that should could start easing forward but to not go more than 10-15 seconds per mile faster.  She started to edge forward.  I was excited for her.  There was a good group that stuck with us for the first 16 miles of the race.  A lot of them were trying to get their last minute Boston qualifying time.  After exiting the canyon at mile 17 and a couple more miles of gradual downhill we turned onto Holladay Boulevard for the real work.  Kept the same effort and let the pace slow.  Our group of runners started to thin out.  We had one girl from Texas that was with us stride for stride since the start and a couple of other guys still hanging on.  As we got to the end of Holladay Blvd., at mile 22, I heard somebody say "I'm struggling".  Looked up and it was Becky.  Took me by surprise because I really didn't expect to see her.  Started the internal battle of whether I should stay with her or stick with the 3:25 group.  I really wanted this to be her thing and thought if I stayed with her it would take away from her accomplishment so I continued on.  I'm sure it was the wrong decision and I regret it a little.  We lost contact with the guys that were hanging on and just had the Texas girl with us.  Matt and I continued on pace for the next few miles down 4500 S. and onto Highland drive.  We were 45 seconds ahead of goal time which is ideal.  At mile 24.5 I could tell we were holding the Texas girl back so I told Matt to run her in and I would stick to our pace.  Shortly after this, I came across a former neighbor who was having issues with her piriformis.  Talked to her for a second and she decided to stick with me the rest of the way.  It was nice to be running with somebody I knew for the last stretch.  Picked up another guy along the way and we stuck together the rest of the way.  Hit the mlie 26 marker 40 seconds ahead of pace and was happy I was coming in so close to my goal time.  The only problem was that the distance from the marker to the finish line was 0.4 miles.  I ended up coming in 40 seconds late.  Really glad I didn't have any Boston hopefuls with me.  My best guess is that the total distance was correct but the mile markers were off.  Either way, it really made hitting my goal time difficult.

Immediately after crossing the finish line I ditched my pacer sign and started running back to find Becky.  Was so surprised to see her less than 1/2 mile from the finish line. Ran the last little bit with her and Tara.  Hit the last turn and let her go so should could enjoy the last stretch on her own.  Although she missed her "B" goal by a couple of minutes, she BQ'd by more than 7 minutes which is quite an accomplishment for her first marathon.

Was able to walk down the stairs so decided it would be good to go to the gym.  The workout was perfect for my recovery.  I haven't been for 2 weeks and I could start to feel and see it.  The workout inclued an 0.8 mile run.  IMy calves are the only thing that are sore.

Nice and easy run to help the legs recover.  Other than some tightness in my calves, everything feels good.  Just the usual post marathon dead legs.

Workout at Firehouse included a 0.5 mile run.  The workout was a little tougher this morning.  There were a lot of the exercises that I hate (v-hops, straight hops, mountain lunges).  I guess it is important to focus on the things that we are not good at doing so that we can improve.  Other than a little pain in the left calf, I feel completely recovered.

My calves are hammered from too many calf raises at the gym on Thursday.  Running up to the temple probably wasn't the greatest idea.  It was hot and windy and the hills were a killer.  Still enjoyed the run.  My right ankle is killing me now.  Running down the hill may have caused a little more damage than I would have liked.

Tempo Tuesday on the LPT. Just Tara and me as Kam is prepping for Huntsville.  Started with 4 easy miles to warm up.  The plan was to run a 10K at sub 6:45 pace.  Started out right on target then we got a little faster.  Felt fine for the first 4 miles but then I started to struggle.  I let Tara go after 5 miles and ran 7:30 pace for a 1/2 mile to recover a little.  Finished the last 1/2 mile at 6:30 pace.  Splits were: 6:39, 6:29, 6:34, 6:36, 6:35, 7:00.  A little disappointed that I couldn't finish but knew it was a more aggressive pace than what I am ready for right now.

Workout at Firehouse included 2 short runs.  Four minutes each which I am guessing was close to 1/2 mile each (probably a little more).  Getting back into the routine of 3 days gym and 3 days running feels good.  Felt like I was starting to soften a little when I backed off the gym days.

Brrrr it was cold this morning and I absolutely loved it.  Ran my usual 8 mile loop and felt better than I have in a long time.  Had a hard time deciding between the gym and running this morning.  Definitely made the right decision to run. 

Followed up yesterday's great run with a horrible run. That's the way it always seems to go. Headed out to the LPT sans watch. Probably good that I didn't have any pace feedback as I certainly would have been disappointed. Have to remember to eat of I go on later runs. Right ankle is super sore. 

The workout at Firehouse included 3 runs.  It was our choice for how long each run was but each cycle was 7:45 and we had an additional ab exercises after each run.  I ran 0.8 mile, 0.8 miles and 0.7 miles and had a few minutes for the ab exercises.  If I were responsible, I would run less and spend extra time on the abs since I get enough running throughout the week.  My shoulder tenonitis is flaring up which makes some of the weight exercises tough.