A clydesdale no more!

Another low energy day.  Ran at a very easy pace.  My right hamstring was really sore.  It is usually my left that causes me trouble.  Pretty sure it is just part of getting used to the cold weather running.

I don't think I've ever seen the moon so bright.  Pretty cool sight.  All day yesterday I was experiencing pain in the back of my right leg. Looking at the anatomy of the leg, I think it is the adductor muscle.  Since it was bothering me this morning I thought it would be best to cut back on the mileage.  My form was pretty clunky.  Hopefully a couple of easy runs will keep it in check.

It reached another level of cold this morning.  I think it is actually going to get worse tomorrow.  My right leg is still bothering me so I took it easy again.  I usually ignore these type of issues and push through it but am opting for a different approach this time.  The discomfort moved to my quad and up my back in addition to the adductor.  It's not bad, just a little bothersome.

AM

Ran an easy 4 with some striders thrown in just to wake my legs up.  Right leg is feeling much better.  It is noticeable but does not really affect the running.  Striders felt good.

PM

The Jingle Bell 5k is a really fun race and is a fundraiser the JDRF.  My ex has diabetes so it is an organization that I like to support when I can.  I won the race last year because it is run on a Friday night in December.  Most people have far better things to do with their Friday nights than run a race in the frigid cold.  Picked up my packet last night and instead of coming in a bag they put your stuff in a Christmas gift box (I thought it was a nice touch).  Laced up my red racing flats with bells tied to the laces - very festive.  Warmed up with 2 easy miles and realized the turnout this year seemed to be less than last year.  It's always hard to tell who the competition is but one kid looked like real trouble.  As we lined up, everybody was really hesitant to get up to the front.  It was very strange.  We were off after the countdown from 10 and the race seemed to start really slow.  I was out in front and felt like I was running at a comfortable pace.  I wasn't going to push it unless I had to.  After a few twists and turns, we were on Main Street in Bountiful where there was a crowd lined up to watch the light parade.  They were nice enough to cheer and it felt pretty cool running behind the lead vehicle (moped) with people in the crowd cheering you on.  Hit the first slightly downhill mile in 5:45 (4 seconds faster than last year) and felt very good.  The fast looking kid was about 10 yards behind me.  The course is pretty flat for the second mile.  I tried to keep my form relaxed and still push the pace.  At about 1.5 miles, I could hear foot steps and knew the fast kid was closing in on me.  He passed me, I offered words of encouragement and tried not to fall too far behind.  He put about 20 yards on me then held that lead the rest of the way.  Second mile split was 6:04 (10 seconds faster than last year).  The third mile is a slight uphill and last year I had no one in sight so I just coasted.  Having somebody in front of me helped keep the pace more honest.  I never felt like I could catch him but was glad to have a target.  I wasn't able to push it into puke pace which left me a little disappointed but I did run it in 6:32 which was 13 seconds faster than last year.  Ran 5:40 pace for the last 0.14 (a little long because they moved the starting line back from where it was last year).  Final time was 19:09.  I feel really good about the race.  I didn't feel tired at all once I finished which means that the fitness is there and I just need to get used to the pain of racing again.  I definitely could have run faster if I were more mentally ready to do so.

Ran on the LPT with Trevor.  He only wanted to go 6 miles and I wasn't feeling like going long this morning.  Started at 7:20/mile and ran each mile a little faster with the last mile being 6:45.  It was an unintentional progression run.  I felt light headed but everything else felt really good.  Legs didn't fatigue like they usually do and breathing was good. 

There is something about running in a light snowfall that I really like.  It makes everything seem so peaceful.  I felt really good during the run.  Other than the poor footing, it felt like I was able to move well.  Maybe it had something to do with a more positive attitude (something to be learned there). 

I was planning on a tempo run today but the nasty snow storm made me change my plans.  Ran a snowy, slippery seven miler.  Spent most of my energy trying to stay upright. 

The temperature dropped and the roads where super slippery.  Since there is no way I am going to get any runs in this week that resemble speed work, I decided to run a hilly route today to stimulate the muscles.  Ran up 1800 South to the mouth of Mueller Park canyon.  Didn't work as hard as I should have but it was a good run. 

It was 4 degrees as I started the run.  It actually wasn't that bad once my body warmed up a couple of miles into the run.  Tried to maintain a decent pace through out the run with a couple of pick ups whenever I came across a clear patch of road.

Just a nice and easy run.  I have almost adjusted to the cold weather.

Drove to the LPT trail head to get in a few miles before the club run.  The trail was packed with snow so I ran on the roads instead. It was 20 degrees and actually felt balmy compared to every other run this week.  The roads where snow covered so the pace was slow but felt good otherwise.  Ran 10 miles before the club run then ran 5 miles with Jim, Trevor and Julie Thomas.  Julie spoke at our monthly mingle and it was fun hearing about her training, etc. 

Woke up at 2 and couldn't go back to sleep.  Headed out the door and needed to burn off some negative energy.  Legs felt good and were moving well.  A song came on the radio that inspired more positive feelings and I dropped the pace for the next few miles.  Turned out to be a good run.  The temperatures were in the 30's which makes running a lot easier.  The fresh layer of snow made everything seem clean and crisp.

Woke up late so I could only get in a few miles.  I guess I made up for not getting enough sleep the night before.  Debated whether or not getting in 4 miles was worth getting dressed for.  If it were later in the week I may have taken the day off but just didn't feel right about it so I headed out the door.  Felt pretty good during the run.  

Warmed up with 3 easy miles then ran 4 at tempo pace.  I wasn't in the right place mentally to maintain the proper focus during the run.  I continually tried redirecting my thoughts but they kept going to the same place.  Splits were: 6:34, 6:32, 6:37, 6:37.  The pace was alright but I don't feel like I put as good of an effort in as I should have.  

Went outside with no plan.  Just wanted to go wherever my legs took me.  Ended up running up 1800 South to the mouth of Mueller Park canyon.  Good, hilly run.  Felt good going up and coming back down.

Just a nice and easy run.  The back of my right legs was a little sore (top to bottom) so I figured it needed a little rest. 

Got a late start so was only able to get in 10 miles at 7:24/mile.  I am going to try to get out for a long run tomorrow.

I've been bad about skimping on my long runs.  Always finding an excuse to cut them short.  It's time to rededicate myself to more serious training and putting in the miles that I should.  After cutting yesterday's run short, I decided to get in a decent long run today.  Besides, I had to test out my new Amphipod that I bought myself for Christmas.  Tried to keep the pace around 8:00/mile throughout the run.  The pace varied with the terrain but were pretty consistent for the most part (averaged 7:51/mile).  I kind of miss those 2+ hour runs where you have lots of time to think.

Pretty worn out from yesterday's run.  Super slow and easy pace.  

Feeling a little yucky and my legs are dead.  Took it easy again today.  This week will probably end up being all easy miles. I usually scale back as the year winds down.

Nice run with a fresh dusting of snow.  Looking at my tracks in the snow, I noticed that my right and left foot prints are in a perfectly straight line.  Is it normal for the right and left feet to land that way? 

I will most likely do a long run tomorrow so I took it easy today.  Legs felt good and recharged.  

Had a great morning with the kids.  Had some Santa tragedy earlier in the week when Emma found her Santa gift but I think I was able to come up with a good enough story to convince her why it was at our house already.  My ex made me a marathon scrapbook including all of my race reports from the blog.  She did a great job and I really appreciated all of the hard work that she put into it.

A few weeks ago while I was debating what to do while my kids were with their mom during Christmas I had the crazy idea of running a marathon.  I would have a few hours which would give me enough time to run it and recover before they got home.  I did have other options but, selfishly, this is something that I wanted to do.  So, I bundled up and headed out the door not knowing if I would be able to finish it.  I was under trained, ran 17 miles 5 days ago and did not carbo load. I knew the only way I would actually do it is if I ran an out and back course giving me no choice but to finish even if I got too tired.  Started heading North and was going to keep going until I hit 13.1 miles then turn around and come home.  I figured that 8:00/mile would be about the right pace. 

Hit the first 6 miles a little too fast and tried to tell myself to slow down.  Didn't do any good as my pace only dropped a few seconds per mile.  I felt good and figured that I would just keep plugging along.  Miles 12 and 13 were uphill and I wasn't expecting it.  Of course, I wasn't complaining when I turned around and had a good downhill.  Felt totally fine until mile 20 when I could start to feel the miles in my legs.  I forgot how much concentration it takes to hold the pace once you get past 20 miles.  Just kept putting one foot in front of the other until I got home.  I probably could have found something more productive to do with my time but I'm glad I did it.  I finished in 3:24:25 which is faster than my first 2 marathons. 

1-7:46
2-7:45
3-7:47
4-7:35
5-7:42
6-7:46
7-7:49
8-7:50
9-7:35
10-7:55 - Made a wrong turn and had to cut through a field to get back on the road.
11-7:53
12-8:11 - Big uphill to Cherry Hill
13-7:59 - Slight uphill
14-7:38 - Slight downhill
15-7:19 - Big downhill
16-7:42
17-7:56
18-7:40
19-7:42
20-7:50
21-7:54
22-8:10 - Lost focus
23-7:51
24-7:47
25-8:02
26-7:43
26.2-7:13/mile

Met the running club and ran with Kathie, Lora and Trevor.  It was a good run and my legs were only sore for the first couple of miles.  

Much colder outside than I thought it would be.  Legs felt like they had a little extra pep in them this morning for some reason.  Right hip is a little tender but other than that everything felt good.  Did the usual loop. Considered extending it and getting a couple of extra miles in so that I can hit my yearly mileage goal but decided it is an arbitrary number and coming up a few miles short really doesn't mean anything.

Really struggled to get out the door.  My heart just wasn't in the run this morning.

And I thought it was tough to get out the door yesterday.  I felt so tired this morning that I really, really did not want get out of bed let alone run.  I'm pretty sure this is a mental cycle that I go through because I remember feeling like this a couple of months ago.  Had a few inches of new snow and it was still snowing which gave me another excuse not to run. Knowing that a run would make me feel better, I laced up the shoes and headed out the door.  The pace was slow but my legs got a great workout from the slipping and sliding.  It was very pretty outside because of the new snow so I tried to focus on that.

It's all Rhett's fault.  I really had no intention of ending the year with a nice round mileage total until he mentioned that I only needed 14.15 miles to hit 2,500.  Since that is doable in one run that was the plan for this morning.  It was still snowy and the roads were slick so my pace was slow.  My legs are also a little fatigued from having a few long runs squished too close together (this was my 3rd in 11 days).  Ran out 7.15 miles then turned around and headed back.  Thought that a 7 mile run would have been perfect this morning but had no choice but to finish the run.  I just trudged along while cursing Rhett and his and Kathie's peer pressure.  Actually glad I did it because it would have bothered me to look at my training log and always regretting the 6 missed miles.  The past couple of weeks have been more than running stunts.  I am trying to get my body used to longer runs again since marathon training is just around the corner.