THOU SHALT BE A COMEBACK

8:31 average pace.  They dropped a lot of big rock all over my road and the neighboring road in the direction I run.  I despise running on it, and end up running in the ditch and through yards to stay off the rocks--almost 3 miles today were cross-country or on the rocks.  Not the greatest thing for my ITB!  It actually held up better than it usually does on the hills so perhaps the massage helped--it is hard to say.  I will see how it does tomorrow when I go to my housing addition loops which are mostly flat and run some fast long tempo intervals(kinda nervous about those).   Today I have to go "credential" for work which means I have to run several scenarios and perform all the skills while my administration watches and grades me.  The whole service has to do it and I think it is a complete waste of time.  If I do not know how to run an ambulance call after doing this for almost 8 years then I should be fired.  If they want to know what my skill level is then they are welcome to come ride on my unit with me and watch rather than waste my time with their silly scenarios and their mannequins and their clipboards.  Okay enough venting for now.  Hope everyone has a great day!

7:40 average pace.  Not the greatest workout in the world, but not bad.  I was preoccupied because: (drumroll)....DAVID GOT A JOB AND HE STARTS ON MONDAY!!!!  He found out this morning and I was all thinking about it when I started my run so my heart wasn't really in the run but I gave it some effort anyway.  Target was 3x2 at 6:52 pace with brisk recoveries.  I didn't quite hit the pace but I'm not too worried about it. ITB felt fine(yeah!) but running fast felt weird--as if I was suddenly 6 inches taller and my torso was disconnected from my legs.  When I got the sports massage Saturday the therapist told me it would mess with my proprioception so I wonder if this is what she was talking about--I only noticed it during the fast miles.

2 mile warm-up 9:47, 9:04(wow not feeling it)

2 mile tempo 6:59, 6:47

.5 at 4:00(8:00 pace)

2 mile tempo 6:57, 6:57(ummm at least it's consistent)

.5  in 4:05(8:10 pace)

2 mile tempo 7:01, 7:00(lame-o)

1 mile cool down 8:03

one circuit of strengthening drills, including some ITB exercises

Now I am off to eat ice cream with my husband to CELEBRATE!

8:46 average pace.  It was an all-terrain run today.  It included 2 miles of cross-country including my neighbor's yards, pastures, rocks, forrested area, grass, leaves, and around the pond.  I also ran about 5 miles on the hilliest local dirt roads and 3 on asphalt.  I could feel the presence of my ITB but it wasn't "bugging" so an improvement.  I have another job interview on Friday for a great 8-5 M-F clinic job.  That would be AWESOME!  No more nights, evenings, holidays, or weekends.

8:16 average pace.  Felt great today!  The sun was out, I was running in SHORTS, ITB wasn't bothering me, just an all around nice feeling.  I hope I feel this way for my 20-mile fast finish run tomorrow!  Did some abs and some ITB and hip strengthening exercises afterward.

First 20-miler in a long run!  It was supposed to be a progressive long run with the last 6 miles progressing 7:45x2,7:35x2,7:25x2.  I didn't finish quite as strong as I would have liked but the wind was causing me to struggle with the pace.  There was quite a strong headwind from the south that I would loop into for about half the run and I would really have to fight to keep a faster pace.  I would break out of the wind and try to make up for lost time but the last 4 miles fatigue was definitely messing with my head a bit.  Drank about 40oz of gatorade throughout the run for fuel but I am starting to think that may have been insufficient-especially since my last gatorade stop was at mile 14, I really could've used another one later on.  The sun was out and it was 67 degrees!  I wore shorts and a tank top and sunscreen!  I haven't been this hot on a run in a long time! :)  After my 20 miles was finished I wasn't home yet and I was beat so I stopped and walked a quarter mile and then realized my head was getting foggy and if I wanted a drink anytime soon I better at least jog so I staggered another .5 home at about 9:30 pace.

Splits: 8:51, 8:47, 8:45, 8:31, 8:30, 8:13, 8:20, 8:03, 7:51, 8:10, 8:14, 8:19, 8:29, 8:22, 7:45, 7:49, 7:28, 7:40, 7:31, 7:20    --8:09 average pace.  Goal for my 22 mile progressive run in two weeks is to beat the 8:00 girl.  Oh yeah and my ITB didn't bug me at all!:)

And, in other news, my interview went GREAT and I am scheduled for a second one on Tuesday!!!

8:37 average pace.  Lovely morning run with the tribe,almost everyone was there!  Did a few faster 7:30 miles with Gary and Eddy and then fell back and ran with the rest of the group.  My legs weren't sore from yesterday's 20-miler so I guess that is a good sign that I am getting more fit.  I do have a new black toenail though.  My feet are getting grosser and grosser.

Now that David is back to work I have to be a little more creative to get my miles in.  That's cool. 5 am--6.2 bleary-eyed pre-coffee straight out of bed miles.  Started at a rickety 9:30 pace and ended at 7:41 pace.  8:37 average.  Home in time to kiss David off to his first day at his new job.  Rousted the kids out of bed and got them all off to the bus stop for school.  Next fed and dressed Vanessa after a little Bible-reading and we drove into town.  8 am--5.62 miles in the dreary drizzle with Vanessa in the stroller, but it was fifty degrees and Vanessa happily played with the flashlight and ate her granola bar while I ran around town.  Slowed down at mile 5 and ran a mile with two ladies, both named Wendy.  I rarely see other runners so this was a treat.  Back to the car to drive our soaking wet selves home for a warm shower.  8:34 average pace.

7:42 average pace.  Was supposed to do 5x2 at MP but only had time for 4x2 because I had to sandwich my run between getting the kids to school and going to my interview(which went well).

warm up 2, 9:17, 8:27

2 at MP 7:23, 7:22 .5 recovery at 8:02 pace

2 at MP 7:25, 7:23 .5 recovery at 8:02 pace

2 at MP 7:05, 7:12 .5 recovery at 8:10 pace

2 at MP 7:14, 7:12

.5 cooldown at 8:10 pace

20 minutes to transform into a polished professional in a business suit and heels and into the car.

Felt pretty good today, wish I had time for the 5th interval, I don't think I would have had a hard time with it.

Drove into town and did another stroller run today.  8:29 average pace.  It wouldn't have been too chilly except for the wind and Vanessa was getting tired of the stroller so the third time we ran by Sonic I called it quits and got her some tater tots and then walked the two blocks to my car.  Came home and did two circuits of strength drills and some abs.  Hopefully tomorrow is a little warmer or at least not so windy so Vanessa will tolerate more stroller riding if I punctuate it with playground stops where she plays and I run laps.  There are 3 different playgrounds I can hit on my route in town.  Off to drop her off at my mom's and go to work.

5am--came awful early after getting off work at midnight.  6.2 semi-conscious miles in the dark at a sputtering 9:01 pace.  Got the kids off to school, waited for Vanessa to wake up and eat breakfast, and then 4.5 in the stroller at 8:57 pace.  It was chilly and windy but I bundled her up and she was a trooper.  She requested some tater tots from Sonic at the end and I was happy to oblige.  Tater tots from Sonic a few days a week are much cheaper than a babysitter or a gym membership, and I like my little running partner anyways!  stroller+28 pound child+uphill+headwind=who needs speedwork that was enough!

Won't be running until David gets home from work this evening, and the plan is just a super-easy 10.  I have the "fight for air stair climb" race tomorrow morning.  I am on a team with the Sedgwick county Paramedics and there are like 20 of us.  It's chip timed and basicially you climb stairs, run a lap around the arena, climb to the next floor, run a lap, go back down, run a lap, and go to the bottom--repeat this circuit 3x for a total of 9 arena laps and 400+ stairs up.   I will do my best for my team although I am not much of a sprinter!  I figure I will take it easy on the stairs for a breather and then burn the laps as fast as I can.  Total course distance is 1.98 miles.  Should be interesting!  I will call it my speedwork for the week!  So far we are the biggest team and have raised the most money so it's kinda cool.  It benefits the American Lung Association and having smoked the majority of my adult life I am cool with helping that organization out.  

Was tempted to weigh myself today out of curiousity and then decided NO it was pointless and right now I feel good and fit in my clothes so that stupid number does not matter and I do not need to know.

Update: pm 10 at 8:24 pace, last mile at MP 7:24.  Fierce headwind from the north.

Did the stair climb today with my co-workers on the Sedgwick County EMS Paramedics team.  Almost 20 of us came out to do it. It was a benefit for the American Lung Association and our team raised the most money.  Don't know my time or place--just took a wild guess--it was chip-timed with staggered starts so no results will be posted until Monday.  It was at the arena so you climbed stairs to the second floor, ran around, climbed to the third, ran around, went down to the second again, ran around, and then down to the bottom.  repeatx2 for a total of 3 circuits.  A lot of people were getting confused and cutting out laps or running extra laps so the finishing times will be messed up but oh well.  People that I had lapped several times over were finishing right behind me so I know they didn't do all the laps.  It wasn't an all out effort for me but definitely a good hard one as my calves and chest were burning a bit at the end.  .5 mile warm-up with strides.  1.98 mile race. Drove home, and then out for my scheduled 16 mile training run--the real work today.  Coming back in the headwind was tough and I must've been fatigued from the morning race because around mile 13 my legs turned to rubber and I felt like I was bonking.  The headwind was beating me up.  I thought about calling it a day and then thought about how going North in my April marathon I am likely to hit this same headwind.  So, I decided I would beat the run, the run would not beat me, and was pleasantly surprised that I was able to force my rubbery legs to hold steady.  7:43 average pace for the 16, splits 8:00, 7:48, 7:25, 7:24, 7:24, 7:50, 8:02, 7:58, 7:50, 7:40, 7:36, 7:35, 7:38, 7:51, 7:40, 7:40.   Ran this all on dirt roads to give my joints a break.  Stopped and walked half a mile, wanted to get home faster, so finally mustered up the will to break into a jog.  1.08 at 9:18 pace for a cool down. 

Update:  14:24 well I guess with the stairs that is alright.  Supposedly I got second in my age group but who really knows haha

Walked a loop in my boots starting by the barn, down through the pasture and along the barbed wire fence and tree line and back up by the barn, turn and run around the neighbor's pond, across the property line and around our "yard" and back down the drive. Came out to .57 mile.  There were too many sticks and sharp objects around the pond, but decided I would give the rest of it an experimental go.  Kicked of my boots and minced barefoot, barely at a jog, back down the pasture.  My husband has cleared as much of this as he could but there were still sharp stumps of shrubs and rocks and branches, especially by the fence.  Came up out of the pasture and hit the soft grass by the property lines and was able to pick it up to a real run, about 7:45 pace. It definitely felt free and light and there is definitely a form change when running barefoot. .35 mile for this loop after cutting out the pond.  The bottoms of my feet were stinging from the pasture, but no open wounds.  I am a tenderfoot, but I hear feet toughen up quick.  We shall see.  More experiments to follow.  I just finished reading "Born to Run" and enjoyed it!

Really, I should re-title this blog "how a desperate mother fits her runs in" because the lengths I am going to seem almost absurd.  5am--6.24 at 8:43 pace so I can make it home before David goes to work.  So David is off to work and it is spring break but older kids are off to camps and stuff and I can't really leave a 10,8, and 2 year old home alone and go very far.  Vanessa had issues with her asthma this weekend so outdoor stroller running is out.  The solution?  I will call it the "Gochenour property trail loop".  Start at the back door, run down to the end of the pasture, turn along the barbed-wire fence, run back up the pasture, turn and go around the neighbor's pond, cut across both our property lines, cruises across the north side of the yard, past the back door, and repeat.  It is about .5 mile per loop, and entails grass of various lengths, tree stumps, mud, and a little rolling up and down.  It is also within eyesight and shouting distance of the house. 8am.  loopx6, reversed directions halfway through.  3 miles at 8:32 pace.  Gotta work late tonight, will not get up at 5 tomorrow.  I wonder if I will be able to stomach 20 loops tomorrow?

Bribed our oldest Brandon into coming over this morning and sitting with the younger kids in exchange for a massive homemade breakfast when I finished.  Today's workout was 3x3 at MP with 1/2 mile brisk recoveries.  Went south into town, around town, and back north to my house.  The last set was rolling hills(nothing steep though) into the headwind on dirt and it felt a lot harder than what MP should feel like.  In fact, while this workout was not extremely difficult it was not easy either.  Is MP supposed to feel easy at this point?  Will it feel easier on fresh legs after a taper?  

2 mile warm up 9:32, 8:59 man I am creaky like an old woman at the beginning of my runs

3 at  MP 7:25, 7:13, 7:09

.5 recovery in 3:56(7:52 pace)

3 at MP 7:19, 7:18, 7:20

.5 recovery at 4:06(8:12 pace)

3 at MP 7:26, 7:26, 7:22

7:45 overall average pace

.71 cooldown at 8:09 pace and I am at the back door so good enough.  I need to make good on breakfast and I bet the kids are getting hungry--I know I am absolutely starving and thirsty.   We had whole wheat pancakes, bacon, scrambled eggs, and sunny delight and I am STUFFED!

8:27 average pace for 6.54 miles of pasture-pond trail loops at home.  14 of them.  Ugh.  The boredom is definitely a factor.  These feel like hard work today.  Some of that is because the ground is uneven and I have to pick my feet up more than my usual low-to-the-ground shuffle or I will trip.  Then I went barefoot for a quarter mile of strides and jogs.  The grass was cold and pokey and I am a huge tenderfooted wimp.  It will be a loooong time for me to build to even just a mile barefoot.  After the marathon in April when it warms up I will look more into the barefoot thing as a training tool.  Came in and did two circuits of strength drills and a little bit of abs.

It was sunny today so I took Nick, Ian, and Vanessa to the track and roared 33 laps for an honest 8 miles at 7:26 average pace.  Whoops! Impromptu near-marathon pace tempo.  I figured the kids would get bored and make me cut it short so I was booking along to get in as many miles as I could but then they discovered the sand.  Ha!  Now the long jump pit is full of sandcastles and holes and roads and when I finished up the kids did NOT want to leave--they wanted to build more sand castles.  Off to work.

The run that wasn't.  Thought I would be slick and take the kids to the track again today.  It was windy, and the sand blew into Vanessa's eyes twice and she had a complete meltdown.  So much for that.  I may try to run a little bit again this evening when my husband gets home but may not--we have a lot to do.  I  have a 22 miler tomorrow morning I may just give up for today.  Blah.

BLIZZARD!  The wind was howling and the snow was blowing when I got up today.  I wondered if anyone from the tribe would even show up, and figured I would cut the run short today.  Well, Eddy showed up, and the two of us disappeared into the blowing snow.  The north wind was brutal, but when it was at our backs the world was almost silent.  Eddy got me through almost 13 miles and my first ever gu in my life at mile 9(gross), and then we were back at our cars.  We took a quick picture to prove to the rest of the tribe that we were out there today. I figured I had gone this far, why not 8 more?  So, I went down central on my own toward my mom's apartment 3.5 miles away.  The footing was okay as long as I stayed where there was some snow for traction.  There were a few icy spots and little slips but I never fell.  I bagged the idea of keeping a certain pace and just tried to rock steady and not fall on my face.  Made it to mom's and surprised her by knocking on the door and asking for a cup of water.  She thought I had lost my mind as I did gu number two, drank some water, and took back off into the snow.  She checked her weather application and informed me it was 27 degrees with 20-40mph winds and I was crazy. I felt great when I made it back to my car and had enough gas in the tank I could have easily kept going.  Conclusion: gu is nasty but it is better fuel than gatorade and it doesn't upset my stomach, so I will be using it from now on.  I am thinking 3 them for my marathon at miles 7,14, and 21. 

Average pace 7:58(YEAH I beat the 8:00 girl today)

Splits:  8:54, 8:18, 8:06, 7:59, 8:10, 8:04, 7:52, 7:58, 7:53, 7:51, 7:24, 8:00, 7:49, 7:44, 7:48, 7:54, 7:46, 7:54, 7:47, 7:59

5am. Another pre-coffee blurry run. 8:20 pace. This is all I have time for today since I have a job interview and I have to go to work. Hopefully I can bribe Brandon with breakfast again tomorrow so I can get a good workout in.

7:33 average pace.  The Brandon-breakfast-bribe worked and he showed up at 8 to watch Vanessa and I took off.  Objective was 2x4 at marathon pace.

2 mile warm up 8:25, 8:27

4 at MP 7:28(umm still warming up), 7:17, 7:17, 7:08

.5 mile at 3:56(7:52 pace)

4 at MP 7:16, 7:14, 7:12, 7:10

1 mile cool down 7:47

At first MP felt hard but once my body warmed up to the pace I was actually quite comfortable.  Today's workout makes me feel really really good about a 3:15 here in a few weeks!

Came home and cooked Brandon chocolate chip wheat pancakes and over-easy eggs. I had a few too, more like a lot.  Yummm

My toddler is one tolerant little gal.  Got up, got the kids off to school, drove into town, did 6.5 in the stroller, stopped at sonic, got tater tots, spent 20 minutes eating them down the block at Grandmas, then ran a few more in the stroller.  8:11 pace for the whole thing.  Came home, one circuit of strength drills and now I need to get to work.

Drove to my best friend Kim's house out west--she has a treadmill.  Vanessa and Lexi(my goddaughter) played and I ran. Started out at 7.1mph whatever that means for .67, then the cord thing fell off and the treadmill shut down.  Got it all figured out a few minutes later and ran 9.5 more at 8:05 average pace.  Whew neither the basement nor the treadmill had a fan, and my sweat levels were approaching Burt caliber.  Kim's mom was there and she graciously brought me a towel so I could mop myself off every once in a while.  Treadmill running stinks but at least I got to run.

a.m.  got the kids off to school, drove to Sedgwick County Park and did 4 miles with Vanessa in the stroller.  The wind is vicious today and Vanessa was getting upset and saying it hurt her eyes so we didn't do more.  7:51average pace for these.  We went and got some ice cream and had girl talk afterward

p.m.  Family pizza. Went out on a very full stomach for 6 more.  Felt like being weird and so did a mile that felt fast but controlled just to see how it felt on such a full stomach. 6:16 for this mile.  It actually felt pretty easy, although I was burping the taste of pizza the rest of the run I didn't feel sick.  8:01 average pace.  Long, relaxed run in the 20-mile range with the tribe tomorrow.  

7:54 average pace.  Ode to Eddy, a.k.a. "Flash"--we started out with the rest of the Tribe and then took off a little faster.  My goal was to hang with Eddy as best as I could.  We mutually agreed to pick it up at the turnaround and then really pick it up to the low 7's for the last 6 miles.  Eddy is an animal!  In the last 6 we would take turns surging to keep the pace strong, up until the last .5 when Eddy unleashed a killer kick and dropped me like a hot coal for the finish. My not-so-valiant effort to stay with him did net me a sub-7:00 final mile--a good way to finish a long run.  I practiced gu-ing while running and ended up taking 3 gu's.  My stomach held up fine.  Two weeks!  I guess now it is time to taper.

Splits: 9:40, 8:26, 8:00, 8:02, 8:16, 8:12, 8:19, 8:12, 8:08, 7:59, 7:57, 7:52, 7:48, 7:58, 7:45, 7:38, 7:32, 7:13, 7:19, 7:20, 7:12, 6:59, .07 at 6:57 pace.

Feeling good today!  I don't seem to have any damage from yesterday's long run--maybe the slightest bit of stiffness if I have been sitting for a while but no soreness.  That to me is a good sign.  So I am tossing about in my head what to do for the next 14 days, and how much to taper.  Considering that I am not injured and feel pretty good, I am thinking I don't need too drastic of a taper.  So I was thinking of something like this:  

M--6 easy  T--14-15 easy W--6 in the stroller easy TH--6 stroller easy F--workout! 2x3 fast(6:52 pace) Sat--10 easy with the tribe    =52 total miles

Race week M--6 easy  T--8 with last 3 at MP W--4 stroller easy TH off!!  F--2 easy Sat--RACE

Overtapering, undertapering, does it look about right?  Any suggestions are welcome.  I  may throw this on the discussion forum as well.  

5 am, 8:57 pace.  Not much zip in my legs at this hour.  

A leisurely 8:24 pace.  The Brandon breakfast bribe worked again!  I enjoyed running longish without thinking about any particular pace.  I just listened to music and enjoyed the sun.  I did note the strong south wind, and looking at the extended forecast with no small dismay, I am quite certain my marathon will involve some significant time-killing headwinds.  Hopefully they don't tear me up too bad and the finish is a tailwind.  Breakfast was whole wheat french toast, bacon, and eggs.  Shamefully delicious!

8:43 pace on zero incline on Kim's treadmill.  I was exhausted from yesterday's events.  I was at work when my husband called and said he had gotten a call from our 15 year old saying the house was on fire. He told Jesse to get Nick and Ian and get out of the house.  He was stuck in traffic and couldn't get there and for a while we didn't know if the kids were okay or not.  My partner drove me in the ambulance to my house.  We all got there about the same time.  Turns out him and Ian had been sitting in the living room when he looked up and couldn't see out the window because of thick smoke.  He called David and then him and Ian ran out of the house and found Nick by the attached garage which had flames wrapped around it.  Nick and Ian ran to the neighbors and Jesse got the hose and started watering the fire.  The fire department told us that with the wind howling the way it was yesterday, we would have lost the house if Jesse hadn't acted so quickly. Nick was playing with matches he got out of an old MRE he found in the garage and had started the fire.  He had some singed eyelashes and hair but no burns and was okay.  He is in soooo much trouble but at least everyone is alive and well and I am very grateful.  We lost a few garage walls but that is nothing, it could have been a lot worse.