THOU SHALT BE A COMEBACK

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