It's over, man. Let her go.

Last week was fast Sunday since we had a special meeting with Elder Richard G. Scott today for our stake.  There weren't any official business, just a special meeting.  Two weeks ago was Stake Conference, so it was a little strange they had scheduled this like this, but I wasn't complaining.  Great meeting and although the entire auditorium at the school was filled with portable chairs being brought in, I was a little disappointed by the turn out.  I guess I always expect more people to come to things like that.

I felt a little guilty though because I was getting text messages during the meeting from the runners I knew doing the Pittsburgh Marathon.  They had signed up at tweetmyrun.com and so since I had SMS notification on for their profiles when it updated their progress.  Pretty cool.  I didn't track anyone at Boston, but I'm sure theirs was much better.

Anyways, Burt got me all excited about a root beer float, but I didn't have any in the house.  No Coke/Pepsi, which is rare or I would have gone for a Coke float.  All I had was some ginger ale, but that wasn't going to cut it.  So, I was depressed all day wishing I lived closer to Burt so I could come over and get some root beer from him.  I could have dropped by my neighbors, but they'd have only had the beer, not the root, so that wouldn't have worked.

I had inboxed Rattletrap a good luck message on FB and was surprised to have him reply immediately!  Forgot he was a few hours behind, but wanted to get that to him before the race and before my meeting.  He was already up and going, getting ready for the big race!  When I saw his FB status at the 9mi marker and then at the end that he had BQ'd, all I could think about was an old 80's commercial of another incredible athlete that I admire:

I wanna be like Rattletrap too!!  :-)

Congrats to everyone that ran Marathons today or yesterday!  It was a big race weekend!

On an incredibly positive note:  Today, after a week of waiting, my wife finally had the last grade of her MS Counseling Psychology degree posted.  She was really worried about this last grade since it was in Bio Psych and she wasn't sure if she'd do well or not.  She ended up getting an A and completing her 60 hour program with a 4.0 Overall GPA!!  That chick is freakin smart!!  I'm just glad my kids got her genes!

On a positive note, although no where near as positive as the first, I got my run in!  After this weekend, that was an accomplishment.  Wasn't super fast, but I did it.  I tried to take it slow and keep it about 8:20 or so, but not until towards the end of this short run did I slow down enough.

Splits:  8:08, 8:01, 8:12, 8:37, 8:47 (.18)

I felt very relaxed for the first three miles - pretty much converstational pace, but then I started to become fatigued that last mile.  Legs felt tired and run down.  I've been really lightheaded the last day or so too, and I'm not sure what to make of it.  I came back from the run and walked on the TM for about 6 mins and was a little lightheaded then too, so I need to watch it for a few days, I guess.  Who knows what's up. 

Late add - just got back from the Pittsburgh Steak Company's AYCE prime rib night to celebrate!  They've raised their prices by a buck since the last time ( to $18.95) but it's still a great deal!  It comes with homemade bread, salad (stuffed with toppings - not just some lame leafy salad), a baked potato or their awesome cheddar mashed potatoes, and the prime rib.  First serving is normal size (1 1/2" thick), then each one after that is an "English cut" which is thinner (3/4 - 1" thick), but the same diameter.   Add on a Coke and a ton of raw horseradish and it's a meal!  Typically, I'll put down three servings of prime rib, but tonight I stuck to two.  I was trying to be good.  We'll see how I do on my run tomorrow after tonight's dinner.  LOL

Warmed up with a .5mi jog on the TM, then went into the 10k program on the TM.  I had wanted to keep a steady 8:30 or so pace throughout the whole run.  I got about 6k into it and things started falling apart.  I had to walk a couple of times, and I ended up having to back it off to about a 9:30-10:00.  Not the greatest run, but I was feeling great those first 6k!  I finished the program and cooled down with about 7-8mins stretching and off to the showers so I could get home before 7:45.

So last night while sitting and eating prime rib, I got a couple of cramps in my left hamstring and left calf.  I haven't had cramps for a very long time, but these were awful!  I had to extend my leg out and let them ease up.  Then today while running, I felt some cramping in both hamstrings that made me nervous.  It wasn't really bad while running, but it was worrying me.  I have a sore muscle on the outside of my right quad.  Not sure how to stretch that, so I've just been massaging it since I left the gym.  Sigh...  I hope these things start to subside as I get into a more consistent schedule. 

I'd like to work up to about 50 mpw over the next month so I can build a good solid base with some tempos thrown in there before the Halfs at the end of the season.  I may only get the 5k in in June since I just realized last night that the 5k in July is while we're in Utah.  Glad I didn't sign up for it yet!  That would have been a fun, fast race.  Definitely good for a PR, but the one in June will be tough, so that will open me up to a nice PR in most any 5k.

Busy Wednesday as always, so I didn't get out until about 10:30pm.  Ran my 6 mile out-n-back run.  Tried to take it easy, especially on the way back, but it felt long and relatively hard the last mile or so.  No cramps, which was nice.

Splits:  8:34,  8:21, 8:30, 9:45, 10:22, 9:35

No running today, so I figured I'd go to Target with my wife and do some shopping.  I truly hate shopping with the exception of a couple of stores...or if I'm feeling rich.  Neither were happening today, but I went anyways and boy am I glad I did!  As we were browsing the mens clothing aisle, trying on weird fedoras and such, I saw the perfect t-shirt!  I have a few Mr. Rogers t-shirts, a "King Ding Dong" shirt, etc., but I didn't have this one!  I had to have it, and I may use it for my race shirt.  Not sure what message I'd be sending with this shirt and my signature skull & crossbones doorag, but who cares!

To keep myself motivated today since I wasn't running, I took time to meditate and consider all my possibilities:

(Swing and hit a homer, Burt!  ha ha)

I decided to try this fad of running early in the morning.  The late night runs and runs during the day have become an issue, so running after dropping off my daughter at seminary may work great.  I took a route from the church out to a neighborhood, ran around that and back.  Not a bad route, had some hills so it was a little challenging.  Even with the hills and a little walking I managed a 8:14 pace, so I'm happy enough with that.

Splits:  7:48, 8:06, 8:55, (0.68) 5:27 (8:02 pace)

Ok, I was a wimp today.  Actually, a much bigger wimp than Twinkie was a week or so ago.  You can read about him being a wimp here...and here.

 There wasn't a bigger wimp than me when it comes to today.  All night I heard the gusting wind, thunder and lightning.  I woke up this morning to go running before the Primary activity and it was still 30mph winds, rain and cold.  I decided to sleep in.  I knew I'd regret it, which I did.  So, I donned my King Ding Dong t-shirt and went to the church to hang with The Letters.

I felt so bad about running I worked like a dog today doing all the honey-do stuff (didn't have a choice, but makes me feel better if I THINK I did).  Then, when I didn't feel better, I decided a family trip to the Pirates game would do it.  It started to work, but not until I polished off a Stadium Bucket of hot wings I was "sharing" with my wife did I really feel better.  The Pirates winning (they're still sub-500, of course) and the killer post-game firework show (always awesome!!  Pittsburgh loves fireworks - except when you go out of state and buy your own morters, bottle rockets, firecrackers, etc. and set them off  yourself.  That's when the police don't really appreciate your spirit) made me OK with skipping my long run today.

Oh, I did get in a fast 1.25 miles because when we were leaving the stadium the rain started picking up so I sprinted back to where we had parked the car and then drove back to pick up the family.  They appreciated my chivalrous actions and I appreciated the opportunity to get in a quick run.  Today was a speed workout, so I guess I'll have to focus a little more on distance next week.

Hey, it's midnight (EDT)!!  Happy Mother's Day to all the running moms on the blog!  It's an honor to be chick'd by you!