Run and Be Happy!

Totally forgot to set my alarm, but happened to wake up at 6 - so I missed the first part of the run w/ the group - met them on the trail, then ran the last 4 miles w/ them. 

My legs/knee felt good - gotta keep stretching that ITBand!

AP: 8:25 

AP - 8:05 

5:30 a.m run w/ my friends that are a little faster and in better shape than I am.  :)

 Wow, was this tough!  It felt good, though, to push myself to keep up.  We ran all around St. George including through downtown where the Ironman finish is today.  We are going later to cheer on the athletes on their final marathon. 

I feel so tired and hungry right now like I just ran a half marathon.  Actually the first 13 miles, we ran in 1:45, so for me - that was a pretty fast half marathon I did today!  Luckily I had an energy bar/banana before going out and Annie shared her GU with me when we stopped for a drink.

I will definitely slow it way down next week for the 18. 

Gotta go stretch. 

The weather was so perfect this morning! - 50 something, a little cold at first, but then perfect as we got going.   Also the moon was so bright when I walked out the door- it was so cool looking.

 I drove to the trail and ran w/ the group.  We went pretty quick today for the first 5.5 miles. (AP 7:30)  This was tough with how my legs were feeling sore from Saturday still, but I figure it is good marathon training to run on tired legs and mentally push through it.  After getting back to the trail we slowed down the pace for the last 3 miles (AP 8:30).

So fun to be out in the morning with my friends, (especially when they push me like this). 

Ran from Mom's house - always a steep hill everywhere up there - ended up going up Emigration canyon.  My lungs felt a little tight at the higher altitude - especially going uphill. Hopefully they will feel ok at UtahValley since it is mostly downhill. Had to keep the run short because of all the family events going on.

Early morning run w/ the group.  I ran to the trail instead of driving and I think it was good for me to run alone the first mile and warm-up.  Felt ok today keeping the faster pace for the last few miles under 7:30.  My knee is feeling better, I just need to keep stretching that IT band.  Overall AP 8:00.

AP-8:50  I felt good on this long run.  It was nice to run relaxed and slow- We went up Dixie all the way up to Snow Canyon Pkwy, then down Diagonal and finished on the trail.  I added on a few extra miles to get to 18.  I brought a couple of GUs and they helped keep me energized.  I also found a dollar in my pocket, so we stopped for a Diet coke break around mile 8.  The first 7 miles of this run were mostly uphill, then downhill as we came through town.  We saw someone we knew on the trail and slowed quite a bit to chat with him - this was at about 14-15 miles and the slowing down really made all of my aches and pains evident.  After the run it was a crazy busy day, so not very much time for stretching and resting - I was tired.

AP-8:00  Morning trail run w/ group plus loop.  My legs/knee are feeling good.  I had a lot of energy after pigging out on mother's Day.  :)

Treadmill run at the hotel.  I really don't like running on the treadmill.  So, to make this more interesting I did some interval running.  5:00 min warm-up at 6.5, then I did intervals of faster running at 9-10 mph for 1 minute with a 1 minute jog in between.  A couple of the intervals I held for an extra 30 seconds and the last one for 2 minutes.  The fastest I went was 10.5, and that was hard to even stay on the treadmill.  Back to 6.5 at the end for cooldown.  Total distance 5 mi - time 40 min.

Ran with Paul - it has probably been 2 years since we've run together.  This was his longest run so far this year as he works up his mileage for the Bryce Canyon 1/2.  We left a little later than I wanted to, so the sun was up and it was a warm morning in LakeLasVegas.  We took it easy and found a loop we could do twice.  The last few miles, I started to get antsy to get back to our room and check on the kids, so I picked up the pace and kicked it in.  I felt pretty good the whole time even though it was warm & a hilly run.

Early Morning long run.  pace ave- 8:34.(not including a couple of pit-stops).  We did a similar loop to last Sat.   I always like when I have run somewhere before - then I know what to expect.  I ran w/ 2 friends for the first 13 miles - we had a pretty good pace going, especially coming downhill through Diagonal & Main. I brought a water bottle and some GuChomps - these gave me a stomach ache- thus the pit-stop at Maverick @ mile 14.  I also had some $ so I could fill my bottle w/ Gatorade - I think this really helped give me the energy for those last miles.  At mile 15 Abby called, but my phone wasn't working right, so I ran home to get her.  She got on her bike and rode by me for miles 17 & 18, then the energy from the Gatorade kicked in, so I decided to go another mile.  It felt pretty good, but my legs are really tired and sore now - and I have a new blister on my toe- I should have worn my good running socks today.  Just ate a big breakfast burrito, so now I feel really good!

Tired from 19 on Sat and staying up too late last night.  Other than that, this was a great early-morning run.  The pace ave was 7:50.  The loop for warm-up & cooldown was at about a 8:10 pace and the rest of the run around 7:20-7:30.  It felt fast, but good.  I can now talk a little easier at this pace.  I will give my legs a rest tomorrow.

Super hard run this morning in Snow Canyon.  It has been since early April that I've gone on this run.  It was beautiful and fun to be back up in the canyon, especially with the earlier sun-rise.  We ran up to the top of the canyon and back down - going up we had a pretty good pace going around 8:30-9:00, which felt fast going up-hill.  The last 2 miles going up, I was working super hard and couldn't hardly talk at all.  My breathing was so heaving going up that slope-I sounded like a dog and I actually had to walk a few seconds to catch my breath before I reached the top.  We took a break at the top, and then again at the campground for water.  The weather was hot and windy-I wish I had brought my water bottle.  Coming down the mountain, we ran really fast.  I had an event to get to at 7:20, so I was trying to get down quickly.  I had a hard time staying with my friends the first mile going down at the 7:00 pace.  I could not breathe!  The drink stop at the campground revived me and we maintained a pace of around 7 - 7:25 for the rest of the run.  This was an awesome workout!

Pace: 7:50.  I pushed through this one and almost stopped 1 1/2 miles early because I had nothing left.  I decided to keep going and finish the whole loop.  My legs were fatigued from the canyon run and doing squats/lunges yesterday.  I feel good now, and I'm glad I stayed with the group.  Hopefully when I push through and complete these runs even when I feel completely "off" will make me mentally stronger and improve my endurance for the marathon.

Felt good today - maybe because of all the french fries last night.  :)  I also had a melaleuca bar before we started and a gu around mile 6.  We ended pretty fast on this one, but overall averaged 8:10.

ave pace: 8:15.  Regular Mon morning loop - we really took it easy at first, but then picked up the pace about 1/2 way.  I was a little nervous going over the slightly burnt bridge over the river - we will have to find a new route until that is fixed.  My left foot has been hurting a little this weekend, but today it felt ok after a couple of miles.  Now we get to go wakeboarding!!

6 miles - pretty good pace, but felt easy.