track fan

1:23:10.  I ran with two friends, well - one friend and his friend.  They ran much faster than my usual.  Even though I was keeping up, at about 7 miles, when I finally realized where I was and how to get back to the hotel,  I told them to go on ahead (plus I had to find a "bathroom/bush".  I was a little disappointed that I did not get more of a chance to discuss some statistical stuff with Geert (my friend - he is Belgian, and a VERY famous statistician) -- but it was ok.  Still hot, still humid.  

I had another early meeting - now I am off for a couple of hours before the next cycle.  Tonight I have more board of directors things to do (until 9:30) so I am not sure I will have time to do a 2nd run, if I can I would like to squeeze one in, but I won't worry about it if I don't, this morning was a pretty hard workout for me. Tomorrow I head out to Denver ... 

Have a great day bloggers. 

AM: (9 miles, 1:20:14).  Ran out near Horsetooth Park.  I might run again tonight, but it depends.  We are meeting with my Mom's hospice nurse and social worker tonight and I am not sure I will have time to run again.  We spent most of the day looking at some places that Mom will need to move to, and taking care of bank things.  Not a very fun day I have to say.  

 I left Miami yesterday and we were delayed by 2 hours (bathroom problems -- apparently, only 1 bathroom -- out of 3 -- was working and the pilot said, "one bathroom for 193 passengers, that dog just won't hunt" -- I LOVE this expression, we heard it a lot when we lived in Nashville). Anyway, I missed my flight to Denver (from Dallas) so I was late getting in, after waiting in line for a rental car for nearly 2 hours (yes, that is right) I finally got a car just in time for a huge thunderstorm to hit ... it was a white knuckle drive from Denver to Fort Collins (~1.5 hrs).  I was pretty tired at 10PM when I finally rolled into town.  Because I am on the board of directors for the professional association I belong to, I had to sit in meetings all day and then participate in a whole  bunch of "receptions" and "awards ceremonies" at night ... so every night was a long one.  You think it would be fun, and it was for the first couple of nights, but it gets pretty tiring after a while, especially with the 3 hour time change and getting up early enough to run every morning.  Whaaaaa whaaaa, I am a crybaby -- the short story is, I am very tired ;-).   

Hope all is well bloggers. 

I did get out for an easy 4 at 7:30 PM -- it was beautiful out!  I live a charmed life (despite what I said earlier in the day). 

long day. at long last a reunion of sorts between my brother and my Mom (15 years).  then I had to teleconference to a PhD dissertation defense that I was a committee member on ... and then some more discussions about the things that have to be discussed when a parent is dying.  I need a nap, good thing it is almost time for bed.  

The running is good ... and it was nice and warm today ... not as warm as "home" but modestly warm (probably 90F on my run).  I love the mountains here ...  

1:10:54.   Ran on the trails again ... beautiful morning.  Lots of things to do. I am pretty sure I will get a 2nd run in, but in case I don't I am not pre-blogging.  There are a lot of things to do before I leave tomorrow.

Beautiful evening jog - easy 4.

Happy Saturday bloggers! 

1:55:58.  I was going to run an extra few minutes to make it an even two hours, but I felt bad being away from Mom so long since I was leaving today.  It was a tough morning for her.  

Ran the "Fort Collins" usual, it was hilly, but it was early so it was pretty cool out.

Happy Sunday bloggers. 

AM: (10.5 miles, 1:31:36).  42:39wu/29:11cd  + 10 x 1` w/1` recovery.  94.1F/41% humidity ... ahhhh ... to be home.

PM: easy 4.

Happy Tuesday bloggers! 

1:13:21.  Slow, but likely a bit longer than 8 miles too.  I just ran on some of the dirt roads around the mountains.  It was nice out, hot (about 90F, at least 40% humidity), but a little overcast - which makes all the difference.

Coyotes own this neighborhood I tell you.  "Ran" into one running up the road ... not even a little scared (him) ... it is pretty funny.

Have wonderful hump day bloggers! 

AM: (9.5 miles, 1:21:28).  Pretty easy for the first half, started picking it up a little after the turn-around (it is a partial out-and-back, with a ~3 mile "lollipop").  Ran the last 10` between 10K and 1/2 marathon pace (7:00-7:15).  Pretty cool today - it was only 82F when I started and a sunny 88.9F when I finished (~60% humidity).  All and all, it was pretty tolerable heat-wise.  

I saw LOTS of wildlife today! (1 deer, 1 rattlesnake, 2 javelina, 1 coyote) 

PM: 4 miles easy.

Working this morning and then taking a little trip up to Phoenix to get abused fixed by John of the ART.  I am already preparing for the indescribable pain of the sonic blast machine on my poor foot ... but since I can't really walk after sitting down (and getting up in the morning), it has to be done. 

Have a great day bloggers! 

1:03:54.  Easy run ... so cool today 81F and overcast ... a little humid, but man it was pleasant!!

I felt pretty good today, in part because John worked on my hips and I feel like I have greater flexibility now.  That said, I am bruised like crazy from the work he did on my hamstring and my foot is very sore (but a different sore than from the PF).  I have set up a more consistent schedule of seeing him for the next couple weeks, I am hoping I can get closer to 95% healthy before I start my new training program leading to the Houston marathon. 

Happy Friday bloggers. 

AM: (8 miles, 1:12:03).  A couple mins slower than usual, mainly because I slept in (until 6:30) and did not get started until is was a little warm, and sunny (the sun comes up here about 5:45 I think) ... am not sure what the temps were when I left (I didn't want to look, it felt warm) but by the time I finished it was 91.6F with 53% humidity.  

PM: easy 4.

I have to go into work today for a bit, and then go get dog food, but I am seriously hoping I can sneak a nap in there somewhere.

SO very happy for seeaprilrun ... HUGE PR for her today!!! 

1:59:12 (1:02:43/56:28) (8:57/8:04), last 4 miles @ 7:30 and faster.   So lucky today!  Even though it was 83F and 60% humidity at 5AM this morning, by the time I got started (6:30) it was overcast ... so although I looked like I had just stepped out of a swimming pool by the end of the run (93F) it was not nearly as uncomfortable as it would have been had there been full sun.  My foot hurt so badly last night and this morning that I was afraid I might not be able to finish my run ... luckily, it did not get any worse, so I just kept going.

Two things of note today.  First, as I was driving to the trail today a car passed me, they were really jerks, I was going a bit over the speed limit and yet they had to blow by me like they were in a serious hurry.  Then, they swerved around another car (again, not driving slow, just the speed limit) -- I don't know how to describe how they were driving, it was just unnecessarily dangerous for a Sunday at 6AM.  Well, just as they swerved around their third car (coming way too close), a cop pulled a u-turn in the middle of the street and went after them.  I just laughed, it made my day.  Second, as I was trucking along on my run, Ian Burrell  (used to be with McMillan Elite, now is in law school at U of A - was 2nd American at Bix last month) came up on me and said from behind, "hi Bonnie".  We chatted for a minute about his new baby (she is beautiful) and stuff and then he just blew by me so fast I had a breeze ;-).  It was so cool to see someone running so fast, and yet effortlessly.   I guess there were three things of note, I also saw Eddy the-drug-cheat Hellybuck - but I see him around here a lot, he has some young group of athletes that he is coaching that put up some impressive times on the local racing scene. 

Dean is on his way to Virginia, he is going to see someone at the sports medicine lab there, to see if they can help him run again ... this might be the last resort so I have all my fingers and toes crossed, it has been such a hard 2 years for him.

I hope you are all having a wonderful Sunday -- I wish the results had not gotten messed  up at Falmouth ... I am on the edge of my seat to see how the Americans did there this morning. 

AM: (10.5 miles, 1:29:01). 30:00wu/31:09cd.  15 x 200m w/200 recovery.  I did this as a fartlek (:45 on and 1` off) -- uphill x 8, downhill by 7.  91F (41% humidity).  Felt pretty strong today, although the sun was out and it felt  much warmer than 91.  

Did not sleep well at all.  As I was checking for scorpions last night (I always check under the sheets and around my bed) I found one!  Figures, since Dean was gone and it is NOT MY JOB.  I kind of freaked out and considered just moving to the guest bedroom, but decided that was silly.  So, I went and put on a pair of boots, long pants and my bathrobe (why?  I have no idea, I just felt I should be fully covered ;-) ), and then got a tupperware bowl, opened the sliding glass door, and stuck the bowl on him.   Then I kind of danced around and tried to figure out if I had enough courage to slide a piece of cardboard underneath and walk him to the door ... I have done this with mice, but they don't freak me out as much.   I took a few deep deep breaths, and did it .... RUNNING to the door, screaming and threw him out.  I was proud of myself, but freaked out.  So it took me ages to fall asleep.  Then, Keiko woke me every two hours to go out - the people at doggy daycare keep giving her food, and then she gets sick and has to poop all the time ... I keep forgetting to tell them to stop giving her food.  The short version of the story is that I got very little sleep last night ... and I have so much work to do today ... sigh.

PM: 4 miles easy. 

1:13:23.   Felt like crap this entire run ... it is hot, I am tired, and for some reason I feel sick to my stomach.  At least I never felt worse, just consistently bad. Just one of those days I suppose. 

I am working diligently to finish a paper before the semester starts ... I am teaching my *hard* class this semester ... I will have very little concentrated time to write. I am very close to having things outlined, and I think I have a solid outline, now I just have to fill in the bits.

I hope you all have a very happy humpday!! 

(Kelli, I wish I had run that fast ... but I had forgotten a "1"!!). 

AM: (9.5 miles, 1:20:16).  Easy hilly run, with the last 2+ miles at MP effort.  I say effort because I don't know exactly what my pace was, I just know that it is a little more than 2 miles, I ran it in 18:53 on my way out and 16:00 flat on my way back -- so it was a little under 8:00 pace.  I am pretty happy with this, especially given that it was 98.4F and sunny as well as being extremely hilly (the last 3 miles of this run includes at least 1.5 miles uphill and then a bunch of smaller "woopdee doos").  

PM: easy 4.

We are going to see John in Phoenix this afternoon ... I am not really looking forward to it, it is going to hurt.  BUT, I know it must be done.  

My paper is going very very well, I am pretty excited, the results are really coming together and the outline is really shaping up to something that I think is going to be able to go to a pretty good journal.

Happy Thursday bloggers! 

1:03:05.   The coolest run I have had in a long time (83F/65% humidity).

Yesterday we drove through the craziest weather coming home from John's (in Phoenix) -- first, there was a dust storm (actually a haboob I came to find out), we came through on the tail end of it ... it was like driving through a tunnel of dark sand, then the dust turned into a huge rain cloud and it looked like a war zone ... there were huge rivers of water, land on the side of the road covered with ponds of water, and billboard signs, construction signs, and a slew of cars just splattered all over.  Apparently the rain had strong winds that blew a bunch of junk all over the freeway.  The only serious accident (the driver might have died) was a huge tractor-trailer truck that had been blown over on its side in the middle of the freeway.  It was surreal ...

 The good news was that the storm cooled things down -- it was 113F when we got to John's, it was 75F when we got home ...aahhh.  It won't last long, we are destined for 100's the rest of the weekend.

I hope you have a good Friday bloggers!!

AM: (8 miles, 1:11:31).  Cooler today, it was only 87F at the start and 92F at the end today!

PM: easy 4.

Have to run, today is new student orientation, I have to go meet the incoming students, I think we have 6-8 new masters students and 4 new phd students.  I met the new statistics students yesterday (today is biostat day, yesterday was statistics day).

Have a great weekend bloggers, great job racers and pacers!! 

1:59:22.  1:01:40/57:42.  8:48/8:14.  A little slower than last week, but in part because I ran the first 1/2 a little faster.  Overall, I felt really good.  It was cooler at the beginning of the run (78F at 6:30AM), but was about the same as last week at the finish (90F), it must have been more humid because my shorts were completely soaked, it looked like I had just gotten out of the shower at the end!  

I have to study for class tomorrow, going over a review of  writing and reading proofs, sounds like fun doesn't it?

Happy Sunday bloggers. 

AM: (11 miles, 1:33:10).  30:04wu/30:07cd  12x45" w/2`recovery.   Last week I got my running schedule a little late so I improvised (15 x 45"w/1` recovery).  I thought last week was harder, until I did todays ... as Dean had said last week (and he is almost always right btw), with more recovery you can run the faster bits faster.  I can tell these were faster because my legs were much heavier on the looooong uphill home!!  Good news is that these are not cardiovascularly tough, just neuromuscularly tough ;-).  It is HOT here ... yuck.  96.6F at the end of the run, low was 85F last night.  I was really pissed today, there was a snake laying in the road and this truck went out of its way to hit it.  I stopped some traffic (there isn't really much out there, probably 3 cars over 3 mins or so) so I could get a stick and help it get out of the road.  I don't know if it is going to survive, it was hissing at me and blood was coming out of its mouth, but at least I think I gave it a chance.  I don't think it was a rattle snake ... I was kind of freaked out and did not look closely.  

Class went ok yesterday ... this is much easier than the first semester I taught this class.  Good think too, as there are 3 applied math PhD students in the class, so overall these guys are a lot better prepared than the first group was.   

 PM: easy 4.

 Have a wonderful Tuesday bloggers. 

1:11:29.  Hot today ... again.  Glad when it was finished.  

Have to run to work.  Two items of note, Dean got bad news yesterday, the reason he is still having pain in his foot is that the metatarsal that he had the surgery on in March is not healed on one side, this is NOT good news - as since it has been 6 months, no one really knows if/when it ever will heal.  He is extremely depressed, and who could blame him.  Second, and this is good news.  Friday is the beginning of the World Track and Field Championship.  The schedule (US, Eastern Time) can be found here.   It is going to be a good one .... more later.

Have a wonderful day bloggers! 

AM: (9.5 miles, 1:18:53).  Same run as last week, hit the landmark out (little over 2 miles) in 18:53 (exactly the same pace as last week) the same distance was 15:23 on the way back (16:00 last week).  It was 90.3F, but it was overcast today, which makes a very large difference.  Strange, I thought for sure I was going to be much slower today, my legs did not feel good, they felt heavy and I really didn't feel like I could get any "umph" out of them ...

PM: 4 miles easy.

I posted this on facebook, it was odd last night ... there was a scorpion IN the toilet (they don't swim) ... I have no idea how it got there, and why it was anywhere near the toilet ... ick.  I had to pee in the middle of the night, and I just couldn't ... I was too weirded out.

Very very tired today.  lack of sleep, high stress levels, and too much bad news of late.  I just hope the WTF can cheer me up (World Track and Field, per allie). 

a little more than an hour.  I had to get up early to run, we had to leave home by 7:30 to get to Phoenix by 10 for Dean's meeting.  It wasn't really any cooler than usual, but the sun wasn't up, so it felt a little better.

Sitting in Starbucks trying to get some work done ... I have a lot to do, even though what I really want to do is work on my paper!!!

Happy weekend bloggers -- WTF WTF WTF!!  Starts tonight (on TV) at 8PM!! 

AM: (8 miles, 1:10:37).  So hot.  We were up until very late watching track and field (WTF).  I got up later than I wanted and did not get started until nearly 9AM -- it was 101F and sunny.  Then, to add insult to injury I had a stiff headwind the last 3 miles (uphill too!!).  Very very glad when it was over.

Last Thursday I ran out of light during my evening run - so I had to cut it short (we don't have street lights or sidewalks here up in the mountains) -- but it was a great time of day for wildlife -- I saw our 20 "herd" of javelina and came within .5 mm from stepping on a very large tarantula!  

Yesterday we went up to Phoenix and saw John, my foot is definitely getting better.  We met Chris Lieto  -- he came in 2nd place in the Ironman Championship 2009 ... he is a very very nice guy (and looks super fit)!  I did not know who he was I first started talking to him, it wasn't until John said his name that I knew who he was.  Very cool.

PM: easy 4.

I have to go into work today, but I am hoping to sneak in a little nap somehow. 

I hope you are all having a wonderful weekend bloggers -- and to those of you that are racing -- RUN LIKE THE WIND! 

1:58:15 (8:26AP). I can't even begin to describe how miserable this run was ... I got started at 6:15 and it was already 85F and 73% humidity. By the time I hit the turnaround the sun was fully out and I felt like crap (it was well into the mid-90's at the end, and I don't know what the humidity was, but it was more than usual). From the very start I felt like I was still hurting from yesterday -- When I got home from my run yesterday I told Dean that I thought I had a little heat exhaustion, I was shivering at the end, and felt pretty sick to my stomach most of the day. Anyway ... good news is that I am in good enough shape that I was able to finish the run, and though I never felt "better" at least I never felt "worse" either ;-). I am getting pretty tired of summer.

WOW! What awesome races so far in the WTF! Women's marathon was an amazing Kenyan sweep, and the W's 10K went 1-2-3-4 to the Kenyan's (including US schooled and part of the Oregon Track Club, Sally Kipyego who got the silver!!). It is amazing primarily because the Ethiopians have been dominating the track for so many years now, it is really a surprise to see so many Kenyan's just overpowering everyone! The great Kenny Bekele dropped out of the men's 10K (and really messed up my prediction for the contest) and a previously unknown Ethiopian Ibrahim Jeilan had a surprise 27:13 win!

I can't wait to see how the US women do in the 1500, all 3 of our athletes made the preliminary round!! And how about that Emma Coburn???!!! She looked awesome in her steeple prelim!

Have a great Sunday bloggers! I need to go drink 20 gallons of water.

I will likely not be posting for a while, I hope to jog some in the next few days, but I am not sure how much.  I am traveling to colorado to spend, hopefully, a few last days/hours with my Mom.  

Run safe bloggers. 

Mary Louise LaFleur, September 1, 1940 - August 29, 2011.