"It is not the mountain we conquer, but ourselves"

I did 6x800 today.  I was surprised by how well they felt compared to the 400s last week.  I did make a mistake though, my cat really, really wanted to come outside in the front yard, so I let her out after the 800s and washed my car.  Then I went on my cool-down, even though I had already cooled down and the temperature and jumped ten degrees.  It was hot and humid and I reluctantly stopped a few times.  Oh well.  Good workout today.

Pretty good run today. I ran the loop around Snow Canyon Parkway and Pioneer Parkway which is about 9.5 miles.  I did take two short breaks, but I was pushing my normal pace, so I wasn't very disappointed with those.  Overall, it felt really good and I did my best to maintain 7:30ish pace, but probably averaged more around 7:45. 

This is a good start to a new phase of training.You know, obviously this is my first marathon, and I feel like I'm reaching out in the dark trying to figure out how best to train for it.  But that's what this is; it's a learning experience.  With every passing month I'm changing my running schedule up and making it better and becoming a better runner.  And I have many more years (and hopefully marathons) to really push the pace and become a great runner.

I went for a long recovery run In God's Country.   I drove up to the Red Cliffs Desert Reserve and ran around on their trails for about 9 miles or so.  The soft sand and constant elevation changes led to an extremely slow overall pace.  But it was a good recovery run.  26 miles on the week so far! I'm going to hit 50 if I can stay healthy this week.

Today's run started out as a 3-4 mile tempo run.  I set out planning on making the tempo run last for at least 3 of my 7 miles, and then I would evaluate how I felt at the end of the third mile and possibly do a fourth.  I made it to the end of the second tempo mile and lost it.  My body isn't used to pushing itself so hard for so long right now, and I've put a lot of miles on my legs the past couple of days.  Splits for the two tempo miles are

 1- 6:45

2 - 6:59

 They were both inside my pace zone.  When I hit mile four (first mile after I stopped) my hamstrings tightened up and I struggled to continue running.  I ended up walking over a half mile, trying every hundred meters or so to start running again.  The fatigue is setting in, and I've got to get enough sleep tonight to recooperate.  Saturday will be my last long run in Saint George, so I want to make it a good one.

Easy three mile run today to stretch my legs.  I worked out last night and stayed out until 11:30.  Yeah, I'm not doing that again.  Tomorrow I'm going at least 18, but pushing towards 20.  We'll see what happens.

Ha ha ha! I did it! I started getting a little scared last night because I realized I had this massive run today. I even woke up at 4:20 and then again at 5:20 because I could not sleep.  I was sore and still a little worried about being able to complete this, but I did it!  

 First off, Powerbar energy drinks suck.  Big time.  My mom got some for free because they were past their expiration date at Foot Locker.  Maybe that was the problem, but it is sick, and made me more thirsty.  So I called my mom and luckily she brought me some real water around mile 16.  My mom dominates so flippin much.

 I ran from my house up to Ivins Main street and out to snow canyon parkway.  Two miles up and back on Bluff street, and turned right around and came back the same way.  Ha ha, I choked on my water while running on Bluff street, and somebody passed me while I was coughing.  Yeah. I proceeded to give him a clinic on how to run hills.

 Great run until about 18 miles.  I started getting tired and just had to keep on telling myself to keep on going.  I regret that I did stop a few times, but it was half as much as last week (15 minutes).  That was my goal and I made it.  Last week in Saint George, so next week is going to be amazing.