I can do it!

Wow!  My legs are sore from last weekend.  It's probably a combination of not taking a recovery week after the Triathlon and then doing 22 miles on top of it.  Well, my plan was to take it easy today, so instead of running/cycling, I did P90X Chest, Arms, and Triceps, then followed it up with ab-ripperX.  I can't believe I actually thought doing P90X would be good for a "rest" day!  :S

This evening I couldn't resist getting a short run in...maybe it was the junk food I ate for Labor Day.  So I went for a very short run, just to loosen things up.  It HURT!  As in "I'm still very sore" kind of hurt.  So I only did 2.5 miles in 22:36.  But at least I felt a little more justified in eating all that ice cream...  :D

I was just noticing on my calendar that last week, which was supposed to be a "recovery" week, I logged more running miles than I have in months!  And I cycled quite a bit, too!  No wonder I'm still sore....

I was going to take today completely off, but by the time evening rolled around, I had a few extra minutes, so I thought I'd try out the legs again.  Still sore.....dang it!  But I got a bit further this time, getting 3.1 miles in 26:13.  I did a little bit more speed play, maxing out at a 5:52 pace.  But I also walked more.  Boy, I hope my legs recover before this weekend's relay!  :S

It was going to be a rest day, but I had to justify the chocolate binge I decided to have.  So I went to spin class and sweat my face off for an hour.   I did 16.5 miles in 49:54, then cooled down.  It was nice!  :D

Today was a rest day...but I decided to go to Zumba class anyway.  I was really sluggish at first, but eventually got into it all right.  Afterwards, I decided to do a quick run on the treadmill, just to keep it loose.  I did a 1 mile accelleration, starting at 6.0 MPH and increasing by a tenth every 15 seconds until I got to 9.0 MPH, then finished off the mile at 9.5 MPH.  I still feel tight and sore.  :(

Today was day ONE of the Red Rock Relay...see tomorrow's post for details!  :D

THE RED ROCK RELAY!

We had 12 people on our team to run a total of 186 miles.  They gave me all the short legs, since I was one of the "slow" runners on the team. 

I ran leg 9 - 2.9 miles at 10,000 ft. elevation - in 29:29.  It was SOOOO hard!  I felt like I was dying the whole time - it was really surprising to me.  I guess that elevation really makes a difference!  Plus, the whole run was on an incline, which didn't help the matter.  I had a pounding headache when I was finished, but I didn't want to let my team down, so I pushed it harder than I usually do.  I was disappointed by my slow time, but it was the best I could do.

Leg 20 was 3.21 miles in 25:53. By then we had dropped down to around 6,000 ft., and what a difference that made!  It was around 1:00 AM, and the temps were about 45 degrees, so I really enjoyed that run!  I felt fantastic and didn't get too hot, so I was able to run better.  The hardest part of that run was that it was pitch black, and I had a hard time seeing, but luckily the road was good and I didn't have any problems. 

Leg 29 was 5.02 miles in 40:28.  At this point we were back in Saint George, so I was at my "normal" altitude.  I began this run at around 6:30 AM, and ran up an incline of about 200 ft. in the first mile, then descended around 490 in the next 4 miles.  It was a great run, and I'm pretty sure it was the fastest 5 miles I've ever run!  My garmin said my heart rate max was 196 - Ouch! - but I don't know if that is even possible!  I felt fantastic at the end of this run, and even did an all-out sprint at the end to "kill" one more person just before the finish.  This was the only leg where I was passed during this race.

I had a total of 13 "kills" and was only passed once by one of the BYU guys. Our van alone had a total of 101 "kills" and was only passed 3 times! Our results? 186 miles in 23:51! :D