Emily's training blog

Daybreak run with Caisa.

16 with Jenny. Knee hurt all day afterward.

Running with audiobook. I'm going to try to fit in some classics on my runs. First four chapters of Peter Pan and Wendy. I have been reading Peter and the Starcatchers with Cole, so I thought I would listen to the original. 7:06 average.

I'm not loving the on and off knee pain. Every other day running isn't working too well, either. It's getting better, but not quickly enough. I did a harder effort today. 65 minute tempo, starting at 6:45 pace, and finishing at six. I can tell I have lost some fitness, but I think Ican snap back fairly quickly.

I think I will run the SL half more as a tempo run, next week. As of now, I think Grandma's is off. I just don't want to cram the training into ten wees, and then run a sub par marathon. I guess I could go and run it by effort, just for the experience. I don't know. As you can see, I'm not very mentally invested.

Anyone want to go to Chicago in October?

Back to back runs with no knee pain. Well, I actually felt it the first five minutes, but nothing after that. Yay! I think I'm officially mended. I can train for realsies again. I was feeling yesterday's tempo. But, I still managed to move pretty quickly. 6:56 average. Beautiful morning!

Garmin-less run with Jenny. No knee pain at all! I can't wait to see Jenny crush it in the marathon next week.

I ran up in Ogden with the Utahrunning.com team, of which I am a part this year. We ran on the trails above Weber State, which was a nice change. I forgot how incredibly hilly Ogden is! I'm excited to get to know all the people on the team this year. We had breakfast, and received our race gear. No knee problems, even bombing down the steep hills. I'm happy to be back in commission! I'm excited to race next week, even though it will be a little rough. Time to bust some rust!

A little limited on time this morning. I did a track workout for the first time in quite awhile. I just wanted to get used to turnover again. I warmed up 2.75 miles and then ran 4 x 200. It was pretty windy on the home stretch, which wasn't surprising. I ran 1600, 800, 800, 400, 400, 400, 400.

1600: Goal: 5:45. Actual: 5:43

800's: Goal: 2:48-2:50. Actual: 2:46, 2:48

400's: Goal: 80. Actual: 79, 77, 78, 78

400 recovery between the miles and eights. 1:1 recovery on the 400s

Only a mile cooldown.

9.15 miles. I'm sore today from the track. I need to stretch and roll! I ranthrpugh.two episodes of Serial. Fascinating stuff. Who really murdered Hae? I can't decide.

Does anyone have any other podcast recommendations?

7:22 average

Hour treadmill run. Yuck weather! 8.75 miles

I have a catching pain going on behind my right knee. (Not injury knee). I think it's a result of some calf tightness, probably from the hills on Saturday, followed by track on Monday. I didn't run yesterday. I could feel it a bit today, but it doesn't seem to hamper my running. I hope it doesn't give me trouble tomorrow.

Six miles, with 8 thirty second sprints peppered throughout the run.

My goals for tomorrow are to not hurt myself, and to have fun. I'm not expecting a stellar result. I'm mostly there to watch Jenny's big race. It will be a good day!

My start to the racing season. I knew I wasn't 100 percent, and haven't been for about 4 weeks. I'm still glad I ran, even though the fitness was a little off.

I drove to the start line with Jenny and Bryant. I warmed up two miles and threw in some strides. I had a funny moment peeing behind a bush with a total stranger. Runners. We're all the same. I have a new friend.

I had no idea what to expect, so put it on the line and went hard with the leaders. I couldn't hold. The top two pulled away at six, with third place passing me at seven or so. Kudos to Jasmine. She started out more conservatively and just about reeled in the top two. So, I was in no man's land in fourth place. I think I kind of settled at this point, just trying to maintain position. Apparently, I should have pushed harder. I thought I was fourth, but someone who started behind me had a faster chip time by four seconds, so they put her in front of me. It doesn't matter, really, but I wish they would stick to gun time. The race is different head to head. Whatever. It didn't really change anything.

So, I stayed healthy. No pain. I got the first race under my belt. I had fun. And, I.got to cheer Jenny on in the marathon. Mission accomplished. Time to work.

2.4 cooldown

Slow and sore from the half. My quads hated every downhill today. I've been worse, though. 7:33 average.

My quads still don't like downhill running, but it's getting better. One more easy day. Workout tomorrow. I listened to This American Life and Hardcore History on my run this morning. I'm loving podcasts on easy runs!

Fartlek workout today. Nothing too hard. There's still race left in my legs. Quads are better, but hips are sore. I warmed up a little over two miles and ran 10 x 2 minutes on/off. Out and back on the river trail. 6:56 average

Beautiful sunrise run. What a great start to the day. Today I learned about the vaudeville and circus act, The Sutherland Sisters, who were known for their extremely long hair. They made a fortune developing a line of hair products, which yhey squandered through decadent living, and died destitute. (Stuff You Missed in History Class) 7:33 average.

Tempo run. I felt so nauseated this morning. I hope I'm not getting sick. I think I just wasn't fueled properly, because I am really hungry now.

Warm up two miles, six mile tempo, ten minute cooldown. 6:06 average.

My first full week of running in a looooong time. Hopefully, I'm on the upswing.

Just enough to hit sixty miles this week. I felt trashed today. I think the half is still making its presence known. But, I'm happy to run every day this week. Now to take the mileage up and stay consistent. It was a beautiful, cool morning. I ran 4800 S to Vine, out to Wheeler Farm, around Wheeler Farm, back to the River Trail, along the trail to Bullion, up 1300, and back on 5300 S.

Feeling kinda blah, today. Legs need some adjusting to regular training, again.

I listened to an interview with Deena Kastor on Runner Academy this evening while doing dishes. She is my all-time female running hero. I loved hearing about her progress,her struggles, and her running mentality. She finds so much joy in running. A practical piece of advice is to be observe the triangle of rest/recovery.

Proper rest between intervals to ensure a productive workout.

Proper rest between hard sessions. Making easy days easy.

Proper sleep. (She sleeps 11 hours a night. I got five last night.)

I warmed up 15 minutes and then ran a fartlek ladder.

1,2,3,4,5,4,3,2, and 5 x 1 minute on/off to finish. 1, 1, 2,2,3,2,2,1 minute recoveries. My legs felt a little springier this morning. 6:56 average. 1 mile cooldown.

Trying to add a little more every day.

Podcast run. The first four miles I listened to a podcast about Louisa May Alcott. I learned that the March sisters in Little Women were based on her and her three sisters. Then, I listened to The Moth story hour. Bad mistake. The stories all had to do with people dealing with terminal illnesses. In the first story a man plans an "end of life " celebration with his 86 year old mother. In the second story, a man with a tumor in his femur puts together a "Council of Dads" to be there for his twin daughters if he dies. In the final story, a New York City cop says goodbye to his father (also a NYC cop) on the day he is scheduled to take his exam to become a Lieutenant. Way too much emotion for a run. I stopd on the corner at mile eight, just sobbing. I might need to make a return to FallOut Boy.

7:29 average. I needed gloves. My hands were cold.

Warm up for 20 minutes. 40 minute tempo. 6.61 miles. Ten minute cooldown