Emily's training blog

I got off to an early start this morning since the baby woke up at 4:30 with a poopy diaper.  By the time I changed him and fed him, there was no point in going back to sleep, so out the door I went.  I ran down 2200W to 3500S, and then to the river trail.  It was a little chilly to start with, but warmed up about 7 miles into the run.  At about 7.5 I ate a honey stinger.  I'm finding that taking in some energy at 7-8 miles makes a huge difference in my ability to finish my long runs strongly.  

I came into very close contact with two geese and a fox on the dirt part of the trail.  The geese hissed  and the fox ran away.  Getting up close and personal with wildlife always makes me a little nervous.

I finished the last two miles at marathon pace (12:30 for the last two miles.)   

I warmed up 2 miles and then ran a 6 mile tempo run.  I ran it on the treadmill, so it probably wouldn't be as fast outside; especially considering it is very windy outside today.  6:20, 6:10, 6:06, 6:03, 5:59, 5:50.  36:32 total time.  6:05-06 average pace.  I started at 9.7 mph and increased .1 every mile.    I cooled down 10 minutes to hit 9.35 total miles. 

Half an hour run followed by Zumba class.  I needed something a little different today.  Sorry, running purists, I'm giving myself 2 miles for the hour of dancing.  

Since I went pretty easy last night, I decided to do my track workout today instead of tomorrow.  I warmed up 3 miles to the track, and then did 4 200s.   I ran a ladder workout, 1600, 1200, 800, 400, and then 4 x 200 to finish.  I ran an 800 recovery after the mile, 400's after the 12, 8, and 4, and 200's between the 200's.  

1600:  goal pace:  5:45   actual pace: 5:37

1200:  goal pace: 4:15   actual pace:  4:12

800:  goal pace: 2:48   actual pace:  2:44

400  goal pace:  sub- 80   actual pace:  79

200's   38-39  ( My legs were pretty tired at this point.

1 mile cool down back to my house.  

I should Zumba every night  before a workout.  Today went really well. 

I had an early morning visit with Myles today.  We chatted for about an hour from 3:45-4:45.  I went back to sleep for a while, but it made for a groggy run.  I am sore from yesterday's workout!

  I ran an out and back on the river trail this morning.  I've been trying to run my easy runs easier since I have a tendency to push it too hard.  My plan for 10 miles turned into 8.

While I was syncing my i-pod yesterday, I stumbled onto Kara Goucher's running playlist.  It can be yours for the low price of 12.99 on itunes.  It was kind of fun to see what Kara listens to on her runs.   

It was a perfect morning, today.  I love early morning summer runs.  I ran 1300w to 7800S, down to Gardner Village and onto the river trail.  I left the trail at Millrace Park and ran through the neighborhoods home.  I toyed with the idea of adding in some fartlek work, but I was still feeling Thursday's track workout a bit.  Plus, tomorrow is my long run.  If I feel good on the long run I will throw some faster paced stuff into it.

I did not feel good today.  My stomach acted up again. I think it's time to revamp my diet to avoid stomach issues on my runs.  I ran the Canal road out to 2200W, to 4100S, down to the river trail, and back on the trail.  I felt all right for the first 7-8, but struggled over the second half of the run.  I kept wondering if this is what I'm going to feel like the last 6 miles of the marathon.  Then, I realized that I'll probably feel even worse.  Oh, well.  The run is over.  Time to head to Vegas for my mom's wedding.  

Because we are traveling, I decided to drop my mileage a bit this week.  Next week I will start to build into the sixty mpw  range.  

We are in Cedar City visiting Teren's sister.  Today we head to Las Vegas for my mom's wedding.  My legs were sore from sitting in the car yesterday, so I took my time warming up.  I wanted a workout with turnover, but not one that would kill me.  The point of this week is a little recovery.

I drove over to Cedar High School and warmed up on their cross country course, reliving fond memories of yelling at East High runners to run faster!   I tried to take advantage of the big grass field.  Then, I ran 1 mile of speed changes.  My workout was 12 x 400  with 90 seconds recovery  My times were:  80.8, 80.3, 79.6, 78.9, 79.7, 79.0, 78.8, 79.7, 78.4, 78.5, 78.8, 77.6.  I toyed with the idea of running 3 more, but decided not to.  

I cooled down for 10 minutes on the field again.

Vegas, baby! 

I had no desire to run in 107 degree weather along the Las Vegas strip. So, I used the treadmill in the workout room.  My hips and hamstrings are sore from sitting in the car.  Traveling is a little hard on the body.  Plus, sharing a hotel room with three children does not allow for very good sleep.  

I ran an easy 45 minutes.  The guy next to me started to get competitive and raised his pace to 10.5 mph.  (Yes, I looked.)  Two minutes later he was at 6.0 mph.  Maybe he was doing intervals? 

Today I ran in my third city in three days.  We stopped to stay in the condos in St. George on our way home from Vegas.  I was so sluggish starting out, but felt better as I went along.  I was trying to find my way onto the river trail, but couldn't quite remember how to get there from the condo.  Oh well, there is no bad place to run in St. George.  It's one of my favorite places to run.  I hope that I am still saying that in October.  

So, after running aimlessly for about 20 minutes, I ran out Valley View into town, and then turned back.  It was a nice rolly run.  The hills weren't too bad, except for the nice climb back up to the condo.   

I am so glad to be home.  Traveling with three kids is exhausting!  We got in at about 11 last night.  My legs are sick of sitting in a car.  I had very tired legs on my run today.  

I got out running a little later than usual.  I ran at Murray Park.  I warmed up for 15 minutes, and then ran a fartlek workout.  1 min, 2 min, 3 min, 4 min, 5 min, 4 min, 3 min, 2 min, 1 min, with 1-1-2-2-3-2-2-1-1 recovery.  Then, I jogged until I hit an hour of running.  I like running in Murray Park.  The terrain is varied, and I can throw in some hills.  I ran some of it on the Murray Invitational Course.  Every time I run on one of the high school cross country courses, I gain a lot of respect for my high school team.  Those courses are not easy!

My recovery week is not leaving me feeling very recovered. 

I met up with the East High team at Liberty Park for a light workout today.  It's good to be starting cross country season!   We warmed up a lap and then ran 2 laps of firemen.  We finished with one more lap cool down.  The soft surface felt good, and my legs seem to be recovering from the Vegas trip!

I just couldn't leave my weekly mileage at 49.75.  So, I ran a little longer than 14.  I ran a new route, which was actually just a combination of routes.  I'm still a little sore in the hips and hamstrings, but my legs felt much fresher today.  

I ran  1300 W to 7800S, up to 2700 W, to 3800 S, over to 2200W, back to 5400S.  It was a nice, cool, beautiful summer morning.  

I start building up my mileage next week.   

Ugh.  My initial thought was that I was not quite recovered from Saturday's run and I should run easy today.  I should have stuck with that.  I did a track workout, and my legs were super fatigued.  I think I was a bit ambitious with my pace.  I could hold it, but there just wasn't that spark in my legs that makes a really good track workout.

I wanted to run 6-8 800's today.  I thought I could hit them all about 2:45.  I would probably have been a little more comfortable at 2:48-2:50.  I only got six in.  

I warmed up 3 miles and did 4 x 200.  My 800's were  2:43.6, 2:45.8, 2:45.12, 2:45.7, 2:45.9, 2:48.2 (I totally died!)  I ran a 400 recovery in between.  There was a nice headwind into the home stretch that made the workout even more fun!  Oh well.  It's done!  

I only had time for a mile cooldown back to the house.   

I'm really trying hard to stay consistent and dedicated with my training, even though I'm in the midst of craziness at home right now.  I'm feeling a little mentally off, and impatient with the rate that my fitness is returning.  I'm getting back into good shape, but then I get excited about running fast races again.  I keep trying to remind myself, that full fitness might not be back for at least a year.  I need to be patient and stay positive.

I was up until 11 getting the house ready for the appraisal today.  The, I had to finish up with cleaning this morning.  So, the kids had to got to the gym daycare while I ran on the treadmill.  9.18 miles in 65 minutes.  

Glad to have a running buddy today.  I ran down to the JRP to meet Jenny this morning.  I ran 7 with her, and then ran home.  Having someone to talk to make the time fly by much more quickly.  

Why is it that I can handle 8-9 miles on recovery days with no problem, but when I jump to ten it seems to get so much harder?  Weird.  Guess I just need some adaptation. 

I went from running in 80 degree weather yesterday morning, to 50 degree weather today.  The cool weather felt nice, but it definitely took longer to get warmed up.  I also ran really early this morning, because we have to go close on our house.   

I ran a six mile tempo at Liberty Park.  I warmed up 2 miles, but probably could have used another mile to get really warm.  I think my first mile extended my warm up a bit.  I started a lot more slowly than the last time I ran a tempo at Liberty Park.  

Splits: 6:13.5, 6:04.3, 6:06.7, 6:09.4, 6:02.7, 5:59.3  Total time:  36:35.  I'm happy that I could finish strongly.  I think it shows that my endurance is improving.  About a 6:06 average pace.  

I like when I have workouts that help me believe that I might just actually run a strong marathon; that the training is starting to work.  I know not every tempo run will feel as good as today, but I've got to be really happy when it does!  

2 mile cool down.  Time to go buy a house!    

Easy watchless run out 1300 W over to 7000 S, up to 2700 W, and back to 5400 S.  I am definitely feeling yesterday's tempo.  

My run is done.  Back to packing. 

Early start to my run this morning.  Today is the big move into the new house, so I needed to get done.  I ran out 4800 S, to the river trail, out to Gardner Village, and back.  At around 11 miles I ran into Carol and some of her friends, so I ran about a mile and a half with them.  

Cole just stole and drank my entire post-run protein drink.  Nothing is sacred when you are a parent.  I guess he needed some good recovery from that strenuous Saturday morning cartoon watching! 

New house and moving issues.  I didn't make it out to run.

3 mile warm up, followed by 3 sets of 5 min, 3 min, 2 min, with 3 min, 2 min, 1 min recovery.  Cool down on canal road back to home.

Made it half of a mile into my run, when I noticed there was a geyser coming from the lawn of our former residence.  So, I ran home to send Teren to the rescue.  Later I got a sitter and ran 10.5 at the health club.  I had a friend to talk to on the next treadmill, so it actually went fairly quickly.

Extra early morning.  Teren had to be at work by 7.  I warmed up 3 miles over to the track.  I ran 20 x 200 on/off.  They weren't spectacular.  I kept them between 39 and 40.  But, I was in trainers at 5 in the morning, so it was okay.  I could see the biggest difference in how long the jogs took in between.  It was a lot faster than last time I did a similar workout.  The total time for the 5 miles was 35:01.  I cooled down 3 miles after the workout. 

7 miles easy, followed by Zumba.  I'm experimenting to see if taking a Zumba class before racing makes for a faster race.  Probably not, but it was fun anyway!

Today was my first post-baby race.  I didn't even know what to set as a time goal, but I knew I could probably at least go under 19.  I thought 18:30 was likely, and 18:00 would be a big surprise.  Actually, my main goal was to come in second overall behind Teren.

 It's hard to gauge how this race really went.  I think Murray will be a better indicator of my fitness.  I warmed up 3 miles and did 6 30 second strides.  The race started about 5 seconds from the actual start/finish line.  This is the first race where I actually had a running start.  The run started through the park.  I missed a turn and had to backtrack.  This actually happened a couple times throughout the race.  The course was not marked very well.  It did a ton of turns through the neighborhood, and sometimes you couldn't tell where to turn until you were right up on it.  The first one I missed, I actually came to a complete stop and waited for the next person.

I was in second place throughout most of the race.  A Taylorsville High track graduate reeled me in during the third mile.  I knew there was no way I was going to outkick an eighteen year old boy who would never let a 35-year-old mother of three pass him.  So, I ended up third overall.

I really want my fitness to come back faster, but I keep telling myself, "Just get fit.  Next year will be a great year if I stay healthy."  But, I'm off to a good start.

 Teren and I ran the course again for a cooldown, and then ran 2 miles back home.

I don't think I'll do Zumba before a race again.