Emily's training blog

A nasty flu bug has hit the family. I may not make it to the race Friday at this rate. Good thing I planned for this week to be a little lighter. Maybe I will get lucky and avoid it.

I ran eight miles on the out and back route that Teren runs every. single. day. I felt a little rough the first few miles so I eased into it. I felt pretty good the second half of the run. 7:05 average.

I felt terrible today. For no explainable reason. I ran over to the track and ran two miles of speed changes and then ran home. I ran watchless. I felt like I was running through quicksand. I hope I feel better on Friday. I probably need to eat better. I didn't have much appetite yesterday with the whole family being sick.

Ugh. I thought I might avoid the family stomach flu, but I think I caught it. It's not horrible so far so I'm hoping for a mild strain. My legs and breathing felt good on my run today, but I still felt off. I'm still planning on racing tomorrow unless I take a major turn for the worse. But, I don't think it's going to be a brilliant effort by any means. We'll see . . . 7:14 average pace.

Murray Days 5k today. I spent all day yesterday and all night with a 102 degree fever and the stomach flu. I actually didn't plan on running because I knew it wwould be awful. My fever broke this morning. I still felt nauseated and dehydrated but I thought sinc I paid for the race I might as well go and jog it. The whole family was participating.

When we got to the park I warmed up for two miles with Jenny. I knew I couldn't beat her, but noticed there wasn't a lot of competition. So I decided to try for a top three finish. It's amazing what a little money does for your motivation. I decided to feel out the first mile and then go from there.

The gun went off and Jenny jumped to the front. I eased into it. About 6:05 for the first mile. I was in second at the mile. I tried to open it up on the downhill second mile. 5:54. The hurt set in in mile three. I started feeling dizzy and felt like I might throw up. I just concentrated on holding onto 2nd. 6:19 (ouch!) I crossed in 18:24. The course only measured 3.03. 6:06 average. Not spectacular, but respectable under the conditions. We'll call it a marathon pace tempo. I'm hoping for a huge improvement at Draper Days 5k.

I cooled down very slowly for 2.5 miles with Teren. Then I ran the half mile kids race with Lily.

I'm glad I ran, even though I felt horrible. It was good toughness training.

I was feeling this last week.  I'm still glad I raced yesterday, but my body was pretty depleted.  It was a tough run; hot, windy, muggy, and my ipod wasn't working correctly.  I hung in there pretty well until ten, but the last three miles my legs were cramping and didn't feel so great.  But, it's done and this "recovery" week that wasn't much of a recovery is over.  I ran up to the canal road, and then out to 4100S via 2200 W, down to the river trail and back to Millrace Park.  7:15 average.  

I got an elite entry into CIM.  I'm excited about running it.  I hope I can get myself in shape to run that OTQ.  I'm glad I have a good amount of time to work at it.  Anyone who wants to train with me, I would be happy to have the company!  :)

I warmed up 2.5 miles to the track and then ran 4 x 200 strides. My workout was 1600-800-800-400-400-400-400. I felt much springier today than last week. I am finally ovet the flu!

1600: 5:38

800: 2:44

800: 2:43

400's: 80, 80, 79, 78

I did a short cooldown and then went to the club for Total Body Conditioning. This was not easy after a tough interval session.

I dropped three pounds in a week. Last week was obviously tough on my body.

I had a lazy morning so I ended up running on the treadmill at the gym. I ran for 20 songs. I wanted to see how far I could run in twenty songs. I increased my pace every two songs. Still, I kept this run mellow. I'm tired from yesterday. After I ran I did push ups, pull ups, and core.

I also ran .4 with Cole and Lily but I'm not counting it.

Hot and windy at 7:30 a.m. makes for a tough run. Ten miles out 4800 s to the river trail. The last mile was uphill into the wind. Not fun! I still managed 6:58 average. I had new shoes which should make my calves happier. I also had a new orange sports bra. (Sport Authority has 12 dollar Champion sports bras!)

I'm debating whether to run a fartlek workout tomorrow, or take Bootcamp class tonight and save my workout for Friday. I'm leaning towards Bootcamp. Plyos and strength work is speedwork in disguise. I'm sure to be super sore tomorrow.

Pm: Bootcamp. The class was a bit chaotic and disorganized. It was also only 45 minutes long. Oh well. It did the job. Burpees are torture.

WMurray Park/Wheeler Farm with Jenny. Nice run. Good company. Muggy morning! I was glad to have a friend to take my mind off my tired legs.

I warmed up two miles and then ran a five mile tempo run. I ran 30:22 for five. 6:04 average. I cooled down for ten minutes. I am ready for this week to be over!

15 mile long run with Jenny. We started at Murray Park and ran out 4800 S to 1300W, out to Gardner Village and back to 4800S via the River Trail. I really like this route. It's a good mix of rolling hills and flat sections. I felt great today. I felt especially strong in the last few miles. Yay for strength work.

I'm very happy with this week's training. I love seeing my fitness return. 7:03 average pace.

Body Pump after my run! I feel absolutely beastly! It's great!

Ugh.  I could have used one more recovery day before hitting a speed workout.  I felt great after my run on Saturday.  I got all excited and took Body Pump, where we did some nasty lunge-jumps.  I was super sore yesterday, and that carried over into today's workout.  That's the beauty of fartlek, though.  It's all effort based.  I warmed up 20 minutes and then ran 3 x 1-2-3-2-1 minutes with 1-1-2-1-1 minute recoveries.  I always found this to be an effective turnover workout before races.  I didn't keep track of my pace, but I did check it once in a while.  It seemed to be between 5:20 and 5:50 for the fast parts, which actually surprised me based on how crappy my legs felt.  I'll take it.

I cooled down 1.5 miles home.  My plan is to front load the week a bit so my mileage doesn't drop too much.  Still, I want to be nice and rested for the 5k Saturday.  I really want to break 18.  I will run a medium long run tomorrow, probably 12. 200's on Wednesday, and then light runs on Thurs/Fri.  No leg weights this week.  

I'm officially registered for CIM.  I'm excited and nervous!  21 weeks to go!

I slept in a bit this morning so ran at the club. 20 song challenge. They were long songs today. 11.25 miles. I kept it nice and easy. I was less sore than yesterday.

I ran a 3.5 mile warm up. It was nice having a bit of an extended warm up. Then I ran 18 x 200 meters on/off. They were mostly all 37's, with a few 38's and 2 39's. I thought I would try to use the wind at my back to push me along a bit. But it felt like one of those weird cross winds that swirln. It felt like it was never at my

back, so it wasn't super helpful. I cooled down 1.5 miles.

Two recovery days and then a race. I saw they changed the Draper Days course. I hate when they do that. I'm excited to race anyway.

It's nice to have a couple of recovery days. My hips and calves need a break. I'm excited to race Saturday. I ran 4800 S to the River Trail, to Bullion and back via 1300W. Then I came home to a grouchy husband which kinda killed my running buzz. I love that running helps me cope with life's ups and downs.

Easy, early 5.5 miles on the Costco loop. No watch. Just working out all the kinks. Sub 18 in the works! It's been a long time! Now to go stretch.

Hmm. Not what I wanted or expected today. Since I ran sick two weeks ago, I thoght this 5k would be a big improvement. I thought I was in sub-18 shape. I am not there yet. I wasmileage ht on pace at two miles, but was already struggling. I completely fell apart the last mile, which shows the pace was too ambitious for my fitness. I was mad after finishing. Then I gave it some thought and realized a few things.

1. Being sick didn't affect me as much as I thought it did. Plus, I was way more rested.

2. I'm only 8 weeks into training after no running for six weeks. My head is faster than my body.

3. I jumped my mileage and intensity a lot the last two weeks. 3 strength classes a week, track workout, 5 mile tempo, fast fifteen miler, some longer, tougher workouts, raising my mileage to over sixty. All good stuff for the long run. Not good for today's race.

4. 18 x 200 at 5:00 pace may have been a mistake.

So, those are my thoughts. Any other feedback based on this analysis, FRB coaches?

2.5 mile warm up. 5 mile cooldown (7:10 average. I was mad.)

I apologize to anyone I was cranky with after the race.

My calves were still a bit tight from Saturday's race. I decided to take one more recovery run before running a workout. It was pretty windy this morning so that may have been a good choice. We'll see tomorrow. Otherwise, I felt good. I ran my Murray Park 10 miler. It was a bit trafficky at 7:30 a.m. I'll probably tempo tomorrow, and either fartlek or intervals on Friday. 15-16 on Saturday. 60-65 for mileage.

Three mile warm up. 6 mile tempo. 36:07. 6:01 average. Probably worth 6:10-6:15 pace since I ran it on the treadmill this morning. Felt under control, though. Lots of sentence fragments.

Cooldown: 10 minutes

Ugh. My legs were so tired today. I guess I worked hard yesterday! I kept an easy pace. I ran out 1300W to 7000S, down to the river trail

and left the trail at the bridge. Then I ran home via 4800S, for a wonderful uphill and windy last two miles. Men ignore this statement: Periods and running don't mix. Lady runners will understand. 7:17 average.

One more recovery day before another workout. I felt better than yesterday. It was hot and muggy for 7:30 am. I ran the River Trail/Bullion route eith an extra loop via Quailstone/2200w. I kicked hard down my block in honor of all the Des News runners! I hope you all ran amazing. I'm expecting Lindsey Dunkley to slaughter my 1:16 time from last year. I dream of being that talented! 6:59 average.

I love when track workouts go according to plan. I get a lot of my confidence from my speed, though I know there are so many factors to good running. Today was the first day I felt nice and smooth running on the track.

I warmed up 2.65 miles followed by 4 x 200. My goal was 5-6 x 1000 at 3:30-3:35. I wanted to stay under control because my long run is tomorrow.

I ran 400 meter recovery between intervals.

3:30.2

3:30.7

3:28.6

3:28.2

3:28.8

I stopped after five, erring a bit on the cautious side. The goal is to add more 1000's over the marathon cycle. I would love to get to 10-12 at this pace.

I cooled down 2.5 to give me ten for the day.

Really early run this morning. I started at five. I ran the temple loop sixteen miler and felt really good. It's rolly uphill the first half and rolling downhill the second half. I used the down on the way back to run a little more up tempo.

7:34, 7:16,7:19, 7:02, 7:02, 7:05, 7:12, 7:09, 7:17, 6:44, 6:36, 6:39, 6:39, 6:49, 6:10, 6:09

Last two at marathon pace. I feel so much stronger on long runs than I did during marathon training last year.

I read some articles about Mary Cain winning the World Junior Championships gold. I love that I can be inspired by someone who is half my age (but twice as fast.). 6:55 average pace.

I went to the gym to lift after eating breakfast. I'm ready to eat everything in tje house again and then sleep.

I was all set to get out for my run this morning when I realized that Myles had a Doctor's appointment. Doh! So, I ran at the club this afternoon. I warmed up three miles and then ran 10 x 3 minutes on 2 minutes off. I started at 10mph and increased .1 every interval. The last one I ran a full mile at 11.0 mph. The effort felt somewhere between a threshold run and an interval workout. I will run something measured on Thursday. I cooled down until I hit 12 miles.

After a late afternoon workout my legs were very fatigued this morning. I tried to let my body ease into the run. It took six miles before I felt decent. I ran 2200w to 4100s, on to the river trail, off at Bullion and back via 4800S, with an extended loop to 2200w. The drizzle felt nice, but it was extremely muggy. I'm completely soaked through from my run. 7:17 average.

Two more hard day and then a little rest for the weekend. I have a bunch of family coming into town for the next two weeks and the following week I'm going to youth conference with Teren. So there will be a lot of training-interrupting activities.

I've been front loading the week a bit so I can have a short run on Saturday. So, my legs are a bit tired right now. It might sound selfish, but I'm excited for school to start again so I can get back to a routine.

I ran out 1300W to 7800s, and back on the river trail. I stopped for a moment to watch the two pelicans hanging out in the river. Yesterday, I saw two cute rabbits doing what rabbits do best. I didn't stop and watch. I wanted to give them some privacy.

7:01 average.

Only my long run left. I can't wait to be done with this week. My hips and Achilles are so fatigued. I was going to run a track workout, but thought I should stay out of my flats. I ran a three mile warm up to Valley Park. I ran 20 x 1 minute on/off. It was tough but manageable. I'm getting faster. Average pace for the whole workout, including warm up and cooldown was 7:01. Last time I did a similar work out, average pace was around 7:18. I'm looking to keep my long run relatively easy tomorrow.

I ran 55 more miles this month than last month. That's like an entire extra week of running.