Emily's training blog

I met with a fun group of ladies for a run through Murray this morning.  It is always so much fun having running partners . . . even at 8:00 on New Year's morning.  We're going to try to make this a monthly event, entitled The Big Girls' Run.  We plan on holding it the first Saturday of every month.  We also thought it would be good to change the venue for variety and so that we can include more runners.  

11 miles  7:30 pace.  (I originally planned on 8.  That's what happens when you have a great running group!)

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I think I bit off a little more than I can chew this week.  Running with friends and blogging again has motivated me, but I jumped up a little higher than I meant to this week.  Today it caught up with me.  I love the blog, but sometimes I feel like I need to keep up with everyone in terms of mileage or paces.  I get too excited.

I warmed up 3 miles, and then proceeded to run a tempo run.  I had planned a 5 mile tempo, but my stomach was hurting after three miles and I needed a pit stop.  So, I changed the workout to 3 mile, 2 mile, 1 mile, with half a mile recovery inbetween.  

3 mile:  18:23

2 mile:  11:42

1 mile:  5:42 (I'm not gonna lie.  I was hanging on for dear life on this mile.)

I cooled down for about 5 minutes and called it good.  I am most definitely going to feel this tomorrow.  It will be a short, easy run followed by some zumba.  

By the way, does anyone else ransack the kitchen and eat everything in sight after their runs . . . or is it just me?

Easy early morning run, and now I'm on to Zumba.  I am super sore from yesterday!   It took a while to get going.  7:33 average . . . easy recovery.

It was pretty snowy and icy in my neighborhood this morning.  I decided to play it safe and head to the gym for a treadmill run.  I kind of wish I had sucked it up and braved the streets.  It's so boring doing long stuff on the treadmill.  I couldn't even bring myself to run one more mile to hit 60 this week instead of 59.  

I decided that a workout would get me through the run a lot faster.  I warmed up 2 miles and then ran 20 x 90 seconds on/off.  I started at 10.0 mph and increased every two intervals.  The recovery was at 8.0 mph.  I finished the last one at 11.0 mph.  It wasn't designed to be extremely difficult, just to get me through the run without going crazy from boredom.  The last 4-5 started to get tougher.  I cooled down until I hit 12, and called it good.  1:20:17 for 12 miles.  About 6:41 pace.  

I'm pretty happy with this week.  I feel like I'm actually starting to train again.  Jumping up 16 miles in one week is not how I usually increase mileage.  However, I had more opportunities to run outside with friends during the nice part of the day, so it just kind of happened.  Now to set some racing goals . . . I know I want to run a sea level fall marathon, but which one?

Costco loop extended to 6200 S, and back on 1300W.  Dark, cold, and icy.  Typical winter running.  I was not amused by the guy who told me he couldn't see me.  I was wearing a reflective vest and blinking light.  Really?  I'm glad the guy was walking and not driving.  7:24 pace.  I felt good except for cold cheeks.  

I was inspired by this article about a 37-year-old marathoner who had dropped her PR from 2:41 to 2:23 in the last 4 years.  Of course, she had a rare form of anemia, but still . . . there might be some fast miles in these legs, yet.  

http://www.iaaf.org/news/feature/valeria-straneo-iaaf-world-championships-mara

I had one of my insomnia nights last night.  You know, the ones where you can't seem to turn your brain off?  So, I did not get up at 5.  I thought I would hit the gym for a tempo run.  Unfortunately, it was a bad daycare day for Myles.  I will try again tomorrow.  Hopefully, my brain will be all thunk out.  ( or thought out if you are a grammar nazi.)

It's snowing this morning.  It's also supposed to snow tomorrow morning.  And Friday morning.  I really really really don't like winter.  And yes, I may just complain about it daily.  

3 mile warm up plus 5 mile tempo run at the health club.  Then, I cooled down until I hit 70 minutes of running.  10.5 miles total in 70 minutes, 30:08 for the 5 mile tempo.  6:01-02 pace for whatever it's worth.  

Jenny was nice enough to watch Lily and Myles for me while I went running today.  Not only that, she lent me her ipod and Garmin, because I forgot mine.  What a good friend.  So, I went for an afternoon run around Cottonwood Heights and Murray.  I got snowed on pretty good, so I cut the run a little bit short.  Still, I'm really glad that I was able to get out and get some running in.  7:02 average pace.

Workout at the Oval.  20 minute warm-up, followed by 1-2-3-4-5-4-3-2-1 minute fartlek, with 1-1-2-2-3-2-2-1-1 minute recoveries.  It was a lot of laps.  I actually lost count.  15 minute cooldown.  75 minutes total running time.  I'm guessing about 10 miles.  I'm so accurate today.

I listend to "Let It Go" from Frozen about 6 times on the way to and from the Oval.  My inner Broadway diva loves this song.  The Idina Menzel version, not the Demi Lovato version.  

I'm incredibly sore from yesterday.  I was not really looking forward to running at 5:30 on a Saturday morning.  However, Teren had somewhere to be at 7:30, so an early morning run it was.  Luckily, Jenny met me to run.  We ran 4800S to 1300W, down to Winchester, over to Fashion Place Boulevard, and back to Murray Park.  We needed an extra lap around the park to hit 13, but I'm glad we did it.  I was originally willing to stop at 12.

Besides the early morning cold and stiffness, I enjoyed the run.  I'm glad that Jenny and I can share anything.  Today was one of those deep, meaningful conversations that can happen when you run with a good friend.  Getting the mileage in is important, but even more so is having time to connect with a friend.  There's nothing more conducive to good coversation than a long run!

7:25 pace.  I really need a good stretch, a hot shower, a cup of hot chocolate, and a nap.

I warmed up 2 miles and then ran 10 x 3 minutes on 2 minutes off.  The last time I ran this workout I could only manage 8.  I hit 10 pretty easily today, so next time I need to pick up the pace.  I cooled down until I hit 75 minutes of running.

I had another "can't get out of bed" morning yesterday, which resulted in no run.  I really need to stop doing that. Especially as my mileage begins to climb.  As it is, I should be able to hit  55-60 with some longer runs the rest of the week.  Of course, catching up mileage is really not the safest thing to do.

I ran a "new route" today.  Well, I've run most of it already, just not from my house.  I ran 0ut 4800S to State Street, turned on Vine, and ran a loop around to 5300 and back to 4800 S, and then back to my house.  I thought it should be about 10 miles.  it was 9.96.  Who needs a Garmin, anyway?  My internal GPS is pretty accurate.  

Found this article today: http://spikes-mag.tumblr.com/post/73199486202/hey-ma-10-amazing-athletics-supermums

I don't know where the idea that mothers can't be elite athletes ever came from.  When I ran St. George Marathon, all of the women in the top ten were moms.  Rosy Lee and I were even nursing our babies at the same time before the awards ceremony.  (Sorry if that's TMI.  I thought it was cool.)  Anyway, just a little inspiration for all the moms and future moms out there.  

7:12 pace.

Today was THempo THursday on the THreadmill.  It was THuper!   I warmed up 3 miles and ran 3 x 2 miles with a half mile recovery.  I ran 12:15, 11:58, 11:49.  I felt under control.  I'm sure I could have strung those together for a six mile tempo, but I was trying to sneak in a little extra mileage.  I cooled down 15 minutes.  

Sick.

Sicker . . . ugh.

On another topic, has anyone read the book Running the Ridge?  It's a fictional account of a Rwandan 800 meter runner trying to make the Olympics in the midst of the turbulence of genocide in his country.  I'm about 90 pages in.  I was wondering if anyone read it, and what they thought of it.

Bummed I can't do Meg's Miles today.  Do you think they will be acceptable if I run them on Monday?

This illness is kicking my butt.  After three days of high fever and sore throat I went to Urgent Care last night.  I have strep. (Surprise surprise.)  Now I'm on antibiotics and am starting to feel human again.  I should be able to pick up running tomorrow, but I think it will probably be easy mileage all week.  I think the first couple of runs will feel a little rough after being sick for a few days.

First post-strep run.  I felt pretty weak and tired.  My pace wasn't too bad, all things considered.  I should improve over the next few days.  I'm still amazed Shalane Flanagan won a Bronze medal at the Olympics after having the flu.  I still feel a little bit like a truck hit me.  But, I'm starting to perk up.  Kudos to those who can run through illness.  I've never been able to manage it.  It may have something to do with my tendency to have low iron levels.  I get really wiped out.  

4.51 miles on the SLCC loop in horrendous smog.  My lungs were actually burning, and that wasn't from my sickness.  Plus, it was freezing!  Not my most favorite run ever, but I'm still glad that I got out there.

I felt much better today than yesterday.  I ran out 4800 S and over to 1300 W, to 6200 S, and back on the Canal Road.  The Canal Road was a bad idea.  It was pitch black.   I won't run that road again in the dark.  My miles were all over the place, but averaged out to 7:15.  I was at 7:31 pace at 4 miles, so the last two were much quicker.  The slight downhill helped matters along.

Wow.  I am so bored reading this.  Sometimes it's hard to make morning mileage sound interesting.

I avoided the smog to give my lungs a break.  It was a treadmill morning.  I ran a progression run, just to get some turnover back without pushing the effort too hard.  I started at 8.0 mph and increased every .5 miles.  I ended at 10.0, but upped the speed more frequently over the last mile.  

To keep myself from getting too bored, I did the 15 song challenge.  The goal was to see how far I could run in 15 songs.  I hit the 15th song at 8.8 miles, so I just finished at 9.  Sometimes I up my pace at the end of every song, but today I just did it every half mile.  The things we come up with to keep our minds occupied on the treadmill.  Average pace for 9 miles:  6:49

The air seemed a little less soupy this morning.  Of course, I still choked on my fair share of car exhaust.  At least the roads are clear . . . positive thoughts, right?  

I ran out 1300W to 7800 S, to 2700 W and back.  The pace was brisk today.  I must be feeling better.  6:57 average.

I lost 3 pounds while I was sick.  That's a great excuse to eat brownies for breakfast, right?

I met Jenny for a long run this morning.  The run flew by and I felt really good.  We rolled along at a pretty good pace this morning.  We ran out 4800 S to 1300 W, to Winchester, down to the river trail, to 4800 S and back up and around Murray Park.  I always like how our "we're only going to run 10-12 miles" turns into "we're already at 10.5, how about 14?"  I didn't mind though.

We got hit on by firemen after our run.  Apparently, there's nothing more attractive than 2 sweaty, stinky ladies in flourescent yellow!

7:08 pace.

I warmed up three miles, and ran a 7 mile tempo.  The pace felt really under control, so I'm not sure the treadmill I was on was calibrated correctly.  Therefore, I decided to run a little longer tempo to get the workload in.  7.1 miles in 42:25.  Just a touch under 6 minute mile pace if you believe the treadmill.  Which I kind of don't.  Still, it was a good effort.  I'll get outside for a measured one soon! 

I was super lazy and didn't cool down.

I got to run after the sun came up this morning, thanks to my Grandma visiting for a few days. It's so much more pleasant than running in the dark.  I ran 4800 S to the river trail, off at Bullion, back on 1300 S to 4800 S, and back through the neighborhood.  I've been feeling pretty good the last few runs.  I hope that means that fitness is improving.  6:57 pace. 

I had tired legs today.  I tried to take it easy on my run.  I ran up 3200 W, which I don't usually do.  It's really hilly, and I was running into a headwind.  My easy run was not so easy.  On the plus side, I got some good downhill in the second half of the run.  I came down 6200S and back on 1300W.  It was a decent route, but it was very dark outside this morning.  7:18 average, with mile splits everywhere from 6:48 to 8:00.  It was not an evenly paced run today.  

It was slushy and slippery this morning, so I ran a treadmill workout.  It was hard.  My goal is to work up to 6 x 5 minutes hard 3 minutes easy.  I didn't quite make that today.  I warmed up three miles and then ran 4 x 5 minutes hard/ 3 minutes easy.  My paces were 5:45, 5:42, 5:39, and 5:36 for the hard, and 7:30 pace for the recovery.  I probably could have done the fifth, but instead opted for 5  x 1 minute on/off at 5:32, 5:30, 5:27, 5:24, and 5:21 pace.  Getting below 5:40 pace is pretty difficult, so hopefully this will feel a bit easier next time.  I wanted off the treadmill so badly that I only cooled down until I hit 10 miles.  This was tough.  I think the most difficult part may be recovering at 7:30 pace.  

Easy late afternoon run. 7:06 pace.

Big Girls' Group Run.  We met in Daybreak for a tour of South Jordan.  It ended up being lots of laps around Daybreak, which made the run seem never-ending.  Still, you can't beat the company.  Good conversation helps the run go so much faster.  7:21 average.  I got a bloody nose during the run, which I didn't think was too bad until I got home and noticed my shirt is completely blood splattered.  Must be pepper spray residue!

I'm thinking of running from Tanner Park in March.  I know there's a good long run route that circles up to Wasatch Blvd.  I think there is a race on March 3, so I was thinking of having the Big Girls' run on March 10.  Any suggestions, comments, or objections?  I may need Allie's help navigating the route.

Eh.  This morning didn't go so well.  I ran at the Oval for some turnover.  My goal was 20 x 1 minute on/off.  I swear the Oval is an injury just waiting to happen.  I warmed up 15 minutes and then started my workout.  After about ten my hip and hamstring got progressively tighter.  It felt like it might tear if I pushed too hard.  I changed back into my trainers from my flats and finished 15.  I could feel myself favoring on the fast parts.  I couldn't get any push off.  Hence, my fast workout was not as fast as I would like it.  After 15 I cooled down for 15 more minutes.  Hopefully some good stretching will help.  I think I was still feeling some fatigue from last week.  My plan has been to stay off of speedwork until March and just rely on tempo and fartlek efforts.  There's no point in pushing things.  I'll have to be careful running at the Oval, and possibly just stay away altogether.

It's supposed to be a nasty week weatherwise.  Lovely.

Icy roads this morning.  I ran on the treadmill.  I started at 8.0 mph and increased .1 at the end of every song on my ipod.  I ran for 70 minutes, which was 18 and a half songs.  I was shooting for twenty, but I was getting pretty tired at about nine miles.  I came home and spent some time stretching my hips out.  They are definitely tight.  They feel a little better now.

No good excuse for missing today.  I slept in and then felt crappy and unmotivated all day.  I need to turn my negative attitude around.

Still not feeling too great.  I've been pretty off all week.  I think my body's hormones are readjusting as I try to wean Myles.  It's so fun being a girl.  Well, at least I got out and got it done this morning.  I ran 4800 S to Murray Park, around the park and back.  I like this route, but got a little nervous when I ran past the guy having a very loud argument with himself.  I crossed to the other side of the street.  Plus, I had my trusty pepper spray.  

On a lighter note, I had to laugh at the car parked at the 7-11 that was blasting "I've Had the Time of My Life."  Nobody puts Baby in the corner!  (If you don't get the reference you are WAY too young!)

I warmed up three miles and then ran a 30 minute tempo run.  5.1 miles in thirty minutes.  5:55 average pace.  Cooled down 15 minutes.  That is all.

It was a surprisingly nice morning for a long run.  I expected a downpour, so I was very happy with 43 degrees and drizzly.  That's almost spring-ish weather.  I had planned on 16 with Jenny, but knew she would want 16.6 to give her 60 for the week.  60 sounds so much better than 59.4.  Well, 16 turned into 18 when our last little loop ended up being longer than planned.  I whined a lot the last couple miles.  But, I'm glad that I did it.  Marathon training made my body more amenable to long runs.  They are much easier physically and mentally than they used to be.  Our run was a nice rambling tour of Murray/Holladay.   7:19 average, which is pretty good considering our first three miles averaged out to about 7:50.  It' s so hard to get the body moving.  

Nice afternoon run.  6:53 pace.  The sunshine makes it feel springy!

Early morning treadmill workout.  3 mile warm-up followed by 10 x 3 minutes on/ 2 minutes off.  Faster average than last time I ran this workout.  I felt pretty good.  Cooled down until I hit 11 miles.

Horrible motivation this week.  I think I dug myself into a hole somehow.  It might have been the 18 miler on Saturday.  I need to get it together, but I can't seem to get my head into training.  When I am focused on a goal, I am very disciplined and everything else revolves around workouts.  When I let myself slip, I remember how nice it is to sleep in, how great it is to spend time with my kids, how good junk food tastes.  Then I start to lose motivation.  I need to set some solid goals and a more specific training plan.  But, my mind and will don't quite seem to be up to the challenge yet.  I need to make sure I'm ready to commit.

14 miles with Jenny.  We stayed on the Jordan River Parkway to keep it flat and easy.  It didn't feel easy.  I was very happy to stop at 14.  Race next week.  I do not have high hopes.  Sorry for all the blah.

I got sick on Saturday night.  My immune system is shot.  Once again, I feel like I'm in a bit of a hole physically and mentally.  Today's workout went pretty well, though. I warmed up 3 miles and then ran a light speed workout: 5-4-3-2-1 with 3-2-2-1-1 minute recoveries.  5:40 pace down to 5:20 pace for the last interval.  Mostly in the 5:30 range.  I cooled down until I hit 8 miles.  Maybe Saturday's race won't be a dismal failure.  At least I will be tapered.

Training is still sporadic.  I have promised myself that after Saturday's race I will sit down, make a plan, and recommit to my training.

I went to the Oval early this morning for a little bit of a turnover workout.  I warmed up 3 miles and then ran 12 x 200 on/off.  38-39 seconds per 200.  It's hard to move my legs fast at six in the morning.  It felt good to get some turnover, but my form didn't feel very efficient.  Something to focus on after Saturday.  It's definitely time to get back on the track, as fun as fartlek has been.

I cooled down 2 miles.   My goal for Saturday:  Enjoy the road trip with Jenny to St. George.  Have fun in the race.  Use it as a good hard workout and as a means to get motivated and excited about training and racing again.

Easy, enjoyable pre-race run.  Costco loop.  Everyone should run without a watch, garmin, or ipod from time to time.  My brain was busy this morning.  Running can be so cathartic. 
 

I am beyond excited to go to St. George with Jenny today!

Well, I have to start somewhere, right?  This was my first race since St. George Marathon.  Even though it was a pretty low key race, it was a tough one.  I'm not terribly disappointed in my race, since I know I'm a bit undertrained.  If you don't put in the work, you can't expect the results.  The race was definitely a wake-up call and a motivator to get working again.  

Jenny and I had a blast this weekend.  St. George was so warm.  You could tell that we were from up north since we ran in shorts and tank tops.  The St. Georgians were pretty bundled up for a 50-60 degree race.  It was heavenly to be in the sunshine, but the extra warmth made for a thirsty half marathon.

I had no idea this course would be as difficult as it was.  The first half is mostly downhill, but the second half is really tough.  Even the downhill sections had some significant rollers.  Plus, there were spots that we actually went off roading and ran on the dirt.  It wasn't a great course for a rhythm runner like me.  But, it's always good to work on my weaknesses.

I tried to run by effort, but I still think I ran a bit too hard in the first half.  I was trying to take advantage of the net downhill.  I ran about a 6 minute average through six miles, and then the hurt set in.  Amber passed me at 8-9 and put a good minute and a half on me in those 5 miles.  Ouch.  So, speed is there. Strength and endurance need some work.  She ran much more evenly and looked really strong in the last half of the race.  

I'm not posting splits because I'm too embarassed of the tanking.  But, it was a good hard effort on a good hard course.  We had the perfect "girls' weekend, though I would have liked to stay one more day to enjoy the beautiful sunshine.

Jenny and I cooled down two miles and then ruined the effects of our cooldown by sitting in the car (affectionately known as "Putt-Putt"  for 4 hours.)

Oh, and Amber . . . sorry we missed you for the cooldown.  We forgot where we parked and spent 20 minutes looking for the car. 

Nasty blisters.  Cross training.

I am still feeling the race.  Especially in my hips. My left one is especially tight.  I ran 1300 W to the river trail at 7000 S.  I could feel some fatigue, but I have been worse.

When I got home I did core, push-ups and some pilates.  Gotta strengthen and stretch these hips of mine.

I have had this workout in my mind for a while.  I thought I would give it a try today.  I warmed up 2.5 miles to the track and stretched and ran strides.  The workout was 4 sets of 400-300-200-100 with 100 meter recovery between intervals and 400 meter jog inbetween sets.  I originally planned 5 sets, but felt that 4 was sufficient 4 days post-race.  

Set 1:  1:23, 1:04, 40, 19

Set 2:  1:21, 1:01, 40, 19

Set 3.  1:22, 1:00, 39, 19

Set 4:  1:19, 1:00, 39, 18

I would like to see this workout get faster.  It is a great alternative to 200m on/off.  It was a good turnover workout, and a nice one to start my return to regular track workouts. 

2.5 mile jog home.  9.5 miles total.

Some days it is hard to get out the door. This morning was like that for me. So I consider today a mental victory day. It was windy and miserable this morning. I ran Costco loop to 6200S and back on the canal road. 4 miles were uphill into the wind. I am glad today is done. Now it's time for core. 7:16 pace.

I thought I would try the AT/LT workout for my tempo today. I warmed up 2 miles and then ran 6 miles alternating every half mile at 6:15 and 5:45 pace. I ran it on the treadmill so I could control the paces. They felt like the correct effort level. I liked this workout and I am super impressed that Rachelle managed 8 miles of this workout. 6 was perfect for me. 36:07 total. I cooled down 1.5 miles.

Another "mental toughness" day for me.  I realized today how much I like to stay in my comfort zone.  I love perfect conditions and fresh, snappy legs.  When conditions are less-than-perfect, I tend to make excuses and lose it mentally.  I want to improve my mental fortitude, so I decided to make a note of days when I feel I overcame an obstacle by toughness and positive thinking.  Hopefully, by recognized the days that I persevered over hard things, I can carry those experiences into race situations.

Jenny and I texted back and forth this morning, trying to decide whether to brave the 20-30 mph winds, or  try for better conditions later.  Finally, we decided to suck it up and get our run in.  I'm not going to lie.  It was very hard.  I was feeling yesterday's tempo run, and my legs were heavy.  After being battered by the wind for 4 miles, we turned out of the wind.  While it was a relief to have the wind at our back, I realized that we had pushed ourselves hard running into the wind.  I never completely recovered.

But, I feel a sense of accomplishment now that the run is finished.  And it could be much worse.  I could be running in Montana in a 30 below blizzard.    7:15 average (more or less.  My watch died at 11.4 miles.  Jenny will have the exact average.)

My babysitter fell through today, so I took the kids to the club, hoping and praying that Myles would survive and let me get my run in.  He cooperated today!  I kept watching to see if a daycare worker was coming up the stairs.  But, he made it.  I ran an 8 mile progressive run.  6:52 average.  I felt a little tired starting, but felt good by the end of the run.

The guy on the treadmill next to me kept air-boxing the console.  In what world would you need to run and box at the same time?  

Track workouts at 5:30 a.m. are rough.  I may try to get some in later in the day to see if there is a difference in how I feel.  It also doesn't help that I was tossing and turning like crazy last night.  

I warmed up 2.5 miles to the track and ran 4 x 200.  I felt pretty good on the 200s.  I couldn't see my splits on the workout, so I was running by feel.  The workout was 1 x mile. 2 x 800 4 x 400.  400 recovery between the miles and 800s.  1:30 recovery between 400s.  

mile:  5:46

800's  2:49, 2:50

400's:  79, 79, 79, 79.  I'm nothing if not consistent.

I thought I would have been faster, but that's what came out.  I'm hoping to see some good improvement over the next few months.

2.5 mile cooldown.  My legs are tired.

I read Brenda Martinez's workouts for the week.

4 x 1 mile at  4:50 pace

Recovery

8 mile fartlek

13 x 400 at 65 

Recovery 

10 mile tempo sub 6:00 pace.

Umm. yeah.  That might be why she is a world championship bronze medalist.

Ran in the p.m.  It is much nicer on the body.  I got a little garmin happy.  8.75 miles  6:40 pace.  Wasn't so much a recovery run.  I vow to run easy and garmin-less tomorrow.  4100S to river trail.  

7 super easy miles today.

W 2 mile warmup. I starrted a tempo run but my left hip began to tighten up. Then I noticed a catching behind my knee. It felt like it could tear if I kept going. So I bailed. I guess it's time to get this thing under control before it turns into a really serious injury. I hope I am being smart and not just wimpy.

I'm working on some ART with Dr. Fletcher right now. Today I could feel the tightness in my hips but no knee pain until 3.5 miles in. I would have stopped there, but still had to get home. It might take a while to get back to hard workouts. At least I, m being encouraged to keep running through the therapy. No workouts and nothing longer than 8 miles. My spring race plans may need ro be scrapped for the time being. Frustrating!

I managed 45 minutes of running this morning. My hips were sore. I think they were fatigued from the strengthening exercises which is not a bad thing. I had no tightening behind my knee. That's a huge positive. ART tomorrow. It seems to be helping. It would be nice to run without hip pain for once.

Cold. Dark. Sore hip. Not my most enjoyable run ever.

It's nice to have some actual running miles to report. I have been off for six weeks. Although I enjoyed cycle, lifting classes, zumba and lots ofctime on the elliptical, I am looking forward to running outside again.

This morning I just ran around the neighborhood to feel out my hip. It felt pretty good for a first run. I felt a little rough running. But, my body will remember how to run. I should start feeling better shortly.

Later I took a total body strengthening class. I can tell the lifting will pay off. Even though I felt awkward running, I did feel strong.

SLCC loop. I am so sore from yesterday's class. I upped my weight on deads and lunges. It was not the most pleasant run so I was happy it was short. Later I took a cycle class. My legs are toast now!

4800S to river trail loop. I'm not quite as sore as I was yesterday. Oh it's nice to run again. 7:11 average pace. If I'm cautious it shouldn't take too long to get back to form. No rush though.

After running I took a 45 minute Body Pump class followed by a 30 minute Core Works class. The soreness will be back tomorrow with a vengeance.

2700S to canal road. I felt great today which was surprising considering the strength work yesterday. 7:13 average. After running I took a cycle class. It didn't feel as nice as running.

2200w to 4100s to 2700 w to 5400s. I ran early this morning. It took a mile to start rolling. I'm starting to inch the runs up. Tomorrow I'm planning on six to seven miles. 7:10 average. I was pushing this morning.

Later AM: Zumba class and lifting.

I had pretty fatigued legs from clean and presses and step-ups yesterday.  They weren't firing very well.  It was a slow start to the run, but it picked up the last 3 miles.  I ran 1300W to WInchester, to the river trail, and off the trail at Millrace Park. 7:24 pace. 

When I got home I rode the spinning bike for another half hour.  I kept it pretty easy.  I just wanted to keep the blood moving through the legs.

This was a good first week of running.  30 miles plus 3 hours of cross training, which equals about 15 more miles, though I won't count it in my running total.  I did three days of lifting, also.  

I think my first race will be Murray 5k, though it will mostly be for fun.  I don't plan on adding any significant speed work until after that race.  I have a little seed of a plan in the back of my mind to possibly aim for CIM as a sea-level marathon.  But, I need to make sure I get back to full training safely.  It's nice to have even an inkling of a plan, though.

Today is going to be a crazy day.  I have to get kids ready for school, take them to school, get a present for a birthday party, pick up Lily from school, get Lily and Myles lunch, go volunteer at Cole's field day, pick up Cole, take Lily, Cole, and Myles for a haircut, take Lily to a birthday party.  Plus, I'm going to try to sneak a strength class in there somewhere.  So, it was nice having 45 quiet minutes to myself to run today.  I used to run to be fast.  Now I just run for sanity.  

I ran my Costco loop today.  The pace was brisk, 7:05 average.  I felt a little off, though.  I gave blood on Saturday for my friend's blood drive, and then fasted for fast Sunday.  I was a little nauseated the entire run.  I'll have to take some iron over the next few weeks.  

Managed to fit the total body conditioning class in this morning.  Kim changed the class up.  Oh, those endurance drills are hard.  Especially the frog jump/toe tap combo.  Ouch.

4800S to river trail.  Off at Bullion.  It was windy today and my legs were very heavy.  When I ran by the high school some doofus high schooler yelled "Run Forest!"  Wow.  I haven't heard that totally original comment since 1995.  I bet he thought he was hilarious, too.  7:07 average pace.  No cycle class today.  I'm going to Park Day with Lily for preschool.  Being a mom trumps training any day!

Short on time so short on run. 5.1 miles 7:05 average. I have a big workout day planned for tomorrow.

Happy National Running Day!

I ran longer today.  It was a little tougher after about six miles.  I need to build my endurance up again.  Still, it was a nice run.  I ran out 1300W to 7000S, and then dropped down to the river trail.  I took the river trail to Millrace Park and came back through the neighborhood.  My Garmin completely died at 7 miles.  At that point I was at 7:06 pace. 9:15 am cycle class. I am so hungry now!

I met Jenny at Murray Park (yay!) for a run today.  We ran to Wheeler Farm, around, and back. I was so happy to run with Jenny again.  She took it easy on me.  My legs were tired from yesterday.  We still managed to hit 7:12 pace.  After I took Zumba and lifted weights.  

It was a little tough getting going this morning.  I stayed up late watching The Host with Teren.  It was a step up from Twilight, but still not Academy Award material.  Teren didn't love it.  

I ran 4800 S to the river trail.  I left the trail at Winchester.  Hello nasty Winchester hill.  I haven't missed you.  I came back on 1300W.  7:06 pace.  I seem to be stuck in a pace rut.  

When I got home I rode 30 minutes on the bike while I watched The Wonder Years; my favorite show growing up.  I love netflix.

Another good step back to full fitness!

I thought I would add a little fartlek training in this week. I warmed up about 2.5 miles to Millrace Park. I ran 11 x 1 minute on/off. I planned on ten but I can't count and run at the same time. So, I got an extra one in. I ran home for a cooldown. 7:10 average for the entire workout. It felt strange to move fast.

I took Total Body Conditioning after running.It was tough after the faster workout.

I missed my morning run due to an overflowing toilet and flooding basement. So once I got the mess somewhat under control and eveey towel in the house in the wash, I went to the club to run on the treadmill. I ran an 8 mile progression run. I started at 8 mph and increased the pace every half mile. 55:07 for eight. I felt good but the run was boring. After I ran I did 2x 50 crunches, 1 minute plank, 3x 20pushups and 3x 15 tricep dips. Now I'm back home attacking the mess from this morning.

I don't think there's anything in life that a good run can't make you feel better about

4100 s to the River Trail. I made a pit stop at mile 5, where I found a very nice, black, lace, Victoria's Secret bra hanging in the bathroom stall. This was a bit disturbing as my mind considered all the circumstances of how it ended up there. I might have taken it with me, but not surprisingly it was too large. So, I left it where it was. I hope the owner finds it. Those are expensive bras.

6:58 pace.

2.5 mile warmup. 3 x 10 minutes hard with 5 minutes recovery inbetween. 9.4 miles in 63:30. I'm taking it nice and easy tomorrow before I fly to Portland.

Hot, windy, early run this morning.  I am definitely feeling the last couple of days.  I ran nice and easy.  SLCC loop plus a little extra through the neighborhoods.  Now I am off to Portland to see my sister graduate.  I'm looking forward to a nice cool, probably rainy run tomorrow morning.  Any suggestions on where to run?  My sister lives by the Nike campus in Beaverton, so I may go out there.  But, my hotel is by Portland State University and I'm carless.  Any good runs near the campus that anyone knows about?

Ten miles along the Waterfront Parkway in Portland. The weather was perfect for running this morning. Sea level running is so nice. I always love exploring new places. However, to say Portland has a large homeless population would be an understatement! 7:17 average.

I warmed up fifteen minute and then ran a fartlek workout on 3 x 3-2-1 minutes with 2-1-1 minute recoveries. I felt pretty good today, but my speed needs some development. I finished with a 15 minute recovery to complete a full hour of running. 6:57 average.

After my run I took Total Body Conditioning. I made it through all six sets of frog jumps! Success!

Treadmill. No real reason. I just got off to a slow start this morning. I ran an eight mile progression run with one minute pick ups every five minutes. 53:56 for eight miles. I plan on an easier longer run tomorrow.

I originally planned on 10 miles this morning.  But, I'm doing a workout tomorrow which should give me some extra miles, so 8 was plenty.  

It was a beautiful, cool morning.  It's nice to see the sun again after yesterday's downpour.  I'm feeling stronger every day.  I've noticed that the added strength work definitely helps with muscle recovery.   I ran 1300 W to the River Trail at 7000 S.  I saw runners dressed in full tights and long sleeves like it was winter.  They must have been dying.  It's not that cold out!  6:55 average.

One of those days when I felt extra tired.  I've been over-working the last few days.  I need to back off my "easy runs", especially now that I'm adding some fartlek/tempo work in.  I was going to take cycle this morning, but I don't think my legs can handle much more abuse.  

I warmed up 15 minutes and then ran 10 x 2 minutes on/off at Valley Park.  The wind didn't make for an enjoyable experience.  I was at 7.3 miles at 50 minutes, so I just ran another loop of the park and home to hit ten.  Average pace was 7:08.

I kept Jenny and Allie company for a few miles on their long run. I'm glad they let me tag along. I ran 6.5 miles through Sugarhouse, and then did ten hill sprints to finish up. I didn't even plan it, but I ran the perfect amount to even out my weekly mileage. Those partial miles add up!

Later AM: Zumba

Creeping the long run up one mile at a time! I ran 4800 S to State Street, over to Vine, up around Murray Park and back. I jumped on the River Trail and got off at Bullion to extend the run a bit. I like this run because it is easy to vary.

After running, I went over to the health club and took Body Pump. Ouch. It was pretty tough after running.

I went to input my workouts and the site was down. It bugged me all day that my mileage chart wasn't complete for the week! Thank you Sasha for fixing it. I'm mentally dependent on my ability to record my mileage every day. If I don't write it down it's like I never ran it. Which is why I'm blogging at 2:30 AM.

I may have a serious problem.

I ran 1300 W to Gardener Village and took the River Trail back. It felt great to pound out some stress I have been experiencing lately. 7:00 average.

After running I went to the club to take Total Body Conditioning. I should probably leave more than thirty minutes between running and strength class next time. I was tired and really hungry. I'm glad I got it in though. Kim is adding a spin class after lifting class. I'm not sure I can handle a run/ lift/spin triple but I may try it out at least once when I'm feeling particularly masochistic. I finished with 30 minutes really easy on the elliptical to flush my legs and talk to Kim.

Tempo run today. I warmed up three miles and then ran a five mile tempo. 30:49. 6:10 average. It's a start. My legs were a little tired from yesterday, but not too bad. I cooled down for ten minutes. I feel really strong, like my endurance is good. I'm just not very fast yet. I'm sticking with fartlek and tempo until after Murray Fun Days 5k. Then I will start adding track workouts back in.

My calves were feeling yesterday's tempo. Besides a little soreness I felt a bit better than I thought I would. I'm building my mileage one more week and then I will back off next week before the race. I need all the help I can get. 7:01 average.

A little bit of a recovery day. It turned out to be a good choice. I called it a Walking Dead run, a mindless shuffle of one foot in front of the other that may have included some moaning. I felt pretty terrible. I did perk up the last few miles.

Later I took a cycling class for some extra good times. 7:14 pace on the run.

I warmed up 20 minutes. Then I ran 15 x 1 minute on/off. After that I jogged to the canal road hill and ran 5 hill repeats. It's about a 200 meter gradual hill. I ran back through the neighborhood to cool down.

Zumba and lifting after my run. I used to be able to do pull ups.

I am very happy this week of training is over. I am tired! 57 miles, 2.5 hours of cross training and two lift days. It was a productive week. Next week I get to drop down a bit. Then I will see where my fitness is in my first post injury race.

I ran 1300 W to 7000 S to 2700W and then my Costco loop. I pushed the pace in the second half. 6:54 average.

I decided to hit the track and start getting a feel for my fitness level. I warmed up 2.5 miles and then ran 4 x 200 meter strides. I ran 5x 800 meters with 400 meter jog recovery. I thought I could probably run 5:40 pace since I haven't even hit anything under 6:00 pace in training. I ran 2:46, 2:47, 2:47, 2:46, 2:46. I seem to get stuck in a pace. Not a terrible start to speedwork. I'm thinking I an at least hit a sub 19 on Friday. I would be thrilled to beat last year's time of 18:29 but I don't know if I have had enough training.

I cooled down through the neighborhood. I realized halfway through my cooldownthat I forgot my tank top at the track. All the neighbors were eexposed to my belly button.

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.

Got my long run in today since my family is going to Pineview Reservoir tomorrow and I don't want to hold them up while I run. I was tired from our trip to Antelope Island yesterday. My first mile was an 8:02. I ran 4800S to the river trail. I made it a mile past Gardner Village, took my gu, and came back. First half 7:16 average. Total time 7:05 average. I could have used one more gu. I was hungry the last two miles. Now, I'm going to go Zumba with my sisters-in-law. Should be fun.

I am so glad all the hard stuff is over this week!

I am notoriously bad at running recovery paces. I fixed that problem this morning by loading Myles into the baby jogger and taking him running. It is impossible to run fast pushing a baby jogger. I enjoyed my time with my little buddy. He even entertained me by singing "Let it Go" for the last mile. I originally planned on a couple more miles, but decided to keep it easy and short. There is plenty of time tobuild the mileage over the coming weeks. As it is, this was my first week above 65. 8:07 average.

I thought that I would hit the track today since I have had two rest days. I figured I would feel pretty good. I warmed up 3.5 miles. I decided on 4 x 1 mile repeats with 400 m recovery. The goal was to make it through all four. I think mile repeats are one of the hardest mental workouts for some reason. I got poured on during the last one. I thought I could hit around 5:45. I ran 5:44, 5:43, 5:40, 5:38. I didn't get a very long cooldown. I'm hoping to go run a few more miles later, but it might not happen with the continued family reunion. We'll see.

My hips were feeling yesterday's track workout. I didn't stretch at all afterwards. I also started to energy crash a bit the last 3 miles. I made it. It was not the most pleasant run ever. I ran 4800s around Murray Park and back via river trail.

Can I hit 70 this week? Hmmmm . . .

Another recovery day. My hips felt a bit better this morning. I ran out to 3500 s and then to the river. It's not my favorite part of the river trail. I was glad I eas armed with my trusty pepper spray. I got off at Millrace Park and then took an extra lap through the neighborhood. 7:06 average. Tempo run tomorrow.

Great Britain's Jo Pavey is my hero of the week. 40 years old and a Commonwealth Games bronze medalist. Age is just a number. (Tell my eighty year old hips that!)

80 minute run. 20 minute warm-up. 45 minute tempo. 15 minute cooldown. 7.51 miles for tempo. 6:00 average. Treadmill.

What a perfect morning for a run. There's just the slightest touch of fall in the air. I really enjoyed running this morning. I didn't feel too bad after yesterday's tempo. My endurance is improving. Plus, I had a brand new pair of asics running shorts thiss morning. They are flourescent yellow and very comfy. I love them. New running clothes makes running fun. I spend more money on workout gear than I do regular clothes.

Costco run extended to 6200 S and back on the canal road. 7:04 average.

Awesome long run this morning with Jenny, Devra, and Allie. We ran the Big Cottonwood Trail up to Wasatch and came back the same way. We traded "butt" stories to pass the time. This is a pretty challenging course full of rolling hills. I was excited to feel way better than the last time I ran on this course. We ran 7:34 average out and 7:09 total average. We got booking, which was mostly my fault. I wanted to be done.

Jen's husband made a guest appearance in his undies. I think Devra was embarrassed.

So, I'm trying to plan out the next couple of weeks. I plan on starting a cut back in preparation for TOU half. But, I don't want to cut too much too early. I'm debating on whether to run the Dart Challenge 5k as a tune up. I'm a lot closer to sub eighteen shape than I was five weeks ago. Hmm . . . what to do?

I'm happy to hit seventy this week. I'm still building up slowly. I'm glad I have plenty of time.

Very early run this morning before youth conference. I didn't want to run in the dark so I ran on the treadmill. I was not really ready for a workout, but it may be my only chance for the next couple of days. I don't know what running will be like on our trip.

I ran a modified workout of a progression run with 10 x 1 minute strides thrown in. The pickups were also progressive. I started at 8.0 miles per hour and finished at 9.7 mph. My strides started at 10 mph and finished at 11.0 mph. I did one every five minutes after warming up.

It sounded eady, but turned out to be challenging. My last two miles were undet 6:00 average. Easy running for the next couple of days, getting in what I can.

Ave. Pace: 6:38

I am at Camp Timberlane for Youth Conference. I told Teren I would come with him. It cuts into my training a bit, but some things are more important than running. We woke up at six and decided to go trail running. I wanted a nice easy run. A mile in, I knew something was off. I couldn't catch my breath even though I was running slowly. The trail was nice and the view was beautiful, but I was dying. I told Teren that I thought the altitude was getting to me. He said, No. It's just the uphill." I called it good at eight miles. 8:11 average.

Later, I asked the man who runs the camp how high we were. I thought around 7000 feet. We were at 9500 feet. That explained a lot.

I wish I could add mileage for the constant activities the rest of the day. Hiking, obstacle courses, Capture the Flag, Partner Tag . . . We kept going all day long. I can't believe how much energy teenagers have.

Another nasty altitude run. I did feel a bit better. A little less like my lungs would explode. We tried a different trail that was a lot more rugged. We could see where bears had been along the trail. Comforting. The trail was supposed to hook upbwith the upper trail we ran the day before. It didn't. We spent ten minutes scrambling up the side of the mountain to reach the trail. We ran back to the road, then climbed back to the camp. It was a steep climb. 8:32 pace. Yes. Very slow.

I would guess after a few weeks my lungs would adapt to the altitude. I have tons of respect for anyone who can actually train that high.

Another busy day. We went to Starvation Reservoir and swam. We rented a water trampoline, which was lots of fun. It poured rain. I froze.

I opted not to race this weekend, so I can keep my miles up a bit. I ran a fartlek workout this morning. I wasn't sure how I would feel after the last few days of camping fun. I decided to break in my new flats. They felt great. They have a slight bit more cushion than my old flats. I warmed up 15 minutes and then ran 1-2-3-4-5-4-3-2-1 minute intervals with 1-1-2-2-3-2-2-1-1 minute recoveries. I felt great. Like I was at sea level. Oxygen is a good thing when you run. I ran 6:44 average for the entire run, with the 40 minutes of workout at 6:30 average.

Nice run with Jenny, Allie, and Devra. I had tired legs after yesterday's workout. I was glad for the company. Last week's seventeen felt easier. 7:14 average.

It took a few miles to get rolling this morning. I could feel the last two days. But, 10 miles is doable. It's funny that the more in shape you get, the longer it takes to warm up. I feel decent after about six. I ran 1300W to 6200 S, to 2700 w, and then Costco loop. 7:12 average. It is time to taper and get fresh for TOU Half.

Warmed up three miles and ran a 3 mile tempo run. 6:04, 5:56, 5:46. 17:46 total time. I cooled down 2 miles. I'm feeling pretty good and excited to race.

It's inevitable that the week of a big race someone in your house gets sick. Teren has the start of a head cold. So, of course I'm going to be worried all week that I will get it too. Time to pound Emergen-C and pray to the running gods for their mercy.

Running in light summer showers is so enjoyable. Running in freezing spring downpours is not! I'm glad today was the former! I started a little bit sluggish, but warmed up after four miles instead of six. I'm starting to feel recovered. Now the goal is not to go too crazy as my legs start feeling fresher. Time to hide the garmin and pull out the baby jogger! 6:56 average. Feeling spunky!

Not a fun run this morning. It was super windy. All ten of my intervals were right into a headwind. I warmed up two miles and ran 10 x 1 minute on/off and then finished the loop for 7.5 miles. Legs feel good, but I was a little sluggish. Two more easy days to worry about getting sick. Cole is sick now.

7:03 average

Can't say I'm feeling super fantastic. My legs feel great. I just feel lethargic for the first few miles of my run. I feel pretty decent after about three miles. Why is it youstart to doubt yourself during a taper? I worked on positive imagery and self talk through my run, reminding myself to run confidently and relaxed. I've put in the mileage and workouts the last eight weeks for a good race. I'm ready. Now to focus on controlling the things within my control, and letting everything else go.

As the very wise Taylor Swift would say, "Shake it off!"

And ending on an exciting note: I received an elite entry into the Monumental Half Marathon in Indianapolis on Nov 1! It's five weeks before the marathon which isn't optimal timing, but it was the best race option and should be lots of fun.

SLCC loop with my little stroller buddy. Pushing the stroller uphill into the wind is hard. At this time tomorrow I will be DONE! I hate waiting for races. It makes me antsy. The one time I ran TOU, I ran 1:19:28. My foremost goal is to beat that time. At the time, I was averaging 45-50 miles per week. So, based on mileage alone I should be faster, right? Here's hoping conditions cooperate tomorrow!

I fell a little short of my goal of 1:29:30. Apparently, my speed from five years ago trumps my higher mileage now. But, I am encouraged and happy to see some progress. Week 13 post injury. 14 weeks to CIM. Here's hoping I have enough time to get to where I want to be.

This weekend was like a college road trip with Jenny, Devra, Allie, and our token male Noah squeezing into Allie's Subaru and sharing a tiny hotel room. I haven't laughed that hard in a long time. Running friends are the best friends.

Race morning: I was nervous about the weather with the downpour the night before, but we had perfect, cool, weather. I didn't sleep very well the night before, but that doesn't bother me too much. We warmed up two miles in the canyon, and soon we were off.

I felt like I was immediately pushing really hard. That feeling never went away, but I wanted to stick with the leaders and use those downhills to my advantage. But, it felt tough. I was with Devra and Merilee Blackham all through the canyon.

Merilee and Devra pulled away in mile 7. I admit to losing it a bit mentally at this point. My stomach was hurting, and six more miles seemed like forever. I wish I would have stuck closer. Once I was on my own, I settled a bit. Jenny is a hard closer so I knew I couldn't get too complacent.

I woke up again at mile ten and mentally re-engaged. The most encouraging part of the race was feeling pretty strong still in the final miles. I used the men around me to keep charging on. The uphill mile from eleven to twelve was much stronger (for me) than in the past. I was able to find a final gear for the last downhill ( thank goodness!) mile. I finished in third at 1:19:38. Pretty decent progress over the last five weeks.

Splits: 5:51, 5:57, 5:58, 5:59, 5:45, 5:46, 5:58, 6:15, 6:18, 6:13, 6:21, 6:40 ( uphill mile. fast for me!) 6:01, :39.

It may have been smarter to run more conservatively, but I wanted to put myself in the hunt. The fitness is starting to catch up. 2 mile cooldown.

Jenny shattered her pr with a 1:19:52!

I slept over nine hours last night. I was exhausted from all the weekend fun. After I dropped Cole off for his first day of second grade I went to the gym for an easy treadmill run. I've got some fatigued legs woth some sore spots, but I'm really not too bad. Nothing like Des News last year.

Today starts double runs for me as I increase my mileage. I will start with doubles on Tuesday and Thursday and we will see how it goes from there. It should help in the mornings to run a little shorter. I need to be back to take kids to school.

I still have fatigue in my hips, but otherwise I feel pretty good. I ran 1300W to the River Trail at 7000S and back at Millrace Park. 7:03 average.

PM: 4.8 miles. I don't love second runs. 7:24 average

AM: Short run. Double day. 5.3 neighborhood miles. School traffic is horrible. Nobody watches out. 7:16 average. The weather was perfect this morning.

PM: I thought I would feel terrible. I couldn't go run until 6:30 tonight. I hated waiting all day. I actually felt really good. Especially for five days post race. Your body is definitely more warmed up in the evening. It also helped that I had a brandnew iiPod shuffle! Good music makes the run enjoyable. 6:48 average. I may regret that pace tomorrow.

I originally planned to do a workout this morning, but I ran too hard last night, so I will wait until tomorrow. It will probably be somewhat short with a return to full workouts next week. Just being cautious, even though I'm feeling pretty good.

9.2 easy miles just to round out the weekly mileage.

I took advantage of Teren being home for a little change in scenery. Does anyone else experience a little mental crash the week after a race? You ride a race high fora few days and then all of a sudden hit a weird low? That's how I have felt since Wednesday. I'm sure I'll perk up. It's a familiar cycle. But, as of now I'm dreading the eighteen miles looming over me tomorrow.

Anyway. Workout. I went to Cottonwood Complex for hill repeats. I warmed up three miles. I did a two hill loop. Bessie, jog, Miranda, jog, repeated five times. Each loop was about .9 miles. Bessie is a 500 meter hill, Miranda is a 300 meter hill. I finished the hill circuits in 6:55 average and then jogged another mile along the perimeter of the park. The soft surface felt nice on my pounded legs. The hills were really hard. I forget how tough cross country really is.

I was so trashed on this run today. I was dizzy, thi. ty, and my legs felt terrible. So, I cut from my planned 18 to 15. I could have pushed through, but saw no benefit. I realized too late that I dugI' myself into a bit of a hole this week. On paper, the training doesn't look too bad, but my body tells another story.

A couple of indicators that I'm not recovering properly: No appetite and rapid weight loss. When I train well I am ravenous and eat everything in sight. When I overtrain I'm not hungry.

Insomnia. When I'm training properly I sleep well. I haven't been able to sleep in the middle of the night this week.

I felt really good early in the week, which was deceiving. Mid week I started to crash. I wasn't as recovered from the race as I thought. I need to be smarter. Sometimes I make rookie mistakes even though I'm a veteran runner.

I'm glad I had Jenny there to pull me through the run. I need to focus on recovery this weekend. Mostly I need to sleep and eat a lot.

I took advantage of Teren being home to run something measured at Liberty Park. One more day recovery would have been nice, but you take what you can get. I t was nice tempoing in the park rather than on a treadmill. More honest too!

I warmed up 3.5 miles. It was slow. I'm still trying to work tightness out of my hipsm. Then, I ran 2 x 3 miles with 5 minutes recovery in between. Just something to get the workouts back up and going.

Goal was marathon pace, which for a 2:43 is 6:13 I believe.

Ist set: 18:20. (6:06)

2nd set: 18:28. (6:09)

A touch quick, but that's probably okay since they were three milers.

My garmin always measures weird in circles. It had me short of three miles. Probably doesn't really matter. I use the marks because I start and end in the same place and I can stay consistent.

I cooled down 1.5 miles. My legs are starting to bounce back a bit. It always takes about two weeks to work all the fatigue from the half marathon out.

AM: 5.6 very easy, very dark, very early miles. 7:40 average.

PM: 8 miles I called my father in law to see if he could watch the kids this afternoon. I kind of meant after school-ish. He said he would be over in thirty minutes, so I got a nice mid afternoon run. It was hot, windy, and miserable. But, my running theme is, "you take what you can get and deal with it" Mothers of three can't be picky when it comes to training. 7:14 average.

I couldn't take one more run on old shoes, so I made a quick stop at Sports Authority for a new pair. I got a new pair of GT 2000's on clearance for under 60 bucks! Yay. My hips and calves were thanking me!

I ran at the gym. Thankfully, my friend Katja needed a run so I had a treadmill buddy.

I felt better today. Especially mentally.

AM: Easy SLCC loop. 7:30 average 4.3

PM: My original plan was a workout this afternoon, but no sitter. The school schedule and doubles is not working out too well. So, I decided to bump my workout to tomorrow and attempt an afternoon run. I feel like today was basically worthless, but I want to hit 70 this week, so I managed another short run. I should have just run nine this morning. I'm always so strapped for time. Grr.

I tried to be creative. I strapped Myles into the baby jogger and took Lily to the park. I ran laps on the path around the park while she played. It was boring, but it worked ok. I ran until Cole was out of school, which only ended up being 4.5 miles. I have got to get this schedule figured out! 8:08 ave.

I ran the workout that I planned on doing yesterday. It worked out better schedule-wise to do it today. I'm sure I was a bit rested after yesterday. I've been feeling a little sluggish, so I wanted to run something with a little turnover to it. I warmed up three miles and did 4x 200 while I figured out what I wanted to run. I decided on a short interval ladder. 200-400-600-800-1000-800-600-400-200. 200 recovery after the 200s and 400s. 400 recovery after everything else.

200: 36.8

400: 77.8

600: 2:01

800: 2:42

1000: 3:25

800: 2:40

600: 1:59

400: 77.3

200: 35.3

I was happy with this workout. Everything hovered around 5:20-5:25 average. I know it's not a great predictor of marathon fitness, but it's faster than anything I ran last year. I was thinking I completely lost my speed for good. So, it's nice to see a little pop in my legs. Especially that last 200. 35 is not blazing, but I haven't run under 37 in a really long time. I cooled down 1.5 miles and then went to Zumba. I will probably have tired legs on my run tomorrow.

Devra came and ran with me this morning. It was so nice to have the company.

It makes long runs go so much faster! We ran the temple loop with a little extension. I had to guess a little on the mileage. I lost my signal at sixteen miles. It came back after a mile and a half. I'm usually a pretty accurate guesser on distance. I know for sure we were over 18. I couldn't tell you overall pace. We were at 7:06 average at 15.25 and ran a 6:29 for the sixteenth mile. So, my guess is a bit under 7. I felt good and under control today. The last bit is faster, but there is some pretty good downhill the last few miles.

At 13 miles we were crossing an intersection. We were right in the middle of the intersection when two cars crashed right behind us, throwing shrapnel in our direction. We missed being hit by less than ten seconds. Nice adrenaline boost!

Tempo morning. I realized at the last minute that Lily had snack bucket for school today. The only food we have in bulk is protein drinks and bars. Maybe some energy gels. That would be a pretty weird preschool snack. So, I made a scramble to the store and ended up running at the gym. My legs were a little tired, but aftet an extended warm up, they felt ready to go. 25 minute warm-up, followed by a 7 mile tempo. 42:15. 6:02 average. On the accurate treadmill. I thought of running eight, but started getting a side cramp in the last mile. So, I called it good at seven. I warmed down just over 15 minutes to hit 12.5.

AM: Easy hour long morning run. I finished at 8:20. At 8:25 the downpour began. I'm glad I missed it, but I'm pretty sure my son got soaked getting to school.

I was happy to feel pretty good today. I got home from my workout yesterday and started shivering. My stomach was acting up,too. I ran a fever, but it broke just a few hours later. I was tired the rest of the day, but felt fine this morning. It was a very short lived stomach virus.

I ran 4800 W to the river trail and headed north. At 30 minutes I turned around. 4.1 out, 4.22 back. 8.32 total. 7:13 average.

Mid-week mid-long. I'm going to try to incorporate a 12-15 miler into my marathon training on Wednesdays. Sometimes with a workout included, sometimes just a run.

I felt really good today. Probably because I missed my second run last night.

AM: Nice morning run. It was chilly. I ran down on the parkway. It was beautiful with mist rising off the river. It was definitely one of those mornings that I was thrilled to be out running. Now to find a babysitter so I can repeat the experience in the pm. 7:27 average.

PM: My legs were a bit tired this afternoon. The run was really windy, too. The highlight of the run was seeing members of the National Guard running with American flags. I thought it was a nice way to commemorate the day.

Tired legs this morning. I went to the dog/horsepark for soft surface running. I like it for fartlek workouts. I warmed up 20 minutes and ran 10 x 2 minutes on/off. I hit 6:42 average for the six miles of fartlek. I cooled down another mile. I thought I saw Jake running across the street from the park, but it may not have been him.

I think it's too cold for September 13. The wind was nasty.

Birthday run! (Well, my birthday is actually tomorrow. ) I dressed in my most flourescent colors and met Jenny at 5:30 for 18. We ran out 500E, lapped around Liberty Park, over to 2100s, up and around Sugarhouse Park, and back via Highland. 7:02 average. I was my usual graceful self and biffed it hard somewhere close to the 16 mile mark. I'm a bit torn up and there are blood flecks all over my running shorts. Besides that, I felt pretty good. I'm getting used to the 2hour plus runs.

So, I hit 75 this week. My highest week before St. George was 81. I'm still 12 weeks out from CIM. Any advice on how high I should build uo, without risking I jury or losing quality? I'm feeling pretty good at 75. I feel much stronger than last year.

I warmed up about 2.5 miles and then ran 3 x 15 minute tempos at half marathon effort with five minutes recovery inbetween. I changed pace every five minutes. The workout went something like this.

Set #1: 10.0, 10.1, 10.2 mph. 5 min. recovery at 8.0 mph

Set #2: 10.1, 10.2, 10.3 mph. 5 min. recovery. (plus a couple minute potty stop.)

Set # 3: 10.2, 10.3, 10.4, and 10.5 mph for the last three miles. Cooldown until I hit 12.

For the hour of the workout, I ran 9.65 miles. Right around marathon pace.

I will keep my mileage at 75 this week and then have a down week. I'm running Huntsville Half Marathon on the 27th.

AM: Very early very easy very dark run. I did soft grass running at Vista Park. My legs will thank me. I'm a bit pounded from yesterday's workout. 4.5. 8:02 average. So fast!

PM: 8 hot windy miles. I stopped at all three drinking fountains on my run.

4:45 am is really early to start a run. I definitely eased into this one. I ran Costco loop extended, up to 6200S , back on 1300W to 4800S and through the neighborhood. At nine miles I felt ready to start my run. My midweek midlong wasn't really that long. 7:21 average.

AM: 2mile warm up. 10 x 3 minutes on two minutes off. Cooldown until I hit 11 miles. Hard run. 6:27 average for the workout, not including the warm up.

PM: 4.1 hot sweaty miles at Vista Park. I tried to get my pace over eight minutes but it came out 7:56 average. I have a hard time with easy recovery runs. But, I'm working on it. I was pretty trashed from this morning. A shakeout run was needed!

Nice relaxed run on an absolutely beautiful morning! Running and life doesn't get any better than this. I feel physically, mentally, and spiritually rejuvenated. 7:24 average.

Now off to Zumba!

I thought about jumping to 20 miles this week, but decided to wait until after my half. That will be 10 weeks out from the marathon

Still, I put three eighteen milers in a row, which isn't too bad.

I ran with Jenny through Murray/ Holladay area. It was a nice rolly run. We covered many topics and only needed one potty stop. Success!

Yay for a down week. It's nice to get a little mental and physical rejuvenation. My last four weeks have been builds. 66, 70, 75, 76. I will run Huntsville Half Marathon on Saturday and then build for four more weeks, drop the fifth week for Monumental Half Marathon, and then it's only five more weeks until CIM.

Last week caught up to me a bit. I started out a little rough, but felt better after six miles. That's usual during marathon training. I finished strong. 7:03 average.

I'm so motivated by Deena Kastor's world record. I love Deena. I've always lookrd up to her. What a beast! And more proof that I can still run fast.

2.5 mile warm up. 4x 200. Short track workout for some turnover.

1600-1200-800-400-4x 200

1600: 5:36 (84 average)

1200: 4:08 (82-3 average)

800: 2:42 (81 average)

400: 76

200: 35.2, 35.2, 35.2, 35.0

Cooldown home 1.5 miles

Last year:

5:37, 4:12, 2:44, 79, 38-9 for 200's.

I think my mile would have been faster with another mile on warm up. It takes me a while to get moving.

Sore from yesterday. I must have pushed too hard. Oh well, I don't need to be 100percent recovered Saturday. The race isn't my most important. Plus, I have three more days to get some legs back. I ran easy today and felt better by the time I finished.

I really hope I feel snappier on Saturday. Of course, it's impossible to run very fast at five in the morning. I jogged three miles to the track, ran two miles of speed changes and jogged three miles home. It's funny how you taper down a bit and you feel lethargic. It messes with your head. However, Saturday should be more of a good hard tempo. Especially since the weather's not looking great. 90 percent chance of rain. It will be good practice in case it rains at CIM, which it has been known to do.

I'm still feeling a little sluggish. I did not eat well yesterday. It was one of those busy days where I didn't seem to have time to eat. I need to pay more attention to fueling properly or my running is going to suffer.

I'm excited to race tomorrow. I'm hoping it's a low key race. Regardless, I need to concentrate on my own race and keep the big goal in mind.

I headed to Huntsville at the early hour of 5 am. I'm glad I had Devra to share this rainy day experience with me. We drove up, got our packets and then waited for the race to start. I had two plans in mind. 1) run hard and see if I can significantly improve on my TOU half time. 2) Run tempo and hope for an easy win. There was a contingent ftom Boulder who came to race prior to Monumental Marathon. One girl, Amanda Lee said she was targeting a 1:18. Ok. Plan A.

I decided to use the first three downhill miles to my advantage. To my surprise Amanda didn't come with me. I think she planned on making up time later in the race. The course is tougher than it seems. There are no hugh hills, but lots of rolling. The last few turned into the wind which made it tough. I tried to get in a rhythm and keep sub-six average for as long as possible. According to my Garmin these were my splits: 5:41, 5:47, 5:44, 6:04, 5:56, 5:53, 6:00, 5:52, (turn into wind) 6:11, 6:08, 6:15, 6:14, 6:11, 1:16 for .22.

I should have paid more attention to the splits based on the mileage marks. It ended up longer than my Garmin. So, I was bummed not to hit sub 1:19. According to my Garmin I was! :) 5:59 average. But, I need to go off of race measurements. They are not always the same. Gotta be careful of that.

Still, lots to be happy with today. It was a complete solo effort. The next girl was almost two minutes behind and the next closest guy was probably about two minutes ahead. That's a problem with a small race. It's hard to keep pushing out of comfortable. I think I have much more to give. Obviously conditions were less than ideal. But, that's great practice. I think the more miserable the training, the nore mentally prepared you are for anything the marathon throws at you. I felt much stronger and more in control today than at TOU Half. I feel, for the first time, that the training is getting me to where I need to be. 10 weeks to go. Monumental Half Marathon will be a good indicator of what I can run in the marathon.

I cooled down two waterlogged miles and cheered Devra in. She won in a 2:47. Amazing girl!

Really easy run this morning. I will spend the next few days working the soreness out of my legs. I'm not too bad. I just want to be smart and not jump right back into workouts. I have ten more weeks to stay healthy! I will probably run easy until Thursday, run a fartlek Thursday and Saturday will be my first twenty miler. I'm aiming for seventy miles this week, 75 next week, and then 2 80's before dropping for Monumental Half. I don't really need to get much faster. I just need to be able to hold a pace longer.

AM: Nice easy run! ..I'm recovering beautifully, which either means I'm getting stronger, or I didn't run all out on Saturday. Maybe a little of both which are really good signs. I need to keep myself reigned in a bit, because I'm starting to get really excited about running. 7:18 average. 5.15 miles

PM: The afternoon downpour stopped just in time for my run. Still feeling great this afternoon except for some residual fatigue in my hips. I feel really strong though. I must still be riding a bit of a race high. I plan on running tomorrow's midweek midlong pretty easy. 6:56 average. 8.65 miles.

I'm very excited to hit over 300 miles this month.

80 minutes of easy-ish running. I may have run too hard yesterday. Surprise Surprise.

AM: Chilly morning! I pulled out my capris for my run

Marathon weather should be perfect for the St. Georgers this weekend. I can't believe that last year at this time I was tapering. This year I have 9.5 weeks of training left.

5.05 easy morning miles. I'm really trying to learn to take my recovery runs slower. It's hard to undo almost 30 years of conditioning to run hard all the time. It freaks me out to run slowly, even though I understand the benefits.

It was foggy on the river trail this morning. Halloween is in the air. Nice and creepy! 7:36 average.

PM: I didn't have a sitter for very long so I decided to save my workout for tomorrow. So, one more easy run. I ran on the canal road. I usually don't run thete because it's usually too dark. It's such a pretty road. 6.4 miles. 7:05 average.

I'm going to get more than 70 miles this week.

Fartlek workout. I thought of getting on the track, but decided to protect my sore calves. I will resume regular workouts next week.

20 minute warm-up. 3 x 1-2-3-2-1 minute repeats with 1-1-2-1-1 minute recoveries.This is probably my favorite fartlek workout. It's great for turnover. I cooled down with a loop through the neighborhood. 6:55 average for entire workout. 6:35-6:40's for 45 minutes of fartlek.

Zumba after.

1st 20 miler tomorrow.

Yay for my first 20 of my marathon cycle. I felt really strong after several weeks at18. I pushed the last half pretty hard. I will need some recovery.

7:45, 7:30, 7:18, 7:02, 7:01, 7:04, 7:12, 7:14, 7:19, 6:47, 6:42: 6:46, 6:50, 6:51, 6:29, 6:27, 6:31, 6:51, 6:58, 6:37. 6:58 average. My stomach was not happy today!

Easy run this morning. I don't even know what pace because my Garmin died. Probably a good thing. I feel the beginnings of a head cold coming on. I might feel kind of gross this week.

Without a Garmin to obsess over, I had time to ponder the important things in life. For instance, how many LDS church buildings are on my route? I counted eight in four miles.

What's the most important component of marathon training? Overall mileage? Quality marathon workouts? Long runs? What is the perfect marathon training formula?

Then, I thought about Heather Lieberg, who is from my hometown of Helena, Montana. She just ran a five minute pr in the marathon to place second at Twin Cities. She went to my high school, but I didn't know her. While I was winning state championships, she was playing basketball. She did a little long jump her senior year, but didn't run until after she had babies. Her progression is incredible.Who knew such a talent was sitting there in Montana this whole time? I'm pretty blown away. It's tough training in Montana. There's lots of great places to run, but the weather is terrible. Plus, she had three kids and teaches Elementary school full time.

Anyway, she's my hero this week! Read up on her. She's amazing. I hope I can copy some of that success. After all, I'm a Montana girl, too!

AM: Tempo Tuesday. 2 mile warmup. 50 minute tempo. I start at 6:15 pace and increase .1 every six minutes. I finished at 10.4 mph (5:45 pace). This workout got really hard the last ten minutes. I will have to alter how I run tempos if I want to make it longer. 8.3 miles in 50 minutes. Hit 8 miles at 6:03 average. 11.65 total.

I cooled down for 10 minutes. I will run a short easy run this afternoon.

PM: 4.35 miles. Grass loops at the park. 7:52 average

AM: Another beautiful morning. I had a little more energy in my legs. My breathing felt a bit forced. I'm still fighting a cold that hopefully won't turn into a full blown respiratory virus. I may have to adapt tomorrow's workout a bit since my immune system is a little compromised. Otherwise, my legs feel good!

5.55 miles. 7:26 average. Fall is beautiful!

PM: Ugh. 7.5. Garmin died. Tired. Can't make complete sentences. Workout tomorrow.

That was NOT a good workout. There is definitely something wrong with me. I've been fighting a cold this week. It's been sitting in my throat and upper chest, not making me really sick, but making me tired and lethargic. My resting heartrate is about 60, which is high. When I run, my legs feel fine. But my perceived exertion isppretty high. I feel like I'm breathing really hard at easy paces.

So, workout. I went to Liberty Park for 5-6 x 1 mile repeats. I warmed up two miles. My repeats were 5:57, 5:55, 5:57, 5:57, 6:02. Usually I run mile repeats in 5:35-5:45. I was getting .4 recovery. 3:30-4:00. I cooled down to 10.

So, here's where I need a FRB coaching session. What to do tomorrow? I have twenty on the docket, but I'm not sure it's a great idea. Here's my options:

A) Run the twenty.

B) 10-12 easy recovery miles

C) Cross train instead

D) Nothing. Just sleep all weekend.

What would you do? I hate modifying my training plan. Having to back off sucks, but I don't want to put myself in a hole.

So, I opted for an extra day off today. My tickle in my throat turned into a tight nasty cough. Twenty miles didn't even sound appealing. Thanks, Allie and Nan for helping me keep my common sense. At least I know why I was so off yesterday. I'm really hoping this is short lived. I've been downing apple cider vinegar and honey mixed in water today. I think it might actually be helping! There might really be something to homeopathic remedies. I'm breathing a bit easier this afternoon.

I'm feeling much better. I still have congestion in my head, but I'm breathing better and I'm not so wiped out. My legs feel great! I will probably continue to play it safe and wait until Wednesday for a workout.

Monday mid-long. Kept the breathing nice and easy. Besides the cold I should feel fantastic this week!

AM: 4.5 on SLCC loop. I had to cut it a bit short. Last night's taco soup didn't sit well this morning. 7:42 average.

PM: 4800S to river trail out and back. 9.2 miles 7:00 average. Feeling okay. My chest cold is now a head cold. That's improvement, right? Windy afternoon.

My entire month of October entries are missing. Sasha, can it be fixed? I ran a tempo today. I warmed up 2 miles and ran a nine mile tempo. I started at 9.5 mph and increased .1 every six minutes. 6:04 average. I cooled down 1 mile.

I woke up not really knowing what I wanted to run today. So, out the door I went. I decided to explore and map out a new route. I ran out 4800s and turned on 700 w. It was a nice, lit, wide road that wound up to 5400 S. I decided to cross 5400 and continue to Winchester. I ran up the hated Winchester hill to 1300W. After running back to 5400s, I noticed I was at eight miles, so I decided to get in all my miles this morning. I ran the long way back to my house and finished with a little loop through the neighborhood. 10.4 miles. 7:42 average. I liked this route!

PS: Crunching through leaves is fun!

I originally planned a fartlek workout for today, but Teren stayed home this morning so I decided to take advantage of perfect weather to run a track workout. I ran a tempo just the other day, and I have a. ong run with Jen Hughes tomorrow, so my goal was to get through 10 x 1k with 2 minute recovery. I gave myself a leeway of 3:30-3:40. ( Big spread, I know. )

I ran a 2.5 mile warmup and 4x 200. I could tell by the 200's that marathon legs have set in.

Workout:

3:33

3:33

3:33

3:32

3:32

3:32

3:31

3:31

3:32

3:29

I am pretty happy with this workout. It's not blazing, but I felt like I could run it forever. Much better than my mile repeats last week. I was actually recovering in 60-90 seconds. So maybe the goal next time will be to cut the recovery.

Only a mile cooldown because Teren had to go to work.

FYI: Similar workout about ten weeks out from St. George. 65 mile week. 17 mile long run at the end of the week. 7 mile tempo three days before. As opposed to 80 mile week, 21 mile long run, 9 mile tempo two days before.

8 x 1k. 400 m jog recovery. 3:27, 3:29, 3:31, 3:29, 3:31, 3:31, 3:35

Compare and contrast.

Yes. I'm counting that .04.

I picked up Devra and drove to Orem to run with Jen Hughes. We are both running CIM. We ran an out and back on the Murdock Canal. What a beautiful place to run. It's generally flat, with just a little roll to it.

I ran 10 x 1k yesterday, so I knew I would feel flat today. I planned on easing into it, but Jen was there to run hard. There are many different schools of thought to Marathon training. Jen comes from the low mileage, high intensity school of thought. After a 7:37 warm up mile, we started clicking off low sevens. It was a little more intense than I had planned on, but I could deal. We were at 7:04 average at the turnaround. I felt good about continuing at that pace. Jen had other plans. I admit to being a pace pusher, but Jen came to run hard this morning. After a few sub--sevens, we started throwing down 6:40's. My wheels were coming off hard asI tried to hold on for dear life. At mile 19, Jen said she wanted to pick up the pace some more. Devra and I let her go for it. I still finished my last mile in 6:36.

Just to provide a picture of the run, here are the splits:

7:38, 7:01, 7:03, 7:01, 7:01,, 7:03, 7:02, 6:55, 7:03, 6:57, 6:56, 6:55, 6:55, 6:50, 6:45, 6:40, 6:44, 6:44, 6:48, 6:37.

6:55 Average pace.

I'm going to need a couple of days to recover from this one. This was really hard at the end of a long, tough week. I was wondering how Jen felt so frisky. She told me she just ran a mile yesterday in preparation for today. Ah. Fresh legs. Like I said, there are different schools of thought to marathon training. She definitely took it to me today. I was not mentally or physically prepared to run that hard!

My legs were still pretty dead today. I slept in a little bit this morning and ran at the gym. I kept my effort easy. I did a 20 song run. I made 10.5 miles in 20 songs. I thought of running farther, but I started to energy crash around eight miles. So, I finished a couple more and went and got lunch. Not enough breakfast this morning.

AM: 5 easy grass loop miles. My first mile was 8:50. Still feeling fairly shot. I planned a fartlek workout for today, but I think I will take one more day to recover a bit. My body is telling me that last week was brutal!  8:04 average.

PM:  9 miles down to the river.  My soleus kept tightening up, so I tried to keep under control.  I felt pretty good otherwise, but now I'm nervous about straining or tearing a muscle.  I will have to see if I can get it loosened uo tonight.  It did seem to feel better after about 4-5 miles.  I'm nervous about getting up on my toes for speedwork, so I may have to modify this week's plan a bit.  Please hold together, body, for six more weeks!  I have worked way too hard to get injured.  I had better get that qualifier!

Highlight of the run.  Two neighborhood girls cheered for me every time I ran past them. It actually made me run faster!  7:15 average.

I was a bit nervous to try a tempo run with my calf tightening up. I decided to see how it felt after the warm up and go from there. As long as I kept it under 6:00 miles, I was okay. Any faster and it started to get tight. I wanted ten. I settled for nine to play it safe. My calf was starting to get angry.

6:20, 6:10, 6:09, 6:09, 6:04, 6:06, 6:02, 6:04, 6:00. Other than the calf, I felt like I could continue. Time to baby my leg.

I wanted to throw in a fartlek workout this week, butI may be better off preparing to make it through 22 miles on Saturday.

AM: Calf is still tight. I need to get it to relax. No impact today. I cycled for 1.5 hours this morning. I used a cycling video on You Tube. I'm still counting cross training as mileage. Mostly because I can't bear to watch my mileage plummet. Freaking out a bit, here, but trying not to. I watched three episodes of Vampire Diaries while I rode. My kids are barfing. Aggh! 1.5 hours equals 7.5 miles.

PM: So, I think I'm going to survive. As long as I'm careful. I did 30 minutes on theeelliptical, and then got bored. I thought I would test my leg out , so I got on the treadmill. I started slowly. If my calf tightened I was done, but it hung in there. I ran 20 minutes with no problems. I will probably try an easy run tomorrow. It might be a mix of running and cross training for a couple days, but at least I'm not completely out of commission. 5.15 miles.

I cycled for ten minutes to get the blood flowing. I went out for a run without much of a plan as to how far I was going to run. My leg took a few miles to warm out, but felt better as I went along. I couldn't waste such a beautiful fall day, so I kept going. I managed ten with no problems. I will keep babying my calf, but I think I'm in the clear. We will see next week when I put some turnover back in.

7:08 average.

No calf pain today. I'm very happy it made it through 20 miles. That was a difficult run. I planned on running this morning, but I was up all night with two vomiting children. I was up until 3 AM. So, getting up at five was not an option. Not that I got much more sleep. I waited for Devra to get off work so I could have a running buddy. It was 78 degrees with 25 mph winds when we ran. We ran out 4800 S, along Vine, out to Wheeler Farm, two laps around Wheeler Farm, back around MurrayPark to 4800S, onto the river trail to Winchester, up Winchester Hill, and back via 1300W. The three miles into a headwind on the river trail was the hardest part. We ran a 7:05 average. I was so glad to have Devra pull me through.

I'm happy this week is over. Forecast for Monumental Half next Saturday: 35 degrees. 20 percent chance of snow. Time to be another kind of tough.

Flu! :(

I was still feeling my very rough weekend today, but it turned out better than I thought it would. I did a medium workout today. I warmed up 15 minutes. Then, I ran 3 x 10 minute repeats with five minute recovery. I ran half marathon pace, starting at six minute mile pace, and increasing every five minutes. I finished at 5;40 pace. I don't know about the marathon, but I do feel ready to knock out a really good half! Cooldown until I hit an hour of running.

Chilly morning, but it's good practice for my race Saturday. I spent the run debating my race attire for Saturday. I don't want to overdress, but at 26 degrees, I need to stay warm. I think it will warm up a little over the race, but the high for the day is only 42. I'm thinking, capris, singlet, armsleeves. Though, I may go with a short sleeved shirt with my arm sleeves. Hat and gloves for sure! I guess if CIM is cold again this year, I will be ready! 7:27 average.

I hate sucking car exhaust! Bleh to winter running.

Typical pre race workout. 3 mile warm up. 2 mile speed changes. 3 mile cooldown. Now, I'm off to Indianapolis!

5 miles on a fancy treadmill in my fancy hotel. The weather sucks. Tome goals are out the window tomorrow. Just race hard and consider it a great pre-marathon tune up.

What the heck? That wasn't good. Time for a little blog/ self analysis.

So, conditions for the race were less than ideal. 29 degrees, 20 mph winds. The einds were from the north, and we spent the majority of the race running north. I can't blame the nastiness, though. The first girl was 1:12. Course record.

I decided to be cautious to start. Maybe that was my mistake. I decided to pace with the 2:39 pace group, and then make up time over the second half.

The first 10k went perfectly. I settled in the group and went through the 10k at about 37:22. I felt fine. The group gapped me a bit when I grabbed water, and thensplit at seven miles. My wheels totally came off. I ran 6:20's to 6:30's the rest of the way. Mostly around 6:25. I could not break the pace. Even with the tailwind.

I made a pathetic and desperate surge to break 1:22. Really?

So, what happened? I think it was a mix of physical and mental.

It's no secret I have had a rough training block over the last four weeks. I have been sick twice, and strained my soleus. I haven't missed much training, but maybe training through these things has put me in a bit of a hole. Last week's longrun was brutal. Maybe an increase in iron would help.

I think racing in the last month of a marathon cycle is always tough. I came down in mileage this week, but still felt flat. I also have a hard time pushing out of a pace once I settle into one. Any good workouts for changing up a pace? I'm thinking a little AT/LT workouts might help. I think I need to incorporate some short turnover workouts in. I get really flat without some quick stuff.

So, what can I tweak these last few weeks? I know I'm more fit than this. Conditions were really hard, but that's no excuse. It makes me concerned for CIM. Thoughts?

I cooled down four miles. Aerobic capacity seems fine.

Recovery run today. I actually feel pretty good post-race. My arms are actually super sore, which tells me I was working harder against the wind than I thought. I'm writing Saturday's race off as a really expensive tempo run and moving on. I don't think it's the best predictor of my fitness. So, Onward!

Two high weeks and then it's time to taper!

AM: I kind of like early morning short runs. I stayed in the neighborhood and ran loops. Anywhere the road entered a neighborhood on one road and csme out on another road, I ran. I ran 7 different circles. 4.3 miles. 7:31 average.

PM: 10.2. I warmed up 20 minutes and then ran a fartlek of 15 x 2 minutes on

1 minute off. On the last mile I kept it up tempo for the

whole mile to run 6:17 for the last mile. 6:48 average.