Rollin' THUNDER

8 miles. 59:21, avg 7:25. Today I just wanted to relax and let the miles come. I am starting to feel really good during easy runs and I don't feel like I am strugggling at all. I don't want to try and pick up the pace and force anything, right now I just want to keep adding miles so that I won't die at TOU next month.

I signed up for the Utah Valley Marathon and spent a while putting together a training plan for that race. That is the race and training that I am going to try and push myself, but right now I just need to get back into shape.

!2 miles. I felt good about the first 5 miles, then 6 and 7 I was sluggish. Miles 8and 9 were also good, but 10-12 were killers. I felt way more tired during this 12 mile run then I did on Fridays 13 miler. I didn't leave the house until after 11:00 a.m. so I am hoping it was just heat or time of day that I ran.

9 miles. Again I felt sluggish today, and it wasnt due to me leaving really late for a run. I know I am trying to add a lot of miles quickly so I won't die in a month, but this week has been terrible compared to last week. Last week I felt good just about every mile of every run. This week I am feeling horrible on just about every mile of every run.

Today I did 9 miles in 1:08:15 (avg of 7:35), which isn't a bad pace for me right now, but it felt like I was working extra hard for a mediocre pace. Hopefully things pick up in a little while.

10 miles in the rain. I felt good during this run, and felt really good during the last 3 miles. I found a great way to get an enrgy boost/adrenaline boost when you start feeling tired, come extremely close to getting bit by a car. I was running on a sidewalk about 6.5 miles into my run. A lady was pulling out of mcdonalds making a right turn, ignored her stop sign and only checked for cars to her left. She never saw me, because who checks for people on sidewalks? I can say that I often do the same thing, so I can't be too mad right? I saw that she didn't see me, so I moved as close to the street as I could trying to give her a split second to see me, it didn't work. I was in front of her suburban when she hit the gas to beat the oncoming cars. I smacked the hood of her car as hard as I could with my left hand. I hope it made her pee her pants! 

I was really mad for about a mile, but this did give me an adrenaline boost. 

This is the exact reason I usually run in the road and not on the sidewalks. Most people don't stop at the stop signs (if they stop at all), but they stop with the front of their cars sticking into the road. 

8 miles. Nothing too eventful, not like yesterday. I was taking this run easy, but decided to go a little faster the last 2 miles.

Total time was 59:21 (avg of 7:25ish), last 2 miles were 6:58, and 6:55.

16 miles. I woke up and the rain was pouring down, just like it has been most of this week. I looked at the hourly forecast and it didn't look like it was going to get much better during the day, so I found my running hat and rain jacket, took a gu and headed out the door. When I say it was pouring, I mean it. There were several times where I was running in the road and the water was at least 6 inches deep. My shoes were soaked within a few minutes, and my rain jacket kept my body dry for maybe 3 miles. After that, I may as well have been running naked, because I was soaked. I figured I would spare those around me and not risk getting some tickets and court dates, so I kept my clothes on.

Luckily, I LOVE running in the rain. There is less traffic, less people out exercising, less dogs barking, and it is quite peaceful to be by myself with only my thoughts and only the sounds I want to hear (my music) instead of noises of a city.

I took a gu at mile 6 and again at mile 12. Overall I am very pleased with this run, especially since I haven't been training for super long. This gave me encouragement that I won't die at TOU in a couple of weeks.

16 miles, 2:02:54, avg pace of 7:41.