Life is to be enjoyed, not just endured

Ran with Paula today out through Lake Park. Today was probably one of the best runs I have had in months. I felt great the entire time. It was also the hottest morning we have had so far. I am not sure if I had any fast miles (under 8:20) but I pushed hard the entire time and felt that it was close to a tempo run.

Day one of working from home was okay....Hoping day two is better.

 PM - approx. 20 min of pool running - the water was too warm.
 

Ave Pace 8:44

Happy Running!

An easy 3 today with Paula.  Ran without my watch so no pace.  Felt like maybe we were pushing a little hard for a recovery day but it is always nice to run by feel. 

Happy Running!
 

Ran 5 with Paula this morning.  We wanted to take it pretty easy because we are racing tomorrow but I had a difficult time trying to tell my body that.  I spent a lot of time trying to focus on form and distract my mind.  

Ave Pace 9:06

Happy Running!

GOOD LUCK TO EVERYONE RACING TOMORROW!

Woke up, not ready to race.  I had one of those pre-race dreams last night.........  The race was taking place indoors during the winter and I had left my shoes at home.  I had my husband bring me my shoes and instead of running socks he brought Knee Highs.  I tried to do the best I could and they kept moving the starting line and pretty soon I was racing in my winter coat with my purse and Paula wouldn't hold my stuff.........anyways ended up finishing in 40 min.........  Bad dream.  

 Reality:  I remembered my shoes and so it was already going to be better than my dream. We lined up and I was  really unsure of how I was feeling and what kind of performance I would have.  We started and my legs were like lead - The negative thoughts started coming and I remembered Josse's words "I can, I can, I can..."  They worked.  The first mile is up hill and then you turn around and come back down for mile 2.  Mile 3 starts flat but goes up hill and then flat  and into the park.  At about 2.75 my eyes started with the double vision thing again (I learned at the opthomologist's that I have 20/15 vision with something similar to Lazy Eye in my left eye that when it gets tired, I get double vision).  I  just tried to not fall down and make it to the finish line.  I was so happy to finish with 23:25 on a hard course.

Saw Sasha for a few minutes after the race and congratulated my neighbor Dallen who finished 9th overall.  Had to leave fairly soon afterwards because my son has ballgames today. 

Happy Running! 

My day did not turn out as planned.  I knew I would not be able to run this morning because I took my girls to Stadium of Fire last night and got home after midnight.   Slept in until 8:30 am - it was glorious!   Spent the morning cleaning my house and then the car dealer called to tell us they had found the van we have been looking for.  Went and traded in my truck for a van.  I loved the truck, but with gas prices and the amount of chasing I do it was becoming less and less practical.  So the majority of my day was spent dealing with that.   I finally got home and tried to call Paula to see if she was up for running and they were not home, so I headed out on my own at 9:45.  I arranged to meet my husband at Walmart to pick up new crockpot because mine died this week.  It was very strange running in the dark alone.  Ran through a few sprinklers which always make me happy and saw the fireworks at Rocky Mtn Raceway.  Glad I got some miles in, even though they were fewer than I planned.

Ave Pace 9:01

Happy Running! 

I stayed up way to late last night - no Sunday nap to keep me awake, just lots to do. I woke up this morning really tired and told myself today could be an easy day.  Met Paula and me knee was  a little tight so I confirmed my easy day.  We headed out and by 1.5 miles into the run I was feeling great.  My legs picked up speed and it was fast from there on out.  They had fire in them today - it doesn't happen very often.  I can definitely tell that racing over the last couple of weeks has helped with my speed.   

Ave Pace 8:37

Happy Running! 

Nice easy run with Paula this morning. My right achilles and knee were sore so a couple of stops to stretch along the way were necessary.

 Noon:  40 mins of pool running.  I am not sure how it equates to miles so I am not counting it.  My kids got a big kick out of me only wanting to pool run - not do anything else.  Pretty soon we were having races, but unfortunately I lost everyone because I ran and they would end up swimming.
 

Ave Pace 9:08

Happy Running!

Ran a nice easy 3 today with Paula, Laurie and our neighbor Renee.  It was nice to just visit and enjoy the morning.  My legs and knees have been quite sore this week and I had my husband massage them last night.  No knee pain today which is a good sign.  

Happy Running! 

Ran "favorite run" today and added on to get 10 miles.  I normally get so excited when the longer runs start getting longer but I have been dreading this all week.  I was really worried how my body would hold up and  how I would feel.  Surprisingly I felt great the entire time!  The first 3.5 miles are all up hill and then rolling for the next 1.5. The remainder is downhill will a little bit of flat at 1/2 mile of flat at 7.5 and then off and on the remainder of the way home.    We did not get a good view of the valley today when we got to the top because of all the haze, but  a nice sunrise. 

Ave Pace 8:53

Happy Runnin!
 

Nice easy recovery run today.  I was unsure what to expect after yesterday, but I felt great except my dinner that I ate at 9:00 pm last night.  I tried really hard to keep the pace easy and it was harder than I thought it would be.  

We leave for New York tonight and we are getting excited.  My husband is going to baseball nirvana for 5 days - Mets, Red Sox and the All - Star game at Yankee Stadium on Tuesday.  I am tagging along for a couple of games and relaxing at the hotel.  Not sure how comfortable I am running alone in NYC, so I am preparing for the treadmill and we will see what happens.

Ave Pace 9:23

Happy Running! 

Ran in NY today.  I ran from our hotel up to Central Park and then ran the big loop.  It ended up being a little farther than I had expected.  I was excited to get out running this afternoon and started out to fast and the the heat and humidity got to me about mile 4.  I stopped, stretched and walked for a couple of minutes and then returned to running.  It was much more hilly than I had expected but I passed more peopled than I was passed by.  I finished what I thought would be my run at 6.3 but then and started to walk back to the hotel and then realized how long it would take and so I ended up running back.  I probably had a total of .5 miles of the walking and did not include those in my running miles.  

We arrived in NYC on Saturday morning and check into our hotel and then went to Ground Zero and then to the Mets game. Yesterday, we rode the bus up to Boston and went to see the Red Sox play at Fenway.  That was amazing!   Tonight my husband is at the home run derby and I am sitting at the hotel working.  Not sure what tomorrow will bring but sometimes those are the best vacations.

 Ave Pace 8:49

Happy Running!

 

Ran back up to Central Park today. I took it much easier starting out and just really tried to enjoy today. The first mile up to the park is insane - stopping at every block (less than 1/10th a mile) and weaving through all the people (good race practice). I decided to run outside the park today on the east side up to the Guggenheim Museum. I have really wanted to see it from the outside because of the history of Frank Lloyd Wright. It was much smaller that what I expected and the are doing renovations to the exterior so it was difficult to appreciate it with scaffolding everywhere. I then turned into the park and followed the road back south. The park was completely insane! I was two hrs later than yesterday and there were people everywhere!! There must have been a concert tonight becuase there were tons of people going to the concert area. And then there were runners galore. It felt like a race in all directions!! I have never been someplace with so many runners and it was not a race. There were literally hundreds. Some in groups and some solo but hundreds. I enjoyed watching all the people but soon reached the end and then head back to the hotel and a Jamba Juice for a treat. I did not have my link to my ipod so no ave pace today - kind of nice just to enjoy and run for the love of running.

We went to the Statue of Liberty and Ellis Island today. What an amazing experience. The statue is amazing up close. We did not get the chance to go inside the base but the awe and presence was amazing. We then went to Ellis Island and toured the buildings. It was very humbling to see what people went through to live in this great country of ours and how badly they wanted a better life for their families. It makes you so grateful to live in a nation that believes in freedom. They have a "family history" center there and the LDS church is a sponsor. We were able to search my husbands great grandmother who came to the US in 1916 and see her imigration papers and ship's manifest and find out a little bit more about her when she arrived in the US. It was an incredible experience. 

Happy Running!

Oh, so good to be home!  While I loved NYC, I am so grateful to be where there is fresh air, fewer people, less profanity and less smoking.  We had a great time but as soon as you are away from your kids you miss them terribly.  

I got up to run today and realized that I left a lot my  running clothes at the hotel.   I am a compulsive over packer and packed extra "just incase"  I thought that my husband checked all the drawers but he just checked his.  The Marriott people are wonderful and are shipping them home today.  I do not want to know how much it is costing me, but I will be happy when they arrive.  

I did manage to run today anyways with Paula.  It was great to catch up with her and have a running partner again.  I brought "legs of lead" back with me so the pace was slow, even though they felt like they were working hard. 

Ave Pace 9:00

 Happy Running!

 

I just realized I put yesterday's run on Wednesday - OOPS!  Not sure how to fix it :(

 Paula has gone camping so I ran with our neighbor Renee today.  She is the mom of "super fast Dallen"  She was great to come along and pace me on a slow recovery run.  I am not good at doing this on my own.  We had a great time chatting and visiting.  She is doing a great job running and will continue to improve with more time.  Finished the 3 with her and was feeling like adding on a little more and so went another mile on my own.  I did okay keeping it slow for about the first half and then continued to battle the legs desire to go faster.   Now I am mentally gearing up for a long solo run tomorrow.

Happy Running!
 

I am finally getting around to blogging my run this morning - busy day with softball, swimming, baseball, cello concert.......to much.  

I got up early and headed out.  The weather was perfect!  The first couple of miles were rough as I adjusted to wearing my fuel belt.  I have only run with it one other time and it took a few minutes to find the most comfortable spot.    The first half the run was so slow.   No matter how hard I tried I could not get under 9 min miles.  I had thought that the route would be flat, flat, flat, but it ended up pretty rolling from 4.5 - 7.  Something happened about mile 6 and I finally kicked it into gear.  I was able to pick up the pace the remainder of the run and feel really good. It was good to see that I ran the second half faster than the first and that I still felt good at the end.   I ended up with 3 stops - mile 4 for a bathroom break (thank you Carl's Jr.), mile 8 for water and GU and then mile 10 for water.  I only had 3 stop light stops and for me and the area I run in, that is pretty dang good.  

Ave Pace 8:54 

Happy Running! 

Today was rough!  I had planned on running some hills and getting in a good quality work out but as soon as I hit the road I knew my body was not up for that.  My legs were tired and my knees a little sore from Saturday's run, so I changed my plans to an easier run.  Just because it was an easier route does not mean it was easier :(  I struggled feeling good and was quite dehydrated the entire way.  (fasting the day before will do that to you.)  The last 1.5 I needed a bathroom badly,  I almost stopped at the 7-11 a quarter mile from my house.   I made it home, but they were some ugly miles today.    I leave for Seattle this morning and hopefully tomorrow will be a better run!

Ave Pace 9:01

Happy Running!
 

I am in Seattle today.  Normally we stay out in Bellevue and I have a few routes that I really like, but this trip we are staying at the airport.  I had pretty much resigned myself to the fact I would be on the treadmill, but we got a map from the hotel that showed a trail quite close.  So I ventured out.  The first mile was down hill - steep down hill and then slight down hill the other 2 on the way out.  It was a beautiful trail with lots of green and a creek that opened up on to the puget sound. The way out was pretty fast but the way back - up hill was slow........  I ended up walking up 1/2 of the really big hill because my ankle was not liking the incline.  

The eating festivities have already started, I ate two really big meals yesterday and one quite late and I am sure today will be the same - Bad Jody, Bad Jody....

Ave Pace 9:01 (not counting the hike up the hill)

Happy Running! 

I took the early flight home this morning and had planned on running when I got back, but I am feeling horrible today.  I am hoping it will pass soon.  I am not sure what to expect tomorrow at the DesNews 10K.  I only got 3 hrs of sleep last night and not feeling well today at all is making me lower my expectations.  We will see what we get.

Happy Running!

Woke up and was ready to go. I only got 5 hrs of sleep last night so I was lowering my expectations even more. I had told myself just go and enjoy and have a good run. I was really okay with that. Paula and I drove up with Laurie, Super Fast Dallin and Mel. We warmed up for about .5 miles and then just waited for the start. I do not have splits but I will give the mile breakdown:

Mile 1: My running in New York paid off - I did a good job weaving in and out of people and over the grass island . This was pretty fast.

Mile 2: Feeling really good as we turn up 13th East

Mile 3: The rolling hills on 13th were not bad at all and then we turned on to South Temple. It leveled out quite a bit and just put it in cruise control.

Mile 4: Saw Christina at the first of mile 4 and chatted with her for a minute and then went on my way. I thought we went to State street so I was happy to turn at 200 E.

Mile 5: At about 4.5 I was starting to feel really tired and dehydrated. I stopped at the last water stop and was passed by Christina.

Mile 6: I thought we turned at 700 S but it was not until 900 S so I just kept hanging on. I hate when you head up 900 S and you can see the finish but it doesn't seem to get any closer. I started counting down the blocks and could not kick it in any more.

I am so happy to have a new PR. I am not sure what my chip time will be, I think around 47:50, but either way it is still great. I learned that I need more longer runs during the week and cannot just rely on my "long Saturday run".

Chatted afterwards with Christina and some of her running friends, Hildsivini, Smeagal, Cleo and I am sorry if I forgot anybody. Bonnie and her husband Dean came up afterwards and we chatted a little bit as well. This is my favorite part of racing - the visiting with all the blog friends and making new friends.

My 4 year old daughter just brought me a map she made to help me run faster - aren't kids the best!

Happy Running!

I am completely frustrated!  The results were posted on Stride Running and they did not post chip timing.  I walk for a good 20 -30 seconds to get to the start and was okay with that because I thought that it was being chip timed and that I would get a true time with the official results.  However that it not the case, no chip time, just the clock time.  I normally do not get frustrated by little things like this but I would have lined up closer to the front and pushed my way to the start had I known the chip I was wearing was meaningless!  UGH!!

A nice easy three with Paula today. I am a little sore this morning and I scraped last night. I am thinking that it might be time for massage before it gets worse.

Happy Running!

Ran with Kim and Paula today. We met early and ran from Kim's brother's house to the Jordan River Parkway. This was the first time that I had run on it and it was great. I will be going back for sure. We had a mini blog party as we saw Brent and he ran with us for a few minutes and then Leslie and Lisa. It was nice to chat with everyone for a few minutes along the way.

We were slower on the first 8 then we were coming back. Coming back we had some miles in the 8 range. Our mileage is based on the reading of my ipod + and I had stopped and started and missed a few times. I think our actual mileage was closer to 16 and our pace quicker than the 9:45 listed. I would think more around 9:30 or so, but I am going to stick with what was in black and white for training purposes.

Kim and Paula both did a great job! It was so nice of Kim to spend the night in SLC so that we could run together, she is doing such an awesome job with her training. This was Paula's longest run ever and she did great, there are many more to come for her.

Overall, I felt great today.  A little stiff and sore at the beginning but worked through it quickly.  I felt like if I had another GU and stayed on the parkway where there is shade I could have gone 18 maybe even 20.  You gotta love days like today!

Happy Running!

Felt really good after yesterdays long run.  My calves are really tight but the rest feels good.  Yesterday was a big confidence booster because I felt so good at the end.  I am going to try to practice some restraint however and use this week as a recovery week and give my body a little bit of a rest.  I am ready to up my daily mileage and I might still increase a little but will very cautious and after three weeks in a row of increasing my long runs, I will not increase my long run mileage this week. 

Happy Running! 

Last nights wind storm made me a little worried about running this morning but it had died down quite a bit by the time we ran.  Ran a nice flat, easy route this morning, however the effort felt pretty hard the last mile because we were in to the wind.  My legs felt better that I expected but pretty trashed from last week.  

Ave Pace 9:16

Happy Running! 

Today started out absolutely horrible.  We started out with 1.5 miles up hill and into the wind.  My legs felt trashed still and my heart was racing the entire time and I could not get into a rhythm.  When we turned to go slightly downhill with the cross wind I just wanted it over with,  so I pick up the pace.  As I got going I decided to turn it into a 3 mile temp run to help speed it up.

 Mile 1 8:15 - 8:20 approx.  Felt really good

Mile 2 approx 8:00  started actually enjoying today's run

Mile 3 approx 7:35 Felt great but I have no idea how I sustained this during a 5K or 10K

Ran home at a pretty easy pace. It was nice to see the splits drop as I progressed but I know I should have pushed harder during mile 1. 

Ave Pace 8:48 (the first1.5 was insanely slow)

Happy Running!
 

I woke up with a horrible headache this morning but convinced myself that today was an easy recovery day and I would be okay.  I headed out with Paula but by 2 miles I was not feeling well at all.  I was having to stop and walk every few minutes and then ended up walking the last 1/2 mile home to avoid throwing up.  Hopefully the day improves.

Happy Running! 

I woke up with a big knot in my stomach this morning and I was not sure what effect it would have on my run today. I ended up being pretty much okay until the very end and the bathroom started calling. I pushed hard on the hills today especially the last few tenths of each hill and also tried to stop as few times as possible. I ended up stopping for two very short stops to cross the street and one while we changed our route - maybe 45 sec. Overall a pretty good run but my knee is bothering me more and more. Hopefully my new shoes will come soon.

Ave Pace 8:57 (felt much faster, time to recalibrate my ipod+)

Happy Running!

PM:  20 min swimming laps in the pool.  It is getting so much easier as my kids swimming is improving but unfortunately they still fight so our swimming ended early, but 20 min is better than nothing.