Life is to be enjoyed, not just endured

Another "easy" 3 with Paula.  I had originally planned on a little longer, but we got late start because I had a late night training session with our India office, however I had an 8 am phone call I needed to be ready for so we did not have a lot of time.  Three miles it was, hot, dust blowing in our eyes and mouths and just as hard as a normal run..........I do not like it when this happens to our easy days.

Ave Pace 9:33

Happy Running! 

Paula wasn't feeling well this morning, so I ran on my own.  I headed up to my favorite area through Westridge golf course.  I ended up changing the route a bit and the first 6 miles were up hill.  Good training.  at about 5.25 I thought I might throw up put I made it through to come home.  My knee was twingy from the beginning but nothing serious until 7.5 miles.  I called my husband to come get me but as I kept trying to run it worked it self out so I called back and said never mind.   I ended up making it home but the knee was not happy.  I had my husband work my quad pretty good and found a big knot that he worked on, so hopefully it will be business as normal on Monday. 

Now the real test begins - Stake Primary Activity, 300 kids, 100 degree weather, I hope I survive to take a nap later.

Ave Pace 9:10

Happy Running! 

I was a little unsure how my knee would feel today.  I scraped last night and it was feeling better but was not quite sure how it would respond to running.  It ended up being a little twingy but felt better as the run progressed.  We stayed on flat ground today and once we got going it ended up being a pretty good run.  I had two "fast" miles and was feeling really good.  With about .25 left to go of the second mile I had an encounter with a big dog.  I had forgotten my pepper spray and so I stood there and walked slowly until his owner came and got him.  Finished up the mile and then took it easy home.  

I have got to stop napping on Sundays.  I look forward to it all week long but then I cannot sleep on Sunday nights.  It took me forever last night to fall asleep and then I still wake up all night long.  

Ave Pace 8:48

Happy Running! 

Absolutely horrible!!

I woke up not feeling 100% and should have taken that for a sign and gone back to bed. My legs were okay, I think it is more my shoes at this point than anything, but my new ones still have not arrived. I could not get my rhythm at all. It was such a struggle to move and try to run. We ended up calling it an easy day because no matter how hard I tried it would not work. More to try tomorrow

 PM - Headed back out to redeem myself and "climb back on the horse" as they say.  So much better!  I am always amazed at how much faster I am at nights.  I refilled my "mom cup" and my "running cup."  Two lessons learned:  I need to warm up more/wake up earlier, 10 min before I leave is not enough.  #2  I miss my Mizuno shoes (I ran in an old pair) - Came home and ordered more.  Ave pace for the 3 miles 8:13.
 

Happy Running!

I slept in today.  I have been extremely sleep deprived the last few weeks and after yesterday morning, I know it is affecting my running.  I might try to get a few easy miles in later in the day, but no pressure because my body needs some rest. 

Happy Running! 

I went out today and met up with the South Jordan group, Chery, Peggy, Cheris, Lynette and a couple of others.  It was a great run.  We drove out about 6 miles and then ran back on a gentle down hill and then added on some hills at the end.  It was great to visit and get to know them a little better and the running was great - nice to push hard.

Ave Pace 8:10

Happy Running! 

Nice easy solo run today.  I had a hard time keeping my pace to easy today, way to much in the 8's.  Not a bad problem to have, but with my long run tomorrow I would like fresh legs.  The effort was easy and the knee was a little tight but not too bad.  Now I get to spend the rest of my day with a little work, a lot of girls softball and moving out of my office.

Ave Pace 9:08

Happy Running! 

I had lofty expectations for today. I had felt great on my last long run and was hoping for the same today, but as soon as we started I knew it would be different. I struggled getting going and finding my rhythm. We had to go early and because my daughter was in a softball tournament in Kaysville, I had to be a little creative to get it in. We ended up running down to Main street and then up Main, over to Pioneer Park and then up to Beck street into Bountiful and at that point I would meet my husband and then go to the games. Paula stuck with me until we got downtown and then her husband came and got her. After about 6 miles I alternated feeling great with feeling crappy. I made it to 15.5 miles and my husband came to pick me up. We headed to the ballfields and I finished up to 18 for the day running around the park while I watched the game. Most of the run was flat or up hill, there were only a couple of down hill sections - one at mile 5 and then two short sections on Beck street. So while I felt crappy off and on, I know that I ran a tough route and my pace was much better than two weeks ago. At this point I am not quite sure what I am going to do regarding Top of Utah. I was really hoping to feel great and know that I would be okay and today has created more doubt in my mind.

 On the positive - I just went back and looked at my training and this is my highest mileage week ever - YEAH!!!
 

Ave Pace 9:10

Happy Running!

I had to run extra early today because I have to go to the office and I am without a babysitter. Today was a big day, to see how my body handled Saturday's run. I felt really good. I took it fairly easy and did not push the pace more than MP and the effort felt easy. I ended up with 4 MP miles and then 2.5 others.

One of my goals for this week was to get enough sleep each day - Day 1 was not a success. I stayed up too late watching the Olympics and then had too many kids in with us after 3 am. Will try again tonight.

Ave Pace 8:53

PM: 40 min of pool running while the kids swam.  I am never quite sure how this translates into real mileage so I am not counting it, but a good work out. 

Happy Running!

Ran with the South Jordan group today and did my first track work out.  The work out went:

1200, 400 recovery

800, 400 recovery

400, 400 recovery

2 mi tempo (1/2 marathon pace)

2 x 400, 400 recovery

2 x 200, 400 recovery

I felt really good until but it kicked my butt! I had a 3/4 mi warm up plus some extra after the 2 mile tempo and a little at the very end.  My knee is a little sore so I will ice today.  

Ave Pace 8:01 (not including the 3/4 mile warm up)

Happy Running! 

Recovery day.  I ran with Renee for the first three miles having her pace me at a slow recovery pace.  Just as I was finishing up with her and about to go on my own I ran into Julie and ended up running 2 miles with her.  Her pace is faster than I was wanting for my easy day but she is great to run with and then one mile on my own back home.  My knee is actually feeling pretty good after yesterday but my calves are sore..........more scraping tonight.

Happy Running! 

I went and ran with the SJ group again. They are great to run with and pushing me along! We did 3 5K's today. The splits were 25:20, 23:56, 24:06. I am somewhat disappointed that the last split was slower than the second, however if I had gone any faster towards the end I would have had an accident. Thanks guys!

 On another note: The Olympics and Breaking Dawn are killing my sleep!  I have got to get to bed earlier.  I will try again tonight...
 

Ave Pace 8:06

Happy Running!

No run for me today. I woke up to go with Paula and felt horrible. I laid there for a minute and no improvement so I decided a no go. My body could also use some rest for tomorrow's long run.

Happy Running!

I ran my first 20 miler today with Cheris and Michelle.  I was very nervous because last week did not go well and I knew that they would keep the pace going.  We started at 5am and ran through South Jordan, Riverton, Bluffdale and Herriman.  It ended up being a great run!  I am a little sore but not bad.  My knee did really well.  I had a few weird pains that I am not sure what to do with, but it was a great run.  I came home and did an ice bath for 12 min and stretched.

I signed up for TOU yesterday so it is official.  No more maybe, we will see, I am committed - unless I magically get into SGM.   

Ave Pace 8:47

Happy Running! 

I had planned to day to do 3x1 mile hill repeats. We have a hill near by that the elevation is similar to that in the hill at mile 18 at TOU. It measures 1 mile long and has an elevation gain of 332 ft. I ran the 1.3 warm up and then began the repeats. The first one wasn't to bad, there wasn't a lot of traffic and it was still dark. During the second one the traffic picked up significantly and it created a pretty good head wind. At this point my legs were feeling really tired so I decided to forgo the third repeat and just finish with easy miles, so that I would not completely trash my legs for Hobblecreek. On my recovery back down the hill, I knew that if I did not do the third repeat, I would be pretty angry at myself the rest of the day and the guilt would set in. So I decided to do the third repeat but not focus on the time as much as the completion. The third was tough, because the wind (from the traffic) had picked up but I focused on just making it to the top. My splits were:

8:53

8:50

8:47 - YEAH!

I am so glad that I stuck with it and finished - lesson learned!

Ave Pace 8:55

Happy Running!

Ran with the SJ group today and brought Paula along.  We did hill repeats, which where much tougher than yesterday it was a 1/2 mile out  - up, down and then back up - and then turn around and come  back.  We did this 4 times and then did 3x1 minute sprints.    There were some good warm up and cool down miles today as well.  Needless to say my legs are exhausted, after yesterday and today it is all easy miles until Saturday. 

Ave Pace 9:12

Happy Running!

 

Nice easy run with Paula and Renee.  My legs are pretty tired so another easy paced run is in order tomorrow.  I got a blister on Saturday on my second to the last toe and it is killing me.  I have never really gotten blisters before so I am not sure what to do.  I need to figure out what to do before Saturday.  

Happy Running! 

Ran this morning with the SJ group.  We ran north on the Jordan River Pkwy from Gardner Village.  I turned around at mile 4 and Cheris and I ran back.  My effort felt really difficult today so I still need more rest before Saturday.    I got new shoes yesterday so they were great!  

Ave Pace 9:05

Happy Running! 

10 1/2 hrs of sleep!  I think it might be a record!  My legs are still pretty tired so I am taking today of as a rest day.  This helped quite a bit with last week and if I wasn't racing tomorrow, I would push myself out the door.  But I am and I want less tired legs.  I do not think that they will be 100% fresh legs because I had too many tough workouts early in the week but they will be better that they are today.

Happy Running! 

It is 11:30 pm and this is the first chance I have had today to sit at the computer. After the race we had our ward day camp and then a busy night of bathing the dirtiest kids ever, grocery shopping and of course a hair appointment. (VANITY!)

Now on to the report:

Marci and I got up early at 4:15 to get ready, down to the park, pick up the packet and then on the bus. We rode up with Michelle L and her husband and it was great to finally meet her. Once our bus made it to the top, we hopped off and ran a short warm up to the start. I met up with Kim and donned our purple hair for the day.

Mile 1: I started with Michelle N and Julie. The started a little fast for me but I never felt like I could get my rhythm, so I back off a little at the one mile mark.

Mile 2: uneventful

Mile 3: My legs are already starting to feel tired - too many tough workouts and not enough taper.

Mile 4: I can see Dean ahead and I try to catch him - it takes me about half a mile and I finally do and we ran together for about .25 and then I slowed back down a little. He and I leap frogged each other until mile 10 and then he was ahead the rest of the way.

Mile 5: Uneventful

Mile 6: More of the same

Mile 7: Still feeling okay, legs are the same

Mile 8: This is where you have the uphill out of the canyon to start the trail. As I pushed up the hill I could feel my heart race and I had a difficult time regaining control - A mental meltdown is on the verge of starting

Mile 9: I ran into Brent and he calmed me down and we ran together for a few minutes. I need the chatting and calming influence he provides. THANK YOU!

Mile 10: I saw Darci and Sarah (two girls I grew up with) at the water stop waiting for Darci's husband. It was great to have someone cheer for me.

Mile11: I am telling myself, two miles to go - you can do this, but I am slowing and sooo tired. I walked through the water stop extra long.

Mile 12: I told myself 1 mil to go you can do this, but the first half was soo long. Once I got to the half way point, I was okay, but I have never come so close to "hitting the wall" as I did there.

Mile 13: One tenth to go, we turn on the grass and I almost tripped so I hesitated even trying to push with what little energy I could muster and Kelli came up from behind and finished with me.

It was great to chat with everyone afterwards and there were so many who had great races -

CONGRATULATIONS! 

I am really glad I have had some time to reflect before typing this race report. I am very happy with my time, it is a PR and I know that I gave it everything I had today. That said, it was a day filled with lessons:

1. Pace: I need to begin wearing a watch when I race and stick to my pace. I have always run by feel but as I improve and my goals change from a "good time" and "a new pr" to time specific I need to be better at pacing myself. My start was rough today and I do not think that this helped.

2. Taper:  I really did not taper for this race and I could tell right away in my legs.  It ended up becoming a good training run for dealing with fatigue.  If I want to race strong, I need a better taper.

3.  Fuel:  I have eaten horribly all week and really did not get an good solid food yesterday.  I was a hectic, stressful day and my eating suffered and carried over to my performance today.  

Lessons Learned! 

Ave Pace 7:40

Happy Running! 

Six recovery miles on my own today.  Paula wasn't feeling well,  my ipod was dead and could not find my watch so I was really on my own.  I felt like I had a pretty good pace for a recovery run.  I had planned on 7 miles, but wasted too much time looking for my watch.  I had then decided I would have time for 6.5 and ended up running into a long lost friend and then was down to just enough time for 6 so that I could get home to  see my son off to his first day of school.    I ended up with time to spare, but would have been so angry at myself if I had missed him.

 Happy Running!

 

Paula and I met up with the BBK group today.  We ran 3 warm up miles and then separated into track workout or road workout.  My legs are still not 100% so I opted for the road workout.  We did 5 miles and I felt like the effort was close to marathon pace (8:20) than what it was.  We ended up back at the track and watched everyone finish up - they were movin' today!   When I got home and my kids ready, I walked them up to the school and then ran .75 home pushing my 4 yr old in a non-running stroller.  That was probably the toughest part of the day.

Ave Pace 8:54

Happy Running! 

I have been in Dallas for two days and got home tonight. I had planned on running while I was there, but I have not been that tired in a very long time, last weekend had caught up with me. I ended up missing my Wednesday morning run and had planned on running that night, but I was invited to a work dinner, so I missed again. I still had planned on going this morning but again was completely exhausted and had a headache. I finally got out tonight with Paula for 5 miles. They felt really good and I thought about doing more, but 5:45 am comes really early so I will do more miles then.

Ave Pace 9:00 / pink mizuno 41.75

Happy Running!

Ran an easy 5 with Paula and Renee. It was really cold this morning and I am not ready for it to get colder! What happened to summer? Nice to be home, but way to much work to do.

Another mile running home after dropping the kids off at school.  If my daughter wasn't 4 and almost to big for a jogger stroller, I would seriously consider buying one.  I keep thinking mine might fall apart at any moment. 

Asics 24.1

Happy Running!

I met up with Cheris, Peggy, Michelle, Angela, Dean, Chris and Whitney for our 20 mile run. This one felt tougher than the one two weeks ago. We did pretty much the same route with a little variation. Angela was great to listen to and dispense her wisdom on eating healthy and healthy lifestyles in general. My body held up better this week and that is always a good thing. We ended up with a few walking breaks and I gave in to one at the end with Peggy and Angela that I am a little disappointed in myself for when they were still going. I never stopped my watch so my pace includes a bathroom break, walking for gu's and a couple other 30 sec walks, I would think if we took the breaks out it would be more near 8:45 but we ended with 9:15. The count down to marathon day is on!

Pink Mizuno 61.75

Happy Running!