Believe to Achieve

5 in Easter Eggs.  Not liking them.  No cushion between me and road.  Hmmm???  anyway worried my joints will pay the price.  Easy pace recovery.  No watch.  Two of the miles with Amber. Run was after busy 12.5 hour day at work.  

Easter shoes 9 hours later.  Easy run.  BRRRrr!!!  34 degrees.  AP 8:21.  Still don't think I can run in these shoes for a marathon.  Love the way they fit though, just need cushion for my spine.  But not in any pain in them at work after running twice in them.  Just subtle twinges.  This run was at 430am.  : D.

Easter Eggs.  Hill work at Gold's on TM.  Warmed up quick for me starting at 7:41 pace (1%incline) and upping pace every 1/2 mile by 0.2 mph til three miles and last 0.25 increased pace to 6:15pace. Went right back to 7.5mph to do a 1/4 mile recovery(done after every hill).  Went right into hills.  6 x 0.25 miles at 5%.  First two at 7:08 pace (8.4) second two at 7:03 (8.5), then one at 6:58 (8.6) and one at 6:50 (between 8.7-8.8).  Felt AWESOME and STRONG!!  Recovery at 8:00 pace 1%.  Cooled down one mile at 7:50 ap I think then decided to do a quick mile started at 9.2 mph x .33 miles then 9.3 x 0.33 miles then 9.4-9.6 for last 0.33 so pace about a 6:24 :D.  Ran 1/4 mile cool down and walked a 1/4 mile.  First six miles in 44:09 (no stops) then one minute break then the 2.25 miles.  Forgot time there.  Some squats and 10 pushups.  Stretches before and after run.  Sun came out and I stood in the parking lot with a nice relaxing tune and the sun in my face. :D.

Easter Eggs.  945am. Ran two miles around neighborhood and ended at Amber's school to do mile with her.  Ran too fast for her the first 0.2 miles which made her slow too much sadly (my fault). Next time I won't be caught up in staying with the top three boys. I was just hoping Amber could stay at the 6:20 pace....but even the boys slowed and finished in 6:49 to 6:51.  Amber wanted to beat her 7:04 so I stayed up where it was exactly 7:00 pace.  She finished in 7:08.  I was 7:00 (garmin hit mile three seconds earlier however :D so 6:57).   Felt really easy for me even on the uneven grass around in a circle 2.5 times.   Hopefully this is marathon pace for me :D.  Ran another two miles back the long way to home.  AP for all five well under 8:00.  Probably 7:48.  Loving taper time. Getting used to new shoes.  Feeling the ground not so bad now.

Easter egg shoes. .worked very busy 14 hour shift got home 1.75 hours later than usual. ate three pieces of homemade pizza. thought i would not run but an hour later at 9:15 pm i laced up and just got it done. stomach rebelled after first two miles and was spasming with need to explode . But legs and heart feeling really good. no nausea just cramping from a fat full tummy. 1/2 mile warmup.then 7:03, 6:56, 6:54, 6:52. felt easy and controlled not at all all out . it was super dark and crisp out sky full with stars so clear. flat to rolling course just like boston.

woke up at midnight very nauseated. felt like the stomach flu. could not sleep from the all over achiness that comes with it. took two mylanta. i did eat horribly the hours before bed so it could be the combination of junk and good foods i ate. 12 on the schedule today. felt weak leaving for the gym but told myself this is just an easy run so started at 1% incline and ran a progressive recovery til 9 miles then three fast. recovery miles were 8:19, 8:12,8:06,8:00,7:53,7:47,7:41,7:35 and 7:30. fast miles were 6:37ap, 6:29ap, and 6:18. stretched, 12 jumping squats and 10 pushups to help my muscles learn to stay strong. 90:38 for 12 miles. no stops. ran at 815am. on and off nauseated but music made me feel strong. left knee to hip still out from fall. may be tendons that were pulled when i slammed the door on it. or bone bruise. seriously how stupid am i to do that to myself? ont i have enough drama? ha ha. oh i also bit my tongue quite hard eating fresh veggies. nice bruise and swelling of my tongue now. that was yesterday about four pm at work. kind of annoying to have a fat sore tongue. should be gone in a few days luckily.

back to reds....left knee and lower back si joint down sciatic nerve to foot pain driving me nuts again. ran slow 8:45ap cold morning leaving for phoenix hot there. drove to phoenix..10.5 hours total driving and stop time. casa grande is destination. staying with mom. surprised my mom. she thought i was flying so came in one day earlier. kids were great in car.

drive ended my running today cause sciatica really acting up and my inner left knee same place as where i shut it in the door. why did it take this long to get thispinful? probably cause i was too stubborn to get it put on place right after and my body not liking it out of position now too far out to get it with one visit to chiropracter. so no running for me for next few days and wont be racing boston if this pain is happening next week :-( oh well jist will go with what i can give

a little excitement last night...kids in different trailer...i woke in a hot sweat and then courtney came running in yelling about an alarm going off. i was up and didnt hear it so i assumed she was dreaming. but i was worried so i moved the kids at 115am back to our trailer. anyway felt like leg was good to go for a runsince i am back to my old faithfu shoes the red flyknits. thought i was running a 9 pace and it was and 8 so picked it up every mile and did a short tempo and then eased off after the 6-8 min hal higdon says to be at tempo pace for a 30 min tempo. miles were 8:01, 7.25, 6:52, 6:33, 6:46 and 6:51. ap 7:04. then 10 min later ran two miles with amber. 8:39, and 8:21. 97 degrees the high for the day so left at 730am. casa grande having a heat wave. not bugging me at all surprisingly. felt great with only a minor twinge in the left knee thanks to my shoe change.

easy run. two with amber my 11 year old. left later. hot but tolerable with a alight breeze to save the day. ap 8:13.

okay...feeling fat eating all the time on vacation..try to male healthy choices but food is so fun! so blimpy but hey legs feel great...except for knee twinge f to my out of place hip from door slam and ski fall within an hour of eacb other , i have mentioned a lot....it really sucks cause it is the only thorn i feel preboston. absolutley NO PLANTAR FASCITIS! SERIOUS MIRACLE HERE.. AP 7:50. FELT EASY BREEZY AND IT WAS QUITE BREEZY!

after 11.5 hour drive yesterday head was spining. hubby had tk work so all driving to phoenix and back on my own in rental car with my daughters. feeling doubtful of my abilities espec when i am having shoe drama and sciatic pain and knee pain. but ran 8 easy....3 with amber slowly. she wasnt happy about running today as her soccer coach asked the team to run 3-5 miles. then i ran five more trying once more to like my new shoes and it is just not gonna happen. anyway....i am gonna stay with april at boston hang on for dear life and enjoy the ride if u see me on athlete alerts and i suddenly slow.....think positive .. i probably stopped to help someone. i honestly am in very deel doubtful do do here been so busy with work and kids and home that it just isnt sinking in that i am running it. not long now. may the running gods show uo to help me :-)

nada. called into work. so busy head still spinning.

so busy with work I can barely think about the marathon.  No time to run. Brookes soccer was at half time when I got off then got home at 8pm.  Just not worth it.  My left leg/sciatica is giving me tons of grief.  I hope this is just pre race break down.  But it is not fun.  It hurts from my SI joint to the bottom of my foot and a lot in my knee on the side and below cap.  Still gonna fight it out.  Have a lot to squeeze in at Boston with family so not sure how I will show up to the race.  April and I are gonna try our best together :D.  So happy we decided to hang with each other.  We are both capable.  We don't know where our fitness is right now.  No races to show for it.   My five K in February was run under the most depressive coming off hormones thoughts that I can't count that.  And I flaked on a 10 mile race pace run cause work and life got in the way and I was too tired so didn't make it up.  But I am confident I can pull myself out of this and run the best I am able given weather and circumstances.  April will make it feel a lot better :D.  

5s. ran one mile wu. 4x400 at 6pace. and one 800 at 6:37. leg feels terrible. lots of pain...sciatic nerve? disc? calf and shin also irritTed. hoping for a miracle.

idk what is going on left leg is bad from psoas to piriformis to knee to shin to foot. it has to be a disc? from fall skiing. cause i tried running two miles a d it went numb and tingly. i am worried that i am so focused on this pain that i cant focus on race at all. or this is my stupid pain syndrome they call fibromyalgia...hate yhat diagnosis. the pain is a 7/10 and words to numbers that means hard to focus on other activities. 10 being nothing else matters. hooing a good nights rest will relieve it watched The secret life of Walter Mitty with my cousins on tv . was funny. enjoyed it. it is 1140 pm here and i am wide awake as it is 940 pm at home. miss home and family but so have missed my cousins! love them. Almost forgot...ran at 7pm here 2.5 miles a 1.25 mile loop twice. just to get my body moving from long flight yesterday and pain tester . i feel very rusty and scared to death about a marathon monday truthfully. the only hope i have is my friend alril to get me through.

Ran the entire marathon with April. No splits. Watch went wacky after mile one. We dressed alike so we would be easy to spot and because it is fun! Plan was to stick together thick or thin and not worry about time and not look at watch til halfway. Started in wave two corral four. Gun went off and we stood there not moving for several minutes as they announced the corrals before us. With April undertrained and myself with a bum left leg, like elite runners would be smart and not run on it, we were not sure how we would do. But we were off and running. No way to pick it up. The crowd of runners seemed to stretch on forever. Our own personal Boston Marathon treadmill in reality mode. Our plan at half was to pick it up but after 2 miles and the further i got into it i knew i was going to be just hanging on. My hip and knee were in not in the right gait form. It has been bothering me for a while and just walking it was hurting. There is only so much focusing off of pain or on pain you can do in a marathon before the pain of just running a marathon consumes the body and i honestly wanted to walk from Newton Hills on when the wall hit for me. April also was feeling it greatly in her legs and instead of taking off from me at the half which i was sure she would she said she couldnt and would stay with me. That was the best news of the marathon because without her i would have stopped and been in well over four hours. In case you hadnt heard the marathon was hot again. Not 2012 hot but same temp difference from my arrival (38 degrees last thursday) to 70 on race day at halfway. I didnt need any additional clothing at the start. Not good. In the first mile i was sweating from the heat of the sun at 1030 am and the crowds of people beside me and along the course (one million spectators, double last year they say). I wore compression sleeves and i was roasting like i was in golds gym. After three miles and several miles later i moved them down to my ankles hanging loosly there. No time to sit and remove them so i just dealt with that awkwardness. April was high fi ing and having a grand time. I was more introverted and wore sunglasses. The crowds were overwhelming and it was an emotional run. I knew i had to run because i had two legs and many did not. We saw several amputees running. Amazing! Because of the crowds we could never really pick it up and truthfully the crash would have been bigger if we did try. So our focus turned completely to friendship and helping one another through hard times the Boston Strong way. April just told me we would just run it with an ultra shuffle. My back was so tight from the bracing and i could not tap into any adrenaline. Hydration wasnt a problem. I peed four times along the course. But a contributing factor were two gus i had for the race that had caffeine. They were a new kind

and i thought hey had hardly any caffeine if any. My heartrate was soaring. I took one before the halfway and another at 22 miles. I became nauseated three or four times and dizzy. I felt like i was not trained at all. Weird. We did the half in 1:38:43 so not fast. It was a hard one. Just one of those running days you dont feel wonderful to go out and do but time was not on my side. It was marathon day. It had to happen. The best and most memorable moment was crossing each timing mat with April my long time fast running blog friend, the ultra shuffling, high fiving a few kids along the course and seeing people running with out legs. Turning onto Bolyston street and knowing all that had transpired last year, was so heartwrenching. I had to run closer to the right side of the street instinctively. The images of last year superimposed over my present course. But as i raised my handwith Aprils across the finish line nothing was more relieving knowing we took back the streets of Boston! Boston Strong. April strong. Julie strong. The world strong. Thank you spectators. Thank you race directors. Thank you family. Thank you Boston.

hip and knee and shin on left a mess...so out and so tight however i am the least spre put of any marathon i have run so of course after i ran the marathon yesterday in the hotel room i did 26 jumping squats to try to make me sore :-) today on this entry quads a little sore. no swelling. .mood low due to irriation of race day bad luck bit once again it was april and i having a grand time duking it out together. i pretty much saved april for her 50 miler in two weeks.

hip like a flat tire or uneven wear on a car....u just unbalance everythkng else with it. Went to see cousin in cape since she took time to come see me race and took the time to try and get me at finish and drive us back. subway crowded. she took us to the beach. fun times icing in ocean and walki g on the sand.

quincy market for lunch raining in boston airport at 4. off for home. april and i had same leave time on our flights different airlines. gonna miss april.

post marathon depression. hit rock bottom with lack of sleep and trying progesterone again. never again. cried a lot. weird and very sad!

adjusted hip with a visit to my chiro yesterday.  As day wore on I my leg was near NORMAL!!!  go figure.  Decided to run Thanksgiving Point Half.  Asked RD for the 4-1-1.  Since it was a massive rain out he invited me to join the fun.  And fun it was.   I slept from 11 to 3am.  Got up took a shower cause I haven't showered since I got back from Boston Wednday. Too tired and busy.  Cut my hair. Went back to bed and stared at the walls.  Fell asleep around 530 to 640am!! YIKES should I still go and run.  Sat in bed for five minutes and decided why not?  It is pouring out and the course is difficult (the hardest half I know in Utah) to add to my "why not?" attititude.  Geared up and was in my car at 6:52am.  Hmmmm will I even make the start?  It takes a good 15 minutes to get there.  Maybe 13.  It was pouring the whole way and I had some doubts about my sanity.  Got there at 7:05am...and sprinted the 1/4 mile to the starting line from my parking spot.  I got there just as the gun went off so I ran up to the start and then started the race.  This course is accurate.  13.1 on the nose.  Stayed with Jonathon Crompton for the first mile (1:45 pacer).  I haven't run since Boston.  My right leg knew it.  It was tight.  The quad that is.  Tight cause apparently it did all the work for my nonfunctioning left hip to knee.  And my slower time at Boston helped me to do this run.  Even the 7:43 ap was tough at times on this ridiculously technical course running around and through the tulips and on dirt at times and briefly on wood chips and of course the famous golf course of endless peaks and valleys that each turn you think you may be at the end and it keeps going.  I definitely could tell I ran a hard long run Monday and that is all I told my body that the Boston Marathon was.  So today's run was just part of my training, although I don't know what I am training for????   St George is too far away right now.  So hmmm..not sure what races I will end up doing.  They have to fit my work schedule and I work every other Saturday.  Anyway...after stopping twice in the second mile... first to tie my left shoe...then a few feet from there stopping and tieing my right,  I didn't catch the 1:45 pacer until just after mile six.  I was in no hurry. This was some recovery run.  Ha ha.  Hills after hills.  Nothing my legs could do but keep going.  In the last several miles I passed a lot of runners.  Only one runner passed me back in the final miles...he passed me two or three times.  No biggie.  Not a race for me.  Just a I can do hard things run....like run a marathon and five days later run a hard half marathon.  Just proving to myself that I have something left to give despite the downward spiral I have been falling into this past year.   Last mile 7:09 thru the last of the 5k runners.  Began to pour after I finished.  Massive downpour.  I nearly didnt make it back to my car I was sooooo cold and stiff and my muscles were in shock from the new shoes and terrain and marathon a few days ago.  My new shoes btw are mostly white.  Ha ha....I was lucky they stayed white.  Now that is cool!!!  They broke in nicely although I think I sounded nice and loud in them clopping a way.  Time today was 1:41:09.    Got home and I was off to Courtney's piano recital at 10am and then three soccer games in the torrential rains!!  BRRRRRRrrr!!!! seriously soaked and cold.  Two wins and a loss but Amber did score the only two goals her team had even though they lost.  They got the worst of the weather with high winds and downpour.  I had to strip her down in the car to prevent hypothermia.  It was pretty intense after the game getting her to feel better while my husband drove us home.  Luckily she had a new top in her bag and I held her body next to mine.  Don't mess around with hypothermia!!  She could barely talk or move her arms and fingers.  Stripping down made the difference.  Then a warm shower and hot cocoa were in order.  LOVE soccer.  But not so much in the freezing rain.  Troy would disagree.  He loves to play soccer in the rain.  Weirdy.  : D.  

5 ez tm run cause snow in april is not my cup of tea. 8:29ap

slept last night without waking 7 hours!! first time in years.  woke to sound of my phone.  called into  work. It was 5:56am.  My cell was charging and they had been calling me since 4:50am!!  Loved my extra hour.  Worked 12.5 hours. Busy.  First day back since Boston.  No run.

3 miles before work.  Sluggish pace and cold 36 degrees.  8:39 ap.  Felt out of it.   Another 12.5 hours shift.  Almost 13.  Busy.