Believe to Achieve

Oh yah!! Uh huh!!!  Glad the last long run before Ogden is over.  The weather held up too.  The rain cover from last night made the green stand out with the white clouds around the valleys and mountains.  So beautiful!!  Met Melanie and Kim at Lone Peak High School at 6am and ran a challenging course first thru the Highland park behind the high school then down Alpine Hwy for 3/4 mile then west almost two miles then north a mile to Freedom Elementary in Highland then East to 6000 west then north to go up and around Alpine.  Good hill there.  Melanie wanted hills since she has been treadmilling.  We ran thru town and over to 300 north in Alpine then to North Bench road, nice climb there up to Healey drive over looking Cedar Hills.  Then down a nice steep hill back to flat going towards Lone Peak on 4800 West where Kim headed back (she is not running Ogden) and we continued on the Golf course parkway trail up to AF canyon.  More hills and one steep one that is right there at the mouth of the canyon as you head south onto Canyon road.  We continued on Canyon until Cedar Hills drive then turned right there and then left down the farm road right past the fire dept.  Glad to have some downhill.  It was fun at  this point as we realized we were "part of" 5K race just starting out doing the exact same loop I planned for our ending.  We saw kids finishing with their parents with the mile (opposite direction as us) and then caught up to the 5kers.  It was a hoot.  Even saw my Bishop's wife standing by a cone waiting to direct the course.  She gave me a high five.  This was at miles 16 to 17.5 so it helped energize us.  Starting out on this run I was tired and muscles tight.  My husband as supportive as he has been had set my alarm for me, thankfully. I am still just lacking several good nights of sleep.   I didn't think I could keep up at first, my legs were so fatigued but I just kept at it and eventually finished quite strong next to Melanie speedster.  Ran 18.25 miles in 2:28:46  (8:07 avg pace).  I think that we did quite well considering the hammering hills!!!  This next week another tempo run planned for Monday (or Wednesday) like last weeks except I will do four loops so 12 miles.  Hoping there to have about a 7:05 average pace.  Two nights to sleep at a normal hour should help.