Believe to Achieve

After two days off and a good friend to run MP with me for 13.1 (the Provo Half Course ) at 7am (actual race started at 8am) I tried to reevaluate the hip/hamstring issue.   First it hurts continuous.  Second starting the run with extreme tightness and lots of pain may not be a bright idea but I still did it.  We were supposed to go easy the first two to three miles but the hail and the wind and the conversation just had us going from the starting line.  Ran the first mile and was stopped by a train for about 4-5 minutes.  Pretty funny.  Luckily the real race did not have that pleasure.  I was hoping for a 7:15  to 7:19 avg pace but with the injury it would have been pushing it.  My breathing was labored as I tried to guard the pain while running.  Eeeeks.  After 5 miles regained strength with a chocolate gu but getting on the River Trail and talking non-stop slowed us.  We were pretty chatty throughout the run.   Obviously not in race mode.  No music.  Just each other and some lovely rain clouds too.  Freeeeezzzing!!!  Put back on longsleeved shirt at mile 10.5 where I had our water station on the bridge.  We passed it twice so was a perfect water/gatorade spot.  All the water stations were up but we weren't registered so we passed up on the water there.  Splits pretty even. If hip was  not  so tight  and painful could have run minutes faster.  Wasn't sore and still am not sore after working all night.  Just a bum hip that is in agony.  Going to Josse's today (Sunday) to get it scraped.  13.1 @ 1:36:49. Avg pace: 7:23.   Splits:  7:36,  7:15, 7:21, 7:22, 7:21, 7:10, 7:17, 7:26, 7:21, 7:31,  7:34, 7:29, 7:14, .11@ 7:19 pace (slowed because we merged with lots of slower 5 kers close to the finish line).   We were at a 7:20 avg until mile 8.  Should have focused and stopped talking  : D.   A lot of "Brrrrsss"  and  "I am frozen" and "why the pouring rain now?".   The slants on the sides of the roads were not at all good for my hip so I ran a lot on the sidewalk the last 1.5 miles. 

Oh boy, started out on my run the same as Saturday--- extremely tight and quite a bit  painful (a 6-7 level), I feel like overnight I have been given this bum hip to work with and its lame!!!  I can't lift my leg well.  I wanted to cry for all the hard work I have been doing and now this two weeks before race day?  Seriously?  At least its not two days before.  The scraping was intense but immediately I felt some release but now, as I was warned, I am sore, marathon sore, in the hip and upper thigh.   And now my groin and lower calf are my most painful areas, where we didn't scrape so obviously the other places worked.  I will have to order the tools and do some self scraping.   Anyway....form totally skeewompous, right leg dragging the left along.  How long can my right leg pull more than its own weight around?  7 miles easy.  Avg pace 8:26.  BTW--- maybe its the cotton blowing around but I was quite dizzy this morning and my sinuses feel pressurized, not stuffed.  Outside was no better and then I saw all the pollen in the air.

ReNEWED HOPE!!! : D    After work let me go home at 4 am because they were tired of seeing me whince in pain.....I came home slept til 830am.   Up for two wondering about this hip that still continued to plague me.    I iced a lot last night.  But that didn't last long.  Then I bloated up like a balloon in my stomach and felt just awful.  So...  I self deep massaged it, hurting now mostly in the front upper hip area.  Had husband hold pressure there.  Hurt so good.  Yowsers.  Went back to bed for two hours got up thinking of a "no run" day.  But just said " I got to get out there or I will give up".  So I put on shorts a nylon t-shirt, headband and gloves and faced the sunshiny wicked windy day.  It felt nice but my hip sure didn't.  The same tightness was coming on with every piece of clothing I put on.  Then as I reached for sneakers I decided "that's it I am going back to my oldies but goodies and sure enough it was a light at the end of the tunnel!!  Unbelievable the tightness gradually lessened with each step I took.  Pain level 4!!!   A 4 was a big step.  And with each passing mile I was feeling stronger and stronger, more hopeful!!  So basically I am opening up a new runner shoe shop called " JULIE'S MISFITS".  I am going to find a way to mold these shoes and have them hand made for me.  Hip still has gnawing pain but tightness improving tons since the change back.  So what if I don't conform?  so what if I am mal-aligned.  I'd rather be pain free with a poor form!!    Avg pace 8:19 for 7.11 miles.  I somehow went thru the "PG Triangle" at mile 6 my garmin stopped working.  It didn't show time moving or anything.  All keys were locked and suddenly it went off.  Then when it came back on it added my old time to my new mileage with a direct point to point.  It gave me a nice avg of 8:12 instead and 7.65 miles.  Weird.  Of course I knew better.  I was only just over a mile from home.  No cheating here.  To follow....excerpts from JULIE'S CHRONOLOGY OF AN INJURY...stupid human tricks not to be done at home....and a class I offer on-line for free "How Not To Train"  and other helpful hints to avoid injury.  

Had to get up in the middle of the night due to intense spasm-like pain in my lower left abdomen radiating to my left hip and upper and inner thigh.  Heat helped and I could finally fall back to sleep.  But that isn't going to stop me from being a die hard "got to do the workout" planned person I am.  I warmed up on a hilly course around town in PG for 4 miles then did a 3 mile tempo at short tempo speed (goal 6:50 to 6:55).  Started on a good downhill to help my turnover with this bum hip and MY CONFIDENCE.  First 1/2 miledownhill  last half mile flat (6:33).  It felt very controlled, not pushed at all.  I had to stop dead as the traffic passed on Canyon Rd. (1/2 mile mark) so lost the downhill momentum.  Stop was only three seconds. Second mile slight down hill and flat then verrry slight downhill (6:35).  Third mile--Now I am on the flat to slight uphill part of 1100 north going west into the wind and the road is all broken up on the sides.  I am having to wave cars to move over so I don't have to run in the torn up road (they are supposed to be paving it soon).  I try to be tough in the slight headwind and busy-ness but my left leg has decided to give out on me and become even tighter and I slow.  This mile a 7:10.  I was also doing this run on no fuel except two pieces of whole wheat toast and almond butter an hour and 1/2 beforehand.  No water.  I could feel it wanting to come up that last mile.  Avg for the three miles= 6:45. Total mileage 10.  Avg pace for all= 7:49. Splits:   9:16,  8:06,  8:43, 8:08,  6:33, 6:35, 7:10,  8:08,  7:53,  7:41.  I think I psyched myself out that last mile.  Those first two miles felt sooo easy, I thought wow I am going to PR in a 5K just running out on the streets and then the uphill came and I couldn't hang in that tough.  I better do some brain re-training before 10 days from now!!!

7 DEATH-LIKE MILES.  Rated # 2 for worst run ever.  7 @  8:46 pace.

Bike ride. #1     2 miles round trip to kids school at 9am.  BRRRRRrrrr!!  What's with the frozen WIND?   #2   9 miles on AF River trail and by Lone Peak and back down.  Hip/seat muscles (adductors) very sore achy at first.  Using totally different muscles than running.  Sciatic pain was an 8 all night at work.  Relieved more as morning wore on and a massage by my husband.  Took ibuprofen more liberally than I am used to as well.  No pain in back during bike ride except for muscle twinges from pedaling that was cured with standing up pedaling.     Rode to daughter's school for her "Author's Fair".  Listened to her well thought out story about a bird and a girl.  For seven she is quite the long DETAILED story writer.  The longest in her class her teacher told me.  #3  1 mile bike ride home.  Total  miles 12.  Last longer MP run tomorrow with Kim for 8 miles with a three mile warm up.  She promises to run MP and not some 1/2 MP.  We'll see.  GOOD NEWS-- I got in to the St. George Marathon.     SAD NEWS-- Kim did not.  FRUSTRATING.  I am happy but not happy.  We are both irritated.  Some people sign up in the "oh I better sign up cause it fills up, but I am not sure I will run it" in order to at least secure a spot and others like Kim who are shooting for under 3 hours and definitely will run it come the end of the earth only to stop her don't get in.  ARgghhhhhh!!!!!!!!!!  Anybody have secret ways to get in besides $1000 to charity?  

Met Kim at 6:35 am.  Ran slowly up to the mouth of AF canyon, mentally preparing myself for 8 MP miles which will always end up faster than that when I am with speedy energizer fueled by no entry to SGM aggression runner Kim.  In fact poor Kim had to conform to my slowness as we headed out.  She ran a mile to my house first.  She wanted more miles.  I also stopped at the Fire Station to take a gu and a drink of water at the park bathrooms there.  Still feeling sluggish as we crested the hill but it was all mental for the plan ahead.  Ran 8 miles.  5 were rolling downhill on the Cedar Hills Pathway, with some on dirt terrain (about .4 miles) and  the rest on roads going up hill.  We stayed on the path at the Cedar Hills Golf course after surging down the hill before AF canyon ( the one I usually am climbing).  That was a nice start and then rolling downhill descent.  The rolling hills is what I wanted as it simulates quite closely the last 8 miles of Ogden.  Ending with three uphill miles the last being the greatest ascent, all uphill to my house.  Splits quite under MP of course.  Hope that makes next week seem real easy when I run my own race.  Here they are:  6:40, 7:02, 6:49, 6:51, 6:56, 7:04, 7:04, 7:13 too much uphill and All mental for me.  At least I didn't completely fall apart.  The first four miles were quite the hoot: 8:55, 9:19, 9:27, 9:28.  Total unmotivated pace and all straight uphill, the direct route to the start of the 8 miler.  

......and the headache hits with a vengeance.  left sided trigeminal neuralgia...burning nerve pain in the face (cheek, ear, forehead), back of head (occiput), left shoulder and shoulder blade.  So the pain has moved on for the most part to my head and shoulder...I think I prefer the leg pain to the face pain except its harder to run with leg pain : D.  I also have some patchy numbness in the left leg too and only brief deep nerve pain in the upper thigh.  Nothing like that was like only two days ago.....This is why I don't like doctors.  They have yet to figure this all out.  I hate this pain.  The nerve pain is ridiculous but it comes in these waves every few weeks to a month or so and last usually only three days sometimes longer.  This time it has been over a week switching all over the place.  ....which makes me still ponder that MS diagnosis....but I am not ready to come to that conclusion just yet.. My grandfather ended up in a wheelchair with that diagnosis.   A few years ago there were three spots on my brain on an MRI.  They repeated it and they were gone.....luckily no further spots two years ago.  The malformation was "fixed" but that doesn't explain the continued intense nerve pain.  So I just continue to go on and on seeming like some hypochondriac which I am not.  I run to escape the pain and the frustration.  Trust me running does not make it worse unless I am overdoing it.  I tried not running for months and all it did was make my symptoms worse and me more depressed.  Sorry about this "all about me" post but when this headache/pain in my face hits I sit and wonder "what the heck? really? again?"  No doctor visits because no one cares too much to dig deep.  Haven't found the right doctor or the energy to be the patient again.  My GP just shakes his head and says its neurological, here try this medication.  At least I am hopeful this wave will be over before Ogden.  I am ready to have a nice run down the Canyon with the possibility of a big PR there.  Hopefully a marathon PR.  

Face still numbish with some burning nerve pain on left side.  Feels like my left ear is under water.  Allergies?  Does this every May/June and other nonspecific times of the year.  It also involves my muscles.  My left shoulder and shoulder blades have tons of sore areas and I have done no upper body.  I call them my trigger points.  If I touch the area which I do often to try to rid my body of whatever is staying put in there, I can feel pain in other distant areas like down the inside of my arm and up the back of my neck to my face.  They are quite painful.  I don't know how to break the cycle when it gets this bad.  Benedryl puts me into a coma and very non-me like feeling but it may have to happen.  Anyway still ran the schedule 6 x 400 meters since it was short with 400 meter recovery.  Ran 2.25 mile warm up to the AF track.  Here are the splits in for the 400s:  89 (5:59), 91 (6:05), 88 (5:53), 87 (5:48), 89 (6:00), 89 (5:57).   Goal was  5:55 to 6:00).  That second one was slow due to a lack of a visual on my garmin. My garmin was in a no pace showing mode for whatever reason so it was very annoying not being able to see where I was at.  After two 400s I had to reset my watch to at least see the first two splits to gauge my effort.   I had to keep reseting my watch for the last four to see those splits at the end.  My garmin just told me when the lap ended and how far I had left, starting and ending with the five beeps.  I don't know how it got out of showing me my pace, switching screens like it used to.  Arghh.  Got to figure out these glitches by Saturday.  Ran 2.25 miles home real slow.

Storks dropped off from all directions last night and I was the lucky admit nurse....Got lots of help though because its hard to get quads (from different moms ) all at the same time and then another set an hour later and then another set and another.....seriously?  Yes.  I also diagnosed a serious situation in one single look, but that's my job and has been for years.  Babies are my thing. I clocked out 1 1/2 hours later than shift end time with a no lunch deduction.  No time to sit back and review the night, just shoulder to the wheel all night long.  Passed up on any sort of running today.  Absolutely need the rest day.  Tomorrow is a 7 miler with three at MP.  Still have the numbness nerve pain in the back of my neck and side of face.  Waxes and wanes all day long.  A lot worse when I pass by perfume/cleaners.  This too shall pass is my motto for the week.   Got things to do Saturday : D.

Plan:  3 @ MP, whatever that is.  Three days and we will find out.  I am thinking around 7:10 to 7:15, cross fingers.  Anyway.....So I get out there and think of doing a "dress rehearsal" but it is just too damp and cold at the moment.  Wore sweat shirt over nylon shirt, shorts, headband, gloves and iPod (and my new running shoes that have been beat into submission).  First "warmup" (faster than my usual) mile 8:15, second 8:14, and .5 at 8:10 before the MP miles began on an honest mostly flat course with some slight inclines and declines to keep it real.  Seriously the garmin and I are in a  love/hate relationship.  I sure miss the days that I "pretended" to run faster with a regular watch : D.  I keep it at showing my avererage pace for the lap, current average and overall average, and of course distance run.  I know three numbers to wheel in my head but it keeps my OCD in gear at all times.  This is new.  I just started doing this after Melanie and I ran together 13 miles.  She saw the average and I was clueless.  So to step it up and make me push it more I changed over.  Top Secret info?  Not, just lack of using my big money watch to its fullest.  Getting there.  Okay here are my MP/1/2 MP?  splits:  7:00, 7:01, 6:44.  Average pace for 7 miles= 7:35.  It actually felt easy but my heartrate was working more on my stomach because I ate the BIGGEST breakfast, over 500 calories!!  It didn't come up though : D.    I don't like to eat that much before running but I didn't eat or drink much yesterday.  In fact I am pretty dehydrated right now after that long shift and coma day yesterday when I didn't feel like eating or drinking.  But now its time to refuel so I can float down the Ogden Canyon with ease : D.    I am getting more and more "chompy".  That's a new word for the day.  It means I am chomping at the bit and raring to go.  

Drove to the head of the new trail and ran up 2.5 and back.  5 @ 9 pace.  Felt very NON-RUNNER-like.  Aching back and bilateral butt nerve pains (double sciatica) due to vacuuming and cleaning the windows of our basement yesterday.  Carpet is currently being placed.  So much for good air quality... new carpet smells so wonderful to regular people, but unfortunately not myself.  I stuffed my nose with tissues to avoid breathing in the fumes.  It works to fiend off the headache.  I am seriously trying to get serious about being serious.  Seriously?  Really I have all these running plans, one in particular and then I go running today and think, seriously?  are you joking?  26.2 miles at 7:10 to 7:15 average.....reality check....reality check....Mr. McFly!!  I am sooooo dated.  I am just going to go by feel.  If it happens, it happens.  I promised Kim I would make my muscles burn by the end, so that's in the stars already.  Went to Good Earth and picked up some goodies...but really Good Earth is NOT so good Earth.  The smells in that place get me in a coughing fit.  What is it with all those not-so-green fragrances in there?  They are worse than any grocery store.  On to better subjects....Running, Resting, Eating, Hydrating that's what I am trying to do.  I soooooo want to weed my flower beds but I am trying to hold off and not make me have some hamstring issues pulling those things up.  I already over did it yesterday but I have time to recover.  I am still as of yet driving up on Saturday morning at 330am.  My mom arrives tomorrow from Arizona and I haven't seen her in 6 months.  I see her twice a year sometimes once.  She won't be coming to see me run though as my sister is here also so we trade off having her at our homes.  I think about coming up there Friday but  I don't sleep anyway the night before a marathon.  The drive should be about 1 hr 10 minutes since I will have the road to myself.  Roll call for buses is 445am!!!!  They all pull out at the same time of 5am!!   Last year Melanie and I missed the busses.   Quite the hoot as we sped up the mountainside to the start breaking thru barricades etc... and we even were staying at the 13 mile mark up there.  Pretty funny if you remember that story : D.  We got there in a 20 minute to start fashion.  Can you imagine if I actually slept and missed getting up for the race?  

I will TRY to be brief.  Went up yesterday and met Josse and stayed with her and Ericka.  We had a fun time "trying" to sleep well.  They ran the half.  I met up with McKenzie and Aubrey at the start.   Ran my own race.  Goal to be at 7:15 AP until mile 14.5 then pick it up.  Sounds good in theory but at Ogden it doesn't really work that way.  Not sure if I took it slower earlier on it would even help at all.  Let's just say that at mile numero uno I knew this would be a mind over body ordeal the entire way.  My pelvis and lower back felt like they were going to snap at any moment.  I would use my hands to hold up my butt and that would alleviate the pulsating nerve pain in my butt cheeks.  Eventually that pain would move to my hamstrings and slowly but surely the pain wore on me and the last 2.7 miles were  utterly without spunk or drive.  I kept telling myself that Kim would not be impressed right now but I would answer back in my head that I didn't care.  She is not here and it just doesn't matter.  Certainly if I pick it up my sinews would unravel and I would collapse.   After two doses of ibuprofen and an ice dip in the AF river I am now walking normally no soreness.  I just have this pulsating  nerve pain from my  lower back to my pelvis and butt cheeks and groin.  Eeeks.  It reminds me of labor pains.  But that's enough whining.  I ran it and I didn't give up.  I soooooo wanted to be done at mile 14, 15, 16- 26.2.  In fact my garmin read I ran 26.36 miles in 3:15:25 that's a 7:24 pace!!  I must have been swerving all over the place  : D.  Really I started my watch before I crossed the chip line when the gun went off.  Oooops.    Here are my splits:   7:22, 7:20, 7:09, 7:03, 7:08, 7:15, 7:10,  7:12,  7:22, 7:14,  7:25,  7:18, 7:21 (not sure on half way, probably 1:35:45 to 1:36, will see when they post splits on the results),  7:31 (pelvic pain really burning), 7:47 (that uphill),  7:28,  7:24,  7:08 (briefly I saw my pace at 6:24!!, never again ) ,  7:07,  7:22,  7:30, 7:23,  7:08, 7:37 (crashing on the river trail once again, can't take these rolling hills and laid back walkers and biker crowds),  8:11 (I just don't give a darn.  I hurt like you know what and I am PRing already.  I could walk a bit and still PR here.  How's that for giving up mentally?)  8: 18  (even 23 week PREGO women are beating me this mile, right Josse?!! : D).  Last .2 unknown as I ran .36 miles at 8:13.  Geez at least I picked it up a little.  The last mile reminded me of Disneyland's Haunted Mansion "Is this room actually stretching?  or is it your imagination? and how about this perplexing question?  how do you find a way out?  This could be re-written as "is the finish line really a mile a way? or is this road actually stretching?  your imagination?  YES.  Is there a way out.  Perhaps.  One foot in front of the other baby!!  Oh to cross the finish line.  A glorious moment!!  

Not much soreness until.....Dinner at my sister's Sunday night.  Eating lots of protein/veggies and some awesome chocolate desserts.  Then Voila, swollen feet.  5 pounds of fluid gain.    The usual.  

Bed at midnight.  Woke early to telephone ringing at 545am.  Father in law had fallen out of bed.  Troy left to help his mother move him.  He ended up being admitted to the hospital.  He finished chemo last year and has fallen a handful of times but it had been several months since his last fall.  He is over 70.  Fell back to sleep then ring again.  Just family calling to see what was going on.  This was 7am.  7:30am Troy back home and briefly back to bed.  Got up.  Tried to weed my garden.  Did so for an hour and felt impending fatigue and that dang back pain so stopped.  Took a two hour nap and still felt utter fatigue.  Still do even as I write this.  Got some info from Melody about icing and hot showers so tried that.  Slowly awaking and muscles feeling better.  One more nap before work tonight is in order but won't happen.  Off to make dinner and hang with the kids.  Got a 50 miler coming up in less than 3 weeks.  After a few days I will be remotivated.  Kind of excited to just take it easy on that run and enjoy nature.  They let everyone off the waiting list on Mother's Day.  A nice gift.  Since I wasn't sure about that status my focus was on Ogden.  Now its all about trails at a relaxing pace.  I think a course record for over 40 this year has gone out the window (under 10 hrs 26 min).  I am just gonna run by feel.  Taking time at each of the 10 aid stations.  Enjoying vistas along the way.  Pray for good weather.  Lightning was in two years ago.  Wouldn't that be a real treat!!  Pouring rain is not allowed.  High temps and high winds are out too.  Just letting you know what not to pray for  : D

Back pain ridiculous, cramping like, RIGHT Hip (not left like before), quad and hamstring VERY tight!! I couldn't even walk right.  The nerve pain was intense up until 5am.    Pretty much a marathon shift, literally.  Didn't get tired much though.  Weird.  Must have been that two hour nap yesterday.  Time to go back to my neurologist or finally an endocrinologist.  My estrogen has been menopausal for a while now.  Apparently estrogen is good for the nervous system.  I'd rather get to the cause first then work on a Natural solution.  I am sure you all wanted to hear about this.  But I am a nurse.  I can talk about just about anything.  Bodily functions discussions during dinner don't phase me.  And they usually don't phase runners I noticed.  Tried to run and my left hamstring was on fire still.  So made .22 miles at 10:52 and called it a day.  Probably just bike tomorrow. 

AP 9:10 per course tool.  No garmin.  Just my good ol' watch on my good ol' route.  Felt like the last 3 miles of the marathon all over again.  Probably not a good thing.  But I have been sad lately.  On Monday morning my husband went over to help his step-father after falling at 545am.  He ended up in American Fork Hospital spiking a fever to 107 degrees last night.  We went over there and my coworker Nathan was so nice to want to explain things medically to me and all  I could do is look past that to his breathing condition.  Very labored on BiPap, unconcious.  I began to sob and take his hand.  And talk to him.  But no response.  He was soooo hot.  It was hard to see him struggle to breath and Troy's mother sobbing as well.  Then Nathan told me about numbers a little later and I regained some hope.  I mean 50/50 odds are good, right?  But not if you are a lung cancer survivor, 82 years old and have a current infection in the body.  It was just his time.  We drove home around 930 pm and I told Troy I wasn't sure if it was his turn to go, but if it were, it would be better for him to fall asleep and peacefully go then to drag out his time with each difficult breath.  And that's how it went.....at 238am the phone rang and a nurse from AF hospital told us he had passed away, he just stopped breathing, and that Sheri (Troy's mom) wasn't doing very well.  Troy left and I stayed with this pit in my stomach in my bed at home.  All our conversations passing through my mind and guess what most of them were about?  RUNNING!!! Running of all things he was so very interested in my races particularly my marathons.  Here is a guy who smoked for 30 years, drank for more, had part of his lung cut out due to cancer over 20 years ago and then a relapse two years ago, fighting through chemo and all he wanted to talk about was running to me.  Sometimes politics but really about running.  On Mother's Day he told me he was going to be buried at Camp Williams (he is a war Vet) and I told him I jog by there when I jog on the JRP and I love the view and that I would come visit any time I jogged up there.  We talked a lot about Camp Williams and its view.  He must have known.  He told Sheri two weeks ago to put her name only on the accounts.  On Saturday after the marathon I got a call in the afternoon from Sheri. " John needs to know how your marathon went.  He keeps asking about it."  Then Monday night as I walked into his room he said "hello there kiddo how did your race go?" and that was the last of much more coherent conversation as on Tuesday he just got worse.  His last few years have been hard.  I spent the last few hours cleaning his room and sad for how he felt he had to live--- in the dark, with tin foil on the windows.  Rarely did he leave the house.  Sheri took such good care of him for so many years.   His children don't even want to come to the funeral.  Years of regret/anguish.  But this man has changed over the past few years...more mellow and more sincere.  I got in my car this morning to take my daughter and her friends to school and of all songs to hear play on Troy's oldie favorites was:  Bye Bye My friend its hard to die.  When all the birds are singing in the sky....We had joy we had fun we had seasons in the sun.....Its the Torcher for Tears song.  I just began to sob.  Sob for all that have lived and loved and passed on in my life.    And then....I realized why more and more that I run.  I run to get emotions out to turn my life around when things are hard and to show myself I can make it through anything.  What now?  I plan to run my 50 miler in dedication to John as he lies peacefully on the other side.  I know he is feeling much better there.

Okay not a real 14 as it was on a bike. 1 mile was running however.  Does anyone know how to switch to different types of exercise without changing your blog name?  Rode my bike up 1100 North (big uphill) to the canal and road up to the Cedar Hills Golf Course.  Quite the doozy of a headwind today (at least 25mph) but it felt refreshing and finally I have my strength back.  I am taking an adrenal gland supplement and avoiding chocolate and sugar.  And taking my probiotics more strictly.  Is it too early to actually feel a difference in two days?  I felt so good on this bike ride.  Free!!!  Lower back began to ache but if I sucked in my gut it seemed to help it a bit.  Obviously I need to work on my core.  Melanie already stressed this to me yesterday, since  I don't do any core at all.  My AP for 14 miles on my mountain bike over hills and through the woods was 4:30.  I kept my legs spinning the whole time as I wanted to work out all the kinks.  Even when I slowed or went downhill I kept spinning.  Sometimes I am a wimp on the turns and downhills so I come to almost a complete stop but I just don't want to crash.  I have a big fear of this on a bike.  That's why I ride a mountain bike for more stability.  I am way tooo scared of a road bike.  One mile run at 8:07.  After riding for so long it felt like an 11 minute mile.  It's like your head is still biking so everything looks like it is in slow motion. 

  Well, things are getting worked through.  The funeral is next Tuesday, being a state owned cementary they are not opened on Fridays and Monday is a busy day there already.  I slept really well last night.  We had to break the news to our sensitive 9 year old about grandpa.  She cried the night before during the prayer before he died.  We had her read the scripture in Alma  of the Book of Mormaon that tells where our bodies/spirits go after this life.  It helps to know that he is in a state of happiness and peace and has gone back to "that God that gave him life" and that has given us all life.  How glorious the resurrection will be when we all see each other again!!  

530am left house with Kim in her car.  Wore shorts.  It was raining all night and windy.  Drove to meet Melanie at mouth of canyon where we picked up Ericka followed by JulieE, Amanda, and Desiree for A Great Adventure Run.  It started just past the town of Wallsburg almost to the start of the marathon.  It was snowing.  The wind was blowing at least 20mph.  I brought Disneyland rain ponchos.  Some of us wore garbage sacks.  My legs were bright red within the first mile and never warmed up and remained numb the entire run.  I currently have petechiae all over my thighs to my pelvic bone.  They are still burning 5 hours later.  I guess I was almost frostbitten or was in the early stages.  My legs were so cold I was doing cryotherapy while running.  Makes for an ineffective leg turn over.  I could not squeeze my hands together.  My gloves were sopping wet after the first few miles so I had to ditch them.  It was crazy busy on a Saturday on the highway around the dam.  Several 18 wheelers blew us over.  We (Kim and I ) ran together the whole time--Melanie and the others were runnig a tempo run.  By mile 10 my legs were to stiff and glycogen was depleting.  My pace slowed and I was shivering.  I stopped at mile 13.2 where JulieE was with her car so she drove me to mile 15.5 while Kim ran there on the trail.  I have to say I was tired of the rain/snow/wind/no water/fuel/ no fun really.  Thankfully Kim was there to "laugh" with.  We were both revisiting our run down AF canyon that was actually wayyyyyy worse.  So I guess we should count our blessings.  Of course when we finished the rain had stopped and the sun came out from behind the clouds.  The air remained cool however.  It was one of those moments of "what is this all for?".  The only good came out of it is that it gave Melanie  a great tempo run and confidence for her big day at Utah Valley Marathon.  We drove back to her truck and picked her up at mile 21.  She ran quite the tempo run.  My legs are pretty much still healing from the marathon.  But I got to spring into action for my biggest of all runs coming up.  It just better NOT snow or rain.  Ran 13.2 miles at 8:10 pace.  There were several great hills to climb but some nice down as well.  It was ALL with a HEADWIND so that of course was very NOT nice.  

and much to my wondering eyes did appear....Santa Claus in May with His Eight Reindeer!!  Even a little ol' lady said "Merry Christmas" to me on her way in to the PG rec center as I was leaving.  Oh yes of all things today  SNOW and HIGH WINDS!!!   Snow in huge flakes accumulating on my car.  I refused to brush it off.  I had had enough of car scraping!!!  The poor trees!!! Many were losing branches due to the heaviness of the four inches of snow along with the array of green leaves.  Huge branches just hanging on to telephone wire and others just broke off.  Despite my mood easily being swayed by the weather, I managed to get a decent work out done on the mill.  Wanted three miles at my new MP (LOL) on the TM sandwiched between two warmup and two cooldown miles.  This is Melanie's plan to get my butt in shape for SGM and a possible sub-3.  Time will tell.  I am thinking more of a 3:03-3:05.  I am thinking this is my last attempt so I will give it my all.  Seriously Melanie and I vow to normalcy after this fall.  I hadn't put in any workouts like Melanie so now is the time to get cracking and see if I can do some similar ones and reap the same benefits.  I ran the three at .5% grade, paces 6:53, 6:49, 6:40.  No music so this felt like I could do several more if I had some music.  I get really bored just looking at the junk that plays on TV or at my TM that shakes.  My hamstrings were really tight but now they are not.  I will take it up by two miles every week to a max of 16 per Mel's plan for me.   Got to think about my double 20 miler coming up Wed and Thurs at a nice and easy pace.  So not liking the idea of a 50 mile trail run with several miles in DEEP snow!!  Hopefull the weather is nice.  The snow is gonna be there regardless.  No time to melt now.  Met a guy at the gym that had to back out of the 50 miler due to a IT band problem.  He runs with Carl Metlzer (sp.?) the "not human" human.  He has the course record at Squaw Peak I believe.  Man, I better start preparing to prepare for this.  I need compression socks I was told today to not feel the ice/snow cutting at my legs.  This is gonna be good!!!

Same bike ride as last week with an extension up the the BIG UPHILL to AF Canyon mouth.  14.9 miles at 4:35 pace.  No garmin, just my timing watch and the course tool.  Nicer this way so I don't focus on speed and just enjoy myself.  Pace still decent I guess for a day after SW.  Love biking as miles just fly by.  Helps my legs learn turnover while my heart rests  : D!!! 1:08:13 total time biking.  I think I will eliminate the double 20 milers and save up energy for the big day instead.  I think I am ready and could run the 50 tomorrow if need be.  I just got to rest rest rest and think think think.  Like how much do I like snow running without snow shoes?  Oh and the joys of sloshing in the mud!!!  And am I supposed to take off my shoes when I come across the numerous creeks along the way?  I am so not prepared as I ought to be but hey this is nature and the trail, this is a no techno deal here!!  

Yup 5 measly miles @ 8:39 pace.  Just before mile two my chest went into spasms and I had a time breathing through the pain.  I ate lots of salad with some raw broccoli and this is not good for me.  The pain radiates from the front of my chest to my back right where your heart/esophagus is.  Not a heart attack.  Just esophogeal spasms as then I began burping and burping but it also felt like my vertebrae were not aligned right and that they were pushing down on some nerves through my chest.  I had a lot of exposure to chemicals the last 24 hours and have been quite nauseated from them.  Chemical sensitivity, fibromyalgia, craziness you name it that's me. I had to get a woman to help me on my run this morning.  She was just leaving a friend's house after her run.  I had her try to massage the point in my middle back that was spasming.  She wanted to drive me home and her friend wished her EMT husband was home.  I told her this has happened before and about my fibro-like symptoms.  She told me her husband worked for a rheumotologists and knew that fibromyalgia worked like that so at least she was understanding.  Any way journeyed onward for the rest of my light run.  The pain waxing and waning and since I knew I wouldn't die I persevered.  Goal is to run easy all week.  Work four nights before the big 50 so I need to rest up.  This run will have 5 to 7 miles of snow running!!  The director just wrote us and will let us know more details after he runs it this weekend.  The most miles of snow they had was 4 years ago (10). The average is 1-2 miles and the least was only 10 steps!!!!  This is getting more interesting by the moment.  I plan to take the blind approach.   What I don't know won't hurt me.  I do this in the nursery as well when I am admitting babies.  I'd rather just have them send them down as they are born or called when there is an emergency then stare at the labor/delivery computer screen with lots of names of mothers and how close they are to delivery.    I am basically going to run that way.  Run Free or Die!!!!  : D

Ran up Suncrest 6 miles.  Splits: 8:56, 9:29, 10:09, 9:42, 9:02, 8:54.  ROCKY MOMENT!!  We were running and talking UPHILL.  Wowsers.  We turned around and the headwind was pretty steady about 15 to 20 mph.  Hey how come we didn't even notice this wind before.  It went away after 3 miles so I guess it was just the back side.  Saw other runners.  We were the fastest.  We always push ourselves.  We were both sore achy feeling crappy and we still pushed ourselves.  Our hearts were strong but our bodies were not willing.  We tried to pick it up on the way down but my spine and foot were ailing and Kim is getting a cold and her ankle was hurt last night playing soccer.   We were just nuts.  Glad we could wear shorts and not wish we had more clothing.  Finally.  Splits down-7:39, 7:37, 7:24, 6:35 (we just wanted to catch a guy that passed us when Kim stopped in the bushes),  6:48, 7:05.  AP for 12 @ 8:17.  Man are all my joints aching.  I continued to have the same chest trouble all day yesterday and into the night.  I am off to get adjusted today and see if that helps.  According to reflexology my pain in my foot correlates right with my spine and my adrenal gland and brain.  I am a big believer in reflexology.  Have a great day everyone!!

8 miles with Kim mostly on the canal trail.  Ran up by way of 2600 north.  We were chatting and huffing the whole way.  Picked it up on the way back.  AP 8:09.  Very warm and sunny.  I felt hot and it probably was only 65 degrees!!  just not used to this after all the cold weather all winter.  I was so wanting to jump into the canal water!!  or at least soak my shirt in it.  

5 post night shift miles in the breezy sunshine.  Progressive pace.  AP nice and easy @ 8:44.  Husband sprayed tile sealer in our new basement bathroom---  probably the most toxic smell I have ever smelled besides men's cologne and old lady perfume which equals it.  It has definitely got to be extremely hazardous to anyone's health.  All windows are open and fans going and plugs are in my nose.  Time to get that adrenal dysfunction checked ASAP.  I am now getting blotchy brown patches on the backs of my legs.  Kim pointed them out on our run.  It is a sign of adrenal insufficiency along with heightened aversion to smells.  Running is my detox.  My saving grace.  

Ran 2 miles UP to above canal trail to Bonneville Shoreline trail and ran on it north taking varied steep hills practicing walking and running-- walking very steep hills and running down hills.  Just taking it easy and see what pace I would end up with on no fuel or water (9:39 for the 10, feeling very doable so should feel awesome with an AP at 12 to make it in at just over 10 hours).  Trying not to push it at all.  Getting a feel for my big run and how to handle it.  Pretty much an aid station to aid station run (there are 10).  I will try to take brief stops at some and longer ones when I will change my shoes and/or socks.  I am pretty excited to finally get to do this run.  I am so not prepared as a REAL trail runner would be, no fancy equipment  (no trail shoes) or well planned out drop bags.  Just me, my iPod, and my water bottle waist carrier.  Hoping my body is willing as my spirit is!!