Believe to Achieve

My baby's birthday.  She turns 6.  Had a party from 3-530 with 6 of her friends.  We went to jump on it, ate cake and found the hidden presents (and of course opened them).  I worked the night before so getting only four hours of sleep was a bummer.  But Happy Birthday AMBER!!!!

Ran up 1100 North.  Quickest time so far in 22:20.  Not the quickest down by about 30 seconds due to the icy roads near my home.  1100 North was pretty good.  The hill is quite the incline.  Anyone know how to figure out grades?  meaning the slope of a hill?  1100 is quite a work out.  2.5 miles uphill and very steep in parts.  So my heart and lungs deserved the "Rocky Moment" at the top.  Or is it Rockie?  I don't remember.  Pace on the way up after first mile at 8:40 was 9:06.  Did the resting .2 loop (some lovely flat area up top that goes around a line of flowering pear trees.  Then picked it up down the hill to a 7:12 pace avg.   Had to slow down a bit near my home due uncleared roads.  But nonetheless quite a work out .  Did a cool down run of .45 miles around my home.  Avg pace for 5.2 miles 8:10.  Cool down nice and easy.  Have to work tonite again which messes with my muscles and brain.  C'est la vie.

Ran a route up to cedar hills minus wind. Went after incredibly long shift at work.  Many babies being born to beat the new year.  Didn't get a break for lunch and could only sleep three hours with my kids at home.  Slept another hour when I kicked them out to friends.  Then decided to get my last 2008 run in. So I did a nice hilly route to cedar ridge elem and through their snowy path (kind of fun).  Roads are much more clear.  Beware of black ice though.  I try to stay on snow pack to avoid it.  Ran an 8:42 pace for 7.6 miles.  Slower on the up hill (9:22) so obviously around 8 to 820 on the downhill. Did .5 mile cool down.  Body felt fine, head had lack of sleep feeling.  Hope to make it to midnight playing games then setting off fireworks.  It will be tough.  Happy New Year All you fun running friends.  Make sure to run tomorrow and ENJOY!!!

Long run with Kim for the New Year.  Could hear the answer machine go off downstairs 20 minutes later got out of bed to see who called.  It was Kim my running partner so I had to call her.  We (she wanted to do 7 or so) ran 12.07 miles.   Kim got a garmin so our pace was pretty good even with the special footing on black ice and the up hill thru cedar hills.  Chilly but runnable.  Enjoyed the conversation run at 8:24 pace.  Some miles 8 some 8:45.  But way good New Year run.  Thanks to Kim getting me out.  Was pretty tired after only sleeping three hours yesterday running 8 miles then staying up for the New Year Fireworks (held at my inlaws).  Got to see the movie 7 pounds before in theatres.  Brother in law got it somehow.  Hadn't even heard of the movie.  Good movie, though provoking, terrible tragic.  A Real tear jerker.   Sobbed too. I just do that at those kinds of movies.  A must see especially if you use a cell phone.  HAPPY NEW YEAR and HAPPY RUNNING!!!!!!!!

ATTENTION MUST READ:  Afternoon:  Went sledding with three kids and husband.  Actually I was a nervous wreck.  We went to Tibble Fork (The Bowl) and it was unorganized chaos.  My worry has history.  I crashed into a tree while sledding when I was six years old, got sixteen stitches in my forehead (hairline, upside down V, think Harry Potter), knocked in my baby teeth (they were hanging loose, and dislocated my jaw.  Soooooo... I stood in awe over the many stupid sledders including my own husband who defied me and continued to take my girls up.  If you know the bowl (opposite the lake of Tibble Fork) people come down from different angles without looking, at least the majority and the others stand at the bottom where sledders come flying thru and knock them down like bowling pins or jump out of the way if they are lucky.  But of course I am just standing telling my husband how worried I was (on the incline away from sledders...I thought) then bammmm I was taken down by a flying saucer sled driven by a kid about 12 years old.  It was like someone took a sledge hammer to my ankles (luckily I had Moon boots on, yes I still have a pair from the 80s) snd I fell straight to the side landing hard on the right side of my body.  I currently have a wicked head ache and lots of muscle aches and pains.  I was a lunatic up there.  I couldn't wait until it was over and all my little kids were in one piece at the end.  Amazing how an experience can change you.  I feel like I was the one that did all the sledding with the hit and run.  Arghhh.....well at least it was the right side, lately my injuries have been on the left so I am now evened out. Be careful if you go sledding, really.

My 5K in 24:53.   Sloshy afternoon WARM run.  There must be a storm tomorrow?   Ran relatively swift in the slosh (8 min avg) at 230pm.    1.3 Cool down and .45 warm up. 

Night: Neck and back pain setting in significantly.  Need a nice long snooooze after a nice warm bath and a nice bowl of peppermint candy ice cream.  Oh yeah. 

Also thinking of visiting my chiropracter to re-align my spine after my tree-like fall to the ground.

So....Kim and I were supposed to meet to run at 8am.  I am so glad she called at 750am to cancel as we both could hear the howling of the wind.  It wouldn't be so bad if it were already cold but to have a nice warm front yesterday to yikes weather is too uninviting.  So....I slept in until 9am.  Oh yeah.  Sore arm/shoulder all night with headache so I got up to get out all the kinks and work the muscles.  Didn't get to the bath last night as my kids needed to take showers and we have poor water pressure and if I take a bath when they are they find me (my 8 and 6 year old) and try and succeed to jump in with me.  No relaxing there. 

Anyway....I made it out in to the frozen Tundra and thought...hey yesterday short sleeves and slosh but today geared up and ice skating?  Yes my first mile was shear what the heck am I doing?  What am trying to achieve here.. breakdown and go over to Kim's on her treadmill I thought.  But as I neared her turnoff at .8 miles I kept heading straight and things got better from there. The frozen tundra had begun to thaw as it neared high noon so my body all dressed in black began to also thaw out with the bright sunshine.  Thank you sun.  I was feeling good.  The adrenaline rushing as still dodge car gaming is an added bonus to my midday run.  Amazing how I stood and waved (or at least flapped my arms about) to get the attention of a cell phone driver pulling out of the Mt. Timp Temple parking lot and she did not even blink an eye as she nearly clipped me.  I stood back to let her pass thinking of course it would not be in my favor to show her.  It is really quite fascinating.  Yesterday a little old man in the knick of time saw me and swerved further to the middle.  He could barely see over his dashboard of his SUV.  I figure with all these near misses I am meant to linger here on earth a long time.  Ran a total of  7.2 miles in 8:32 pace.  First mile slow due to extreme ice skating conditions (9:35) last mile 7:57.   Hope you all got out there too!!!