Believe to Achieve

Toughed it out at work.  Man was my whole left leg on the left side burning from my left lower back down to my ankle.  Took ibuprofen.  Gradually over the shift around midnight the pain began to let up.  I am glad I didn't run as I would have been worse off.  That last run was not a good idea since it hurt the entire run.   Trip to the running store happening tomorrow. Slept only 3 hours so far today.  Daughter home from church with the dreaded headache sore throat the rest of the family, except me, had last week.  I feel quite good health wise despite the lace of sleep.  Where do  I find another right leg?  I would like to turn in my left, it is my problem leg.  

Fun run turned funnier.  Really I started out in my three pairs ago running shoes.  The only decent ones I could keep for yard work without too much toe missing and heel gone.  So not running in the zeroes.  Since they felt fine when I put them on they were good to go.  Ran my route I take to the Rec center but ran out 5 on Locust just to the Lindon City park where I was approached rather viciously by a medium sized dog.  Just when I was feeling so good at my 7:15 pace and just at the 5 mile turn around.   He was not going to let me get by again without being chased and me yelling didn't seem to back him off too far.  Basically this zapped some of my "stored" adrenaline and getting back to that pace felt more labored.  I still held it though and managed to get 8 miles after two mile warm up at  7:33, 7:15, 7:17, 7:18, 7:10, 7:22, (7:51 breather mile), 7:09.  Then was going to do a one mile cooldown but literally ran in beside my neighbor pushing her double jogger with two kids inside it and decided to run with her.  She was picking up her other daughter  at preschool just past the Mt. Timp temple on 700 north.  I helped her run a 20 miler two years ago about two weeks out from SGM.  She trained for only a month or so and still ran under 4 hours.  So I just jogged leisurely and wonderfully by her.  We walked the major up hill and when her daughter didn't want to ride the scooter at times.  But I got in another 5 miles of running and about a mile or more of walking.  Achilles began to burn on this part of my run.  Acted up a little on the way back at my 10 mile turn around.  I will probably pay a price tonight at work as my muscles had to learn again to run in different shoes.  But that's the price I pay to be prez of the NAIRC.  Smooth and I trade off in this position.  I will be her wing-woman anytime : DDDDD   

OFFICIAL REST THE ACHILLES ETC....day.  Probably not enough to just take one day off, but a runner's gotta do what a runner's gotta do.

I got this crazy notion to glance at my training schedule I sometimes try to follow.  6 x 400 meters with 1:30 rest and repeat.  2:30 rest interval between sets.  Well....I got a crazier notion to go out and run it.  At first I was going to take my long route to the American Fork High School track but began to add even more on passing by the old Albertsons in AF and going up 4th east to 700 north passing the baseball park.  As I passed it I got the notion to run my 400 meters on that straight-away road there.  So I ran into the park about .35 miles and peeled off my water bottle pack and ate a half a gu.  I was going to need it.  The headwind on the bend into the park was atrocious.  That meant however I would get a bit of a tailwind at the start of my first 400.  That was fine with me as I was in no mood to run these.  The rest, with the exception of two repeats (I needed to get back to my water) I ran on the straight-away where there was really not much wind in either direction due to tree cover.  The second one into the wind back to my water I basically gave up and walked the last few feet.  It was ridiculous, Mount Everest-like.  Anyway here I go with my splits: 86, 87, 104 (there's that headwind, do I really need water?), 89, 94 (180 degree turn around), 93, rest for 3 minutes, 91, 90, 110 (should have put my water at the bridge, this headwind was UNbelievable. I just HAD TO walk near the end), 90, 93 (180 degree turn around), 91.  Warmup was 4.63 miles at 8:47 pace.  Cooldown was 4.7 miles at 8:21 pace.  I am about to take a warm shower.  Healthily eat a lot.  Work two nights in a row.  And take another rest day.  The achilles is mad at me again.  

Recovery run.  Running in my old shoes from 1 1/2 years ago had been changing how my muscles in my legs land and is allowing my achilles to heal.  Even after yesterdays run my form in the shoes helped my legs adapt to my old ways and today I am just sore in my quads, a bit in my left hamstring and hip, no achilles pain.  Yay!! This tells me that zeroes are not for me and also ascics are the style of shoe I need since I have had no major injury with them for the past 3 years.  If only I could find this same shoe new again.   I will try to look it up and see if its out there somewhere.  The new years model which I wore for the 850 plus miles the past few months did not fit the same way and caused issues with blistering and awkward fitting so going up a model may not help.  Saucony has too many grids on them and they angle inward, or at least the two I have run in in the past have.  I am thinking I am on the mend.  Just tight now.  Ran 7 miles at 8:20 avg pace.  6 th mile 7:29, got carried away.  The run ended up being a short progressive one.  Start slow 9:09, 8:41, 8:31, 8:27, 7:59, 7:29, 8:09 cooldown.  Wind still intense in places.  Cold unfortunately. Slept only 3 1/2 hours, the usual.  Off to work again in a few hours.  The NICU is so busy they are putting babies in the C-section rooms and the staff lounge.  Crazy.  

Was going to run 3-4 miles after waking but got back from work at 8am, in bed at 830am.  Slept three hours.  Had a case of food poisoning, threw up on my Wednesday night shift after eating some food someone brought in from Costco then this morning had a major case of GI issues, not fun.  No fever or body aches, yay!! The warm day passed me by but for a good reason.  Old friends of mine won four tickets to Disney On Ice at a 4pm show today and they were here without kids from Idaho.  They gave us the tickets and off we went, taking the kids out of school early.  We had a great time until the way home the two youngest fought and  lost privileges.  This made the rest of night miserable for them and us at times.  Choices.  Anyway, still nagging GI issues but don't feel wiped out amazingly considering I have slept 6 hours in the past 72 hours.  Go me : D.  Trying.    

 I wasn't going to write this as a race entry but figured I'd better buck up and face reality.  A reality that I need to work on a few things.  First of all, I don't deserve to start at the front of the pack and this only causes me to have an anxiety attack as I can't possible stay up with them but for a few feet.  I learned this last year at Art City, but they don't have chip times there so it is better to start up front.  But this run was chipped so I should have started in the back and picked off runners instead of taking off at a one time speed of 6:06 that lasted a few feet when I looked at my watch in shock and slowed the heck down.  HELLOOOOO!!! I am not that fast and will die soon.  Well the uphill mile was difficult and was as fast as my 5th mile so that tells me I burned it too much on the first hill.  I am now going to get back out to the hills for some speed there.  Second by the time the downhill came my adrenaline was washed a way that I panicked how I would feel at the flat to uphill ending.  I didn't push it there because I was too scared.  Anxiety building and darn it my quads are aching.  They had been hurting since switching back to my really old shoes.  At least my achilles problem has been fixed and I would take the sore quads over that pain anyday.  Passed some BYU boys and told them "don't worry I am a girl" and "don't worry I am also over forty".  This usually gets the guys moving.  They were a little shocked and by the end I could see even in all the chaos of 5k and 9 k runners the same boy passing me the last .1 miles with a pretty good sprint.  I had nothing left at the end.  The track was filled with slow runners and I was already too disappointed with myself and the course foul-up that I didn't care to sprint much at all.  Hence the poor  .6 mile end pace of 7:01.  Silly me.  I just wanted an avg pace of 6:46 and the stars were not quite aligned for me. Will try harder next time and fuel better and not be sick.  Met some fun people at the race.  Got cold quickly, rain turned to sleet turned to snow.  Spring has yet to Spring.

Splits to follow...So the GI problems got worse and thought I could shake it off by running fast...but my fast wasn't really fast.  I warmed up for 3.2 miles easy then ran a 5.6 mile time trial.  But after the first .2 miles my body felt achy, no adrenaline and basically wiped out.  The 5 of 7 night shift routine isn't helping but at least I am a bit faster than last year on the same schedule.  I was cancelled more last year and this year I haven't been cancelled.  Disney on Ice was fun then we went to the eatery at the Gateway.  Has anyone noticed the PERFUME they inject into air at the outdoor mall there?   I have noticed it each time.  So much for going GREEN at the Gateway.  Such was the start of my time trial.  A lot of guys and gals with perfume.  Mainly the men at the front of the pack and I noticed what house uses what detergent the whole way.  When I lack sleep my extra-sensory perception is even more heightened.  It took my breath away and my heartrate reacted and sped way up and my breathing was way off, never to come back to a groove.  Body felt light but unattached.  Tried to move my arms quickly and they were like marshmallows.  The Riverton 1/2 should be interesting.  I will try for a 7 minute mile pace considering the rolling hills and possible headwinds.  I won't even be sore from this time trial.  I never entered the lactate zone.  Has anyone ever tried to run fast with the stomach flu and major lack of sleep?  It is not easy.  Here are my splits:  7:10(big uphill), 6:49, 6:29 (big downhill), 7:01, 7:09, .6 @ 7:01.  Total mileage 9.  Was going to run a cooldown but it was much colder and I felt very weak, dehydrated.  No gu, one sip of water for the run.  Oatmeal for breakfast.