Believe to Achieve

HOLY MOLY    I SURE HOPE I FEEL THIS GREAT COME JUNE11th.  Not sure why today I felt awesome!!!   Okay so due to my work schedule I had to add on to the 11 miler scheduled (including 6 x 1000meters, 0.625 miles) and make it a 15 miler.  I work the next two days and I can't get in long miles before work especially when I am being pulled to a different hospital and have to drive longer, get up earlier.  So to save time this morning I left my house at 5:49 am and ran to the rec center (actually I ran by it to get 4.2 miles before hopping on the TM there for speed).  ON the TM I warmed up for 2 miles and went into the 6 x 1000 meters.  Since I had been doing ONLY 600 meters and at times struggling I thought I would start at 6:18 pace, again I still don't know what 5k race pace is.  Welll it felt   sooooooooooooooooo  easy I thought perhaps the TM was being nice to me.  Like maybe some TMs are easier?  but it was the same as all the rest so I assume I just was having a good day.  I thought maybe it was because it was the first one so I ran the next and had the same results and the third, SAME.  All of these were run with 2 minutes in between at 8:49-8:57 pace.  So for the forth one I ran a 6:15, then another 6:15 increasing the pace for half of it to 6:11.  I ran the last one at AP 6:03.  SERIOUSLY I FELT WICKED GOOD.  Perhaps it was the CRYOTHERAPY with my run over to the rec center in my shorts.  I am sure it was 27 degrees this morning.  Frost but sun almost over the mountains.  I cooled down for a bit to 12 miles and ran another 3 miles home.  Helped a kid cross the road, because not a single car would stop for him with his bike beside him.  This is by the high school. Scary drivers and no mom watching out for him.  He said thanks and was on his way.    AP for road miles totally 7 =  8:15.  No plans to whip it on the other miles today since my 19 miler was decent enough.  Looking SO forward to this SATURDAY  : DDDDDDDDDDDDDD   I FEEL INCREDIBLE!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! MORE SMILY FACES  :   DDDDDDDDDDDDDDDD

8 easy pace miles (8:23) at 4:20am before work at UVRMC' s NICU.   Worked all day.  PRETTY fatigued. Need some quality sleep but no time with training, work and mothering : D.  Got to get up and go early again in the morning.  Hopefully to bed soon.  

EASY tired run at 4:45 am.  Then got home and was pulled to UVRMC and had to b-line it to Provo in 13 minutes!!! NOT got there, clocking in five minutes late.  I just couldn't get out any earlier but I thought I was working just one mile a way.   I am REALLY needing some nice long sleep cycles.  But training must go on and there is too much to do.  My mother is in town and I don't want to be running when she is awake.  I want to be done with my runs so that means up early every morning this week.  6 miles at 8:31 AP

supposed to run 12 but couldn't run the extra 2 miles last night so planned on 14 then ended up being further from home than I thought so it took me to 15 miles to get home.  I ran up and around Highland.  Wow, cars/people are in a rush in the mornings speeding by to get their kids to school, texting and barely looking up.  I prefer my early roads to myself runs but the sun's rays were a welcome.  I thought it would be warmer and wore shorts.  My legs were red for the first six miles and tingly when I tried to bring them back to life by massaging them while running.  I left at 6:45 am.   I was VERY VERY thirsty and NO running water on my unplanned course.  AP easy cause I supposed to race part of the Provo Marathon on Saturday or at least do MP for 14.  Basically I am there to support my friends in the marathon.  15 miles @ 8:20.  btw my 10 year daughter scored the winning goal in the second game of the tournament.  They are currently undefeated in competition soccer tournament.  They should be going into the semifinals.  : D.

6   S  L   O  W    miles at 6:49am.  I am having a "flare" of whatever illness shows its ugly face to me ever so often and usually at the wrong times.  It started Monday afternoon with EXTREME fatigue followed by TONS of exposure at work to HEAVY cleaners and perfumes for two days 13 hours each.  Then WHAMO body aches, joint aches, INTENSE nerve pains mostly from the top of my head to the bottom of my foot on my right side.  I also have areas of numbness tingling.  And a lot of dizziness and out of body type feelings.  Even deep in my eyes hurt.  I hate when this happens cause it usually last 3 to 5 days.  I hope I am at the tail end of it.  It was VERY intense last evening and now mostly my right hand/elbow and neck, face and eye.  Time is the healer as well as nourishing foods and vitamins/minerals.  I actually had a huge flare the day before SGM 2009 and was able to pull off a 3:11 feeling super gross at the start.  So I am hoping I can just do what I need tomorrow for MP/1/2MP then cool it for the other miles.  My mother gets the same problem, so I am sure it is genetic.  She has lived with it for many years.  Her father had MS.  So who really knows, but it comes in with a pattern each time.  Glad my friends feel great for their race tomorrow.  AP today 9:10.  First mile well over 10:00.  I was so feeling sick.  

So today started rough. I slept dreadfully still in pain as spoken of yesterday.  My right calf was burning.  Kind of like cramping up tons like I used to in pregnancy.  I was not looking forward to this run.  I needed to run MP for 14 miles but I also wanted to run the race I didn't run last week due to the snow so was hoping I would feel up for 1/2 MP.  I went up to the start of the Provo Marathon with Mel, Kim and Jane.  It was the smallest marathon start I have ever been to.  Not many runners at all, only five buses.  So, I warmed up by running up .75 miles then back down .75 miles nice and slow.  The calf was trying to work itself out.  It was cold before the warmup but after that I was able to remove all my gear and wear my shorts and lime green nylon shirt.  My plan was to keep the girls in site since they were going for MP at 6:49.  And that's what I did until mile 4.5 or so and I felt SOOOOOO good and was gaining on them, being about 20 seconds back from them in the earlier miles.  I passed them and told them I would be the rabbit for the fast girl up in front.  I was wondering what the heck I was talking about?  Seriously, like I am going to pass Sariah Long?  But not long after that I passed her.  I was running 6:30s out of the canyon.  Like where did that come from?  I am thinking soon I am surely going to crash but maybe not.  Maybe my training is paying off maybe I can run this thing well.  So I kept on.   And then a couple miles later I passed the leading girl and then at mile 12.7 or so Sariah came from behind me with a pacer friend and I heard "here she is"  and I was like "no worries about me I am nobody I am just a rabbit and running half of the race and hoping to break three hours at SGM this year and I am running UVM in five weeks and just got the time off work just yesterday to run this morning,......blah blah blah and HEY I AM LIKE TALKING NORMALLY at a 6:40 pace. Seriously?  Seriously?    I wasn't EVEN feeling all out in this race.  It felt SUPER controlled.  I was like save up Julie You are running 20 miles today this ISN'T race day this is LONG RUN with MP day/1/2 MP day.  I HAVE NEVER FELT THIS STRONG IN A RACE.  I felt I had TONS left in the tank.  But I was like why mess up a good thing?  So I stopped briefly at 13.1 miles (1:27:06) and waited for the girls.  Cheered them on then shortcutted to meet them at another place.  Then watched the lead ladies in the half marathon at mile 12 or so then found McKenzie and Aubrey (and someone I don't know) and turned around and ran the finish of the half with them.  Then FEELING EVER SO IN NEED OF FUEL I STOPPED AT THE FINISH, found 1/2 a banana and some water and took off for two more miles to get just over 20 miles.  AP for all 20 miles= 7:15.  AP for half marathon=  6:41.  Seriously in Shock at how WONDERFUL I felt and how strong I felt.  Just bizarre.  The ONLY PROBLEM I had with this race was that at mile 1.5 or so I reached for my gus I pinned to my shorts in a plastic baggie and only one of my three remained.  I decided right there that that wouldn't upset me and that I could run this on one gu.  The water stations WERE ridiculous.  Miniature Dixie cup portions and I only got gatorade once.  But somehow that didn't matter.   After the finish it mattered.  I could tell during the five mile easy pace cooldown that I was dehydrated and fueless.  It was getting hot out and my calves began to cramp.  BUT after getting to work, showering there, and working with one of my longtime friends in the NICU, hydrating all afternoon I  FEEL AWESOME.  Like I never even raced today.  What if June 11th I don't feel so well?  I just don't know.  Sometimes I just want to quit while I am ahead.  : D.   Goals. smoals.  I HAVE TO PUSH AHEAD AND CONTINUE HEADSTRONG.  Splits for the half:  6:51, 6:52, 6:50, 6:42, 6:38, and now the course flattens...6:27, 6:33, 6:32, 6:36, 6:39, HILL-- I purposely slow down to see if I can handle it after this--6:54, 6:44 -- no problem getting the pace back feeling great, 6:41 (chatting with Sariah), .1 6:17.    1:27:06   : DDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDD