Believe to Achieve

After Saturday I wasn't sure how I would feel, but I feel fine/normal.  A little achiness in my right achilles.  It has been my "gremlin" lately but I am working on it.  Mind over body.   So I laid in bed at 5:30am knowing I wouldn't fall back to sleep but wondering the time frame I had to run 14 MLR at relaxed pace.  Decided to get in 11 and head back to be there for my daughter to have breakfast then leave for jr. high.  I got in 12 leaving at 5:56am.   Then after 20 minutes went back out for the last two miles.  It was a windy run.  Ran on the trail by Art Dye Park passing Lone Peak and up through the golf course and then on the trail thru Cedar Hills coming out at Deerfield Elementary to home in PG.  AP for 14 miles =  8:08.  Wore shorts, headband, gloves and two nylon shirts.  Felt very nice.  First mile 9:22. When my pace got to 7:15  for a mile a LITTLE BIRDY whispered in my ear to SLOW down even though it felt easy.  I am trying to save myself for the big day.  : D.

8 RAINY miles at 4:40am before work.  AP 8:04.    Wore my trail shoes to give my feet a different feel.  Felt nice, especially in the rain.   :D

8 miles again in my trail shoes before work, in between rain storms.  Nice and easy-- AP 8:10.

4 mile warm up at 8:11 AP, 8:34, 8:20, 8:00, 7:53  on the TM-- 2 % grade until the last 1/2 mile where I put it to 1 % to prepare for the 6 x 1200s (I jumped off the TM and stretched at 3.5 miles and brief potty trip, refill water).   Ran 1/2 mile and went straight into the workout.  First 4 at 6:15 pace (2 minutes of jogging  in between at 8:49 pace).  After the forth one my husband was bugging me how long I had and I mentally lost a bit of focus due to lack of sugar to the brain.  I only had a sip of gatorade before this work out and a piece of wholegrain toast at 7:30am.  It was now 10:40am.  I felt quite hungry and then nauseated.  My thoughts were about worms eating my food in my stomach so that didn't help AT ALL.  So basically I hopped off the moving TM for a few seconds then got back on to do the in between time and REBOOT my brain to STAY IN THE GAME.  I tricked my brain and told it it was only doing 2 laps, also starting at a 6:18 pace but brought it down to a 6:11 pace by the end.  MY BRAIN fell for it and I was able to finish the fifth one  : D.   I hopped of the TM again very briefly to take some deep breaths, I was dizzy.  Got back on did the two minutes and right back into the LAST ONE.  Started at 6:18 but turned it to 6:15 before the first lap and then down to 6:11 for a bit and ended at 6:00 pace for the last .05.  Glad that's over.  Cooldown two minutes again then to 8- 7:04 pace for the last 1.5 miles.  This is the last difficult SW before UVM.  I do have a 3 x 1600 meters at the same pace coming up in two weeks but some reason that sounds easier than 6 x 1200.   : D.

Drove to meet up with McKenzie (then Aubrey around 1.5 miles in the River Bottoms) in Spanish Fork at the start of the 1/2 marathon route (main st. park).  Raining all night and drizzling on my way there....dark clouds over my house but whiter less harmless looking clouds down there.  I-15 was a sight!!   Made it alive : D.  Got there a little late but started out at 4:52 am per garmin.  The first 4 miles no rain, removed upper shirt and headband.  Then RAIN AND MORE RAIN.  We were PRETTY SOAKED.  Nothing was dry.  It rained until about mile 10.  But it already caused enough damage.  Brrr....my shoulders were numb because my nylon shirt was sopping wet.  Feet were fun to look at after the run-- you can see all the dead skin more clearly when your feet have been soaking in the water.    We did the half marathon loop and a lot of the 10k route as well.  A nice few hills in there.  Occasional wind but nothing drastic at all.  Ate two gus.  My quads were achy from the start but then that went away and then my pelvis and lower back to the hamstrings were burning with nerve pain.  McKenzie at mile 17 needed to pick it up to get home quickly to her kids.  I tried to stay up with her but man alive my butt and pelvis was in too much pain.  I was kind of cold too.  A double workout for me isn't alway the easiest.  But it is how I have to do it with my work schedule.  Yesterday's SW took the energy out of my legs.  I did manage to still pick it up, but just not as much as SPEEDSTAR McKenzie.  Glad Aubrey ran with me a bit more until she headed for home (and she offered to wash my outter shirt for me so I wouldn't have to carry that extra five pounds of water weight back to my car.  I was trying to rinse it out at our last stop to no avail).  Caught up to McKenzie as she turned around at the finish and ran another 1/2 mile with her then I finished one more mile to get my 22 miles in.  AP 7:29 for 22 miles.  It may actually have been faster (at least it felt like it) as my garmin read low battery early on in my run and then completely died at mile 21.75.  I turned it back on and it gave me a little bit more time, then died again.  Just trying to make my little garmin ENGINE get in some more mileage :  D.  I find when my garmin reads low battery my paces go a little more bezerk.  Feeling mentally tough.   I was able to push it even though my pelvis was getting up there on the pain scale.  My heart and mind were raring to go.  Will pretty much EAT all day. 

LARD LEGS!!!  chose to run AFTER work instead of before work.  Got home later than usual-- 7:15.  Got dressed quickly and got out the door.  The first 1/2 mile felt like I was running in a bounce house.  My legs were like jello.  I felt so non-runner like.  My legs are swollen from 22 miles yesterday AND mostly from working 14 hours and eating CRAP--- seriously a DONUT and an ORANGE roll for breakfast!!!  oh and yesterday I ate at In an Out with Troy and my little Amber.  FRIES, BURGER AND A SHAKE!!  not to mention KNEADERS FRENCH TOAST (two pieces, almost) for BREAKFAST!!!  I was sure feeling it.  Every few weeks I get in a cycle of poor eating for a couple days.  Then with runs like these I remember why NOT to eat like that and am back to "normal".  Thankfully I will NOT feel like that on MARATHON MORNING just three weeks away  : D.  AP for 5.5 miles-- 8:32.