Believe to Achieve

6am  recovery run from Saturday.  Quads sore from first run over 10 miles since Boston (16 miles).    My arms were frozen.  It was in the low 40s.  Brrr.....8: 36 AP for 5 miles.   

Got home and got kids ready in 15 minutes for their first 5 k.  NO training mind you except twice a week soccer practices.  They started training in February running three times at the rec center.  They thought it counted.   I told them that was too long ago to count.  Cute. 

Amber (9) ran with me.  Troy ran with Courtney (13) and Brooke ran with her best friend Brooke (both 11).   Amber ran 27:31 with me.  Wanting to walk several times (which she did) due to stomach cramps and she still has a lot of congestion from a cold she caught a few weeks ago.  She coughed a lot in the run.  She was such a trooper.  I never saw my other family.  And Kim and Jane starting behind me (didn't even know they were there) passed us in the first 1/2 mile.  Along with Rachelle, just after I said to Amber "we should be seeing Rachelle here soon!". The 10k starts further back to get that .1 in as it is a circle course almost.   The first 1.5 miles are up hill.  A good steep one for someone not trained.  Funny thing is that Amber ran all the way to the top and THEN wanted to stop.  I cheered her on about all the downhill.  Her arms were all over the place and I would give her some gentle advice.  She so badly wanted to stop and every time she did (which was 5 or six times in the last mile) I would say something and take her arm and she would start again. The one thing I realize I can't say is "okay when we get close to the finish we are going to sprint".  She got very upset and stopped right there on the course and yelled at me "no I am not sprinting!!".   I said that a couple times when I realized every time I did she would stop running.  So I just said "okay we are so close to the finish, remember it is just around the corner and you can see the balloons!!".    Seriously on no training and with a cold and never running more than a mile or two in a row back in February she rocked it!!  She also wore indoor soccer shoes for her run.  Her regular shoes had holes all through them.   Her sisters came in at 31:44 (Brooke and her friend and Courtney and Troy came in a minute later).  Troy stopped his watch on purpose at the water station because he had to wait in line for water.  He told me "hey its not the Olympics Julie" when  I joked with him for stopping his watch.  However the cool part is that he said Courtney sprinted the last 1/4 mile very well!!  Troy could have run this in 24 minutes. We were both trying to help our kids.  It was fun!!  Kim and Jane came in first and second in the 10k in 39:40something seconds.   The course this year was accurate (since they started further back and ended further out).  Last year I ran an accurate course by accidentally running off course and running by the AF junior high all the way to Alpine highway.  I had to re-pass all the same runners I had just passed.  It was frustrating but I did run 6.2 miles instead of the way short course they ran last year : D.   Since it is a free race (donations only) it wasn't about the time so much anyway but a good work out.   Finished my run today by running home 3 miles with Kim AP 7:55 or faster.

zero miles zero motivation i think i may be out of the running zeal this summer time will tell  i just don't feel well mentally about running after my bomb last fall and injury this march and just getting thru boston for my family i hate the heat so it is making it less motivating to get out there perhaps it is time to throw in the towel and become a normal person-- non-runner/racer hopefully this will pass the MELANCHOLY mood it is just that my foot is still not completely healed and i worry about further damage if i push it  i am no longer trying for subthree in the marathon just a pr will do here and there sorry so glum   tired  sleepless work work work....and allergies once again strongly to perfumes and cleaners causing headaches and numbness burning in my face

4:20am 8 miles 7:17 avg. pace  First mile 7:45.  Last mile 7:12.  Pulled to UV hospital so it's going to be a long hard day on my feet for 13 hours    Leaving 10 minutes.  Happy day to all!!

course tooled run with STOP WATCH.  Felt so nice to run and not see the pace or know the mileage.  Just finished using the course tool to figure the unknown distance-- 10.2.     Pace 8:06.  Not bad considering I guessed 8:20 pace.   I ran through several "Trail Closed" signs up in Cedar hills.   I almost made it out before they started spraying the trail with tar spray.  I hate it when they redo trails when they were fine the way they were.  Do we always have to be doing construction???  My drive to 7 peaks was construction-ville STILL.   Luckily the exit to Center st. is now open.  :D.     Took two of my girls and one friend to 7peaks for 3 hours.  Not good on my tired healing foot walking around barefoot.  I am so in need of a nap.    I am going to run the AF Half again SANS garmin :D.  

okay....I think I am getting old.  My perception is going batty.    Well first I went to seven peaks yesterday and endured the crowds for 3 hours in barefeet.  I need to invest in swim shoes so I don't risk further left foot PF damage.  A kid in the pool however whacked my right foot big toe joint.  Then last night I completely walked right into a CLOSED screen door.  It was dark but visible to everyone else.  My neck and head bounced back along with my right big toe.   I awoke like I had been in a car wreck with whip lash and a sore toe thinking "am I really running with Kim and Jane this morning?"   They were doing their last long run down AF canyon.   Pace goal-- 6:45.  Yikes.  I just told them I would just hang back but as I drove up with them revisiting our training of last year as we drove up  I felt I should just hang with them for as long as  I could despite my foot and lack of any speed in 11 plus weeks except 10 min on/offs and a little tempo with Rachelle and a nice 7:17 AP 8 miler two days ago.     Well SURPRISINGLY it went WAY better than planned.  I chose NOT to wear my garmin so I couldn't stare at it and ran by feel hanging with Kim and Jane all the way until just before mile 9 when I was only 5 seconds behind.   At the finish I was total time behind 21 seconds.  Yee Haw!!!   The only reason I could not keep with them was my foot was SCREAMING out loud for attention.  Burning pulling taring feeling dead center in my fascia.  I lost mobility of my foot and I just had to slow down and mentally hang in there.   We stopped very briefly for four water stops and two other times to adjust shoes etc..    WAIT to you hear my splits which  I am pretty happy with considering my lack of training hard and PF.   Here they are (I had my stop watch and when I heard Kim's watch I would hit my lap button I would see the mile but not care about overall or current AP which is the problem for me with the garmin.  I was able to focus on staying with them rather than thinking we were running too fast etc... VERY LIBERATING!!) :  First three miles in 19:51 (6:45, 6:44,  6:22 -- I got these from Kim's watch), miles 4 and 5 in 12:41 (so 6:20 and a 6:21 mile I guess),  mile 6-- 6:05  (oops :D),  mile 7-- 6:39 we slowed after seeing the last mile.  We didn't realize we were going that fast!!   mile 8 coming out of canyon and onto golf course rollers-- 6:16  (wow!!) but foot hurting.  Actually it is my middle toe on my left foot.  A toe nail I haven't clipped in a while was digging into another toe and was bleeding.  I think that is why my entire foot acted up more as I tried to avoid the rubbing of the toe nail!!  We stopped briefly (I am fast at removing socks from my feet remember?!!) for me to check it out.  I thought  my old "need to fall off" nail was falling off but really I was just being punctured with a sharp edge of a nail.  I just said "let's just get it done I don't have time to bite off the edge :D and I am not that flexible anyway".  mile 9--6:41,   here comes the lack of focus as my foot starts to really fall apart-- mile 10 (steep UP hill out of park)  6:53   that took the wind out of me and my enthusiasm!!   Mile 11-- 6:59  flat mile on Alpine Highway.      After stretching just before mile 11,   I regained some speed as the first half of  this mile I was almost pain free until the PF just tightened up again.  Mile 12--- 6:52.   Gave up on the push  with rollers to the finish and just ran easy in. We also added a hairpin turn at the end to head back to our cars.  I was only 8 seconds behind Kim and Jane.   Mile 13-- 7:18 (them7:10)  Thought I wouldn't be walking right now but so far so good.  We iced in the river for 5 minutes (lack of time Kim and I both left our car keys in Jane's car at the top of AF canyon : D what losers!! so we got a nice guy to help us out and drive us to my house to pick up an extra key then drive us back to AF high school.   I was also out of gas and coasted down the canyon!!  Luckily Jane had $5 cash on her.  I never put my purse in the car when I go running.   Fun times!! Comedy of errors galore.  I currently have a head and neck ache because I also got into the helpful citizen's car and misjudged the doorway whacking my head so hard as  I was climbing in!!  Seriously I need a new brain!!   AP for entire run (at mile 10 we were at 6:31 avg.)  =  6:38 for 13 miles.   Total time 1:26:21.  Hello!!! :D.

Worked all day.   Walking really poorly. Right quad extremely confused to what I put it through Friday.  Seriously I am not walking normal.  At least it is keeping me from thinking there is anything wrong with my left foot ; D.   8:45 pm--- 10 mile lactic acid removal mountain bike ride all around my neighborhood-- 4:11 pace.  Got darker and darker and less and less safe but still refreshing (but not for my leg.  At times I just pedaled with my left leg only).