Believe to Achieve

  I set an all time record for myself after Saturday night shift.  I slept from 720am until 1250pm (5.5 hours in a row) then got up times 30 minutes and fell back to sleep until 4pm (another 2hrs 40 minutes).  Hung out in bed drowsily until 5pm!!!  Total Rest Day taken literally.  I went to bed exhausted at 1130pm.  Woke at 6am thinking I should get out early so I can watch kids at swim team instead of rushing thru a run.  So...I dragged myself out of bed at 640am, still tired.  First mile 8:57, but passed a dad with two teenage boys on a decent uphill by my house.  Ran uphill for 3.4 miles total to Cedar Ridge Drive and on it for 1/2 mile then onto the Cedar Trail down to Deerfield Elementary and back west a couple of blocks and took my usual route home running "my 800 road" casually at 3:52 pace (slight downhill) last mile at 7:27.  Average pace for all 7.45 miles =  8:32.  (uphill portion pace 9:11, felt strong but didn't push it, I am trying to do better recovery runs and not exhaust myself every run, it felt good, not hard, phew!!).  Ran an additional 2.85 mile loop above Memorial PG pool by way of Battlecreek Drive on to Loader Drive and around.  Nice loop, good uphill climb taken real easy.  Average pace for 2.85 miles = 8:58.  Total miles 10.3.  Watched kids swim.  Will start this week to help with coaching the 6 and under age group swimmers of the PG swim team.  Pretty excited about this.  I love swimming!!!!!

Heat Adventure run.  First worked all night.  Slept from 730am until 1130am.  Mulled around and didn't feel too tired.  So decided to take advantage before the crash happens.  Got out at 1210pm in the afternoon!!!  Oh yah, bring it on heat.  First put my visor under cold water and rinsed the top of my head.  Took off and felt quite comfortable. This changing of attitude about my situation is really helping me.  I am thinking more positively about my night shifts and I feel less stress.  Not that it isn't stressful and chaotic but I am able to deal with it physically and mentally better.  Was only going to run 5 but I felt strong, running at an easy pace so added on up by the Tri city golf course and on trails there, really there are TRUE trails there but some of it turned into a construction zone so I had to dodge rock piles and fences that say "not supposed to be here".  Ah who cares, how many nuts are out in 90 degreee weather crossing over such zones?  So I was over and under for a bit got on the golf course, got some looks by construction crew told them "my trails have been dug up"  so I made a new one naturally.  Ran the back way to Alpine highway stayed on that for just over 1/2 mile then back through the highland park/pond and crossed over by Lone Peak High School and the new walmart. Got water at a river, and two parks' potty houses dousing my visor with cold water, simply refreshing.  Ended by going down the Cedar Hills trail.  Feeling slightly ready to be done by last mile.  Last half mile was my Rockie moment.  I actually ran in this heat and kept a fairly decent pace. Last mile 7:49, thought it was slower so happy with that. Average pace with all the twists and turns 8:49 for 11 or possibly more miles (course tool does not show my trail that loops in various angles so I had to guess).  I know, I know "Gotta Get a Garmin".  When home immediately drank a 20 ounce powerade and sprinkled myself with cold water, sat on grass stretching, resting and enjoying the moment.  I think I will try that Devils run next year  :  D   Total running time 1:37 minutes. 

1145 am Heat simulation  speedwork run (fyi:  outdoors).   Overcast helping with lowering the temp a bit : D  but still humid like.  Ran a 1.8 mile warm (9:18 pace) up to the AF track from my car parked at an old people's home.  I went to my ortho appt dressed to take off running to the track from there but decided to find a shade tree to park under so drove there.  It was a snake like run to get in a good warm up..  Plan was to do 4x800 (really half mile cause I go a little further past the 800 meters to be a true 1/2 mile).  Not all out just controlled so  I could remember it on Saturday's 10k.  Goal was to be at least 315 to 320 pace.  Warmed up once around track and started in at once (YUCK, I just was trying to be positive and get it over with).  First one I hope I was faster but really it felt "too easy" so not surprised it was 3:21.  I also did a lap in between each 800 for recovery at about an 8:30 pace.   Number 2:  3:11.  Number 3:  3:10  Number 4:  3:11.  Darn I was hoping to get faster with each one but that's life.  I was hot, I was tired I was done.  Easily jogged the same route back to my car at 8:42 pace.  Weather bearable. 

Ahhh....slept four hours, did a shake out, and wake up run at 2 pm with daughter Courtney riding beside me on her bike just after a brief shower fell from the sky.  Nice and easy, just absorbing in nature, talking with Courtney and feeling so relaxed yet foggy-minded.  Pace 10:15.  Oh yah!!!!  body lovin' me for taking it easy  :  )    No soreness from yesterday, also a plus.  Work again tonight but only until 1230am.  I got someone to cover my second half so I could be alive for my girls' swim meet tommorrow at 7am.   Gearing up to be energized for Saturday.  

ALERT ALERT, oh crappety crud!!!  So I went to work and was wasted tired by 9pm but hey only three hours left.  Then at 1130pm just before coworker comes in for me at midnight I get this head/neck ache.   I am thinking what is this so sudden. I got home at 1245am in bed by 1am feeling not so well.  (I haven't been normal sick in over a year and 1/2 , like a cold, fever chills or anything of the sort, just allergies).  I just awoke  with a quite painful one-sided sore throat going up into my ear.  Low and behold on further examination with a flash light there reveals a good sized, and excuse the graphic talk here- puss pocket, quite obvious and quite possibly, more times than not STREP.  I am exposed daily at work to it and my littlest has been complaining of one.  She tends to drink  out of my cup without telling me.  I am going to take a dose of probiotics and an ibuprofen and PRAY I don't get the chills along with it.  I don't think I have had strep in at least 3 years.  At least not this painful.  The no sleep weakened my immunity and I have to be up and getting the kids to their races in a few moments.  SOS, this can't happen.  I could have picked this up at the pool helping with swim team with all the little kids too.  I guess it no longer matters how I got it.  I am such a nurse.  I think I will try to "pop" this thing in my throat for relief.  ARGHHhhhhhhhh!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Lucky 13  (overall place) and lucky bib number for the day 3333 (hey, not 6666, pretty cool huh?).  I wanted to PR first but also get 42:30 but having come down with a wicked sore throat and body aches yesterday I just expected to hopefully get under 45, still a PR for this course.  Everyone knows trying to run fast with a sore throat is quite painful so I kept it easy.  I finished strong and really not out of breath.  I didn't push myself (I was scared of the pain and paying for it later this week by overdoing it today).  So I eased back after mile 3 and just tried to enjoy myself despite the body aches (ibuprofen took this down a notch thankfully).  I didn't feel winded at all at the finish.  We ran 2.35 miles before and after the race (nice loop on hillside to 7 peaks and back up 9th east to the start).  The last cooldown mile we were on the course again and got tons of cheers We were even sprayed with a water bottle.  We were like, "this is what it is like to run nice and easy" .  Melanie and I really enjoyed our cool down.  Melanie came in at 40:44  6th or 7th overall.  I was first master, amazingly.  Time was 43:51.  Pace all over the board as markers seemed off.  Who knows I tend to slow and speed up with my music or freak if I see a pace that is mentally too fast early in the race.  Need to run by feel a little better and get rid of iPod as the phones fell off my head at mile 3 and stopped playing at mile 4.5, quirky adjustments surely causing pace fluctuations.  Okay okay here are the not so accurate splits:  1-  7:15 (big, long uphill)  2-  6:50 (downhill)   3- 6:32  (really? this has got to be off for sure, but slowed nonetheless)  4-  7:10  (yup last mile off)   5-  no idea, missed it but asked a guy with a garmin who had said we passed it and that we were at 5.2 miles) so 1.2 miles in 8:30 (7:05 pace).  Mile 5.2 to 6.2  weaving in and out of lots of walkers, 5Kers-  7:30 (also all uphill).  Actually last .2 was at 7:10 pace but still didn't push it here, had some gas left in the tank.  Happy with that : DDDDDDD