Believe to Achieve

Got out the door by 6:13am and ran toward AF high school and to the AF half course to about mile marker 9.25 and met up with Jane and Kim on their 20 miler.  I planned to meet them about mile 6 and I was at 5.67 miles.  Oh well.  Calculated wrong but turned with them anyway because they are so fun to run with.  Although they were doing 7:20s at that point and I had averaged 8:25 to the turn around.  Hence why my average pace ended up at 8:01 by the finish.  But surprisingly my legs felt fine and even better than most of my miles on Saturdays 21+ miler on the ROLLER COASTER RUN.  That is my new name for the Nunn's Park to Wallsburg and back over 20 miles on the Highway.  So glad to be back at ground level.  The humidity today is well over 70 %.  Sticky.  But now the humidity and I are friends so I am having no problem with it currently.  Ran 13.42 miles when Kim  picked me up  (I ran to her house with them then headed out for 1.5 miles more) to go ice ourselves at Grove Creek for 9 minutes.  Refreshingly FREEZING.  Then  did some housework and went out and ran BAREFOOT  for .62 miles on pavement then grass by the church.  So lovely.  So LIBERATING.  NO music again today.  Back to the basics except I wore my garmin but put it in HIDE the pace mode.   : D.  AP for 13.42 = 8:01.  Total miles = 14.04.  

Recovery day 4:59am before work.  5.11 miles at 8:23 AP.   Developed shin splints in my left leg--- I guess barefoot running isn't so liberating   : (        I am kind of having one of my nerve pain flares however so I think it is all connected, left eye pain, blurriness, tearing and left sided neck, chest and foot burning pain and shooting pains out of nowhere in my arms, mostly in my elbows.  I hate these flares because it makes me think, what did I do wrong?  And then after 3 to 7 days it goes away and I feel normal and think "what was that all about?".  So nice on my normal days.    So on that note I should be good for the most part for the Bryce Half.  Still shooting for a 1:24-- but that will take a lot of work so I will be happy with a 1:25 to 1:26 this early in my training for SGM and hit that 1:24 DEFINITELY at Hobble Creek.  Wore trail shoes for this run.

Totally different route but same mileage.  Ran at 5:01am at 8:14 AP for 5.11 miles.  Did a little 7 x 100s at "race pace 6:20-6:30".  I laugh at the face of danger. Ha Ha Ha.  Seriously not sure how much I can improve since AF half since I haven't done any max vo2 workouts.  Kind of going from race to race not feeling quite ready.  Then there is Speedy Spaniard  (10k) 8 days after Bryce.  Busy summer schedule.  Then Hobble Creek Aug 20th so  a nice break to work on some pacing so hopefully I will improve more by then.  (still have a left leg shin splint, blah)  BTW I wore my trail shoes for the past two days of running.

15 slow miles with a new running partner/coworker/ friend Risa.  We ran a 7.5 mile loop twice. She has never run more than 14 miles.  Ran nice and easy but I am feeling very ill-- shooting nerve pains all over my body, mostly in my joints.  Flu-like feeling, arthritis, like.  VERY YUCKY.    Ibuprofen 800 mg didn't even touch this pain.  I feel like I am like bubble wrap and if you rubbed me all over I would pop all over and release these pains.  OUCH.  AP 8:56 for 15.  OFF TO BRYCE canyon in two minutes literally.  BYE.  

Went better than expected since we drove down on Thursday and arrived to our UNshaded campsite that was supposed to be VERY shaded.  Luckily it was NOT as hot as last year but STILL the heat was getting to me and I was worried for myself.  I don't do well in the heat.   That evening (thursday) I walked to the finish line (about .3 miles away) and was walking like a turtle in complete exhaustion.  I had taken two tylenol on the way down to try to get rid of the arthritis like feeling and now I was so intensely fatigued I could barely move.  When the sun went down luckily it was cooling off (unlike last year) and I slept so well for 5.5 hours.  YES.  Thursday we hiked the Navajo Loop at Bryce canyon (3 mile round trip, vertical gain about 500 ft or more) but it soooo worth it.  We hiked another fun 1 mile loop called Bristlecone at 9000ft Elevation.   It was cool when we left but getting up there when we got back.  Friday Melanie and Kim arrived late in the afternoon.  We briefly chatted and had s'mores by our fireside.  Met up the next morning (today) at 4:55am to walk to the shuttle.  I AWOKE  every hour on the hour so at 340am I got out of my tent and wandered over to the bathrooms and washed off all the dirt and smoke on me from camping, taking my time so as to make the time pass quicker.  I was feeling pretty awake.  On the shuttle ride we chatted about our goals.  The three speedstars ( Mel, Kim and JulieE) tell me I should just run as fast as I can.  I think "are you nuts?" I haven't even done near the speedwork times as them.  I can't expect a miracle when I haven't done the time.  So...I knew I had to do my own thing.  I warmed up by myself  for 2.3 miles. I am about the only one that likes a long warm up before a half marathon.   I wanted 3 miles but I started my warmup at 5:36am for a 600am start time.  My first mile warm up was a 9:30.  Laughing thinking "how in the heck am I going to speed this up?  I don't feel like going fast today.  I just want to be a lazy bum.  A couple of aches in my pelvis also made me nervous but after two miles I felt fairly okay to start this race.  AP for 2.3 = 8:46.  I had three minutes to spare to get to the start of the line and tell the threesome good luck.  I stood just behind them a few feet.   Saw Amber Green and Marcie.  Amber looked as fit as ever.   Hence, why she took second in 1:21!!!  : D.  Back to my race.  I start the first mile and I was feeling pretty okay but  then I watched my split go from 6:40 to 6:52 over the first mile (I am thinking I should at least do as well as two years ago--1:29:15) and then the second mile which is first uphill then downhill (a good amt.) for .3 and my split is pathetic (7:00).  At this point I am thinking I so not going to PR,  I am going to fall apart.  I am going to run slower than last year when I was injured (1:32:01).   I especially felt this way when  I couldn't for the life of me bring my pace near the 6:00 flat and under pace on some GREAT downhill, the fastest mile of the race.  SERIOUSLY!?!  Two years ago my third mile was a 5:50!!  And here my third mile is only a 6:19 (Melanie ran this mile in 5:30!!).  I am so going under.  Shoot me now.  But then I told myself to relax.  I honestly think I have RACE ANXIETY.  I feel so ANXIOUS the first few miles that I have a sort of PANIC ATTACK while I am running.  Looking at my split verifies my need to panic and then...BLAH.  Well, apparently that was just me warming up because the next few miles went like this....6:19, 6:19 (three in arow 6:19s) and I am feeling really good.  Then I run a 6:14!!! AND then 6:28  (mile 7) for the UPHILL mile then 6:34 for the part uphill then flatish to down through the town of Tropic where a stray dog side swipes me in front of the Police Officer stopping traffic.  Lots of people here cheering.  I stopped at every water station.  I think there were 5!! : D.    Mile 9,  I am worried about losing my pace and so therefore mentally it made me not push myself so a 6:46.  It was a bit uphill in places however.  Mile 10 I am feeling confident I can finish strong-- 6:34.  Mile 11 6:39.  Some uphill on mile 12 and the "I got to slow now so I can finish strong" mentality-- 6:46.  Mile 13-- 6:37.  I have WAY TOO MUCH LEFT in the tank and I  was feeling great!!  No soreness.  (other than my left big toe that was bugging me for few miles and then I decided to focus on my forefoot lift off and it went away enough not to think about it : D )   My last .1 miles was at a 5:54 pace!!  I sooOOOO  NEED a MENTAL breakthrough on the last  few miles of the half marathon.  I honestly had enough energy to run a 6:00 minute mile but I get this panic feeling that I will collaspe or something or cramp up and not make it to the finish.  Considering that I spent about 5 minutes at the finish and took off by myself for 1.2 more miles at 8:10 pace I was feeling like I should have tried harder.  BUT YOU KNOW WHAT?  I don't like to feel pain at the end of races.    I think because I have so much day to day nerve pain that I just don't like to inflict too much more on myself.  But I WILL TRY HARDER to GET MYSELF faster and have THAT be the NEW PAIN FREE PACE.  I love it!!  It is so nice to be able to walk around after a quick half like you didn't even run one.  Don't worry I will make MYSELF FEEL ALL THE PAIN I HAVE TO TO GO SUBTHREE!!     So I was 8 th overall and the first women OVER 40.  The first five women get $$$  : D.   Sariah Long was first (1:20:40),  Amber Green (1:21:13?), JulieE (1:22:14), Melanie (1:22:24), Kim (1:22:57), some 20 something girl (1:24:16?), MarcieJ (1:25:23)-- so wish I tried harder to catch her since I saw her just in front of me.  Oh Well.  Then myself at 1:26:05.  Again frustrated with not knowing my seconds on my garmin.  I so would have booked it if I knew I was 5 seconds to a 1:25.  When I saw the clock through the crowd I saw 1:25:59 and I was BUMMED and held up my hands in personal agitation and "oh well" kind of kick to myself.  Gee WHIZ.  I am over it NOW.  I guess  : D.