Believe to Achieve

This run is bordering on insanity.  Please keep comments of insanity to yourself.  I was only going to run 10 miles today.  I awoke at 520am and my legs could feel the swelling of two shifts after an awesome week of running last week.  So I went back to bed at 6:20am still exhausted even though I went to bed at 8pm last night.  There was A LOT of scented hair spray and perfume the last two days and they usually either give me burning nerve pain (which I got, but minimally) or extreme fatigue even if I sleep forever.  Which I tried to.  Waking at 230am the other night didn't help.  But who is counting that?  It was all in the name of a good time with Kelli.  So after fifteen minutes of tossing and turning I decided to get out the door for MY 10 MILER.  Really, that is what I was going to run.  Just 10 miles.  I took a sip of water and I was out the door.  I had it in my head to run the course from Saturday to five miles but starting at my house.  It turns out I am 1.12 miles from the course.  So when I got to where I remember the three mile mark was I looked at my garmin.  I was only .4 miles behind the course.  So I kept running and thinking wow this run seems too short.  I approached the mouth of the canyon, headwind and all and thought why not continue on a little further?  I was going so slowly I felt so good.  My first mile was a 9:26 (UPHILL).  Kelli and I ran 8:45 for the first mile of Sat's run with that lovely climb by the temple.  The hill I climbed by my house was shorter BUT steeper (1300 north)  and is a gradual climb until that point  but it is the shortest way to the course.  Well....As I got into the canyon (SANS music SANS  gatorade/electrolytes  Sans FUEL and having left my house at 6:42am the humidity was RIDICULOUS-- 76%, just looked it up!!) I had the ludicrous notion to keep going to where I had parked my car Saturday and turn around and finish the dang Sogonapmit Marathon from that point.  Well..... I felt so good that I just kept going to the top.  When I got to the top I had to add on .4 miles to get to 13.1 exactly.  LUCKILY my GARMIN GAVE ME NO TROUBLE on this run.  It picked up the whole time thankfully.  No beeps or anything : D.    Adding on however added on ADDITIONAL climbing towards Granite Flats Campground.  Why EVER do they call that Campground Granite Flats? FREAKIN give me some OXYGEN that CLIMB is a killer.  Worse than the climb just before the reservoir.  HELL--O.  So I turn around and think "oh boy, I could really use some SUGAR."  I had taken One pee stop on the way up at mile 4, and three water stops (two on the trail and one at Timp Caves).  I NEVER STOPPED my watch.  I am trying to not watch the watch.  I made it to the turn around at almost 1:56.  My watch said 1:55 and switched to 1:56 just after turning.  So slightly slower than Saturday, but hey this was an impromtu marathon.  It just kept playing out in my head with each additonal mile.  Totally UNPLANNED.  I am insane.  As I descended I was getting super thirsty and was in desperate need for ELECTROLYTES and GU or some food.  Whatever.  But the clean up was so good there was almost no trace there were people opening gus along the course.   I was hoping for an un-opened one.  No such luck.  I could not pick it up very well but I didn't care.  I was the one and only runner in the EILUJ Marathon.  I was going to win no matter what : D.  You can laugh here.   The best part about the run was that I remembered a water bottle I dropped here just after UVM marathon almost two months ago.  I had hid it and there it was.  Still over half filled and COLD.  AMEN.  A miracle.  I had stopped at the top for water just before furthering my climb.  There was a faucet next to the potties.  YAY.  And now I had this water bottle.  I carried it for 4 miles.  I stopped a total of 7 times.  6 water stops, 1 pee break.  As I neared my home I eyed the reservoir.  I so wanted a dip in that but I had 1.5 miles to go.  I couldn't quit now.  So I trudged along thinking about how insane I have become.  I mean should I really even post this run?  Why not.  We are all runners.  MOST of us are insane.  Hopefully I am understood.  It was truly hard at work after NOT completing the run the other day when I felt so AWESOME.  Today I felt great going up but at the turn around I could tell it was not going to be easy without fuel.  Some MINOR problems about impromptu marathons:  No one out there knows you are running it, so no cheers no "go Julie".  Nothing.  Also running 26.2 miles when you were going to just run 10 becomes  clear that you MIGHT be crazy.  Third, an impromptu marathon makes options for fuel along the way to ZILCH, except water.  In this crazy heat and humidity this only incriminates me more about my mental status.  My skin was DRIPPING sweat from every pore.  And I was SOOOO sticky.  Yuck.    Forth, I had NO tape set up to run through at the end.    Hey, I won my first marathon and no TAPE!!!  I didn't even sprint to the finish.  I just moseyed along toward my house.  I did treat myself with a PURPLE GATORADE from my garage refridgerator.  Ahhhh!!!  I took in about 28 ounces of a 32 ouncer.  MAN did that feel/taste good.  SO REFRESHING.  I must have needed it because it didn't make me sick at all.  About 10 minutes later I drove to Grove Creek and iced myself in the river.  I slowly broke the news to my husband.  He was shocked, but not surprised.  He is used to me after all.  AP 8:10 for 26.2 GLORIOUS miles, 7 stops, no clock stops, no miles below 7:10 pace.  In fact there was only one 7:10 and two 7:12s and the rest were  under 7:23, mostly 7:25 to 7:38 on the way down, except for three really slow miles.   When Kelli, Steve and I turned around I remember we did  almost two miles at 7:18 (before I had to drive off)  and I was gaining speed.  This time my legs weren't having any of that.  They were left on Saturday's run. I ran slowly-- 7:50 after the turn around  with that steeper downhill, then a 7:57, 7:42.  Obviously I was a bit more fatigued. Plus my lower back was hurting quite a bit radiating to both my hamstrings (sciatica).  A little too much down hill running.  No hurting going up.  Downhill the problem.  But NO DNF : D.

The ANOTHER problem with impromptu marathons is friends calling 7 hours later and letting you know they are running 7 x 800s at 6am at AF track.  Hmmm?  what to think about that.  Should I delay and go Wednesday instead by myself at the track or at the gym?  I gave Kim a "if I am there I am there" call back.  Didn't tell her about my marathon because I know she would lecture me.  So I just waited it out and see where I was at by 6am.  I awoke at 2am with a few kinks but mostly a troubled left knee.  AF canyon is very slanted and downhill running compounded the problem.  I fell like my knee is squished, and needs to be pulled out by my chiropracter.  Of course when I need him its his day off.  But he wouldn't be in time anyway for my run coming up this morning.  I went back to bed and awoke and looked at my clock (I had forgotten to set my alarm) and it was 5:40am.  Just in time for me to get my act together and join them.  I told myself I could just watch them or try one and see how I felt.  Well....things went way better than planned even with the bum knee and Eiluj Marathon yesterday so I just stuck it out to the bitter end.  On rested legs (meaning NO marathon the day before at faster than my first SGM marthon with 7 stops not stopping the watch up and down a canyon in 3:34) my goal was to be under 6 pace.  I gave it my best and after the first one I was hopeful and the second as well and each one felt better and better despite the fact that the other threesome left me behind.  They ran right into the second set and I thought we were going to stop and so my watch wasn't ready.  I stood there resetting my watch and frustrated.  Now I had nothing to gauge myself on and all the rest were by myself because they never waited for me.  But I am used to that so after kind of being angry I just let it go and decided that wouldn't help me and I could do this on my own.  I did 4 one way and three the other.  The forth and fifth were the hardest.  The boy's track team were coming onto the track and I switched directions but my friends didn't and got more ahead because I stopped to turn around asking them why they weren't turning around.  Oh well at least I wasn't lapped.  I was just 3/4 lap behind them at the end and I go a lot slower for the lap in between.  I need to.  I am an old lady  :D.  It is mental and it just feels right not to always fly through things.  Here are the splits (AP for all 7 x 800s = 6:01, not bad for not even one day post marathon considering I stopped running yesterday at 10:15am).    First, 2.8 mile warm up.  First mile so nice and pathetically refreshing-- 9:55 ; D.  Then I met up with the girls and ran 7:46, 8:06 for .8.  Five minute break/potty rest then right into the 800s.  1-- 5:56, 2- 6:00 (am I really doing these with this bum knee?), 3--6:01 (looking good so far), then a lull in 4-- 6:08 (I was focused on whether or not the threesome would turn around so we could run the last three in reverse), shorter recovery before the fifth one (1:30 minutes instead of 2:10 average rest), the fifth one being 6:05, --  I actually didn't know my splits until I finished them because we never stopped and had to reset our watches while running---  NUMBER 6-- 5:57!!! : D.  But number 7-- Mental cause I was thinking I would stop at 6 even though they were running 7.  But I just bit the bullet and ran it anyway-- 6:03.  AP for all 7= 6:01.  I am not worried. So I think next time when we do 8 I will definitely be under 6s for all of them with some recovery runs the day before.  DUH!!!  I am so silly.  Insane.  Cooldown miles 3.2 @ 7:50 AP (8:25, 7:31, 7:30, and .2 at 8:15).  Iced in river with everyone for 10 minutes.  My knee felt so much better after that.  I feel great now.  Today is my daughter Courtney's 13th birthday : DDDDDDDD  PF CHIANGs TONIGHT :D.  

7 recovery miles in my trail shoes, hilly route, what's new.  AP 8:59.  No soreness from the marathon monday or SW yesterday.  ODD!!! ODD I tell you.  I don't think I am doing anything different other than I am fully recovered from UVM.  6.5-7  weeks is the key.   I was running and ran 4 races through MARATHON recovery.   Now I am back.  Back and ready to ENDURE TO THE END!!    Oh I finally did arms again today. It has been at least a month.  Planks, side and front (45sec, 60sec), 40 girl push ups (4 x 10), 2 sets of 10-12 reps of  8 different arm exercises.  Should be sore. I work the next two days so will probably just run two easy days before work.  I am currently finishing the Phantom of the Opera movie with my daughters and my oldest' best friend.  You gotta feel sorry for the Phantom but he made his choices as sad as they are.  The music is so intense.  I love it.  Grasp it, taste it Feel it!!    

AP 7:41 for 4.25 miles before work.   Arms sore from weights but kind of a hurt so good feeling.  Just started to warm up and the run was over.  Not much time when I slept so well and got up at 5:05am.  : D.

am run before work.  Out of the blue I got EXTREMELY fatigued and ONCE again all my joints ached down my spine, in my fingers, lower back--flu like but no fever.  It lasted all day at work. Eye lids heavy, head fuzzy like and then when I got home I could hardly talk or finish my dinner without wanting to just get in bed.  I ate, got in bed at 7:35pm and lied there, sleepless hoping I could drift to sleep soon.  Troy gave me a light massage.  Again I felt like I was BUBBLE WRAP and I needed to be popped.  This happened exactly 22 days ago two days before the Bryce Half---so who knows? hormonal, weather changes?, autoimmune?  Man did the joints hurt.  Maybe a delayed reaction to my marathon on Monday?  possibly because when I had this the last time, five days before I ran that hard 21 miler with the girls at 7:23 pace.  This was four days after my marathon.  Wowsers!!  plus I did arms on Thursday and SW on Tuesday.  THE FATIGUE WAS INTENSE ALL CONSUMING.   I still feel achy but not as badly and now NAUSEATED.  It is early Sat morning and I am about to run with Mel and Julie. YIKES.  Seriously.  AP Friday morning before work = 7:49 for 3.1 miles with 5 x .1 strides at relaxed pace 6-630.

Ran  UP PROVO CANYON starting at JulieE's house at about 600 north in Orem and got on the trail by 1 mile.  22 miler today so ran up South Fork to almost the VERY top (4 miles up there HELL0).   HEADWIND galore about the entire first half except up South Fork.  AP up 7:41 for 11.  AP down 6:49 (just working on my mind set for pace for the last half of SGM-- and the last half of SGM is WAY MORE DOWNHILL :D). AP overall 7:15 for 22 miles.  Got back before Mel and Julie so took one wrong turn to her house so running back the right way added on .3 miles of cooldown.   Stopped briefly six times, actually twice for over a minute the rest were brief.  I wanted real time and AP to be 7:30 or better.  So I did that.  AP with all the stops = 7:27 pace :D.    Will completely verify that when I download my garmin.  I am just going off of overall time, start time, and end time to get the REAL running time of 2:44 minutes and running time of 2:39:40.  : D.   BASED OFF OF THE MOST INTENSE FATIGUE YESTERDAY and running this well today,  SUB THREE IS IN THE BAG with the right taper and no DOUBTING.  : DDDDDD      ADDENDUM Splits for future reference-- 8:08, 7:47, 7:28, 7:34, 7:36, 7:27,7:14,7:54,7:28,7:54, 8:01, 6:38, 6:26, 6:48,6:37,6:57,6:50, 6:51, 6:52,6:56,6:53, last HOORAH up a steep .3 mile hill to run towards Julie's house-- I just didn't have any motivation to pick it up any longer and the light slowed me down.  Plus the short breaks were starting to get to me, so 7:15.  I expected Julie and Melanie at any moment but I had time to get a 0.3 mile cooldown and my gatorade/banana out of my car and stretch for a bit.   Then there they were, they ran right past me without seeing me.  But alas they did and we drove to the river and iced ourselves for over 8 minutes.  Brrrrr.