Believe to Achieve

Coming upon my recovery week-- meaning a cut in miles for one week : D. 55 miles : D.

12 miles at 7:33 AP-- first ran at 6:36am to AF high school and onto the trail behind and up through Art Dye Park.  Turned around after the steep climb then came home (7.5 miles) and  got daughter up for Piano Camp (two minute stop) then went out for one more.  Drove Brooke to camp two miles away then took off again when I got home for 3.5 more miles.  Did some arms-- 40 girl push ups, and planks 45secs sides, 60 secs front.   Hopefully a pattern and that I will actually stick to it.  Was going to lift weights too but ran into my neighbor while dropping off my other daughter for her ride to Piano Camp.  She had a broken hand from tripping on to her boat at Lake Powell.  We chatted for a while.  Time went by and I was too hungry to do weights.  BTW NO SORENESS from Saturday.  Right achilles is always slow to warm up, that's all.  I guess everyone has an achilles heel.  Actually the BIGGEST ANNOYING problem since Saturday's run is that I had run out of body glide and had put on my natural deoderant instead in all the usual places, but I MUST have forgotten my thighs because they ARE SO CHAFED.  I MEAN PRETTY BADLY THAT I had to wear BIKER SHORTS to run in today.  Too early to go out and buy glide and THAT WASN'T going to help NOW anyway.  My right thigh got it the worse.  It burned like crazy all day Saturday.  I think some of the lotions I put on I reacted to because my thighs swelled up pretty good.  It will take over a week to heal for sure.  LET ME TELL you that my biker shorts are WAYYYYYY outdated and make me look SOOOOOO   80s stylin'.  I am sure I looked horrifically geeky.    I did wear my Ragnar relay TEAM shirt-- Crack O'Dawners.  It is a tank so I looked semi-like I knew how to run.  Oh MY!!!   also I am in desperate NEED for a new pair of running shoes. I have overly TRAINED in my MIZUNOS, there is NO forefoot tread left in either pair.  They sure don't last longer than 500 miles very well.  I think I put in at 600 miles on both pairs.  Oooops.  No wonder I have to stetch my calves more than usual.  Oh well.  Doing fine now, except the inner thighs.  OUCH. 

6 miles before work.  Tired.  4:55am, back in the nick of time.  Clocked in at 6:02am.  AP 8:09.  New precision 12s.  NICE.  Easy day.

SLUGGISH THIS MORNING at 4:51am.  6 MILES 8:15.  SURPRISED I EVEN MUSTERED UP THAT MUCH ENERGY.  oops had cap lock on.   LONG day at work, so busy.  Then Activity Days with Amber.  Now I am so tired.  Should sleep well.  SW tomorrow.  YIKES, feeling crampy.  You know the feeling.   BLAH.

8 x 800 on the TM.  It has been three months since I have run on a TM.  Wow time flies.  I was worried because I was wondering if my body could adjust to the SHAKING MILLS at PG rec especially going faster and for LONGER than I have anytime on the TM.  I am HAPPY to report that I made it through ALL eight quite well.  I followed what Melanie did just to see if I could even do one at the 5:56 pace.  It went like this (after dragging my tired butt out of bed to my car and drove the three short miles there)-- WARM UP, AP 8:30 for 4 miles.  First mile 8:57.  1 % grade.  In fact I ran the first 5 x 800 with a 1 % grade and the last three at 0.5% just to let my mind deal with the stress of 8 x 800s.  I ran .25 miles (400 meters in between at 8:34 pace, 7.0 mph).  I would make sure to increase the TM pace before crossing the "starting line" on the TM virtual track (you know the TMs that show where you are on a 400 meter track) and I would NOT decrease the pace until I crossed the line completely.  I felt good on the warm up and stretched and took a potty break.  Sips of water was all I had to drink.  Dang it was warm water though and the AC in that rec center was hardly being used.  It was HOT in there.  Glad the TM had a fan on it.  After the brief break I ran another half mile warm up and went right into the 800s no stopping in between, no holding on to rails.  I am definitely WAY more in shape then I was in the winter.  I couldn't do 10 mph for a minute with out feeling winded and that my legs were uncoordinated.  BUT this was a shocker for me to 7 x 800 at 5:56 PACE (10.1 mph)!!!! and the LAST ONE at 5:49 pace (I started at 5:52 , 10.2 mph then increased the last lap to 5:46, 10.4 mph).  I loved the last one.  There is definitely something about KNOWING you are almost done and HOW MUCH EASIER it feels.   Ended with 2.5 miles cooldown at about 7:50 AP.  Felt such a great feeling of accomplishment and then my heart sank thinking about how we intend on doing this workout again-- 10 x 800.  I wanted to cry.  Please not again!!   It is such a mental game to get through this workout.  I was living for the .25 miles (2 minutes 9 second easy running) of "rest".  I ate one gu half way through.  I didn't eat much yesterday at work due to the VERY busy shift and felt I should be a little NICE to my body.  I ate half after the fourth one and the other half before the sixth one.  So glad this workout is done.  I think it seals the CONFIDENCE deal that I needed for that SUB THREE.  Mathmatically it all makes sense and I love math.  I am so a NUMBERS person.  : D

Kim and Jane were running 22 miles at 5:30am.   I ran my 22 last week so I met them at the mouth of the AF canyon and ran 1.5 mile warm up 8:30 pace.  Then we ran UP the canyon to almost the reservoir (their 11 mile turn around).   They ran their 800s on Tuesday so their legs were like SPRING chicken cause' I was feeling LARD-leg like after my mill SW run yesterday and a long day at 7 peaks without a nap (my sister has three little kids, four that can watch themselves, busy times).   Just throwing out my excuses for my creeping pace up AF canyon.  It wasn't that I was winded.  My legs just felt heavy, swollen.  I ran WITHOUT a garmin but with my Ol' Faithful STOPWATCH.  I got my mileage from the gals then course tool for the warmup.  The plan was to run 17 miles but when we passed my car and I was to turn around in one mile Jane said "why don't you just keep running with us and NOT run before work tomorrow"  SO I DID of COURSE.  Plus, turning around meant UPhill again even though it wasn't a huge grade it was still up hill.  My mind easily accepted 3 more miles over one mile uphill.    Basically I was about a total of 2.5 minutes to three minutes behind the SPEEDSTARS on the way up, taking my time.  Wasn't sure how my body was going to like the downhill.  AF canyon is pretty slanted and at least four miles are pretty steep downhill.  BUT amazingly I kept up with them and perhaps PUSHED them a bit at the end, I was ahead for a bit feeling pretty great.  Without my garmin I tend to run FASTER without realizing it.  Jane said I was doing at least a 6:15 pace at that point.  Who knows.  She told me to throw my garmin out so I wouldn't look at my watch and freak out over the fast pace that my mind would inevitably tell me was TOO fast for me.  AP for 11 miles back to Jane's = 6:36!! : D.  Oh yah the AP to the top pace was ONLY 8:17.  See total LARDNESS.  But my legs felt ALIVE on the downhill.  This is SUPPOSED to be recovery week so I guess it is time to relax.  Iced in new spot of AF river.  We so LOVED it.  Waterfall, and REMOTE.  NICE.  AP for all 19.5 miles= 7:23 pace.  I am feeling STRONGER and STRONGER. I have never run back to back workouts like this and totally optimistic since I feel GREAT :D. Splits (Kim's garmin)-- 6:52, *7:00, 6:40, 6:20, 6:14, 6:20, *6:36, 6:57, 6:53, 6:31, *6:35.

2.54 miles before work-- 8:11, I think.  Garmin is upstairs.  Got out to run at 5:33am BEFORE work.  That is all I could fit in but it got me to my scheduled 59 mile week. So much for only going 55 miles.  I have a sore throat. Odd because no other symtom.  Something I ate that was contaminated no doubt.  Taking my super defense all natural pills.  :D.