Believe to Achieve

Started with Troy for a warm-up.  First mile 8:48.  Troy picking it up but breathing hard.  I am like slow down.  Take it easier on yourself.  He doesn't run consistently, but at least he does go out from time to time.  We parted at 2.5 miles as I went up to Kim's to do a short TM workout.  Total miles there (3.3 @ 8:26).  TM warm up at 7.5mph (8 pace) x 1 mile then over 1/2 mile picked up the pace to 7:24, so 1 1/2 mile warmup then 3 miles at 10K pace which I put as 6:45, who really knows.  Without resting in between, because this is a tempo workout this is what I did: 1 x 6:49, 1x 6:44, 1x 6:40 picking it up the last .25 of the last mile to 6:22.  Ran cooldown on TM first at 8mph (7:30 pace) x 1/2 mile then 7.5mph (8:00 pace) x 2 miles.  Ran home the same route I came so another 3.3 miles (7:54 pace).  But because Chariots of Fire came on my iPod (I just put it on there last week), I replayed it like 5 times and my pace picked up so  I didn't really cool down this last part as much as I like to, so I added on another 1.14 miles at 8:46 pace.   Grand total 14.74 miles @ 7:54.  PPS I felt fine at that pace on the TM except for a really bad backache that was pulling on my hamstrings.  No rest for the weary.  Got to work tonight.   I am not seeing a taper here.  I will have to cold turkey it next week :DDDDD.  Night shifts are like still running and running and running.  LIGHT LIGHT LIGHT, I SEE IT.

Nothing.  Night shift recovery.  Only three more nights I have to work before the SGM.  Lack of sleep as usual is making my nervous system spazz out.  Going easy tomorrow.   Muscles need to relax longer.

Feeling yucky.  I just don't do well with the night shifts.  All my nerves are on fire.  Sensitive that is.  Food doesn't look good either.  But managed to feel happy eating a "organic" poptart from Costco.  It brought me back in time to when I was 14 and my friend Andrea ate lots of poptarts (non-organic) and peanut butter and fluff sandwiches.  I lived in New Hampshire then.  We biked everywhere.  To the beach, to work, to her house, to mine, through town.  The kind of town where there is a big Ben like clock in the middle of it with a train station and an Ice Cream shop on the lakeside.  Oh how free we thought we were, roaming this way and that all summer long.  Okay back to the present.  Feeling lots of lower back pain, like an 8 on a scale of 1 to 10.  10 being back labor pain.  No kidding.  Yesterday was worse.  I told Troy to take it slow with me and he ran with me nearly 3 miles and headed home and I did my planned run nice and easy.  First mile 9:04.  Went uphill to Cedar Ridge Elem via the Cedar Hills trail and nice roadsides.  Came down farm road and still no desire to pick up pace.  Blah. Okay by the last mile I decided to check myself and pick it up already.  Okay that is fine, last mile 6:19 (first 1/2- 3:16, second 1/2 3:03, felt happy about that as it didn't feel too bad).  Avg pace for 8.02 miles = 8:40.  Cool down for .55 miles. Really need to rest my muscles in normal sleep, but that can't happen until Friday or Saturday night.  Luckily my job involves newborns.  I so love newborns!!!

Go figure, not sleeping.  Went to bed at 7am and awoke at 9am.  That is after taking a soma in desperation.  Didn't even touch me.  My circadium rhythm is all messed up.  I can't believe I work tonight too.  Tried sleeping the rest of the day.  But had to get up at three to see kids, help with piano, be a mom.  Tried again at 5pm but nothing.  Went to work totally buzzed wondering if I am going to die early from the stress I am putting on myself.  My nerve hurt all over from lack of rejuvenation and my allergies to chemicals are worse without sleep.  I just pray for good sleep come this weekend.  My left leg- hip to foot is in alot of radiating nerve pain.  I know if I slept it would go away.  I see the chiropracter monday.  No running  during survival mode.  Insomnia does not become me.  I am trying to be optimistic but truth be told I am in a lot of pain.  How do vampires go without sleeping : D?  

Woke after three hours of sleep. Didn't take a soma cause apparently it doesn't help.  Layed there for another hour.  Pain in leg/hip/foot is up there on the charts.  Totally nerve pain but makes the calf muscle feel numbish.  Had Troy do the "hurt so good massage".  For some reason pressure on the nerves helps the pain.  Currently have a frozen rice bag on my lower back.  While at work I was so tired that all my nerves were tingling, my face, arms etc...  I just held on and thought SGM should be much much much more easier than these past few night shifts.  Here is an "ALL STARS ALIGNED" goal for me for SGM.  It just came to me last week.  Pretty lofty but who knows...  At mile 25.2 (one mile to go) I want to see the clock at 2:59:59 or less.  Yikes did I just write that?  If I do I think I will stop for a photo shoot (not!).  I could still do a 9:59 last mile and be under 3:10.  This is wishful thinking, hence the star analogy.  "Twinkle, Twinkle little star"...."if I could have this wish tonight".   Currently having brief thoughts of going on a very short extremely slow run this afternoon.  Let it be :D

SCARY STORY TO FOLLOW.  First, words can't explain the extent of the sleep deprivation...I don't suggest ever following my schedule...I awoke to the same old nerve pain.  Took a neurontin last night(antiseizure med that works also on nerve pain), my presription I don't like taking cause it makes me loopy.  It only eased my brain and not my nerves.  Anyway, I couldn't sleep after sleeping a whopping 6 hours, Hooray!!!  So, knowing I had to pick up Kim at 540am for our last run together with Melanie in Lehi I decided to get up at 5 am.   SCARY HAPPENINGS AT MY HOUSE THIS AM:   DETAILS-- I got dressed came down stairs about 515am.  I originally had a brighter light on as I grabbed my sneakers but turned it off and just had the dim light on in the kitchen so as to stay in quiet state.  Suddenly I hear rattling.  My first thought is that "why does it sound like Cookie (my hampster) is back in her cage running on the wheel?"  She escaped in March and her cage is put away, so unlikely she is still roaming around.  The wind?  I looked out my back window.  I certainly don't want to run in a wind storm.  No wind.  Trees don't even show a slight breeze.  So I turn the corner from my kitchen to my front hall and can view my front door.  The dead bolt is rattling back and forth as if someone is trying to open it.  FREAK OUT moment.  I turn on the bright hall light that lights up in hall by the  front door and the door stops rattling.  Yikes.  I quickly, but quietly run up the stairs and whisper loudly, still thinking I am hallucinating or something " Troy!!!  someone is breaking into our house"  He quickly came downstairs.  The dead bolt lock was almost opened.  We locked all our doors, three to be exact.  Troy went in the garage and our door (not the garage door for the cars), but the back door was wide open.  Our middle console to are car was also open and things taken out of it and placed on the seat.  Keys were missing.  Still missing.  Troy looked for anything in the garage missing.  Nope.  Called the police and they arrived within minutes.  I was shaking like a leaf but after telling the police my story, Troy escorted me into the car and watched me nervously drive away to meet Kim 15 minutes late.  My teeth were chattering but I couldn't feel the cold.  I was so shaken.  If I were just two minutes later getting down the stairs he would have been in my house.  What would I have met up with?  Words can't explain.  I can't believe this happened.  The police told us they incarcerated a guy who broke in and assaulted a woman while she was sleeping, just a few hours before this.    She didn't know the guy.  This happened in PG.  He said, "just because we are in Happy Valley doesn't mean things like this can't happen.  So not right.  So violating.  More on my run later.  8.56 miles at 7:37 pace.  This was easy for us.  But I was still freaked out and my hip/foot was ailing.  Still need good sleep.  Splits for our easy run:  8:23, 7:47, 7:35, 7:29, 7:52 (potty), 7:05, 7:33, 7:37 and 7:25 for last .56 miles.