Believe to Achieve

Wasn't trying to run fast but it just came out of me the end of the first loop and the second. Ran 4.13 miles at 6:57 am.  Had to get back to see my daughter off at 7:30, make her lunch, talk with her about her day etc.. First mile 9:20. Last mile 7:08.  Then 20 minutes later I was out the door again for the last 4 miles.  I cooled down quite a bit in those twenty minutes but started out quicker than the first loop- 7:56.  Last mile I thought I was going slow and it came out to be a 6:46 mile!!!  That felt easy.  Yippee.  Then I was a bit from my house and I thought I was slowing down but apparently not-- for .3 miles I was at a 6:32 pace!!  I could have gone on and on at that moment.  No music.  Just me and the sounds of outdoors.  AP for 8.3 miles = 7:44 : D. ADDENDUM:  I do need to explain why I ended up running a mararthon Saturday.  Well, about a week ago exactly I was working with Risa and found out that she was no longer running the Minneapolis Marathon because her running partner bailed so he gave her a 100 dollar bill and she signed up for TOU a month ago.  I totally don't know how I missed that but we hadn't worked with each other for a while. She complained about her knee bothering her but that she had run two 20 milers at about a 9:30 pace.  She was wanting to bail on TOU marathon.  I told her she shouldn't and that these nagging pains were just signs the body gives out a week or so before a marathon especially if the mind isn't listening. I convinced her that she was ready and that she should just get adjusted and take her runs easy until the race.  And I volunteered to drive her home from the race.  Her biggest concern was that she wouldn't be able to drive herself home after the race-- a two hour drive. I also told her I would run up from the finish line and meet her at mile 18 and run her in.  Back before the Bryce 1/2 marathon I had run a 15 miler with her two days before my race. She was easy to run with and she was very impressive!!  I knew that running with her would be fun.   So all week I checked up on Risa and sure enough she was ready to go.  She picked me up at 730pm at my house just after I got back from work and we got to our hotel at 8:30pm.  She took 1/2 ambien and then we all talked until 11pm.   We forced ourselves to turn out the light.  In that conversation it just happened that I thought it would be fun to see them off at the top and well... one thing lead to another and I had a number to get to the start and ran the whole thing carrying a camera and any other things the girls needed me to.  I didn't have one down moment.  I was completely estatic to be there and cheer everyone on.  I think definitely I should like to be a pacer.  I don't know how I had that much energy on barely any sleep and just having run a fast half with sore legs for four days after ward but I did.  And I am feel pretty strong even today.  SGM-- the icing on the cake : D.

Chillaxin' in the cool mornin' air going easy going short...was going to not run at all but then couldn't sleep and then I was like silly julie you should have left earlier to get at least 5 in before work.  3.5 miles is short.  AP 7:53.   Although I am very crampy, my legs feel VERY good.  Strong.

Yes should have left earlier yesterday (I got out yesterday at 5:20am for 6am start time at work) because today I had to travel further to work.  I got pulled to Utah Valley Hospital a twenty minute drive from my house.  I got up at 4:30 and started running at 4:37am.  Got in my planned 6.5 miles.  AP same as yesterday.  First mile slower and then I woke up.  AP 7:53 for 6.5 miles.  Legs are seriously feeling so good.  Still majorly crampy.  TMI but this is the 3rd time in 6 weeks.   FYI for you younger women runners-- this is how it gets in your forties!! Blah. 

Read entire report to feel sorry for me.  Okay so I am grid locked with Thursday being piano day from 7-830am for all three girls and the fact I need to run 3 x 1600 meters with two minutes in between.  Obviously NOT going to run those on the track.  So...I decided it would be best to go after dropping my teenager off at 7am and let my husband deal with dropping the other two off at 730am for the hour together.  He also has to take Courtney back home and run the carpool to jr high.  But I was NOT about to wait until 915am to run (after everyone is in school).  I have been up since 5:20am, looking at the clock.  Blah.  PG rec opens at 5:30am so  I wouldn't be back in time to go then and come back for Courtney and my husband already rolled his eyes about how  I wouldn't be driving the girls to piano because I would be running.  This was a few days ago and I affirmatively stated that "no I am taking the girls, YES I am.  I am not running until later".  Well that was a HALF-lie apparently because I had a hard time waiting to go do this quick 9 miler.  So at least I took the first shift of driving : D.  THEN, off I went with just my iPod and water/some gu chomps to the rec center.  I started running at 7:20am.  THIS is the SAD part.  WHILE I was running my warmup, for the life of me I  could NOT get my iPOD to turn on.  I checked it before leaving-- just a visual of the light being on,  so I thought it was green.......but apparently it was NOT going to turn on.  I tried various tricks to try and get it to work WHILE I was warming up.  I thought "what in the heck? seriously?  am I really going to do this work out without music?"  all I could hear was my neighbor on the treadmill beside me coughing and hacking and blaring music from downstairs somewhere and all the other grunts and groans you hear at a gym.  Luckily it wasn't crowded but I was seriously NOT HAPPY and thought I should drive home now and come back later with a charged iPod.  But I told myself "julie this is ridiculous, you have to run now, you will just have to suck it up and deal with the fact that you will have to hear yourself working out hard and no AIDED run at all here".  Dang nab it.  I was getting more ticked.  But I finally threw my ipod in the water holder and tried to forget about it.  I ran 3.5 miles at AP 8:00 (3 % grade)---started at 8:34 and got to 7:41.   Just trying to work in some hillage here.  Then I pottied and pitied myself for what I had to do next-- 3 x 1600 (1 mile of course, 4 laps on the TM virtual graph).  First I stretched and then I was off for another 1/2 mile at 8 pace but now at 1 % to check my muscles at this incline. Then went right into the workout:  I ran  1  mile @ 6:07 (9.8mph, 1 % grade), one lap at 8:20 pace, 1  mile @ 6:00 (10mph, 1 % grade),  potty (I really needed to pee badly in those first two repeats, but I only piddled, that was weird, TMI again),  potty break was very brief, got on TM and ran a lap at 8:20 pace, then ran 1 mile @ 5:52 (10.2 mph, 0.5% grade, I like to give myself a mental edge so I decreased the incline 1/2 percent :D).  I actually ran the last .05 miles at 5:46 pace.  I   SOOOOO WANTED to quit after the first lap of the last mile but somehow I got my head out the "I want to quit zone" and made it through and instead of slowing the pace down I forced myself to speed up.  Cooldown 1.5 miles at under 8 AP and at 3 % again.  I have to say that the first 3/4 of the first mile felt awesome.  That last mile was a killer.  My shoulders got achy.  I felt nauseated.  I guess eating a cheeseburger and fries yesterday was not the best idea.  But it was so delicious!!  I really had to FOCUS due to the NO MUSIC problem.  But here is the most COMICAL part of today's run--- So I am driving home and I pull into my garage and I am walking into my house and I am like "where is THAT music coming from?" and LOW AND BEHOLD MY IPOD IS BLARING!!!  FREAKIN' KIDDING ME?  WHAT WAS THAT ALL ABOUT?  I was perplexed and was so NOT LIKING THE JOKE THAT MY IPOD PLAYED ON ME!!  Blah, blah.  Hoping that somehow running without the music today will make me stronger.  Ironically I don't wear my music on my other runs throughout the week.  I save the music for my speed work.  So it was just kind of funny that it worked out like that.  

RAN my last "long run" before SGM.  Left at 5:52am.  It was very cold in my shorts and short-sleeves.  My arms never quite thawed out.  I was sore from my workout yesterday-- hills and mile repeats.  I also got this terrific headache last night followed by nausea in my sleep.  I was worried I was catching something.  My daughters have been sick with a sinus cold and I found HUGE chunks of grossness in the sink from my daughter Brooke.   She had been complaining of a sore throat and headache.  LOVELY.  Courtney and Amber have had there sinus problem for about three weeks now but now Amber (my youngest) tells me her throat is hurting and last night and the morning before she kept telling me about her headache.  GEEZ!!!   HURRY UP SGM so I can stay healthy for the race.  Seriously think next year I will race TOU and  jog the SGM.  The third week of September I feel like I am still summer running.  When the air gets colder it brings all the germs with it.  We had to pick up my nephew (Troy's side) from school yesterday (early) because he threw up all over himself.  He couldn't make it to the bathroom.  Then when I called my own sister today she was on her way to pick up her daughter from school because she THREW up too. These schools our 12 miles apart.  She said her youngest threw up on Tuesday and her other kids were talking about how their stomachs hurt.  I also worked on Pediatrics Wednesday and the pediatricians told me the flu is going around quite a bit.  Duh.  Really!!!  So WATCH out everyone and stay away from RESTAURANTS for now.  Oh ran nice and easy hilly run to the mouth of the AF canyon and back to my house.  13 miles @ 8:10 pace.  Trying out different modes of my garmin so  I can't look at overall AP just time and mile splits.  First mile 9:02.  Last mile 7:11.  CARDIO-wise felt awesome.  Soreness wise I knew I had to slow it down for most of the run.  8 DAYS until SUBTHREE!!!  I am already there! : D.

OH MY!! WHAT a GROSS run until the final mile where I felt like a runner again.  Let me just say NIGHT running after I worked all day and ate a lot including two desserts-- banana pudding yum and chocalte cake with whipped cream topping along with Snickers and caramel!!!  I sure felt all that the WHOLE run after getting back at 7pm and taking off at 715pm.  The first mile was so sluggish and surreal, depressing sort of.  I think my cortisol level is at its lowest at this time.  I seriously felt depressed in the smoggy air.  I could tell it was a warm day and the stench lingered in the night air that wasn't that cool yet, but in spots it was.  Just NOT a good week for me headache-wise.  Smells triggering my headaches left and right.  I could smell anyone and everyone's laundry running as I ran by-- NOT pleasant for me.  I think that is why I run so well at 8000ft above sea level-- FRESH AIR without the toxins we put into it.  Off my soapbox...but after literally RUNNING INTO JANE as she was getting out of conference with all her sisters I got a little adrenaline surge.  She is driving me to SG and we have trained together all summer with Kim and Mel and Julie.  It was so nice to see her.  I exclaimed "Oh my goodness Jane there is no way I could feel this bad at SG next Saturday!!".  It wasn't that my muscles were tired  (although my legs felt "heavy") or that my breathing was labored it was just a nauseating depressed type feeling I get sometimes when I run at night.  VERY strange.  I am sure Sasha would have a take on this phenomonon.  After my first mile being a 9:40 (HELL- 0) I am not sure how I awoke the last mile to get in a 7:47.  AP= 8:26 for 6 miles.  I have to also say that it is DANGEROUS to run at this time because the drivers are speeding and don't think anyone would be running.  I had to swerve quite a bit.  So much nicer to have the streets to myself at 430am.  BTW I had to run this evening because I got back from the BYU game so late and our carbon monoxide alarm kept going off keeping us all up figuring out the deal.  My husband eventually detached the battery and opened all the windows.  We have NO FUEL on so not sure why it would do that.  I have had a long lasting headache however so hmmm.......