"If we don't suffer enough we won't remember it."

30

min elliptical

12 miles with Melanie in Lehi.  We ran 6 x 1000 meters, guessed it at about .62 so not exact.  I just tried to run relaxed, so I don't make my tightness problems worse.  I was way behind Melanie.  Paces: 6:14, 6:14, 6:19, 6:07, 6:13, and 6:18.  I can't help but compare myself to last year, when I did mile repeats at 6 min pace, and feel a little discouraged.  I guess I'll just keep plugging away. 

My hamstring felt a little tight at the start, but after stretching a few times it felt good for several miles.  Towards the end I started getting that pinching feeling when I bent to stretch it.  We stopped and stretched after every other one.  My left foot hurt a little the first two miles, then warmed up and didn't bother me the rest of the run.  My left calf was really tight when I got home.  I spent over an hour digging out the tight spots and stretching after I got the kids off to school and am now feeling pretty good. 

I couldn't believe it.  My other hamstring totally flared up, tight and sore and I don't know why.  Now my left hurts like my right one did when that whole problem started.  

Met Melody and Melanie for a run up/down South Fork.  We ran up four miles then turned around.  I couldn't keep up on the way up.  I jokingly said I was going to sit down on the side of the road and cry.  On the way down I couldn't keep up either.  It was more like I felt like I would be pushing it to keep up and pushing it would only make my problems worse.  My left calf and hamstring both hurt and felt tight.  I stopped to stretch.  Josse and Rebecca drove by on their way back up to pick up a car they left at the park there earlier.  I talked to them for a minute.  When I got back to my car at mile 8 I stopped.  Melody and Melanie had run another mile down past the car to get 10 in.  I stretched and waited for them to come back. 

Later that day I decided I'm not going to do Utah Valley.  I felt a huge relief.  I'm not in shape to run a marathon well and I don't want to keep stressing out about it.  

Melanie, Kim and I drove to the Wallsburg turnoff.  We ran in towards Wallsburg  a 1/2 mile then turned around and headed down the canyon.  I didn't want to push the pace and make my tightness and problems worse.  As we ran the hills around Deer Creek I couldn't keep up.  Just keeping up was hard.  When we stopped for water after 5.5 miles I decided to turn around.  I wasn't going to keep up and didn't want to go 17 miles.  It didn't make sense for me to keep going and have to call my husband for a ride.  I ran back to the car. 

I actually didn't feel as bad running back.  I slowed down and stopped every 3/4 mile to stretch.  At one point I realized I actually felt relaxed and was enjoying running.  I think I haven't felt relaxed on a run in months.  I'm always so stressed about how I'm feeling or how I might feel afterwards, or whether I'm going to be able to keep up, or even finish.  I'm so out of shape that I'm pushing it when they're running normal and easy. 

I just want to head out on a run feeling confident I'll be able to make it back and not be in pain.  I'm going to take two weeks to run by myself, short and slow to try to get feeling completely better before I go hard again.  Hopefully by the time my friends recover from Utah Valley in five or six weeks I'll be able to run with them again.  Right now I don't even care about going fast, I just want to feel good.