Denouement

Woke up 15 minutes late so had to park when the SF group was one mile along on their run.  I felt good at times during the run, at others I felt like I was just hanging on.  Jamie came and it was nice to catch up with her and my other running buddies I don't get to see nearly as much as I used to.  I convinced Hal to do pretty little road.  He said we were doing some miles right about 7 minute pace and were under 7 for a while (he had a nike pedometer on).  On tree line we saw kent and holly so I turned around and ran with them since I needed more miles than Hal did. 

So I think I got some good paced miles in there, but the miles are approximate, and I don't really know my pace.  I have been without my gps for 9 days.

I ran 3 miles with my sister (about 13 min/mile pace) then I ran on my own, 5 minutes at threshold, 1 minute off (6 times).  I tried to keep the pace threshold, not too hard, but the last one was hard and I think it was my fastest one.  The run was in Salinas, CA.

I wanted to run 10 this morning, but I hung out with my family last last night.  Yesterday was my Grandma's funeral, and all seven of us kids were there.  It was an awesome experience to all hang out together.  We went to the beach at seaside, hung out in a gazebo with a fire at the Monterey Hyatt resort, then went to a restaurant and hung out there for three hours.  It was awesome and I didn't want the night to end.  I had 5 hours of driving today so I couldn't cut the sleep too short, thus a sluggish 5 was all I was able to eek out. 

No run.  Does closing your eyes at red lights count as nap time?

Can anyone tell from my # miles run what came in the mail yesterday? I got a new garmin. Great and timely warranty service.

I was running out of time during my son's preschool after doing two errands, but I thought I could get in 10 miles if I ran 7:30 pace. I hit the first mile in 7:18, then 7:33 on mile 2. By 1.5 miles the tightness in my throat was bugging me again. I am not sure why it happens, but the last time was last Tuesday and I basically have to slow down and concentrate on my breathing. It might have something to do with running two days at sea level, but that isn't enough time to make me unused to altitude, right?

So my speedy run went mediocre. Part of it may be getting out of shape, but 5 minutes after I stopped running I was still having constriction. The problem seems to be breathing in, not breathing out. Dang.

I am happy I was able to run though. My treadmill is still broken and the repair man isn't scheduled until next Tuesday. Paul comes home tonight around midnight then turns around and goes to Sydney Australia. Hopefully that will be his last trip for a while.

ave pace 8:03, not too bad considering.

Ran slowly like a turtle with too little sleep up in Woodland Hills.  Just glad Paul is home for the 15 hours before his next trip so I can run and talk with him a bit.

ave pace 9:43!

I met Sasha and the gang, which turned out to be Adam, Hyrum, Jon and Tyler.  Jon especially enjoyed the starting line feel each time we started outside Sasha's home.  We ran 2 then dropped Hyrum off.  I was nervous about trying to run long at a faster pace, so the warm up was nice (8 min pace or slower for first three miles or so).  I also got more sleep the night before to help me feel ok about doing a decent workout.  The pace just gradually dropped and it was comfortable.  I didn't have any breathing issues that I have had periodically over the last couple of weeks.   We had some nice conversations, some cheesy jokes from Sasha, including one in espanol.  At 12 miles we dropped off Adam and Tyler, and then it was Jon, Sasha and I to go out for eight more (which would give me 20, which I haven't done since the summer, my longest run in recent history was 18 at the Painters half).  Jon had some strange pain in his foot so he had an interesting stride going for a while.  We picked it up a little in mile 19 when we were discussing competitiveness (go figure).  I started to feel quite fatigued in mile 20, and I think my brain was starting to shut down.  Jon and Sasha sprinted the end and I had no desire to jump in the fray.

BTW, I saw MacK at the grocery store last night.  It was funny, she saw me just as I was starting a race with all three of my boys up and down a slow aisle.  I was able to meet her husband and her son for the first time.

ave pace 7:38, much faster than my long runs in the summer.  It didn't feel like a 20 miler like my summer runs did.  Cool! 

No run.  Paul still out of town.  Treadmill still out of commission.

I did play with my kids at the park and had several impromptu races, so at least I got my heart pumping.

Ran mid morning. I had the same breathing issues that my mid morning runs have been having lately, but it did go away at around mile 5, ran faster 5-7.5. At 7.5 I had a Wendy's potty break and my breathing issues came back for another .5 mile. In my last miles I was going at a pretty good clip, so thought I would follow Sasha's example and throw some strides in my run. I did 4 in the last bit of the run.

Ave pace 8:14, all sub 8 min in the last half of the run.

Weight at 126, not good but not too bad.  I have five more weeks of tax season and I really want to stay on this side of 130.  That would be so awesome. 

I double booked running partners this morning, I guess I was just so excited that I could run in the morning that I scheduled MacK and Josse.

I ran just over 7 miles with MacK and then hopped in the car and drove to SF to run 8 with Josse. It is so nice to be able to run with friends!

ave pace 8:10 with MacK

ave pace 8:22 with Josse (its not Josse's fault the pace was slower, I started to feel junky). I felt the worst as we discussed the Wasatch Back Relay. Just thinking about that relay makes me feel sick.

My treadmill is fixed! Only $414 :) It is a really good treadmill, though. I bought it used from Gold's Gym so it is industrial quality.

Rocked out to FooFighters (my mp3 player is back too since Paul is back in town) and did a mile at 6:44 for some fast songs.

I woke up with a sore throat, but overall I still have been much healthier this tax season. Was so glad to take a nap yesterday.

ave pace 7:35

Went to Josse's and she showed me how to scrape my legs.  Boy she knows how to inflict pain! 

Ran with the SF group.  Ran with Josse and MacK, with a little bit of Kevin and Pat thrown in to spice.  I was pretty tired, but was almost capable of keeping up.  Josse and MacK are both running really strong.  It was cold (about mid 20's) and very windy in parts.

Ave pace approx 8:10 

Ran on the treadmill. Linkin Park and Foo Fighters.  It took some time to get down to 7:30 pace but settled there.  My lower calves were tight.  I think it is from the Saturday scraping.  Should it feel tight like that?  I stretched before the run and will after too.

Ave pace: 7:40 

Free food at work today I am determined not to eat (last year I would indulge in this stuff-I have to stay strong!) -

brownies

chocolate chip cookies

assorted chips

sandwich wraps

potato salad

Met with MacK and we did a longer run. I felt some breathing constriction at first but it went away. The pace felt faster than it was. I guess that is just a combination of not enough sleep and losing some fitness :(

Ave pace 8:24

It stinks to have broken through to a new level with my running with my Painter's Half just to have my fitness slowly deteriorate. I only have four more weeks so I need to stay strong and not lose my will.

One thing I have discussed with Josse is that I have never really taken time off this year, other than two days just before Christmas, and the Monday and Wednesday after St. George. I am considering not running (or cutting back miles severely) the week after the Provo half. My work will be really busy that week, so not running will help me get more sleep, and it might give my body some rest. So the questions are, do I need a rest from running, if so should I do it April 7-13, in a week when I will be working 50-60 hours, or should I perhaps wait and rest the following week, when I will also be able to take naps and slow down in general (we are taking a family vacation April 16-20). Perhaps I don't need a rest at all because I have had this period of reduced mileage.

My baby (ok he'll be four in the summer so he's not really a baby) was diagnosed with strep this morning (that makes two kids). I was wiped out from the run this morning, and I was sore, so I took a morning nap.  It was heavenly but then I woke up with a bad headache and I felt convinced I was coming down with strep.  I feel better now, but I just ate dinner and food has a funny way of making me feel good!  I may not run in the morning so I can get a little bit more sleep, though I am not sure that sleep is a good defense for strep. 

No run.  Woke up at 3am and went straight to work, since I knew one of my boys would not likely be able to go to school.  I started feeling sick at work at around 7am, and my husband called me to come home at 8am, and I called the doctor for me and they sent over a prescription.  So I didn't get swabbed for strep but all three of my kids did and are positive.  My oldest son came home from school early because of being sick. We ran around town trying to find a doctor who could squeeze us in to diagnosis him and prescribe some meds and finally did.  We got home around 3pm and we all took a nap (me and three kids, and the two older never nap so it was so nice).  I felt better in the evening.  No energy to run or work though.

Met MacK and Josse in SF. It was windy and warm (49F at start, but I am sure with windchill it was more like 42). I wore shorts! The temps dropped as we ran and a cold front moved in. We ran around the golf course. All three of us have sore throats so we didn't have energy for speed. I would feel like I had plenty of energy for a while, then I would feel like I couldn't keep up for a while. Overall I am glad I got out.

Ave pace 8:25

Two short naps, one am and one pm.  Gradually felt less streppy through the day. 

Went to work groggy after waking up a 3am.  Was out of the house by 3:25 and at work before 4am.  Was able to get good things done at work.  I lost my voice a little during the day but my voice came back later that day.  While on a date with my husband I accidentally hacked up a big strep throat loogie (is that how you spell it?).  Paul thought it was a really tender moment!  We went to Magleby's and I finally got the crab legs I have been craving since January.  Boy King Crab legs are expensive!

King Crab legs: $26

Diet pepsi at a nice restaurant: $2.59

Medocre chicken enchiladas at a non-mexican restaurant (this is what hubby ordered) $12.99

Humungous piece of chocolate cake: $5

Tip on big restaurant bill $10

Hacking up a loogie on a hot date:   PRICELESS

Had awful sleep last night because of stomach issues. I had a rare but serious heartburn case along with GI issues. It wasn't food poison because there was no violent reaction, just pain and sleeplessness.

So the only glorious thing about the run today is that I actually made it out. I was so glad I set a time to meet MacK or I wouldn't have done as many miles. My stomach and throat hurt at the beginning but I felt better half way through the run. MacK was also really tired so we were quiet for the first part of our run but we had some great conversation in the second half. We also ran with Hal, Kevin, and Pat for miles 6-9.

Ave pace 8:30, just glad to have gotten this week done.

Took long nap in the pm, my throat is getting better but I am congested and felt sick to my stomach at times today.

Dang it I still feel sick!  Sore throat, weak, congestion.  No stomach problems yet today.  I have got to get better because my workload is picking up and I am planning on racing April 5.

 "Slept in" until 4:30am, and then went straight into work, other than stopping by three convenience stores looking for Emergen"C" like Marcie suggested once, but I never found it and settled for some vitamin C's.  I had a hollow head, congestion most of the day with some GI issues and heartburn in the evening.

Ran with MacK.  I had heart burn going to bed last night and then I woke up at 2:30am (after only four hours of sleep!) with more heart burn. I took a Zantac when I went to bed and at 2:30am.  This heartburn started a day or two after I started my antibiotic, so I think that is what is causing it.  I feel like crum still.  I feel decent while running when we ran slow.  I am counting a faster mile as a marathon pace mile even though we only ran about 7:30 pace, it felt so much faster.  I sat in the shower after the run - not a good sign.  I think I will let myself nap today even though I really should be putting in more hours at work.  I really need to kick this illness.

Ave pace 8:29

weight 125 (I am happy with this number, it would have been higher, but I think I have no food in my body from the GI issues). 

I woke at 3:30 and did a short run before going to work.  It is taking me longer to drop to 7:30 pace, but I got there after 1.05 miles and stuck there.  I am still congested, but I am feeling much better.  I think I need to get sick occasionally to remind me what a blessing good health is.  I am not sure that I will have true good health for the next several weeks, but I am seeing the light at the end of the tunnel.  Thanks friends for all of your support!

I met with Josse in SF and we did a smallish speed workout. We have talked about doing this workout for several weeks, and we finally did it today.

I had a sour stomach again last night and this morning, but it didn't seem to affect the run. Josse is still experiencing a cold so she was a good sport to do a workout while not feeling hot.

So the workout is basically tempo intervals, a mile on, 1-2 minutes off, then a mile on, etc. We did four miles. I really didn't know how fast I could go. I wanted to be 6:50-7:00 for the first one and then see how that felt to determine how to do the rest. Of course negative splits are a goal.

1 - 6:51, felt quite easy, 1:34 rest

2 - 6:41, started off a little too fast, but then settled into a good tempo pace, it was a gradual uphill, ended the mile going up an overpass, ended the rest right at the top (2:08 rest)

3 - 6:31, some downhill, feeling good to be in the 6:30's (first time in at least a month) (2:21 rest, including an attempt at a quick portapotty stop, I need to get faster for marathon practice)

4 - 6:29, felt harder, some downhill but mostly flat. This one felt harder than tempo so I got a little off track from the purpose of the workout (find my threshold and run at it is the purpose), just wanted to break 6:30

Josse did great given her sickness, and I am happy with how I did. It gives me a better idea of what I can do on the 1/2 marathon on April 5th. I definitely won't be doing a Painter's 1/2 performance, but I think I will start around 6:40ish and I'll adjust according to how I feel. At least the race is helping keep me motivated and will help me know where I am as I start to rebuild in a couple of weeks.

Ave pace 8:13

Tried to wake up early enough to run but reset my alarm and slept in until 4:40.

I was having a dream about that Dr. McDreamy (is that his nickname), the guy on Grey's Anatomy.  I was telling him I liked him from the very beginning and then I woke up.  Dang it! I missed my alarm!  I guess its easy to miss your alarm when you are having such a Dreamy Dream!

I met up with MacK, Josse, and the SF group (Hal and Dr. Ludlow at that point) about a mile from Bishop's.  We went around pretty little road then dropped Josse off at her car.  I won't tell what Josse and MacK did going up heartbreak hill but it was very naughty and it started with a W and ended with a K.  We don't w**k we are runners ladies!  Ok, enough harrassing Josse (Josse I know you are reading this!) and MacK (are you reading this--hey all, just so you know MacK is a blog lurker, someday she'll join ;) ).

I had to run the last four on my own and they were slow and painful miles back to my car.  And the worst part was when I got to my car I only had 19 miles so I had to go beyond my car (so hard when you are tired and alone) for .5 then back.  But I did it even though I missed my alarm and got a late start.  Most nontriumphant 20 miler.

Oh yeah, and my gps had no juice from the start so I don't have an ave pace.  I'd say slow (8:30 or so). 

Only slept 5 winks at church instead of the 210 winks last week.

I jumped on the treadmill at around 3:15am.  I felt better than recent treadmill excursions and went right to 7:30 pace, and went below 6:30 for just a small amount of time at the end when a good song came on and I felt like upping the pace.  The .12 is me not wanting to finish the run until the song was done.