Denouement

on tm

Indoor warmup:  walked 5 min, then stretching.

Warmed up by myself a bit on the SF track, then met TylerS.  Melody and Mack bailed.  

2.31 miles warmup.

Plan was 6 x 1600m repeats, with 800m rest.  My pace range was 5:50-6:03, and my coach said to do 5-7, so I chose 6 and wanted just hit in the slower part of the pace range.  It was windy on the track, so after the first mile repeat, Tyler and I traded quarters. 

1 - 5:58,  4:56 rest

2 - 5:59, 4:52 rest

3 - 5:58, 5:00 rest

4 - 5:58, 5:01 rest

5 - 5:56, 5:15 rest

6 - 5:55 and done!

The fifth was hard, the 6th was worse.  The good news is that 6:00 pace seems hard but not like a sprint or like V02 max.  So I think I am getting more fit!  I am so grateful to be able to run like this again.  I have to soak it up while it lasts.  I appreciate Tyler hanging in during the workout.  It takes alot of resolve to do mile repeats, and I appreciate the company, especially in the wind.

Marion and Luz came over last night with killer cakes.  I am still indulging.  I think the cakes made me extra fast!  Hooray for sugar! 

TM

Was supposed to run 60-70 either easy, or easy except 10 minutes hard at the end.  Well, last night I had tooth pain, where I have had pain for 4 weeks, and couldn't fall back asleep for a while. Combine that with my semi-sore throat sickness and I felt like crum. So I dogged through 10 miles, 8:25 ave pace.

Core in the evening. 

TM

Ran on my own for 7.5 miles, then met up with some new SF folks and ran with them.  I felt better today than Thursday. 15 miles in 7:59 ave pace.  Did a tiny throw up at the end of the run, not because I was running hard.  That was weird.

Oh yeah, had an uncomfortable, 2.5 hour root canal yesterday.  

My second son was baptized today, and we had family over for pizza, lasagna, salad, and a very fancy, very toxic strawberry cake made by Marion, with a gummy bear on each piece of cake.  She is such a generous friend.  I had some **nice** sharp pain in my teeth when I bite, but only every 10th bite or so, but when it happens I actually jump, it is quite jolting, but it subsides quick.  Just enough to keep me on my toes. 

Nap in the afternoon and core workout in the evening.  I am still throaty.

Took the day off and got extra sleep, I think it helped me toward the road to non-sore-throatness.

Stretching at night. 

Walking warm up, then stretching.

 Then ran 2.71 warm up to the track, then did 5x800m@ 6:06-6:18 pace, 600 m rest between (thats quite a bit of rest in between, I guess because I have a race this week?  1 - 3:01(3:10), 2 - 3:02 (3:13), 3 - 3:02 (3:01), 4 - 3:04 (3:37), 5 - 3:01.  Short and easy workout, not too bad to do alone, though it is harder to do workouts on my own.

Long cool down, 10.01 total in 1:19:56

core workout in the evening 

I woke up way tired, and sore from core workout, the back extensions got me.  Back still feels sore this evening.  I think I'll skip the back extensions tomorrow, so I am not sore for my race on Saturday.  Doing a 10k, hopefully will get a nap tomorrow to catch up on some sleep.

Working longer hours. 

Earned myself a moment to blog.  Ran easy with MacK and Aub.  Felt better than last Thursday, when I felt like crum, but throat isn't 100%.  I told myself I would take a nap today, but I modified it to "I will go to bed early tonight".  I got in bed about 1/2 hour later than I planned, but not too bad.  Corporations are due Monday!

Went to bed at a good time and slept in until 5:30!  Throat is still not really happy.  Emergenc'ed and nice stretching.  I am racing the Rex Lee 10k tomorrow.  I picked up my stuff yesterday and asked about the course, the course map shows a course that will be at least 1/2 mile short, but the volunteers knew nothing.  I am sure they are adding a loop to the course like they usually do, but it would be nice to know where that loop would be.

Well, this is not the official time.  I didn't stop my watch, and realized it when they were cutting off my chip, so I stopped the watch at 35:00.  Even 35:00 would have been a big PR.

TOO BAD THE COURSE WAS AGGREGIOUSLY SHORT.

This is unexcusable.  I am not pleased with the administration of the race, between this preventable, foreseeable error, and the timing screw up, I just don't think this race is a good option for serious runners.  A volunteer told me before the race when I informed the volunteer by the course maps that I knew the course would be short, he said yeah, they clocked it that morning at 5.6 miles, yet they did nothing to fix this.  They could have started the race further south and made the track loop partially on the grass, or added somewhere else, but I guess they thought we all would be happy with our PR's instead.  Anyway. . .

Prayed last night for some good prerace stars and got them.  

Went into work before the race to pick up some docs.  Decided then to change into shorts from my tights (it was already 42F).  Did a 2.6 mile warm up, chatted with the Sojourner chicks, ran to the Cannon Center a couple of times for their unused bathrooms (just 3 minutes from the start, meanwhile there was an incredible line at the track bathrooms).  Decided to wear my singlet, so was in a tank top and shorts, and the weather was probably 43-44F, with some wind.  

I start next to Melody and Amanda, and a blonde chick lines up near us and she looks serious.  Turns out it is Emily Bates, who I knew only by reputation, but now I have met her.  At the gun we take off, Emily leads, then I lead briefly, then she leads again as we start the ascent, the first mile has 122 ft of climb, mostly in the last 1/3 of the mile.  My first mile split (by mile markers) is 6:23, I was going for 6:20 since I knew there was uphill, so I felt ok with that.  I pick off some guys as the hill continues into mile 2.  The hill peaks at about 1.33, with 49 feet of climb, thats about when I passed Emily, then the 9th E downhill starts.  The races second mile marker was way short, at least by 1/3 mile, my split was 3 minutes something, so from that point on I knew the course was short AND the mile markers were crap.  That affected my psyche a bit since I can't rely on my lame gps, nor the mile markers, and the course was short, so I just tried to stay in the uncomfortable-but-sustainable zone.  Not much to report after this, I stayed in first place, I did feel a lack of motivation in the 4.0-5.0 mile zone.  We met up with the 5k group at about 4.8 miles and stay with them to the end.  This would be good in theory, to have people to pick off.  The problem is that I met the pack of 5k'ers who are just a tad slower than my pace, perhaps the 20:00 5k crowd.  So it was easier to match their cadence than to pass them, but I made myself pass some, and with 200m to go around the track I put on some speed, then was done.  A bit of dry heaving and crying.  I wasn't really pleased with my strength in the second half.  I feel like this race has taught me what I need to work on, my speed-endurance.  Whatever that is, its the well you draw on in the second half or last third of a 10k.  Mine is weak.  

 My goal in the race was to break 38:00, and I measured the course on the course tool as 5.6, so if my time was 33:48 (not sure that it was) then that is 6:03 pace, and that gets me under 38:00.  We'll see when the results get out.

It was nice to chat with blog and nonblog runners.  I talked with JulieC, Crockett, Tom and Kim Lee, Kent W, I met Cheryl from the blog (so nice to put a face with a blog), I talked a bit with Amber Harper (is Anderson her married name?--she won the 5k time--btw the 5k was LONG, geez), a couple of other Sojourner girls, Amanda and Melody, of course, and it was so nice to meet Emily Bates.  She is quite accomplished, a professor with a PhD in genetics? and a strong athlete on top of that.  

So that's the 10k that wasn't.  I am grateful to be racing :D 

Boy, my legs are sore. Quads especially.  5 on TM and stretching.  Crazy day - corporate deadline.   A good day to get done.

Met MacK and ran 5 miles, then on my own.  Today is supposed to be a fast finish run, which I think means to run between 1/2 marathon and 10K pace for the last 15-25% of the run, with the last 1/4 mile even faster. 

My legs still have a bit of the 9k in me, so I just did what I could on the fast portion.  I did 1.77 fast, first mile was 6:26 (per watch) and then last .77 was 6:20 overall.  I did speed up the last 1/4 mile, but it was painful and *unnatural*.  Work is piling up on me, but I am going to have a great day and conquer a lot of work :D  Hope y'all can too.

power lunges and ball grab.

Pirate Island Pizza, core workout, and Lost tonight! 

5 on TM

Met Tyler, Travis, MacK and Aub and did a long warm up, 5.19 miles, then started a tempo.

Cheated on the tempo, was supposed to do 3-5 @ 6:10-6:26, so decided to do 5 slower, and to start where MacK starts her tempo, but she didn't end up tempoing with us.  Cheated because there was a net drop of 198 feet:

My watch said 5.00 miles, but I ran another .03-.05 than Tyler and Travis, who surged in the last mile even more than me.  We almost got attacked by two dogs in the first mile.  Glad to get it done and survive the whole thing.  31:50 for whole thing.

On TM

Ran with MacK.  Averaged 7:46, we were under 8:00 pace for all but the first two miles, and the last mile climb into Salem.  We were clipping along, only interrupted by my coughing fits.  I got so raw in the throat between the coughing during the running and the running itself I decided to go to urgent care.  They gave me a cough suppressent and flonase.  So hopeful this lingering, nasty, annoying, embarrassing cough will cease and desist by next week.  We'll see.

No run.  Was planning on waking up at 4:30 and going straight to work and getting major work done.  I set my alarm for 4:30PM!! so I woke up on my own at 6:15.  I got good sleep and had a highly effective day.

Met MacK.  Ran 1.1, then stretched, then ran 5 more with her.  Then ran 5 on my own.  Mostly cough free, but wanted to cough at times, and coughed after running a bit.  My throat is much less raw, but I still have the urge to cough.

Core workout in the PM

Went to work straight after waking up.

Took a nap at the dentist while waiting for him to come in to put in my crown.

Ran in the pm, having to stop to take my son to art class, so I ran 3.25 on the tm and 1.75 outside.  It was so warm and lovely.

Made two batches of fondant, my first fondant ever. A pink patch (it's supposed to be red, but you know how that is, even with the powerful food coloring) and a yellow batch.  It was fun.

Stretching. 

Met SteveK, TylerS and Travis at the SF track.  I don't know why we ever meet there.  It is always so windy.  Today was no exception.  But every time I think, "it won't be windy today."  

Warmed up 2.25. After .25 of warm up and some coughing in this first stint, I went to my van and drank some dayquil.  Wasn't sure how the 1/2 piece of bread/vanilla gu/dayquil concoction would interact in my stomach, might have turned into a volcanic science experiment, but it was ok.

Plan was 6x1200, 600m rest, McMillan pace chart says 4:17-4:30.  I wanted 4:17-4:20.  I did 4:19 (with a very fast first lap 1:22 thanks to TylerS' exuberant pacing) (3:57 rest), 4:17 (3:58 rest), 4:20 (4:34-includes hs bathroom break), 4:20 (4:11), 4:21 (3:54), 4:21.  I was so sad to be 4:21 in the last two.  I was able to outkick Tyler on #5, but on #6 he started strong and stayed strong, and I came in last on the last one (the lead guys did 4:09-impressive!).   The guys were great to run with, and really helped me.  Given how I feel and this point in tax season, I am thrilled with this workout.  There is the famous Yoda saying printed on the hs wall that I read each of the three times I hit the bathroom this morning, "Do, or do not.  There is no 'try'."  Well, that didn't quite work for going 4:20 or faster, but it did for completing 6 reps.  One day I may be a jedi, but for now I am a padawan.

Short run this morning.  I thought I would run more after work but had a strange pain in my knee part of the time at work, especially going up and down stairs.  So I iced it after work instead, and hoped I felt better for my Saturday run.

Weight is bad.  Three more weeks of tax season.  I am going to do a whole 24 hours in bed after tax season.  Watch me. 

Walked 3 min, stretched then met MacK, Aub and Holly at Osborne's.  They were already warmed up, so we went straight into sub 8 min miles, so I was glad I had a slight walking warm up on my own.  At least that's something.  We kept a good pace the whole time.  We started chatting about food and recipes and I was so glad when the conversation went away from that, makes me kind of nauseous.  In the last mile there was a guy ahead of us and I wanted to get him, then MacK said we might get him, and that's all it took.  I practiced chasing down a gazelle and the poor guy didn't know what hit him.  It was good practice reeling someone in.  Last mile was 7:11 and was net uphill (treeline to Osborne's).  7:35 average pace overall.  Today was a Saturday miracle - no bathroom stops at all during the run.  That's a Michelle-feat.  

When I was driving up Woodland Hills Drive to my home (about 1300 feet above where I run), there was some crazy run-up-the-mountain race going on, and one of the other great girl runners that lives up here, Jen Hughes asked why I wasn't racing. Its a good question.  I am a wuss and hardly ever run the hills up here, mostly because I know the downhills aren't good for me.  I saw the last person racing, it was a man, and he had a big camelback that looked like it was stuffed with survival gear.  He also had a bulky sweatshirt around his waist.  I slowed to ask if he wanted me to bring his sweater to the park, and he said sure, and we realized we knew each other.  He's my kids' pediatrician.  I was wondering what crazy folk ran this race.  Now I know and I can tease him about having his own firetruck escort.

3.3 mile walk with Paul, 10x2 sec bridges

5 on treadmill and stretching, bridges 20x2 sec in evening

Walked 4 min, stretching, the met MacK.  It was warm out!  Over 50F.  But windy.  Not too bad unless you are trying to run fast. 

We ran 6 miles together then split off.  I ran another 1.3 easy then started the fast finish 10 minute segment of my run.  Ran into the wind for 5 minutes then turned around.  It was so painful.  I felt horrible, and going into the wind was just miserable.  I tried to keep my form tight to minimize the wind effect.  I turned around at 5 minutes then was running with the wind, but still, my mile split was 6:55!  How can 6:55 feel so hard!  I continued on, running 1.57 in 10:02 (ave pace 6:24), running sub 6:00 for the .57, finished hardest at the end.  I finally did a Dusa right.  It was so discouraging getting the 6:55 split, but I picked it up, and I am proud of myself for not giving up.

Did a putzy .2 mile jog to my car then did a bit of walking to further cool down.  

4pm:  I did a loop around Payson, got lost and went further than my 5 planned miles, which freaked me out since I had a hard Thursday morning workout, but I guess another .5 won't break me.  7:53 ave pace.