Denouement

Slept in!  Since I am low on available miles (can only run under 60 this week and am doing a 20 miler Saturday) and had no babysitter I got extra sleep.  It was light when I woke up!  It was weird.

 I drove into Provo, dropped by the Pachev's (nice to see them as always), then ran a quick 1.25 before my sports chiro appointment.  I then got worked over there, he worked out my calves and I only cried a little :)  I guess I am getting stronger.  He also did acupuncture electro therapy on my right calf which has been tight in the mornings and at the beginning of runs.  He then tried to diagnose my groin issue, but I am afraid I made quite a fool of myself since half the time he hit a ticklish part, and my soreness in the groin is really not that strong, so I wasn't able to say what movements hurt more on the left for the most part.  He was very professional but I have to say its still kind of unnerving to be worked on in that area by a man.  Next week he's actually going to work on the area, like massage it out or whatever.  Geez.  That should be a treat.  I should just request general anesthesia so I don't have to deal with that. 

Anyway, then I ran another 1.75 before picking up munchkin #3 from preschool.  I did it pretty fast because I was out of time. 

Ave pace 7:33 

I think I will do this sleep in thing the week before the marathon. 

Paul gets home late tonight!  Thank goodness.  Just when I think I am Mrs. Independent he goes out of town to remind me I am not.

Paul got home late last night so not enough sleep. I felt like death when my alarm went off, but felt much better just 2 minutes later. I just have to kick myself out of bed knowing the horrible wake-up-without-enough-sleep feeling will diminish. So I'll need a nap today for sure.

Ran with MacK for most of my run. She ran some miles before me, and I ran some miles after she went home, but it was nice to have some time together. Uneventful run except I threw in two strides during my last mile alone.

No pain in inner ankle area. Still some tightness in right calf (stretched one mile into run and at end of run). Can feel my groin issue on a very low level. Yesterday when I ran and when I danced with my kids after dinner, I noticed the pain goes all the way from the front of my pelvic area to my back, near the pelvic bone. It was aggravated by the dancing. It still wasn't a lot of pain but I thought I better jot down that observation.

8:19 ave pace

126 weight, eating oatmeal right now. I think oatmeal in the morning is one key to a healthy diet.

Met MacK, Josse, and Kevin K in Springville for a Hobble Creek run.  I ran two miles (6:48 then 7:50, so there was one marathon paced mile right away) before everyone else showed so I would get 20 miles, and I was able to stretch before we left.  I drove us up until 5 miles from the top then we ran up at a relaxed pace. 

Ave pace for five miles up  approx 9 minute pace

Then we hit the bathroom, ran one mile easy down and started our six mile tempo

1 - 6:51, we started faster than this then backed off,

2 - 6:49

3 - 6:43

4 - 6:46

5 - 6:28

6 - 6:45

I felt like I was holding back for all of the miles except mile 6, which had some unwelcome uphill parts.  It felt like the right effort level for Ogden, conversational almost.  I felt like I was walking a fine balance between pushing it and holding back.  Ogdens first 8 are downhill, but not as steep as Hobble Creek, so I am thinking I should be between 6:45 and 7 minute miles, depending on the mile and how I feel. 

 We then ran up to meet MacK and Kevin, who didn't tempo as hard as us.  Josse gave me a lecture about taking the rest of the run easy :) Which I totally did.  We were still in a gradual downhill so the rest of our splits were good.  Josse took off with 2 miles to go and I was like, Good for her, but my legs are done!  I did do some sub 7:30 miles in there, but am counting those as easy since they were downhill.

 I am really pleased with the run.  It felt good.  I think the marathon will wipe me out by the end but it should be enjoyable for the most part :)

Ave pace 7:48

weight 125

first time I did an ice bath this morning after the workout.  Boy was it cold!!!!!


 

Well my good intentions for an easy run didn't quite pan out. I ran up to pretty little road and stopped at the top of that nice little hill for some stretching after the mile warm up I had done. I started running down the hill and crossed paths with Kent and Pat, I turned around with them and complained about going up the pretty little road hill, which was nothing compared to the hills ahead. We proceeded to go up Harry's Hill (about .8 mile climb) at a fast pace for me (around 8 minute pace overall). Harry's Hill is a hill the SF running club does to prepare for the nasty Veyo hill in the St. George marathon. So they went faster up Harry's than I could muster, Pat got to the top first, then Kent and I was probably about 15 seconds behind Pat. We then ran toward Salem, then Kent informed me we were going to the Woodland Hills roundabout (.5 mile climb) then up Oak to Woodland hills drive (1.5 mile steep climb - 7% grade in places). Man, going up Oak is like doing a stair stepper. It stinks! They pulled ahead of me right from the get-go, but thankfully they stopped at a place up Oak probably .3 of a mile up. I stayed between Pat and Kent most of the time after that, though Kent would walk occasionally so I'd get a moment of being in front until he decided it was time to go again then he'd glide right by me. I ended up probably 8 sec behind him at the top, and Pat about 45 seconds back. They rested but seemed like they were headed up toward my house but I had to head downhill to get back to my car and home. So the paces were not fast on this run but the steep incline had me breathing hard and so I put it as threshold training.

Ave pace 8:25

weight 127

Evening: Ab workout, took walk with family to park and ran one mile with my new running partner, my son Benji. He did great! Paul ran with us too until he got bored with the pace then ran ahead.

This morning has not started so great. It started with me waking up half an hour before I needed to, after having a bad dream where one of the past BYU running girls wasn't impressed with me running one good race since college (Painter's 1/2). Well, so that dream stunk, to get taunted for my running mediocrity in my own head. When I woke up I thought I heard a child breathing difficultly, but checked the three munchkins and they were all fine.

My run felt sluggish at best, but for the first two miles my right ankle felt sore and unstable, I stretched at 1 mile as usual, then stretched at the 2 mile mark because it still felt achy. I started running on the wrong side of the road (with traffic) and that helped. I turned around at about 2.2, thinking I could try to run again this afternoon, but then my leg felt better, though I still felt generally tired. My leg felt achy again the last mile of the run so I stopped running right at 7 miles and walked the .3 or so mile to my car. I stretched some more when I got home and now am wearing ice around my ankle. Dang! I should have never woken up this morning (except I guess then my dream would still be going with me berating myself?!?). And to top it off, my weight is still 127. I guess eating chocolate cake is not a good diet tip. I made chocolate cake for my cat's birthday cake. Fluffy has been in our family for one year now.

Evening- ran one mile with Benji while Mickie played soccor, so the run was on the grass. I felt some pain in my right ankle but not much. 11:21 mile for him, 57 seconds off. We were in Salem so the air is thicker, but that wouldn't have helped us more than 10 seconds. I am proud of him~!

Met with MacK and JH in Salem. I wasn't sure whether my ankle would cooperate with a run today, but there is really only one way to find out. It fine as I got ready in the morning, and I did a little bit of walking when I got out of my car. Then we were off, and it felt fine and normal the whole run, with the exception of one minor twinge at around 8 miles. We also went a little faster in the middle because that JH is a speedy lady. We saw Kevin not long after starting the run and he joined us for most of it. We dropped off MacK after 6.5 (she cheated and ran 5 miles before us because she had to get home early) then I dropped off Jen at 7 miles, and I ran a couple more. The pain yesterday was real and really scary, but there may be some truth to Josse's comment yesterday. I guess the premarathon psychosis has begun for me! Watch out crazy lady on the loose!

Ave pace 8:06

Ran with Benji 1 mile in 10:59! He is an animal!

Ran with MacK in Salem to SF and back. It was raining and 44F when we started so I wore tights. Bad idea, my legs felt claustrophobic, especially since it stopped raining after a scant two miles. The farm country smelled good from all the rain we have been having. We talked about food WAY too much during the run, oh well.

My ankle felt good, no pain.

Ave pace 8:18

weight 126

I went to Dr. Brady in the mid morning. He worked on both my ankle and my groin, which he said is likely some tendonitis. He said groin injuries are really slow to heal and are often not taken care of because people don't want that area worked on. He was very professional and I think I kept my cool reasonably well. He did ultrasound and electroacupuncture in both my right inside ankle and groin, and of course deep tissue torture :)

I took a short nap but wanted to get up and work on some house projects.

I am getting excited for Ogden, but since I am building my miles instead of tapering right now, I am a little tired.

I had the most elaborate dream/nightmare about a marathon, which was a cross between Ogden and St. George only it wasn't like either at all, of course. And I ran with Marcie for the first half, and at the half way point we stopped for like 5 minutes, turned off our watches like it was ok to stop and stretch and shoot the breeze in the middle of a race. Then in the second half we were apart and I got lost and fell hours behind. At about mile 18 there was a tremendous downhill of like 25% then my husband Paul picked me up in the minivan and we went to the store, and he tried to drop me off at that point in the race (about mile 23) but I realized he had to drop me off where he picked me up or it wouldn't be a true marathon. So he was driving me on this crowded street, crowded with a bunch of recreational 6 hour marathoners and he was driving fast and I was like, "Paul stop you are running into people!!!" He wouldn't slow down, and I think he was mostly bumping them, not really running over people, but he finally dropped me off to finish the race.

Nice dream, eh?

Last night and this morning my feet felt a little achy, just some aches/pains in different places. It all shook off and had no pain in the whole run.

I met MacK and JH in Salem and we did a nice loop. Mack and I ran for a mile going up and down a hilly road until JH came, and that first mile was slow (almost 10 minute). Then I stretched and we took off. MacK was with us for three miles then turned around. After mile 1 the miles averaged just under 8 minute pace. I am feeling good! I had some Endurox when I came home because I want to recover well. I have over 100 plants (vinca major) I will be planting in the next day. It is nice to get out and do yard work.

Ave pace 8:06, had a 7:23 mile in there. JH is pretty fast!

I converted all my mile runs with the boys to only count half their distance, since the pace is so off my normal easy pace.  I will start counting them at their full length when they are below 10 minute pace.

I met with the SF group. It quickly became Alli, MacK, Josse and I since we decided to not go to bishops to save some time on the workout (MacK had to get to a 5k for her church after the run). We decided to start our tempo at the top of pretty little road for some downhill, 4.71 miles into the run. It's hard to find a long stretch of downhill in the SF/Salem farm country, but we did our best to patch one together :) Josse was going to tempo 3 miles and I was going to tempo 4. I was fine with anything from threshold effort to marathon pace (6:30-6:50).

Mile 1 - 6:25, this mile had the best/fastest downhill, marathon/half marathon effort

Mile 2 - 6:38, short downhill (Zephyr) then flat, felt like marathon effort

Mile 3 - 6:36, we turned left at powerhouse road, so gradual slight downhill, Josse did great and was done with three, marathon/half marathon effort

Mile 4 - 6:29, I turned around and did the gradual uphill mile to finish the tempo off. Unfortunately this mile felt harder, 10K-half marathon effort. I was glad to break 6:30 (even if by a second) on the uphill, though.

I then turned around and met back up with Josse. MacK and Alli did a tempo at a more moderate pace (6:40ish) but didn't turn left on powerhouse road so we didn't see them again. It was nice to run in SF and see lots of running buddies. It was great weather, it started at 38 and worked up to about 46. I am wearing shorts now so I need a new blog name. All my ideas are either not clever enough or too clever, so I am working on it. I had ice bath #2 for the year and Endurox.

Ave pace 8:04

I ran with the two kiddies just before lunch for a mile.  They did very well.  I'll count that as 1/2 mile.  I ran it in 11 min. pace. 

Lots of sleep and no cooking!  Gotta love Mother's Day!  And they gave out big candy bars to the women at church!  That is the gift that keeps on giving!  I gave 1/2 to the family and ate the rest myself.

Such a hard time sleeping because of too much sleep yesterday and nerves starting for Ogden Marathon. Since I visualized the race several times over last night I decided that's the last time I get to do that before sleep this week or I will start to go crazy.

I'm going to run in the afternoon today to get in more miles with less strain on the body. This will be my version of a taper for now.

It was raining during the whole run and I was thoroughly soaked! And there was about 2 inches of snow at my house when I got home. Yet it's supposed to hit 80F on race day Saturday. That's just not fair!

7 miles even in 59:03, 8:26 ave pace. Ran with JH a pretty little road loop. If I would have put some shampoo in my hair before leaving I wouldn't have needed a shower when I got home.

Afternoon: boring 3 miles on treadmill, total time 23:31

Evening: abs, stretches, walked to park with kids and ran 1 mile with them.  They are so strong and motivated! It is so cool! 

AM: Ran 4 miles on the treadmill in 31:47.

weight has stabilized at 125 for now. I hoped to be down to 124 for the race Saturday, so if I dehydrate myself severely. . . I am totally just kidding!

Later AM: Ran loop from the Springville Walmart. Warmed up .75 then stretched, did .25 then started a marathon pace tempo, just to get a feel of running comfortable at a fast but not super fast pace.

Mile 1 - 6:58 gradual uphill, and have a side stitch, worked it out by .5 or so

Mile 2 - 6:55 a little steeper uphill then some downhill toward the end

Mile 3 - 6:47

Mile 4 - 6:45, overpass then gradual downhill, at the beginning of this mile I went on an overpass on 400S which had a metal pedestrian section, but it turned out to be rickety and bent in places and I was strategizing how I would grab onto metal as I fell if it broke under me, ran 7:30 for probably .1 in there while concerned about it.

Ave pace for whole run 7:11, 5.64 miles

Hard time falling asleep last night.  I plan on sleeping with no alarm set tomorrow to make sure I get some good sleep.

Ran with MacK easy. I didn't check pace but didn't feel energetic.

Got great sleep last night. The night before I got bad sleep and so yesterday I felt bad all day. Headachy at times, sore throat at times. I slept today until I woke up naturally, a luxury I won't get again until next marathon taper in October (except I plan on doing this tomorrow morning too).

Today I feel great! What a difference getting enough sleep makes. I ran a little bit in a new running skirt I bought yesterday, but I asked a pedestrian if it was flipping up in back so she could see my bloomers and she said yes, so I stopped running and am returning that $60 skirt. Also I had three gu's in the side pocket and it bounced too much. It was ok with two gu's but the bloomer-flash makes the skirt a no-go. So I went home after less than a mile, changed to the race shorts I got from the St. George Running Center, and to my delight the small pocket actually fits three gu's if you cram them in, plus it doesn't bounce. So I am wearing the shorts I am supposed to wear. Go figure.

I ran the rest of my run at the park by my home, doing striders on the downhill part of the loop. It was 10am-11am and mid 60's so that is pretty similar to how the middle of the race will feel.

ave pace 7:57

time to carbo load baby! I am focusing on my grains at this point. Going on a date with Paul tonight since the weekend is packed and we missed our date last weekend because my babysitter went up to see David Archeletta in Murray, forgetting all about her commitment to me. Where are her priorities ? : )

I slept until I couldn't sleep no more, unfortunately, that was 6am today.  Then I put on another new running skirt and drove to Salem for a short run.  Tapers are sweet!  I only saw two men in the first .5 mile of my run so I asked the older gentleman to assess my skirt, which is navy blue with light blue shorts underneath.  He said he could see just the bottom of the shorts.  He said, "Don't worry, you are decent."  So the champion skirt I bought for $20 at Target is a keeper, while the skirt I bought for $60 is going back.  Go figure.

I met up with Clay at about .75 and ran a couple of miles with him.  It was so nice to be able to chat with him.  I actually sped up accidentally while running with him (sorry Clay!).  

I feel good but not as fresh as a real taper would have made me, but I don't have the months of high mileage behind this marathon that would make a taper worthwhile.  

I see the marathon as being a very long tempo workout that starts easy and gets progressively harder.  That's how I plan to race it.  I hope to meet all my blogging buddies.  Don't be shy introducing yourself if you see me and I don't initially recognize you.  This is going to be so fun!

Ave pace 8:10 

I just got home so this is my race report.

I couldn't fall asleep well before the race, so I took Benadryl, not sure if it would make me groggy in the morning. It turned out I was just fine.

Plan for marathon: run 7 min pace for miles 1-8, 7:20 for rollers through 15, then try to drop the pace for the remaining two miles of rollers, and try to do some serious negative splits in the canyon and hang on to the end. I wanted 1:35 for the first half and dreamed of a 1:30 second half, but the hot weather seemed to not be a good indicator for such a strong negative split.

I jogged and stretched before the race, then lined up with Josse, MacK, and Cal. We were behind some people who really didn't look like they'd be racing the marathon, we were behind hundreds of people and I convinced them to move up and cut the people in front of us by half, but when the gun went off, there was such slowness I couldn't handle it and started doing some major swerving to get ahead of the masses. It became apparent that Josse, MacK and Cal didn't follow as I waited and watched for them to pull up on me and they never did, so after a mile or two I knew I was on my own. So much for running in a pack. Sorry guys, I really didn't mean to ditch you!

Miles 1-6 were majorly holding back, but it got to feeling more like marathon pace as I went on. Here's my splits:

1 - 6:57

2 - 6:57

3 - 6:55

4 - 6:51

5 - 6:55

6 - 6:54

7 - 6:56, took my first gu

8 - 7:04, took my first potty break, but must have sped up to make up for lost time, so apparently I lost only about 10 seconds

9 - 7:11, start of rollers, flat overall but plenty of rolling to keep things interesting, I started throwing water on my body at every water station after mile 9

10 - 7:12

11 - 7:13, going faster than I planned in rollers but still feeling like I am holding back some

12 - 7:08

13 - 7:12, 13.1 in 1:32:15 or so

14 - 7:23, took another potty break right after 1/2 -thank heaven for their port a potties, though this one also slowed me another 10 seconds, I take a second gu

15 - 7:23, the worst hill is in this mile, I was headed for a 7:40 at the top but was able to bring the overall mile time down after cresting, at the top of the hill, I said out loud "So that's it" because to me the top of that hill is a major turning point for the race, at the top of the hill I know now its time to slowly reel in the girl who was next ahead of me. I have no idea what place I was in.

16 - 7:02, I am speeding up, but so is the lady in front of me, I gain no ground

17 - 7:07, starting to gain a little on lady ahead, around this time I am thinking, I do like marathoning, this is my type of sport (no quick decisionmaking needed!)

18 - 6:35, I finally find out I am in 6th place, then pass the lady I had been reeling in, the downhill is beginning

19 - 6:36

20 - 6:41

21 - 6:43 - I pass three more girls in the canyon by mile 22

22 - 6:20 - I man on a bike follows me for a mile, tells me the number one girl was ahead of me by 38 seconds, I speed up (I am a drop of water being pulled down! I seriously used this metaphor by Paul to help me here). In .5 mile I am still 38 seconds behind

23 - 6:29 - I get within 15 seconds or so, then #1 girl sees me and starts pushing me. I pass Andy and he is struggling and I say, "Come with me, help me" and he very graciously does run with me and push me for about .75

24 - 6:52 - fatigue setting in, #1 getting away and I am just trying to keep under 7 minutes. I am also realizing I am needing potty break #3

25 - 7:30 - I hit the bushes at 24.2 miles, turn off my watch accidentally and didn't realize it so my split on this mile is approximate and includes the untimely bathroom break

26 and .2 - approx 6:56 pace (this is .94 on my watch at 6:56 pace).

I was so happy when I crossed and it was confirmed that I was the second lady! And my time was in the 3:02 range, better than my hopeful best case of 3:05. I am now quite sore but not as bad as St. George. I think I will be able to run but will keep it easy next week.

I am so pleased to get my second marathon under my belt and that it went better than I expected. My strategy of a negative split worked. I slowed at the end but not nearly as much as St. George and it actually wasn't slowing compared to the roller miles. I was much more postive mentally. I was able to work through some minor stomach issues, bathroom breaks, and a cramp without panicing. I also was able to keep cool by putting on the water often and early. I don't think the heat affected me by more than 2 minutes. It was a PR effort for me an a great way to start the summer of training.

Thanks to all who helped me, especially Andy.

Ave pace for the race 6:58.

Paul, my husband, said I couldn't eat french fries today just because I ran a marathon. I asked if I could have some after St. George and he said no. Don't get me wrong, I steal fries from my kids sometimes, but I haven't ordered any for myself since October. Oh well. I think I like marathoning better.

Still sore from the marathon, but not too sore to run easy.

Stopped and did longer stretch session after one mile warm up. Ran with Clay for about a mile in the middle.  Stretched at home after run. My quads are the sorest, but did ok on the run.

Ave 8:40 pace. 

The dang noisy birds woke me up at 5:10 even though my alarm wasn't supposed to go off until 5:50!

This morning's soreness is more like normal soreness with some fatigue mixed in. I just want to keep my miles easy this week.

Ran with JH in Salem, ave pace 8:12

weight 126

Went in and had groin issue worked on.  Dr. Brady and his assistant did some stretches that required them both holding one leg and pulling it toward my shoulder.  Got a herbal patch on it, not sure if that does any good but I had to keep it on for 72 hrs.

Went to bed late.

Woke up and ran with MacK.  Not sure if I was more fatigued from not getting enough sleep, ramping up miles too quickly after the marathon, or just yucky from two potty breaks during the run.  Have had tummy trouble since the marathon.  The good side of it is that I weighed 124 this morning, a next post tax season low.  I guess getting cleaned out has some benefits.  I took endurox when I got home to help recovery.

Ave pace 8:32

Met MacK and Josse in SF for a nice cold rain run. My legs felt heavy toward the end, probably partially residual fatigue from the marathon, and partially my pants were soaking wet and actually heavy. I am glad I had them to run with. Good conversation as always. I appreciate their friendship! We have potentially two more days of rainy running weather before some dry runs next week.

Ave pace 8:21

Evening stretch & abs 

Ran easy 7.1 with JH. I have been feeling tired so I cut back the miles slightly today. I want to make sure I recover adequately from the marathon. I have also been trying to decide when to do by first speed workout (tempo), and I think I will wait until next Saturday when Josse and I go up and down Provo Canyon, so that I get more recovery in. I am not sure if I am not getting enough sleep, coming down with a cold, am worn down from stress (having high stress right now!), or just still recovering from the marathon but I am just feeling kind of blah.

Ave pace 8:20

Jogged 1 mile easy with Benji in the park in the afternoon. 12:24

Woke up naturally this morning 10 minutes before the alarm. It was a lovely day. Ran with the SF group, mostly with MacK, Hal, Chad and Doug. Kelly G. ran with us from mile 10-12. I'm so glad it didn't rain on us. Chad was feisty as always and helped us keep our pace faster, my fastest run of the week.

12.14 miles 8:03 ave pace

Just me and my music and lots of sprinkles. It sprinkled the first 4 or so miles, strengthened to a rain in the middle, then lightened back up toward the end. I got slowed in miles 6 and 7 because I got on a dirt road accidentally, which was turned mushy from the rain. Thus I had mud up and down my calves.

I forgot to stretch after warming up, thus when I stretched at the end I was pretty tight. I can feel my groin lightly and felt some tightness in my right quad toward the end of the run.

Ave pace 7:51

124 weight 

Ran on my own again. Ran into Payson and decided I felt good enough to do some strides.  I did 4 and then felt like that was enough.  Just reminding my legs what fast feels like.  I kept the pace quicker than my tax season shuffle, but it still felt comfortable.  I'm going in again to get my groin worked on.  It felt sore for about .5 mile in the first mile, but then the soreness subsided.  As I sit at my computer I can feel it, though it is very mild.  

The sun came up over the mountains and I ran straight into it for the last three miles of my run.  It was nice to have the sun, but I'd rather have it to my side than in my face like that. 

I saw Clay at the very end. HALLLOOO Clay!

Ave pace 7:41

I ran up and down Payson Canyon with MacK, 5.5 up then down, then we added 1 mile at the end. Last summer I would tempo up then run down easy, but this was just an easy up and down, to reacquaint myself with the canyon and so I will be able to tempo it better when I do. I was able to do this in about 45 minutes up last year (my stopping point is really 5.4 miles), and today it was an easy 49:36. That should be pretty easy to beat next time up. My first tempo should be 5 minutes faster. That will stink. Its a gradual uphill for 4 miles then gets steep and nasty the last 1.4. The good news is that I didn't need a pit stop. I think I'll start to note when I DON'T go potty--it will save on typing.

When I took my running socks off at home I thought I detected a sock tan line and I asked Paul it he could see one, he stared at my feet for a minute, and I was like, "What? There's not?" And he said, "There's lily white, and then there's very lily white." Oh well.

Ave pace - something slow - ok it was 8:29

Weight 124

Ran with Josse in SF. Her garmin was dead so I'll post splits for her info. We started off super easy then broke into a more fast pace but still easy.

8:39, 8:12, 8:03, 8:01,8:14, 7:37, 7:39, 7:32, 7:38

I'm not sore any more, so that bodes well for my first speed workout after the marathon, Saturday.

There were lots of people out. When we saw Steve King and Chad (I think that's his name) Josse joked that we should speed up so of course I did :) Little snot (that's me!) on the road!

Ave pace 7:58

Woke up in the middle of the night with pretty tight calves. They felt less tight when woke up for good. Slept in, then ran pretty little road loop. Stretched diligently after mile1 and at the end.

Ave pace 7:47

I have been looking forward to this run all week! First speed workout after marathon! Met Josse and Kent at the mouth of Provo Canyon, then we drove up about 4 miles to Vivian Park. There we met Steve from Heber and ran up that South Fork Canyon for 4 miles, then back down 1 mile to the start of the 10 mile race we'll be doing in two weeks. My goal was to do a six mile tempo in 6:00-6:15 pace. I also wanted to check out the course and better set my expectations for the race. I am also going to be quicker tempos through July to try to quicken my marathon pace by October. It turns out this course is 3 miles of good downhill, then you hit the Provo River trail, and the trail is downhill but doesn't feel like it.

Mile 1 - 6:07, Steve and I set our pace, Kent and Josse are behind us taking it easier (ok so Steve was taking it easy too, it's just me who's going to kill herself today)

Mile 2 - 5:58

Mile 3 - 5:56 already starting to work in this mile to keep pace

Mile 4 - 6:10, much flatter, Steve and I don't see the turnoff for the trail at the beginning of this mile at Vivian Park, but find it pretty quick

Mile 5 - 6:22 (tempted to lie on this split :) , but it is what it is) a struggle the whole mile, wanting to quit, tons of walking pedestrians we get to weave through. This mile shows I am not fully recovered from the marathon.

Mile 6 - 5:58, see the light at the end of the tunnel and am able to pull out another sub 6, 36:33 for 6 miles or 6:06 ave

We stop the tempo and I cry a little. That's when I know I gave what I got. It felt pretty similar to a 10K pace, though I think I could have gone a little faster in a race scenario.

So though I would love to break 1:00 in the 10 mile race coming up, this workout says I'm not ready to :( I am guessing I am closer to 1:02. The race seems like it will be hard, like a bait and switch, first three miles fast downhill then more rolling/downhill but much less grade.

We ran the rest of the run easy, though we did clock a 7:15 in one of the remaining miles. A special thanks to Josse for organizing the run and driving us up, and to Kent for driving us back to Josse's car. It was nice to get to know Steve C.

Ave pace 7:41

Jamba juice (orange/strawberry/banana with protein) and pumpkin chocolate chip bread from Great Harvest on the way home :) Ice bath at home. Good times!