Denouement

Met Tyler and Ali at 5:30 in SF.  I got there late because I couldn't find my gps watch.  Ended up running naked and kept hitting my arm with my finger where my watch should be throughout the run like a big dork.

We ran 3.5 then met up with the 6am group.  Stretching then off again. There's a 6:30 stopping point too but I ran through part of this to get my mileage.  We picked up Doug at that point, and I ran with Doug, Tyler with Pat (one of those two were pushing the pace-they each won't take responsibility), and Ali with Jill.  At Osborne's we had 9 miles.  I took a gu and water, VPB, and Tyler and I took off.  I tried to recruit Pat and Hal and Doug for the tempo (and Ali) of course but none of them thought it sounded fun.  Ali poked fun of us as we took off.  We started at Osbornes and went downhill.  Its a slight downhill grade for 2 miles, mile 3 had uphill and downhill, 4 was flat and slight uphill, 5 was slight uphill, and 6 was .6 uphill and .4 downhill.  Splits were (from my memory from Tyler calling splits - 6:27, 6:21, 6:37, 6:30, 6:29, 6:20.  

So this tempo was definitely not glorious, but it was solid marathon pace, and I got the monkey off my back of the first post marathon workout.  Now I can get down to business- training for my January marathon. 

Tyler was great during the workout, keeping me informed of pace and distance.  I was on his shoulder for miles 4 and 5, he doing his typical "this tempo pace is easy for me" and I did my typical "kick in the last 1/2 mile to make him earn it" routine.  I'm so glad I didn't have to do this workout on my own.

We ran back to our cars (2 miles) then I ran one more on my own to get 18.

Afterward, stretching, ice bath (54F to waist), Endurox

weight 120 (I won't even bore you about all the bad stuff I ate yesterday, so glad weight didn't spike up)  No more kids candy!!! I do like to eat the jawbreakers because they give me some sweetness but take a long time to eat, and it's not like I am going to have 20 a day.

I'll post pictures later today for halloween.

Uneventful run except for putting my mittens on and taking them off over and over since I couldn't decide whether to have hands a little too cold or a little too hot and sweaty.

Kept a good pace so I could do 13 miles.

ave pace 7:43

weight 120

Went to the Metallica concert last night.  They were excellent. Their warm up acts were not so great, but Metallica is the best rock band ever.  My favorite numbers were Master of Puppets (my all time favorite song of theirs) and Back to the Front (I forgot all about this song, haven't heard it in over a decade, but it was so good).  It was a workout just being at the concert, even though I wasn't on the floor with all the crazy's.  All the head banging should count for some cross training.  My neck is sore from it!

Ok, so I got to bed at 1am, so I slept in until 7:20 then did canning in the morning, then voted (rock on - Obama is winning!), then ran after taking my son to preschool.  I started just after noon.  It was rainy/snowy, but not too cold.  I listened to NPR all day since it's such a monumental day.

Tempo run tomorrow, probably in the snow.

ave pace 8:03

nap in late afternoon.

First big winter storm of the year.  Took it really slow driving down the mountain, with 1-2 inches of snow on the asphalt.  Got to Ali's house late.  It was pelting down snow pellets and Ali's like, are you sure you want to do a tempo run?  And I am doubting the wisdom of it as the pellets hurt our faces as we run into it.  We run toward the ballpark and by the time we get there the pellets had stopped.  Good so we can do it.  We ran 3.3 warm up, stretched and started.  It was a 10 minute out, 10 minute back tempo (twice) for 40 minutes total, and this format helps me to chase down my running mate and not feel totally alone in a tempo.  I wanted to do 6:30 to start and go faster the second 20 min segment if possible.

1 - 6:21 - this seems like a pretty flat section but as i tempoed it I think it is slightly downhill this mile

2 - 6:33 - 3:39 one direction then turn around and back.  Snow pellets are hammering down toward the end.

3 - 6:49 - pellets coming down hard now, trying to keep effort up, trying to decide whether to quit at 20 min

20:42 for first segment, 3.14, no stopping just turned around and lapped watch

1 - 6:45, still pelting down snow, asphalt covered by now,

2 - 7:03, turn around after 3:16

3 - 7:05 pace for .91 (6:27), by this mile snow was clinging to the heels of my shoes creating a platform shoe effect, legs felt tired, but kept up effort best I could.

total 6.05 in 40:59, 6:47 ave pace, bad pace for bad conditions.  I think I deserve 3 stars for sticking with the workout :)

12.5 miles total with 7:48 ave pace for total

weight 122

Slept in, and ran 4 miles after getting the older kids off to the bus on the treadmill.  I haven't run on a treadmill for several months.  Last time I tried I got tight calves and got gunshy.  So I made myself stop at four and go an easy pace.  Slowly, slowly eased into a sub 8:00 pace.  Will run more this afternoon.

PM: Ran Bishops Storehouse 9 and did 10 strides (about 30 sec each) within the run, then added an around a couple blocks loop to try to get closer to 10 miles, ended up with 9.6 (no gps, but used course tool ex post facto). Started at around 12:45, so much warmer than earlier in the day.  Ran with my new short haircut courtesy of ali, so no ponytail for me.  Quicker than normal pace, and had to slow myself some to be this slow.  I guess it feels good to run in the sun.  ave pace 7:23

Ran 8 with Ali, then 2 more on my own. 

8:24 ave pace

weight 122

Took a morning nap.

Ok Ali cut my hair yesterday and Lupita was kind enough to color it for me today:

<a href="http://good-times.webshots.com/photo/2199275380104365166fcpqrK"><img src="http://inlinethumb22.webshots.com/6101/2199275380104365166S200x200Q85.jpg" alt="DSC01295"></a>

<a href="http://good-times.webshots.com/photo/2293047100104365166JniWBt"><img src="http://inlinethumb01.webshots.com/5888/2293047100104365166S200x200Q85.jpg" alt="DSC01293"></a>

Met with JulieE at Sasha's and we ran 3.13 at 8:00 ave pace to get in some mileage before a 7am start time.  Sasha and Jeff were doing a 10 mile tempo at 5:50 pace (so Sasha claimed) on a 2.5 mile stretch, so my plan was to hang with them for as many quarters as I could, then jog to another quarter mile mark, then jump in with them again for another repeat.  So I would have anything between 4x1mile-2mile repeats.  Given my sluggish legs lately, I knew 2 miles wouldn't likely be in the cards, and as I started the morning I knew 1.25 would be most likely the farthest I could go, since I haven't done anything except strides below 6:00 pace since the marathon.  I thought Julie might do 1 mile repeats with us, but Tyler joined and wasn't up for the workout, so it seemed like he paced her through a steady tempo.  We warmed up as a five person group for 3 miles, then started.  

1 - 1.25 in 7:14 (5:47 pace), with 5:47 for the first mile, so even pace, Sasha said I'd only make it to the mile mark since I wasn't conversational, so I had to at least go another quarter :)

2 - 1 mile in 5:48, they were going faster than their 5:50 projected pace, so they gapped me by about 8 seconds on this mile, so I syched out thinking I was slowing down, I should have just pushed it to 1.25

3 - 1.25, 5:43 for first mile (they were still gapping me, going so fast), then I couldn't see the marker for the quarter, so I just kept up the pace for another 1:30, so probably a little long,

4 - 1:25 in 7:28 (5:59 ave pace) I mistimed the start of this part so I wasn't at the quarter marker when they got there, so it messed up me trying to pace with them.  I was about 10 sec back to start but they quickly increased the distance.  This was a fairly pathetic repeat, but I have to post the truth.  I ran the first mile in 5:57, then the last quarter in 1:31.  Rather unimpressive, but I am glad I went 1.25 instead of 1 mile.  My legs were tired pieces of dead meat by this time, but I plugged along.  I guess I can blame 1/2 of my slow 4th interval on not starting with them, but even that piece is my fault :)  When I finished I just told myself "money in the bank"  Any workout is money in the bank.  This is the first workout since the marathon that I've gone sub 6:00 so I guess from that standpoint the fourth one was ok and the rest were gosh darn brilliant (ok now I'm just trying to make myself feel good). :

 Found Sasha and Jeff for a cool down, who did a most excellent tempo run.  They completed the same tempo run they did last Saturday much faster today, so they should be really pleased.  Thanks for the help guys.

I had to run another 2 and change after dropping Sasha off, so I went back to the trail.  Legs dead at this point.  When I get to the turnaround, some guy in a fluorescent pink hat is ahead of me looking strong, and I'm like, dang it he's going to pass me.  So he comes up on me and I try to keep with him.  I say hi, he ignores me because he's got an ipod on, and he eventually passes me, though I don't like that and am not used to it, so I try to not let him get far away.  So that mile was 6:47 and I'll count it as marathon pace.  Beware Mr. Fluorescent Hat Guy - next time I might not have 19 miles on my legs already and then we'll see. . .

Stretching, ice bath

weight 121

AM:  Dang it I slept in (set alarm for pm instead of AM) so I did four miles on the treadmill @ 7:30 pace (I always do 1.5 elevation to equalize).  I should be able to get in some more this afternoon, but I am starting the week behind since I am trying to hit 85 miles this week.

weight 123

PM:  Ran in the drizzle, 42F, starting .5 mile away from Will's Pit Stop in Provo and going up the canyon four miles.  At the turnaround I noticed dual issues:  pain in my left quad and in my left very upper calf (just below knee).  The just below knee pain was sharp at time.  I stopped and rubbed it down, then stopped again to stretch my calf.  For miles 5 and 6 the pains were distracting and frustrating, but then they faded into the background.  So 8.03 miles in 7:47 ave pace.  

Ab workout in the evening, and stretching.  I will also use foam roller on these trouble spots and try to work them out.  I have intervals planned for Wed but will skip/modify if the pain is still there tomorrow.  Often these pains are random and jump from one part of my body to another.  I hope that's the case with these too.  Last week I felt like I had a bone sticking out of one foot, but it didn't even hurt the next day.  Go figure.

Last night I used wintercrest (thanks Josse!  I smell like an old woman!) and scraped my two areas with the curved back of a comb, and applied heat.  Ran on my own.  This morning I had to watch for pains from yesterday, so warmed up slowly, stretched after 1.5, and kept it at an easy pace.  Not a single mile broke 8:00 (I did get an 8:01 :D ).  My legs were overall tired, but the specific pains from yesterday didn't register during the run.  I could feel them as I did a thorough stretching session while I oversaw my 6 year old's piano practice.

ave pace 8:13

weight 122

Evening: ab workout. More stretching, scraping, wintercrest, foam rolling.

I wanted to do intervals today, but with my pains from Monday lingering yesterday, I thought I should go safer with a marathon pace tempo.

I also have been generally unsuccessful with recruiting other runners to do speed with me.  Ali has been a good sport and helped me through some, but she's not allowed to do speed right now. So today is third day in a row alone.  I know I need to get tougher and learn how to push myself even when I am all alone, so this is kind of a transition period for me, transitioning into solo running.

I warmed up just over three miles, had a lady tell me that she almost ran into me and to be careful and I told her she almost ran into me because she didn't stop for her stop sign.  She didn't have anything to say about that (or I just didn't hear her because she drove on).  I started into my tempo.  I was hoping to start at 6:30 pace and then drop toward the end.  My gps watch seemed to wig out on me toward the middle of the run, logging a 7:13 and a 7:50 mile (even though I was still breathing hard and working over turnover).  Since I didn't know what my true pace was, and I was afraid the watch was accurate, I got psychologically weak, thinking perhaps I am just in a huge training slump, perhaps I'll never be strong enough to push myself all alone, tons of negative thoughts.  It was not so glorious.  I know I didn't push myself as hard as I should have at parts.  My legs felt really dead the last half too.  But I didn't give up and just pushed through.  I don't know splits because the watch was not working properly.  I finished in 48:51, which would be quite bad if my watch was right, and it was 7 miles.  So I almost lost it driving home but held out hope that perhaps the watch was measuring off.  I put my run into the course tool, and my overall run was 12.07 per my gps watch, and 12.5 per the course tool.  The tempo part was 7.36, which puts my average pace at 6:38, instad of 6:59.  6:38 isn't glorious but is much better than 6:59. 

I then used the course tool to measure yesterday's run, which measured at 12.71, instead of the 12.34 by my watch.  I generally knew that my watch tends to measure miles long, but come on, this is not a reasonable deviation.  Running the same course every day isn't an option because of being a lone woman, so I may need to spring for the more current version of the gps watch.

weight 120

endurox and stretching.

PM:  4.5 on treadmill.  My four year old was the only one home and awake, and he pulled up his red camping chair in front of the treadmill with some snacks and a pink lemonade and watched me run for part of the run.  He offered me some pink lemonade and how could I refuse?  I am glad my stomach is strong.  He then got bored and started sweeping the basement.  He is so sweet.  So I started out really slow and gradually worked up to 8:00 pace.  Recovery, recovery. 

I will do one legged squats 3xtwo ways, and leg scrapers (one and two legs) tonight.  This is my only weight routine I do (other than abs), and it's with light weights (12 lbs in each hand).  Of course, I do these weights while watching America's Next Top Model.

AM: 6 miles, just me and NPR. 7:39 ave pace, gps again under measured by 3%

weight 121

Ran 3.32 miles then met up with Marion and did a 4 mile tempo inside of a 6 mile run. She did great even with feeling under the weather.  You can see her blog for the splits.  She treated me to some great whole wheat bread and honey after the run.  It was great to talk with her, she's amazing!

weight 122

Later in the morning I ran just under a mile on the treadmill at Dr. Brady's.  I was wearing running shorts, running shoes and my work shirt with g's underneath, so nice and sweaty for work.  He had me adjusting my form, which I guess is attrocious. Marion popped her head in when I was getting treatment from him, I have always though I would have someone in the hall see me when the door opens when I have one leg in the air, spread eagle in my short running shorts, but thankfully I was just on my stomach - very conservative position.  Nice to see Marion two times in one day.  

Long run with 2x3 mile tempo, and one hour of running in between sets.  This is a workout from the Jack Daniel's Running Formula *Elite* marathon training programs.  I am really not good enough for all of the elite workouts, but I'm modeling this training cycle more off of this schedule, and of course by my own ideas of how I should train, which is heavily influenced by my running buddies on the blog.

Ok, so I met Ali at 5:45 at her house.  It was nice to start the long run so late in the morning, since it was a cold morning, 27F to start.  Not too much wind.  We run toward the stake center, I use a portapotty at about a mile (despite successful star earned at home - great a long run with the "runs").  We met up with the 6am group after 1.7 miles.  Stretching, then 3 miles to the 6:30 meeting point, at the Bishops storehouse (mile 1 marker of the SF half marathon for those who have run it).  I hit the bushes again.  TylerS didn't show (I wasn't sure if he would), so I am on my own for speed.  I start my first 3 mile tempo.  This is mile 1 - 4 of the SF half, except at the turn right before 4 mile mark I turn left instead of right to go uphill instead of downhill.  This stretch is gradual uphill, except a steep uphill in the second half of the fourth mile, so I knew my splits would be slower than my overall goal (goal if the whole thing had been pancake flat) of 6:05.

1 - 6:08

2 - 6:20 (wanted to keep it at 6:15, but close enough)

3 - 6:22, 18:50

Oh did I mention I am borrowing Clay's gps watch, "Try now, pay later".  It it a 205 and really cool, though it was set to scroll pages, which is really nice for easy miles but not so great when all I care about is lap pace. 

I then took another potty break, then met up with the group, had water and gu, and ran around the golf course loop, then down powerhouse road and back, another gu (at 14.3 miles now), stretching (right ham tight since first three miles), a little more jogging, then started my last three miles on the exact same course, opposite direction (slight downhill for .25, steep downhill for .25, flat for .5, then slight downhill for last 2 miles):

1 - 5:50

2 - 5:55 (I told myself to not worry about the last mile, focus on good split for this mile, and the last mile will take care of itself)

3 - 5:53 (with .9 to go I am wondering why I told myself to not worry about the last mile, but told myself to run strong, the workout had been excellent to this point and this is what marathoning is about, running fast when tired). 17:38 for three miles 36:28 for 6 miles, 6:05 ave baby!

About 3.5 cool down miles to get 21.

85 miles baby!  And I am back!  I did a hard workout by myself.  My psychology was much better than on Wednesday's tempo, so I just need to keep up the positive thinking and be tough.  It's hard to workout on my own, in the dark and cold, but I guess I relearned that I can today, and if I need to all winter, then I will.

ave pace 7:47

weight 122

endurox, stretching, ice bath

12.35 in 7:54 ave pace by Clay's watch.  The course tool measured 12.53, 1% off 

Ran 12.4 miles with 8 mile marathon paced tempo inside.  I was going to run up to where Goosenest and salem canal road meet and start my tempo there, but there was a mean, mean dog running toward me at about 2.5 miles.  It crossed a whole front yard running toward me aggressively barking even though I was yelling at it to go home, so I grabbed rocks, and my pepper spray, and turned around.  I went to a lower road parallel to Salem Canal, and decided to do out and back 3.5, then add one mile at the end to make 8.  This makes the course slightly uphill instead of slightly downhill (net), so a harder course than my 7 mile tempo last week.

Mile	Actual Split	Ideal Split per Course Tool
1	6:20 (slight down)	6:11
2	6:35 (up hill then downhill)	6:41
3	6:18 (slight down)	6:10
4	6:29 (out and back .5)	6:18
5	6:31 (slight up, inverse of 3)	6:33
6	6:13 (up hill then downhill, inverse of 2)	6:12
7	6:34 (slight up, inverse of 1)	6:28
8	6:29 (uphill)	6:45

ave pace for tempo: 6:26.5, ave last week 6:38, better because of watch, legs, and mental toughness.

ave pace 7:13 for all

weight 123

Met Ali and KellieS and ran into Payson.  No dog attacks this time.  Fun girl talk. Kellie was able to run about 10.25 before heading home, then Ali and I did a loop to go above 12.  Thanks for meeting me ladies!

I was so tired last night, and to think of it I was also exhausted Monday night.  I think I may be fighting sickness or just not getting enough sleep.  I have to wake up early tomorrow, so I think I'll take a hairy nap tonight.

Weight 122

ave pace 8:22

Had to wake up way early, made worse by waking at 3:35 and not being able to fall back asleep.  After laying for 45 min got up and ran a quicker 8 miles because I had to rush up to SLC where I have all day training which started at 7:30.  Had to get radiator fluid in car on the way up unexpectedly, so got to training 5 minutes late.  I hate being late, especially when I have a partner from my firm in the audience as a witness to my embarrassment.

ave pace 7:22

weight 123

Met Ali in Salem and did our SF ballpark loop.  Right ankle a little twingy.  The 8 hours of classes and 3 hours of driving yesterday was too much time on my rear but my hams didn't feel any worse for the wear. Stomach's been feeling a little off.

ave pace 8:01

weight 123

Very very lucky to have TylerS and MattK come and workout with me.  Thank you so much guys.  And sorry you had such a rude introduction into the SF wind Matt.

The plan was to do a 10 mile tempo, at marathon pace, with two .8 faster tempo pushes inside (like 6:00ish pace).  So 4.2M @ marathon, .8 @ 10Kish, 3.2 @ marathon, .8 @ 10Kish, 1 mile @ marathon.  This workout is adapted from a workout in Jack Daniel's Running Formula "Elite" marathon training plan, but that workout is 14 miles of tempo, and I haven't tempoed more than 8 miles since the marathon, so I thought 10M would be hard enough and it was.  The goal is to change gears faster without going anaerobic so that you can shift gears back to marathon pace.  We did a 5 mile loop in the SF riverbottoms since MattK knew he might now be able to do the whole workout.  The course is SF Golf Course 5M.  

	Pace	Ideal pace per course tool	Descript
Mile 1	6:27	6:14	Downhill piece within, conversational, easing into it
Mile 2	6:35	6:31	Slight uphill, TylerS conversational, fierce headwind for 1/2 of this mile
Mile 3	6:45	6:37	slight uphill, headwind off and on, MattK drops off, Tyler seems unchallenged and bored, I have some mental weakness but plow through
Mile 4	6:38	6:58	Uphill, but have some tailwind (probably why split is faster than course tool projection)
.2	6:02 pace	na	steep downhill
.8	6:02 pace	na	gradual downhill, gear switch to faster tempo pace
Mile 6	6:49		turn around and do loop backwards, gradual, then steep uphill
Mile 7	6:24		downhill but headwind
Mile 8	6:19		slight downhill, MattK joins, tailwind off and on
.21	6:22 pace		slight downhill, some tailwind
.82	5:57 pace		slight downhill (SF riverbottoms road), MattK stays with us
Mile 10	6:38		flat, and "nice" uphill portion to get to Osborn's

So the first loop was 32:45, 6:31 ave pace and the second loop was 32:20, 6:26 ave pace.  Not too shabby.  The 32:45 is predicted as a 6:20 pace if the course were flat per the course tool.  We had to do a hilly course so as to not lose Matt, and it's good to make the workouts tough.  It was tough to gear change but I've been wanting to do this kind of workout for a while.  I am very grateful to have two buddies to do it with, I don't think I could have mustered up the strength alone.  Tyler is running particularly strong, I think he could have done the workout at least 10 sec/mile faster if he had had a partner who would/could have run faster.  Matt had some fatigue issues and he's not sure why.  Hopefully he can figure that out.  I appreciate him driving down to run with me. 

I ran the last three miles with Steve K.  He's really cool and enjoyed talking with him.

overall ave pace 7:21

weight 122

endurox, stretching, ice bath (trembling so bad in it), hot shower

Mileage this week was cut back.  Will hope for/shoot for 90 for the first time ever next week.

Aw, man, I did not get good sleep last night.  Had a hard time falling asleep.  I got out of bed after tossing and made sure all my recipes were printed out and all ingredients were accounted for (I am hosting Thanksgiving).  Then I researched races in Paris (we are going in about two weeks) and it looks like I found a 10k, so that should be really fun if I can swing a race while I'm there.  

Two white dogs faintly illuminated as they ran toward me.  I am so scared of dogs.  My spray doesn't seem to be as helpful as I'd like it to be as they run at me, I turn around and run away. Chicken.

ave pace 7:52

weight 123

goal for week:  hit 90 miles, then I shouldn't gain weight, right?

eve: 4.2 miles around the park, 7:58 ave, it is getting cold earlier and earlier in the day.

easy run in the morning.  Nothing exciting.  8:16 ave pace

weight 123

My mom has been in town since Saturday, and this morning we made pies for Thanksgiving.  We made Pecan Chocolate and a fancy version of Pumpkin with the usual spices plus ginger and scalded whip cream and evaporated milk in it. I don't like pumpkin pie generally, but I'll be trying it to see how it turned out.  We had enough filling and crust to make mini pies in my cupcake tin, so I got to preview that pie.  I can't imagine pecan pie without chocolate in it. Yum yum.

 I have been feeling half sick, but woke up feeling ok.

Workout:  s/b 5x1000m @ 3:30 with 2 min rest, then 6x400m @ 77s w/ 3 min rest

SteveK and TylerS joined.  Perfect company.  They are fast and strong.  The last time Tyler and I did intervals, we totally went out too fast and kind of ruined the rest of the workout, so we were both wary about starting out too fast.  I had marked the 400m, 800m and 1k marks on the road the day before, and this morning I put out glow sticks at each point, which was so nice and enabled us to see splits and make sure we were on track.

1k's

1 - 3:27, felt easy

2 - 3:26, felt easy

3 - 3:28, ok, starting to feel hard

4 - 3:26, after #4 legs are feeling wobbly, concerned about the balance of the workout ahead

5 - 3:30, went through the 800m in 2:50ish so did a kick to hit my time

8 min rest between sets

400m

1 - 75

2 - 74

3 - 76

4 - 75 (This is Tyler's last due to time constraints)

5 - 75

6 - 71 (laid on whatever juice a marathoner has, ok that one hurt)

Yeah!  I am happy with the workout.  I appreciate having Tyler and Steve there, I couldn't have done it without them.  Steve was obviously holding back.  Tyler would often start faster, but I would most of the time close the gap, though a couple of his might have been a second faster.  Steve's last quarter was a 68!

 I calculated my mileage for the week and I don't need to go out on a second run today so that's good news.

After the workout, and because my kids don't have school.  I had time to go to the store to buy myself a treat - my very own bag of ice!

Stretching, ice bath, endurox.

Weight 122

Boring notes for self on 400m, 800m, and 1000m marks on treeline road for future reference.

All start at stop sign.  

400m stop at four stumps after the H20 marking.

800m stop at five poles before the opening in the fence.

1000m stop at second to last double bolt on the bridge guardrail.

Oops, forgot to blog this run.  I ran 8.25 on my own, then met up with the SF running club for the annual Thanksgiving Day run.  We meet at 7am, run then do a gift exchange and have hot chocolate and donuts.  There were bagels there, but heck, it's Thanksgiving, so it was a chocolate donut for me.  This was the first time I was able to attend this even though I've been running with this club for years.  There were lots of people and it was very festive.  

 Josse and MacK came, and I ran mostly with them but chatted with other folks.  My friends from my Provo neighborhood came down and it was so nice to see them.  They're the ones who convinced me to run my first 1/2 marathon in March of 2005.  

I got a frozen turkey in the gift exchange, so its turkey for Christmas too.

Paul's family were at my home for Thanksgiving, but we were only 17 in number, so it wasn't that big of a group.  Of course we cooked enough to feed 40 and most of the leftovers are in my fridge. 

We went around the table and discussed the things in our lives that we are most thankful for this year, and it was very touching.  We really are blessed to have family to love and support us and to live in this great nation, where we have opportunity and plenty.

I met Julie Esplin in Springville and we ran up and down HobbleCreek.  It was drizzly the first half, and quite dark.  It lightened up and stopped raining by the end (and course went from uphill to downhill), so I guess I'd have to say the second half was better than the first half.  It was quite a drive for both of us, Hobblecreek is just ot convenient, but it was pleasant and so nice to run with her again.

ave pace 8:08

I went to Wal-mart afterward and bought a big something without any waiting in lines.  It was my first Black Friday experience.  It was easy and great. 

I was very cold by the time I got home.  Very, very, very long hot shower.  I had light eggnog as a recovery drink.

weight 124 (for sins of commission, felt really stupid as I ate my ice cream while looking up how Emily did on her 1/2 marathon)

Ran with a huge group in Lehi orchestrated by Kelli and Scott.  Thank you so much Kelli and Scott for the effort it takes to coordinate, for the yummy treats, the water and gatorade.  My family was thrilled with the extra muffins.

We went north from a parking lot up the Jordon River Trail for 5 miles.  Pretty hilly (rolling hills( and net uphill, Scott was kicking our trash up all the hills.  He was the king of the hill for sure.  After the turnaround and some water, we did 2 miles at tempo (5:59, 5:58, net downhill), then we were supposed to do two minutes rest, but TylerS and I turned to catch up Scott (not far behind us) and Kyle and JonA, so the rest was actually 3:27.  Then 2 more miles tempo (6:04, 6:03, more rolling hills and tougher), and then we ran 48 minutes, but had a water break and two potty breaks in there, so I bet it was about an hour (I was following a Jack Daniel's workout that called for an hour of easy running between 2nd and 3rd tempo piece).  At the 15 mile turn around I had 16.75, and JonA had set out water and we couldn't find it.  We started our three mile tempo (s/b 6:05 pace, but it was a slight uphill so 6:10 is ok).  My splits show how it went down (6:11 - ok, 6:21 - not so ok, 6:02 - that's better, 6:11 ave pace).  So some weakness in the middle, and Tyler pulled away then.  I closed the gap but never got to him in the last mile.  We cheered Scott as he finished his 3 miles.  He is a real trooper.  Scott's prior long run was a 15 miler, probably without a tempo, so Tyler and I really worked him over today, but he was a good sport about it.

Costco muffins and orange juice awaited us at  the end.  My legs are shot.

 The bad news is at the very beginning of the run my left knee popped, then it hurt for a little.  That went away (I think) but below my knee is really sore and sometimes makes even walking painful post run.  It feels muscular/tendon related, not in the knee.  Good thing I have a dr. appt already scheduled for Monday.  I think 90 mpw is my body's limit for now.  This week felt good until today.  I guess 20 milers will always make me feel like I am falling apart, esp if there's fast stuff in there.

ave pace 7:39

ice bath, oh so cold

weight 123