Denouement

Camping with family at Payson Lakes.  We did three hikes, a four mile one in the morning, and two two mile hikes.  Swam in the lake twice.  Not my typical day of rest, but no running.

Camped with the family at Payson Lakes. So I started my run from that campsite. Did I mention dawn and dusk are the time bears are most active and this is Black Bear country?

So I was scared I would be mauled by a bear. I ran uphill for 2 miles, passing the 8000 ft marker at .67 miles, so I probably got to 8500 feet, then I turned around and headed downhill. I finished up with four loops around the biggest Payson Lake, which it turns out is one mile around the lake. There were people fishing around the lake so I wasn't as scared there.

Ave pace 8:37 (9 miles)

Monthly visitor came today, which puts my cycle at approximately 8 weeks.

PM:  Ran with Benji just after 8pm.  It wasn't too hot.  We ran 1.5 in 15:33.   He's getting faster!

Went to bed feeling yucky last night.

I felt fine this morning.

I met TylerS from the blog for 8x 1/2 mile repeats on the road (flat part of Treeline road in SF).  Let me tell you up front that I pretty much stunk up this workout.  I should get some benefit from the workout, but not as much as if I had ran it smart.  I think my first mistake was to be hoping to be able to hit 2:45's.  If I had set 2:50 as my target I think I would have been more successful.  

We ran 2.11 warm up then started our repeats. 

1 -  2:43, we started this one out WAY WAY too fast, and it is my fault.  I am the more seasoned runner and should have been able to feel the trouble earlier.  I think our first 400 was about 70 sec then I struggled the rest of the 1/2, throat burning like it does when you sprint.  At the end I felt like I had ruined my workout out by starting too fast, and essentially I did, .18 rest (2:51)

2 - 2:54, it turns out the road while seemingly flat when you're running it easy, is slightly uphill on these even repeats and slightly downhill on the odd, .29 rest (3:23)

3 - 2:48, the half miles seem SOOO long, .15 rest (2:52)

4 - 2:59 (dang, double dang!), .21 rest (3:01) decide to just do 6 repeats

5 - 2:53, .22 rest (2:53)

6 - 2:59

Well, I think these splits speak for themselves.  I should have been targeting a slower time and should have been more conservative on the first interval.  I was pretty stupid out there today.  Better in a workout than in a race.  The upside is it should be fairly easy to beat this workout in the near future.

11.2 ave pace 8:35

weight 124

2 -

Ran later in morning by myself.  I felt better than yesterday.

I fought a headache off and on all day yesterday, most likely from lack of sleep and hard workout.  Family is in town so it will be hard to get in naps/sleep.

Ave pace 7:47

weight 124 

Ran four miles then met MacK for pool running in the new Payson pool.

So my Gold goal was 37:30, and Silver was 38:00, but just barely missed that one. This course is a fairly difficult one.

I ran 3 miles warm up with Josse, and my husband and son were racing too so we spent some of our time looking for Benji, I gave him a pep talk for the start of his 5k then we went to the start. At the start Rena Chesser was talking with two other girls about the money and they were saying how they wanted the money so I knew right away who I was racing against. Rena in Black, another recent BYU grad in grey and a UVU runner in red.

1 - 6:18, Mile 1 is uphill with two right turns. I am behind Rena and grey shirt. I pass grey shirt at about the mile marker.

2 - 5:47, right after the first mile marker we turn left onto University Parkway and head downhill. Its hard to shift into a faster gear, but Rena is ahead, so I close the gap and am right on her from 1.25 through mile 2. I feel like I can pass but remind myself there's alot of race left, and I just try to stay relaxed.

3 - 5:53 flat on canyon road then University Ave. Rena pulls away but I like my pace and let her go a little.

4 - 6:18, I keep 6:00 pace for the first half of mile 4, but slow down quite a bit when I turn East on 100 S and on through the mile 4 marker.

5 - 6:25, hill up to mental hospital then a 180 turn down the hill. I can't kick into a faster gear for the downhill. I am solidly in second place, Rena is quite a bit ahead and grey shirt is quite a bit behind.

6 - 6:24, long gradual uphill up 900 S. I am trying to not fade and get some wind in the second half of the mile since I know I am almost done.

.25 - 5:47 pace, I measure course as 6.17 but I bet it was full length, I kick to pass two guys and see I am so close to breaking 38:00 so I sprint but don't quite make it.

So 10k's are way hard!!!! I should have been tougher from 3.5-5.5 miles, it's hard to keep fast so long. I think I need more long intervals to simulate the intensity of a 10k.

I am pleased overall, though I wish I could have found the extra motivation in the middle. I think if I had raced it better I could have hit my gold goal of 37:30, but at the same time I'm glad the race wasn't any slower. This is definitely not a PR course. I am looking forward to Deseret News, though there is a new female team called Mormontimes.com which has quite a few fast girls who are ALL running Des News so its going to be a very competitive race.

My son Ben didn't walk at all in his 5k except for one water stop! He did so great!

PS - Did I mention I did a chair lift ride with my extended family at the Sundance Resort, then hiked down to Stewart Falls, then the rest of the way back home the night before the race?  We finished the hike at 8pm the night before the race.  Not too great for ideal race preparation, but very fun to do.  I have enjoyed having my family in town but look forward to an uneventful week next week. 

Day after 4th of July plus day after 10k = one groggy Saturday run. I met Josse and the SF group and did a very easy 15 miles. Stopped several times and chatted with different runners.

Ice bath after.

Ave pace 8:40

weight 125 (up one for the bad things I ate yesterday? I guess I am lucky its not five).

I am going to refocus on eating healthy now that the clan is leaving town.