Denouement

Stayed up just after midnight talking with brother and sister in law who stayed at our house last night.  I love that family came into town but I look forward to better sleep and a mellow week this week.

I ran easy on some rickety legs this morning.  They really shouldn't feel so trashed after a cutback week.  They have felt sore since the race.  Saturday evening I started having some dull pain around my right knee, going up and down stairs, which has persisted, so I watched that knee during the run.  It appears to actually be pain around the knee, above and below it.  It didn't hurt during most of the run, just had a couple of twinges where it hurt for one strike then went away after a few seconds.  Not even sharp then, but kind of weak.  

Achy and slow.  Not sure I should do speed tomorrow, but now that that I have showered and stretched I am feeling less rickety.  

Ave pace 8:17

weight 124 

I met Josse at Sasha's and did two laps around his block so we could be warmed up and stretch before we started.  It was Jeff, Sasha, Josse, and I and MattK joined us on the river trail.  Then we did 6x1 mile repeats.  I wanted to do 5:45's but then Sasha only wanted to do 200m rests, so I downgraded my pace expectation to 5:50, which really took some pressure off.  Sasha pulled Josse in a harness so he decided 400m rest was better, but I kept my expectations at 5:50 or lower just hoped to not give up for #5 and #6.  We reversed direction on each mile (1,3,5 are very slight downhill, 2,4,6 are very slight uphill).

I don't have my watch so I have to go off memory:

1 - 5:46, felt in control, after the first mile, I inform Matt that we were doing 6 miles.  I didn't think he'd do them all (I need to psych up for big workouts like this) but he was a real trooper and was strong through all miles.  Sasha groaned through this mile after about .25 and I told him after the mile was done that I was about to punch him.

2 - 5:49

3 - 5:46, felt much harder than #1, but I was stronger than my #3 mile two weeks ago, no mid mile slow down

4 - 5:45, feeling capable of completing the workout

5 - 5:44, felt painful but still no slowdown

6 - 5:42, slowed down in the second quarter of this mile, held on for the third quarter, but kicked the last 200m  with Matt and Jeff.   Thanks so much to Jeff for encouraging me in this mile.  This is really the only mile where I needed him to tell me to close the gap and stay strong, etc.

This is my best workout of the year, possibly of my life (not my fastest, but I am now a marathoner I have to remind myself).  I have to go an ruin the post workout euphoria by getting in a tiff with Sasha about whether it's ever ok to race on Sunday.  Sorry Jeff, Josse, and Sasha for that one.  I obviously don't like being told what to do. 

Ice bath after 

weight 123  

I met Tyler, Ali, Kent and Pat at the Salem Stake center.  Pat and Kent were going to do speed but we could warm up with them.  Pat and Kent were stretching so Ali, Tyler and I ran to the corner and when we turned around Pat and Kent were gone! 

So we ran toward the river bottoms.  We eventually ran into Pat and Kent there.  We also saw Tom who gave us a quite humorous tongue-sticking out, fatigued face when we asked him what he was doing.  He was doing some type of speed.

We dropped off Ali at about 8.5 miles, then I dropped off Tyler at about 10.39 then I finished up to 12 miles.  Ali and Tyler were going a little faster than I wanted to go, so I slowed to a nice easy pace for the last 1.5 where I was on my own.  I got my first sports massage from Josse yesterday.  It didn't hurt as bad as I thought it would overall, though I was brought to tears at a couple of points.  I feel generally sore from it but not too bad.

My knee area had no twinges during my run today.  I go into Dr. Brady tomorrow.

Ave pace 8:10. 

Weight 123 

Ran up and down Payson with Ali.

I am really glad she came because it is scary to run Payson Canyon alone.

I ran .5 before we met up to warm up so I could stretch.

Here's the splits up:

1 - 7:32

2 - 7:27, Ali was a trooper and stuck with me through the mile 2 marker

3 - 6:49

4 - 7:26

5 - 8:07

.4 - 7:28 pace (I have never run this last part faster than mile 5 - so happy I felt strong all the way up).   total time up 40:46

My times last year were 46:10, 45:10, and 44:18, so this is a significant improvement off last year. I also felt much better, much stronger after mile 4 where it gets steeper.

I am not sure when Ali finished, but I reset my watch at 45:12, so she went faster than that. She ran it dang fast. Her first two splits were much faster than any of my first two splits from last year (Ali, you can see my 8/2, 8/16, and 9/13 2007 blog reports for last year's splits).

Took the downhill very slow. Bottom of right hamstring is sore. Good thing I have a Dr. appt today.

Ave pace 7:53

weight: 123

Ran 7.01 then met MacK for pool running for 60 minutes (12 minutes = 1 mile). 

Ave pace 8:00

weight 123

Went to Dr. Brady's yesterday.  He showed me some weights I should be doing, so I guess I will be starting a weight routine.  Nothing big or hard, it's just hard to find more time for training.  He worked out my right hamstring, which was sore yesterday after the workout.  It is still sore.  I'll have to watch it.  I am heading for my first 80 mile week ever.  I have felt good every day of the week except Monday. 

I did it!  My first 80 mile week ever!  

Josse and I met at the end of the HobbleCreek 1/2 course, drove up to the 6 mile mark, then ran up easy, then ran down, with alternate miles of easy and 1/2 marathon goal pace.  

When we got out of the car to start the run it was 50F!!! It was a little chilly to start but perfect weather for a long run.  

Note to self:  water out of spigot of the campsite at the hobblecreek start tastes nasty!  Took a gu there, so at mile 6.

So we got in about 7 miles before our first hard mile.  I really would like to keep my HobbleCreek pace to 6:00 average or below, so my miles should be 6:00 or below on this workout.  I would have been fine with 6:10 on the last one since its flatter.  Here are the splits for the hard miles:

1 - 5:52 (mile 2 of Hobble Creek race)

2 - 5:48, did two miles easy between 2 and 3 because we missed our water bottles so we got a drink at the cherry campsite.  The water tasted better there but the spigot was close to a smelly bathroom. (mile 4 of Hobble Creek race)

3 -  5:57 (dreaded mile 7 of Hobble Creek race, two uphill segments in there, though likely still net downhill)

4 - 5:47 (mile 9 of Hobble Creek race) 

5 - 5:58 (mile 11 of Hobble Creek race, a nasty but short hill - likely .15 in length, also road was gravelly for last 3/4, like they purposely tore up the top of the asphalt, hopefully they will repave before the race because it will slow me down).

6 - 5:55 (mile 13, including .15 of grass at the end--why does there have to be grass at the end when my legs are so tired?).

So I am happy to be sub-6 on all miles.  It didn't feel easy.  Hopefully this means a 6:00 pace for the race is getting close to do-able, and I am hoping this also means I am ready for a fast DesNews.  I have been blessed to have great training this week, even as ran the most miles ever.

Good stretching when I got home (felt way rickety by the end), ice bath up to the navel, and 45 minutes of weeding when I got home.

1:34:17 for the 1/2 marathon

weight 122 (even after a banana and a bottle of water-way dehydrated).