Did 7X50 stride pick-ups in the first few miles. Going in for some ART on my right ankle/foot this afternoon. Not sure what exactly is tight, but its causing my toes to flex strangely when I walk and feels like my ankle needs an adjustment. I figure I'd better get some work done on it before it either gets worse or causes other problems.
Don't you love it when you leave your two year old alone in the kitchen and she proceeds to bomb, one by one, a whole plate of watermelon cubes all over the kitchen floor? Sticky.
Ran the trails south of East Boulder Community Park with the team
20 min warm up, stretching, strides
2 min at 5:30 pace, 1 min jog, 3 min at 5:37 pace, 1 min jog, 2 min at 5:39 pace
2 min jog
4X30 seconds at 4:48-5:23 pace w/ 1 min jog between each
2 min jog
4 min at 5:37 pace, 2 min jog, 5 min at 5:30 pace, 2 min jog, 4 min at 5:28 pace
2 min jog
4X1 min at 5:20, 5:17, 5:19, and final push at 4:48 pace (pushed hard to stay with Colleen on the last one) with 1 min jog between each
10 minute cool down
Garmin said 10.75 miles in 7:17 pace
I guzzled at least 40 ounces of liquid when I got to my car. It was hot and I was THIRSTY!
My right foot/lower leg is still feeling tight. It was super stiff this morning before I started running. I did lots of stretches and warm up ankle rolls and that seemed to get it moving. Had ART done on it yesterday and Richey said that my extensor digitorum longus is the culprit. I'll go back in for more ART on Friday. He also said he'd look into some good exercises for me to strengthen my shoulder. He defined me as a "chronic shoulder dislocator." Sounds defective.
Started off really slowly as my right foot is still pretty tight. It started to warm up about a half mile in, but that first half mile was pretty difficult. I'm going in for a massage today, I'll see if I can get some more deep tissue work done on it.
Aaron downloaded some new Band of Horses songs and a few songs by Yeasayers to add to our workout mix. Its always nice to have some fresh tunes. This song really got me moving this morning:
The first 5 miles were very slow and a little sluggish probably due to the deep tissue massage yesterday. Then I finally got moving and stayed between 7:00-7:30 pace after that. My right foot/lower leg is feeling slightly better today than it was yesterday which is good.
A.M. 4 miles at the gym and weight lifting afterwards. My shoulder still feels pretty weak. I tried pull-ups but couldn't fully extend down without feeling like it was going to slip out, so I did five with 75% extension. Hey, at least I'm not as bad as the guy I saw struggling to lift these little two pound weights. He was a big (strong looking) dude but for some reason he was straining to lift feather weights. By the looks of it he had injured his shoulders or just had shoulder surgeries or something because he moved very slowly and didn't have full range of motion yet. It looked painful.
P.M. 4 miles to the tractor park. Aaron picked up pizza and met me there with the kids. I ran my last half mile barefoot with the kids.
Met my team at Tom Watson Park for some tempo running around Boulder Res
15 min warm up, stretching, strides.
20 minutes at marathon effort. Pretty flat trail around the dam; my splits were 6:00, 5:53, 6:01, final .4 at 6:14 pace with a hill.
4 minutes jog to re-group
20 minutes at half marathon effort. This section had a lot more hills than the first. Splits were 5:56, 6:11 (big long hill), 5:50, final .4 in 6:08 pace (short killer hill at the end).
4 minutes jog
5 minutes hard (I did 5:40 pace)
10 minute cool down
This was a pretty tough workout. It was hot and its always pretty much fully exposed when we run around Boulder Reservoir. I've been hydrating a ton since I finished. The good news is that my right ankle/lower leg didn't hurt at all! Yeah!
I talked to Coach afterwards and told him I do want him to get me into the New Haven 20K on Labor Day. After talking to Aaron about it the past couple of weeks we think it would be a great opportunity for me to race the elite competition at sea-level and hopefully give me some added confidence going into Baltimore. It will be my first National Championship and my first 20K. Darren said Colleen may be doing it too which is cool. I'll probably just make it a very quick trip. Aaron will stay home with the kids and I'll fly out Sunday, race Monday morning and fly home Monday evening.
6X50 stride pick-ups. My stomach has been giving me intestinal discomfort for about three days now. I thought at first it was a mild stomach bug, but now I'm not sure what it is. Its getting old though.
9:00 A.M. 4 miles at the gym in 7:40ish pace. Had a banana with peanut butter at 7:30 a.m. and my stomach felt okay by 9:00 a.m. after doing lots of dynamic stretching and a little lifting to warm up.
5:00 P.M. Met my team in Niwot for hills/tempo workout
20 minute warm up, stretching, strides
2 minutes hard up hill, turn, 2 minutes steady down (5:47 pace)
1 min jog
4X3 minutes steady controlled with 90 seconds jog between each. Wasn't hilly, just slightly rolling trail. This part of the workout was miserable for me. My stomach really started hurting badly and I had to visit the bushes twice during the jogging sections. My paces were 5:57, 6:01, 6:01, 5:50 (I finally started feeling a little better on the last one after my second pit stop).
Then we jogged for a minute, drank water for another minute, and started some more hill work.
4X75 seconds hard uphill with 60 second jog down between each. My stomach was still in pain but I just tried to disregard it and push hard. Paces were 5:52, 5:37, 5:46, 5:54
1 minute jog
2 minutes steady downhill in 5:21 pace
1 minute jog
5 minutes at half marathon effort on the flat (5:52 pace)
10 minute cool down
The workout was hot and hilly. My stomach felt as if it was about to implode. But at least it was an honest effort.
My babysitter is out of town and since Aaron had service this morning I waited until this afternoon to run. Left Ali home with Aaron, took the older two kids to a birthday party at Jungle Quest in Thornton and drove to the nearby Platte River trail to run while the kids were partying. Started my run around 4:30 p.m. It was pretty hot but at least there was a slight breeze and the occasional passing cloud. My tummy felt okay for the first couple of miles then started hurting again but not quite as severely as it was hurting yesterday and I only had to take a pit stop once instead of twice like yesterday. Seems to be getting slightly better. I avoided dairy products today but it didn't help as much as I'd hoped it would. I'll keep avoiding the dairy for a few more days and see if that helps. Aside from the tummy discomfort my legs felt pretty good today. I was a little tight and tired this morning but the day of walking around and getting the blood flowing seemed to loosen things up.
Stomach felt okay since I didn't eat before my run. And it seemed to handle the Gu, honey stick, and cup of EFS pretty well, but I really hope my intestines settle down too because four mandatory pit stops in 18 miles is not good training practice for the marathon.
Instead of the usual long run out and back on Big Dry Creek, I just did my Monday 9 mile loop twice which was nice because there is a recreation center I was able to stop in for water and potty twice and I had some EFS electrolyte drink at my house half way through.
I was spooked when I looked in the mirror in the rec center bathroom. I thought I was alone in there, but there was this creepy looking sweaty girl with a black eye staring back at me. She looked oddly familiar but more like a boxer than a runner. Then I realized it was me. The other day my two year old decided to flip her head back really hard while I was reading to her and she gave me a good smack in the face with the back of her head. It hurt like the dickens and I had to go collect myself in the other room. She then proceeded to apologize 8 million times over and over "Hawwy Mommy, Hawwy" (She can't say her "S's" so she uses H). At least I know she is sympathetic.
Nice and easy early morning run before Aaron left for Leadville. He decided last week he is doing the Leadville 100 bike race since our friend, Eric is shooting photos at the race and the race director gave him a half price entry for a friend to use. So Aaron left this morning to get there in time for the 10 a.m. weigh-in. The race is tomorrow; Aaron is hoping to finish in 10 hours or so. I hope he gets through without too much misery since he hasn't really been mountain biking much lately. He is in good shape and I have no doubt he has the strength to ride the entire 100 miles, but biking muscles are a little different than running muscles. One thing for sure: It will be Epic!
In the interest of time I opted to do my workout alone in my neighborhood this morning. The kids had a party to get to by 10 a.m. and with picking up and dropping off the babysitter, showering, eating, dressing kids ect. ect. I didn't have time to commute to Boulder and back. Even without commuting to North Boulder to run with my team we were still late to the party. It was a fun party at a roller skating rink. I pretty much just slapped some skates on my 4yo and 6yo and let 'em have at it. I couldn't help much because my 2yo was being needy, so we watched as they held on to the wall and skate walked around the perimeter of the rink. Haha.
So for my workout I did a 3 mile warm-up, stretching, strides
4X45 seconds in 5:30 pace with 45 second jog between each
2 minute jog
5 X Mile with 90 seconds jog between each (Coach had put on the schedule to do 5 X 6 minutes at marathon/half marathon effort with 2 minutes jog between each. I altered it a little because 5 X Mile sounded more fun; that way I would be rewarded with a little shorter interval if I pushed the pace faster.)
My mile splits were 6:05, 5:43, 6:05, 5:44, 5:35. There were rolling hills throughout and a bit of headwind (thus the disparity paces on each one). So I guess I did two of them at marathon pace and the other three closer to half marathon pace. Can't complain. And the rolling hills throughout are very similar to how the Baltimore course will be.
The weather was awesome this morning. About 60 degrees and sunny. Perfect. Its starting to feel a little bit fall-ish which makes me happy since Fall is by far my favorite season. If it were my choice I'd pick Fall for 9 months of the year and then just spend a month each in the other three seasons.
The best news of the day though is that MY STOMACH FELT GOOD TODAY!!!!! FINALLY! After an entire week of tummy issues, I think I'm finally getting over it. Wahoo!
Started out slow and got faster as I warmed up. 7X50 stride pickups after a few miles. It was a nice, cool misty morning.
We finally worked out the details for our trip to Utah this weekend. We leave on Wednesday for camping and boating at Echo Lake with Aaron's sister and her family Wed-Fri. On Friday afternoon Aaron will go to the Uinta's with Jun for their King's Peak marathon. I'll take the kids to my Mom's house in Layton where they will stay the night, then I'll head to Springville where I'll stay with my good friend Kristen. Saturday morning I'll run a fast downhill 13 miles, chill at the race for a bit, then drive back to Layton to have lunch with my family, load up the kids and head to Wyoming to meet Aaron after his run and drive back home to Denver. A whirlwind trip with a lot of fun packed in. And then school starts Monday! Where has the summer gone?
Legs felt pretty tired from yesterday. I worked them out on the foam roller yesterday and this morning. Also got some ART on my achilles yesterday. Richey reminded me that I really need to be doing single leg squats and balance exercises to get my left foot intrinsics firing better and reduce the stress on my achilles.
Ran on the Rail Trail by Echo Lake (20 minutes northeast of Park City). We arrived at Echo Lake last night around 9 p.m., set up our tent and ate 'smores with my Sister-in-law and her cute family. The kids were having so much fun playing with their cousins and Aaron and I were enjoying chatting with Dawn and Ken so we didn't get to bed until close to 11 p.m. last night. Woke up around 7 a.m. and went wake boarding. Then when I got back to my tent I checked my phone and had a message from my Coach telling me he got me a comp entry into the New Haven 20K and got me a free hotel room so he needed some info to finalize everything. SWEET! I immediatly turned on Aaron's computer and used the slow wi-fi on his cell phone to purchase a plane ticket to New Haven before prices went up even more. Got my ticket and finalized for the race, so I'll be making a quick trip to New Haven for the USATF 20K National Championships on Sept. 6th. Finally got to my run around 9:30 a.m. and enjoyed the excitement of thinking about racing the top elites in the country.
It started raining while I was running and kept getting heavier and more wet as the minutes passed. After a couple of hours of that and no end in sight, Dawn made the suggestion that we pack up and go to their house in Farmington to hang out and sit in their hot tub instead of camping another night in the wet rain. So we left.
P.M. 6 miles
After arriving in Farmington, the kids were enjoying themselves swimming in the hot tub and pool in Dawn's backyard so I left them with Aaron and Dawn and went on my second run. Ran south along Main street and realized I was running towards Centerville Elementary where my Mom works and would probably be there in close to 3 miles. So I decided to run in and surprise her at work. She was very surprised! She said she was just about to leave and go to my Grandma's house a couple of miles away to play cards and visit so I told her I would meet her there. Ran the remainder of my mileage to and around my Grandma's house and went in to visit and get beat in a new card game they taught me (at 91, my Grandma is still a very sharp card player!) Also got spoiled with some cashews and yummy grapes and of course an ice cream sandwich (one time when asked if she could live her life over again what would she change, my grandma said she would eat more ice cream. Ha!) It was so good to see her and feel of her happy spirit.
Still in Farmington staying with my SIL. Ran north this time towards Lagoon and enjoyed running by beautiful old homes and under very old large trees in original Farmington. The kids swam and played with their cousins all day again. At 1:30 p.m. I took Aaron into SLC to meet Jun (they were heading to the Uinta's to camp for their King's Peak Marathon tomorrow). Got back to Dawn's around 3 p.m. and then took the kids to my Mom's in Layton where they would stay the night while I drove to Provo for my race. Left Layton around 3:45 and made it to Runner's corner in Orem just in time to pick up my race number by 5 p.m. Called my friend Kristen whom I was staying with and asked her if she wanted to pick up a bite to eat with me. Went to her house, dropped off my stuff and we went to Rosie's Little Italy where our other friend and former teammate, Lisa Pratt met us as well as Kristen's boyfriend, Nate. Enjoyed a yummy dinner with good conversation and cool people. Went back to Kristen's and chatted and ate cookies that her roommate, Sarah made. Enjoyed hanging out, catching up with Kristen and getting to know Nate. My SIL, Ashley arrived around 10:30 p.m (she stayed with us too and did the race). We finally got to bed around 11:00 p.m. Busy, FUN day!
Hobblecreek Half Marathon (13.1 Miles) 01:10:45, Place overall: 2
Easy Miles
Marathon Pace Miles
Threshold Miles
VO2 Max Miles
Total Distance
7.00
0.00
13.00
0.00
20.00
Woke up at 5 a.m. ate a granola bar and half a peach. Drove with Ashley and Sarah to Mapleton City Park and got on a bus around 5:45 a.m. The school bus driver was half asleep (bed head and all) and made a left turn instead of going right up the canyon but a few of the runners promptly corrected him and we got back on track after a long slow multi-point turn in the quiet, dark, early morning streets of Mapleton.
Got to the race start around 6:45 a.m. and did a pit stop in the trees and a very slow two mile warm up. Enjoyed hanging out at the start chatting with Lindsey, Amber, Melody, JulieC (thanks for coming up to say hi!), Cynthia (former Weber State competitor I haven't seen in YEARS), and others. Did a few strides to keep warm and the race finally started at 7:53 a.m.
Not wanting to go out super fast on the downhill and blow my quads out, I started off conservatively and relaxed. I told Lindsey at the start I was not going to go out with her and I was not interested in potentially blowing up at the end, having never run that downhill of a race and never run faster than 1:19 in a half. So as the gun went off I watched Lindsey fly off with the men and enjoyed running with Amber for close to two miles, chatting with her about life and running. I did not get lap splits based on the race mile markers, but my garmin says my first two miles were 5:41 and 5:35.
Side note**I noticed right off that my Garmin and the race mile markers were not in agreement but I didn't really care to push my lap button every time, so all I have is the auto lap data from my watch, which actually only measured the course at 12.85 miles. After talking to other Garmin wearers at the finish many of them said the signal in the canyon was pretty weak and their watches were loosing signal here and there. One guy said that before he decided to fly up from Phoenix for the race he actually called USATF to confirm that the race course was a certified half-marathon distance and they assured him it had been certified on July 6th, so even though most of our watches measured .2-.25 mile short, I guess I have to trust that the race was certified and maybe the Garmins were just having a bad day. Anyway, back to the race...
After a couple of miles my legs really started to feel warm and quick so I started picking up the pace. Next few miles were 5:19, 5:17, 5:17, 5:20 as I passed a few guys.
Mile seven was a little slower (5:36) because I slowed for the water station and almost gagged on my Gu, but eventually got it down.
Mile 8 was 5:23 then the course came up out of the canyon path onto the road and mile 9 was a little slower at 5:42
After a mental low point at Mile 9, I looked up and saw Lindsey off in the distance. This helped me regain my focus and feel inspired by the fact that Lindsey was out there working hard and running strong. I felt happy for her since it was clear that she was just minutes away from achieving her goal of winning and breaking the course record. Miles 10-13 were less downhill and harder to keep the intensity up but seeing Lindsey out there motivated me to push hard and try and reel her in a little (even though I knew it was virtually impossible to make up the minute+ gap she had on me). The next few miles were 5:31, 5:36, 5:34, 5:37. At one point about a half mile from the finish I realized that I was on pace for sub 1:11. This thought seemed unreal and pretty much blew my mind at the time because going into the race the best I possibly imagined myself capable of was in the 1:13 range. I kept feeling myself getting closer to Lindsey and the finish line. The race spectators and excitement near the finish as she set the course record gave me the chills. As I crossed the finished line and congratulated Lindsey she seemed startled to see me so soon after she had finished. To be honest, I was a little shocked too as I hadn't planned or even dreamed of running that fast of a time. We laughed and enjoyed the moment. Lindsey's family quickly gathered around her with smiles and congrats and we saw and spoke with Allie and Lily too. The fact that I had just run sub 1:11 wasn't sinking in. Mostly because it just felt too good and also because I was kind-of irritated that my watch said 12.85 miles. The Anal Type A personality part of me wanted to just keep the watch running and sprint another .25 mile. I resisted though, and went to the food tent for some watermelon and chocolate milk instead. Since I had planned to make this my long run day as well, I took off for another 5 miles with Allie and Lily. We ran back up the race course and saw JulieC (breaking the rules with her earphones still in), my former teammate Melissa Teemant, Cynthia, Melody, a couple of barefoot runners whom we hooted an hollered for, and my sister-in-laws, Ashley and Emily. My legs were pretty dead; I was relying solely on adrenaline, which was starting to fade. I was ready to sit down and eat some food, which is just what I did. The awards ceremony was way late but I enjoyed sitting and chatting with Allie, Lily, and Ashley. We laughed at the 4 or 5 lost children the race announcer kept describing and trying to find parents for. I felt grateful that my kids were safe at Grandma's house playing with their cousins.
After the awards, Ashley and I went back to Kristen's for a quick shower and I headed north to pick up my kids in Layton, have lunch with my family, and get back on the road for home. I met Aaron and Craig (Jun) at a little burger joint in Mountain View, WY where we ate greasy food and heard all about their Quest for King's Peak. Then Aaron and I pressed on for the remaining 6.5 hour drive home. It was a super fun trip and we both had awesome races. I am very encouraged with my time and pleased with how strong I felt. I feel SO grateful for a healthy, efficient body and SO grateful for my very supportive and loving circle of family and friends. Life is good!
Nice and easy recovery run with no strides today. Legs felt pretty tired still, but surprisingly not too hashed. My left quad seems to be the most fatigued spot. But I'm happy about the fact that my achilles is not any worse off than it was last week.
6X1200 Meter repeats on the track in 4:28, 4:29, 4:27, 4:24, 4:11, 4:05 (5:20-5:48 pace)
Coach had me start out conservatively since I just raced Saturday, but by the end we sped up a bit. Legs felt pretty good! My left quad still has some lingering fatigue, but other than that I'm really pleased with how quickly my body seems to be recovering.
I did a 20 minute cool down with a woman who is in town visiting and getting some altitude training in. Her name is Morena (sp?). She is a pro steeplechaser from Holland who is branching out and trying the marathon this Fall. It was nice to meet her and chat about the steeplechase (one of my true loves).
Took my 4yo to the dentist this morning and found out she has four cavities. Great. Guess we better get bushing and flossing better.
4:30 P.M. 4 miles in 7:30 pace
Went to the gym for some more running, as well as some dynamic stretching and weight lifting. I've been slacking on weight lifting lately. It felt great to get some in though. I'm going to go again on Friday and get back on track with twice a week. I so important for me to keep my anaerobic strength up. Helps me feel a lot stronger when I'm running.
Threw in a couple of MP miles (mile 7 in 5:57 and mile 9 in 6:02). When I met with my coach a few weeks ago he mentioned doing 2X15 minutes at MP on my long runs. I thought about that this morning and asked myself why I haven't been doing that yet? I guess I just haven't felt up for it. I'm going to start trying to ease into that though. I think its good to train my body to run MP on a long run.
My right shin seemed to have some sort of muscle spasm about 15 minutes into my warm up. I stretched it really well and pushed on it with my thumbs during stretching and it finally relaxed after the strides.
Workout was 15 minutes at marathon effort (I did 5:59 pace). Pretty flat, but had some loose gravel and spectator dodging in the last mile. We ran off the road through some gravel and uneven terrain to avoid a women's triathlon race that was just finishing near the boat ramp for Boulder Res. The winner finished just as we ran past. Looked fun.
4 minute jog
12 minutes a half marathon effort (5:55 pace) with some good rolling hills.
3 minute jog
8 minutes at 10k effort (5:50 pace) up a good long hill and then flat.
2 minute jog
5 minutes hard (5:35 pace) back down the hill and then up another hill.
10 minute cool down
The workout actually didn't feel as hard as I expected it to. I was super tired yesterday and took it really easy, so I guess that helped to rest my body and get me ready for today.
I ran with Coach on our cool down and discussed my strategy for the New Haven 20K. I'm getting excited and a little nervous to race the elites in 9 days!
Felt great this morning. 6X50 stride pick-ups. Did some pu-pu-su after my run just for kicks. Also did my foot intrinsic exercises. Thank goodness my achilles is feeling better!
8 A.M. 4 easy miles on the TM at the gym. Did some dynamic stretching too.
5 P.M. Met my team at East Boulder Community Park. I arrived a little early because I had left early to take a check to one of Aaron's investors and it didn't take as long as I thought. So I jogged a mile before everyone showed up.
With the group, 20 minute warm up, stretching, strides.
5 minutes in 5:37 pace
2 minute jog
5X3 minutes with 90 second jog between each. The idea was to get progressively faster. (my pace was 5:37, 5:31, 5:23, 5:19, 5:20)
2 minute jog (actually 30 second jog and a visit with a tree)
5 minutes with coach blowing his whistle each minute cuing us to go faster each minute (5:26 pace)
Another visit with a tree (I probably shouldn't have taken that liquid iron supplement with lunch today) and a 3 minute cool down. That is all I had time for because I had to get home, shower, grab something to eat, and give three girls a ride to our 7:00 p.m. young men/young women's activity night.
