All it takes is all you've got

10 miles around Standley Lake.  Warmed up, did 4X25 sec. strides and ran the remainder of miles.  7:41 pace

I am loving how easy it was to get up at 6:00 a.m. this morning.  It had been becoming progressively harder since it wasn't getting light until 7:00 a.m. but this morning I ran in complete sunlight!  Yeah!  I love daylight savings.  

All that 2+ feet of snow we got last week: GONE.  There are just a few traces of it in the fields and random spots, but the trails and sidewalks are completely clear.  Gotta love Colorado sunshine!  We're back to our usual mid-50s/low 60s Fall weather.

Ran with the Running Republic group in NIWOT this morning.  Yes, NIWOT is pronounced just how it looks.  Nice name for a town, eh?  I think it is actually just a Boulder zip code, but more rural and upscale.  

We did some shorter faster stuff with hills mixed in;

20 minute warm-up/stretch/4X25 sec. strides

4X45 sec. quick turnover/75 sec. easy. 2 min. easy after set.

4X75 sec hills/60 sec jog down. Then 2 min. steady down and 2 min. easy after set

4X3 min. steady/hard/90 sec. easy. 2 min. easy after set.

Ended with 4X45 sec hills/60 sec jog down. Then 60 sec. steady down and a 10 minute cool down.

My watch froze at some point before I got to the workout and I didn't get it reset until after the 20 minute warm-up.  After I got it reset I was a bit nervous about pushing buttons too much, so I didn't bother getting splits.  This would have been annoying workout to push splits on anyway because of the high volume of repeats and short duration.  I'm guessing I did all my tempo pushes in 5:15-6:15 pace though.  It was a pretty intense workout.  I really enjoyed running shorter faster stuff.  It reminded me of training for the 800 and 1500 M races only more volume and not as great of intensity.   The last set of 45 second hills was TOUGH.  I was definitely tired after the workout. 

Easy 8 around Contryside.  I went to bed early last night because I was super tired and Aaron was working late anyway.  My body just needed the extra rest.  I was feeling a little sore throat coming on for the last couple of days but then this morning after my run it was gone. 

Decided not to race a 5k this weekend after talking to Coach Darren.  He urged me to save my racing legs for the Longmont Turkey 10K next weekend and just stick with the workout plan this weekend.  So now I'm trying to round up a group of former BYU teammates together to run a tempo run with me on Saturday morning.  I'd love to see some friends while I'm in town and I would much prefer to have company on my run in Utah.  So far I only have one committment from my former teammate, Kristen Ogden (ran 2:55 at St. George last month).  We're hoping to get a couple more to join us.   If anyone reading this wants to join us for a tempo run in Utah County Saturday morning, let me know!  Meeting spot is yet to be determined.  It'll probably be somewhere between Lehi and Provo though.

12 miles on Big Dry Creek.  7:57 pace.

My right heel was hurting me until about mile 5 when I stopped and stretched my calves and hips really well and the heel pain seemed to subside.  This foot has given me plantar fascia annoyances in the past and recently has been complaining a bit after my speed workouts.  Some nights I sleep with a night splint on to keep my foot stretched out and that seems to help.  I also ice and massage when it gets bad.  Speaking of which, I think I'll grab some ice right now. 

OH burr...thats cold.

In other news, during the last mile of my run I saw a Mom walking her middle-school-aged son to school.  She didn't walk him all they way up to the school, they stopped 250 meters away from the school and proceeded with their good-bye ceremony.  No hug or kiss like normal people but instead a very complicated, long, drawn out possibly gang-related hand shake ending with a pound that fizzled out.  At first I wondered if the Mom was leading some sort of gang and her son was the President.  Then as she turned around I noticed the cheezy grin on her face and I actually saw a thought bubble above her head reading, "I'm such a cool Mom!  My son totally thinks I ROCK!"  And my mind was eased of any concern that she may be a Gang organizer.  She was in fact just another loving Mother desperate to be liked by her hip, too cool for his own beanie, teenaged son.  Hey, I can relate.  I just want to be liked by my cool son too.  Way to connect, Handshake Mom.  Word out.

9 miles around Countryside. 

Packed up the car, cleaned the house, and went to the gym to lift weights since Aaron couldn't leave until Noon.  After lifting weights, I drove to I-70 and Colfax to meet Aaron, leave his car there and drive to Utah together.  The best part of the long drive was having something interesting to listen to.  The day before we left I decided to purchase Born To Run, by Christopher McDougall.  There has been so much talk about barefoot running and the ideas in this book that we decided we'd better get it so we could form our own opinion about it. It was a very interesting listen.

Met with former BYU teammates Lisa Antonelli-Pratt, Kristen Ogden, and Devra Vierkant at Lisa's condo in the Riverwoods and ran on the Provo River Trail.  Its been years since I've run on the Provo River trail with teammates.  It was a very nostalgic and enjoyable run for me.  We did a 20 mintue warm up, 4 strides, and went into some tempo work. 

12 minutes at 10k effort, 4 minutes easy

4X5 minutes at 5k effort, 3 minutes recovery

I didn't hit the lap button at all, just looked at my timer, went fast when I was supposed to go fast and jogged when I was supposed to jog.  I really enjoyed the conversation and good company.

9 miles easy around Contryside.  7X30 second strides.

Took my shoes and socks off at mile 7 and ran barefoot on the grass at the High School for a bit.  Only got .3 mile before I was back to where the cement started again so I put my shoes back on.  The barefooting definitely felt great though.  I felt more free and more aware of my form.  The grass was very cold after a 35 degree night, but it was kind-of refreshing.

Ran with Running Republic in Boulder

Met at Potts Field, the track where CU works out.  We ran on the Boulder Creek Path that goes by the track and winds all throughout Boulder.

Warmed up 20 minutes, stretched, 4X25 sec. strides

2X3:00 at 5:30 pace 60 sec. recovery

4X30 sec. strides 60 sec. recovery

2X5:00 at 5:45 pace 2:00 recovery

4X60 sec hard with 60 sec. recovery

10 minute cool-down

I did not feel great in this workout.  I had intestinal problems (you know when your stomach feels and sounds like a water jug with a gallon of water).  I also had problems with my right  calf getting very tight about half way through my second 5:00 interval, so the 4X60 second intervals were death.  When I got home my stomach gurgled all night and even though I stopped running my intestintes decided to keep running.  My right calf got tighter and more painful as the night went on too.  I massaged it and iced it multiple times, but it is still very tight.

Mental note - take my headlamp to future evening workouts.  The workout started at 4:30 and it was already dark by 5:00.  I was the only one in the group without a headlamp and it was hard not to run into people when we circled up in between repeats because I kept getting blinded lights every time anyone else looked at me and I didn't have a sword to fight back with.  I've never been drunk before, but I imagine that may be what it would feel like to run drunk.  Every bump in the sidewalk looks like it might jump out at you and the bushes may or may not be crawling.  And of course, being in Boulder there are hundreds of cyclists biking home from work at 5:30 p.m. so you keep hearing little bike bells ringing and some of them have lights and some of them dont so you keep feeling like your going to get slammed by a cyclist.  I just hugged the right side of the pathway and tried not to fall of into the bushes.  Yeah, I definitely need a head lamp next time.

Woke up this morning with a severe limp.  My right calf and achilles were on strike.  I guess I've been pushing them too hard lately and they refused to move until I backed off and gave them a little love.

So I decided (or was pretty much forced into) cross-training today.  Swam this morning for only about 25 minutes.  I really do not enjoy swimming.  The water is always cold and my goggles always leak.  Today I pulled my goggles on so tighly that they wouldn't leak but I must have had racoon eyes for at least 2 hours afterwards as a result.  I sat in the hot tub and stretched for about 15 mintues after my swim, which felt NICE. 

While Abe was at school I put the girls down for naps and took an hour and a half nap myself.  There you go, legs.  Some extra sleep to rejuvinate.

Then when Abe got home we loaded up my bike trailer and toddler bike seat with all three kiddos and headed off for a bike ride to a park.  While at the park I did some pull-ups, dips, and push-ups since I didn't get time to lift weighs while at the gym due to Ali's crying in the child care.  Abe and Breanne asked me why I was exercising at the playground and I asked them the same question in return since they were playing tag with each other.  "Because its FUN, MOM!"  "Exactly why I do it too," I said.  I wouldn't have been doing those exercises had other kids/adults been there, but we had the park to ourselves and I'm not worried about my kids thinking I look strange doing weight room stuff on a playground.

After the playground we decided to bike over to Costco for some pizza.  I could see it was getting dark and cold pretty fast so I called Aaron and asked him to come by Costco on his way home to take the kids home with him in is car so they wouldn't freeze in the bike trailer/seat.  Aaron picked the kids up and I rode my bike home alone in the dark with no headlamp again.  It was kind-of fun actually.  It was a wide trail most of the way so pretty easy to stay on path.  Not much moonlight though as there were a few clouds in the sky. 

So my swim was about 25 minutes and my bike ride was 48 mintues.  I'm counting it about 6 miles worth of running.  My calf and achilles are behaving much better tonight.  I probably could have run a few miles in the PM, but I just wanted to give it a full day's break from running and get my legs feeling better in time for my 10k on Saturday morning.

My right achilles was still very tight this morning so I decided to go on a bike ride in the beautiful weather.  46 degrees and sunny.  I did put feet warmer sleeves over my shoes and warm gloves on my hands because the only annoying thing about biking in sub 50 degree weather is the cold hands and feet.  I was toasty and really enjoyed the ride.  Rode for 1:06 on Big Dry creek.  I'm counting it as 5 miles.

I was going to go the gym this afternoon with the kids and try running on the treadmill since my achilles seems to feel better in the afternoons, but I never got out.  The kids did NOT want to go to the gym and sometimes I just don't have the energy or desire to force them to.  We went to the park instead. 

I'm sure I will feel up for running tomorrow.  I must admit, two cross-training days have been nice though.  I guess my body needed it.

7 miles very easy around Countryside.  8:30 pace

My calves and achilles were feeling a bit better this morning so I ventured out for some miles.  I wanted to be very aware of my form and tight spots, so I took the pace very conservatively.  Both achilles were pretty tight for about 3 miles and then slowly felt better.  I still had some mild tightness at the end, but it wasn't too bad.  Took a hot bath afterwards and stretched/massaged well.  Now I'm icing.

Aaron joined the blog this week!  Everyone go say Hi to him.

The weather turned out to be perfect, despite the snow in the forecast.  It snowed a little bit the evening before but was just a little wet and cloudy the morning of.  35 degrees and overcast. 

I gathered with my team, Running Republic around 8:10 a.m. and Darren gave me a long-sleved racing top to wear.  We warmed up together and did potty stops and strides.  My calves and achilles were pretty tight on the warm up.  Race started at 9:00 a.m.  Calves and achilles still a little tight, but started to feel warm around mile 2. 

The race starts on a little hill but then is gradual downhill for the next couple of miles and pretty much flat with gradual hills.  Not a super hilly course.  A very nice, fast course. 

I just went out with my teammate, Bean for the first few minutes and then got into my own groove.  I ran with a guy in a Boulder Stiders shirt on for about a mile, ran with another teammate, Erik Werner for a half mile, and then was alone for a couple of miles. Caught a young high-school guy around mile 4 and he hung on my shoulder for a coulple of miles and then outkicked me at the end.

Overall I felt very good and fast.  I don't think the tightness in my calves and achilles affected me much at all other than maybe not having as good of a kick at the end and getting duped by the 17-year-old kid.  My lungs and heart felt very strong and fit though.  My splits were quite even:

5:53, 5:51, 5:45, 5:56, 5:51, 5:43, final .2 in 5:24 pace

Afterwards I cooled down with the team and ate breakfast burritos, oranges, gatorade, with teammates in the school cafeteria while they announced awards.  Erik won a pie and divied up some dollops on our plates that we enjoyed eating with our fingers.  Bean was gifted a few swipes of whipped topping on her nose from Erik and Darren.  I think almost everyone in our group won a prize!  They gave great age-group awards; a loaf of Great Harvest Bread for third, pie for 2nd, and $25 gift card to Natural Grocers for age group winners.  As overall winner I got a pie, a crystal turkey platter, and a $25 gift card to Natural Grocers (inteded to purchase a high quality Thanksgiving Turkey with).  Our team was represented well.  Overall for the men our team took 2nd, 4th, 5th, and 8th.  And for the women, we swept the top 3 spots.  What a FUN race!

Aaron has quite persuasively immersed me in constant barefoot running discussion this weekend so of course I had to go barefoot again for a bit today. Went to the gym and ran my first 2 miles barefoot around the track. At first I just felt tight and tired from Saturday's race but as I focused my stride and cadence, I started feeling looser. I focussed on making quicker, more frequent steps and staying light on my feet. Other than the usual post-race fatigue I felt pretty awesome. After a couple of miles I stopped to stretch and evaluate how the no shoes was affecting my feet and legs. I felt a little bit of tightness on my lateral calves and decided that I didn't want to exasperate the tightness lingering from last week by running my whole workout barefoot, so I laced my shoes up and ran 6 more miles on the treadmill. To be honest I could have easily done more barefoot miles if my calves weren't already so tight but I didn't want them to work harder than they had to on a much needed recovery day. After I put my shoes back on I felt like my feet and lower legs just went into auto-pilot recovery running. I really liked how it was feeling to make them think and work a little more while barefoot though. I didn't have anyone talk to me about running barefoot at the gym but after Aaron's experience of being confronted and asked to put his shoes back on, I'm wondering if I ought to consider getting some Five Fingers too so I can continue to strengthen my feet through minimalist running. Or I could just pull out some old worn down compressed running shoes and get the same effect. I'm not as hyped up on the barefoot running as Aaron, but I'm certainly hyped to hear that he is planning on running a Marathon with me this next Fall! Yeah! I'll have a running partner for long runs this summer!

20 minute warm up, stretching, 4X25 sec. strides

8X800M on Boulder Creek Path. Splits were 2:56, 2:54, 2:59, 2:54, 2:55, 2:54, 2:52, 2:51.  Darren set out some cones and spray painted a start and finish line on the path for a measured half mile.  We just went back and forth on the measured half mile and jogged for a few minutes in between.  The first repeat and every other one after that was gradually up.  The odd ones were gradually down. 

10 minute cool down

My calves and achilles were pretty tight in the warm up and for the first two repeats, then I started to warm up and feel okay in my lower legs but my body didn't speed up any.  I guess  I'm still pretty tired from Saturday's race.  I was very happy to be able to make it through the workout even though I was tired and tight.  I have a massage scheduled for tonight....ahhhhh.

9 miles very easy.  Just enjoying the peaceful morning.

My kids got immunization shots yesterday afternoon.  Wow, that was not a fun visit.  It took over an hour to wait for the nurse, listen to her tell me about all the shots, and decide which ones we would do in that visit.  Then it took another hour for her to prepare the shots (each kid got 5-6), administer the shots, and check out.  The problem was that all my kids are way behind schedule for recieving their shots because I'm not a huge fan of injecting dead viruses into small babies so I purposefully delay it until they are a little older and bigger in the hope that their body can handle it better and not have side effects.  Since I delay, when I finally do decide to take them in for shots they need a lot.  The reason I decided to take them in this time is because Abe's school said he needed a few more to be attending school and I decided its time to start Ali on her first wave since she's a lot bigger and stronger than she was 16 months ago.  I made the mistake of allowing Breanne to be in the room as Abe recieved his shots and he was really tough but he did cry a little and I think just the sight of the needle and seeing her big tough brother wince in pain caused her to FLIP OUT.  She was crying and wincing for him and when it came time for her to get her shots she was hiding behind everything in the room like a little scared rabbit.  I tried reasoning with her and explaining the benefits but I was not getting through to her and she was becoming more and more upset so I finaly just had to take her arm sleeves off and pull her pants down to her knees and hold her tight.  Not my favorite thing to hold my child as she screams bloody murder and tenses up in fear and pain.  The nurse was as quick as she could be for all 5 injections but Breanne was not making it any easier.  Luckily Ali had been out in the hall walking with another nurse so she didn't witness the drama, but as I held her for her shots she did not like them at all and Breanne continued flipping out drastically while watching her baby sister get the evil pokes.  Breanne was in the most strung out and emotionally disasterous state I have ever seen her in.  I think next time I'll take back-up support (Aaron) to aid in the drama control. 

Last night and today we are dealing with the fun side-effects.  Abe complains of feeling tired and has cried multiple times about his arm aching.  Breanne puked and has been pale and sick all day.  Ali tossed, turned, coughed, and moaned all night with discomfort and I had to take her in the basement so that everyone upstairs could sleep (needless to say, I didn't sleep great lying next to a tossing, turning, coughing, moaning baby all night).  But at least we wont get whooping cough!  (In theory).  

So as you may realize, I'm not a huge fan of immunizations.  My biggest reason to get them for my kids is because I think it is socially responsible.  I can understand people who choose not to get them though.  Some kids may be more suseptible to severe side-effects from the shots and I think parents have the right to make that personal desision for their kids and not be punished for the fact that they would rather take the risk of their child getting the whopping cough or chicken-pox or whatever other illness they choose not to immunize for rather than risking the potential side-effects.  Most of the diseases themselves are not generally life-threatening anyway.  But on the flip side of the coin, the incidence of immunized diseases is probably lower because of the immunizations, so thank goodness for that.  Anyone else have an opinion about this issue?

Long Run today on Big Dry Creek.  I took it very easy for a couple of miles and then stopped to stretch.  I also stopped to stretch again at mile 4.  My legs felt tight for the first 4 miles, but after my second stretch I really loosened up and started feeling great.  8:08 pace overall.

I really enjoy long-runs.  These are my favorite training days.  Mostly because the first 2-5 miles of my runs are always tight and a bit slower, but once I warm up I feel like I can go forever.  Time just seems to pass and I get lost in my thoughts.  I didn't take any fuel or water on this run because I figured in 30 degrees I wouldn't sweat a ton and I was right.  I felt strong all the way to the finish.

Saw a Mom in a black mini-van with flames painted on the front hood dropping her kids off at middle-school. I think her coolness level may have trumped the secret handshake Mom I saw a few weeks ago. 

Decided to bike this morning because I was feeling tired and sore from yesterday and I was just really in the mood for biking much more than running.  Biked for a little over an hour (I'll call it 5 miles of running) in the beautiful 35 degree sunshine.  Wore my snowboarding gloves and some windproof shoe covers that Aaron has in his bike box.  Those shoe covers are genius!  My feet stayed nice and toasty.

This afternoon I went to the gym to put the kids in child care and ran 3 miles in my new Vibram Five Fingers.  Two miles on the track and another mile on the treadmill.  The treadmill made my feet feel hot.  It felt pretty awesome to really focus on my form and stay light on my feet with a quick cadence.

Lifted weights for another 40 minutes after running.

Four Mile Creek trail in Boulder with Running Republic.

20 minute warm up, stretching, 4X25 sec. strides

15 minute steady tempo at 6:20 pace (some gradual hills)

3 minute recovery

4X6 minute intervals with 3 minutes of jogging in between.  Intervals were at 6:11, 6:04, 6:06, and 5:47 pace over rolling trails.

15 minute cool down

Great workout today!  I felt a little bit tired and my right achilles was still a little bit tight, but I really enjoyed the beautiful weather and good company.

After running I stopped at Safeway to get some groceries and came home to make a big pot of chili to simmer all afternoon.  Then I cleaned the house and Aaron and I and the kids met our good friends (with 5 kids between the ages of 3-9) at a big indoor pool with slides and a lazy river and fun kids area.  We all came back to our house afterwards for chili, bread, watermelon, and cookies.  Adults played Hearts while kids watched They Might Be Giants, Here Comes Science and played in the basement.  Now they've gone home to bed and our kids are sleeping soundly too.

What a fun day! 

8 miles easy around Countryside.  Started out really slow and a little sore, but felt a lot better after my stretching at mile 2.

I counted my cadence so I could affirm to Aaron that I run with a fast cadence.  According to Barefoot Ken Bob, whom Aaron has been reading on form advice, we should have a cadence of 90 or more (180 steps per minute).  So I counted for 6 second intervals and multipied by 10 to realize my cadence is between 95-100 (190-200 steps per minute).

My achilles is slowly starting to feel better each day.  Very slowly though.  Wish it would heal faster but what do I expect when I wont take time off?  At least I have been biking a few times to try and give it a rest.  Maybe I'll bike a couple of days this week in place of recovery runs.  I've also been icing my achilles/calf and massaging the knots out of my calves. 

I decided to register for a 4 mile race on Thanksgiving morning.  Its in Fort Collins and it is sure to be SUPER fast!  The last two years it has been won by Nuta Olaru, a Romanian Olympian.  It usually takes faster than 5:25/mile pace to win the women's race.  Men go sub 5:00 pace.  I guess the race directors like to watch fast people and thats why the offer a prize purse of $800, $500, $300, $150, $50 for 1st-5th places.  There are a number of elite runners who live and train in Boulder and what elite runner wouldn't go out for a nice Thanksgiving morning workout and see if they could win that kind of cash?  I'm sure to be pulled to a fast time!

Good luck to all the NCAA D1 Cross Country runners at Nationals today!  I was reminded by Coach Shane's wife on Facebook that today is the Championships in Terra Haute.  Go BYU! 

Met with Running Republic group at Potts Field.

20 min. warm-up, stretching, 4X25 sec. strides

4X45 sec. quick turnover/75 sec. easy

8X2 min steady/60 sec. easy

4X30 sec. quick turnover/60 sec. easy

I didn't bother getting splits on all of these but looking at my garmin it looks like my pick-ups were all between 5:15-6:00 pace so I definitley got some fast time on my legs.

Thank goodness my achilles and calves are feeling a little better every day.  I'm still going to ice and massage a lot and probably cross-train some either tomorrow or Friday, maybe both.  I just want there to be NO pain at all so I can train effectively.

Darren got me all set up with the whole Running Republic uniform tonight so I can represent now.  Getting new running clothes is always fun.  :)

1 hour bike ride and 4 mile run.  Stretched and did core work for 15 minutes and lifted weights for another 20 minutes.

Now we're off to the store to pick up our Thanksgiving food ingredients.  Tomorrow we'll be joiniing our friends, the Stouts and the McDonalds for a fun-filled day of eating and playing.  12 kids and 6 adults in one house all afternoon/evening is bound to be fun. I'm bringing mashed potatoes, green beans, and Acini De Pepe salad.  Mmmmmm.

I'm thankful for good friends here in Colorado who have invited us into their home for a fun family gathering on this great holiday.  I'm thankful for a supportive, loving husband and three amazing kids.  I'm thankful for good health and fitness that enables me to run and enjoy God's beautiful sunshine and creations.  I'm thankful for the Gospel of Jesus Christ and the way it guides my life, for our freedom and safety living in this Country, and for my family and friends all around the world.  I could go on and on because there are SO many more things I am Thankful for.  I am so blessed.  Here is a great video that really captures the Spirit of Thanksgiving.

Happy Thanksgiving Everyone!! 

Went to Fort Collins to race in a fast 4 miler.  Warmed up 3 miles; stretching, strides.

Looking around me I knew there were some very elite racers on the starting line.  Sara Slattery was at the front as the race went out.  It made my body feel a little sick and shocked my nervous system a little to go out at the pace the lead ladies were blazing at but I just held on for dear life.  I was sticking to the front group of 5 other women who came through the first mile in 5:24.  After that the pace let up a bit thank goodness!!  2nd mile was 5:40; felt a lot more comfortable.  3rd mile picked up again to 5:30 and Sara slipped back a bit.  I was still trying as hard as I could to hang on to the other 4 women and I stuck in 5th place (the final spot to get prize money).  4th mile the front group got a little gap on me but I just kept at it as best I could and sprinted to the finish in 22:11 with a 5:28 final split.

I was 13 seconds behind the leader and the top four were only 2 seconds apart.  Here is the breakdown:

ADRIANA NELSON	00:21:58 ($800)
NUTA OLARU	00:21:59 ($500)
ALISHA WILLIAMS	00:21:59 ($300)
NICLOLE FEEST	00:22:00 ($150)
NAN KENNARD	00:22:11 ($50)

Sara Slattery came in 6th at 22:30

Aaron and I chatted with Adriana Nelson and her husband while waiting for the awards.  She mentioned that she just ran 2:35 in the Chicago Marathon 6 weeks ago and she's not in her best form for a fast 4 miler (yet she won anyway).  She was shooting for 2:25 in Chicago and was dissapointed in her 2:35.  Haha.  I would be STOKED to run 2:35.  She was really friendly and kind and welcomed me to come run with her in Fort Collins sometime and also to befriend her on Facebook; super nice person.  I got $50 and a yummy pumpkin pie for my award.  I was really happy with my result and just super excited to race such fast women and be pulled to such a fast time.  My 5k split was 17:11, which is the fastest I have run since college.

We almost got in a car accident on the drive home.  There were 4 separate fender bender accidents on I-25 coming towards Denver so the traffic kept randomly stopping quickly.  I was chatting with Aaron and didn't notice in time that the cars in my lane were slowing fast and I was still cruisin' along at 70mph.  Aaron said "watch out!" and I slammed on my breaks but it was not going to stop me in time so I veered off into the median and bounced to a stop in the weeds.  I actually didn't fully stop, just crawled right back up onto the highway.  Got a good amount of mud in my under carriage and some stinky breaks.  My heart was racing and the kids were startled.  Not Ali though, she slept through it.  As I pulled back up onto the freeway the guy who was behind me when I veered off the highway gave me a big thumb up and mouthed "NICE MOVE!"  I'm thankful we didn't collide into the car in front of us at 60 mph and that we didn't roll down the slanted median into oncoming traffic.  We defintely had guardian angels watching over us.

12.5 miles on Big Dry Creek in 7:41 pace.

Went running a little later in the morning; 10:30ish.  Saw lots of bike riders and walkers out on the trail today working up an appetite to eat their leftover turkey and pies while enjoying the warm, fresh air.  Also saw many fat prarie dogs out sunbathing.  I would be out of my hole if I were a prarie dog too; it is absolutley beautiful out there today!  65 degrees and sunny. 

I was very pleased with how good my legs felt today after my race yesterday.  Achilles are probably at 88% and calves 91%.   

Four mile trailhead in Boulder with Running Republic.

20 minute warmup, stretching, strides

10 minute tempo at 6:05 pace, 4 minutes easy

4X4 minute pickups at 6:09 (uphill), 6:00, 5:34 (downhill), 5:49 pace with 2 minutes easy in between each.

15 minute cool down

My legs were pretty tired today, so I just did the best I could.  Enjoyed running with the group!

10 miles easy around Countryside

2 miles warm up, stretching, 7X25 second strides, 7 more miles.  Total ave pace was 7:37

Today was a morning of smells.  Lots of people doing their laundry.  Fresh clean clothes smell entered my nostrils many times.  Someone cooking bacon.  Sometimes I think smelling bacon cooking is more yummy than eating bacon.  And there are no gut side-effects.  Running past the middle-schoolers walking to school I got a wiff of various cologne and perfume smells.  And then in the final mile I smelled bus breaks burning up.  That school bus must have just gotten new breaks or something because it was fragrant.

Now I'm off to the gym to lift weights and do some core work.