All it takes is all you've got

7 miles in 7:25 pace

Achilles is feeling better every day!!  I think the problem was mostly caused by the super tightness of my calf.  The past couple of weeks of Dr. Tim blasting the adhesions and tightness away with e-stim, ultrasound, laser therapy, deep acupuncture, and (my favorite) deep tissue massage has REALLY been helping it heal.  WAHOO!

I went in for some more e-stim, laser, and acupuncture this morning and will probably go in again later this week for more deep tissue work.  I think I'll call Richey for some ART this week too.

Happy All Saints' Day, everyone! 

10 miles in 7:21 pace

WOW, my achilles is REALLY on the mend.  YAHOO!!!   

I was quite motivated to run this morning because I talked to Coach De Reuck yesterday and he was glad to hear that my achilles is healing up nicely since he's (unbeknownst to me) pretty much been counting on me as the fifth member of the Running Republic Club team he has put together for cross country club nationals.  The 6K race is in Charlotte, NC on Sat., Dec. 11th.  He says the team would consist of Renee Metivier Baillie, Sarah Slattery, Sarah Vaughn, Colleen, and lil' old me racing for Darren's club team, Running Republic of Boulder.  According to Darren, we would have a very high chance of winning.  It sounds like a blast to me mostly because it would be a fun chance to meet and get to know Renee and the Sarahs, whom I've never actually met (I've only read about them seen them in passing).  They all live and train in Boulder though and could potentially be future running buddies for me to connect with once we move there in a couple of weeks.  

My only reservation is that I don't want to push my training (and my achilles) too fast or too soon and re-injure myself.  Coach suggested that I could just train in my road racing flats and not even bother getting a pair of cross country spikes since those things could really make my calves tight and cause more problems for me.  For now I'm still just taking it one day at a time but I'm praying I can keep getting stronger and be ready to go to Club Nationals next month.  We shall see.... 

P90X Core Synergistics

BUSY BUSY BUSY 

7 miles in 7:07 pace

Listened to some Chi Running on my run this morning.  Working on my form.  Good stuff. 

7 miles in 7:16 pace

Achilles still takes a couple of miles to warm up and feel good, but its definitely getting there.  

Went in for some ART and graston scraping on my achilles and hip.  The hip is a mild problem I just haven't been addressing because it hasn't been complaining as loudly as my achilles, but it felt good to get that worked out too. 

Met the group at Four Mile trailhead this morning.  Our friend Becky was kind enough to watch our kids at her home in Boulder so Aaron could join in on the group workout.  

20 min. warm up, stretching strides

10 min. steady (5:59 pace)

3X4 min on, 1 min jog, 1 min hard.  My pace on the 4 minute intervals was 5:38, 5:43, 5:40.  My my pace on the 1 minute hard intervals was 5:02, 5:06, 5:10 

10 min cool down

Achilles felt good. Not perfect, but good.  I'm just really grateful that I was able to out pushing the pace on a beautiful Boulder morning!

It was nice to see the team again and catch up with everyone.  I also enjoyed having Aaron there.  A few more workouts like that and he'll be pushing my pace! 

7 miles in 7:05 pace

6X50 stride pick-ups to get the legs moving. Did Ab-ripper X with Aaron and the girls when I got home.  Got some good laughs watching our 2 and 4 yo try to get ripped abs.  The best was Ali sitting with her legs flat on the ground pounding her fists on each side of her legs feeling so happy for herself because she is so tough!  That girl is seriously melting us with her cuteness lately.  The other day the kids found a daddy long leg spider and she came running inside and said "its a long long daddy daddy leg!!!"  Hahaha.

My achilles feels pretty good.  My lower back hurts for some reason though.  I'm going to see Richey tomorrow and will ask him to adjust it.

SNOW!!

If there would have been a morning group I would have gone to it and run in clear skies.  But as it was, Coach D only held an afternoon group today so we got to run in the snow!  Actually it stopped snowing during our warm up and the path was only wet with a few puddles here and there.  The trees and grass had a light dusting and snow clumps were dripping off the trees. Our first snow of the season...Beautiful!  I can't believe it waited so long to come this year!

Anyway, I met my team at East Boulder Commnity park.  We did a 20 min. warm-up, stretching, and strides.

4X45 seconds quick turnover to get our legs moving (5:20-5:40 pace) 75 sec. jog between each

5 minutes steady controlled (5:48 pace)

2 min jog 

6X90 seconds hard with 1 min. jog between each (5:20-5:40 pace)

5 minutes steady controlled (5:57 pace)

10 minute cool down

 It got dark after our warm up so we turned our headlamps on.  After the 4X45 second set I took off my jacket and had my bright neon yellow Baltimore marathon long sleeve on, which was pretty much glow in the dark.  That shirt is pretty awesome for night running.

9 miles in 7:29 pace

Nice recovery run after last night's workout.  Now I'm off to see Richey for some ART.

Three more days until we are official "Boulderites!" 

8 miles in 7:27 pace

Ran with Renee Metivier Baillie and Kristen Fryburg-Zaits this morning.  We met at the Coal Creek Trail in Lousiville; a place I am very familiar with from my years of living in Superior.  This was my first time meeting Renee; she is super cute and nice (and huggy).  :)   It was nice to see Kristen again and catch up with her as well.  She appears to be right on track and gearing up for a great race in the Houston Marathon in a couple of months. 

Eight miles seems to fly by super quick when you are passing the time with like-minded runner gals.  Good times! 

My last run around Standley Lake.  :(

4 mile warm up with stretching and strides mixed in.

4 mile tempo run in 6:03 pace

2 mile cool down 

The ol' legs (and heart and lungs) are feeling somewhat rusty.  It felt good to push the pace though.

One final day of packing, breaking down all our beds and selling off five more pieces of furniture that I have had listed on craigslist for two weeks and have finally received calls from buyers who want them (I love craigslist).

I am also taking Abe to Boulder after school to meet his new First Grade teachers and check in on the "situation" in our basement.  Yesterday afternoon when I stopped by to vacuum the house and drop a load of stuff off, the basement storage room had a pool of sewage water which was seeping into the carpet in the hall.  I sopped up 12 towels worth of nasty pooh water and we called the plumber to come in and clean the pipes out; also a carpet cleaner to come shampoo the carpet.  Lets hope they are on schedule today because we'll be pulling in sometime around noon tomorrow with two 26 ft. moving trucks full of stuff! 

Hope you're all having a nice Friday!! 

I was going to try to get in a few easy miles before a long day of moving but my legs felt pretty trashed when I woke up and I also had at least 12 things on my "to-do" list before the movers arrived at 8:30 a.m., so I nixed the run.  

Moving went pretty smoothly.  Our good friends, Erin and Gus watched the kids ALL DAY which was a HUGE help.  Four young men in their 20s came and filled two 26 ft. trucks full of stuff while I cleaned the house and Aaron did touch up paint and unscrewed furniture and beds.  They finally pulled out around 2 p.m. and I stayed another couple of hours to make the place spic and span.

Once we got to Boulder it was much quicker to unload.  Some light snow began to fall at dusk just as we brought the final box into our new home.  Nine hours and $1,231 later, we sent home those four nice lads and thanked them for their wonderful service.  We are officially Boulderites!! 

Went to Church in the Boulder Ward chapel (the same ward we attended for our first 3.5 years in CO).  It felt like coming "home" after our 18-month hiatus in Westminster.  I really love the wonderful people here in Boulder.  They all gave us a very warm welcome back to the Ward.  

One of our friends, Gene Peterson told us we must have caught "the curse of Niwot."  Apparently Niwot (also the name of a town within Boulder County) was the Indian Chief who inhabited this land centuries ago.  As the story goes, Chief Niwot declared that people seeing the beauty of this valley will want to stay and those who leave will always return.

Well, whether it was Chief Niwot's "curse" (blessing?) or just simply God's will for us, we are sure happy to now be living in Boulder!! 

9 miles in 7:09 pace

BUSY morning of getting Abe off to school, taking Bre to her first gymnastics class, grocery shopping, feeding kids, ect ect.  

Finally got to my run at 11:30 a.m. and enjoyed a nice sunny, crisp afternoon jaunt through Boulder!!  Mostly ran on trails or the bike path.  Felt pretty sluggish at first but finally got into a groove around 4 miles in.

Enjoyed my 4 (formerly 25) minute commute to workout at East Boulder Rec.

The group was relatively small and fast this morning.  Simon, Colleen, Steve, Katie, Pete, and Me.

20 minute warm up, stretching, strides

5 minutes steady at 5:58 pace

2 min. jog 

5X3 minutes at 5:55, 5:34, 5:32, 5:34, 5:40 pace (some gradual incline/decline in there) with 90 seconds of jogging between each

5 minutes at 5:45 pace

10 minute cool down

I felt pretty good this morning.  The pace is not as fast as it was two months ago, but my lungs are gradually building back.

Funny coincidence....right after I got in my car after the workout I received a text from Renee inviting me to join her and Fiona (another pro runner) for 5 minute intervals on the exact same trail I had just finished my intervals on.  I replied to tell her that Colleen and I had just warmed up the trail for her and were now headed home.  She invited me to run with her on Thursday instead.

7 miles in 7:35 pace

A snapshot of Boulder via my 7 mile run....

Parents and children walking to school wearing the local gear; Golite jackets and Crocs. 

Professors and students biking to CU with their pinch-rolled right pant leg and heavy backpacks.

The big, iron sculpted CU Buffalo next to the "University of Colorado" entrance sign.

Beautiful old brick campus buildings with ivy climbing the exterior.

A Starbucks parking lot so jam packed that two cars were waiting for spot to open up so they could park and go in.

Ten to twelve transient looking people gathering on the Boulder Creek path for their morning pow wow.

A woman sitting on a large rock at the creek's edge meditating in perfect form.

Teenage boys smoking pot on the creek path.

Boulder High School.

A man riding his bike with a large piercing and chain connecting from his lower lip to his left ear.

Potts field (the CU track).

A college-aged serious looking runner girl decked out in Nike gear.  Maybe someone on CU's team? 

A dormitory  bike rack with over 300 bikes jammed in.

A man riding his bike with toddler in tow. 

And last, but certainly not least, The Flatirons!

Slammed with the flu.  Lots of sleep, Emergen-C, Airborne, and Zicam.  No running.

7 miles in 7:38 pace

At least my body-ache is subsiding.  The phlegm is not quite leaving me yet though.  My voice sounds Patty and Selma on the Simpsons.  Frightening. 

Today on my run I saw Scott Ensign's brother, David (although I don't think he noticed me...he must have been listening to a good song on his iPod).  I also saw two guys riding fixies, which is when this song started playing in my head. 

Met my team at Four Mile Creek trailhead in NoBo, the local slang for "North Boulder."  If I'm ever going to even hope to become a 'local' I better get the slang down, right?

The weather was humid, overcast, and 29 degrees....no snow though.  I forgot my watch this morning but it was okay because with the my flu recovery and laryngitis, I suppose it was better for me to go by feel rather than caring what my pace was.  Renee and her husband, Austin joined us for the warm-up since they were in NoBo serving at the homeless shelter all morning and finished up just as our group was meeting.  Sarah Slattery also joined in a little late.  It was nice to finally "meet" Sarah even though I had actually already met her over ten years ago during our Senior year in high school at the Great Southwest track meet at ASU.  This is back when Sarah was an Arizona high school standout and "Team Utah" went head to head with "Team Arizona" in the 4X800M relay. We beat their socks off AND set the meet record despite Sarah's effort to catch us.  Sarah went on to win the 3200 M later than day.  I on the other hand, secured a nice stress fracture in my right fibula which made a subtle popping noise during the final 200 meters of that race sending me into limp mode after the race and setting me back in my training the summer before I started at BYU...but that is a story for another day.  Sarah did say she remembered meeting me, though there is a slim chance she was just being nice.  ;) 

Anyway, back to the workout.  We did a 20 minute warm-up, stretching, and strides, as usual.

12 minutes at Half Marathon effort on the dirt trail above the park.  Don't know my pace here...probably just barely sub-6:00 pace.

3 minute jog to the grass field and where people put CC spikes on (I still don't have a pair).

4X4 minutes steady hard, 1 minute rest, 1 minute hard, 1 minute rest (with 10 push-ups during the second rest).  Without actually knowing my pace per Mr. Garmin, I'd guess my 4 minute repeats were between 5:35-5:45 pace and my 1 minute surges were closer to 5:25 pace.  The repeats were out on a nice bum-kicker loop with one decent sized hill and another long gradual incline (gotta love Cross Country!)

10 minute cool down

Fun/challenging workout with a great group of runners!  Maybe one of these weeks I'll actually get over 45 miles  now that moving and being sick are behind me.  I was talking to Renee and she said she took a down week last week.  "What is a down week for you?" I asked.  75 miles.  "Oh.....okay. So what will you do next week?"  "93ish", she says.  Haha.  In my head I'm thinking, oh good, thats over DOUBLE what I've been doing.  She also mentioned to Coach D that 5:10 pace was feeling "easy" to her yesterday.  I'm pretty sure she is going to have no problem kicking ALL our bums at CC Club Champs.  I'm just honored to be on her team.  Go Renee!   

Now I'm off to cook some Butternut Squash soup for our friends and their five kids who are coming for dinner tonight.  First dinner guests in our "new" (old) home! 

9 miles in 7:13 pace

29°F with 20mph wind.  At least it was sunny and there was no snow other than a light dusting on the grass.  Come to mention it, we've had a pretty dry November.

I'm getting excited for Club Cross.  I got two emails from former BYU teammates who are both going to be there so we are planning a post race BYU Alumni cool-down.  Go BYU!  Speaking of BYU Cross Country, congrats to Katie Bowen today at the NCAA Cross Country Championships in Terra Hautte, IN.  She qualified individually and finished in a solid 61st place overall.  Katie is a very talented, committed runner and a classy person to boot.  She is a former Lone Peak High School superstar and good friend of mine from years ago when I was the Coach (or in Allie's case, "Hoolligan Manager") at Lone Peak.

A.M. 3.75 miles in 7:58 pace

Nice morning shake out run up past the library, South Boulder Rec. Center and Fairview High school.  Saw some fast looking runners working out on Fairview track, as usual.

P.M. 7.75 miles

Our babysitter came over at 4 p.m. so Aaron and I could join in for the RRB group workout.  Met at East Boulder Community park for a 20 minute warm up, stretching, and strides.  Then 10 minutes at half marathon effort (5:44 pace) 3 minute jog, then 4X2:30 in 5:35, 5:34, 5:37, 5:45 pace and a 10 minute cool down. 

Legs felt fast and fresh.  Achilles slightly tight.  Went to see Richey for some ART and graston scraping after the workout.  It was ouchy good.

6.5 miles in 7:25 pace

Beautiful morning!

I stayed up too late (past midnight) last night trying to get ready to leave for Utah for Thanksgiving and also getting distracted with a little Christmas shopping on Amazon.com.  Finally got to bed around midnight and the kids woke us up this morning around 6:30 a.m.  We each took turns running and finishing up last details of packing and Aaron tying up loose ends with his business before finally leaving for Utah at 10:30 a.m.  From Boulder to Layton in record time 7:10.  The kids were very cooperative and we were able to only make one stop for gas and bathroom.  AND we didn’t even speed that bad (maybe 5 mph over).  J

Happy Thanksgiving!!

Aaron and I got up around 7:00 a.m., got the kids dressed and fed, and bundled up in our multiple layered running attire.  The kids stayed at Grandma’s and played with their cousins from Fresno while we drove the 10 minutes to Farmington, checked in for the race, and jogged the course (slightly altered from their posted map online because of icy conditions on one section).  It was a very beautiful, sunny, seven degree Utah morning.  The course was mostly clear with some slippery snowpack/ice around the corners and one final quarter mile of crunchy ice chunk covered path and grass to the finish line.  We did a nice long warm-up with some strides and stretching mixed in.  The race started a few minutes late and went out fast down a slight decline for the first mile.  A bounding rabbit in baggy pants and a hoodie sweatshirt, a fit-looking man in his 30s, and a high school runner who made no sign of actual effort being put forth went out in the lead.  I stayed on their heels and Aaron was a few strides behind.  The bounding rabbit had already fallen off pace and started running backwards after the first half mile so it was down to me and two men pushing the first mile.  The less young of the two men fell off just before the first mile and I ran with the high school dude(correcting him twice for nearly turning off course) for a comfortable 5:35 through mile one.    The second mile was a gradual incline and we slowed to 5:45.  Right when my watch said mile two the course turned right and shot us down a steep decline back towards the race finish.  One loop around a neighborhood and up the chunky/icy final quarter mile and we were finished.  I think my final mile was 5:32 and the sprint to the finish was 5:20 pace for a finish time of 17:20.  The high-schooler finished 10 seconds ahead of me.  I found out he is a member of the Davis High school cross country team and they are going to a big national event in a couple of weeks.  I commented to him that he appeared to be jogging out there and he said he ran 15:50 last week so yes, 17:10 was quite comfortable for him.  He thanked me for keeping him on course.  The course map he looked at last night online was obviously not the same course they had laid out today so it was good that Aaron and I had gotten there in time to read the updated map and jog the actual course beforehand.  A few minutes after Aaron finished, we left to  jog the course one more time for our cool down and completed our day at 10 miles.  After the race we chatted with Jun and his son for a minute and also happened to bump into our Stake President from the Boulder Stake along with his wife and 5 of his sons.  It was fun to catch up with them and enjoy the coincidence of traveling all this way to end up in the same lil’ 5K.

The post race food was donuts and hot chocolate which hit the spot as we started to cool off again in the now nine degree Hawaiian Holiday we were experiencing.  We went over to chat with the race director, Darrell and he gave me a prize for winning the women’s race; a $50 Chase gift-card, fresh apple pie, and some rockin’ orange “Sock-Guys” socks with a turkey on them.   What a generous race director!!  The funny part about the award was that just a week ago, I had suggested to him that he give at least $50 to the race winners and I also suggested pies for the age division winners.  Hey, he ASKED for prize suggestions on his website, so why not?  You only get what you ask for.  And you better be careful what you ask for too because you often get exactly what you ask for which is why I didn’t suggest a large obnoxious plastic turkey trophy, a free 15 lb. turkey (which would be leaking blood and stinking up our car on the long drive home), or even a 64 oz. glass beer mug (one of my favorite prizes through the years…I just don’t need another one).

The race was really fun albeit, cold.  Darrell did a great job of lifting spirits with the music and hot chocolate and I think all in attendance were happy to be there.

I was pretty happy with running a 17:20 considering where I’m at in my training and also considering the less than perfect racing conditions. 

The remainder of the day was spent cooking, chatting with family, eating delicious food, playing card games, and thinking about all the many things I have to be grateful for.  I feel so overwhelmed with gratitude as I consider all the wonderful blessings in my life; my brilliant, supportive, good looking, ambitious husband, my obedient, kind, cooperative, smart kids, my good health and strength, our new home in Boulder, our many friends and associations with wonderful, inspiring people, our siblings, in-laws, and parents, as well as our Faith in God and testimonies of the Gospel of Jesus Christ.

We got news this afternoon that Aaron’s 96-year-old Grandpa passed away at 1 p.m.  He lived a long, full life and set forth a legacy of Faith and hard work to be followed by his 50+ grandkids and even more great grandkids.  He is a kind, gentle soul whom we will remember fondly. 

8 miles in 7:24 pace

Ran around Layton/Kaysville in the balmy 18 degrees.  Legs felt pretty great!

Aaron and I woke up early this morning despite our late night gaming with Aaron’s family last night.  We drove the 20 minutes to Sugarhouse park to meet up with Allie for a workout around the rolling 1.25 mile loop.

30 minute warm up, stretching strides

10 minutes at half marathon pace (5:47 pace)

3 minute jog

4X(3 minutes fast, 1 minute jog, 1 minute hard, 2 minutes rest with 10 push ups.)  My pace on the 3 minute intervals was 5:31, 5:36, 5:41, 5:54 (the last one was actually 3:30 since I didn’t see Aaron’s arm cue to stop as he was behind me and I hadn’t been looking at my watch.  My pace on the one minute intervals was 5:17, 5:18, 5:05, 4:53.  Aaron pushed our pace on the one minute intervals and finished each of those intervals slightly ahead of Allie and me in order to prove his manhood (his words, not mine.) 

It was good to catch up with Allie and enjoy her company.  Everyone wish her luck in CIM next week!  She’s sharp and ready to rock it!  During the warm up Aaron and I got talking about ‘efficient’ running form.  Sorry for the unsolicited advice, Allie. With all the studying and experimenting Aaron has done on his own running form lately, it is a frequent topic of discussion for us.  We may sound like we think we know it all but in reality we are still just trying to figure it all out for ourselves.    

My legs felt pretty good considering the solid week behind me.  I finally ran over 50 miles in a week for the first time since Baltimore and am starting to feel pretty fit again.  It was good to race and realize that I am on track for a decent race at the CC Club Champs in two weeks.  After club cross I am excited to get in some higher mileage and begin my preparation for the Houston Half on January 29th.

Aaron and I listened to “Once a Runner” by John L. Parker on the drive back to Colorado today.  We enjoyed hearing the experiences and wisdom shared by the author as he tells in third person the story of his journey to becoming a world class runner.  I feel aligned with the author in this particular sentiment:

“(He) was not enthusiastically going about the business of breaking world records or capturing some coveted prize.  Such ideas would have been laughable to him in the bland grind of his daily routine.  He was merely trying to slip into a lifestyle that he could live with.  Strenuous but not unedurable by any means.  Out of which, if the corpuscles and the capillaries and the electrolytes were properly aligned in their own mysterious configurations, he might do even better something he had already done quite well. He was trying to ‘switch gears.’  At least, that is how he thought of it.”

Who is with me?  Time to go out and do even better something we have already done quite well?  Lets do this.

8 miles in 7:12 pace

Busy Monday started at 6:15 a.m. with a quick 8 miles then home to feed kids, get Abe out the door for school, start the first of six loads of laundry, shower, eat, and get Bre to her gymnastics class by 9:15 a.m.  Ali and I went grocery shopping while Bre tumbled and twirled in gymnastics.  After that we went to the Flatiron Athletic Club where the girls played in child care while I got the tour, signed a membership, and did a short core/weights workout.  I am really pleased with the FAC.  They have a great child care facility with awesome staff who said I can even go outside for a run as long as I take my cell phone.  While there are various great options for clubs to join here in Boulder, the FAC is closest to my home, offers everything I could ever possibly want in a club (even pilates reformer classes!), and FAC is also where Coach D and Colleen are members, teach a plyos class, and where Colleen is a personal trainer.  Now I just need to get myself on Colleen's schedule so she can whoop my bum into gear.

Met my RRB group at Tom Watson Park in North Boulder this morning.  Darren led the group on his bike and Colleen came to workout too.  I talked to Colleen about personal training and she is going to set aside some time for me next week when she gets back in town from a photo shoot in NY.  I also enjoyed catching up with my friend Sarah and others in the group.

It was sunny and comfortable temperature but WINDY!  The wind was not a deathly gusting sabotage per se, more of just a constantly pushing challenger.  Living in Boulder I guess I'd better accept the fact that there will be wind some days and learn to appreciate the wind for the fresh air it blows in from the western mountains rather than cursing and resenting it. 

20 minute warm-up, stretching, strides

4X45 seconds hard with 1 min jog in between.  I was too distracted with pushing the wind to also think about pushing my lap button so I don't know my pace on these but my effort was there.

4X2 minutes steady hard with 1 minute jog in between.  These were between 5:40-5:48 pace, the slowest being the one that was up a steep hill into the wind for the last 40 seconds or so.  Fun.

4X1 minute hard with 1 minute jog.  Pace ranged from 5:00 pace (downhill with the wind at my back) to 6:08 pace (uphill with the blessed headwind).

5 minute tempo in 5:46 pace with mostly wind at my back.

10 minute cool down 

Solid effort today.  Legs felt pretty good, tired at the end though.  I'm going to see Richey for some ART on my hip and of course the ol' stubborn achilles.  I figure I may as well make visiting Richey a part of my weekly routine since he is so brilliant and helpful in keeping little aches and pains under control as opposed to me doing nothing about them and allowing them to hinder my training.