All it takes is all you've got

Met with my running group at Tom Watson Park in Boulder.  Ran on the trails and dirt roads around Boulder Reservoir.  Windy for the first part of the workout, then the winds died off. 

20 minute warm up, stretching, strides

4X90 seconds at 5k effort with 60 second jog in between.  My pace for the intervals was 6:01 (headwind), 5:58 (headwind), 5:28 (still headwind but downhill), 5:36 (headwind but downhill).

2 minutes easy

4X45 second hill surges with jog back down.  Pace was between 5:28-5:40 on the surges.

2 minutes easy

4X3 minutes steady on flat roads (wind died down thank goodness).  My pace got progressively faster.  Average pace for each interval was 5:56, 5:42, 5:38, 5:22 (last one downhill).

2 minutes easy

4X30 second surges uphill.  Didn't get splits on these but they were probaby 5:25-5:30 pace.

10 mintue cooldown.  Total was 10.21 miles at 7:41 average pace.

I felt pretty strong today and stayed with Damon and Coach DeReuck on the intervals.  Simon likes to talk trash and he backed it up today by beating everyone on the 3 minute intervals.  I learned that Simon is a former 4-time world champ Triathlete.  He is in his late-30s now and retired from racing but can still execute a tough workout.  He coaches the 4-5 triathletes that come to our group.

Now THAT was an awesome run.  Aaron and I planned to do our run together for the first time in a LONG time.  Excepting a few races over the years, we haven't done a training run together since before Abe came around, so about 6 years.  Our friend who I swap kids with had our kids this morning so we took off to Eldorado canyon to run the trails together.  We ended up having 6 inches of snow and 15 degree weather, but it didn't seem to affect us much (other than slowing the pace a little).  Aaron of course wore his Vibram Five Fingers and was a little concerned at first about his feet getting too cold, but after a couple of miles he reported that his feet were warmed up and the snow was not bothering them at all, so we journeyed onward.  The trail had a few challenging sections where there were larger rocks hidden under the snow and we both took our fair share of spills but for the most part it was a pretty clear trail and the snow only made it feel softer.  I twisted my ankle a number of times but Aaron didn't seem to have the same problem with his barefoot shoes.  I guess his feet just slipped off the rocks and didn't jolt his ankle around as much as me in my comparatively clunky Nike's. After about 8 miles, the trail dropped us off onto the Eldorado Canyon road and the remaining 5+ miles were on the road.  The final mile and a half was a long uphill and it felt good to crest the hill and finish an epic run.  I LOVED having Aaron as good company (singing through the woods at times in our own private wilderness).  That guy just makes everything more fun (or as he would say, funner.)    :)

Totals:

Elevation change: 1,461 ft.

Distance: 13.41 miles

Pace: 9:36 (best mile was 7:31, slowest was 12:16 (straight up a mountain in the snow).  

Here we are after the run.

And here's a shot of Aaron's toasty warm feet.

A.M. 6 miles around Countryside in the zero degree, but sunny weather.  Standley Lake looked awesome, like a misty oasis. The combination of a super cold temp with bright, warm sun caused a ton of steam to rise up.  Later in my run I noticed more steamy/foggy air.  Someone was blowing the water out of the sprinklers at the Golf Course.  Isn't it a little late for that?  I was surprised water was actually coming out of those frozen pipes.

P.M. 4 miles around the indoor track at the gym in my VFFs.  Form felt good, legs felt good.  Got a little tiny blood blister in my arch and about 9 strange looks from people.

Lifted weights and did core for 30 minutes. 

10 miles on the TM at the gym in 7:43 ave pace.  I actually didn't mind the TM this morning because I felt really smooth and it was easy on my legs.  I prefer that to slip sliding around on black ice at a much more cautious pace while risking a fall that may break my wrist.  The sun is out and the temp is forecasted to go into the 30s today so hopefully the sidewalks will clear off more before tomorrow.

We have a babysitter tonight so we can go to the Temple.  Tomorrow after I run with my group in Boulder we're having lunch with friends.  In the evening we're going to see the Denver Zoo Christmas lights with other friends, so fun weekend ahead! 

Met Running Republic at Palo Parkway

20 min. warm-up on snow-packed trail, stretching, strides

20 min. tempo at 5:57 pace

4 min. easy

6 min. tempo at 6:00 pace

2 min. easy

6 min. tempo at 6:19 pace (back on snow-pack) for the second half.

20 min. cooldown

Felt pretty good.  Tired on the last one.  

Stopped by CU on my way back home to say hi to Carolyn and her friend Michelle as they finished their 5K race.  Parked and jogged to the field house to see if I could find them and they found me instead.  I guess I was kind-a hard to miss in my bright pink Running Republic jacket.  Carolyn yelled my name from behind and we chatted for a bit.  They both ran PRs and had an enjoyable time.  We walked back to our cars together and parted ways.  So just a quick 20 minute chat but its always nice to see a fellow FRB-er.  Congrats on your PR, Carolyn! 

Very cold and a little windy.  I was going to go 9 but was having a hard time finding paths to run on that I wasn't slipping around or just running deathly slow through the unplowed few days worth of snow.  Then my hands started to freeze because apparently it was laundry day and all I could find to put on my hands was one thin pair of gloves and a pair of socks.  So I cut my run short and resolved to go to the gym later for a few more miles on the TM where at least I can run a decent pace.  The morning consumed me with laundry, the afternoon isn't an option since child care is not open from 1-4 p.m., so I was going to go after the kids gymnastics class got out at 5 p.m. but then my car battery was dead and it took me an extra 10 minutes to jump my car at the gymnastics place and in those 10 minutes of cold and waiting, the kids all literally melted down and began complaining loudly of hunger, cold, and fatigue.  So I took them home and made them dinner.  Abe really was hungry 'cause he ate A TON.  And then of course the evening progressed into family home evening and ton-o-laundry folding, so I did not get out to the gym to run.  Such is life.

More cold and light snow.  The gym visit that was supposed to happen yesterday afternoon happened this morning instead.  Easy 3.5 miles and some lifting.  

I'm still planning on going to Boulder for our group workout at 4:30 today.  Its only 8 degrees and snowing lightly with a little wind.  We'll be freezing but at least there will be a group of us and we can laugh about our insanity together. 

PM Update: Ran with my group in Boulder.  It was only 4 degrees but calm.  Quite pleasant actually.  I dressed warmly and the only part of my body that ever got cold was my face.  I love how well they plow the paths in Boulder.  You may not get the road in front of your house plowed but you can count on the Boulder Creek Path being clear.  Wouldn't want to prevent anyone from being able to run or bike to work or anything.  

20 minute warm-up, stretching, strides.

4X45 seconds steady with 1 minute jog

10 minutes steady with 2 minute jog

4X2:30 steady with 90 second jog

10 minute cool-down

I forgot my Garmin as I left the house to go to the workout but didn't mind because that just meant I didn't have to push any buttons.  Asked Bean how far we went after the workout and she said 8.8.  Close enough, I'm rounding to 9.  Temp was down to 3 when I got back in my car.  It's chilly out there, folks!

Okay, this cold spell is getting old.  I saw on the news that we had near record low temps this morning across the State with the lowest spot being -17 F.  It was 4 F when I woke up and I just wasn't in the mood to get all bundled up and skate around again.  The paths and sidewalks here in Westminster are not plowed like they are in Boulder, so its quite lumpy and icy around here.  May we please just have a day or two of warmth that will melt the snow and ice off the sidewalks?  That would be nice.  Forecast says we'll be getting into the 40s on Sunday and Monday, that should do it.  I may be getting in some more treadmill mileage until then.  Especially since Aaron and I are headed to Steamboat Springs tomorrow for a little company retreat.  We got ourselves and our Executive Assistant and her boyfriend a couple of rooms as part of the early season ski promotion where if you stay for 3 nights, they give you 4 free ski tickets per room.  So we'll be snowboarding Friday and Saturday in Steamboat!  And of course a lot of hot-tubbing and eating at yummy restaurants.  Ahhh vacation is good.  Our kids are being cared for by some friends in our ward.  We watched their son in September so they could go backpacking and now they're paying us back.

SO today I ran on the treadmill at the gym.  Aaron and I went together at 4:30 p.m. and took the kids to play in child care.  I warmed up for 20 minutes in my VFFs, then started to feel a hot spot on my toe, so I changed to my shoes.  Aaron and I ran on treadmills next to each other for about 5 miles and then Aaron got sick of it and went to the track for another mile and swam some laps while I finished my other 5 miles.  My left leg is a little tight, starting at the hip and going down my IT band so Aaron offered to work on it for a bit tonight.  What a guy.

Aaron worked on my legs for about 45 minutes last night doing some PUSH Therapy that his massage therapist does.  I have these golf ball sized knots on both sides of my glutes that shoot sensation down my hamstrings and through my hips when he pushes on them.  PUSH Therapy is not just finding knots and trigger pointing them but rather pushing gently on them while I move the muscles extending out from them.  For instance, as I'm laying on my side, Aaron finds the adhesion in my glute.  He gently pushes on it as I extend my leg down, drop it to relaxed, move my leg forward, drop it to relaxed, move my leg back as far as I can, and drop it to relaxed again.  The idea is that the movement aides in breaking up the adhesions and also works the pressure Aaron is putting on me across the muscle instead of just up and down the muscle.   It starts to fatigue my hip muscles after a while so it also becomes a hip strengthening exercise.  My left leg did not feel the same tension today as it did yesterday, so all that therapy he did must have helped.

I went to the gym this morning since I had to drop Abe off at school early for a class field trip and the girls were ready to go for the day anyway.  Ran 10 miles on the treadmill.  Started out around 8:15 pace, stopped and stretched after 20 minutes and then bumped the pace up to 7:45 pace.  Watched CNN with Abe's MP3 player since it gets FM reception.  Saw Obama getting the Nobel Peace Prize which apparently is given based on peoples promises and good intentions now.  Also saw lots of debate on the Health Care Reform which is moving right along....as slow as molasses in January.  Saw images of all the hundreds of other U.S. Cities that are freezing their bums off this week too.  Then I saw a story about a guy on trial for murder with swastika and other offensive tattoos all over his face and neck and the public is criticizing the Judge's decision to pay $150/day from State funds for a makeup artist to cover up his tattoos during the trial so as to avoid offending people.  Gimme a break!  If the guy got the tattoos to express himself and represent what he stands for then that ought to be in full disclosure to the Jury and anyone else who cares to watch his Trial.  Seems silly to me that they would consider covering them.  These kind of stories are why I RARELY watch the News.  They just irritate me.  Finally after this story, I just stuck my Ipod back on my earphones and listened to music.  It was much more uplifting.

Steamboat Springs!  

I thought it was cold in Denver.  Its even colder here!  We arrived last night around 11:00 p.m. after getting our kids situated and packing the car and then driving the 3 hour trip and the temperature was -9 F as we got into our hotel room.  This morning, wanting to find a fitness center and some hot springs to soak in we asked the front desk manager and she recommended the hot springs up the road that has a fitness center too and gave us some discount passes.  

I did my long run for the week, 12 miles.  Started out at 8:20 pace and slowly progressed to 7:30 for the last 4-5 miles.  Treadmill shut down on me after an hour so I had to restart it.  In my final half mile Aaron had finished his 9 miles and was just waiting for me so I decided to finish it quickly and bumped up the pace to 5:30.  The run felt great and we stretched, rolled out on foam rollers, and soaked in the hot springs for a while afterwards. 

After showering, eating, and getting our gear, we hit the slopes for a few hours.  My legs were not used to using those snowboarding muscles in the isolated anaerobic way snowboarding requires so I had to keep stretching but finally after a couple of runs they got warmed up and felt better.  The weather was beautiful and sunny, but stayed in the low 20s F.  

For dinner we ate at Giovanni's, the same place we ate at on our Honeymoon 7.5 years ago.  Their ownership and menu had changed a little but it was still VERY delicious.  Then we went to see the movie, Everybody's Fine and I cried through a lot of it.  Its a pretty sad movie.  I don't want to spoil it or anything, but I don't know why they called the movie Everybody's Fine because everybody is definitely NOT fine.  As Aaron and I discussed it afterwards we felt inspired to be better parents though so I guess there was a good take-away message. 

Ahh vacation.   Gotta love it.  No rush to be anywhere at any time, no messes to clean up, no whiney kids (although I do love having kids on vacation and I actually miss them right now), no cooking, and freedom to do whatever you want, when you want. 

This morning we slept in until 8 a.m. again and went to get some complimentary breakfast.  Ate something light, and saved more in our room for later.  Then we went to the hot springs fitness center and ran on treadmills.  I did the workout my Coach gave me:

20 minute warmup, stretching, 4X25 second strides.

5 minutes at half marathon pace (I locked it in at 5:49 pace)

2 minutes easy

3 minutes at 10k pace (I did 5:36 pace)

2 minutes easy

and repeat that 5X2X3X2 interval 2 more times.

10 minute cool down

I actually really enjoyed doing this on the treadmill because I could just lock in the pace and keep it going.  It was pretty mindless.  I didn't even wear my ipod, I just stared out the window at the snow falling on the cars driving by and people walking around.  I got pretty sweaty though doing it inside.  But no one complained.  

After running Aaron and I went to the stretching area and rolled out for a good 20 minutes then went to soak in the hot springs for another 30 minutes.  Now we're going to go snowboarding, I guess.   As you can see we're really committed to getting our money's worth on the ski slopes.  Actually we didn't pay for our passes, we just got them free for paying for our hotel as part of the early season ski promotion.  I think we'll go back to the hot springs after dinner tonight for some more soaking.  It just feels so good! 

2 mile warm up, stretching 7X25 second strides.  10 miles total 7:50 ave. pace.

It felt like Springtime here in CO this morning!  28 degrees is a massive heat wave compared to the negative temps I was acclimating to last week.  I was wearing tights and a long sleeve shirt and sweating big time.  Could have been more comfortable in shorts for sure.

My body is feeling kind-of sluggish because I started coming down with a sinus infection yesterday.  I'm pounding the Emergen-C and Airborne hoping this congestion goes away soon and doesn't work its way down into my lungs. 

Met Running Republic at East Boulder Community park.  My favorite meeting place because it is the closest to my home, only 20 minutes.  Temp at my house was 28 degrees, but in Boulder, it was only 18 degrees.  I would have brought my warmer gloves had I thought about it a bit longer, but as it was my hands were a little cold in the thin liners.

20 minute warm-up, stretching, strides. 

4X90 seconds hard with 60 seconds easy. Pace was 5:39, 5:20, 5:56, 6:02 up and down hills, over ice patches

3X4 minutes steady with 2 minutes easy.  Pace was 5:57, 5:59, 5:48 up and down hills, over ice patches.  Last one was mostly on dry sidewalk.

4X60 seconds hard with 60 seconds easy. Pace was 5:07, 5:43, 5:37, 5:28.  Mostly flat, but some more ice patches.

10 minute cool down.  Total 8.73 miles at 7:46 ave.

Darren is going to Perth, Australia for a couple of weeks to visit Colleen's brother for the Holidays.  He said Colleen is already there and its like 90 degrees.  *Jealous*  At least our forecast is for the mid-40s or above for the next 10 days.  Not bad! 

Easy 10 around Standley Lake in 7:54 ave. pace.  SO nice out there today.  Very calm and a warm 34 F.  Quiet too.

Weird morning.  My kids all woke up around 4:30 a.m. today.  Why?  I have no idea.  I kept hearing them not realizing what the time was but feeling like I just wanted to stay in bed for longer, pretending like I was not hearing them.  Then finally at 5:15 a.m. I lifted my head to see what time it was and realized I'd better get them to go back to bed for another hour or two so they wouldn't be zombies all day.  Breanne was already dressed for the day, ready to rock and roll.  Abe was still mulling around in his PJs, but starving for breakfast.  Ali was ready for some milk and more sleeping.  So I got Ali a milk and put her back in her crib, got Breanne a water and talked her into going back to bed, and got Abe a bowl of oatmeal and talked him into going back to bed too.  By 5:35 a.m. I had gotten them all back down to bed and I could have just gone running then but it was still dark and I was still tired, so I went back to bed too.  Woke up to Ali tugging on my sleeve again at 7:30 a.m. Can she climb out of her crib now?  Guess so.

Wow.  What a beautiful day today is.  Went running in 40 degree sunshine at 7:30 a.m. with shorts on.  Out and back on Big Dry Creek.  Running felt easy today. Almost effortless.  The sinus infection that has been bothering me since Sunday is almost completely gone and my body feels strong and fit.  I am SO grateful to feel this good right now.  Its never easy to stay healthy and uninjured but when it happens you just have to recognize that it is a gift from God and give thanks.

Stretched and rolled out on my foam roller for a good 30 minutes after the run while eating breakfast and watching TMBG songs on You Tube with the kids.  Ali was climbing all over me, jumping on my legs and giving me hugs even though I'm sure I didn't smell great.  What a little cutie she is.  18 months old is SUCH a fun age. 

16 miles in 7:29 ave. pace. 

Not quite as effortless running today as it was yesterday, but still enjoyable.  My legs were pretty tired and I had to stop and stretch my left quad/hip 4 times to keep it loose.  I'm going to roll out on the foam roller again for a while this morning.  9.15 miles 8:10 ave. pace.

Aaron took our 3 and 5 year old kids with him yesterday afternoon to look at houses and buy another investment house.  Abe reported to me that Daddy bought a good one because it was "real nasty."  Aaron has previously taught him that the "real nasty" houses are always the best deals.  This one had a leaky pipe in the basement with dirty rotten towels soaking up the mess and smelled of cat urine throughout.  

While the others were gone house hunting I took little Ali with me to the gym and lifted weights around 4:30 p.m.  Ali did not like being left alone in child care without her siblings.  She sat on Miss Adel's lap the whole time and would not let Adel help any other kids.  Have I mentioned how much I LOVE the child care provider at my gym?  Adel is SO great. She is probably in her early 50's and has worked in the child care at Bally's for a LONG time.  She is from Europe somewhere, I'm not actually sure where, I'll have to ask her where she's from the next time I go in 'cause she has a sweet accent and hilarious mannerisms.  She works all of the child care shifts except for maybe one or two shifts per week when 21 year old Erica comes in.  Adel is so funny and friendly and cute with the kids.  After sitting on Adel's lap for an hour yesterday while I lifted weights, Ali was smiling and giggling and blowing her kisses as we left.  Pretty obvious that Ali loves her.  I love to see my kids grow fond of great people outside of our family.  It brings joy to my heart.

Met at Potts Field to run with Running Republic. 

20 minutes warm up, stretching, strides

3X1.5 mile repeats in 5:47, 5:49, 5:59 pace (last one had more hills and I was tired)

During our cool down we saw this guy trying to pick fights with cars.  He must have thought he was pretty tough.  I wonder if he's ever actually won a fight with a car?

9 miles easy around Countryside.  7:53 pace

Nice and warm outside today.  Supposed to get up into the mid-50s!

Last night around 7 pm I was SOOO tired.  I could have gone to bed and slept 12 hours.  Aaron and I got the kids to bed early and did some calendar sync and family planning and resolved to go to bed early.  After the kids were in bed I seemed to get a second wind though.  Something about the peace and quiet of no kid responsibility rejuvinates me.  I did not feel tired again until almost 11 pm and finally fell asleep around midnight.  Then I ran at 6 am today because Aaron has jury duty and had to leave early.  Neither of us have ever had jury duty, so I guess the government is finally catching up with us.   

Ali just climbed up on the kitchen table to get an orange out of the fruit basket.  She is now dangling her legs off the edge of the table and I just sent my 3 year old over to help her down.  Not working.  Better go. 

Went to the gym this morning and ran for 20:30 (2.5 miles at 8:12 pace) then lifted weights. 

Was going to run with my group in Boulder, but Aaron had too much to do and didn't get home until 5 pm (I usually leave around 4 pm to make it to my group in time) so I left him with the kids and did my workout around my neighborhood when he got home. 

20 minute warm-up, stretching, strides. 

Fartlek: 1, 2, 3, 4, 4, 3, 2, 1 with 60 sec rest between the 1 and 2 and 90 sec rest between the 3 and 4

My pace was as follows: 5:14, 6:00, 6:13, 5:52, 5:56, 6:24, 5:53, 5:20

Total evening run was 8.5 miles at 7:15 pace 

For some reason I had issues during the 3 minute intervals both times. The first 3 minute interval was uphill and very dark on a muddy trail with a short steep uneven hill near the end.  The second 3 minute interval brought bowel problems and I ended up stopping right after to do some business.

I probably would have run these faster had I been with my group and people to push me, but as it was I felt good about my effort and had enjoyable time with my friend Mr. Ipod. 

Drove to Littleton to run with Carolyn.  Traffic was a little slow due to the snow so I got there a few minutes late but still under an hour of drive time.  There wasn't much snow, maybe just a few inches on the trail.  Made for a nice soft running surface.

Ran 8 miles in 8:37 ave pace.  Felt good for me to take a good recovery day and loosen up my tired legs.  And of course its always enoyable to visit with Carolyn.  I met a couple of her kids, saw a third sleeping on the couch.  Her 7 year old daughter is remarkably cute!  Also enjoyed some of Michelle's wheat bread.  YUM!

When I got home I worked on my legs with a Thera Cane.  Never heard of it?  Me neither until a couple of days ago when Aaron told me he found one that was left in a house he just bought.  If it were me rummaging through dirty, junk-filled houses I wouldn't have recognized this strange device as anything useful but he recognized it since his massage therapist has showed him one before.  I tell you what, Aaron has brought home a whole TON of junk from houses he's bought (which always ends up in our garbage can) but this Thera Cane is a diamond in the rough.  It will be a nice compliment to the foam roller in keeping my legs adhesion free.

I got to bed early last night since I'll be up late tonight playing Mrs. Clause.  My run today was on the treadmill at the rec. center.  We got a pretty good amount of snow last night and I didn't really want to trudge through it.  Our gym's child care wasn't open today and I wanted to take the kids swimming afterwards anyway so  the Paul Derda rec. center is a great option because they have an awesome kids pool.  I put the kiddos in Child Care for an hour while I ran and then we swam together for an hour and a half afterwards.  I could tell my Thera Cane work yesterday broke up some serious adhesions because my legs felt pretty hashed today.  As in sluggish, tired, beat-up overly worked from all that pressure point pushing.  I just couldn't get enough of it!  I pushed in the morning and then again in the evening.  We watched Avatar (the Japanamation kids shows) last night with our kids and I sat there for a good hour pushing on my legs with the Thera Cane.  I'm sure they'll feel better by tomorrow.

We're going to our friends house (the same friends we had Thanksgiving dinner with) this afternoon/evening to enjoy Christmas Eve with them and let the kids play.  Then Christmas Day will be a fun family day and the day after Christmas we're driving to Utah to visit our parents and siblings.  The kids are looking forward to seeing their Grandparents, Aunts, and Uncles, and playing with their cousins

Merry Christmas Eve!!! 

Merry Christmas, everyone!

Got out for a 10.5 mile run in the 25 degree windy cold.  Didn't dress warm enough because I stopped feeling my hands, face, and forearms at some point.  It was nice to get out for some fresh air though.

I was going to go for 12 miles but at mile 10 my left knee suddenly had a spasm.  It was strange.  I didn't twist my ankle or step on any big awkward object or anything, but my knee just told me it was done for the day.  I did not feel any tightness in this knee the entire run until suddenly at mile 10 when it literally stopped working.  My direct route home was still a little over a mile and I was really cold so I walk/jogged the rest of the way home.  It didn't hurt when I walked and jogged very very slow but if I tried to pick up the pace at all it twinged severely again.  NOT GOOD.  Has anyone else had this experience?

I may have pushed too hard with the thera cane two days ago and damaged some tendons near my knee?  I had been feeling a small bit of tightness in that knee since Monday but I thought it was just because my quad was tight and the tightness was nothing compared to the severity that I felt today at mile 10.  My other theory is that my legs were just not liking running on the uneven cruddy ice that was out there today.  I ran on the clear road for as much as I could but there was still plenty of slipping and crumbly chunks of ice to get through.  Maybe I'll take tomorrow off and ice my knee on our drive.  We have a long day of traveling and need to be in Utah by 4:00 p.m. for a party anyway.  That will give me some extra time to heal over the weekend.  Please let it be better by Monday!

Aaron and I met with our friend Danny in North Salt Lake to run together.  I was a little nervous about running since my last run on Friday caused severe knee pain.  Taking Saturday and Sunday off seemed to do a LOT of good though.  We started off very slow and my knee felt fine until we had to go across some cruddy snow at around mile 4 and then my knee started nagging.  After another mile it was slowly nagging more and I decided to bow out at mile 5.75 since we just happened to be running by Aaron's Sister's house.  I didn't want to push it and injur my knee more.  Need to get that knee feeling better so I can race on Thursday and get my training back up to speed.  Aaron and Danny continued on for a total of 13.1 miles.

Went to the Bountiful Recreation Center to work out since I heard its like smoking a pack of cigarettes if I run for an hour outside in this cruddy inversion air.  Question: if the air is so horribly damaging outside, would it really be THAT much better in a large building with doors opening and letting that air in every 13 seconds? 

I did a 2.25 mile warm up on the treadmill and my knee was pretty tight.  Not wanting to make it tighter, I stretched well and jumped on the elliptical.  I pushed it up to level 14 and kept my heart rate over 140 so as to make the workout equitable to running.  I did 4X45 seconds hard, then 1, 2, 3, 3, 2, 1 minutes hard with one minute rest between pushes and a cool down afterwards.  I got my heart rate up to the 170s for a bit, at least.  Felt great on my knee and worked some weaker inner thigh and outer calf muscles differently from running. 

Went to the Bountiful Recreation Center again since it was snowing hard and I didn't want to run on the slippy surface that seemed to agitate my knee in the first place.  Ran 6 miles on the treadmill averaging about 8 min. pace.  Felt GREAT!  Small bit of twinging behind my knee but not the same tightness across the top of my knee as I had been struggling with previously.  SO grateful for the 6 miles of actual running I could get.  Didn't want to push my luck, so stopped there and lifted weights for a bit.  Did a set of 10 pull ups and another set of 9.  Very happy about that as I usually just settle for two sets of 7.  Did some other lifts and core work.  The workout really lifted my spirits and put me in a good mood.  Traveling for an entire week with the kids and staying with other people throws me out of my routine and I start feeling blah because I don't eat as healthy and my sleep is not good either.  Working out always lightens my mood though.  The blah lack of routine is worth it though because I get to visit with loved ones and enjoy catching up with my family and friends.  Sunday evening I was sitting in the home where I grew up in Bountiful.  My parents built that home 31 years ago and raised 5 children there.  There we all were, 5 children and their spouses, Mom, our step-father, Owen (I'm sure Dad was peeking in on us in spirit), and 14 crazy grandkids running around us.  It was such an amazing energy of love, support, and understanding in the room as we reunited one last time in our home where we all grew up.  Mom and Owen have purchased a new home together and will be selling the old family home soon, so its the last time we'll all be together in that home.  But I don't mind.  Home is wherever we are.  Home is where family is.

Ran in the Beat the New Year 5k at 11:30 p.m. in Sugarhouse park in Salt Lake City.  Before the race Aaron and I played games with his sisters and their husbands, Ashley and Matt and Emily and Adam.   I fueled up on pizza, peanut M&Ms, soda, raspberry sticks, and apples.  At least I resisted the pie and other sweets I could have been puking at the race.  And I resisted eating after 9 pm so as to have a chance at a settled stomach for the race.  Aaron and I talked Ashley, Emily and Adam into coming to the race with us even though they weren't registered; we figured they could just bandit run it and enjoy the unique exercise of racing to the New Year.  Matt volunteered to stay home with the sleeping kids in the home.  We all left for the race at 10:45ish and got to Sugarhouse park around 11:10.  20 minutes to race start.  Jogged to the race number pick-up and were handed some nice long sleeve tech t-shirts and a race number the same as everyone else: 2010.  Upon learning that everyone had the same race number and there were no more race pins so the volunteer handing out numbers just told us to put it in our pocket, I knew it was not really a "timed" race but more of just a low budget fun run.  All the better! No pressure!  They did claim to give a prize for overall winner and COLDEST runner though, so of course I was after the win and Aaron was after the coldest runner award.  We jogged the 1.25 mile lap of the course together to warm up, took our outer layers off (which included everything except short running shorts for Aaron), and jogged the other half mile to where the race start was. The race was basically two and a half laps around Sugarhouse park.  Aaron looked AWESOME in his bare feet, bare chested outfit in the 20 degree darkness.  He got lots of comments about how crazy/awesome he is.  Right as the race was about to start, my Garmin froze.  Aaron quickly took his Garmin off and gave it to me but when the race started I pushed the wrong button anyway and didn't start the timer until about a quarter of a mile in when I realized I had pushed the wrong button.  So I just forgot about the pace and time anyway and just ran.  There were 4 or 5 men that went out ahead of me, most of them shirtless.  I settled into a comfy pace and really enjoyed the energy and uniqueness of the event.  Finished the race with 12:12 to spare before the New Year which means I ran a 17:48 for the 5k.  Grabbed our camera and took a pic of Aaron finishing.  I got the overall female trophy and he got the Coldest runner trophy!  We celebrated for a couple of minutes and I jogged back to run in with my sister-in-laws, Ashley and Emily.  We hooted and hollered our way into the New Year while running in together.  Such a FUN way to bring in the New Year!!!  Happy New Year Everyone!