All it takes is all you've got

Nice run all around Playa Carmen back up Playa Santa Teresa.

Part on the beach and part on the dirt road. My achilles are pretty sore from all the beach running and walking.

Easy run on the dirt road to Hermosa Hills.  My last run in Costa Rica.

Travel day.  All the way from Costa Rica to Boulder.  It was SO refreshing to come out of a hot airplane into 20 degree crisp air.  The kids were also STOKED to run through the 8 inches of snow in our driveway with flip flops on!

Rode my bike on the trainer because Aaron is in Vegas for a conference.  Last day of no school. Back to regular routine tomorrow!

Rode my bike on the trainer for 75 minutes since Aaron is still out of town.

Nice to be running in Boulder again!

Nice run on the creek path. Some patchy ice but the sunshine is melting the snow quickly!

An hour on the bike trainer

An hour on the bike trainer

Oh man, its been a rough couple of weeks.  Everyone in our family has had some sort of flu/cold/upper respiratory infection, and Aaron's flu developed into pnemmonia, so he is still very weak.  I've been battling an upper respiratory infection which seems to be lingering forever.  But today I finally ran again.  And it felt good to move my body in that familiar running motion.

Committing myself back to consistency. Starting small and building up.

The most beautiful 16 degree snowscape out on Marshall Road. Felt like I was in a children's storybook. The smell of burning wood from a fireplace to top it all off.

Had a massage last night and my back feels better! The run was a little draggy but cleansing.

Nice windy run around Devil's Thumb. Picked up the pace back down the hill and it was fun!

W/Cindy

Negative degrees. Spinning instead

More spinning as the temps are ridiculous

Mental funk induced by achilles pain. Cant fully explain it but I cycled indoors instead.

I'm not sure why this icy weather is so intimidating. But I did spin for nearly 2 hours while I watched a movie on the ipad.

Nice 16 degree run with Cindy. Thank goodness for a friend to pull me out the door again.

Decided to do Cindy's workout with her today.

Warm up, strides

2X4 min w/2 min recover

2X3 min w/90 sec recover

2X2 min w/ 1 min recover

4X1 min w/ 1 min recover

Cool down

I have no idea the pace on the pick-ups, pretty sure they were sub-7 min pace. I didn't take splits or pay too much attention though, just going along with Cindy.

Felt good to pick it up a bit and move fast again! 

Nice quick six around devil's thumb. There is still quite a bit of ice out there but its melting quickly.

Saw a front yard with "Go Broncos" painted on the melting snow. It was a good season, Broncos. We're still proud of ya here in Boulder.

Stomach flu. Stayed in my pj's all day until around 4 pm when I finally got my energy and appetite back so I showered and made Aaron take me to dinner.

Ran to the N. Boulder rec center for some swimming with the tots.

Windy with Cindy. Not my wind. Mother Natures.

I "picked up the pace" for one mile exactly. 6:30 and I was about to fall over. I was finally stopped in my tracks by what felt like a 60 MPH gust. I couldn't decide whether to cry or cheer for myself. I chose to cheer.

As it turns out I'm more of a binge poster than a daily diligent. Oh well. At least I'm running more this month than last. Looking forward to getting my fitness back and hopefully trimming a couple of inches off the soft midsection too. Slowly but surely. 

Ran into my friend, Sarah whom I haven't seen in a couple of years out on S. Boulder creek path. It was fun to chat and see her again.

Windy run with my friend, Amanda.

Drove to SLC yesterday to visit family for the weekend and see Aaron's parents before they leave for an LDS mission to France. 

Devra got me into the SLC track club 15K at Saltair so we could run together. We took it out pretty comfortably but then Devra wanted to catch a few ladies to earn some series points so she left me half-way and I picked it up a little too. Ended up averaging 6:40 pace for the 15K. Didn't feel like a "race effort" because I wasn't racing. But it definitely wasn't easy. Felt good to push my limits and get a solid workout in. Made me want to start training for races again!

Cooled down with Devra, Kassi, and Liis. Also met Andrea for the first time. Fun morning!

Nice and easy around my Mom's house in Layton before the drive back to Boulder. Legs were a little tired from Satruday's effort.

Ran some faster intervals with Cindy.

Warm up, strides

3X3 minutes w/ 2 min jog

6X75 seconds w/ 1 min jog

5 minutes comfortably quicker

Cool down

Nice lil' jaunt around devil's thumb in the 7 degree sunshine. Saw a Subaru nose down in Bear Creek with some firemen standing around scratching their heads. Maybe it was thirsty?

Met up with my fast runner friend Kristen for a nice, quicker paced run around S. Boulder creek path, golf course, bear creek, ect. It was awesome to catch up with her and run a little quicker than usual too; 10 miles in 75 minutes. Kristen is tapering for the LA Marathon next weekend so she needed an "easy short run" which is the same as my "long hard run." Perfect match!

Not feeling too good energy wise.

In Nederland with sideways snow and no goggles. Felt like Marla Runyan for a lot of the run. I don't know how she does it.

Beautiful run with Cindy.  Feeling a little off; tired, sore, slightly headachey. I think its because I have been stressing over finances and Aaron's business, and also because I didn't eat so well last weekend. Went on a two night retreat with some girlfriends in Nederland and didn't sleep or eat too stellar.  At home I am gluten and sugar free pretty much all the time and so to go and eat gluten and sugar multiple times over the weekend really emphasizes the contrast in how I feel. Ugh. Time to detox.

WU, strides

.75 mile at 6:10 pace

3 min. rest

5 X (75 second gradual hill, jog back down, 45 second steep hill)

3 min. rest

.75 mile at 5:57 pace

CD

I was glad I had Cindy there with me today because I would not have done a workout alone. At least 4 times I asked myself why I was willingly putting myself through such pain. Made me think about life and how I unwillingly go through pain that seems to wear me down. Yet there I was, willingly inducing pain by doing a speed workout knowing I'll be tired later today and possibly regretting it. This is the reason I haven't been racing for two years. Because I've had enough pain and/or struggle in my life to not want to seek out more just for kicks. And I still have plenty of stress with finances that makes me just want to lay down sometimes, but I have a goal to run the Bolder Boulder in May in somewhat decent shape, so I'm going to keep running even on the days I dont feel like it.  I do have the hope that I will feel stronger and fitter after a few more weeks of doing workouts and maybe I'll be glad I did them.

We must have had an ice rain storm last night because the path was covered in ice sheets. I ate it twice and felt like a rock star. Literally. My shoulder stayed in socket both times!

Warm, windy run around Devil's Thumb. I love that neighborhood. 

Having this weird tightness in my foot. Worse when I'm walking than when I run.

Not feeling too great mentally. And my foot hurt.

20 miles on my road bike. Three months until I ride the Little Red century with my sisters-in-law again. Gotta get some biking miles in before then. Today was a good day to bike since my foot was tight.

With Cindy. Some fast stuff mixed in.

Put some old tunes on my iPod yesterday. AWESOME. I love the memories that come with old songs.  

Senior year in high school. Riding on a school bus to the start of the Foot Locker west regional cross country meet in Mt. Sac. Nerves, energy, chills, excitement and all!

No run. My right foot felt squeaky stiff-like.

My warm up was a half mile jog with Ali in the Little Leprechaun run. Abe and Bre ran too. They were more excited about the free toy afterwards than the actual running.

In the 5K, I started out conservatively in 4th place and gradually picked up the pace as I warmed up. Ended up pushing myself moderately hard for the second half of the race, but it didn't feel like too much exertion. Apparently it was because I was in pretty severe bodily pain all day after the race. Bad headache, fatigue, weakness, brain fog, irritability, ect. Took a 2-hour nap later that afternoon. Really, I need a 2 hour nap after running a 5K? Come to think of it, this is how I felt after all five workouts I did to prepare for this race. I either need to workout less intensely and more consistenly or nix the workouts and the racing altogether. I think I'm going to see my Dr. again too.

20 mile bike ride

For some reason I felt extremely low today. I yelled at the wind but that didn't make me feel any better.

Beautiful morning!

P                                 90                               X

Went to see a Natropath who was highly recommended by my friend. We went over my entire medical history and talked about current symptoms. She looked over some blood test results from one year ago and did lots of muscle testing, cranio sacral massage, and chiropractic adjustments. She found that I go weak on wheat and gluten, meaning I probably have an intolerance.  I didn't go weak on sugar, interestingly, but I try to avoid cane sugar anyway because its so highly addictive for me. She also muscle tested me for lots of vitamins, toxins, and hormones. In the end she recommended a supplement for thyroid hormone support and high doses of Vit. D,  After adjusting both of my ankle bones, and muscle testing me while standing on and off a thin orthotic, she encouraged me to start wearing orthotics again. Because of my high arches, orthotics have been recommended to me over the years by countless PTs, Chiros, Doctors, and shoe sales people, so I'm not suprised to hear it again. Looking forward to starting her recommendations and starting to feel better!

I feel kind-of like an imposter here on the fast running blog because I'm only inconsistently running fast. I am going to take a little break from blogging. I may or may not be running, but if I do start running fast consistently again, I'll start blogging consistently too. Cheers!

I'm back!  Took a little hiatus from running and blogging due to some calf issues. I've been cycling a lot and will be riding the Little Red Riding Hood century with my sisters on Saturday. I'm also finally coming out of the woods with my running and finding some welcome motivation to train and set goals again! First on the docket is the Classic 10k in Colorado Springs on July 19th. Between now and July 19th I hope to gradually build my fitness while keeping my legs healthy. Time and pace are just side notes.

Early run around Devil's Thumb loop. Long drive to Utah ahead!

Memorable run around Bountiful at 5:30 a.m. with Allie and Tara. Ran the same route I ran the morning of my wedding and remembered the excitement of that day 12 years ago. Davis/Indian Springs Rd/Bountiful Blvd. It was hilly and beautiful, just as I remember.  Also stopped in at my Dad's grave to say hi and ran past my childhood home. Its on the market! Too bad we have deep roots in Boulder, or I'd seriously consider buying it. ;)

This afternoon I went to visit my sister-in-law, Christina who was 12 days overdue with her 4th baby. I figured she could use some emotional support because 12 days surely feels like an eternity when you are THAT pregnant. We hung out for a few  hours, my brother, Mom and step dad met us for dinner in Farmington with all our kids in tow. Christina started getting very fidgity and anxious and then stopping and concentrating on her belly every 5 minutes. She was definitely having contractions but didn't want to get her hopes up because she had experienced the same thing for five days straight and every night they had gone away and didn't progress to full-on labor.

After dinner as I drove her back to my brother's car, her contractions got more intense and I felt excited for her even though I didn't want to get my hopes up either. After dropping them off, I took their three kids home with me to my Mom's house for the night so they could have a night off and maybe relax enough for her to go into labor. In retrospect, she was already in labor when I dropped them off because just two hours later, my brother called to say her water broke! I tried to get some sleep, knowing that they would call us when they were close because they wanted my Mom and I to come over and bring their oldest two daughters to watch the homebirth.

At 11:00 p.m. my brother called to say that we should bring their daughters NOW because the baby would be there soon. Mom and I grabbed the two little sleepy girls out of their beds and put them in the car, driving the 10 minutes to my brother's house quickly. We arrived at 11:12 p.m. and rushed my three and five year old nieces inside so they could see their new sibling be born. Mom and I sat down in the hall outside their master bedroom listened as the midwife explained everything that was going on and Christina pushed and grunted the baby out. Just nine minutes later, after descriptions of "See, now there's the head," and "Chritina, you are doing GREAT!" we heard the midwife say "Okay, Christina, now pick the baby up out of the water." Then we heard, "It's a girl!" shortly followed by a beautiful cry. The experience was lovely and exciting. From the other side of the door we heard my three and five year old nieces ooooh and ahhh in amazement. After a few more minutes, my brother invited Mom and me in and we got to give our congratulations and see their beautiful daughter. We left them alone and waited for another 45 minutes until they were ready for us to take my nieces back to Mom's so they could go back to bed. It was a miraculous and special night. I finally got back to bed after 1:00 am feeling so grateful and happy for them.

With my ol' buddy Jami Caldwell. Good times.

I was super exhausted all day afterwards because of sleep deprivation.

Was going to run with Jami and Katie but I slept in. DOW! I felt SO horrible for missing the start time. I still jumped on my bike and quickly rode over to find them as they came in from the run so at least I got to say hi and also did a nice 15 mile bike ride afterwards. 

Biked 70 miles of Little Red Riding Hood. We were going to ride the 100, but doddled too much and didn't get to the 100 mile turn-off in time. Oh well. At least I got back to my Mom's in time to pick up my baby so she and my step-dad could go out to dinner for their anniversary.

Beautiful run with friends up one of my favorite trails; Elephant rock. Good conversation and easy pace.

S. Boulder Creek Path loop. It was a fun trip to Utah and now I'm glad to be back home in my bed, my kitchen, my routines. Caught up with a solid 10 hour sleep last night and felt quite refreshed this morning.

Nice quick run around the golf course loop. Went in to see my ol' friend, Richey for some graston scraping and ART on my achilles. Just for fun. Yeah. Fun.

Drizzly run in central Boulder while I had my car oil changed.

S. Boulder creek loop.

Workout at CU cross country course.

Skunk Canyon to Devil's Thumb and home. Sunny and warm. Gotta run earlier.

Met some ol' running friends for a workout. 

WU, strides

6X(3min fast, 1 min easy, 1 min faster) 2 min between sets 

Pace was between 5:30-6:00 min/mile depending on the duration and on whether or not it was gradual up or down hill. 

Got my legs turning pretty fast and my lungs burning too.

Nice easy recovery run around the golf course loop. Also rode bikes with the kids to the Valmont Bike park and did some fun rollers. We went during Kelsie's nap so I would'nt have to take the trailer. 13 miles; the longest ride my 5 year old has done without help! Yes, a few tears were shed, but she didn't have my bike trailer to bail out into, so she just kept peddling.

Cherryvale loop. Beautiful morning!

I'm helping out with the Superior Track and Field Camp every Tuesday and Thursday evening for 6 weeks, and its been super fun! My three oldest kids are all in the program. Its fun to see them learn the events and become motivated to improve their marks. We record their marks in different events each day and the direcotr tracks their progress all season and gives awards to the most improved athletes. Its a great way to get the kids focussed on their personal bests. My 8 yo, Bre is getting a little aggressive in her distance events and pushes herself to win if she can. My 9 yo, Abe is pretty chill and just observes his times without much judgement. My 5 yo, Ali only competes with her best friend and pays no attention to her times. They each have their own style!

Easy run plus weights/core at South Boulder Rec Center.

Warm up, strides

4X2K w/2 min rest

1st and 3rd at 5:50 pace, 2nd and 4th at 6:15 pace

Cool down

Felt pretty good to run a hard effort.

Beautiful early morning!

Took the kids to the Denver Museum of Nature and Science for a few hours today. Super fun and also somewhat exhausting to entertain both the almost 2 year old and the almost 10 year old. Deep breath. I'm entering the tweens. Discovery zones and little kid play areas are no longer cool now that he's seen them 10 times. Thankfully the 6 yo and 8 yo were easily pleased all day.

Worked out with some ol' running buddies again.

warm up, strides

1, 2, 3, 4, 4, 3, 2, 1

cool down

Last one minute side by side with Annie at 4:57 pace! 

Easy recovery run plus 40 minutes of weights and core at South Boulder Rec Center.

Nice run but made me feel TIRED all morning. Not enough sleep last night. Took a 90 minute nap today during the baby's nap. Thankfully my 8yo was at climbing camp and my 5 and 9 yo played Stratego while I slept. *Angels singing

Anyone else LOVE Stratego when they were a kid? Definitely and oldie goodie. Apparently I can sell list my old version on Amazon for $92.49. That newer $30 updated version must really suck.

Rode my bike up to NCAR and went to S. Boulder Rec for 40 minutes in the weight room.

Workout at Boulder Rez

warm up, strides

3X15 miutes progressively faster with 3 min in between

6:42 pace, 6:17 pace, 6:10 pace

When I got home, I weeded the front yard for two hours. I kid you not, there were weeds taller than me! Yes, it was time for some yard work. Looks much better now. Anyone else a binge weeder like me?

Slow and congested. We're oozing through the tissues in our house. I think the wind last week stirred something up.

Early workout alone. Had to be home by 6:45 a.m. so Aaron could go to a networking mtg. 

warm up, strides, 1, 2, 3, 4, 4, 3, 2, 1

cool down

Did the same workout as last Tuesday and was happy to be able to run pretty much the same pace, maybe even a little bit faster! The terrain was a little faster than last week since it was on Marshall road instead of South Boulder creek path.

Golf course loop. Felt a little tired. Allergies have been acting up again all week. Maybe from all that weeding I did on Saturday.

Decided last minute to register for a little 5K on Friday. My husband and kids will be running the Superior downhill mile at 7am while Kelsie and I will cheer and take pics. Then we'll race hop on over to the Let Freedom Run 5K at 8am in Lousiville where they'll get to cheer for me. Excited to test my fitness in a fun low-key 5K!

Bike ride to NCAR and weights at South Boulder Rec

I am SO in love with my almost 2-year-old. I leave for my workout while she is still asleep and when I get home, its like a celebration every time. 

"HI MAMA! HI MAMA! HI MAMA! HI MAMA!" How do I not shower her with kisses!? What a cutie.

She is a little delayed in her speech probably because her siblings talk for her, but she has finally got everyone's names down. 

Mama, Dayee, Eeeb, B, and Ayee

Translation: Momma, Daddy, Abe, Bre, and Ali

Here's a video of our little cutie from a few weeks ago:

Kelsie and I cheered for and photographed the kids and Aaron in the Superior Downhill Mile at 7am. Aaron was 5:05, 9yo Abe was 7:33, 8yo Bre was 7:40, 5yo Ali was 8:14. Bre and Ali were both the fastest for their age/gender.

After their race, I did my warm-up over to Louisville for a 5K at 8am. 

Nice low-key, well-run event, but with the 8am start time it was HOT! There was no shade at all on the course with half of it on a road and the other half on an exposed dirt trail my mouth was incredibly dry a quarter of a mile in and by the time I got to the finish line I guzzled two water bottles. Out and back course, gradual down and then back up. Ran next to the 3rd place male for the first couple of miles until he eventually slowed. He was a 14-y-o Ethiopian named Abreham. I also cooled down with him and told him my son had the same name, only spelled a little differently. He told me about how he had recently been adopted from an orphanage in Ethiopia last August and wanted to be a world-class marathon runner someday. He had met Ryan Hall when he came to Africa to provide running shoes and moral support for kids. Abreham also had three other adoptive siblings from Africa and "two white brothers." I told him to keep up the good work and he could be a world class runner someday too! 

After the awards we went back to Superior to pick up our 5 and 8 yo daughters who were riding bikes in the Superior town parade with a friend. Stayed for some kid bouncy house fun and chatting with friends. I was pretty sun-tired and hungry by the time I got home at 11:30 a.m. but it was a fun morning. Happy 4th everyone!

Long easy run. Saw barefoot kilt guy for the second time this week.

I am not kidding you, I saw barefoot kilt guy AGAIN today. Thats the third time in six days. I'm starting to feel like I'm in the Truman Show. Maybe he is Truman and I'm psyching him out.

Workout with Athletics Boulder group

warm up, strides

4X (2:30, 1:30, 45) 1-2 minute jog in between each Last 45 seconds was 4:39 pace! Didn't know I could still go that fast. ;)

cool down

Felt good to do some super fast stuff. I can literally feel rust chipping off.

Easy run around Devil's Thumb and weights at S. Boulder Rec.

Longish run. Still feeling a little hashed from getting a massage Tuesday night.

Early run. Made pancakes for birthday girl, Ali. Six years old today!

Got a pleasant surprise text from Devra that she is in town and wanted to run with me! Aaron is out of town so I had a babysitter from 7:15-9:30 a.m. Instead of asking Devra to drive 75 minutes to Boulder Reservoir to run with my workout group, I had her meet me at the dry creek path in Westminster which is 30 minutes closer to where she was staying and just 15 minutes in the opposite direction for me.

She was a huge help and pulled me through an almost 5-mile tempo.  6:14, 6:24 (uphill), 6:00 (downhill), 6:20, 6:15 pace. The last mile actually ended at .7 of a mile because my calf pulled and I had to stop. Argh. I hate it when that happens. Its the same spot where it pulled a few months ago and I had to cross train for two weeks. As soon as I felt it come on, I told Devra I needed to stop and we jogged back to the car. I'm bummed because I was really hoping to run the Classic 10K next Saturday, but if it still hurts, I'll have to scratch that idea. Going in to see Richey on Monday for some therapy.

One hour elliptical and weights. Calf is still quite sore. Went to see Richey for treatment.

An hour on the ellptical again with 10X1 minute fast. Core work afterwards. Calf is feeling a bit better. I'll try running tomorrow.

Very easy run. Calf is okay going slow. If I try to pick up the pace, it screams at me. I'm going to have to postpone racing. I was looking forward to running a 10K in Colorado Springs this Saturday, but it would be foolish of me to race with my calf feeling the way it is. 

Biked 15 miles

Today was our last day of Superior Track and Field. What a great season! All our kids PRd from last year in nearly every event!

My calf is really thanking me for cross training a few days this week. I could almost get away with racing tomorrow, but I don't want to risk setting myself back another couple of weeks. I also have plenty to do tomorrow with Abe's birthday party and all the prep beforehand, so I'm okay with not waking up at 4 a.m. to drive to Co. Springs and being gone 'till noon.

Beautiful run. My calf felt great!

Feeling refreshed and strong. Going to test my calf on a workout tomorrow with Athletics Boulder.

warm up, strides

5 minutes controlled, 2 minutes rest, 6X1minute on, one minute off, 5 minutes controlled, 2 minutes rest 4X90seconds on, one minute off

cool down

Calf felt great! Achilles still a bit sore, but not bad.

Beautuful 6am run with Kristen and Danielle. Good company and good conversation.

10 mile bike ride up to NCAR and around Devil's Thumb plus a day at Elitch Gardens with the family. Fun day!

Nice easy run 

Camping in Rocky Mountain National Park last night. Hilly eight mile trail run in the morning plus two mile run with Abe coming back from our hike in the afternoon and some sprinting throughout our roaring game of capture the flag.

Tired from the weekend, slow recovery run.

Workout with Athletics Boulder

warm up, strides

2 minutes controlled

2X (1, 2, 3, 2, 1) with jog recovery between each

5 minutes controlled in the first half, hard in the second half

cool down

core/stretching and some med-ball work afterwards

Sore achilles

Early run before leaving on a road trip to Custer State Park/Mt. Rushmore

Tired from the pack-up, drive, and camp set-up (not to mention sleeping on a camp pad. Woke up with a painfully tight achilles so I didn't run.  We went hiking in Mt. Rushmore with the kids, which was super fun!

Played in Custer State Park all day. Kayaking, swimming, hiking, ect. 

Back from a long, fun weekend. Slow shake-out run. Achilles okay but not great.

Achilles hurt pretty badly when I woke up so I did a 2 hour mt. bike ride around Marshall Mesa. On bike rides I've been listening to Steve Jobs' biography on audible and its provokingly fascinating.

Very very slow. Achilles felt okay. It was SO nice to get out on this eautiful morning.

Up Skunk Canyon and around Devil's Thumb

Workout at Boulder Rez

2 X (6 min. @ marathon pace, 1 minute steady, 6 min. @ half-marathon pace, 1 minute steady, 6 minutes @ faster than half-marathon pace, 1 minute steady) 3 minutes between sets

My pace ranged between 6:00-6:40 pace for all the pick-ups. It was a solid effort.

Core/hip work in the grass afterwards. I wanted to lay there in the shade all day. I love summer mornings.

Beautiful morning run around S. Boulder creek path loop. That few degrees lower temperature in the mornings is giving me "back to school" chills. 

Warm up, strides

4X (4 minutes hard, 2 minutes easy, 90 seconds hard, 2 minutes easy)

Cool down

Golf course loop. Nice 'n slow. Hips are a little tight.

First eight with Aaron. My Mom is in town so she watched the kids. 

Went to lunch to celebrate my 33rd birthday today, Mom's 65th last week, and my Aunt's 70th a few days ago. Two of my cousins came to meet us too. It was great to catch up with them! Even though I have a handfull of cousins and an Aunt and Uncle who live in Highlands Ranch and Parker, I rarely see them because its an hour away. But today we all met in the middle, which was nice.

I'm trying to boost my mileage with the hope that I can run a decent half this fall. My legs felt slightly beat up today so I rode my bike to NCAR and around Devil's Thumb. Also took the kids to Heritage Square amusement park today. 

Warm up, strides

4X (9 minutes at between half marathon and marathon pace, 1 minute at easy run pace)

cool down

Ran with my group at Boulder Rez. I was thankful to the new guy, Brian who pushed me.

Easy Eight

Workout at East Boulder Community Park

Warm up, strides

3X (5 minutes hard, 2 minute jog, 2 minutes hard) 2 minutes between sets

Intervals ranged between 5:33 and 6:11 pace

Cool down

Squats, core, active stretching on the tennis court afterwards

Achilles and hip felt a little squeaky

Easy recovery run around Devil's Thumb.

Last day of summer! The kids are excited to get back to school. Or maybe I am excited for them to get back to school. Either way, there is excitement in our home.

Long run with Kristen. Out South Boulder creek path and back. Felt pretty good, achilles warmed up after a few miles. 7:30 AP

East Boulder Rec

60 minutes on the elliptical and weights

While Kelsie played in child care. She LOVED it and didn't want to leave. I'm thinking it would be good for her to go to a rec center or gym once or twice a week so she can get used to going places without me or her siblings.

Woke up with a calf cramp and wierd foot pain, so I opted out of the group workout. Aaron had been awake since 2 a.m. with a brilliant business idea that he couldn't sleep through. I wasn't sure if he was going to crash and need to sleep, or be able to go all day. 

I wasn't too bummed to miss the hard workout, because I actually really wanted to spend my energy organizing my house and didn't want to stop until it was finished. Seems like the Saturdays I run a hard workout, it zaps me and I can't really find the energy for much else, so today was my chance to do the cleaning I'd been putting off.

Our kids had a playdate scheduled at the Grooters for 9 a.m. so after I had been cleaning for a few hours and gotten a lot of progress, I paused so Aaron and I could bike them over to their friend's and go on a bike ride together. We climbed to the ampitheater up Flagstaff Mt. A 14 mile round trip ride with 1,500 ft of climbing. Strenuous, but not energy zapping. 

When we got home, we showered, picked up the kids, and spent the remainder of the day organizing and cleaning the ENTIRE house and weeding the entire back yard. It feels awesome to have a clean house. Hopefully I can keep it a little more under control now that the kids are in school a lot of the day.

Skunk Canyon, Devil's Thumb neighborhood. Feeling a little down. Maybe just tired.

Felt a great deal better today. Took it a bit easy in my workout though.

Warm up, strides

5:00, 2:30, 4:00, 2:00, 3:00, 1:30, 2:00, 1:00 intervals with 1-2 minutes jog between each.

Cool down, active stretching and med ball work

Nice cool recovery run. South Boulder creek path.

13 miles in 7:31 pace

Recovery run around Devil's Thumb. My achilles are feeling pretty decent this week! Yay!

Workout with my group at Boulder Rez 

Warm up, strides

12 min, 10 min, 8 min, 6 min with 2-3 min jog to re-group between each one. My pace was between 5:45-6:20 depending on slope.

I felt really good in this workout! My achilles are getting stronger and I'm getting fitter. I've been so wishy-washy with committing to race but I'm finally feeling like I want to commit to running a half marathon this fall.

I'm thinking either the Kansas City half on October 18th or Indianapolis Monumental Half on November 1st.

On a whim and by invitation from friends, I ran the first leg of a half-marathon relay in Fort Collins this morning.

Aside from the four men ahead of me and the biker leading me along, I was alone pretty much after mile one. Gave me a lot of time to think and re-connect with the Nan who likes to race.

The sign held by a spectator near mile four described my feelings precicely: "Runner's High: 100% LEGAL IN ALL 50 STATES!" 

I definitely had a runner's high this morning.

My leg of the relay was pretty flat with just over a hundred feet of total elevation change. I ran negative splits and happened to look down at my watch right when 6.2 miles clicked by and remembered seeing 37:22. Then I kicked to the relay exchage "finish line" at 6.9 miles in 41:41 and handed the chip-anklet-baton off to Annie.

Annie ran the remaining 6.2 miles, in a time of 38:31, for a combined half marathon time of 1:20:11. 

After my leg of the race, I jogged in the remaining mileage to the finish line to make it a long run. Accidentally went off course just after the exchange point, but only added on .4 mile. Once I got back on course it was fun to watch the racers pass me by as I took it easy the rest of the way. One guy was like "Hey, you can tuck in and draft if you want! Keep going!" I laughed and declined, explaining that my "race" was over.

I kept looking back wishing to see my friend, Marianne who was running on another relay team with our Athletics Boulder group. I also kept hoping the lead woman would come up on me and I could run with her for a bit, but she didn't catch me until less than a half mile to go, and Marianne was right behind her so I ran the last few minutes with Marianne instead.

Aaron and the kids came up to the finish line and the kids got to swim in the pool at the finish line party. Saw Paul Peterson and enjoyed catching up with him too. Such a fun morning!

Ran to N. Boulder to pick up my car from where I left it yesterday when we carpooled to the race.

Got back at 7:40 a.m. and the kids were playing with legos and casually eating breakfast. Aaron was still asleep, as he had been up late working. 

I got the kids moving, made lunches, drove them to school by 8:20 a.m. and took Kelsie with me to Rally Sport for some strength work. I used to go there a few years ago, but haven't had a gym membership since then. I renewed my membership so Kelsie can socialize in child care and I can run or do strength work. Rally is the only place in town where I can leave a kid in child care and run outside with my cell phone. Score!

Medium Long run. 7:50 AP

I've been logging my miles on Strava because it feeds my geeky data interest, but I'm not sure how to get it to show my actual pace instead of the graduated adjusted pace. It keeps telling me I ran faster than I actually did. What's the point of that? Any other Strava users out there?

80 minutes of pool running at Rally Sport. An hour of that was with a class including some intervals and drills. Great workout!

I would like to get in the habit of cross-training one day per week. I think it will build fitness and keep my achilles tendons happy. Pool running is a great option because it is such a great full body workout and sends healing and strength to my ankles and achilles.

Easy run from Rally Sport. Nice, cool, slightly drizzly morning.

I found out I got a free "elite entry" into the Monumental Half in Indianapolis on November 1st, so I'm going to do it! Looks like a pretty flat, fast course. I am excited to see what I can do. I'm going to room with Emily Jameson, which will be fun too.

Workout with my group on the Cottonwood Trail.

Warm up, strides 

4K, 2K, 2K with 2:30 jog between each. Each push was between 5:50-6:00 pace. 

Long cooldown

Last night I decided I am going to utilize my fast running blog to hold myself accountable for running AND writing.

I'm writing a memoir from my life experiences of 2011-2014 titled "Finding the Silver Lining." Currently I have over 44,000 words but over the past few months, my progress has been slower than molasses in January. I often go days or a week without opening the document at all. I wish I could say its because of my lack of time but really I'm just not focusing well and allowing myself to feel overwhelmed and then distracted.

Last night, Aaron gave me the idea to just commit to writing a minimum of 50 words every day, and I'll still be making progress little by little. Once I get going, I will often write much more than 50 words per day, but I just want to break it up and write on one topic at a time. Then, I'll have to go through and edit the whole thing and meld it all together, but that will be a different project titled "Pages edited in my book."

SO. "Words written in my book," is not some fancy new shoe brand. And its not miles, its words that I write each day. My goal is to finish the book before the end of 2014. 

I woke up excited to run today! Ran early and somewhat "easy fast."

I got back from my run just as the kids were waking up, got them fed and out to school, and then prepared food all morning. Boiled down tons of apples from our tree and canned six jars of applesauce. Blended up six quarts of green drink (veggie/fruit drink in the Vitamix). Prepared three batches of marinated chicken. Phew! Busy morning.

Workout at East Boulder Rec

Warm up, strides

4, 3, 2, 1 pickups with 1 minute rest

1.7 mile tempo back down the path

5:45-6:08 pace in my intervals

Drizzly run from Rally Sport. I didn't sleep well last night, so I was tired today. Took a nap this afternoon.

Rainy and cold. Not super fun.

Woke up feeling sick, so I wimped out of my run. Packed up and drove to to Utah for my Mom and Step-Dad's mission farewell.

Stayed up way too late last night talking to my brother and sister in law. Did a workout alone at 7:45 a.m. after a broken night of not very restful sleep.

Felt pretty blah. Stomach started hurting halfway through.

5XMile repeats on the flattest path in Utah. Legacy Parkway trail in NSL. 5:59-6:07 pace depending on head wind/tail wind.

TIRED. Long drive Friday and then again yesterday, plus staying up too late both Friday and Saturday night and not sleeping well outside of my own bed all took its toll on me.

I did some weights and pool running today. And took a nap.

Workout at East Boulder Rec

Sally Kipyego style recovery run: extra slow.

Did anyone else read that article in Running Times about what pace is best for a recovery run?

I think its awesome that Sally Kipyego runs her recovery runs at 8:30 min/mile. I need to implement more of that into my training. I think it will help me say more fresh.

This morning's slow run made me feel great! My form felt a lot more clean and upright and as a result my achilles and hips felt rejuvinated instead of sore and tired.

I was in a black hole this morning. Starting last night actually. I had a hard time sleeping because I just felt down. Stressed, overwhelmed, dissapointed in myself, ect.

I woke up and did not have any desire to go running. My 8yo woke up right after me and pleaded with me to help her start the shower and stay home to make her breakfast. I was SO tempted to stay home, but Aaron was prepared to help the kids and I needed to somehow climb out of my black hole, so I left for my run.

Every step was forced. I was cold and tired and emotionally down, my achilles hurt, my back and neck were kinked...once I start down that path of negativity, the floodgates open, you know. 

Just after mile two of my run, the first runner I had seen (or at least noticed) was a random husky guy in a hoodie. As he approached me, he held his hand out in a silent guesture to give me a high five. Those tenths of a second between when I saw his hand and when I slapped it firmly, passed quickly. High fives just come instinctually when offered, I guess. As soon as I slapped his hand, I felt an incredible boost of energy and support.

I'm not sure if this man put much thought into his guesture, but he totally made my day! It was as if he was saying, "Good job getting out here to run even though you didn't want to. Its hard some days and we do it anyway. We're in this together. Keep loving yourself and honoring your need for daily exercise. Keep going."

Back, neck and achilles tendons hurt so I rode my bike to Rally Sport with K in the trailer and did some pool running.

Almost didn't race because of this horrible back kink that has been killing me for a few days, but decided to stick with the plan because I would have been doing a workout alone anyway. My running group is running a half-marathon tomorrow, but I didn't want to race on Sunday with them and I also am not ready to race a half.

Race start was at 8:30 a.m. Hot, windy, and long course.

Had a hard time breathing. Felt like my rib was crowding my lungs. Considering the circumstances, it was a very solid effort and I am pleased with the outcome. There was one guy ahead of me and the nearest female was a few minutes back. I ran alone the whole time but at least it was an out and back, so I got to see and support/be supported by lots of runners on the way back. Fastest mile was my last. Not the time I was hoping for, but lots of things to be happy about.

Well the good news is that I feel a great deal better this week than I did last week. The not so good news is that I had a dip in my mileage and effort last week, so I hope that isn't a major setback in my training for Monumental half. If it is, oh well. I'm just doing the best I can with the time and energy available.

Warm up

2, 3, 4, 4, 3, 2, 1, 1, 1, 1 minute intervals

Started off pretty easy, but worked my pace down below 5:00/mile on the last short intervals

Went in for some graston on my achilles today. Hurt so good.

Also got braces on my top teeth today. I look like a total nerd, which is humbling and somewhat embarrassing. Hopefully I'll have straight teeth again in 6 months.

Teenagers: learn a lesson from me and please keep wearing your retainer into adulthood. Unless of course you like braces and yearn to get them again in your 30s.

Recovery run and a session of strength work at Rally Sport. I had a trainer show me some moves with Kettlebells today. Fun!

Wholy sore hammys batman.

Kettlebell workouts are not for wimps.

Workout at Boulder Res with my group.

Came early for an extra two miles in my warm up so I could call it my long run for the week.

The workout was 5X8 minutes at half marathon to marathon pace. I kept my intervals between 6:30-6:05 pace.

Felt pretty good

Everything was especially beautiful and yummy this morning. Even the sweet inhale of marijuana near mile one. Who smokes marijuana at 6:00 A.M.?! Boulderites do. 

I also especially loved the orange and red ribboned sunrise and I saw high five guy again! No words, but a solid high five of course.

Workout from East Boulder rec with my group.

Warm up, strides

6 minutes at HM pace

4X3 minutes at 10K pace

6 minutes at HM pace

cool down, core work

Beautiful crisp morning!

Easy run

Long run day. Aaron had an early meeting, so I got the kids off to school and then took Kelsie to the gym with me. Dropped her off in child care and I had 2 hours to get as many miles in as I could. Ran out around Boulder Res and back. The pace was a bit of a moderate effort to hold, especially the last few miles, which reminds me that I need to do more long runs. 7:29 AP

My legs were super tired this morning, so I didn't run early. I was going to try and run from the gym but I also had a free personal training session at 10 am and had to go to the orthodontist beforehand.  I didn't end up getting to the gym until 9:50 a.m. and then Kelsie threw a fit for the first 20 minutes, pushing the training session overtime since we started late. Anyway, it was a good workout, with TRX and kettlebell work, I just didn't have time to run and shower before I had to get Kelsie out of child care.  So no miles today.

Workout at Boulder Res

Warm up, strides

17 minutes at marathon pace, 2 min jog, 3X8 minutes at half marathon pace with 2 min jog between each.

My legs were flat. I started off pretty stiff and labored at 6:30ish pace on the first interval, and ended up sub 6:00 pace by the last.

Nice 'n easy recovery run in 8:18 AP. Went to Rally Sport and did a TRX class. My shoulders are toast.

Met Annie early for some extra miles before the workout

5 minutes, 5X2 minutes, 5 minutes

cool down

Felt pretty tired at the end. Trying out the long run in conjunction with the workout so that I can hopefully be more recovered for Saturday's workout.

Met up with Sarah Vaughn and Cate Robbie and ran from Rally Sport. It was nice catching up with friends! 8:05 AP

Early run. Got back just in time to feed the kids breakfast and get them off to school. 7:42 AP

S. Boulder creek path loop. 7:59 AP

Workout from Boulder Res. My friend Danielle came today! It was nice to have her there.

Warm up, strides

19 minutes at 6:26 pace

3 min jog

10 minutes at 6:15 pace

2 minute jog

8 minutes at 5:55 pace

Cool down

Overall I felt pretty good. Much more energized than I was last week at the Saturday workout. I ran a little faster too. My left hip and left achilles are a little bit whiney, but I am trying to manage with lots of active stretching and a core/hip/glut routine I do about three times per week. I am probably due for a massage but will have to settle for at least a nice long foam rolling session tonight.

Easy run with strides.

Hip is feeling weak.

Ran from home to meet my group at East Boulder Rec for a workout.

It was a tough one today. I was limping by the end.

My left hip was pretty sore on the warm up. The thought crossed my mind "maybe, I should just run easy today and do my workout later in the week." I didn't listen. Ugh. I'm kinda hating myself right now.

My whole left leg has been throbbing since workout yesterday. Couldn't sleep much last night because I kept waking up with pain. Spent a lot of time on the foam roller working out my glutes, quads, and hip flexor. Even my left calf is angry.

Bummer.

The good news is that I didn't have much time to feel sorry for mysef yesterday or today because I filled up my schedule with serving and helping others. There has strangely been A LOT of need for help among my friends this week so at least I have had something good to do that takes my mind off myself. I'm trying to count my blessings and look at what I do have rather than just see what is being taken away from me. 

I haven't pulled the plug on Indianapolis yet, but I have to admit I have my hand on the chord.  ;( 

Road biking with Aaron. Beautiful Fall day!

Test run. Hip not happy.

Went to Richey today and he did some deep (painful) and hopefully effective treatment. 

90 minutes of yoga at Rally. My left hip/hamstring are SO much weaker than my right. That is a problem I need to fix.

I'm sad to report that I am officially "injured" and will be unable to run in the Indianapolis half marathon on Nov. 1st as previously planned. I've been cross training and getting therapy on my hip ever since last Tuesday when it majorly flared up. I did a test run last Friday, two days ago, and again today. While it is improving gradually and I was able to get through the first 30 minutes of today's run without pain, the pain spoke up after 30 minutes and started causing a noticeable limp again. 

Based on a thorough evaluation, my ART/Chiro, Richey believes its a soft tissue injury and NOT a re-tear in my hip labrum or a femoral stress fracture, which is good. Unfortunately its just not responding to treatment quickly enough to rationalize racing in a week. I'm feeling its the right time to take a little break and let it heal completely before I start a new training cycle.

I'm SO sad it didn't work out. I was REALLY looking forward to going to Indianapolis and chasing after a fast half time. It's frustrating that my running was seemingly going so well and now I've fallen flat on my face again. The let down and disappointment in times like this are my least favorite aspects of running. 

I'm especially bummed because I thought I was doing my best to hold a tight grip on the reigns. I was doing the ancillary work, eating well, and trying to allow my body proper recovery time and slow enough easy run pace. Apparently something wasn't just right because my body is rebelling. 

I suspect the injury has something to do with simply having a lot of life stress in general. Mothering four kids, leading my Ward Primary (youth Sunday school), the stress and financial roller coaster of my husband's entrepreneurial endeavors...its a lot to juggle!

Here's hoping I can heal up fast and get back out there again soon.

7:37 AP

Mood boost! Hip still not too happy though.

7:40 AP

Hot afternoon run. After Yoga yesterday, it felt good to flush out the legs a little. I am still in negotiations with the hip.

8:02 AP

Had a hard time sleeping last night and many nights this week. Nightmares. Probably my subconscious mind replaying our family trauma from this same week two years ago. Going to see my wise natropath and do some emotional release tomorrow.

I need a good hard workout. Pretty please, hip? Let me try to run fast tomorrow?

Decided to join in the group workout at East Boulder Rec.

7:37 AP  

Bunch of shorter invervals but I didn't bother taking splits.

Didn't really plan on going too fast, but my heart yearned for speed. Mid-workout, my heart and lungs were on FIRE, and thanking me for it.

Afterwards my hip was a little whiney, but suprisingly my achilles and calves were more cranky than the hip. 

Did some emotional relase with Dr. Belote which was enlightening and helpful.

Spent some quality time on the foam roller this afternoon while my 6 year old read me a riveting book: "Fire! Fire! Said Mrs. Mcguire!" Spoiler alert: It was only birthday cadles. No children were harmed.

One of the strangest yoga classes I've ever attended. Complete with a side of humble pie.

They were obviously a tight nit group, very comfortable with each other, and I was the "new girl."

Started out with political discussion I didn't really feel like diving into, then it turned into a request session where the pupils were suggesting what moves we do. We were trying all sorts of positions I could not do, including handstands and splits.

The male instructor must have been an entertainer in his former life, because the wise cracks were ROLLING.

"Four children! Wow. I was going to ID you when you came in, but you already have four children, so must be of legal age."

"Where are you from? Utah! No kidding! How did I guess you'd say that? How is Boulder for you?" 

"Oh wow, your hamstrings are something else. You can bend your knees in this position if you need to. You must be a runner, huh?!"

"Have you ever done yoga before?"

Have I ever DONE yoga before? Was I really THAT bad?

In his defence, he did spend a LOT of time correcting me and trying to help me, as I was the new girl and so obviously less advanced than his other students, but I just felt a little out of place. I didn't realize this class must have been intermediate. I'm banishing myself back to the meditative, peaceful, non-chatty entry level class.