All it takes is all you've got

8 miles in 6:58 pace (with 7 strides mixed in)

Decided to take the kids to FAC and do my run at 11 a.m. instead of trying to rush it at 7 a.m. before Bre's gymnastics class.  The weather was much more sunny and inviting at 11 a.m. the only problem was I wish I would have chosen something other than cereal with milk for breakfast because I think the milk was the cause of my intestinal pain.  Oh well.  It finally subsided after a pit stop at mile 3 thank goodness.

After my run I did some therapeutic dynamic stretching, showered, took the kids out to lunch, and met up with a good friend to let our kids play at the play place in McDonalds while we caught up on each other's lives.  It was great to enjoy adult conversation while the kids got some exercise.  

Then I went to Costco with all three tired and hungry kiddos which is always a TREAT and mind-blowing adventure.  The samples at least helped distract and soothe the kids amidst their deteriorating mental, physical, and emotional states.  I hadn't been to Costco in over 4 months, so my cart was full and my bill was enormous but it was good to stock up on lots of things that I now don't have to worry about purchasing for at least a couple more months. 

A.M. 10.5 miles

Our friend, Brenna came over to watch the kids so Aaron could come with me to the workout at East Boulder Community park.  We had a nice group of 10-12 people this morning with some fasties including Simon and Colleen.  Simon claims to be "out of shape" but apparently his "out of shape" is my "best shape of my life."  Despite his claimed 10 lb weight gain over the holidays he was still pushing me hard in the workout.  I guess when you are a former world champion triathlete there is an ingrained element of competitiveness that enables you to push it in workouts regardless of if you are "in shape" or not.  Colleen is getting into great shape again and it was fun to have her with us as well.  I was also loving having Aaron right next to me or ahead of me pushing the pace for many of the repeats.  I didn't realize when I married him how much SPEED he has!!

After our 20 minute warm up, stretching, and strides, the sun finally came up and started warming our backs...thank goodness because it was COLD!! 

The workout was 2X (1, 2, 3, 2, 1) with 60-90 seconds easy and 1, 2, 2, 1 with 60 seconds easy.  It looked a lot easier on paper than it was in reality.  Basically what it amounted to was 4.5 miles of 5:00-5:40 paced running in 10 degree patchy ice with many of the pushes up gradual inclines.  By the time we got to the final 1 minute I was so relieved to be finished and I kicked it hard down the snow packed street in sub 5:00 pace (Aaron was a solid 3-4 strides in front of me).

P.M. 4.5 miles in 7:00 pace

Coach D passed me in his car and waved as I was almost back to FAC.  Felt good to shake out my legs after the morning workout.  When I got back to FAC I did some good dynamic stretching, core work, and about 40 minutes of weights.  Solid day! 

12 miles in 7:02 pace

Today was my "long run" for the week because I decided to do a little 5k on Saturday.  Felt good on the run today.  Went in for a nice long massage with a therapist Sara Vaughn recommended, Stephen Bay.  He did some excellent, much needed deep tissue work on my lower legs and gluts.  My legs felt MUCH better afterwards.

9 miles in 7:06 pace

Met Renee and Austin Baille for a morning jaunt.  We did 8 miles together and caught up on the past couple of weeks.  They just got back into town after visiting family in Texas for the Holidays and racing twice (Renee ran a 15:54 road 5K, beating the next woman by over two minutes!)  Near the end of our run I started my "Zulu Fartlek" of basically 14 strides with easy jogging in between just to get a little speed stimulus before my 5k this Saturday.

I was going to get in another easy 4 in the PM but the day got away from me when it kept filling up with things......cleaning the van (it was bursting at the seams with crap), taking Abe to gymnastics, talking to Aaron about potentially going to France in May, dinner, cleaning up, and tucking kids in while Aaron went to the Church to coach the Young Men's basketball team.  My legs were still pretty sore from that deep massage yesterday so I figured a little rest wouldn't be a bad thing anyway.

7 miles in 7:06 pace

What a GORGEOUS day!!  I went for my run from FAC after taking Ali to her gymnastics class.  Started around 10:30 a.m. in the 45 degree sunshine.  All the snow and ice has completely melted off the Creek path and I was loving running in shorts again.

Did some good dynamic stretching for a bit, showered, and ate our home lunch with the girls at the tables in the lobby of FAC afterwards.  Saw Colleen and she wished me luck in the Quicker Quaker 5K tomorrow.  I'm really looking forward to racing!  Especially since the forecast looks like another warm sunny day!

Our babysitter arrived 5 minutes early (Thanks, Brenna!) but we still left the house 20 minutes later because we must have been overly optimistic about the morning routine.  We found ourselves going in and out of the house three times before actually driving off.  Arrived at the race 50 minutes before start time and Aaron dropped me off to pick up our race bibs while he found a parking spot.  We had a hard time finding each other again after he parked due to our poor communication, the 1000+ people wandering around and the unfamiliar packet pickup area but we finally hooked up again and started our warm up about 35 minutes before race start time.  We jogged the course and did some strides down the final half mile, then went to the car to change into shorts and take my long sleeve off since it was super warm and balmy (37 degrees).  We arrived at the starting line with 1 minute to spare feeling a little bit rushed and un-stretched which is not really unusual for me but still slightly uncomfortable.

The race went out FAST with Fiona Docherty at the front and Tera Moody and me stride for stride behind her.  Cassie Slade was right behind us within striking distance too.  We came through the first mile in 5:15.  My legs felt pretty flat but there I was.  Second mile had a steady climb and Fiona fell back while Tera and I pushed forward to a 5:28 split which felt much less comfortable and labored than the faster first mile.  The uphill in the second mile was very gradual but challenging.  The final 1.1 mile was fast and mostly downhill except for one short climb with less than a half mile to go where my respiratory rate shot through the roof  and oxygen debt set in (thank you 5,500 ft altitude).  I didn’t get the exact split on my final mile because I forgot to stop my watch at the finish but based on my calculations, it looks like I ran 5:07 pace for the final 1.1 mile.  Tera and I were together for most of the final mile and I started to feel unsure of whether I could stay with her when she surged up the short hill with less than a half mile to go but I just stuck to her like glue and then at the top of the hill I felt encouraged by the downhill finishing sprint and I surged hard to the finish, gaining just a few seconds on her.  It was a very close race and a tough sprint to the line.

After the race it was nice to catch up with Tera and Cassie.  Tera was really happy with the fact that she ran a minute faster than she did last year on the same course and encouraged by the fact that she is sharper in her fitness than she thought she was.  Cassie had done some extra intervals right before the race and was happy with her “workout race.”  She is looking fit and ready for the Houston Half.  I didn’t get a chance to talk to Fiona much but she is looking super fit too.  I love how I can jump into a regular “low-key” local race here in Boulder County and be pushed to very challenging effort and solid finish time (a 4 second PR, even!)

Aaron took a big chunk out of his PR finally eclipsing the 18:00 mark by 8 seconds.  He joined his “mountain men” ultra buddies for an easy 7 mile cool down while I did a shorter cool down with Tera and Cassie.  When I got back to the car and figured Aaron was still running, rather than just sitting in the car waiting for him, I went into the crowded cafeteria for some oatmeal pancakes, oatmeal banana muffin and fresh longmont dairy chocolate milk (Mmmmmmm……)  Tera said they didn’t have an awards ceremony last year so I assumed they weren’t having one this year either which was perfectly fine with me, I always get cold waiting around for those anyway.  I think I did win a couple hundred bucks which I assume they will send in the mail.  Super fun race!  All the runners even got a free canister of Oatmeal!

After a nice afternoon of rest and more food, now I’m heading to FAC for a session in the weight room and an easy 4 mile shake out run to complete another week of solid training for Houston.   Tomorrow…I will SLEEP.  A LOT.