All it takes is all you've got

Slept in (7 a.m. instead of 6 a.m.), played games with the kids, went to church, had a nice lunch, took the kids to Arches National Park, and enjoyed a peaceful day together.

7 miles in 7:33 pace

Slow easy morning run in Moab.  Still feeling tired from Friday and Saturday's run.

After breakfast and packing up the van for the drive home, we took the kids to Hole in the Rock.   That is one cooky, eclectic place!

Long drive home with a stop in Silverthorne for dinner. 

PHEW!  I finally caught up on my blogging for the last week of running.  And here is todays... 

A.M. Met the group at EBCR

20 min. warm up, stretching, strides.

10 minutes in 5:53 pace

5X4 minutes in 5:32-5:46 pace w/2 min recoveries

10 minutes in 5:45 pace

10 minute cool down

60 minute massage afterwards

P.M. Easy 5 miles from FAC and weights afterwards. 

12 miles in 7:10 pace

Parachute run.  Its official.  February is "month of wind."

True story: Last week I made a new friend at a Relief Society meeting (I know, hard to believe.) She is from Oklahoma and claims to "love" wind.  "Really???" I asked her.  "You love wind?  WHY???"  "Oh, I don't know, it just makes me feel alive!"  "Reminds me of home."

Wow.  I must need an attitude change then because wind makes me feel like laying down and dying. 

Happy Birthday to Aaron today!!  31 years young! 

7 miles in 7:12 pace

Easy recovery run from FAC.  Busy day today taking care of odds and ends...oil change, shipping boxes of things to various people, laundry, and finishing cleaning up the dishes and kitchen from yesterday's cookfest (I made pork barbacoa burritos AND cinnamon rolls for Aaron on his birthday yesterday and it left my kitchen so messy I just didn't have the energy to clean it all last night). 

A.M.  Coach called me at 7:30 a.m. to change the workout spot from Fairview track (which is covered in snow) to the treadmills at FAC.  I was happy to oblige since going out to the track all alone in a 19 degree snowstorm sounded much less enticing than meeting Darren, Colleen, and Simon at FAC for a 68 degree shorts run.

As it turns out, the "dreadmill" is much less dreadfull when you have a.) friends to run with, b.) interval work to break up the mundane pace, and c.) an upbeat song on your iPod to push you through challenging moments.  Luckily for me, I had all three of these things this morning and my workout (which could have been very challenging on my own), went quite well.

I finally got dressed and running by 8:20 a.m. and saw Kristen Fryburg-Zaits so I jumped on the mill next to her.  We had a nice chat through my warm up as she finished up her run.  She is getting back into base training again after PRing in the Houston Marathon and taking two weeks off.

I stretched and did my strides as Kristen finished up her run and Colleen jumped on her mill, with Simon next to her.  As I started my first set of intervals, Coach D came up to say Hi, watch my foot strike (since I just got new orthotics), and give me some "coaching."  Simon gave me some of his usual trash talk, something about how he's so easily keeping up with me yet his heart rate is SO much lower, lol.  11 mph vs. 8 mph does usually induce a difference in heart rate, Simon.

The workout went well.  Challenging at times, but I got through it.

3 X (800M, 1600M, 800M)  90 seconds easy after the first 800, 2 minutes easy after the mile, 3 minutes easy between sets.  

First 800 M of each set was at 5:33 pace, mile was at 5:33-5:36 pace, and second 800 M was at 5:18 pace.  Essentially, 6 miles of 5:18-5:36 paced running.  The final 800 M may have been slightly faster as I bumped up the pace for the final couple of minutes.

10 minute cool down chat with Colleen, dynamic stretching, cold bottle of Ultragen, and a Luna Bar.  Drove home to relieve our sitter, load the kids in the van, and take Ali to Gymnastics class.  Got lunch with Abe and Bre at Big Daddy's Bagel and ate it while we watched Ali.

P.M. 3 miles EASY and weights

18 miles in 6:47 pace

Tired legs, but mental energy, stomach, and stamina felt good.  I stopped by Fairview track on my way home just as the RRBers were finishing up their cool down.  It was fun to say hi to some RRBers as I finished up my run.  Ever since Coach D moved my workout to Friday and long run to Saturday I miss catching up with my RRB friends on Saturdays.  At least I still get to see them all on Tuesdays and I get to work out with Simon, Collen, Katie, and sometimes others on Fridays.  

On another note, last night here in Boulder, Aaron and I attended a nutrition seminar put on by Robert Kunz, head genius at First Endruance.  I learned a TON about the proper use of all their products and was enlightened by the potential benefits of other products I have not been using.  Robert is a sports nutrition expert and has been the dietitian and nutrition advisor for some of the world's best triathletes and cyclists (Alberto Contador, for example.)  

The products that First Endurance have created are based on years of research sudies and feedback from pro athletes.  They are very picky about their manufacturing and insure that all of their products are 100% USADA approved.  While their products currently cater somewhat to cyclists, triathletes, and ultra runners, I have become hooked and reaped benefits of using them as well.  Today I used the EFS electrolyte drink at three points in my run.  I had mixed one of my drink flasks with about a third of a scoop of pre-race powder and drank that flask at mile 8 to boost me for the second half of my long run.  It worked GREAT!!  My stomach felt great and I noticed sustained energy throughout the final miles of my run as I completed my biggest mileage week EVER!!  I finally eclipsed the 75 miles in a week mark!  I couldn't have done it without lots of sleep (took a nap 5 different days), ice, dynamic stretching, and two massages this week but hey, if thats what it takes to keep my legs working properly and energy level up...bring it on.