All it takes is all you've got

7 miles in 7:09 pace 

Aaron had to leave at 5:45 a.m. this morning and I wasn't interested in waking up at 4:30 a.m. to run, but I also forgot too arrange for a babysitter so I called the gym to see if they had space for my kids in child care.  They were full until 10 a.m. so we went grocery shopping from 8:30-9:30a.m., dropped the groceries off at home, got gas, and arrived at the gym a few minutes before 10a.m. I ran fast so I could be done in time to get the kids out of child care and drive the 10 minutes to their swimming lessons at 11 a.m.  I showered in the pool showers while Ali played with the lockers and took her shoes off to splash in puddles on the floor.  The pool water was cold from all the rain we had the past few days so after the kids showered, we all went to sit in the sauna for a few minutes to warm up.  Now we're home, we just ate lunch and the girls are taking naps.  

My 7 miles was in 50:05.  7X30 second strides mixed in there.  Ran in the Nike Frees and felt very fast.  (Oh and Allie, I forgot to tell you, my Frees are grey with a pink swoosh , so not quite as flashy as yours but I do enjoy the pink accent.)  

A.M. Met my group at East Boulder Community Park

The trails were flooded by the creek this morning so we had to run on the road and paved path by the golf course.  

20 min. warm up, stretching, strides

2X(1min, 2min, 3min, 2min, 1min) intervals w/ 90 seconds jog in between each (my pace was 5:16-5:30 on the 1 and 2 minute intervals, 5:40 on the 3 minute intervals

then

1 min, 2min, 2min, 1min intervals w/90 seconds jog between each (my pace was 5:30, 5:40, 5:50..I'm starting to die here, then I dug deep and ran the final minute in 5:04 pace) 

So basically it amounted to 24 minutes of 5:04-5:50 pace running.  Whew!  No wonder I was tired at the end. 

P.M. Went to the gym to lift weights and ran another 4 easy miles too 

10 miles in 7:52 pace

Left for my run at 5:25a.m. so I could be back in time for Aaron to meet a friend at 7a.m. for mountain biking.  Really enjoyed the early morning sunrise without my iPod.

Legs felt pretty tired but no real pain to speak of.  My achilles wasn't as tight as I thought it might be after all that speed-work yesterday.  I've been trying to do self-ART therapy on my calves a couple of times per day for a few days now because the tightness in my calves is the culprit causing my achilles pain, I'm sure.

10 miles in 7:56 pace

We had a little scare yesterday when after searching the yard and the house we couldn't find our 1 yo Ali anywhere.  Our 5yo and 4 yo mentioned that they had just run around the block without telling us they were doing that, so we immediatley knew Ali had followed them and gotten lost.  Sure enough, we ran around the block and found her in the arms of our back door neighbor, looking quite startled.  That feeling of not knowing where your child is...even if only for a few minutes...is gut wrenching.

So this morning after having nightmares of losing Ali and waking up with a severe kink in my back, I very slowly winced through 10 miles.  Every quick movement in my neck shot pain down my back and shoulder.  I just scheduled an appointment with Chiro Richey and Massage Therapist Koli to get some relief.

Oh, and I was going to do my long run today but I just decided yesterday that I'm going to do a 15 mile race this Saturday up near Nederland instead.  Aaron and I had been planning on taking the kids on a quick overnight camp trip near that area anyway, and when my friend Tony mentioned that there is a race going on that day and invited me to join him, I couldn't resist. So we'll go camp near Ned and do the race for a good long run beat down at 9,000ft. 

8 miles in 7:43 pace

Busy day with two Dr. appointments, kids swimming lessons, a birthday lunch with friends, packing to go camping, and driving to find a campsite.  Camping was fun!  It was our 1 year old's first time, and she loved it! We decided to drive up Moffat (Rollins Pass) Road since that is where the race course goes.  We found a nice little campground around the 7.5 mile turn-around point of the race.  Set up the tent, explored a bit with the kids, made a campfire, roasted some 'smores, and we were in bed by 9:30p.m. asleep around 10:00p.m.  Abe and Breanne slept soundly all night except for one awakening when a train went through the canyon and Abe woke up to ask what it was.  Ali cried a couple of times randomly so I assumed it was because she was cold (it got down to low 40s) and pulled her and her sleeping bag over in between Aaron and me.  Apparently the air mattress we were sleeping on had a hole because we found ourself sleeping on the hard ground within an hour of laying down.  So with the baby crying twice, plus three trains going by about 200 yards away and then echoing for literally 20 minutes afterwards (the tunnel just up the way caused some serious train noises to linger forever) it wasn't the most restful night of sleep I've ever had, but camping never is.  Fun though!

Enjoyed camping in the canyon where todays race was held (apparently also a very busy train route).  When the 3rd train of the night woke us up around 4:30 a.m., Aaron just got up and went running.  The kids slept another couple of hours and at 6:30 a.m. we all woke up and ate breakfast.  Aaron got back 30 minutes later and we hiked around a little bit to warm up (the temp was still in the low 40s) and broke camp.  Drove the 7 miles down the canyon to the race start and I got out to get my race bib and shirt.  Saw Tony (my teammate), made a potty stop, and ran a 1 mile warm-up. Stretched for a few minutes, did one stride, and chatted with Nuta (whom I've now raced three times and am well aware of her speed).  I asked her if she was doing the 10 mile or the 15 mile and she said 15 (I knew from last year's results that she had won the 10 mile course in 6:12 pace).  She asked if I had run it before and I said no, so she told me a bit about the course, warning me about the tough final two miles before the turn around and wishing me luck.  She said she has done quite a few training runs on that road because it is great for altitude training on a hilly but smooth road.  After running the race, I can attest to the fact that it is very challenging course and could be strengthening if run often.

The race started around 9 a.m. and I felt pretty comfortable with Nuta for a couple of miles.

Mile 1 - 6:19  Little bit rolling, net uphill though

Mile 2 - 6:31  Little more uphill

My heart rate started to go up and my respiratory rate was obviously faster than Nuta's so I decided I'd better be smart and not kill myself in the first quarter of the race.  Slowly let Nuta go.  After all, I had a lot of climbing to do and I'm not exactly "hill trained."

Mile 3 - 6:37   more climbing

Mile 4 - 6:44  still climbing, took a gu at the aid station right before mile 5

Mile 5 - 6:37 seems to be a theme here...climbing, climbing, climbing

Mile 6- 6:23  little less climbing 

Mile 7 - 7:30 serious climbing (200 ft gain in this mile) respiratory rate shot through the roof

Mile 8 - 6:33 the mild climb equalled itself out because 7.5 mile point was the turn-around.  Nuta had a solid minute on me at the turn-around but I still wanted to give a good effort in catching her and I knew I had a steep downhill mile ahead of me so I tried to use the momentum to see if I could reel her in a bit.

Mile 9 - 5:37 (200 ft drop) At the end of this mile my legs were really throbbing from the pace change and hammering down the hill.  Nuta seemed to be just as far ahead of me, if not farther and I decided again to just run my own race and not kill myself to try and catch her.  I could have decided to run beyond my pain threshold and blow my quads out trying to catch her and then probably still fallen short.

Mile 10 - 6:11 What goes up must come down and I'm really appreciating the downhill at this point.  Took another gu at mile 10 aid station.

Mile 11 - 6:10 more down

Mile 12 - 6:26 starting to feel pretty fatigued here.  My quads were pretty much screaming at me and my head was starting to feel a little dizzy with the heat and sun, so I pulled back on the throttle a bit.

Mile 13 - 6:23 ran by the river and enjoyed the cool air coming off the water totally unaware of anyone else around me and just enjoying the beauty of the canyon

Mile 14 - 6:18 just keep moving forward.  Tired though.

Mile 15 - 6:30 rolling but net downhill.  I'm completely spent. Apparently I went out a little too fast because this mile was faster going up the hill than coming back down at the end.  Oh well.  I'm just glad to be finished.

Total time - 1:36:53 (6:30 AP) with around 800 ft elevation gain/loss

Saw Bean and Dianne (more teammates) at the finish.  Dianne had run the 10 miler and Bean is injured but came up to hike around and cheer.  Tony came in around 1:50 and we whined together about the intense 7th mile heartbreak hill.

Nuta finished about 2 minutes ahead of me, so she had put another minute on me on the downhill. Overall I was very pleased with my effort considering my lack of hill training.  It was also the longest run I have done in a couple of months, so I'm pretty happy with how my body held up.

About 15 minutes after I finished, Aaron and I grabbed the kids and did the family fun run together (1 mile).  Aaron ran with Abe and Breanne and I walked, ran with, and carried Ali.  Ali and I actually turned around at the quarter mile check-point just as Abe passed us at his 3/4 mile check-point.  We did our half mile in about the same time as Breanne and Aaron finished their 1 mile.  Abe ran the whole way and finished strong.  Breanne ran with Aaron and kept telling him how much fun she was having and how cool it was to run her first "race."  The kids all got little finisher's medals and toy prizes, which they loved.  We ate some post-race grub and stayed for the awards ceremony (I got a $25 gift card to Boulder Running Company and a Timex watch).  Fun day!