All it takes is all you've got

Took a pleasant nap after Church while the girls napped and Aaron played board games with Abe.  Then we all went for a bike ride down to a small lake about a mile from our house.  Abe was riding pretty fast but still doesn't want us to take his training wheels off.  Then he decided he wanted to put his bike in my trailer and run with Breanne.  They ran around the lake trails and Ali just HAD to get out and join them too.  They were all still pretty pumped up about their first race yesterday and just loved running around the trails. Breanne ran about 1.3 miles and Abe ran about a mile and biked another couple miles.  Ali ran about a half mile.  She kept resisting my suggestions to get back in the bike seat even after it started to rain a bit and Abe and Breanne had left us and gone ahead with Aaron so I just biked slowly next to her while she ran up the hill in the warm rain.  Its so fun to see our kids get excited about running and enjoy doing it together as a family.

9 miles in 7:27 pace

Did 7 X 50 stride pick-ups after about 20 minutes of slow running.  My legs feel better than I thought they would considering how hard I pushed them on Saturday.  I was going to hit the gym for some weights this afternoon but ended up staying longer at a baby shower we went to since I was enjoying chatting with friends the kids were having so much fun playing with a bunch of other kids.  Then when we got home the girls were both asking for naps and Abe wanted to help me fold the 6 loads of laundry that were sitting in the laundry room, so I took him up on the offer and we hung out and folded while the girls slept.  Next thing I knew it was dinner time and gym time had come and gone.  I'll squeeze in some push-ups and pull-ups tomorrow instead. 

12 miles in 7:08 AP

Did my workout on my own this morning since I can't make it to the 5pm group workout as I will be going to a pool party with the young men and young women in my ward.

20 minute warm-up, stretching, strides

5X4 minutes in 5:55, 5:45, 5:43, 5:46, 5:47 pace w/2 min jog in between each

4X1 minute in 5:31, 5:26, 5:12, 5:27 pace w/1 min jog in between each

25 minute cool down 

Now I'm off to mow the lawn and do some weeding. 

A.M. 7 miles in 7:48 pace

Took the kids to the park, Home Depot, and came home for lunch and naps.  Ah yes, a nap! 

P.M. 4 miles on the treadmill in 7:50 pace

Also did lots of core, hip work, push ups, pull ups, and some weights. 

17.25 miles in 7:41 pace

Even though its a slight downhill going out and slight uphill coming back, I always go out slower than I come back.  There is something about heading home that just makes you move faster.

This morning I took my fuel belt but only wore it until mile 2 where I ditched it in the bushes and put my gu and half Balance bar in my pocket and  just carried one water bottle with gatorade in it.  I ate the half bar at Mile 5, drank my gatorade at mile 5 and mile 9, and ate a gu with more water at mile 12.  Got back to my other water bottle and fuel belt at mile 15 and drank the last 8oz.  It was a pretty hot morning, so I was grateful for the 24 oz. of liquid I did have.  And I guzzled another 30 oz. as soon as I got home.

Felt pretty good this morning.  I really enjoy long runs.  My right shin was a little tight probably from that hilly race last weekend but I've been working it out and icing it a lot.  

10.75 miles in 7:47 pace

Took a solid 5 miles to warm up but the second half of the run felt pretty good.  Its supposed to get up to 98 degrees today.  I got in an hour of weeding in right when I got back from my run before the sun got too hot.  I keep trying to hack away the loads of weeds in our yard but I have a hard time staying on top of it.  If I do 30 minutes to an hour twice a week it stays somewhat under control but I don't always find the motivation to do that.  I wouldn't say I have the prettiest yard, but at least my garden is thriving and I'm looking forward to fresh veggies in a couple of months.

Met my group at Tom Watson Park for some intervals around Boulder Res.

20 min warm up, stretching, strides

6X45second quick stride hills (5:15-5:40 pace, started off slower and got faster as I warmed up)

2.5 minutes easy

10 minutes at controlled tempo pace (6:00 pace)

3 minutes easy

3X3 minutes at 10k effort (6:17 pace; first one was uphill and I'm starting to overheat in the sun after the 10 minute tempo, 5:36 pace back down the hill, 5:53 pace on pretty flat mild uphill on the last one)

As soon as the intervals were over we were all super hot and the reservoir was right there calling our names so we jogged on over and took a swim.  Everyone had their shoes off and was at least waist deep in the lake, most of us fully submerged which felt SOOO nice.  

Then we did a 12 minute cool down which felt great with the slight breeze and wet running clothes.

When I got back to my car I drank my 24 oz water bottle within seconds.  I also stopped at a gas station on the drive home to get another 30 oz of liquid.  Nothing like a good quench after a hot run. 

This run concludes my first 70 mile week ever!  I have to admit that 70 miles did make me feel a bit more tired throughout the week but luckily I was able to sneak in a few naps and get pretty good sleep at night, which helped a lot.  My left achilles is feeling better than it has in weeks and my right shin was a little tight earlier in the week but after pushing it out every day and trying to loosen up that calf, its actually feeling quite a bit better too.  I'm very pleased with how well it has responded to self massage and daily icing.