I'm not crazy...I'm just bored!!

My oh my, what a race! I don't have my Garmin to plug in and am too lazy to try and find results online, so I will fill in info later. I had a few good people help me at key points of this race, and I am eternally grateful to them!!

Highlights: no ITB pain!! YAY!!! Teena taped my left calf that had been bothering me and between that and the well timed IB no/little calf pain! Seeing So many wonderful running friends and getting a nice long run in with 4000 of some of my closest running friends :)

Lowlights: race said there would be cliff shots at aid stations, but they only had bars and I didn't carry any gu's! Lesson learned. at 13 was saved by a guy I trailed at Payson Onion Days (we didn't make that connection until later) and so I only got one in. I did carry jelly beans and I ate those occasionally after that. HEAT - oh, SO hot!! Seriously hot, I would walk through water stops and drink about 3-4 glasses of water and 3-4 glasses of gatorade and never had sloshy stomach! I was always thirsty again in about a mile. SO HOT! My outer right upper thigh was in one big knot the last 6 miles, I considered stopping for icy hot but it just wasn't worth it. Kept moving...

I felt like I stayed strong until the end and as many were walking the last couple miles I kept running. Felt like I rarely got passed, but hung with the majority of the group and then passed many the last couple miles as I hung it out.

Nearly cried twice on the route. Once when I passed a guy carrying the American Flag on Veyo hill - know too many out fighting for our country and his story of his father dying while serving as a marine was too much. I told him "people like you make me proud to be an American!" Second time was that last .2 stretch when I saw my kids and hubby. I was just focused on finish - head down looking dead I'm sure! Heard my hubby voice "GO RACHEL!" with the camera up and my cute little ones peering through the fence at me with I love you on their hands (sign language).

More later....if you want it :) I'll get some more technical info - I really don't know where I lost  it. Hit my 1/2 at 1:52 and figured a decent negative split which you should be able to hit in SGM would put me sub 3:40 (I think it was the heat). Not that I'm upset at my time at all - a PR! I'm proud of myself for staying strong and PRing and doing all that I have to be able to finish a GOOD race 3 months after having a baby!! I'm now looking forward to my race at OBX with Captian Quiet Pirate :)

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WARNING: Only read this if you have mounds of time to sit and indulge yourself in my world...or can't sleep. It's long and exhausting not unlike the race itself. Hopefully it is a bit entertaining though.

Okay, so I've wanted to get on and update my splits on this race. I didn't even look at them until I got home last night, they are quite interesting to me! So, since most of you read the highlights above, feel free to skip this update. It's more for me than anything anyway :)

AP: 8:34 (Garmin was stopped at 26.24 miles, shortest marathon distance I've ever recorded.).

1- 8:42; started with Lowell these first couple miles and they felt comfortable...maybe too comfortable? meh, maybe it was a good thing.

2- 8:36; got a great run down of the course and Lowell left me with "your strong, you've got this!"

3- 8:05; got to see the "mile of runners in front of me and beautiful green valleys" Thanks Uncle Lowell!! It really was a beautiful part of the race.

4- 7:50; wow, interesting I really thought I was pretty evenly paced even after Lowell left me, must've been some good downhill. I was passing lots of folks, making sarcastic remarks, getting a few laughs and having a good time.

5- 7:58; second water stop - looks like I was walking for about 45 seconds through the water stop. It was hot enough I was already looking forward to a few glasses of liquid!

6- 7:47; with all the walking I did at the water stop I really wonder how fast I was running between these two miles to come up with such fast overall splits - crazy!

7- 7:45; I remember seeing the water stop and saying "it's already been 2 miles?" The girl next to me said "that's a good thing!". Again walked through the stop drinking. First place I looked for gu and didn't see it - figured it would be at the next one.

8- 9:17; Oh Veyo - So, it honestly wasn't as bad as I had anticipated or as horrible as it looks from the bottom. I got a HUGE boost from seeing an old YW leader that had moved who I admired and loved at the bottom of the hill. I wanted to stop and hug her, but by the time I realized it was her I was past her and my legs wouldn't stop to turn back. She did snap a pic of me though. Seriously! Another person at the right time in the right place for me. On the way down that last hill the cows were mooing like crazy. A fellow runner and I were gabbing about how we'd never had cows cheer for us before and making other fun remarks about the herd for miles coming down the hill. Great fun. I am honestly impressed that my time was so close to a 9mm. Those who know me, know how much I love hills and I just took an even pace on this one. At the bottom as we started up a guy next to me had perfect metronome foot falls to follow. I told him I wanted to stick with him, his timing was perfect pace for the hill. This is also where I passed American flag guy. One person running with him had John Denver blasting on a speaker on his belt. Fun to have a bit of music. At the top of Veyo was when I finally felt the sunshine on my shoulders - thoughts again shifted back to John Dener, with a smile on my face I crested the hill and saw the horizon "Uncle Lowell told me only 4 miles to the end of the horizon".....

9- 8:50; those rollers/flat take more out of you than you'd realize. It was hot, also another walk through water stop here...more and more fluids each time. ASKED for gu this time...I was told "2 miles down" okay, I can hang on another 2 for it...

10- 9:01; somewhere along here Tyler S said "nice job Rachel" I was grateful for the encouragement! I couldn't believe I was passing him though, he's such a fast runner.

11- 9:07; rollers roll on, but it looks like my effort was pretty consistent. Interesting again that this was another walk through water stop, but my mile was still respectable. Again, no gu. I'm now getting worried. However, after this stop I see KELLIE with Tyler - I was SO inspired by her, I could hardly believe she was running so well. We'd leap frog for the rest of the race from here on out. I now knew why I'd passed Tyler...he was taking care of Kellie. It was nice to have them around during those miles. Kellie - you are AMAZING!!!

12- 8:54; nearing the end of the horizon and starting to feel hot and yucky and I'm not even 1/2 way - shoot!

13- 8:32; Wonderful soul with RAPID shirt from Payson saves my butt by giving me a gu. He even opened it for me. During this mile I ran with him and talked about Payson and his shirt (Runners Against Pornography......). You know you NEED a gu when it tastes absolutely wonderful and you think you want more and don't even really want the water to wash it down because it tastes SO good!! Hit my 1/2 at 1:52 ish and figured with a good negative split (which I was told it was near impossible NOT to) I could hit my 3:40 BQ goal - woot woot! The downhill this mile was nice too....

14- 8:54; don't know how this one was so high. I remember feeling pretty good and just running along enjoying the beautiful red rocks as we came down the canyon...hmmm?

15- 8:11; maybe the water stop was the end of 14, but another walk through water stop. I dumped a glass on my head here - this was the first time, but definitely NOT the last!

16- 8:14 another mile just plodding along. I think I ran into Julie around here. She had been to more POP's than one person deserves and was struggling. We both exchanged our 'are we done yet?' feelings and leap frogged from here to the end. She was another person there at the right time when I needed them. Having someone I knew to pull and push along with was exactly what I needed!!! Thanks Julie, you really helped me a ton!

17- 8:20; another walk through water stop drinking like MAD, taking as many glasses as I can get  and chugging them down. I seriously wonder what splits would've been like had I NOT walked through the entire water stop drinking. However, it was hot enough I knew I need it! I took some of the jelly beans I'd been packing as well at this point. I was in desperate need of an energy boost.

18- 8:51; this was an inspiring hill for me. A guy pacing his wife/girlfriend was right next to me and I drew off his coaching. He was an excellent pacer for her. Funny, but at the bottom of the hill he said "okay, lets make this an 8:50" I thought, yeah...sounds good! Look at the split: 8:51! Thanks stranger!! I did say out loud "I want to stick with you guys, this guy is a great coach" So, I wasn't anonymously drawing off his strength/coaching. "If it's getting tough shorten up the stride, pump the arms" I did it...then a magical thing happened, the woman was falling a bit behind and the guy reached back and held out his hand. She took his hand and he pulled her up. Oh man! Seriously, a beautiful, amazing inspiring thing!! Crested the hill with a water stop...

19- 8:55; another grab, drink, grab, drink, walk through water stop, with a cup on the head to finish it off. They had misters after this stop and I stayed on the 'wrong' side of the road for a bit extra to be able to run through them -oh, it was simply amazing!!!! Cold and took my breath away, but amazing. I had heard that it was all downhill from here - HA!

20- 8:39; obviously some good downhill. When I hit the 20 mile mark I was at 2:50. I knew that to finish in my BQ time I'd have to run 8:10's or faster, knowing how I was feeling I didn't think that was possible. Maybe if I pushed I could hit a PR....maybe. Passed Mark (Huans32) and was afraid he was injured. I didn't think there was ANY way I'd catch him!! Was glad to see he had a good attitude and said "I'm good, I'll finish"

21- 8:10; obviously more good downhill, but I SWEAR there was more up than down here! Every time we'd go downhill I'd just see another roller to climb over. The first hill  I saw after the 18 miler I said out loud "liar liar pants on fire!" - that was aimed toward the great coach who at the top of the hill told the woman "it's all downhill from here". I kept wondering when all this wonderful downhill was going to come!

22- 9:05; I'm SURE the water stop was in this mile, but I really was feeling the heat as well. I loved having Julie around, because she said to me "in just a bit we'll come down into town and the crowd there will give you a great boost!" Gave me something to look forward to.

23- 8:54; plugging along and another water walk. Right afterward as we were coming into town I pulled out the jelly beans for one last boost. Julie asked me here: "do you think we can still make 3:50?" I emphatically said no....I was done. There was one point around here where someone said "WOW! You are all amazing athletes." Kind of got me, I was...I AM...an athlete. Not something I've been called or even called myself before. Helped me pick up my head and carry on. Lots of people walking inspired me to keep my feet moving. Felt like I was running about a 15 minute mile....

24- 8:27; how in the world I pulled out a mile that fast I'll never know - must've been those magic beans :)

25- 8:55; water walk oh blessed water walk!! There was a point here towards the end I would just talk myself into running to the next water stop and then I could get my break and drink. It was SO hot and I was SO thirsty, but I knew I wanted to RUN a marathon not walk it. I'd done enough of them walking in pain. I had no pain that would make me walk, (well, compared to horrid ITB pain!) so I had to keep running....

26- 8:55; wash cloths to dump over my head and wash the face - amazing! At the last water stop I'd thrown a glass in my face as well as over my head and when the water started running in my mouth I nearly gagged. It was saltier than the ocean - YUCK! So, it felt good to wipe my face off.

.2- 8:40; It was around the start of this last push I saw my family. It was the first time I'd HEARD my hubby cheering for me and the first time I'd seen him actually watching for me and holding the camera up. "GO RACHEL!" I wouldn't have even seen them on the side had my hubby not yelled, I only recognized his voice. Then seeing my kids with their faces pressed against the fence with I Love You's on their hands (sign language) gave me that last and final teary push to the end.

I honestly was amazed when I saw the clock was at 3:48ish as I got near enough to read it. I thought for sure I was closer to 4 hours (again, I'm not good at looking at my Garmin). I knew I was about 4-5 min back on the clock. So, I'd done it - I'd gotten a PR!!

Slick was there after I drug myself out of the misters and after a good reunion I was off to get a popsicle that looked SO amazingly wonderful. I didn't eat it all...it mostly melted, but the cold was nice. Also, the lemon wash cloths at the finish were nice too. I was disappointed there wasn't water right available and that I had to track it down. Oh well, it was all good - I was done!!!

Had a wonderful visit with lots of folks afterward and even got to drag the baby around the finishers corral a bit. Got some good comments too "I hate people like you" from a guy that finished 4:13ish "but I can't say that looking at that cute baby!" Amazing day, and amazing race - felt almost better than the first!!

Thanks for hanging with me this long if you read this far. You deserve a medal! :)

Oh my...SO stiff and sore! I really didn't think there was all that much downhill, but my quads are telling me otherwise. Shin splints are back too - I think that is the worst part of walking right now, so I'm going to stay off of any impact on them until I have no pain. Walked a bit with Kelli on the TM, had to start at ONE mph...and that was pushing it. Things did loosen up a bit and I was able to increase incline and speed. After 20 minutes I went to the bike and rode and read for an hour. Just enough to hopefully spin some of that lactic acid out! 

Still hobbling around, but it's getting better...slowly, but surely. 

Hauling a baby up and down stairs post marathon is probably the hardest part of this recovery business! It's hard enough to drag my butt up and down, but when you have to be responsible for another 12 pound human in your arms and you have to use the hand rail...well, it's just worse!

I am feeling a little more spry today. I actually walked off a curb and didn't have to stop and prepare myself for it first! Upstairs is near manageable, and downstairs is getting there. Walking to get the baby in the middle of the night for feedings wasn't as bad last night either.

Went to the gym and did 45 min on the bike - 11.5 miles @ L5 resistance. Had a great chat with Kelli as well. I can't hardly believe how much about the race we can still re-hash and enjoy it! :)

When she left I hit the TM for 30 minutes to finish out my day care time. Was able to start at about 2.5 mph today and could step on and off the TM without much thought. I think I finished up almost 2 miles total and I read while I walked, someday I might actually finish this book.

I need to get back to a good diet - I'm rationalizing away all those calories I burned Saturday, WAY too quickly! :)

Click HERE for the pics from the race. They're not all pretty, but hey...neither was the race!

Back at it. Legs felt like moving a bit today so I thought I'd start back my 'reverse taper'. 

Went to Boot Camp, which was mostly kick boxing today. Other than the jumping jacks it wasn't too bad, because it was mostly the non-running muscles and side to side stuff. Felt good to get some muscle work in. Only problem - she sent us outside to run. These were the first running steps since the marathon. A nice slow shuffle! I usually leave everyone in the dust, but it was opposite today and it felt so hard. By the third repeat of the .2 loop I was finally starting to feel it all loosen up.

Hit the TM afterward for a couple miles to round it all out. Kelli gave me the confidence to get on and get going by telling me it got better after a while. Only 2 miles, this is easy...right? I thought I'd have to start slow, but the shins felt better at a faster pace, so we kept it faster. Mile 1@9:22, Mile 2@9:05 then the last .1 was 8:34, a nice familiar pace :)

Legs actually feel better now, after running, than they have for a few days. So, I think this will give me the motivation needed to get up and run tomorrow morning. It's cool enough I might just have to wear my new long-sleeve tech shirt :)

Again, click HERE for a link to pictures at the race. 

Okay, so last night I had a dreamy massage...oh seriously, Amelia is AMAZING! From nursing (and from carrying too much stress in my shoulders through the marathon) I've had a lot of tension in my back that I didn't notice until she started working on it. Ahhhh...SO much better today! She did a great job on the legs too, but that's a given - she always does that.

So, last night I went to bed happy and ready to get up for a 5K this morning; however, as I was walking to and from the crib last night my shin was in MAJOR pain. When I got up around 6:30 with baby, just before the alarm, I sat and debated with myself what was better - to get out this beautiful cool morning and run or to give my body a break while in pain/recovery. Well, sleep and a break won out. I hope it was the right decision.

Woke up and got to yoga - between the massage last night and yoga this morning I feel like a new woman! Shin pain isn't as bad as it was last night, I'm hoping for a good run tomorrow morning on fresh feet and legs.

No miles, just chillin' still. My shins actually felt a lot better this morning, but I figure if I give them one more day off I can start at 90-100% with them instead of trying to recover with them at 70-80%. 

Went to the gym and did the bike for 60 min @ L6, total of 17 miles.

Lots to do at home today, so I'm banning myself from the computer. I've spent WAY too much time on here the last 5 days.

I forgot how much I LOVE spin, and what a good workout it is (even though I will still call bikers cheaters when they zoom past me as I run!). I honestly want to attribute my no ITB pain during SGM to spinning while I had my SF and through the pregnancy. I really think it helped to balance out my quads and legs so the ITB's weren't over stressed. I may be way off the mark, but hey - whatever works, right?

Decided to take a 1 mile test run around the track afterward to see how things were recovering. Shins/calves are still a bit tender and since I want to be able to get back on the horse for OBX  I'm going to make sure they are REALLY good to go before I start pounding them into the ground again -roll 'em stretch 'em ice 'em IB 'em! :)

Then I hit the elliptical for 30 minutes. I really just wanted an excuse to read the next chapter in my book and since I knew I had time to myself at the gym this morning I took my book along and hid out from the family for an extra 30 minutes of me time. Sometimes that is as therapeutic as running.

Okay, honestly I'm getting a little peeved with my shins/calves. I have half a mind to make an apt with the PT. I'm still having some good pain going downstairs, but walking is getting better. I think the one mile on Saturday put me back a ways *sigh* 

Either way, back at the gym today. No running until I can get this pain under control! With OBX coming quickly I don't want to sacrifice that. I know I've got it in me to finish it, I need to run smart now (as much as it's killing me, I'm not to the point I WANT to run again!). Did ab's class and then hit the bike for 60 minutes @ L6 resistance. I did the upright bike and was sweating like a pig the whole time, which felt great :) 15 miles total for the hour.

I've been debating between Ogden and UVM for a spring full. I was thinking both, but when I saw they were only 3 weeks apart decided it wasn't worth the money to PAY for a long run. So, I registered for UVM and I'm trying to just be happy about it. I think I'm going to miss not running Ogden, but financially the best a good decision.

I'm actually seeing some marked improvement in the lower leg today! This makes me very happy, I am really getting quite anxious about running again, but I'm trying so hard to be a smart patient runner. If things continue on the same I think Thursday I'll be able to  take the legs for a nice spin, and then we'll work upwards from there!! YIPEE!!

Went to the gym for another spin :) 60 min on the bike at L6 resistance with 15.5 miles this time around.  Then I hit the elliptical for 10 minutes - did 1.0 miles, and I didn't feel any stress on the calf which I was worried about. Stretched for 5 minutes then time was up (I'd spent the first 15 min or so exercising my jaw and voice chatting with Kelli and Wendy). 

Is anybody running the Halloween Half in Provo this year? I'm finally all signed up and ready to rumble! I want to just run and have a fun time like last year, it really is a fun party....anyone? 

More improvement - I can go down stairs without holding on to the hand rails, it's been quite some time since I've been able to do that. There is still a bit of pain, so I'm holding off on the run until I can get a NO pain day, but I'm seeing a light at the end of the tunnel.

I also actually got up early today (something else I haven't done in a while) and went to the gym to get the bike done. 60 min @ L6 - 16 total miles after a short cooldown.

Came home got the kids up and fed then went back for boot camp (I need some resistance work!). Didn't do jumping jacks or shuffling across the floor due to worries about pain and making things worse. Good work out either way!

Now I'm babysitting and being mom for the rest of the day - too bad injury can't help me take a break from that :)

Another early morning (I need to get used to getting up early again!) on the bike at the gym. Good thing is I'm finally starting to get my bike butt back :) 

15 miles in 60 min @ L6 resistance - another good sweat fest. The book I'm reading gets soaked every time. 

Back again an hour later for yoga. It was really good today, targeted a lot of things I needed worked on!

Now to tackle my 'weekend'....

blah, blah, blah...more of the same!

Slept in and went to the gym during day care time. 20 minute circuit of weights with my old personal trainer. I was just harassing him as he was sitting around doing nothing and I was ready to get going "C'mon - 20 minute circuit for me! Lets go!" So, he actually did. It was a lot harder than I would've pushed myself - a great workout, short and not so sweet. Afterward when he started his real training group I finished up with some push-ups and biceps, so a total of about 30 minutes weights.

Then hit the bike for 60 minutes. I wanted to push harder and go further than I have any other day this week, so I changed the miles to pace and tried to keep the pace over 16 mph. Same resistance = L6. I ended up with 16.8 miles at the end of the hour and finished up 17 total with a bit of a cool down.

Now it's 1 responsible adult vs. 7 children (3 with disabilities and my 4) for the rest of the day...wish me luck!

Why is it when I blog about running each day, it doesn't seem to get old. But, when I blog about having to cross-train everyday I feel like it's just always blah, blah, blah....

Lower leg feels better actually AFTER the workout today than it did before, I'm honestly getting really tired of feeling it and want the pain to just GO AWAY!!!

Subconscious self-sabotage this morning: set my alarm for PM not AM. Thank you baby for waking up to eat and getting me out the door.

20 min of elliptical = 1 mile @ L6 resistance

Spin class - another good sweat fest, I really prefer to do hills and resistance on the bike than sprints and fast work...kind of opposite of my running :)

40 min of elliptical = 2 mile @ L6 resistance (plan was to do 1 hr before class, because hubby is going rock climbing today; however, the sabotage made me relinquish plans and do it this way. He had to wait an extra 30 minutes for me to get home, but was nice about it).

Last week was a big fat goose-egg on running miles for me! The good news: I really don't think this week will be. The leg is really starting to feel better and there are even times of the day that I don't feel the pain. THAT is a huge accomplishment for this leg lately. I think I'm going to try some test miles Wednesday morning if healing continues on this way.

Got up and out early again, it really makes a difference in my mood when I do this. Went to the gym, but was a little late so I only got 45 min on the bike before I had to be home. 14 miles @ L7 resistance.

Kids are back on track today, so got them off to school then went back to the gym for another set. 45 min on the elliptical 4.5 miles@ L10 resistance. Then ran right into ab's class - she kept me sweating for the next 30 minutes. I was going to finish up my last 15 min on the bike, but baby filled his diaper and so my plans had to change.

My husband is starting p90X tonight, I told him I'd do it with him...this should be interesting...

I am getting SO excited! The pain is nearly gone in my leg! More and more often I stop and wonder when the last time I even felt a small pang. One full day of no pain, then I will run again....oh, I can't wait!!!

I was going to get up early and go to the gym, but I got wondering what I would do during day care time if I got an hour+ of cardio in this morning. I'd usually do body sculpting, but doing p90X is doing a good job of taking care of that, so I slept in and did my cardio during day care time. 

60 minutes on the bike 15.5 miles @ L6 resistance. No cool down time, but it was harder to keep the 16+mph pace today than it was Friday! Makes me feel good that my legs are getting a good workout and a bit fatigued.

30 minutes on the elliptical (ended @ 25 min, baby wasn't happy in nursery) = 2.5 miles @ L10 resistance. I really like this new machine I'm using. It doesn't use arms and you can adjust the angle of the ramp, so I put it on the hardest that uses all muscles and then do my arms in a running motion - it's my faux running fix.

Tonight p90X is plyometrics, I usually love doing these...we'll see how an hour of it treats me. Last night was chest and back and abs, it was a good workout. Not too sore this morning, but I'm more of an endurance girl, so I would do the push-ups on my knees and do them during the minute we had until exhaustion. If I did men's push-ups I'd only get 3 in and have to quit...it's just like running. I don't go fast, but I can go far.

Okay, lets start with last night. p90x was plyometrics, jumping + bad calf didn't really seem like a good idea. I did what I could, but was pleasantly surprised there was little pain. One exercise they have you hop on one foot - that one got me, but the rest were actually okay! I was worried about how it would feel this morning, but it was great - NO pain!

Got up early and did my 'faux running' on the elliptical. 60 minutes @ L10 resistance 5.5 miles.

After getting kiddos off went back for Boot camp. It was a good circuit training today. She did have us run about .35 miles or so. Honestly, I debated, but thought I'd give it a try. I ended up with the least amount of limping and gimping since about 2+ weeks before SGM. Another good sign! I also was able to do jumping jacks etc with equal weight on the feet. I can feel it a bit now, but it's just a small throb, not even close to pain I was having even just a few days ago.

Hit the bike to round out the 90 minutes of day care time (I spent 10+ minutes jabbing to Kelli and Wendy, so I had to cut the time down a tad). 20 minutes @ L7 = 5.0 miles.

Tonight is arms, back and abs. It's crazy to watch my husband gimping around, but still ready to take it on again tonight. He's doing great!

Just keep moving...just keep moving.

Leg is still getting better! Less obvious pain every day, but I'm still waiting for that one magical day where it all falls into place.

arms and shoulders weren't too bad last night for p90x, but I think it helped that the heaviest weights we have are 3 pounds :) Craig was using the resistance band. Ab's was good as well.

Got up early and did my 60 minutes of faux running on the elliptical. Almost 200 pages into "The Poisonwood Bible", a good read. 6.0 miles @ L10.

home to get the kids off then back for yoga. I'm feeling spoiled since it's yoga for p90X tonight as well. 2 yogas in one day!!

Another day...

45 min on the bike 12 miles @ L6 resistance

30 min on the elliptical (baby wasn't happy and had to cut short) 3.0 miles @ L10 resistance.

Made an appointment with PT today, because I'm finally just too frustrated to deal with this anymore. It's not until Monday 11/1 though...I've got Halloween half I'm running come heck or high water, so I guess he can repair what damage I do there :)

Look at me! I have miles! Whoopee!!

Woke up and went to spin class from 7-8 AM, went home switched shoes grabbed kids and their bikes and ran a warm-up mile over to the Stake center.

Gotta love the Stake 5K, when there are only 5 women running and your best competition is pushing a jogging stroller it's fun :) I tried to keep up with the lead male pack and I did for the first 1.5 miles, but when I thought I could catch them on the downhill they pulled away. I did pass a teenager with about 1/3 of a mile to go, but other than that I was alone 90% of the time. Well, my daughter and her friend rode their bikes alongside me. I could beat them on the uphill, but once we hit the downhill they were gone - cheaters!

I then turned around and ran back to get my friend who was running, she has been fighting knee injuries, but was pushing right along! I ran her in then we waited for awards. During that time it started to POUR! So, right after awards I gathered the kids and took off to run home in the rain behind my son on his bike (so it was slow, but I didn't want to lose him), my daughter and her friend took off...they weren't waiting around for us in the rain! Finished up a bit at home to round out 2 miles of cool down.

The running felt good, I wore my compression sleeves and the calves didn't really bother me. I can feel the pain, but I didn't have to change my stride at all because of it. I think I'm going to test them out and run this next week.

Last night we did legs and back for p90X and we've got Kenpo tonight. My husband is feeling good and although he doesn't always WANT to do it, he's motivated and sticking with it.

Garmin wasn't on for the warm-up mile. Race AP: 7:46 splits: 7:41, 8:11, 7:27, 7;11 (last .03 - the course is short only 3.03). Cool down AP: 9:45; splits: 9:40, 9:52

Oh so tired. When I woke up to go out for a run this morning the snow was just starting to fall, and it was windy and cold. I opted to skip step class and hit the TM today. 

60 min @ L11 on the elliptical - 5.9 miles

2.15 miles on the TM; AP 9:04

blah, blah, blah on the shins. Pain is worse, but running is okay...I just tired of it all so I'm just going to shut up about it until I go to the PT next Monday.

P90X last night was shoulders and back - a gazillion push-ups and pull-ups with Abs afterward, so I opted out of resistance today at the gym and just did cardio. I'm scared to run outside...it's SO cold! I went from hot outdoor running to cold, I needed an interim period.

45 minutes on the elliptical L12 = 4.0 miles

45 minutes on the TM = 5 miles, AP 9:00. Started at a 9:22 then ended at a 7:53 and it turned 5.00 just as time ran out, perfect!

Plyometrics tonight for P90X, I hope I can get the kids to bed on time so that I'm not up late exercising. The mornings AND nights are getting tough on the sleep end of things.

Baby must be on a growth spurt, because he's forgotten how to sleep at night again  *sigh*

Because of the lack of sleep I haven't been getting up early, so the miles are thin, but I figure that isn't a bad thing right now. I'm still getting good x-training cardio in.

Boot camp class this morning, she did a bunch of push-ups, lunges and side leg lifts. Between plyometrics last night and class today my legs are feeling it.

Then I hit the TM for a few slow miles. AP: 9:26 for 3 miles. I started rather slow, just wanted to plod along today, but then increased speed after 1.5 miles and ended at a 7:58 mile. I figure winter is the time to build my mileage back and get ready for workout training in Jan/Feb for a spring marathon. So, I'm not worried about speed...it will come. Just enjoying running and running what I feel right now.

Pounding headache this morning, so I decided to make it a simple yoga day and take a rest. 

Arms and back last night for p90X and tonight is yoga. WOW that Tony sure loves his warrior series! 

my.mind.is.running.out.of.motivation.to.do.anything...

Took a "mom day" - Halloween @ school, work and bed early so no P90X either. Hubby was faithful and got it done though.

The most good, clean running fun you can have running. It was crowded at the beginning and we spent the first .25 mile walking, because you couldn't hardly move due to the tight traffic after the start line. 

I had a wonderful time pacing Julie to an 11 minute PR! I love to be with others as they conquer their running goals. 

I will write more tomorrow, it's been a crazy day with hardly a moment to breathe. Becca and I ran back to the cars from the finish and that was almost as fun as the race itself! :) Got to have good fun times with SO many bloggers...I'm off to bed, more tomorrow after an early morning and a nap!