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

I'm honestly getting tired of not sleeping well *sigh*

TM day - walked 10 min (.5 miles) at 8% grade @ 3 mph; ran 1 @ 9:05; walked .25 on 6% grade @ 3mph; ran 2 @ 9:05; walked .25 @ grade; ran 1 @ 9:05; walked .25 cool down.

This felt rough today. Not sleeping well and still having sore quads made a rough warm-up this morning, but by the time I got to my 2 miles in the middle I felt better. Again, reminding me that it is always those first few miles that are the hardest!

stretching and weights on the bosu to round out the 90 minutes.

Volleyball tonight, so not much shoulders on weights...I'll be sore enough from serving and hitting!

So, let me start with last night. Volleyball was a disaster! Not only do I have to drive 30 miles (I'm only substituting this round), but hubby has to get home early and I miss my kids on family night; however, 2 new girls on the team had spring break this week and decided it wasn't their responsibility to tell anyone OR get substitutes so 4 of us got left high and dry. We were playing a team that was cocky as all get out and well - they think they're all that, but they really don't even play well!

Ugghhh...anyway, on the first play (after an official forfeit and we're just playing for fun) I go up to take a block on an over-set and the setter comes under the net. Well, I land on her foot and twist my ankle. You know when you have so much pain it takes your breath away? Yeah...oh, and it's the same ankle I twisted last month as well! Anyway, I wasn't happy and was doing my best not to just sit and hyper-ventilate and cry! I'm telling you...it wasn't good. Luckily, one of the girls on the team works in a PT office and taped my ankle up so I could deal with it. I got to be the fat  gimpy pregnant lady....SO fun! Anyway, we called it off for the second game and just left. My neighbor I play with, Amy, and I went to Chili's afterward to drown our sorrows/frustrations in chips and salsa. VERY therapeutic!

So, needless to say - anytime I rolled over or the sheets pulled my foot last night I awoke in pain. Another restless night. Before getting out of bed, I wrote the alphabet with my ankle hoping it would move :) I could hardly walk on it, but was determined! I just needed to get it moving.

The gym has body sculpting and I knew it wouldn't be a ton of work on the ankle so I went, but moving a bit really helped loosen up the ankle; however it was still pretty painful to walk on it. So, I went to the TM afterward hoping I could just walk 30 minutes on an uphill grade. After 10 minutes I thought I'd try just a couple minutes of running.

Once it got moving it felt pretty good...lets go for 5 minutes....okay a full mile....hmmm, feeling good....lets do 2....TM is going to stop at 2.5 I'll stop then....stops at 2.6, let's just finish 3....feeling GREAT don't want to stop....okay one more....okay, okay, I'll stop.

I seriously got going and just felt GREAT. It's the first time since I've gotten back that I just found my rhythm and felt like I could go and go and go. If it wasn't for already being 15 minutes over day care time I may have gone more!

I'm pretty sure the trick was starting slow. My first mile was 9:50, then 9:40, the third I did the majority at 9:30, but bumped up the last .25 to 8:49 so I'm assuming it was a 9:20, feeling so good I took it up to 9:05 for the first 1/2 of the 4th mile, then went faster each tenth until ending at an 8:00mm. I still just felt GREAT!

The ankle was painful, but worth it :) The rest of the body felt great and the pain subsided (or I just got really good at ignoring it). It is still tender and I'm icing it now, but I am on such a high about running 4 straight (except the stop/start at 2.6) I'm just happy!! After a run like today I KNOW I'll be good by April to run the SLC 1/2!! Hopefully, I'll feel as good, but not have a gimpy ankle :) Also, next week I'll be heading back to the BBK's (in the back of course!)!!

Ankle is MUCH better today. Still some swelling and tenderness, but when I woke up this morning I didn't have to think about before I walked on it - always a good sign. 

Boot camp this morning - I swear Heidi was out to kill us today!! We did 3 runs outside during class (only .2 each) - felt slow and tired.

Hit the TM to finish up 4. My goal is to do 4 each day (broken up or not) then at least a consistent 6 on Saturday. Walked for 5 min to warm up, then I started at a 10mm, holy cow! I was running next to Kelli while she was pushing a 7:30 or something for her last 2-3 miles and I was breathing harder than she was. It was still slow and difficult, but I stuck with it.

Then...I hit the stupid emergency stop - UUGGGHHHH! Well, after restarting and trying to figure out all the math, I got back at the 10mm and trudged through the first mile. Second mile I hit a 9:45mm, then the last mile I bumped it up one tenth mph every tenth of a mile. Ended up at an 8:40 mm for the AP (starting at 9:30mm). A total of 3.4 on the TM straight.

I definitely am a distance runner - those first few miles ALWAYS kick my butt and are hard, but give me a few and I finally fall into my rhythm. Can't wait to build back to mileage I like, slowly, but surely!

Pansy...I'm just a pansy. Was going to get up early and try an outside run - but it was too cold and I was too tired -at 10:30 PM when I set my alarm :)

Yoga - I really love yoga, our teacher does mostly stretching, not party tricks. Good class today!

TM - tired and ornery, hitting 4 was going to be a challenge so I took it easy

10 min walking 10% grade 3.0 mph (.5 miles)

Run 1 mile @ 10mm - then a much needed potty break

walk .1 mile @ 3 mph

Run 1 mile @ 9:50

walk .2 miles @ 3mph

Run 1 mile @ 9:31

walk .2 @ 3mph

Run last mile (#4) at 9:22  for the first 1/2 then bumped it down each tenth 9:13, 9:05, 8:57, 8:49, then 8:30. I don't know what the AP was...probably  9:10 or so.

Walk .5 to cool down

Taking it easy was well worth paying $2 extra for more time in the nursery, my head just wasn't in it today. Ankle is still swollen and tender, but little/no pain with walking or running. Yesterday my neighbor saw my ankle and said "you should wrap that up or something, it's pretty ugly" and my hubby thought I had a golf ball in there. It's definitely not pretty, but I'm glad the pain is minimized AND the swelling so far today :)

Another blah, blah, blah morning. Kids not cooperating in the morning, running late, backpack stuff all over...I'm sure most of you know these kind of mornings.

Got to the gym just hoping to keep moving for the 90 minutes, no Kelli - thought I'd missed her and she'd decided to brave the break in weather :( Started walking, again NO plan and I was willing to just walk!

Then Kelli came in - YAY! Someone to whine to :) Thanks a TON Kelli for putting up with my whining craziness on the TM today - I really needed you today!!

Walked 10 min (.5 miles) at 10% grade

okay, I'll try running - 1 @ 10mm...hmmm, okay I'll do 2...next one @ 9:50...feeling pretty decent, one more....3rd mile @ 9:40mm....by the time I go to turn the speed down I'm at 3.54 miles (remember I walked the first 1/2, so I was only .04 over, but...), so I'll just finish the last one, 4th mile @ 9:31. When I finished my 4th mile I was actually finally feeling like I can run, so I bumped the speed down to 9:22mm and decided to get that 5th mystery mile over with. The last .35 miles I decided to just get it done and kept bumping the speed faster and faster to just be done! I ended at an 8:10 or so for the last .05 - I'm sure the AP was around a 9:10.

Again, I was feeling good at the end of the run and am confident in tomorrow's 6 or 7- even all w/out stopping now! Plus it will be outside which always makes running easier - the morning and the cold will be my nemesis' tomorrow :)

I finished off my last 20 minutes walking an 8% grade @ 3mph, I had a total of 1.5 miles uphill walking, 5 straight running at an AP of 9:30 - not too shabby. Still sad to think about how that used to be an easy day, but we're working back slowly - body first right now....body first!

Oh, as a side note this is the first time I've run 5 miles since Christmas Eve, and hit more than 20 miles in a week since the first week of November. This week and today really are a turning point for me!!

I drug my pansy butt out of bed at 4:15 to get it all in before needing to be at the 5 mile water stop for Riverton 1/2 by 9:00 - honestly it wasn't too bad, because I wasn't sleeping well anyway.

Me and all the stuff you'd need to survive in 20 below weather headed down to Lehi. The JRP is a bit scarier at 5:15 in the morning, in the dark, all alone....

3.5 miles South then a turn around and head back, easy cheesy - okay maybe not as easy as I'd hoped, but not as hard as I had feared. I forgot about wind - dreaded wind! When I turned I ran into the head wind and uggghhh, but due to the curving trail it was just a cross-wind at times.

@ 7 even I had a bit more to go so I finished up the run and rounded it out at 7.25. Splits: 9:26, 9:21, 9:28, 9:21, 9:31, 9:37, 9:37, 9:09 (for the .25) AP: 9:28. I figure it's nothing to brag about, but for my first cold, windy, outside 'long' run - I'll take it!!

Drove to the Legacy Center for spin - got there the same time as Becca. Had about 20 min to kill before class, so I hit the track and finished up the last .75 mile to round out 8. Then did spin - it sure is a LOT harder after a 'long' run! I probably should've eaten something between as well.

It was GREAT to volunteer at the Riverton 1/2! SO many fun running friends to cheer on and there were quite a few fast finishers for such a hilly course! I'm so excited to run SLC 1/2 now, I remember how great that 'racing high' is! CONGRATS to everyone who ran, it was a great day!!