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

Slept in. Man, the best thing about a taper is the sleep in excuses I can come up with!

6 miles on the TM - 50:30  AP: 8:25 first 4 at 8:34 while I chatted away about yummy cake and Ogden nerves with Wendy. She left, so I plugged into the ipod and picked it up. 8:27, 7:47 w/a fast .2 finish at 6:58 - all at 1%

Then, I had decided to skip spin and run first because I have a book I'm trying to get through. It is a good book...it is time! So, I went to the spin bike on the track and did a good push 65% effort for 50 minutes while I read. I miss spinning and reading. Makes both things a lot easier and more enjoyable.

Planked it out to finish it all off 90/90/90 - now off to quell this tornado that is ripping through the house from the weekend....

Happy 5th Birthday to my 2nd oldest son! 

I was glad to have company on the early morning loop. Got me out and going this morning, but I'm tired now! On the run I had toyed with the idea of running a few tempo miles after the HS, but decided I'd decide when I got there :) So, we just took it nice and easy and had a wonderfully relaxing run until 12600S and...THE hill. I hate that hill. Just so you know. Every time we've run up it I feel like it sucks the life out of me and the flat/slight uphill for the next mile feels like drudgery. Well, we started running up it and the same ol' thing happened, but then I caught myself. "Rachel, what in the crap is wrong with you?!? You CAN run hills and this thing is a baby. Short and Sweet then it flattens out. Why do you chicken out of it and let everyone pull so far ahead each time?!? Pull your head out and let's go!" So, I did. I charged ahead and put my money where my feet were :) Left everyone (but Chad, until he let me) behind and I felt like a gazillion bucks. It wasn't going to get me today. No way! I like this new found mental toughness and belief in myself.

After about another mile and about in front of the HS I was feeling tired. Why the crap did I feel so tired? This is way too hard of an effort for out 8:30's! Crap. HA! Then Paul told me the last split was a 7:55 (on his watch). Oh, well now that makes a little more sense. At least it made me feel good that I wasn't killing it for an 8:30! This was the beginning of the downhill and I decided since I'd accidentally hit MP that last mile we should just go for it. Paul stuck with me and just let me beat myself into the ground :)

It was harder than I would've liked it to be, but afterward it didn't seem all that bad and I realized that I need to give myself some credit. Most people don't go out and bust out a 4/10 mile tempo 3 days after a hard workout and have an AP just 15-20 seconds faster than their MP for their last two runs. I'm doing a good job and if it felt hard...great. Get used to it, the whole 26.2 miles of Ogden isn't going to feel like a party, but you CAN run that fast when you feel like crap and want to throw up (bad dinner choice last night...I don't think curry likes me). Confidence. I'm finding it everywhere now.

Finished nice and strong along the last flatish mile. I really can't complain much at all about this run.

AP: 8:17; splits: 8:47, 8:36; 8:24, 8:24; 8:29; 8:39; 7:58; 7:47; 8:02; 7:48.  Oh, and the hill was in the 8:29 mile - BAM!

Bought some balloons to surprise my birthday boy at home. He was already up, but I think he liked them! Got all kiddos off to school then went and did Spin class (new teacher and it was GREAT to have some different workouts. I really liked a few of them! - tough class, good times). Then met up with hubby after his workout and we took baby boy to his swim class. He loves the water!

That is all about my workouts....but only the beginning of a CRAZY day.

home, showered, spotlight and pick up birthday boy, get older boy from school, pick up 3 friends and go to chuck e cheese (heaven help me I hate that place!), hubby took car to get brakes done (made appointment at dealership across the street and told 1.5-2 hrs, perfect!), played and ate kuk-e cheese pizza (I did salad bar and just a piece of kuk), hubby went to get car since no updates, oh, they just started working on it. WTHeck?!? GRRR! Never cross a mother scorned, especially one with 6 kids all running around chuck e cheese with no tokens and disgusting pizza! Since I refused to spend another dollar at that dump the kids had fun treasure hunting all around and found enough tokens to not only entertain themselves, but earn 50 more tickets each! See, a tight wad mother raises resourceful children :) A full 4 hrs after dropping it off we finally got the car, packed up and headed home (had to re-arrange with parents since their kids were now home 2 hrs later than promised!), had to miss volleyball practice (got some to cover coaching for me, but Lauren missed out), people started coming in and out like crazy while we were trying to do cake and presents and the phone was ringing every 10 seconds and AAAHHHH!!! mom's head was about to explode. finished with donut cake (kripy's of course) topped with bugs/snakes/frogs, packed back in the car, off to chick-fil-a for dinner (shove it down in 20 min or less!) then raced to get to "The Avengers" in time. Got sat down with birthday boy's fav treats, soda and popcorn. Baby who hadn't had a nap made life miserable for dad and I the whole time, finally fell asleep about 2 min before the credits rolled....awesome. Home by 9:30 and kids finally in bed and asleep by 10:30. whew...seriously, I'm SO glad this day is over. What a stressful rat race! too many things going on and going wrong. Birthday boy loved it though, so he went to bed a happily fulfilled 5 year old. Please don't make me go to chuck e cheese anytime in the near future...please!

oh, and could someone please tell me how to detox from this ONE horrible day of eating. I think my thighs grew 5 inches today. blech.

NOT in a good mood today. I just want to be done and sleep. best to just leave me to my own devices. Almost didn't go to the gym, but I sucked it up and just did it.

6 miles on the TM

3 miles @ 1% 8:34, 8:34, 8:27 (until .25 left and the nursery called me. I was SO ticked off I didn't want to deal with baby and his problems and I didn't want to have to take him and go only 3 miles in...grrr, I was just starting to feel better!!! So, I wanted to just finish the last mile before I went down there. 10mph pace (6:00) for the last 1/4 mile until I was done with the 3 miles - didn't feel too hard!). Luckily it was only a diaper change. I really might have just left him there and ran away today if it was anything else!)

3 more on the TM @ 1% - 8:20, 8:13, 8:00 with another pickup the last .25 at 6:58 pace. Walked a cool down to finish the show I'd been watching.

TT: 49:50; AP: 8:18

Don't ask me to do anything else today, I'm done. Dumb party hangovers!

Feeling better today, a good run with friends helped too. 

Urban Trail loop with George, Chad, Paul, Christine and Kim. You know what I discovered today? Hills are a lot easier on 'fresh' legs. That Daybreak hill wasn't nearly as bad as it usually is and my split on the hill was 8:30...nice. Amazing how you can run faster and feel better when you don't beat yourself to a pulp every day!!

AP: 8:41 splits: 9:03, 8:47, 8:31, 8:16, 9:06, 8:44, 8:49, 8:12.

I really need to slow down :) It's taper time and I'm lovin' the ease of speed!

now onto the x-training for the day: yard work and maybe a bike ride with baby in the baby seat on the back while brother is in school.

I'M FREAKIN' OUT HERE!!! SOMEONE TELL ME IT IS GOING TO BE OKAY!!!

My husband was just diagnosed with strep. Yes, I kissed him yesterday, why? I'm not sure :) I'm SO sad and upset I really don't know what to do. I feel like even if I get on antibiotics today (which it sounds like the doc will be willing to do) I'm still going to be kicked down a notch from trying to fight this thing. Please, someone save me...p l e a s e...

***Well, the anitbiotics were called in and I'll go pick them up momentarily. I refuse to get sick! Since hubby was home I got the lawn edged and mowed early so that the grass would be taken with the garbage today and wouldn't sit all week. Then did the rest of the misc yard work that needed to be done so that Saturday will be a free day.

The best part about hubby being home is that I put baby down for a nap, sent the 5yr old to play and took off on a bike ride! YAY! I finally got out on my bike again. I was going to do a short sprint tri at the gym, but with baby's bad behavior recently I was lamenting having to take him again this week! Thank you daddy - sick days are welcome...just as long as you aren't sick! :) So, I did a 24 mile bike ride instead.

This is the same ol' loop I've done before, and my goal was to not stop, but keep pace. I did end up having to stop a few times for construction, and accident and lights, but otherwise I carried on. I don't know how crazy people like Brent can ride 20mph! I tried to keep a good uphill pace, but the downhill was hard to pedal too! I had a crazy headwind on the downhills and I would get tired pedaling downhill. How crazy is that?!? Anyway, on the flat without a headwind I could pull a 20-22, but it was a comfortably hard push. wow. Maybe bikers aren't such cheaters after all :)

I had an average of 16.2mph for the ride, topped out on one downhill at 35.6mph - yeeehaaw! I was just glad my average was faster (just barely) than Jake can run a marathon...hasn't always been that way!

A beautiful, amazing, wonderful, needed run with Smooth, Karen and Slick (for a bit!). I really needed just a nice, easy relaxing run with some good peeps. Kept reminding me how much I enjoy running for the social aspects of it all. 

Thanks ladies for listening to me unload all the family secrets :) I can't wait for Ogden! It is always a party at the top!!!

AP: 9:18

I still had my watch set to bike from yesterday. I realized this and changed it about 2.5 miles in, so I can't give true splits. But, we did 8:40's and an 8:16 on the way down the last couple miles - excellent!