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

I woke up and felt a little ambitious...so I did my high country loop. NASTY uphills in the foothills between Butterfield and Yellowfork canyons. I haven't attempted this run in probably nearly a year!

Hills were tough, but I felt good. Mondays always seem to be good running days for me, especially after a rest day Sunday.

AP: 9:00 splits: 9:47, 9:41, 9:46, 8:34, 8:12, 8:18, 7:55(last .3) 641 ft of elevation gain over the loop, uphill is obviously first :)

**step and ab's class at the gym...I'm tired!!**

No ambition today. 

Confession: shins have been bothering me a bit, but it usually fades by the first 1/4 mile or so. It used to bother me after a run (funny walking) but they have gotten better with icing, stretching and my style of scraping them. This morning, it never faded - they hurt the whole darn cotton-pickin' time! Icing is now on the docket for the rest of the day.

New 4 mile route - hill of death in the middle. It's not too bad, it's just 1+ miles of gradual decent uphill. I do like this better than the other 4 mile route I usually do with the jogger though, so it will probably become a regular. Nice flat/downhill at the beginning and end. It's nice to begin and end on a good note :) Felt slow and heavy the whole run, I hope these shin splints go away soon!

AP: 9:11 splits:  9:09, 8:57, 9:45, 8:59, 8:38 (last .25)

Kept the miles short, because I'm hiking with my sister today. DN gave you a free tram pass for Snowbird, so we're going to take the tram up then hike down -yup, the lazy way :)  I think it's about 4-5 miles, so I didn't want to overextend my legs since I want to try and hit 7 miles tomorrow. It will just me her and I (and baby Fartlek of course), so it will be nice to not have any kids to motivate/bribe down the trail. It should go much faster.

I've been a bad blogger lately! I haven't been around enough to check on all your blogs, so I apologize. Thanks for supporting me and checking on me anyway. I hope to get out and make the rounds on blogs today...so make it a good one for me! :)

Nice run this morning, the shins felt better - not cured, but SO much better than yesterday. I opted for my 6 mile, more uphill miles, route  instead of my planned 7 that does the first 3.5 downhill. Sore quads from 5 miles of hiking downhill from the tram at Snowbird. I seriously don't know how you trail runners do it! I'll stay snails pace on the trails for now :)

I'm going to baby these shins again today and do the scraping/massage tonight again (it seems to help the most!) and then take Friday completely off running to rest for my 15 on Saturday.

I think I need some running company. Everyone I see out running I think I recognize...I thought I saw an old friend from HS today, but nope just wishful thinking :) I also picked out Teena, Kelli, Barnes and Julie from the gym. None of them were really them, I tell ya...I must be going crazy, or am just really lonely. Anyone up for a 15 on Saturday? I'd appreciate some company so I don't imagine I'm chasing you all during the run anyway :)

AP: 9:02 splits: 9:41, 8:37, 8:51, 8:47, 9:20 (my hill of death - so proud I kept it under 9:30! and kind of by accident as well), 9:04, 8:30 (last .2)

**Boot camp class kicked my hiney today! we ran 3 repeats of our .2 loop in the back of the gym, so I did 2 more at the end to round out an extra mile. The last one with the class I was sprinting (practice for my race with KP), then the last 2 I'd sprint down, then recover back. Good little shot of speed work**

Cool, crisp morning with the sun back lighting the Wasatch Mountains. I almost felt like I needed gloves this morning! What happened to summer?

I was a little scared of the 7 mile loop today. My quads and calves were so sore from the downhill hike and boot camp, but rolling and a bit of ibuprofen last night did the trick. Still a bit of stiffness and the shins a tad sore, but nothing horrible.

Saw the same guy at the beginning of my loop and then just past 1/2 way. I'm pretty sure it was the same kid that passed me when I did this loop last time. First two miles honestly felt effortless! It was nice to just coast on downhill. On the way back I made a conscious effort to follow the Rools and increase turnover on the last hill climb of death, but I still barely pushed a 9:30...shoot! Someday before SGM I will run this loop and have that mile stay under a 9:00! I will, I will, I will!

Now off to yoga...ahhh! Best part of my week. Then tomorrow will be a 'rest' day to give my legs a healing day to hopefully be good and ready for 15. I'm still open for any takers that would like to join lonely 'ol me....

AP: 9:01 splits:  9:00, 8:34, 8:50, 9:14, 9:19, 9:29, 8:53, 8:23 (last .25)

Rest day today :) I was SO excited to sleep in and not worry about if baby was going to wake up at the right time or sleep after I left - ahhh! 

Hit the elliptical for 60 minutes on L9. Good reading time :)  Baby had a blowout that I had to go take care of, so it was broken into a 40 min and 20 min session, but either way it was a good relaxing morning and I just got to work a little more soreness out of the legs.

What a wonderful run! Baby got up at 3:45 and I was afraid he'd wake dad up and need to eat before I got back from my run, so I had to leave a bottle. However, miracle of miracles when I got back everyone was still nestled all soundly in bed! Just added to the beauty of the morning.

I got out and ran our stake 5K loop to get 3 extra miles in before my SIL came to join me for a long run. It was also nice to get a home potty break and drink! She is also training for SGM and it will be her first full, so it's been fun rehashing marathon training advice. I probably need it just as much as she does! She was on a 12 mile long run and I was 15, so I did mine first  so she could sleep in and we could end together. It was SO SO SO stinkin' nice to have company! Made the miles fly by, with baby situation and everything this morning, I think next week  I may try the 'drive and run' long run - so give me your best offer for a 16 miler next week! :)

We did what I like to call my 'borders of Herriman' run. We run past or close to the N,S,E and W borders of the city a nice tour of the land :) There are 2 nasty parts of this run...Emmeline up through the foothills, but it's a decent grade not straight up. Then the 'hill of death' home, if you notice this is a constant part of my runs - since I live in the foothills I always have to run up this long uphill grade to get home. No wonder I like to 'drive and run'! My SIL is the first to come with me up the hill of death and see just how fun those 2 miles of uphill grade really are :) It seriously isn't a bad uphill...it just goes on and on forever! Especially at the end of a long run, it gets to be really fun!

Note to self: only did a drinking fountain stop about mile 8.5 - I need more fuel for anything longer than this. I think it will help my legs carry through better, but oh how I hate the gu! Must find a way to drop or bring fuel and water for next week.

Either way it was a beautiful early morning run, and we got to see some tri folks getting ready for the Herriman tri. Always fun to catch some of that race day excitement! I felt good the whole run, and felt that I kept the pace nice and easy, and maintained a consistent effort on the uphill portions. Shins are probably  a 1 or 2 of 10 on a pain scale which is magnificent compared to what it used to be. I think getting new shoes will help a lot as well. I'm pushing over 400 on the pair I've got now, I just hate shelling out the dough for a new pair. Any suggestions on a good cheap place to get some new ones?

AP: 9:07 splits: 8:39, 9:30, 9:08, 9:13, 8:52, 9:01, 9:17, 8:38, 8:55, 9:18, 8:46, 9:17, 9:24, 9:37, 9:12, 8:35 (last .1)