Running For Trevor

There was no way I was missing the gymnastics finals last night so it was yet another late night.  Totally worth it!!  I was obsessed with the mag 7 in 1996.  Bought the books, the t-shirts, got front row seats to the tour, made my Mom buy me a leotard and built my own balance beam in the house. ha!   I am totally feeling just like my 10 year old self again watching the Fab 5.  I love it!!  I will now spend the rest of the day searching for pictures of me in my unitard...

Anyway I did a tempo run this morning aiming for a controlled marathon pace.  1 mile warmup 6:57, 6:49, 6:47, 6:45, 6:40, 6:39, 6:27.  It turned into more of a progression tempo.  The first 6 felt good and controlled, the last mile felt hard.  2 mile cooldown. 

PM:  5 miles easy.  Started with the pup, she lasted a whole 3 minutes so the rest was alone.  8:10 pace.

8.5 miles easy.  I wish I could keep the morning weather right now around all year long.  Love it!  Planks/pushups afterwards.

Does anyone in UT county want to run long with me tomorrow morning  14-16 miles easy pace?

I am running some very low key charity 5k's the next two weekends so I'll be moving my LR's to Friday.  I am not planning to taper or go for PR's at either of these races.  My focus is far from the 5k right now so I will just use them both as workouts and shoot for 10k-hm pace.

Question of the day.  In your opinion which course is faster TOU or UVM?  TOU has less overall elevation gain but my thoughts are that UVM is faster because it has more overall loss and the last 6 miles are gradually aided.  hmmm

PM:  3.1 miles

15.1 mi from my house to Payson Canyon park and then back with an added circle around Payson.  I just wanted around 2 hours on my feet this morning and did not care so much about distance or pace.  Some company or maybe even an ipod would have been nice but I did not have either so I was just stuck with my thoughts.  Not a bad run but I'd be lying if I didn't admit I was pretty much toast by the end.  7:48 pace

Feet started to bother me in the last mile so I slowed way down.  I've got to get this figured out if I want to race a marathon in 6 weeks.  hmmm

About a month ago I was asked to speak at this race about my running story and how running has helped me cope with the death of my brother.  This race is in honor of a little boy that passed away from my home town of Nephi.  

 I got to the race early and ran the course as a warmup.  I was quickly reminded of the awful canyon headwinds in Nephi and the constant uphill gradient.  I have ran one race in Nephi before in 2010 and this course was basically the same except the uphill climb through the cemetery to run past baby Cade's grave.  

After I gave my brief speech which I feel went really well I was able to relax and just run.  Running was the easy part today.  I was not wearing racing flats and put no pressure on myself at all.  Just a good hard effort is all I wanted.  About 6 guys went out in front of me which was just fine I did not feel like going out fast at all.  6:26, 6:26, 6:19, 6:03.  I ended up catching all of the guys on the hills and finished in 1st place with the police escort.  The course was a little long which is to be expected in these small town 5ks.  I finished with an overall pace of 6:20 which seemed perfect and it was definitely a great workout.

Ran back and found my sister who is 31 weeks pregnant.  I ran in with her and then later did an additional 3 mile cool down.  It was a great day and I must say that 5ks are a great way to get in a good workout. 

 How about that men's 10k!!!!!!!  So cool to see Rupp perform so well. 

PM:  2 miles EASY shakeout jog with Izzy.

AM #1:  7 miles Santaquin Orchard Loop

AM #2:  3 miles at the track with the pup

9.5 miles Santaquin Orchard Loop.  I was lacking pep in my step this morning....pretty typical for a Monday.  Averaged just under 8 min pace.

Planks/pushups

PM:  3 miles treadmill 8:22 pace.  I gotta get used to that awful beast as morning sunlight slowly dwindles away. :(:(

I spent a good chunk of the afternoon researching metatarsalgia which I am about 99% sure is what is going on with my feet.  So many red flags!

• 2nd toe larger than the first. Check!
• Wearing high heeled shoes. Check!
• Intense training or activity. Check!
• Pronating and flat footed running. Check!

So the game plan is to A quit wearing high heeled shoes.  This one is going to be tough. :(  And B I went ahead and ordered some ball of foot inserts.  They were only $4.50 so if they don't help it is no biggie but definitely worth trying.  I feel like if I had more support just in the forefront the pain would not be nearly as bad.  This little injury is not really sidelining me too bad and I only notice when I run 13+ miles but I really want to go into TOU 100% healthy.

9 mile tempo 7:00, 6:54, 6:44, 6:48, 6:34, 6:44, 6:44, 6:38, 6:28.  Paces are a little inconsistant but the effort felt very consistant.  This was done on a double loop with some good rollers.  I had a harder time getting into a rythm than last weeks tempo and the first 2 miles felt harder than the pace but after I got rolling everything felt good.  My feet did not bother me at all which I am very happy about.  Overall pace including warmup and cooldown was 7:06 for the 12.5 miles.

PM:  2.6 easy.  I'm not sure if it was the new shoes I threw on for this run or the half bag of chex mix I ate before I went out but I felt REALLY good.  I had to keep reminding myself to slow down!  There is definitely something to be said about the effects of carbs and high mileage training.....even if it was semi embarassing when the grocery store clerk skimmed my cart and asked "So how many kids do you have?".....haha "none but my 13lb dog really likes twizlers & Chexmix."   :)

9 miles downtown Payson extended loop.  Easy 8 minute pace.

planks/pushups

• I would like to invite everyone to participate in the Annual Dash for Donation 5k/2k race we do in honor of my brother. The event is held at Sugar House park at 8am on Saturday and Here is the link to register.  This is just a fun run and very family friendly.  I know the last thing most people want to do in the midst of fall marathon training is run a 5k but come out and support an awesome cause and have some fun!  If you Register make sure you register as a team and use team name:  Running For Trevor, Captain name:  Rachelle.  We have ordered team shirts for everyone that runs with our team so if you register let me know your shirt size. :)
• There will be a small group of us running long on Friday morning meeting at JulieC's house in AF at 5:45-6:00 am....tbd.  I will get more details up tomorrow.  The plan is 16-17 miles but I think there will be a few going shorter as well.

PM:  3 miles easy, treadmill.

8.2 with Caleb in Spanish Fork.  He openned with a 7:54 min mile and I thought I might die. haha I like to start at like a 9 min pace.  After that everything felt easy.  I was shocked to see an AP of 7:52.  Definitely felt slower.  So so nice to have some company and the miles ticked on by.

20 min weights at the gym.  1 mile cooldown on the treamill.

Plan for this weekend is to fatigue my legs as much as possible going into the hilly 5k on Saturday.  I want to practice running hills on tired legs to prep for the final hard miles of TOU. 

Tomorrow:  16-17 miles with the speedstars JulieC and Jane of AF with the last 4 fast.

Saturday:  5-6 miles hills before the 8am 5k start. 

PM:  2 miles easy.  It is hot out but definitely not too bad as long as I am just jogging. :) 

17 with the J crew.  Jane, Julie, and Jorge!  Too bad my name starts with an R to completely ruin the acronym.  JJJR  First 12 moderate chatty pace and then 4 faster 7:01, 6:43, 6:48, 6:42.  1 mile cooldown back to Julies house.  Record showering time, slurpee stop at 7-11, and I snuck into work right ontime. :)

The real workout begins when I babysit my 4 neices & nephews all under the age of 3 this afternoon.  My legs are completely fatigued this week and the 5k tomorrow will be ugly but it will be fun! :)

AM #1:  woke up early and ran 5 miles of hills around my parents house in Saratoga springs.  8:32 pace.  My legs definitely did not want to go faster than 8 minutes and I figured the 5k would turn into a fun little jog.

AM #2:  Dash for Donation 5k.  This is a race my family does in honor of my brother who was an organ donor.  All proceeds go towards organ donation which is a great cause and we create a team in his honor.  This is the 2nd year we have participated and it is such a great tradition to honor my brother and dedicate the day to him.  I love it!

Getting to the race was absolute chaos!  I was stuck at my parents house without a car and we all planned to ride together.  I drilled into everyone's heads the night before that we needed to be there by 7:30am at the latest to distribute shirts and check in.  I was the team captain and needed to be there on time!  My family does not understand races at all and has absolutely no sense of urgency.  We were hauling three 2 year olds and two 75 year olds.  Grandpa forgot his teeth in the bathroom & dreyden pooped his pants as soon as we got in the car to go......holy cow I am never getting old and I am never having kids!!  We FINALLY made it to Sugar House Park at 7:50am, 10 minutes before the race start.  I rushed around trying to find our team, distribute shirts, check everyone in.....yikes this was supposed to be a "fun run".  Finally when I got up to the start (which fortunetely or unfortunetely because it was hot was 15 min late) I was able to calm down.  Running was the easy part today!

I had absolutely no plan for the race.  I was frazzled after watching my four neices and nephews yesterday and the chaotic morning.  I was just so happy to run!  The race was pretty commical.  About 15 people and 3 dogs sprinted out from the start....whatever I was just going to be a hobby jogger today.  This course is pretty tough I think at least.  Lots of uphill.  Mile splits were 6:30, 6:18, 6:08, 5:46 for the last .26.  I started conservatively and was just so happy to have some alone time.  Honestly I didn't really look at my garmin the entire race and just ran what felt like a hard but controlled effort.  I was coming off of a hard workout from yesterday and my highest mileage week ever so I didn't really care.  I passed everyone in front of me after the first lap and spent the 2nd lap passing all of my family and dodging people...goodtimes.  Finish time was 20:27, 6:16 pace.  I'd be lying if I didn't admit I was freaking shocked to see my pace.  What the heck? 

Jogged back to run my Sister in Law in, then jogged back again to my Mom & Dad and Grandma & Grandpa who were walking the 2k with the triplets. 

What a crazy but awesome morning!  We stayed around for the raffle and ended up winning a cake and a $25.00 gift card to Ruth's that I will definitely be sharing with Jake & Andrea for coming out to this madness.

After the race we headed straight to a family reunion and I FINALLY got home around 8:30pm.  Awwwww peace & quiet! 

PM:  4.7 miles nice and easy watching the sunset.  :):)  First, and maybe last 90 mile week!

9 miles easy, 7:50 pace.  Felt great!

I just figured out while running this morning that the pace I ran yesterday for the 5K (6:16) is the pace I would need to run for 26.2 miles to OTQ.  I think it is possible.  Not in the near future but maybe some day?

10 miles Santaquin Orchard loop mostly in the dark.  The sun is rising later and later. :(  7:54 pace.

PM:  3.6 miles easy, 8:20 pace.  4 phone calls from work made for a pretty unproductive run.

Tuesday tempo workout.  Same route as last week with an added mile.  1 mile warmup and then 10 mile tempo 6:55, 6:51, 6:44, 6:44, 6:33, 6:39, 6:45, 6:37, 6:36, 6:30.  2.2 mi cooldown jog back to my house.  I always psych myself out for these workouts but once I get going it isn't too bad.  I lost almost 4lbs of sweat during the workout and probably should figure out a way to practice taking fluids during these harder tempos. 

Definitely a slurpee worthy workout today. :)

PM:  2.3 mi easy.  Started with the pup, finished alone.

Started running in the 5 o'clock hour this morning which is totally against my running religion but it was so worth it to have some company.  8 miles easy with Josh around Springville. 8:20 pace.

20 minutes upper body weights at the gym

1 mile cooldown on the treadmill

Can I bribe anyone into joining me for 20 miles on Friday or Saturday?  I'll buy you a slurpee....

PM:  3 miles easy, 7:48 pace.  My body is still pretty fatigued from the hard tempo tuesday so I may take an extra recovery day.

Warmed up for 30 minutes and then did 16 x 1 minute on/off sprints at about 5k effort.  I say effort because I started this uphill.  I was planning to do 20 but when the 16th came in quite a bit slower I decided to call the workout and jog it in.  My legs were toast and I saw no benefit in killing myself.  9.8 miles total.  7:21 AP

LR this Saturday if anyone wants to join.  Meeting at the Wynnsong theatre in Provo at 6:15am. 18-20 miles out and back up the dreaded Provo Canyon.  It will be fun!

PM:  Ran on the treadmill for 30 minutes.  3.5 miles.  Attempted weights at the gym but got bored after 5 seconds.  Tired!

10 miles, 7:58 pace.  I haven't struggled through miles like I did today in a long time.  Energy was low, legs felt fatigued, and I just felt like I was going through the motions.  I think I am going to hold back on the shorter interval speed workouts like I did yesterday until after TOU.  They really seem to irritate my left hamstring and just probably aren't worth the recovery toll they take on my body in the grand scheme of things.

20 minutes upper body weights.

Good luck to everyone racing Park City and Hobble Creek tomorrow!!

19 miles with JulieC in Provo this morning.  After yesterdays terrible run I did not know what to expect today but it ended up being a great run.  I love running with Julie because I feel like we are on the exact same page training wise. We like to chat and run easy!  Mental health hour! :D  She only needed 18 and I wanted 20 so I tried to get to our meeting spot early to run the extra 2.  Instead I chose sleep and got there in time to do 1 mile.  Oh well 19 is plenty. :) 

We ran up Provo Canyon and then 2 miles up southfork.  First 14 miles were easy and then we did a 4 mile tempo 6:43, 6:40, 6:41, 6:28.  1 mile cooldown to hit 19.  Overall pace for the run was 7:41.  I took a GU for the first time in a long time in a training run and I think that really helped my energy level.  Overall I felt pretty good today. :)

Julie even talked me into icing in the river afterwards.  I think I was more nervous about this than I was about the run. haha it wasn't so bad!

PM:  2.5 mile shakeout run with the pup at the track.  It was a small miracle that there was no one at the track tonight and I felt awesome.  The sunset was gorgeous!

AM #1:  7 mi Santaquin Orchard Loop

AM #2:  2 mi at the track with the pup

I hate to be a big fat Whiner but I just really felt like crud this morning.  It was way windy and I just felt like I was working hard to maintain an 8 minute pace.  For some reason my left achilles is suddenly bothering me....not sure what thats all about.  Anyway it wasn't pretty but I ran 10 miles.  My body seems to be in some sort of funk and hopefully it snaps out of it soon! 

Planks & pushups at home afterwards.

PM:  Jogged for 20 minutes with the pup no watch.  I felt about a thousand times betters this afternoon but will play it safe and take an extra recovery day.  My left achilles is actually bruised and I think it happened when I tripped over my sisters Jogging stroller at her house last night and I just didn't realize it until running this morning.

AM #1:  Slept in as long as possible without going crazy as advised by everyone and then just set out for an easy 4 miles.  4 turned into 5 and 5 turned into 6.  I felt 100% better and definitely was not pushing myself.  Achilles is still sore but not painful.  I have been icing on and off throughout the day.

AM #2:  Babysitting day and nephew wanted to go to the park.  Put him in the stroller and started walking to the park.  He is used to me running and just kept begging "Aunt Shell go fast" "Aunt Shell go fast".  Okay fine!  So we jogged a mile in 10+ minutes. 

And so my originally planned 14 miles with 11 @ tempo pace turned into 7 miles at 8:30 pace.  And I will live to run again and hopefully at 100%!  The achilles thing is just weird....I will keep icing it and play it by ear for tomorrow.  Definitely will not be doing a long tempo but maybe a shorter tempo if all systems are a go.

PM:  2.5 miles easy jogging with Izzy.

2 mile warmup and then 6 mile tempo 6:49, 6:45, 6:41, 6:39, 6:30, 6:25 (last 2 miles of the tempo are slightly aided).  2 mile cooldown.  I honestly felt great during the tempo probably because I have ran really easy the past 3 days and I was mentally and physically craving faster miles.  But as soon as I slowed I could feel my calfs tighten up a little. 

Patience, Patience, Patience!  EASY running (maybe even a day of cross-training blah!) the rest of the week and then pacing TOU 1:45 on Sat.

Aug 26th (3 weeks out):  9-10 mile tempo workout, Pocetello half marathon pacer 1:50 on Sat.

Sept 3rd (2 weeks out):  Payson Onion Days 10K on Labor Day, maybe SF 5K on Sat the 8th....

Sept 10th (Race week):  3-4 mile tune up tempo, easy easy running

Easy 8 with a friend along Santaquin Orchard Loop.  8:15 pace.  I actually rolled out my calfs before the run this morning and I felt great.

PM:  2.5 miles easy, 20 minutes upper body weights

16 with Julie in Pleasant Grove.  Thank goodness Julie did not want to push the pace or do the normal 4 fast because I felt kind of like crud!  My legs are just tight and my stomach was acting up.  We were both feeling craptastic and just happy to finish the miles.  7:58 pace.  Very happy to have had the company because I definitely don't think I would have made it through the miles alone.  Misery loves company and Julie was great company.

We both decided afterwards that no fuel, no hydration, and 70% humidity may have played a role in feeling like crap!  Oh well you win some you lose some.

Was supposed to get a massage (first ever) today but it doesn't look like it will happen because of work.  I am headed to Logan this afternoon with my Dad and will be pacing 1:45 at TOU tomorrow.  I'm looking forward to spending time with my Dad and my Grandma.  Hopefully the 8 min pace feels a little bit better tomorrow morning!

Paced the TOU Half Marathon yesterday.  I was incredibly excited to train on the marathon course and it was really nice to get a feel for what I will be up against in 3 weeks.  I had lots of runners with me yesterday and hit my paces almost perfectly finishing in 1:44:57 according to my Garmin.  I have no seen official results yet.  I really enjoyed spending time with my Dad and my Grandma and it was a great weekend.

Cooled down a little under 3 miles with Allie, Kelli, & Chad.

PM:  2 miles easy with the pup, 8:35 pace.

7 by myself around the neighborhood and then picked up Izzy for 1 more.  I was going to go 2 with her but it was just too hot for the poor little pup. 

PM:  took the pup to the track and let her run around aimlessly while I jogged 2 miles.  Windy, rainy and crappy out but Izzy did not seem to mind.  We capped it off with a frozen yogurt cone at Maverick. :)

10 miles easy along Santaquin Orchard Loop.  7:38 pace.  I am assuming the naturally faster pace is because I've had lots of easy days in a row but I did feel really good this morning. 

I really hate running in the dark but the sunrise this am made starting out in the dark totally worth it.  It was awesome!! 

PM:  3 miles easy.  Hot out!  I had an interesting dicussion with one of my co-workers today about potassium & calcium since I've been experiencing more muscle cramps/tight calfs in the past week and then came across this article on Runners World. 

"Guidelines recommend that adults get between 1,500 and 2,300 mg of sodium and at least 4,700 mg of potassium each day. The vast majority of American adults (90.7 percent) ingest more than 2,300 mg of sodium daily, and only 1.4 percent get enough potassium, according to an analysis of data from 12,581 subjects." 

I assumed I ate plenty of potassium in my diet but 4,700 mg is the equivelant of 11 bananas a day!  I definitely don't think I am getting enough.  I assumed the multivitamin I am taking would have potassium in it but I checked it when I got home and it does not.  hmmm food for thought.

10 mile tempo.  This was definitely a great workout for my wounded confidence of last week.  It is okay to have a bad week everyone!!  1 mile warmup and then I went striaght into the tempo.  I ran the exact same route as two weeks ago and here is the split comparison.

2 weeks   6:55, 6:51, 6:44, 6:44, 6:33, 6:39, 6:45, 6:37, 6:36, 6:30

Today      6:45, 6:47, 6:37, 6:42, 6:30, 6:42, 6:43, 6:37, 6:30, 6:22

Not a significant difference but I ran it 39 seconds faster today and it felt really controlled until that last mile where I kind of threw down the hurt.  Physically I felt really good.  My left hamstring started to bother me a bit towards the end but then again I was basically sprinting the last half a mile.  2.3 mile jog back to my house after the tempo.  Oh how I love that nice jog after a hard tempo!

PM:  2.5 miles very easy.  Planks & pushups

8.5 miles easy.  First 8 by myself and then picked up the pup for half a mile.  So very tired the first half of this run but finally woke up after almost being nailed by a school bus.  For such a small town Payson sure has lots of school busses roaming around in the morning!

PM:  3.3 miles, 98 degrees! 

9.8 miles with a 3 mile tempo.  I realized once I got going this am that I accidently took my 10 mi loop instead of my 8 mi loop.  I only really had time for 8 mi so I threw in an unplanned tempo 6:39, 6:33, 6:21.  This felt hard and was a good reminder of what pushing the pace on tired legs feels like.  On the bright side I did make it to work on time! :)

I was asked to speak at a charity 5k tonight in Fountain Green for a family that just lost their Dad in a tragic accident.  I actually think the race is on mostly trail and I will definitely just be jogging.  I'm going to take it easy the next few days.

PM:  I was asked to speak at a charity 5k earlier this week.  The family lost there Husband & Dad in a tragic unexpected accident.  4 little girls ages 19, 14, 11 & 5.  So so sad!  The race was totally redneck small town with hand written bib numbers.  It was not about the race but about raising money for this poor family to pay for funeral expenses.  After I spoke briefly about my running story, many hugs tears ect, we were told to jump in the back of a truck and we'd be driven to the start. 

The course was a rocky dirt trail and into a headwind the entire way.  We all (75 people?) waited around at the start until a guy pulled out his cellphone and said okay the time is 7:20p.m. "GO"!  haha I jogged the first half mile as originally planned.  I am incapable of going from 0-100% without a proper warmup.  About 10 people darted out in front of me and after a half mile I decided to start picking people off. 6:42, 6:28 (talked to an old friend that knew my brother this entire mile), 6:30 (this entire mile was a gradual climb back to the park), There was no real finish line so I just kind of jogged it in to the park....garmin read 19:57 for 3.05 miles.  Not sure if this was the smartest move after the tempo in the morning but I actually felt really good once I started running.  And I definitely learned that no matter what the situation it is hard to jog a race!  Lesson learned.

8 miles easy.  So so tired and tight this morning but I did have a cute black dog run with me from mi 2-6 so that was exciting.  It stayed right by my side!  I kept thinking I would out run it but I really was just going that slow...

I should have taken the time to cooldown after my impromptu 5k last night.  I was definitely feeling the effects of the double workout from yesterday this am. 

Off to Pokey this afternoon to pace 1:50 at the Pocetello Half marathon.  It should be a fun trip with Julie and Rachel!  :)