Running For Trevor

Paced the Pocatello Half marathon yesterday with a fun group.  It was a fun and much needed weekend getaway.  Our pace leader was somewhat of a nazi and expected perfection from his pacers.  Luckily for me I finished perfectly in 1:50:00.  All of my splits were even as he asked within 10-15 seconds except the first mile which was 8:48.  woops! 

Honestly I thought going into this the pace would feel way too easy and I would have a hard time holding back.....but apparently my legs were just that tired because it felt just right.  Pacing is interesting because I always worry it will be hard to hold a pace but once your legs lock into the pace it is pretty easy and actually kind of hard to switch gears to a faster or slower pace.  Anyway I had a good pack with me until mile 8 when the hills started and my group slowly faded. :(  I did like being able to help a lot of full marathoners towards the end and I picked up a few halfers along the way as well.

Awesome race that I would definitely go back to.  They had everything organized down to perfection and the course is great for the full.  A lot like Utah Valley except no hills in the first half.

I did a 1 mile jog (9:45 pace) before the race and ran 4 miles after.  Ran back to run Smooth in and then did 1 tempo mile in 6:55 that felt way harder than the pace.  It was a great weekend and I am glad I had the opportunity to pace and hangout with some great people.

AM #1:  5 miles along the Orchard loop

AM #2:  Track with Izzy.  Jogged 1 mile, walked 1 mile.

TAPER, RUN EASY, TAPER, RUN EASY, TAPER, TAPER, TAPER

I'll gladly except your friendly reminders. :)

Payson Onion Days 10k Tomorrow morning. (Just after I told the world I was going to taper and run easy....haha)  The 10k will basically be my last tempo workout before the marathon.  Clearly I am not specifically trained for a 10k, and I hate the course, and those are both excuses....  Realistically I should be able to run a 41-41:30 minute 10K with out going all out and risking doing anything stupid.  I am basically putting no pressure on myself because in the grand scheme of things this 10k is just another workout for me in prep for TOU!

Payson Onion Days 10k this morning.  I really do love these small town races and even though this course gets in my head because I run it basically daily I was excited to see what I could do.  This was my 3rd time running this race and I knew I was capable of a huge course PR.  My first year (first 10k ever) I ran 48:xx, last year 43:52, and I was secretly hoping to keep the 4 minute course PR trend alive...

I jogged up to the start from my house 2.25 miles.  Found Rachel at the start and picked up my packet.  I had written some silly goal splits on my hand and showed them to Rachel before the start.  She told me to just go out hard and see what happened.  I know that it is a positive split course (which I suck at) but I needed to practice running a positive split race in prep for TOU so I just decided what the heck.  I tucked behind Jen, Jane, and Kim and maintained my position for the remainder of the race.  6:11, 6:18, 6:26, 6:22, 6:39, 6:30, 5:59 for the final .23.  I definitely started out way too fast for me but I also proved to myself that I'm capable of holding it together.  This was a good race for me and a huge 10k PR!  Maybe after TOU I will focus more on these shorter distance races.  I actually felt really good & strong today and never even had that I want to puke my guts out feeling.  I just focussed on running a controlled effort and think overall I ran a smart race. 

Just a 1 mile cooldown jog and then my parents gave me a ride back to my house.

PM:  Just 1 mi with the pup.  It is still just too hot for her.  9:30 pace

8 miles easy Santaquin Orchard Loop.  It is starting to feel like fall in the mornings.

I am not very sore from the 10k yesterday but still took it really easy.

20 minutes upper body weights. 

PM:  2 miles easy 

brrrr when did it all of a sudden go from hot to cold in the mornings?  I'm going to have to pull the gloves out here soon. :(  7.2 miles along the typical orchard loop.  Started slow and naturally picked it up a little throughout the run.  Felt great this morning for some reason and finished with a 6:51 mi that felt smooth and easy.

15 minutes working on my massive muscles...

PM:  2 miles easy, planks & pushups.  So cold in the morning so hot in the afternoon...I'm getting confused!

6.5 miles easy Santaquin Orchard Loop.  Naturally picked up the pace towards the end of the run.  I am actually loving the extra half hour of sleep I am getting this week.  My body was ready for this cut back.

Still debating the SF 5k on Sat.  My left hamstring bothers me when I run fast and lengthen my stride and I just don't want to do anything stupid.  I'll most likely wait until Sat morning to decide on the race.

PM:  2 miles easy with the puperoni.

First time in such a long time that my alarm did not go off and I did not naturally wake up.  I finally woke up when I noticed there was light outside....6:50am  Glad I'm tapering! :)

7 miles on my favorite orchard loop.  I threw in some strides to test out the hamstring and everything felt okay as long as I kept it controlled and my form in check.  My hamstring only bothers me when I sprint and overstride which I shouldn't be doing anyway.

I will likely jump in on the 5k tomorrow.  For $15 I think it is worth a good workout (even if it is just a tempo) and I am confident that I am smart enough to reel things in at the first sign of pain.  The marathon is the goal race and the 5k is just a tune up to stay sharp. 

PM:  jogged for 10 min with Izzy.  Such a nice night! 

Whoa how did that happen?  I'll write more later but I am very pleased with the sub-19 and new 5k PR! :)

Alright I wrote a long report yesterday and my computer died on me twice so here we go again.  Luckily you'll get a shorter version.  I signed up for this race Friday night after waffling back and forth about whether to run it.  2 races in 1 week?  hamstring bothering me a bit?  I finally just decided to go for it and run it smart.  I knew that if I didn't overstride the hammy would be fine.  Friday night before I went to bed I quickly looked up the pace for sub-19 and then I proceeded to throw up in my mouth.  Having done no real SW in the past few months (because of the hammy and marathon training I've stuck to tempos) I really didn't think I could even run 800 meters that fast. 

I got to the race early and ran the course as a warmup.  I like to do this because I am OCD and like to know exactly what I'm up against.  I did some strides and felt pretty good.  I was so happy to see Melody at the start.  This was a very small 5k and I was worried about having to pace myself but when I saw Melody I knew it would be beneficial for me. 

Mile 1:  Melody and a group of about 5-6 guys started out in front and I positioned myself right behind them.  I felt good and went through the first mile in 6:01.  This mile was really flat with a few turns.

Mile 2:  This mile was the toughest with some gradual uphill and the turn around point that slowed me down just a bit.  I caught all of the guys in this mile and ran it in 6:10.

Mile 3:  This mile was a complete suckfest and I just did my best to keep Melody in sight.  I honestly did not look at my garmin the entire race because seeing 5's flashing on it just completely freaks me out.  So I just let Melody do the pacing and pushed to keep her in sight.  There was a small hill at 2.8 and I grinded up it as fast I could 6:04.  I am incapable of doing math while moving fast and had no idea how close I was to sub-19 so I just ran as fast as I could finishing the final .1 in 32 seconds 5:10 pace.

I was completely in shock and elated when I stopped my watch and saw my time.  What the heck I truly couldn't believe it!  It was really good for me to prove to myself that I was capable of more than I gave myself credit for.  A big breakthrough race for me and I am very happy with how things turned out.  Spanish Fork Running group put on a great event and the course measured exactly 3.11 right on!  After the race I cooled down 3 miles with Melody and Brandon (who rocked the half marathon) and then got to hang out with Teena, her daughter Sophie (who placed 6th overall female), her husband Ryan, and Smooth and her husband Larry.  It was a great morning surrounded with great company!

Final Thoughts:  The limitting factor for me yesterday was a lack of training at my VO2 max effort.  Physically my legs felt great but my breathing was definitely labored because I simply am not used to running that fast.  I really think I can add 50 seconds per mile to the time from yesterday 6:53-6:58 and hold that pace for TOU this Saturday. 

PM:  2 miles jogging with the pup.

5 miles around the orchard loop nice and easy.  1.5 mile at the track with Izzy.  I ran slow this morning but I feel fine after the 5k from Yesterday.  Teena taped my hammy with KT tape after the race yesterday and it feels better than it has in awhile.  No pain at all.

My computer crashed on me yesterday (it is like 7 years old) and will only stay up for about 10 min at a time before dying so hopefully I'll get a race recap up today.  I have been reading reports and commenting from my iphone which is a complete pain in the butt!

6 miles easy along the typical loop.  I was only planning 5 but had to wait for a train and decided to jog around while I waited instead of just standing there.  Second day in a row that I have been too slow to beat the train.

Planks/pushups

2 mile warmup and then 4 mile tempo 6:42, 6:39, 6:28, 6:35. 1.7 miles back to my house.  It took me a minute to transition from the 5k/10k all out effort I was used to last week to the HM/MP effort.

Anyone coming up to watch TOU that wants to run me in the last 6 miles?  I'll buy you icecream for life!!

A great reminder of why Slowing down the easy days is so important!  If Elite runners are running 8:30-9+ pace on their easy days than I darn well should be too. 

A few of my favorite points:

• “The key to racing fast in the marathon is lots and lots of slow miles.”
• you have to learn how to run slow…. just like you learn to run fast!
• By going this slow on my easy days, I felt refreshed on my hard days and could crank the pace/effort harder than I ever had.

5 miles nice and easy around the typical loop.  Feeling good and loving all of the extra sleep this week. :)

planks/pushups

My marathon plan for TOU:  "Act like a horse.  Be dumb.  Just run."  Jumbo Elliot 

PM:  jogged with the pup for 12 minutes.  1.3 miles?

I really should have just stayed in bed this morning.  .25 mi into the run I lost my contact and was running with one eye opened literally!  As luck would have it for the 3rd time this week I got stopped by another train......seriously the train system in Payson is out to sabotage my taper plan.  I thought about asking one of the cars waiting if I could jump in and warmup while I waited.....but that seemed too creepy so instead I just jogged around in an attempt to stay warm while the longest train in the history of the world passed!

My 4 mile + strides run turned into a blind 5 mile disaster. haha!  I did pick up the pace for the last 800 and felt good. :)

2.5 miles.  I'm headed up to Logan after work today with my sister and her family.  One more sleep on Grandma's couch and then it's time for the main event.

I've done the hardwork and now all I can do is sit back, relax, throw my hands in the air and enjoy the ride.  :)

I have so much to process about today's race but I wanted to update for those that are not on facebook and are just dying to see my time.  haha!

 I cannot even begin to express enough gratitude to everyone on this blog.  Thank you, thank you, thank you for believing in me enough to make me believe in myself.   More to come.....but probably not until Monday because my home computer crashed on me last week.

 All that really matters is that I won a Moose Trophy! :)

I borrowed a friend’s laptop and feel like I need to get this report written while everything is still fresh on my mind. I went into this race quite frankly not exactly knowing what to expect. When I would tell someone who hasn't seen my training my current PR was 3:12 and I thought I might be capable of breaking 3 just three months later they would laugh in my face. But the truth is I (and those that have seen my training) knew that it was absolutely possible. Sure it was scary and maybe a risk but after I read Jake's quote on Friday "If you live cautiously, friends will call you wise, you just won't move any mountains" it really resonated with me and I realized that I really had nothing to lose. I could go out cautiously and just run a PR or I could compete for top 5 and go for sub-3....I wanted to compete!

Now onto the race. I rode up to the top on one of the later busses with my friend Janice and Smooth was on my bus as well. Such a fun ride up with no real talk about running. Just chatting about life, family, ect...perfect distraction. Once we got to the top I noticed it was about 6:40 and I only had 20 min. No problem. Quick porta potty stop and then down to the start line. In the rush to get to the start I accidently threw my iPod in my drop bag...oh well no big deal I run w/o music all the time and really only brought it as a crutch that hopefully I wouldn't need. I have to admit that the start line was incredibly intimidating to me standing there amongst an entire plethora of amazing runners. I felt out of place but Jake was good to calm me down and tell me I was running completely under the radar and people were in for a surprise today. That gave me the little boost of confidence I needed and I oddly felt relaxed.

From the start I positioned myself with a group of people that indicated they were going for sub-3. Perfect maybe I would have a little pack to work with. The pack would not last long but it was beneficial while it lasted. I started out as 7th female which seemed like a good position. My plan was to run 100% based on effort. I am very good at pacing myself and knew exactly what effort level I was going for. The first 5 mile splits 6:36, 6:38, 6:37, 6:43, 6:45. By mile 5 I had moved to 5th place female and I was bound and determined to hold this position. Everything felt easy my breathing was completely controlled and I was running consistent and just enjoying the canyon. Fall leaves and perfect temps!

Miles 6-10 I ran with Ryan from Boise. He had a PR of 2:58 and our paces were matching perfectly. I thought maybe we could work together the entire race. I got to know him quite well over the next 4-5 miles and both of us were running very relaxed. 6:46, 6:42, 6:27, 6:35, 6:42. I never once tried to figure out splits but Ryan indicated that we were averaging 6:41 pace up until this point.

Unfortunately Ryan dropped back right before mile 11 and the rest of the race would basically become a solo effort. Miles 11-halfway point 6:40, 6:27, 6:22. From memory I think I hit the halfway clock right at 1:27:38. I saw James at the halfway point aid station and was concerned. He reassured me that he was okay and that I looked incredibly strong. His encouragement was a great boost and after basically running a new half marathon PR in the marathon I carried on feeling pretty darn good! The theme of the race for me yesterday was relax. Don't try to strategize, overanalyze, or questions yourself....just relax and run!

And with that I just kept running by myself down the canyon. How could there be 3,000 runners in this race and I am all by myself? There was an awesome tailwind through miles 11-15ish and I literally felt like I was flying. It was fun! Miles 14 and 15 came in at 6:14, 6:27. Seeing the first cheering section at mile 14 was a huge boost and I was feeling great. I really love this section of the race but it was also at mile 15 that my feet started burning. I knew this was coming but I was hoping it wouldn't present itself with 11 miles to go in the race. Crud! To make a long story short I run on my toes when running downhill/uphill and have metetarsalgia. I wore inserts and was hoping they would be enough to protect my feet but alas they were not. I am used to running through this but knew I needed to slow my pace and lighten my landing if I wanted to finish this race.

Physically I still felt great but I slowed down my pace through miles 16-20. 6:49, 6:46, 6:46, 7:03, 7:11. I had a biker pass me at mile 16 and she told me I looked way strong. I told her my feet were on fire and asked if she had any Motrin. She said she would ride up to the aid station at mile 17 and see if they had any. Thank you random biker! She road back to me and told me they had it ready for me. I was so incredibly excited to see my cousin Travis when I ran into mile 17. He was ready with my 1 200 mg Motrin and a bottle of Gatorade. Travis ran with me for a half mile and was incredibly encouraging. I thanked him, took one more swig of Gatorade and carried on. At mile 18 I was shocked to see my family. I was not expecting them until mile 20 and this was such a pleasant surprise. My feet were absolutely killing me and as I flew passed them I shouted IB profin 800, IB profin 800! The 200 mg was great but I knew it was not going to cut it. The hills through miles 18-20 that I didn't even notice when I paced the half were definitely apparent this time around. With my feet killing me at this point I just kept reminding myself to relax. I just needed to relax!

Out of some freak miracle my parents had 1 IB profin 800 in their car and handed it to me at mile 20. I fumbled and dropped it but knew it was worth losing seconds to turn back and grab it. I quickly swallowed the IB profin and carried on. My family was seriously awesome and basically met me at every single mile until the end of the race. This was huge as still with the exception of about 2 guys I kept leap frogging I was still running solo! Miles 21-23 were probably the toughest of the race for me. 6:49, 7:02, 7:19. My feet were just really bothering me and every step hurt. I knew I would be okay once the ib profin kicked in and just had to mentally distract myself from the pain. My Mom road her bike with me for a little bit during miles 21 and 22. She was encouraging but kept getting in my way and was having a hard time keeping up so it was decided that she needed to just go back to the car. I'm told from my Sister and Dad it was quite comical watching her try to keep up with me. They were both laughing hysterically when I ran into mile 22 about 1 minute ahead of her. haha leave it to my family to find something funny about the last 6 miles of a marathon. Seeing them laugh helped me to relax and I just started laughing too and thanked them for being there. Love my family!

My feet felt 100 times better the last 3 miles once the medicine kicked in but I realized for the first time that my quads were shot. Every little incline hurt but one thing never changed for me in this race and that was consistency. My legs were locked into the effort at this point and baring a catastrophe I was not slowing down! Miles 23-26 paces were 7:06, 6:58, 7:00.  I saw my family for the last time at mile 24 and thanked them again for the support as I ran towards main street.  The little hill at the end of mile 24 looked intimidating but once I got to it it really wasn't so bad and was over before I knew it.  It was after I reached the top of the hill and the 25 mile aid station that I realized that sub-3 was not only possible but it was going to happen.  I was overwhelmed with confidence and just kept telling myself to relax and finish strong!  I was not going to be satisfied with 5th place female I wanted sub-3!! 

The last 2 miles of this race are hard, daunting and painful but I was so incredibly focussed.  I dedicated mile 25 to a girl from my hometown who was recently in a terrible car accident and paralyzed.  Whenever my quads would scream I would remind them how grateful I am that I can feel them and I ran for Sam.  The last mile was all for Trevor.  The pain was intense but I managed to pass two guys in this mile and oddly still felt relaxed.  I kept wondering where in the heck the finish line was?  It is totally a blind turn there at the end and I was way to focussed on running to look at my garmin so I didn't know where I was time wise until I saw the clock.  Jake & Andrea were there cheering for me.  Jake told me to get up on my toes (yes I heard that), Andrea told me I was going to get 2:59 and to push it, My Mom was screaming, My Dad and Sister were waiting right at the finish line and I was bawling like a freaking baby!  And now I am bawling again as I relive the moment.  Had I seriously just broke not only sub-3 but sub-2:59 with time to spare?  I was elated and just so incredibly proud!  I had medics come jumping up to me at the finish because I had tears streaming down my face but I assured them I had absolutely never been better!  What an incredibly journey! No pace band or strategic pacing plan just good hard consistant running!  24 hours after the race I am still smiling and everything still feels extremely surreal to me.

It was exciting to talk to people after the race and hear how well everyone had run.  Jake running a solo effort and winning his first marathon!  So deserving and so happy for him.  4 girls breaking 2:55?  What?  Wow just some amazing runners out there yesterday and so cool to say I was in the top 5!  After the race we walked up to my Grandma's house .25 mi from the park and then went back for the awards ceremony.  I was so excited to place 5th.  Not because of the little bit of cash I won but to be standing next to 4 incredible women I admire so much and realizing for the first time that I am turning into the real deal.  I am not getting cocky here....I know exactly where I stand but I am going places and that is exciting and proof that you do not need a HS or College running career to be a great runner.  I started running when I was 23 and ran my first sub-7 minute 5k about a year ago and a year later I ran a sub-7 minute marathon!  I am not saying this to boast myself or because I think I'm awesome but because I am proof that a lot of hardwork, smart training and dedication pay off!

Lastly it can not be reiterated enough how much I appreciate the support from this blog.  So many of you have helped me to realize my potential and taught me how to train right. Without your encouragement and belief in me I would be no where near where I am today with my running.  So thank you, thank you, thank you!  And now I will sign off from the longest recap ever and move on to reading all of the reports I've been dying to read. :)

Slept in really late this morning and didn't even get going until around 11am.  Took the pup to the track and walked a mile.  I felt okay and decided it may be beneficial to jog for a bit.  I was only planning a mile but ended up with 3 in barely under 30 minutes.  I feel really good and not necessarily any better or worse than I felt after UVM.  The quads are sore of course but nothing abnormal which is good.  The key now will be recovering slowly and being smart. 

The rest of the day may qualify in  my top 10 laziest days ever.  I literally sat around the house and watched movies on TV while icing, napping, and eating.  A true day of rest!

3 miles, 8:58 pace.  I actually feel pretty good which only means I need to practice better self control this week and not do anything stupid!

More marathon thoughts:  I didn't want to make my race report any longer than it already was so I saved some crap for today.

• Nutrition/Hydration:  I'm sure nobody really cares about this but I like to have record for myself.  It is good to look back and see what I did when things work correctly.  Breakfast was a bagel, banana, and 20 ounces of gatorade.  At least 55 grams of carbs.  I took 3.5 gels throughout the race at miles 9, 15, 20, and half a gel at 24.  I drank plenty of fluids....maybe even too much for the cooler temps.  But knowing my high sweat rate and history of dehyration I would rather be safe than sorry.  Having my family on the course with water bottles the last 8 miles of the race really helped and made hydrating feel easy.  Between the gatorade and gels I'd estimate that I took in about 700 calories throughout the run. 
• Now that I have officially set a PR in every single distance including PR'ing in the marathon 3 times I think I can (maybe) officially retire the "PR outfit"?  I am the most superstitious person ever and have drawers of cute running clothes but just haven't been able to stray from the PR outfit!
• While I'm on the topic of clothing I'd like to blame my marathon brain on the fact that I ran with one arm sleeve up and one down for the last 16 miles of the marathon.  Seriously hilarious...wow!  And for those that have asked the arm sleeves are $1.00 socks that I cut off...to make into arm warmers.  I had full intentions of ditching them after the first few miles.
• My garmin measured 26.5 miles which clearly the course is certified and is only 26.2 and if I'm really that stupid and ran my tangents that badly than I'm just an idiot.  The more likely explanation is that the satelite reception in the canyon was off.  Anyway the point is I need to learn how to auto lap on my watch because being that far off of the course markings really messed with my head towards the end.  The main reason I am upset about this is since I measure .5 instead of .2 it shows that I only mustered up a wussy 6:28 pace for my final kick.  I'm pretty sure I was going faster than that for the actual .2 and I'd really like to know my split!
• My half splits I think (garmin was off and my chip did not register at the halfway mark)were 1:27:38/1:31:07.  A positive split was inevitable on this course but I have to wonder how much the feet pain through miles 15-23 slowed me down.  I guess I'll never know and will just have to run it again next year to find out.
• My feet are fine now and it is frustrating that this happens when running hills/distance.  I'd like to get it figured out before I attempt another marathon.  I need someone to watch or video tape me running hills and try to pinpoint what it is I'm doing wrong.  I might not be able to change my form but I'd like to try to figure out if that is possible.  I've also heard that the Newton brand shoes offer more support in the forefront so maybe I'll experiment with trying some different shoes as well.
• I did not give any credit in my report yesterday to the amazing organization of the event.  TOU truly has it all figured out and if it weren't for the Moose on the road I may have strayed off course towards the end.  "Just follow the moose", and "Common you can make it to the next green Moose" may have gone through my head more than once...
• I had created dedication miles before the race for miles 18-26 and as cheesy as it is I think it really helped.  18-20 were ran for my training partner in crime JulieC!  She always makes me go fast at the end of a LR and I just pictured her by my side and us running fast together just like in training.  This is also when the feet pain was intense and I know Julie is constantly running through pain so it helped me to focus.  21-23 were for my friend Julia who was running a 50 mile trail race in Wisconsin at the same time I was running a marathon.  23-25 were for my family and ironically this is were I saw my family the most so that helped.  25 was for Sam and 26 of course for Trevor.

Okay enough crap for now.  Tomorrow I will bore you with my post marathon recovery rules.  I do not have an Andrea at my house so you all will have to hold me accountable! ;)

4.5 miles farm town loop, 8:53 pace.  So cold on the run I probably gained weight!

If I want to be more competitive with my running I probably need to learn to be more serious and quit hamming it up for the camera.....I've looked through everyones pictures and apparently I'm the only one that feels the urge to throw my hands in the air whenever I see a photographer. :)

PM:  15 minute walk with the pups while my nephew is asleep (am I a terrible babysitter?)  After several hours of day time soaps I was going crazy and the dogs were driving me crazy!

 Reverse Taper Rules:

Week 1:  No jogging longer than 40 minutes (except maybe sat?) & nothing faster than 8:30 pace.

Week 2:  Nothing longer than 60 minutes & nothing faster than 8 pace.

Post paces on FRB to stay accountable, have fun, get lots of sleep, find new friends to jog with, and eat plenty of good food! Anything I should add?

What a morning....lets just say there was enough walking involved in the 4 miles to make me late for work!  Random pain in my upper right calf/outside of the knee area.  Very, very odd and almost just feels like a big giant knot but it was painful enough to have me doing the walk of shame by 2.5 mi into the run.  I'm not jumping to any conclusions quite yet but this was definitely more than just fatigued post marathon legs.

50 min on the elliptical at the club house.  The radio at the club house is broken and I couldn't find my ipod so I spent the entire time contemplating a plan to come up with enough money to buy an Elliptigo.  I didn't come up with anything but it was a good distraction.

Short walk with the pup.  I jogged for 10 seconds (Izzy really wanted to chase a bird) and the massive knot seems to have moved to directly behind my knee and it feels like my lower leg may detach from my upper leg if I keep going.  I foam rolled again trying to work it out but I think I need to buy a tennis ball because the foam roller just isn't getting deep enough.

60 min on the elliptical.  Much more tolerable today because I had my new People magazine to read and my ipod. :)  Sure is hard spinning around endlessly on that thing when the weather is perfect outside though...

Short walk with the Pup and 20 min weights at home.

The leg is not any better and I have a bad gut feeling that this is more than just a minor setback.  I have a really high pain tolerance and when jogging or walking downstairs the pain is pretty high!  It's really hard to know though and in some ways it just feels like something needs to be popped back into place and everything would be okay.  Either way the silver lining is that walking and cross training do not seem to iritate it.  Looking back at my training in 2012 this is only the 3rd day I have taken completely off of running so I really have no room to complain.  I also have no races coming up so a short break might actually be a good thing.  I am not saying any of this is good but I'm really trying to be optimitic and celebrate the fact that I've had a great year and some time off (granted it's nothing major) is okay and maybe even necessary.  I'm going to get a bike from my parents house this weekend so hopefully that will help with the cross training.

I also talked to Jorge and he agreed with Bonnie & Bam that I should not foam roll or try to work things out on my own.  Initially I thought the pain was all in the upper calf but now that it is more apparent in the lower outside of the knee I need to be smart and not make it worse.  Thanks for listenning to my ramblings! :)

Yay I have internet at my house again.  Oh happy day!  It is slower than tar but man that was a rough 10 days without internet.  Now to explain the 6 miles.

AM #1: I got in my car this morning to drive to the gym and just couldn't bring myself to do it.  It was such a beautiful morning and I didn't care if I just had to walk for an hour I wasn't going to be stuck in a nasty gym on a Saturday morning.   After massaging out my upper calf with the techniques that Allie and Bam both suggested I thought just maybe I had worked something out and wanted to experiment. So I went with the Andrea Gallo technique and walked a half a mile and then gradually added jogging.  I have to admit that it still ached pretty bad for the first half mile of jogging but after a half mile the pain seemed to turn into just a dull stiff niggle in my upper calf.  I continued with the walk-jog technique for 3 miles and then just jogged the last 3.  I don't think I'm completely in the clear by any means but I do think that whatever is going on is in the calf and not the knee but the knee is the area most effected.  I also think it is just a knot and although I worked most of it out there is still a nagging niggle! 6 miles in exactly 60 minutes not including the first half mile that I walked.

AM #2:  Took Izzy out to a trail in Salem afterwards and walked 2-3 more miles.  I'm pretty sure my entire 8.5 mi today took me almost as long as the marathon last week.  But I did enjoy it!  Perfect weather today and I'm antsy to get back outside and go for a hike or something. 

I'm planning to get a deep tissue sports massage tomorrow and hopeful that it will work out the knot that seems to be causing all this pain.  Even if it does I'm taking it easy for 2-3 maybe more weeks.  It was so dang nice to just sleep in this morning and feel like I had a real Saturday!  It's been awhile since I haven't either raced or been way focused on training and I really enjoyed it.

PM:  Went for a hike up Payson canyon with the pup. Wow, wow, wow it is absolutely gorgeous up Payson Canyon right now.

45 minutes clubhouse elliptical.  I read people magazine and the time flew by.

Jogged slowly for 20 minutes 2.3mi.  I'd like to say that the pain is gone but it's not. I think it's just becoming more tolerable and I'm sure the IB profin 800, and heating the area with a heat pad before running helped.  I just wish I could pin point if it's coming from the knee or the upper calf.  It hurts on the outside of the knee in the morning and when walking downstairs but once I get jogging the pain moves to the upper calf.  I'll just keep up the RICE method for the rest of the week and keep on keepin on.

20 min warm-up on the elliptical, went home and heated the leg for 10 min and then jogged 5 miles.  4 by myself and 1 with Izzy.  My leg felt better today but it is still just an awkward lingering pain like I can't fully extend my right leg and couldn't run faster than an 8 min pace if I was being chased by a bear!  Fortunately I can still out run most of the horses, goats, & llama's I encounter along my loop and I'm incredibly content with running as slow as I need to for as long as I need to. 

I have no idea how I ran a sub-7 pace for 3 hours just 10 days ago.

PM:  Josse massaged and scraped my leg really good for me after work today.  I totally owe her because I feel so much better!  I still believe this weird pain although noticable most in my outer knee stems from my calf.  I jogged for 20 minutes tonight with the pup and almost felt normal.  It felt so nice to run pain free that I wanted to keep going but luckily Izzy completely tuckers out after 2 miles and it was a two a day for the poor pup with the 1 mile this am. :)  Still some little niggles but no pain!

20 min elliptical warm-up, 5 mi loop.

I have officially decided (and now I'm officially making it public) that I am going to take the remainder of 2012 off of racing.  I had thought that maybe I would come back from TOU and try to improve my 5k/10k/HM times.  But I have since reassesed and realized that I will most likely benefit more from giving my body 2-3 months off (hobby jogging) and coming back strong and healthy in 2013.  2012 has been a GREAT year for me and I haven't really taken a break from training at all so it is time.  I've been nursing some small niggles (metetarsalgia, hamstring, & now right leg knee/calf) all Summer and it's time to give my body an extended break.  I think I have more potential as a runner but I also feel I'll have a difficult time tapping into it unless I take a break.  The timing is also ideal since I despise treadmills and hate running in the dark alone.  Maybe I'll get ambitious and learn how to do a pull-up or start those Independent study courses I'm enrolled in.....meh!

PM:  typical 2 with the pup.  Today we finished in 18:30 which is a 1:30 improvement on yesterdays time.  I have a whole in my last pair of Mirages. :(  I should really look into the whole barefoot thing because I am so hard on shoes!

Same old 5 mile loop.  brrrrr I should have worn gloves!

PM:  Gym weights, 1.5 mi walk with the pup while talking to my brother, 1 mile jog!  Feeling good today pain wise and I haven't taken IB profin at all the last 2 days so that is a very good sign. :)

7 miles.  Longest post marathon run and the best I've felt since the marathon.  I can't believe how big of a toll TOU took on my body compared to Boston and UVM.  Perfect temps this morning and I really enjoyed the run.  It took almost an hour so I'm still taking it nice and easy.  I am fully committed to my plan of taking the rest of the year off. :)

7 miles in Moab

5 miles up to the golf course in Moab.  Most of it with Kevin.