Running For Trevor

6.5 mile orchard loop with Jen, Amber, & Julia.  There big "last chance" SGM workout.  I told Julia I would pace her for her tempo which I assumed would be 7:15-7:30ish pace.  What happened instead is that I just tried to keep up with her as she ran her fastest 2 miles ever 6:54, 6:39.  I did not feel like she was over-exerting herself at all and her breathing was completely controlled.  We talked through the first 1.5 miles.  I am just so happy for her and for all of my friends that have trained so hard for SGM this weekend.  It has been incredibly fun for me to see so many of them grow and gain confidence.  I love it, I love the process, I love running!

1st flag football game tonight!

PM:  5k with Julia's pup Zoey, 8:26 pace.  Beautiful night and zoey was such a great runner.  I loved it.

7 miles mostly with Jen & Amber on the shortened loop in the orchards, 7:48 pace.  I'm a little sore from sprinting last night at flag football!

8 miles with Janae on the treadmill in 63 min.  I know that makes no sense but it literally just felt like we were out running together.  Wind was out of control and I just did not feel like fighting it today.  Treadmill running really is nice when you are feeling lazy and have someone to talk to.  It actually flew by.

Planks/pushups/stretching.

SGM Runners -- I will be at mile 18 on Saturday.  I am not quiet, you will not miss me.  My two cents is run a conservative and relaxed race until you see me.  Then tear it up and finish strong!  No one is PR'ing or winning the race in the first 18 miles...it is going to come down to the last 6-8.  I can't freaking wait!

12 miles with Janae in Provo canyon, 7:51 pace.  We had 2 faster miles 6:47, 6:25.  Fun run in the snow. :)

What a seriously awesome day!  It was an absolute honor to be down in St. George and to share in the magic of the marathon.  Just such a great day for so many people -- I loved it!

I got to mile 18 just in time to see the lead runners come in.  It was inspiring, motivating, and just freaking sweet to spectate a marathon like that.  Ran from 18 to the finish with Jen.  Jen is not just my running friend, she is a huge part of my life and her race meant so much to me.  Seeing her accomplish her goal was priceless.  I was so proud...I may or may not have cried.  8 miles @ 6:22 pace.  Her last 3 were sub-6:10!!   Freaking sweet sweet stuff.  Also great to share quite a few miles with Carina & Tawny.  Just such great runners and it was truly magical to be a part of it.

As soon as Jen finished I went back for Julia.  Julia is like a sister to me and seeing her BQ was absolutely magical and again just priceless.  I may or may not have cried....again.  23 minute PR for her from just June!

Happy Happy Day!

7 miles Provo Canyon, 7:55 pace.

2 mi treadmill, 8:27 pace.

20 min weights

6 mi Provo Canyon with Janae and Britney, 8:52 pace.  Fun fun run and my body really needed a good recovery day.  My calves are so sore!  I'm shutting things down this week and will start training next week.  I just need an easy week physically and mentally before I ramp things back up.

10 miles in the orchards + 1 with Zoey the pup.  7:48 pace.

AM:  7 miles in the orchards mostly with Julia & amber, 8:22 pace.  My body is really craving these easy runs and I am listenning.  Huntsville Half kind of dug me in a hole and today was the first day I felt fully recovered.  I'm still planning to take it easy the rest of the week but I'm eager and excited to finish out the year strong.

PM:  2.5 with zoey dog, 8:30 pace.

Here is a tentative plan for the remainder of 2013.

October 19th - Oktoberfest 10K (HMP tempo workout)

October 26th - Haunted Half (1:35 Pacer)

November 2nd - Snow Canyon Half (break 1:20!!)

November 28th - Turkey trot 5k - Win a turkey! (break 18:30)

I'l take Dec/Jan off and then go from there.  I'm excited to work hard and see what my future holds all while keeping things in perspective and finding a good life/school/work/running/family balance.  :)

AM:  30 min weights, IT band rehab, stretching.  5 mi easy around the orchards, 7:35 pace.  Felt really good today.

PM:  Fall break fun 6 mile trail run with Josse & Janice.  It was a muddy adventure but totally beat sitting in math class.

7 mi hilly route in Salem with Jen, Mack, Amber, & Beth, 8:10 pace.  We got chased by a rooster!

There is a group of us meeting at the mouth of Provo Canyon tomorrow morning at 6:30am for a run if anyone would like to join.  Varying distances, very casual pace.

11.5 miles in Provo Canyon with friends, 8:09 pace. Beautiful morning in the canyon with great company!

5 mi wu up Provo canyon and then 3 x 1 mile + 3 x 1 min on/off. 90 sec jogging in between mile repeats 6:05, 5:51, 5:47. 1 min ons were 5k effort....pace probably did not reflect effort I was kinda toast.  I'm pretty happy with how my legs responded after a week of really easy running. I needed the break mentally & physically but I'm feeling really good and excited to train hard the next couple of weeks and push my limits a bit. The harder the workouts get the easier the recovery will get. I want to stay healthy and not get burnt out. 

AM:  6.7 mile recovery run in the orchards with Julia, 8:40 pace.

PM:  45-50ish minutes on pipeline trail with Josse & Janae.  I really have no idea how far we went so I'm guessing 4.8 to round out my mileage. :)  Beautiful afternoon!

5:30am track workout at Orem HS with Josse & Janae.  3.25 mi warmup/3.75 mi cooldown.  We are all planning on racing this weekend and Jos is only a week out from a marathon so we wanted a lighter workout and decided to copy Allie's wo from Sunday.  Thanks Allie!

2 x 400:  82, 83

2 x 800:  2:54, 2:48

4 x 200:  37, 37, 37, 37 ~ these are all a guess but Janae hit all 38's and I was about a second ahead of her.

200 active recovery in between everything except the 800 where we did 400 recovery.  I felt great today.  My watch is completely worthless in the dark because it does not light up so my biggest issue was figuring out pacing with nothing to gage off of.  In hindsight this was probably for the best....

20 min core/pushups

7 mile orchard loop with Julia, 8:10 pace.

AM #1:  9 miles in the orchards, 7:23 pace.  First 3 mi wu with Julia & then she split off.  Jen is still wisely recovering from SGM but was nice enough to track time and encourage me through my workout.  10 x 1 min on/off intervals.  I'm not sure what pace I was going but I felt really strong.  I just jogged back to Jen on the breaks and then she yelled at me when I hit my 1 min.  So thankful for Coach Hughes this morning! :-)

AM#2:  30ish minutes out on the trails up above Provo by the Y with Julia, Janice, & Francis.  Gorgeous morning and so fun to just soak it all in and catch up with these ladies.

8.5 miles easy, 7:58 pace.  First 7 with Jen and then I picked up Zoey pup for the last 1.5.  The days of my frozen fingers not functioning have officially begun.

I really wanted a good 6 mi tempo and this very low key race was close to home and seemed to fit the bill.  I waffled back and forth about whether to register or not but woke up Sat morning realizing I was pretty unmotivated to run a tempo on my own so I paid $30 for a tempo workout.  I kind of wanted to run the entire course as a warmup but I did not have time and only got about 4 miles in.

I ran about exactly what I expected but I would have liked for it to have a felt a bit more comfortable.  I was aiming for 6:10-6:15 pace and finished in 38:28/6:12 pace.  The course was a bit tougher than I anticipated and I was coming off of a pretty hard week of training so I really can't be too dissapointed.  Now to just run 5-6 seconds per mile faster than that at SC half.....

Fleet Feet really does put on good races and I always enjoy participating in there events.  The courses are always honest and accurate which makes me incredibly happy.  I also ended up winning a GC to the store so I guess the $30 tempo workout was worth it. :)

8 mile recovery run in Provo canyon at the lovely hour of 11am.  Absolutely most beautiful day ever.  I really enjoyed just taking it easy and soaking it all in.

I had to be to work early this morning for a meeting and decided to do this workout on the treadmill rather than attempting it in the dark by myself.  Sometimes I'm a baby and the treadmill is a great tool for consistency.

2 mile wu

3 miles @ 6:15 pace + 2 x 1 mile @ 6:07 pace + 1 x 800 @ 5:56 pace.  About 2 min active jogging in between sets.  Cooldown to 10.5.  My confidence in running 1:20 is completely waning today.  Nothing about those 6:07 miles feels comfortable or maintainable for 80 minutes.  But I am coming off of some pretty hard workouts and although the treadmill is a great tool for workouts I never quite feel confident and smooth on it.  I think I just need to stay positive and realize I can't really force too many workouts at this point.  The worst thing I could do is dig myself into a hole and overtrain because I'm trying to build my own confidence.  Thinking out loud too much today!

PM:  3 mile shakeout run, 8:35 pace.

7 mile hilly route in Salem with a big crew, 7:57 pace.  I held up the caboose today and tried my best to slow the group down.  I need my easy/recovery runs...but I also will run just about any pace to not run alone.  I just have learned that for me I do not recover well if I am running too fast on recovery days.  The slower the better!

30 min strength training

AM:  Track workout at Salem Hills.  I am so dang grateful to Jen for helping me come up with this workout and being willing to do it with me even though it does not align perfectly with her Ragnar training.;)  Also thankful to Julia for letting me borrow her watch and to Amber for just being so positive and willing to try any workout we throw out.  My friends are kind of great!

1 mile + 4 x 400's + 1 mile + 2 x 200's  6:10, 81, 81, 81, 81, 5:58, 40, 40

I was so discouraged after the first mile came in so slow but I ended on a good note and the last fast mile actually felt semi comfortable after the hard 400's.  This was a good workout and I'm really glad I got it in.

PM:  4 easy after work.  Beautiful afternoon!

8.5 mile recovery run in the orchards mostly with Julia.  The last 1.5 with Zoey pup. 8:26 pace.  Just a nice relaxing run with a great friend.  So thankful for these 1 hour chat sessions I get each day. :)

8 miles on murdock canal trail in Orem, 7:43 pace.  Nice and easy solo run with the last mile pick up at 6:13.  Running up north and having to stop at lights it so annoying.  We are so spoiled in Payson/Salem!

Work+school+training = feeling tired and run down.  I'm so glad it's the weekend and I really just need to focus for 8 more days!  One more harder workout and then time to taper, rest and recharge.

Paced 1:35 at the Haunted Half in SLC.  Super disorganized race....apparently lack of organization is the new Halloween race theme.  They did not even have the clock on yet when I finished and I had to get on the bus on find my own drop bag because they had not even got them off the bus yet.  Oh well I got 95 minutes on my feet and it was a pretty course.  Hard to run by Ruths without getting a biscuit though....  I was tired after the race but I did one aided fast mile in 6:02 while I waited for my friends that were pacing 2:10.

6 miles in Provo canyon, 8:06 pace.  One of the worst runs I have had in such a long time.  I was so tired, felt like I couldn't get a deep breath and honestly had a hard time even running which is just completely odd for me.  4 year anniversary of my brothers death and I always struggle sleeping, focussing, and I just feel a little off and dysfunctional.

7 mile downtown Payson loop with Jen, Julia, & Amber.  8:28 pace.  Glad I had friends to run with because I felt miserable and the wind was pretty relentless this morning.

I planned on sleeping in and doing this workout in the light but I couldn't sleep so I just got up and got it done on the treadmill.  I'm so exhausted lately yet I can't seem to sleep...and I woke up with cold sores which I never get unless I am really stressed.  I feel like a basket case and I need to flipping pull it together!  The workout was fine and I honestly may have just needed the forced motion of the treadmill today.  2 mi warmup and then a 3 mile tempo 6:22, 6:15, 6:07, half mile jog and then a half mile in 3:00.  2 mile cooldown.

30 minutes strength training

6 mile easy recovery run with Jen, Amber, & Julia, 8:07 pace.  We had a very scary encounter with a car this morning that resulted in me diving way off to the side of the road and Jen and Amber both falling pretty hard.  It kind of shook us all up and I'm really glad everyone is okay.  Amber was lit up like a Christmas tree and I really am not sure how the car did not see us.

6 miles easy on murdock canal trail with Janae, 8:24 pace.  We had to climb a fence x 2. :)  Fun fun times catching up with a good friend.