Back in the saddle?

Today is a beautiful day.  It's about 60 degrees out, and I wore shorts and a tank top (new running clothes that I bought with my Christmas money).  The streets were deserted.  The running felt very easy, and I'm starting to get very excited about the race.  I won't know what to do with all the time on my hands, though, during the taper!  I have to force myself not do overdo it.

Total time was 47:31, a 9:30 pace.  Mile splits were 9:30, 9:34, 9:38, 9:38, and 9:13.

Time to make blackeyed peas!  Happy New Year!  5 miles down, 2003 to go!

I hate tapering!  I feel so unmotivated that I turn into a sloth!  I had every intention of running tonight.  Last night, we drove to my husband's brothers house to pick up a FREE treadmill that his wife is "letting us borrow indefinitely."  I was SO EXCITED to get a treadmill.  Everything worked fine at their house, except the display and the incline.  It was set at a permanent incline, but somehow we got everything working there.  So we loaded it up and brought it home.

Tonight I was planning 5 miles with 2 miles at race pace, and I thought I would try out the new treadmill.  Lo and behold, the incline AND the display were broken again!  I got some phone books to prop up the back so it would be flat, but I have no idea how to get the display working.  By then, I was so frustrated that I decided to just call it a night.  I spent the evening on the computer setting up the Mvelopes system (very cool budget tool-I am determined to quit blowing so much money this year!).  Tomorrow I'll just plan on running outside.  It was 71 degrees here today!

Tonight's run was a real struggle.  I planned on running 7, but once I got out there, I knew it was not going to happen.  I had a cramp in my side for most of the run.  The plan was to start easy and finish with 2 miles at race pace.  I did it (kind of), but none of it felt easy.  This happened during my last marathon taper.  I had some crappy workouts.  I crashed and burned at the race, but still ran a 17-minute PR.  So hopefully by tomorrow I will have put this run out of my mind.

Total time: 47:30, average pace: 9:30.  Mile splits: 9:35, 9:40, 9:51, 9:15, 9:08.  Blah!

I haven't decided my goal for the race yet.  I think I could PR if I go all out (sub-3:54:16), but I don't know if I want to do that.  I take a very long time to recover from marathons, and I have a lot of work ahead of me if I want to qualify for Boston by June.  I think I might pace my friend, whose goal is to break 4:00, and that would be a great race for me.  But my biggest goal will be to not hit the wall.  I think I would be ecstatic to finish in just under 4:00 and still feeling good.  We shall see...

Today's run was harder than it should have been.  I am just psyching myself out too much for the race.  After today, NO MORE WATCH until the race.  It was perfect racing weather: 55 degrees and cloudy.  I hope it's like this next weekend.

For some reason, I decided to run a little faster today.  I think I was hoping to emulate my awesome run on Christmas Eve, but it didn't quite happen.  Today I ran from my house to my office building and back.  Total time was 1:37:20, a 9:29 average pace.  Mile splits: 9:29, 9:37, 9:23, 9:23, 9:36, 9:35, 9:28, 9:33, 9:30, 9:26, and 9:03 for the last .26.  I'm surprised that mile 2 was the slowest mile.  The run back felt much harder, but it's a long, very gradual uphill, so that probably made a difference.

Has anyone had a massage after a marathon?  My friend has a free gift card to Massage Envy, so we're thinking about going in the afternoon after the race.  I think it would help my recovery.

OK, this marathon needs to happen already!  I started running on our new old treadmill, but it just wasn't happening tonight.  I felt a little sick to my stomach, and I just wasn't into it.  The treadmill is a little weird, too.  You adjust the speed with a dial that takes you from fat-burning to cardio to aerobic zones, etc.  I turned it to the speed I wanted, but it kept changing as I was running.  Maybe I'll get on it again a little later.  The night is young...

Tonight I ran with my husband-fun!  We both left the watches at home, which was nice.  We did 5 pickups during the run.  They were supposed to be 30-60 seconds each, but, with no watch, we just winged it.  It was a nice, easy, no-pressure run.

I'm starting to get ready for my friend's family's arrival from Seattle.  She is bringing her sweet little girl and her good-sport husband.  Both of our husbands are good sports, because we just talk nonstop when we are together and are oblivious to everything else.  Her husband and daughter will be our cheering section!

OK, there is something seriously wrong with my treadmill.  I ran a mile at my normal pace, and it felt like a tempo mile!  I think the treadmill is pretty old, and maybe the belt sticks or something.  My husband took a picture of me running (I don't know why he thought it was so novel-I run every day!), and it is awful!  I'm horribly hunched over (something I thought I only do late in a race) and I look like a fat cow!  I know the camera adds 10 pounds but MAN!  Time for Weight Watchers again!  Ha-just kidding!

This has been a weird week.  For every other marathon I have run, I have been able to really focus on the race for the entire week before.  This week has been CRAZY at work, and I have been very mentally challenged every day, to the point where there is nothing left when I come home.  I have enough work to last through the weekend, but I'm taking the weekend to enjoy with my friend and focus on the race.

I'll do one more run, tomorrow or Saturday, enjoy the expo on Saturday, and kick some butt on Sunday!

I am very busy with work today and have lots to do before my friend arrives tonight, so I don't know if I will be able to squeeze in a run. 

I went online and printed out confirmation cards for race registration for me, my husband, and my friend.  We all said 3:40 would be our finish goal, so we could start in the same corral (goal is now just sub-4:00).  I got an email from someone at Elite Racing the other day, saying that, based on my projected finish time, I am one of the top 40 Phoenix-area runners, I get a special racing number, and I start in Corral 1!  HAHAHAHAHA!  Now, 3:40 is a good time, but I know it's not even close to top 40 in the Valley!  I don't want to start with all the fast, superskinny people!  It would be fun to have a special racing number, though.

This, and the erroneous reporting of a 1:25 half...I think it's a sign that I am meant to run superfast!

Two easy miles with my friend.  Now it's off to the expo!

Not the best running day for me (actually, one of the worst!).  I'm still very upset about my performance and probably more upset about the fact that I have no idea what went wrong.  My friend is still here and leaving tomorrow, so I will wait until then to do a full race report.  Also, it will be easier to write when the emotions have calmed down.  :-)

Monday: OK, here's the full report.  It was a beautiful day with perfect running weather (about 45 degrees at the start).  The race has grown tremendously since I last ran it two years ago.  The lines for the shuttles to the start were very long, so we didn't get to the start area until 20 minutes before the race started.  Once we checked our gear, we had to line up in the corrals (I started in corral 3, not corral 1, even though I had an "elite" number-oh, the irony!).  So, no warm-up, no stretching, and no time for a snack or water.  I wasn't too worried, because marathon pace is usually slow enough to not get injured.  Looking back, though, this was out of the ordinary.  I have always jogged enough to at least break a sweat and stretch before a marathon.  Maybe this was a contributing factor to my catastrophic race???

My goal was to shoot for 3:54 or better (a PR), sub 9:00 pace throughout, or just under 4:00 (9:09 pace) as my fallback goal.  From the very beginning, I felt fine, but not great.  Mile 1 was 9:06.  I wasn't too worried because it was VERY crowded.  Also, Frank Shorter, Khalid Khannouchi, and Bernard (forgot last name), and our governor saw us off.  They were up on the arch over the start line.  It was very cool!

Miles 2 and 3 were 9:12 and 9:14.  Water stations were very crowded and probably slowed me down a bit.  I felt a little worried, though, because I was slowing down already.  I saw friends (spectators) at mile 1.5, so that was fun.  The crowd was fun too, as were the bands.

Miles 4-6 were 8:58, 9:04, and 8:58.  I crossed the 10K mark less than a minute off 3:54 pace.  I was starting to feel better and enjoy myself more.  The course was still very crowded but had thinned out enough to where I was comfortable.

Miles 7-9: 9:05, 8:59, and 9:03.  There was a slight uphill, followed by a slight downhill at mile 8.  At that point, the course is going through a beautiful upscale neighborhood with TONS of spectators.  I felt great at that point, but still not able to go faster.  At that point, I adjusted my goal to just breaking 4 hours.

Mile 10 was 9:09 with a long, very slight uphill.  Miles 11 and 12 were 9:19 and 9:00.  At this point, I was starting to get a little concerned.  I felt OK, but I wasn't running as fast as I had expected and was a little worried about keeping up this pace later in the race.  Mile 13 was 9:05, and I crossed the halfway point at 1:59:22, still on pace.

Near the halfway point, I saw someone out of the corner of my eye and though to myself, "That looks like my dad."  It was my dad!  And my sister and her husband!  They hadn't told me they were coming to watch-I wasn't expecting to see them until the finish!  What a great surprise.  I cried a little bit after I passed them.

Then, bad things started to happen.  Inexplicably, I just started getting slower and slower.  One other thing I forgot to mention: I took a Gu every 4 miles and drank a sports drink every time an aid station had it, which was often.  Earlier in the race, though, I had been more thirsty than normal.  By the time I got to each aid station (almost 1 per mile), I was thirsty.  This has never happened, and I'm not sure why it happened this time.  I hydrated well in the days before the race, or so I thought.  With all the gu and sports drink, I should have been taking in plenty of fuel.

Anyway, I digress.  Miles 14-17 were 9:22, 9:25, 10:30, and 11:09.  By this time, I was feeling horrible.  I hadn't hit the wall, but obviously my pace had slowed way down.  I was very worried because I had a long way to go.  I have never started feeling bad that early in a marathon.  I had a little pity party in my head (not good, I know).  After I passed the mile 17 mile marker, I stopped to stretch, and I completely broke down, sobbing uncontrollably.  Since so much of running is mental, I know this probably contributed to my poor performance.  I finally got control of myself and started running again (it was probably about a minute).  The stretching helped for a little while.

Things just got worse from there.  Every step hurt worse than the last.  Miles 18-20 were 12:28, 10:41, and 12:05.  My family was at mile 20 (again, unexpectedly), and I had another meltdown when I saw them (and having another one now as I write...).  My sister saw my distress and ran with me for a minute.  She was very encouraging and said all the right things, but they were not much help at that point.  She reminded me that I would still beat her marathon time by a good hour plus-ha!.  She is the best sister ever.

After that, the only thing that kept me going was seeing my husband and family and friend at the finish.  I also have never dropped out of a race and knew I would regret it forever if I did.  The t-shirt is cool, and I wanted to be able to wear it.  :-)

The remaining miles were the most brutal I have ever "run."  I walked through all the aid stations.  I took my last gu at about 20 or 21 miles.  My stomach started to feel a little full, and I wasn't so thirsty anymore (weird???).  Miles 21-26 were 10:43, 11:25, 13:00, 13:42 (overpass), 13:16, and 11:47.  The 4:15 pace group passed me, and I tried to keep up, but I couldn't.  As I got to 25, I thought I would try and break 4:30.  I ran the last .2 at 9:47 pace, and according to Garmin, got down to 6:36.  I sprinted to the finish, but not in time to beat 4:30.

I think I saw my dad near the finish, but I'm not sure.  As soon as I crossed the finish line, the floodgates burst, and I was a mess.  I'm really embarrassed about it now, because the whole world saw me bawling.  At least I was wearing sunglasses.  :)  I skipped the picture at the end (me and the medal).  Some well-wishers tried to give me some tips, but I just felt insulted (bad attitude, I know).  I guess no one would have ever know it was my 4th marathon, though, by the way I was carrying on.

Interestingly, my husband also started feeling bad at mile 14.  We did't run any of the race together.  He finished way ahead of me, but 10-15 slower than expected.

So now the questions begin: what happened to me?!?!  I know my training wasn't perfect, but I ran more miles consistently than ever before.  My last 20-miler happened without a hitch and no soreness.  Thinking about it now, there were some little things (some of which I have already mentioned) that, combined, might have created the perfect storm of a horrible race.  One important thing to mention is that I NEVER WALKED, except through aid stations.  And the brief stretching stop at mile 17.  I never "hit" the wall.  It was more of a gradual deterioration.  I have hit the wall only once before, to where I could not run another step.  If I felt so bad, why didn't I hit the wall?  And how was I able to sprint to the finish?  Based on my training and recent race times, I really don't think I went out too fast.

Some of the things I did differently were: a 2-week taper (last 2 marathons were 4-week tapers), less time at the start (see above), and sushi for dinner the night before (normal dinner the night before a long run, but this was the first time I had it the night before a marathon.  Not enough carbs in the rice?).  Also, the previous work week was very intense.  I didn't work super-long hours, but the week was mentally taxing.  I got plenty of sleep, though, until Friday night (restless sleep for 6 hours) and Saturday night (just under 7 hours).  I loved having my friend and her husband and 17-month old daughter stay with us, but maybe the routine upheaval was too much for my husband and me.  I ate a lot of good carbs last week, too.  Normally, before a marathon, I spend a LOT of time mentally preparing for the race.  With the crazy work week and friends in town, it just didn't happen this time.  Another consideration: I am 8 pounds heavier now than I was in my last two marathons.  I weigh more than I would like, but I am not overweight.  In isolation, these seem like little things, certainly not enough to be 30 minutes off my goal.

I'm still really emotional today.  I got to work, my boss asked me how it went, and I melted down again!  Luckily, I work with very great, supportive people, and my boss handled the meltdown very well.  It's a small and close-knit enough office that everyone knows everything about each other.

If anyone is still reading this race report that turned into a novel (ha!), I would love to hear constructive criticism and opinions of what went wrong here.  I need to pick up the pieces, learn from this experience, and move on.  Boston 2009 is calling my name, and I need to be there!  Thanks to everyone who left me encouraging comments yesterday!  They really helped.

I'm still not quite ready to run yet.  Most of the upper-body soreness has gone away, but the lower body is still really sore.  I wore heels to work today but changed into my speedo shower shoes as soon as I got there!  Work is really busy right now, and I'm glad to have several days to devote entirely to work.

THANK YOU so much to everyone who posted such encouraging comments on my LOOONG marathon report.  You have no idea how much each one helped.  It put the race into perspective.  Yes, I fell apart and ran a horrible race by my standards, but I also kept going under extreme physical and emotional distress.  That's something!

Emotionally, I am 90% better.  This will be the first year that I run more than one marathon a year, and I'm excited to increase the volume of my training and see where it takes me when I train like this long-term. 

It's too early to tell which marathon I will run next (Eugene or San Diego), but I have a half marathon in 7 weeks.  It's time for a PR!

OK, I'm back.  Tonight was my first run since the marathon.  I ran slowly with a friend, and we chatted the whole time, which was fun (and a good indicator of an easy pace).  It felt fine, with the exception of slight left hip and groin pain.  I sprinted at the very end, which also hurt more than it should.  So, I'm obviously not completely recovered yet.

It's racing season down here, and there are so many races coming up.  I have to stay focused on my March half, though.  I'm tempted to do a 10K in a few weeks.  I really hate 10Ks, so I rarely do them, but I probably should do it to see what kind of shape I'm in.  I know I am in much better shape than what my marathon time reflected....

Tomorrow I'll do 5 miles a little faster and see how I feel.

I am SO not recovered yet!!!  I always forget how long it takes to recover from a marathon: at least I hope that's the explanation for my SLOW pace.

It was a beautiful evening for a run: high 50s, and still light outside when I started!  I felt very fresh for the first two miles, then just normal, then pretty tired toward the end.  I also started getting random aches and pains.

Total time was 57:30, a 10:20 average-yikes! 

The plan is 20 miles this week, 30 next week, and hopefully after that I'll be back up to 40+.  I thought I'd be able to recover more quickly, but it doesn't seem to be happening.  Hopefully I'll feel better tomorrow.

Holy motivation!

I have lost my stride since the marathon.  This is normal for me, but I don't like it.  Lots of things have happened besides just recovery, but nothing earth-shattering, but life is becoming more busy. 

Work has become more intense and busier in the last few months, and I am realizing that this is just how it is going to be.  It is not going to let up.  It's not that the hours are super-long (10 hours per day, max), but I feel mentally drained and lethargic by the end of the day.  However, I feel very blessed that I love my job so much.  I wouldn't trade it for something less stressful at this point in my life.

But, the running.  Part of my issue is, since my performance in the marathon was so far below my expectations, that I feel like I have such a long way to go.  I have missed it.

I have said it before: I have to get used to running in the mornings!  I know I'll feel better and be more consistent if I get it out of the way first.

Has anyone run either Rock n Roll San Diego or the Eugene marathon?  I have run San Diego, but I was in so much pain that I don't remember the course (my first marathon)!  Which course is faster?

Tonight I ran 5 easy miles, although they didn't feel that easy, probably because this was my first run in a week, and maybe there is still some lingering marathon soreness.  My knees and IT band started to hurt at about mile 3 or 4.

Today was a little cooler than normal, about 59 for the high.  By the time I got out there, it was cooler than that, and pretty windy, so I wore shorts and a long-sleeved shirt.  Phoenix people are so funny: I saw several people out in pants or shorts with tights, 2 long-sleeved layers, and gloves!!  That's what you Utah people wear when it's 10 degrees!  Yall are tough!  I'll be singing a different tune when 110 degrees this summer!

Total time was 50:06, a 10:01 pace.

I have one more day to register for Rock n Roll San Diego before the rate goes up.  What to do, what to do....

Whew!  Still not recovered....is my mantra for the week.  The good news is that nothing hurt during the run, which means I'm a little more recovered.  The bad news is...I'm still slow, slower than last night.

I had a good run, though.  I have some new music on my iPod, which made it fun.  And, after all this whining about not being recovered, guess what I did today?  I signed up for a half marathon...on Saturday!  My rationale: it was only $25, and the shirt is supposedly a very cool tech shirt.  So, this will be a "training run" that I happen to pay for, get a cool shirt, and run with other people.  I don't think I could "race" it if I tried.

I know some of you are telling me not to look at the Garmin when I run, and I didn't for the most part.  But I decided to really pick it up for the last mile, and I did: to a 10:03 mile.  :-(  This marathon recovery stuff is pretty depressing...I'm glad I got out there, though.

1:11:22, 10:12 average (snail) pace.

Later: I signed up for the Rock n Roll Marathon in San Diego!  It's on June 1.  I've never done 2 marathons this close in time before, and I'm excited to see how I will do.

I didn't run the half marathon today, and I'm glad.  My body and my mind were telling me all last night that my body just can't handle it yet.  I know I would have pushed myself too hard and delayed my marathon recovery even more.  The only thing I'm bummed about is the $28.00 and the shirt.  My rule is to never wear the shirt if I don't finish the race (which has never happened), but what if I never ran the race at all?  Hmmmm......

I ran a little farther than last time and felt good.  I'm still not back to normal yet, but I'm getting closer.  Our thermometer said it was 40 degrees when I left the house, but it felt warmer.

Total time: 1:22:38, average pace: 9:57.  I slowed down a little too much in the middle and had to book it at the end.  I like finishing strong, because it helps me late in a race.

4 months until my next marathon!

It rained all day, so I ran in an obstacle course of puddles tonight.  It was chilly for Phoenix, and I lost feeling in my legs at about 5 miles.  I was running pretty slowly at first and feeling discouraged that I can't get my "speed" back yet.  So I decided to mix in some strides on the way back, which turned into more of a fartlek workout.  The second half was 65 seconds faster than the first half.

1:09:05/average 9:52 pace

I have a killer week at work, including some out-of-town travel, so I hope I can squeeze in some runs on the busy days.

Disaster!  I had to go to Prescott, AZ for work last night, so I knew I wouldn't be able to run yesterday.  The plan was to drive home today and run then.  Well, my car broke down on a state highway in the middle of nowhere, in the dark, and in the cold last night (25 degrees-SUPER COLD for a Phoenix desert rat)!  And, my AAA membership had been cancelled!!  Luckily, my dad lives in Prescott and came to get me.  Long story short, between the towing, rental car, and repairs, it will cost $1800 to get my car fixed!  The kicker: I was planning to get a new car this year anyway, and my current car is worth about $5500!  But I need transportation in the meantime, so I have to get the car fixed...So I was up LATE last night, working today, and frazzled about my car.

Sometimes life just gets in the way...Barring another disaster, I should be able to run tomorrow...

Good run tonight.  I am sick of being slow, so I picked up the pace.  I was pushing it a little, but it felt good.  The only problem is that my blisters are coming back, and I don't know why.  It is time for me to buy new shoes, but I don't know if the fact that my shoes are old is causing the blisters.

Total time was 1:05:54, average 9:25 pace.  I am still having car woes, and I am very stressed about it.  The mechanic did the $1500 repair today, but the car still is not running well.  There are a lot of logistical problems too, because my car is 100 miles away.  Then, an opposing party filed a motion today and referred to me as a "young girl" (rather than opposing counsel).  He is representing himself, but that is no excuse!  And I'm not even that young-I'm 30!  I'm sure I'll wish someone would call me that in 10 years...  Anyway, I guess all the pent-up stress and annoyance was channeled into something positive: a great run!

I only had time (and energy) for 5 miles today, but the run went well.  It is a beautiful day and unseasonably warm.  It got up to the mid-70s and was probably in the low to mid 60s during the run.

As most of you can probably tell, I am experiencing a little sag in motivation!  Something always seems to come up!  And, of course, we are going on vacation this weekend, so I won't be able to run (which is OK, because we will be SKIING!).

Total time: 47:28, average pace: 9:30.  My pace stayed pretty constant throughout.

I don't know if I could characterize these as easy miles, but they weren't any of the other categories either.  Is there an in-between category?

Work is crazy, CRAZY!  It's taking over my body, too.  I started feeling some lower back pain about halfway through the run, but I pushed through it.  I picked up a race t-shirt from a girl tonight who is about to run a marathon and is at about the same level as me.  She lives near me too, so I mentioned training together once she recovers from her marathon, and she was interested.  So I might have a running partner!  That would definitely get me up in the mornings.

Total time 47:07, average 9:25 pace.

Well, I didn't get in any running, but I got one heck of a workout: 16 ski runs!  (I'm writing this after my return to AZ).  We went to Telluride and skied in some of the best conditions I have ever experienced.  We tore up the whole mountain, including several LONG, steep, and very bumpy runs.  This is my 8th trip to Telluride, and I skied a lot of new runs that I have never done before.  GREAT day!

More skiing, no running.  It was a FREEZING day, so we went inside and bought goggles and serial-killer-looking face masks, which really helped.  We had to go inside a second time to warm up our fingers and toes, so we didn't get to do as many runs.  BUT, I did two things I had never done before: first, I skied some terrain that is only accessible by hiking to it.  It looked very scary before we started, as we watched other hiking skiers disappear into the blizzard, but we didn't go that far.  And it was a great run!  Then, I skied my first double-black diamond!!!!!  And lived to tell about it!  It was SO scary for the first half, but then I looked up the mountain to see what I had just done (VERY steep, narrow, and HUGE bumps), and I was pretty proud.  Not that I looked like I belonged up there by any means (lots of ungraceful turns and falls), but that was the biggest accomplishment of the weekend (and of skiing, ever)!

Crazy thing: I have lost 3 pounds since the marathon.  And, as most of you can tell from the blog, I haven't run much at all.  Hey, I'll take it!  I have another crazy week at work, and our master bath remodel begins this week, so I'll do my best to get a few runs in....

I just typed a whole entry and it got erased!  Oh well, I'm glad to finally be running again, after an excuse-filled week and a half with no running.  The run felt surprisingly easy after many days off, and it was a beautiful evening (shorts and a tank top).  I didn't wear a watch.

Thanks to those of you who checked in with me while I was being lazy!

True to my profile, I have let life get in the way of my running for three reasons.  1.  I still have some lingering discouragement from the marathon.  2.  We are remodeling our master bath, so it throws a little kink into our routine, and we are always having to go pick out tile, lights, etc.  3.  (main reason) I tend to let stress consume me.  I know a lot of people have jobs that are just as stressful as mine (or even more so), but I just have not learned yet how to shut it off when I leave the office.  I have one case in particular right now that keeps me up at night.  Even on our ski vacation last week, and at a Suns game before that, my mind was consumed with this case.  I couldn't even sleep on the ski trip!  It has gotten a little better lately, hence the running today.  I am hoping with time I will get better at dissociating myself from work when I leave, except when absolutely necessary.  This is something I need to work through for many reasons, not just the running.

In any event, I am SO glad I ran tonight.  One day at a time...

Good run, another beautiful, shorts and tank top evening.  Total time was 46:55, a 9:23 average pace.  I tried to concentrate on my form during certain segments of the run.  The pace felt a little more difficult than it should have, but I guess that's what I get when I'm lazy and slack off on the running!

Oh my goodness.  Next weekend is my half marathon, so I thought I would do at least 10 miles, maybe up to 13 today.  I started running and felt great, so I planned to turn around at 5 and work in an extra loop to get in 12.  I was getting really excited because I was surprised at how good I felt, given my lazy running lately.

Then, the unthinkable happened.  I FELL!  And not just a little stumble, either.  I fell on concrete, breaking the fall with my right knee (all bloody now), right hip, right wrist, elbow, and shoulder!  Oh, and also my Garmin and garage door opener.  I still don't really know how it happened.  I was running about a 9:20 pace at the time.  It HURT!  Of course, I started crying (I always cry!), and I think I was kind of in shock.  Luckily, a Good Samaritan pulled over immediately.  She had to help me stand up, and I realized immediately my run was over.  She drove me home, which was so sweet.

Now, assessing the damage, I think I will be fine, but I will not be able to run for a couple of days.  My knee really hurts, but I can't tell right now if it's just from skinning it up badly, or if I bruised it internally.  My wrist is a little stiff, but my elbow hurts the most.  I can't really move it.  I'll wait a day or two and reassess then.  And, my garage door opener is completely broken!  And my Garmin is all scratched up, but it seems to still work OK.

Now, it's time for laundry and cleaning for the Del Sol runners staying at my house tonight!  I'm going to milk this fall for all it's worth and make my husband do the cleaning! 

I was planning a longer, easy run, but it didn't happen that way.  I did 2 miles and felt sick to my stomach, so I stopped and walked for a bit.  Then I felt better and the sickness went away.  I knew I wasn't going to get my desired mileage for the night, so I decided to pump up the pace for a bit.  Then I ran/walked home.

My motivation is nonexistent.  I need a good kick in the butt!

Run was OK, had to walk a little bit.  No watch.  I came home to find some of our bedroom furniture in the hall and the rest is basically in a pile in the middle of our room.  I'm counting down the days until it's finished!  (not that I'm complaining-the new bathroom will be absolutely worth it!)

Wow, my calendar looks pitiful!  As most of you can probably guess, my running has not been going very well.  I have fallen into the same trap as I have in the past: experiencing a letdown after a race and a corresponding zap in motivation.  However, I did get out this morning with my normal group, which merged into a bigger group and met at a different place.  Sadly, I probably would not have gone if I hadn't seen most of them Thursday night at a party.  But I did, and it's much easier to run when someone invites you face to face.

Anyway, we did 5 miles in Paradise Valley, which was very pretty.  Total time was 49:09, an OK pace, considering my lack of running lately.  I'm going to need a training partner to get me motivated this time around, especially with the weather starting to heat up.  It got up to 87 today,  I think.

Thanks to those of you who dropped me a line during my (hopefully over now) absence.

OK, so I am still having trouble getting going.  I had planned on going tonight (another reason why I should run in the morning), but I am having family issues.  My sweet great-aunt, who lives out of state, is having surgery that she might not survive (she is in her 80s).  But, not having the surgery would probably be fatal as well.   So, I wanted to call her tonight, just in case it would be the last time I would talk to her.  We talked for quite a while, and she is at peace with her decision.  It's been a very hard day. 

I made it out for a run-what a miracle!  It went fine-the weather was beautiful.  I had some random aches and pains, probably from weeks of sitting on the couch.  I am still not very motivated, though, even though my clothes are fitting a little tighter.  I've been so busy with work (which is going great) that it has become a bigger priority than running.  I know this needs to change, and I'll figure it out.

Whew!  My friend was in town from San Diego and is training for her first marathon.  She needed to do a long run, so I volunteered to come along.  We ran 6 together, stopped back at my house, and then I went along for the next 10 miles...on my bike.  It was a fun way to catch up with her and get in a great workout.

Tomorrow is the Ironman!  I'll probably go watch for a few hours.  I have a friend trying to qualify for Hawaii.  Watching should be enough to guilt-trip me into getting off my ever-expanding bootie!

No running today, but my husband and I went down to the Ironman and watched a couple hours of it.  A friend of ours was participating, trying to qualify for Hawaii, and we just got word that he finished in 10:05-amazing!

It was so inspiring to watch.  It's not often that marathoners can observe an even longer race.  We saw the second and third place females finish-very cool! 

Maybe someday, after I run Boston, and learn how to bike and swim!

3.6 miles with no watch.  It was a beautiful night for a run.  Afterwards, I rode the bike around the neighborhood for 1.25 miles, which was fun.  I'm thinking about doing a 4.2 mile race on Saturday morning.  It's a huge race that we did last year, and the shirts are great.

I don't know what has gotten into me, but I am really enjoying this run/bike thing.  Tonight I decided to bike first.  I took an out and back course that was slightly uphill the whole way back but still recorded negative splits.

When I started running, my legs felt like lead.  I have never done a triathlon, so this was almost an entirely new feeling.  Imagine my surprise when I looked down and saw I was running under 9:00 pace!  I ran the first mile in 9:09 and then slowed down a bit.  Total time was 33:38, average 9:25 pace.  This is even more surprising given my supreme laziness over the last month or so! 

I think it's safe to say I'm back to regular workouts (although I will not be able to work out every night this week).  My clothes are getting too tight, and I REALLY don't want to go up a size.  I've been at or below my current size for 4 years, and I'm NOT going back up.  I even signed up for St. George today!

I experienced gadget revolt tonight.  My Garmin wouldn't even turn on, and the "battery charging" light didn't come on either, so I hope it's not broken.  I took my old heart rate monitor/stopwatch, but that kept turning off too.  I had wanted to track my pace to see where I am fitness-wise, but I guess it was not to be.

Five miles felt a little challenging, but I completed the whole run without incident.  I drank almost all of my water, though-it's getting warmer!

It's getting hot!  It's 7:00 pm, and it's in the low 80s right now, so it was probably in the high 80s when I started my run.  Total time was 49:49, average pace 9:55.  I'm glad the Garmin worked this time: now I know how fit (or unfit) I am after several weeks of laziness.

Normally I would not run on a Sunday, but I went to the mall this afternoon to look for some casual summer weekend pants.  In four separate stores, not a single thing in my size fit!  I refuse to succumb to the bigger size, so I didn't buy anything (except shoes and shirts, which still fit OK).  So, until I lose weight, I will either be (1) very hot, or (2) not able to breathe, and I will definitely be a slow runner.

Goal for the week: run 20+ miles, lose 1-2 pounds.

Well, that was rough.  It was 96 degrees when I started and 90 degrees when I finished.  I realized on the run that I have hardly eaten any carbs today, except for fruit, so that was another reason that I was feeling so sluggish.  I actually had to alternate running and walking on the way back.  I would walk one song, run one song ,etc.  Not fun...

Average pace was 10:10 for the first 2.5 miles and 12:51 for the last 2.5 miles.  Yikes!

The good news: I am already down 2.5 pounds from yesterday.  That probably just means I was retaining water or something from the weekend, but I'll take it!

Today I fueled much better throughout the day, so the run wasn't quite so difficult as the other day.  It was also much cooler: 83 degrees.  I had to haul booty at the end to average under 10:00 pace, though.  I have my work cut out for me!

Total time was 49:43, average 9:56 pace.

2 x 12 pushups at home

I couldn't sleep at all last night, so I slept in this morning and skipped the group run, which would have been fun (and much cooler!).  I think it was already close to 80 degrees when I headed out, but fortunately most of my run was in the shade.  The path was very busy today.

Total time was 54:18, average 9:45 pace.  My heart rate slowed to 120 within 5 minutes, so that was a good sign.  I lost 7 pounds this week, but I think most of it was water weight.  I hope so, because my weight at the beginning of the week was a number I had never seen on the scale!  And because it's impossible to lose 7 pounds in one week without starving yourself, which I did not do.

I planned on running 6 miles, but catastrophe struck!  I had an English muffin right before my run, so I'm sure you all know where this is headed.  I felt fine until mile 1.5, and then...severe GI issues!  I tried to keep running but couldn't.  So I had to walk home (and barely made it!).

It was my own fault for forgetting to take a pre-run snack to work.  I was STARVING when I got home, and I would not have been able to run without some fuel.  It is so beautiful out too!  Oh well-at least I got out for a little while.

Yeah!  I had a great run!  I hit the wrong button on my Garmin at one point, so I'm not sure of the time, but I think I ran about a 9:45-9:48 average pace.

Lately I have noticed that my Garmin clocks shorter mileage for the same route.  I run on a path lined with LOTS of trees.  The only thing I can figure out is that the trees are growing in really thick, now that it's warmer, so the satellite in the sky can't penetrate as well (even with the Garmin 305-who knew?).

I had a MAJOR afternoon slump/blood sugar crash/whatever today, so I'm pleasantly surprised that the run turned out so well. 

Whew!  It is brutal running two workouts less than 12 hours apart (it is for me, anyway).  My legs are still feeling like rubber from the hill workout last night.  I ran with a friend, who was doing a fartlek workout.  I did one, and that was it!  Average pace was 10:16, and that was really hard for me.  It will take a few days to adjust to morning workouts, and I know it will get easier once I am doing all my runs in the morning.

It's supposed to be 105 degrees here on Sunday!

Goose egg for today, but my husband and I got into St. George-woo hoo!  This will force us to get up in the mornings and run when it's 85-90 degrees, rather than the evenings when it will be 110+!

Looking forward to meeting everybody!

Fun run with my group.  Total time 1:13:57, average 9:51.  It's getting warmer!

I decided to run against my chiropractor's orders.  I woke up with horrible hip pain on Sunday that got progressively worse throughout the day to the point where I couldn't put any pressure on that leg.  It had hurt very slightly on Friday.  Then I ran my longest run in a while on Saturday, so maybe that's what did it.  I was bummed because marathon training was supposed to officially start yesterday.  So I had to wait and start today.  I hope my hip forgives me.  It has felt fine since my adjustment yesterday.

Today was 4 easy miles.  It was unseasonably cool today: 75 degrees.  Total time was 39:18, average pace 9:49.

My husband has been waking up early to train.  I am going to join him, starting tomorrow.  I wanted to give my hip the extra 12 hours to recover today.

I did one-leg hops and high knee drills after the run.

Whew!  I'm not sure if that .4 was really VO2 max, but I'm too tired to care.

Planned workout: 2 miles warmup at 10:40-11:40 pace; 4 x 1:00 uphill reps at 7:37 pace with 2 minutes recovery after each rep; 2 mile cooldown at 10:40-11:40 pace.

Actual workout: 2 miles warmup at 10:59 pace; 4 x 30-45 second uphill sprints ending when I was gasping for air about to fall over and never getting below 8:15, with 2 minutes recovery after each: 2 mile cooldown at 11:14 pace.  I wonder if the hill was too steep.  I'm telling you, it was STEEP!

The warmup felt too slow, but the cooldown didn't!  I have my work cut out for me...

For some reason, my entry didn't post, and of course I didn't save it.  In summary: hard run after the hill workout last night.  I ran a 10:16 average pace, and that was a struggle.  Looking forward to my body adjusting to morning workouts!

Six boring miles on the treadmill.  I stayed up WAY too late last night and was not about to wake up at the crack of dawn.  So I went to the gym.  Average pace was 9:48, and I felt good.

Now my husband and I are off to the Biltmore Resort for the night.  We are going to get massages, lay by the pool, eat some good food, and celebrate four years of marital bliss (anniversary was yesterday)!  We'll clean the house another time...

Tonight I ran on the treadmill-yuck!  But there was no way I was going to run outside in 108-degree weather either.  My body clock was off after two days of downtime at the Biltmore Resort.  We had a great time.  I got a hot stone massage (which I HIGHLY recommend) and read an entire book (The Kite Runner) by the pool (I'm a fast reader).  And, of course I got a lot of great quality time with my hubby.

Anyway, back to reality.  The run was fine, if not a bit boring.  The only thing that sucks is that I have to do a hill workout in less than 10 hours!

Whew!  The weather channel said it was 88 degrees when I headed out, but it felt a little cooler.  If not, that's good, because it means I was getting used to the heat.  I did some dynamic stretching before the run, which got my heart rate up pretty quickly. 

The goal was 5.5 miles with 6 fartleks of 75 seconds each at 7:57 pace.  It was hard to gauge my pace on the fartlek portions, but I think each one was .15-.17 miles.  I know the last one was .17 miles, which works out to 7:21 pace, so it looks like I went too fast on the fast portions (or maybe I'm in better shape than I thought-ha!).  My average pace for the whole run was 9:42.

It was 68 degrees and windy when I headed out!  I am SOOO sore from yesterday.  I'm not sure if it's from the dynamic stretching, which included lunges, or the fartlek intervals.  So my pace was pretty slow: a 9:57 average.  I'm sick of being slow!

This was a fun race.  I hung out with Lybi and James and enjoyed the view of the backs of their heads during the race!  It was around 60 degrees, extremely rare for Phoenix at this time of the year.  It was an out and back course on the canal, so it was pretty narrow.  The race featured a staggered start that got pretty mixed up.  My handicap was supposed to be 12:15, and it ended up being more like 15:00.  I started with the fast, young guys.  Oops!  It was a little uphill for the first quarter or so, and then obviously downhill at the end, which helped.  With such a narrow course, there were people all over the place who didn't have a clue about running etiquette, and it was frustrating having to weave in and out of people for the ENTIRE race.  But, I couldn't have asked for better weather.  The t-shirt was cool too, and the entry fee was cheap.

My only goal in this race was to break 26:00.  I really just wanted to gauge my fitness.  I was VERY sore until last night and was still pretty sore this morning, so I was concerned that I wouldn't do as well as I wanted to.  I did a 1.8 mile warmup (my longest warmup ever) and dynamic stretches, and I think they helped.  I started the race feeling nice and loose.

The first mile was 8:14, slower than I had wanted to run.  Part of it was probably the crowds, and the other part was just the way I race.  I saw Lybi near the turn-around part, and she was in the zone!  There was a water stop (with ice water!) at the turnaround point, so I lost a few seconds there.  Second mile was 7:59, and that's when I really started passing people, which I LOVED!  Mile 3 was 7:56, and the last .1 was 6:51.  I almost ran several people over, which I kind of feel bad about, but come on people!  Take off your iPods and run on the right side of the path!  I almost mowed a lady down near the very end-oops!

My performance today was about 90 seconds better than my 5K time at the beginning of my last marathon training cycle.  This time puts me on track for a sub-4 hour marathon, which I am confident will improve as my training continues.  Woo-hoo!

I did a 2-mile cooldown when I got home.

Weather.com said it was 73 degrees when I got back, but it felt much hotter.  My husband and I slept 10 hours last night and the night before, which felt GREAT, but it will make it hard to get up tomorrow morning to do hill sprints-yuck!

Today I did 6 easy miles in 58:56, a 9:49 average.  I am still very impatient and wish I was getting faster.  Of course, I am increasing my mileage too.  Oh well.  I wasn't sore from the 5K at all while running, but I could feel it when I was stretching at the end.

We did two form drills at the end.  I'm sure our neighbors got a good laugh out of it!

Today was hill training (notice I got up early!).  We did a 1.5-mile warmup at a very easy pace, then dynamic stretching, then 6 x 90-second hills at 1-mile pace (7:27 for me) with 2 minutes active recovery after each repeat.  I tried to keep track of the distance of each repeat so I could keep track of my pace, but it was hard.  I need to figure out how to do that.  I think some repeats were too fast and some too slow.

I cheated a little and added an extra minute of recovery after the third repeat, and another minute after the fifth, I think.  We did an approximate 1.3-mile cooldown at the end.

Next week is the last week of hills, and then we start going to the track!

I slept 10 hours Saturday night and 10 hours Sunday night.  Wouldn't you know it-I couldn't sleep at all last night!  I got MAYBE 5 hours of sleep, so I'm starting the week out tired.  I'll get to bed early tonight.

PM-various stretches to combat potential stride problems resulting from spending all day in an office chair.  And I'm really starting to get intrigued by the barefoot running...

Sore, sore, so sore!  My glutes were on fire, and everything else started hurting during the run.  I had no idea hill sprints would make me so sore!  I need to take it easy so I don't injure myself, but I also need to be building up the miles.  I'm supposed to run close to 40 miles this week, but that would mean almost doubling my miles, which I'm not going to do.  I'll try to top out around 30.

Total time was 40:55, average 10:15 pace-yuck!  I saw a big rabbit about 2 blocks from my house and a BIG "lender foreclosure" sign about 1.7 miles from my house.  I hope I don't see too many more of those!

Zero so far today.  I had planned on running this morning (and I woke up before my alarm went off at 5:30-yeah!), but I'm listening to my body, which is sore and tired.  The plan is to try a few easy miles tonight, maybe go to spinning tomorrow, and do a long run on Saturday to finish off the week at 30 miles.

Whew!  I can't believe how slow I am!  I'm hoping it's just because my body is having to re-adjust to higher-volume training.  I ran the first 3 miles easy at about 10:00 pace (which should have been faster).  BUT I didn't try to push it.  I decided to pick it up for the last mile and ran 8:54.  Frankly, that felt harder than marathon pace.  I have a long way to go!  It was a beautiful morning, though.

With the faster mile, my average pace was 9:42.

Tomorrow I am running 10 miles with my group, which will put me right around 30 for the week.

Whew!  I'm going to pay for this one.  This was my longest run since the marathon in January!  I've been LAZY!

I ran with my group, and we had about 10 people: a good turnout.  We started at 6:30, but we are going to have to make it earlier with this heat.  One hour after I finished, it was 81 degrees, which doesn't make sense because I was SO hot during the run.  I have been running fine in well over 80 degrees lately, so I'm not sure why I felt so hot today.

I really struggled to maintain a 10:00 pace for the first half.  I hit the five-mile mark at 50:31, only because I ran two miles with a couple of people who were running about 9:45 pace.  I was able to really pick it up (relatively) in the second half, and I ran the last five miles in 49:00.  Miles 9 and 10 were 9:38 and 9:19.  Total time was 1:39:31, with an average pace of 9:57.

My legs and knees are sore now, and I'm very salty!  I am going to keep the mileage constant around 30 miles for a couple of weeks, until my body feels more comfortable with the increased mileage.  Then I'll start following my brain training program to a T, which will have me up to around 60-mile weeks during peak training-whoa!  I really want to be back to the level where I was 2-3 years ago, when 8:00-9:00 was my normal, easy pace, even with relatively inconsistent training.  I'm not sure what has happened over these last few years.

I ran with a fellow St. George trainee  this morning.  We took a new loop (new for me), which was fun.  Average pace was 10:05.  I'm still struggling with pace, and I'm not sure why.

Actually, the big news is that our house was burglarized yesterday...in broad daylight, while we were at church.  We had all of our doors locked, but they came in through the doggie door.  We don't even have a dog, so they must have been watching us.  They stole a lot of stuff, but fortunately didn't damage anything.  I  hardly slept last night.  I took today off work to get some stuff done.  They stole my husband's house keys, so we are changing all of the locks today and putting locks on our gates.  We are  also getting an alarm system.  We live in a very quiet neighborhood, so this is surprising.  They took our big-screen TV, computer, iPods, digital camera (all photos from the last two years: gone!), my husband's Garmin (but not mine), and some other stuff.

I got home first and discovered everything but didn't know if they were still in the house.  It was terrifying.  We feel so violated, and I'm scared to be in the house alone, but I'm scared for both of us to leave.  I knew if I didn't make plans to meet up this morning that I would have skipped my run, so I'm glad I did.  We are without Internet at home, so I will still blog, but comments will probably be somewhat limited since I'll be blogging from work.

Be careful, and lock your doors!!

OK.  I need to figure some things out.  I couldn't sleep again last night.  Every sight and sound freaks me out, and every time I close my eyes I envision those horrible people in my house again.  So, with no sleep last night, I skipped the run this morning in favor of bed.

I got up and got ready for work very slowly, because I was reluctant to leave the house.  As I got into my car, I started to feel some anxiety, and it continued to escalate as I drove farther from my house.  People, I had a full-blown anxiety attack, and I have no idea how I made it to the office safely.  I snuck through the lobby with my sunglasses on, rode up the elevator, and went straight to the restroom. 

Thankfully, my amazing secretary was in there and helped to calm me down (turns out that Lamaze classes are helpful for more reasons than childbirth, and I now have a headstart on childbirth techniques!).  I couldn't breathe, I got very dizzy and lightheaded, and my arms were tingling.  That had never happened before.  So, I called my sister, and she came to my office to get me.

I feel like I should be stronger than this.  Nobody was hurt, and it's only stuff.  I can't imagine how I would react if I or someone I loved ever got hurt or further victimized.  It has gotten in the way of me doing my job for the last two days, and I feel like I'm letting people down.  Thankfully, I work for amazing people who are very understanding (and who have been burglarized too).  One of the partners said he was surprised that I showed up at all today.  My sister just left, and I'm getting scared again, but I feel more in control of myself than I did this morning.

I am so sore (again!).  I thought it was from the run yesterday, but now I realize it's from the tension I have been holding and this stupid panic attack.

OK, this rant has been therapeutic.  I need to get my marathon training back on track.  If I wasn't so scared to leave the house, it would be a great way to take my mind off everything!  Thanks to everyone who left supportive comments yesterday (if you're still reading!).  My goal is to go to work all day tomorrow.  One step at a time...

Why I couldn't get out the door today, I don't know.  I feel much better though.  The alarm system guy came last night, and we bought a (pricey!) system that will be installed next week.  And, last night, I slept like a baby!  Finally!

I have learned a lot about myself during this burglary ordeal.  I have always been a drama queen and feel life's highs and lows very strongly.  It can be an asset and a liability.  In this case, it was a liability.  It is the same way with my running.  If a race goes well, I am on cloud nine and very motivated.  If a race goes badly, I get down in the dumps and don't run at all for a while, as my blog has shown over the last few months.

Because this situation was relatively minor (we weren't hurt, nothing was damaged, and it's only stuff, except the pictures), I think I expected to be stronger than I was.  I was on autopilot on Monday, doing things I had to do with the insurance company, etc.  When that frenzy ended and it was time to go back to my normal routine yesterday (and I had time to reflect), I completely freaked out.  In the process, I became very angry with myself for not being stronger (I have also always been very hard on myself) and not  being able to do my job for another day.  Luckily, I have great, understanding bosses.  I allowed myself yesterday to freak out, be angry and scared, etc., which I know will not go away overnight.  On the bright side, I got to spend several uninterrupted hours with my sister.  She is the best!

Enough ranting.  The moral?  I'm not quite sure-get an alarm system, definitely!  Also learn to accept yourself and your imperfections.  Know your limitations.  And, it's important to surround yourself with supportive people who, at the same time, will not let you have a pity party.  My mom said in a sermon once, "Having a pity party is like crying on the devil's shoulder." 

It's funny how a running blog can morph into something completely different...

It felt so good to get back out again, for the most part.  I still have unexplained bouts of anxiety.  My breathing got a little restricted when I was alone on the trail, which is ironic because the trail is right next to a major street!

Total time was 59:26, average 9:55 (I think-Garmin is at home).  Mile 1 was 10:10, and miles 2-4 were about 10:00 even.  Slower than I'd like, but very even splits, so that is good.  I was able to pick up the last two miles to 9:51 and 9:22.

I am still obviously much slower than I want to be.  I am kicking myself now for sitting on my butt for 2 months.  If I hadn't done that, I would probably be close to 9:00 pace for my easy runs.  Oh well, lesson learned.  Won't do that again!

I have been racking my brain about my computer, and I have concluded that there were no memorized passwords on my computer, so I don't think my identity will be stolen.  However, the exception is...fastrunningblog!  If there are any weird entries, it's the burglars-ha!  We'll catch 'em!

I almost didn't get up today, but I'm glad I did.  We had a late night last night.  I did 5 or so pickups to eventual marathon race pace.  I found that my normal pace increased between the pickups too.  Total time was 58:21, 9:43 average.

It was kind of hard, but I feel OK.  I hope my legs forgive me for my long run tomorrow.

It is getting HOT!  The first 3-4 miles were fine, and then we slowed down.  I felt sluggish, and I think it was from the heat.  It was 74 degrees when we started and it's 88 now (I finished about an hour ago).  Total time was 1:49:18, average pace of 9:56.  We were sub-10:00 pace for a while, but slowed down to 10:00 and sometimes slower when it started getting hot.  The last mile was 9:15, though.

I ran with my normal group, but there were only four of us today.  Two others are also training for St. George and want to BQ (3:45 for them).  I figure if I train for 3:45, I'm going to go for BQ(3:40), but I'm just not there yet.  So I haven't decided what my goal will be.  I think I'll just try to PR (sub-3:54) and go for BQ in a winter marathon.  Right now I'm on track for a 4:00 marathon, but I know I'll get faster.  We shall see...

I saw my husband out there, which is always fun.  He runs with a different group in Scottsdale.  It's a great group, but a 25-minute drive to get there, and they don't start until 6:30.

My lazy butt slept in this morning, so I had to do hill workouts on the treadmill tonight.  I decided to get the hard workout over first so I don't have to do it tomorrow morning on not-fully-recovered legs.

I started with dynamic stretching and then hopped on the treadmill.  I didn't have my iPod (it was stolen and I haven't bought a replacement yet).  Let me tell you: treadmill without music is BORING, especially while jogging at recovery pace!

I warmed up with 1.5 miles of easy jogging at a 1.0 incline, then stepped it up for the hill repeats.  I set the incline at 3.0 and ran 4 2-minute hill intervals at 7:53 pace with two minutes of jogging at 0 incline between.  I ran a longer cooldown to make it an even 5 miles.  My pace during warmup and cooldown was 10:42 (recovery pace) and quite a bit slower during my interval recoveries.

The good thing about the treadmill: I was able to keep the pace steady and strong throughout the hill intervals and not go too fast on the warmup and cooldown portions.  I'm looking forward to getting back outside tomorrow morning, though.

I think I'm going to step up the mileage beyond what the plan calls for this week because I won't be able to run this weekend.  I will be on a boat at Lake Powell-there is literally no place to run.  I will probably do a .5-mile open water swim, though, and definitely water-ski until I drop!

I'm getting better at this early-morning thing.  I actually woke up a couple minutes before the alarm went off!  I ran 6 miles on my normal trail, and it was getting really busy around 6:30.  I just took it easy but felt a little sluggish.  I don't know if it's because I ran hills last night or because I was STARVING before mile 3, or both.

No Garmin or iPod, 77 degrees at the end of the run, felt OK weather-wise, not too hot.

Whew-tough run!  I ran 6 miles with 4 x 2-minute intervals at 3K pace (only 7:57 for me right now).  I hit all the intervals, and was able to sustain the pace, which is really all that matters, right?  The first mile was pretty slow, and I started the fartlek intervals after that.  I ran 10:00 pace between intervals until the last one.  I don't know what happened after that, but I slogged home with a 10:37 last mile-ouch!  I guess the In n Out Burger for dinner last night didn't help!

My husband had troubles too.  He had to take a bathroom break at the big Baptist church.  We don't go to that church, so I'm sure they were thrilled to see a stinky, sweaty stranger using their bathroom!  We rarely eat fast food.  I was just so exhausted yesterday and craving In-n-Out.  Maybe it's because I didn't have time for lunch yesterday....

I also did dynamic stretching before the run.  I hope these little speed intervals pay off, because I'm sick of being slow for the rest of the time!

PM: chiropractic adjustment and massage.  The massage therapist massaged my legs and glutes-it felt great!  She told me my chakras indicated that I'm harboring feelings of betrayal and trust that have been around for a long time and suggested that maybe my first boyfriend broke my heart (not true).  Wow!  Either I have some serious issues, or I look WAY young-ha!

She also said my legs are more muscular than most-yeah! 

This was kind of a rough run, and I'm not sure why.  My legs felt very sluggish, especially after stopping at traffic lights-they felt like jello!  I'm pretty sure I slowed down quite a bit in the last couple of miles.

No garmin, so I don't know my pace/time.  I'm trying really hard not to care about my pace on easy days, but I can't help wondering!

I have been pretty consistent lately, and keeping my weekly mileage steady, so I can't help wondering why I am struggling so much with "easy" 6-mile runs...

After today, I think this is the most I have ever run 5 days in a row.  I used to not run on Fridays because I ran at night.  I won't get in 6 days this week, though.  I will be on the water at Lake Powell all day tomorrow and Sunday.  I'll get plenty of cross-training exercise up there!

The 8 miles was fine.  It took about 3 miles to feel warmed up, and the last 5 went much better.  I need to get up a little earlier though so I won't be late to work.  Total time was 1:19:48, a 9:58 average.  I lost about 5 minutes waiting at traffic lights (turned off the Garmin, though).

Weekend plan: LOTS of water-skiing (not sure how that would translate into cross-training miles!), at least one .5-mile open water swim, and maybe some climbing around on the rocks!  So I will still get plenty of exercise.  We're driving to Flagstaff tonight and getting up at 4 am to leave for Page tomorrow.  Sorry, I am NOT getting up at 3:00 to run!

Happy Father's Day weekend to all you dads!

water-skiing

2.3 mile hike, complete with heat exhaustion, and numerous attempts at water-skiing

Today is one day that I am extra-thankful for the blog, because I probably wouldn't have run otherwise.  I was supposed to do 7 miles today, but after an exhausting (but fun!) weekend at Lake Powell, not much sleep last night, extreme soreness, and some spotty sunburn, I promptly turned off the alarm at 5:05 this morning.  Then, I had a long day at work, including a 4-hour round trip to Tucson and back.  And, to top it off, it was 112 degrees today!

BUT, duty and the quest for consistency won over.  I did 3.1 boring miles on the treadmill at a 9:40 pace (1.0 incline).  I am trying to do what some much-wiser-than-me bloggers have recommended: running 6 days a week, no excuses, and not pushing it too hard on easy runs.

8 x 400s tomorrow morning: time to get psyched up!

Today was a track workout, and it was almost 6:00 by the time we got out there.  With no shade, that is way too late.  Lesson learned!

The goal was 8 x 400s in 1:58 each.  I ran 7.5 of the repeats in 1:58, 1:56, and 1:55 for the rest, until the 8th repeat, which was a DNF.  It was too HOT by then.  My recovery by that point was a shuffle/walk, but I'm still counting it toward my mileage. 

I feel pretty good about my performance on the 400s.  I'm not sure why I didn't finish the last one: either I did the others too fast, or the heat just got to me.  I'm pretty sensitive to heat exhaustion.  It was a decent run overall, though.  I am still sore but feel much better.

The weather was surprisingly nice this morning, considering it's supposed to be over 110 today.  It's starting to get more humid, though-monsoon season is officially here!

I ran 5 easy miles with no Garmin.  I felt sluggish the most of the way, probably a combination of the heat and the 400s yesterday.  My right hamstring and calf are also still pretty sore.  I feel good, though: this is a true test of my consistency, and so far...I'm being consistent!   One day at a time, right?

PM: resistance training and anti-sitting stretches

The weather was actually pretty nice this morning.  We left at 5:45, 15 minutes earlier than yesterday (progress!).  I did the whole run with my husband, which was fun and doesn't happen that often.   We did a 1.5-mile warmup with dynamic stretching after .5 miles. 

Then we did 2 one-mile repeats with two minutes of active recovery in between.  The first mile was very slightly downhill, and then we ran back up the "hill" for the second.  The goal was 8:24 pace (my current projected 10K pace and eventual marathon pace). 

I ran the first mile in 8:22 (4:12 and 4:10 halves).  It felt pretty easy.  I didn't consciously pick up the pace on the second mile, but I felt like I needed to go a little harder because it was slightly uphill.  Anyway, I ran the first half in 4:09 and the second half in 4:02, for an 8:11 second mile!  It definitely felt harder, but not too hard.  Maintaining that pace for an entire 10K would be a challenge right now, though.

We finished up with a 1.5-mile cooldown at a very SLOW pace.  I'm happy with my performance.

I did 5 easy miles this morning.  I ran the first two with my husband, who then turned around to go home.  He ran the full 7 miles on Monday and I didn't, so he is still ahead of me on mileage this week.

I felt a little tired, but I haven't been getting enough sleep.  I'm also getting my body used to speedwork again, so it will probably take a few weeks to adjust.  No big deal, right?  Total time was 49:46, average 9:57 pace.  First mile was 10:17 (always takes a bit to get warmed up), and all the rest were under 10:00.

Tomorrow is my first ever downhill run.  We're driving 30 minutes to get there to do 6 miles downhill and then 6 miles of rolling hills.  Should be interesting...

Oh!  I came to the conclusion that the burglars who broke into my house a few weeks ago were definitely adults because they stole my....iron!  Who steals an iron?  (I had thought they might be kids because they came through the doggie door)  The funny thing is, there was a TV in the same room as the iron, and they didn't take the TV!  It was a nice iron, too.

OK.  First, the goal: get up at 4:30, meet at South Mountain at 5:30, start running at 5:30 so we would be done before 7:30, before it started getting hot.  There was no shade there.  The reality: those of us training for the marathon met at 5:30, others get there at 5:45, we find out they are not running down the mountain, we have to discuss it and then drive to the top, we start running at...6:10.  What follows will be no surprise.

There were four of us running together, including my husband.  The first 5.6 miles were steep downhill with a few steep uphills.  We ran a 9:38 average over the first 8 miles (still downhill).  That average is skewed upward a little bit by a 10:25 at mile 3 (big uphill).  I concentrated on just letting gravity pull me down and not braking with my legs.

At mile 5.6, there was water!  Our water was either gone or very hot by then, so we obviously got some more.  BUT, it was Team in Training water.  After we got our water, the lady asked us what "valley" we were with.  We were thinking that we all live in the Valley of the Sun, so we werent' sure what she was asking.  When she figured out we were not Team in Training people, she was MAD.  But what do you do: refuse to give water to people in Phoenix in the summer?  I realize we are not part of the Team and don't pay the exorbitant money to do it, but man, we needed water.

We then started running on a two-lane highway that is closed to cars.  There were lots of runners and bikers out.  A guy on a bike passed us and yelled, "Don't hog the whole road!"  We weren't.  What followed were some not-nice comments made by members of our group that will not be repeated (one, I confess, was made by me, but I know he didn't hear).  :-)

Anyway, I digress.  We turned around at 8.2, still going a 9:38 average.  But then, what goes down must come up (that includes the hill AND the sun).  Both came up with a vengeance, and I overheated and had to walk.  After my few episodes of heat exhaustion, I know the symptoms and listen to my body.  My next two miles were 13:40 and 15:05 because of it.  Fortunately, there was still cold water at the Team in Training station (and no one around), so I was able to cool off.  I was able to run the last 1.5 miles, so I know the problem was only the heat.

When we got back to the car, it was 8:30!  No wonder: it must have been 90 degrees already!  I wish I could have finished my FIRST SIX-DAY RUNNING WEEK with a bang, but...heat happens.  Next time, we start running when we say we're going to start.  We might have to get up before 4:00!  Whoa!

Goose egg so far today.  AARRRRGGGGHHH!  Warning: if injuries are contagious, DO NOT READ FURTHER!

First, I am just about as sore as I am after a marathon after that downhill run on Saturday. So, I woke up extremely stiff yesterday morning (but after 10 hours of sleep-wonderful!), wandered into the bathroom, and promptly stubbed my toe!  What a way to start the day.  I hopped back into the bedroom screaming, looked down, and...blood everywhere!  When I could finally get back into the bathroom, it looked like a horror movie set!  Yuck!  Somehow all the toenail polish was taken off that toenail too...weird.  Anyway, my husband went to the store to get band-aids (can you tell we don't have kids?!), cleaned it, and taped it up.  I still can't wear closed-toe shoes.

I'm hoping some of the soreness and the toe issue goes away today so I can get in some miles tonight.  I'm disappointed, especially after my good 6-day running week last week.

PM-I did 45 minutes on the bike, followed by 15 minutes on the elliptical trainer.  Let me tell you: that elliptical trainer requires a whole new level of coordination that I do not have!  I guess that's why I run: I don't have to fall as far.

My soreness has improved enough that I should be able to run fine tomorrow.  I'm glad I did the non-impact stuff today, though.

I did it!  10 x 400s!

We (hubby and I) ran 1.3 miles to the track, did dynamic stretching, and started the workout: 10 x 400s at 1:58 (goal) with one lap of jogging after each 400.

My first lap was 1:53, and all the rest were 1:50-1:52.  The 5th or 6th repeat, and the last repeat, were 1:48!  I am so excited that I did so well!  We slogged home afterward.  The heat didn't bother me nearly as badly as last week.  We started the repeats at about 5:50, though: a bit earlier than last week.

I am REALLY tired now, but it's going to take a while to get used to the intense workouts.  Also, my spine hurts to the touch-weird!  I first noticed the spine tenderness last night on the bike.  I have a chiro/massage appointment tomorrow, so I'll get it checked out then.  But I don't care right now, because I ROCKED my workout!

Well, what goes up must come down, in terms of workouts.  My legs felt like lead today, and I didn't run a single mile faster than 10:04.  Average pace was 10:18.  My cardio capacity was OK-it was just my legs!  They didn't really feel that sore, just heavy, until after I had been finished for a few minutes.  Now I realize that my quads and hamstrings are actually pretty sore.  I'm REALLY looking forward to my chiro adjustment and massage today.

No more Garmins on recovery runs-it's too discouraging!  I'm glad I got the miles in, though.

I felt really good yesterday, but do today's difficulties mean I overdid it yesterday??

Mid-day: chiropractic adjustment and MASSAGE.  The chiropractor told me the tenderness in my spine was a result from jarring it during lots of running and that it should go away on its own.  The massage was WONDERFUL but went on too long, and now I have zero motivation at work!

PM: anti-sitting stretches

Well!  This workout didn't go quite as well as Tuesday's workout.  We did a 1.5- mile warmup with dynamic stretching and then 3 1-mile repeats with 2-minute rest periods.  Last week, my goal was 8:24 and I surpassed it, so I increased my goal to the 8:05-8:10 range, which proved to be a little ambitious.

The first mile was 8:15, and it felt fine.  The second mile was 8:12 and felt harder, but I still felt OK.  When I started the third mile, I knew I was in trouble.  My legs felt like rubber.  I REALLY wanted to stop, but I pushed through (Michelle, your voice was yelling in my head!...even though I have never actually heard your voice), hoping to just finish the repeat.  I figured it would be about 9:00, the way I was feeling.  I was very pleasantly surprised when I finished in 8:25.

Based on my 400s the other day, I should have been able to complete these repeats in the 8:05 range.  So now I know: I need to work on my speed over longer periods of time.  I cooled down with slightly over 1.5-mile jog.  I had to walk a bit first, though.  Glad it's over, and looking forward to slower mileage for the rest of the week!

I just did a short run today because I want to keep my mileage this week below 40.  Two weeks ago, I cracked 30 miles for the first time in quite a while, and I don't want to escalate the mileage too quickly.  And I have to do 13 tomorrow, which will put me barely below 40 for the week.

I didn't even run the whole time.  I saw my neighbors walking on my way home.  I ran by and said hi, but they asked me about the burglary, so I stopped and walked with them for about a quarter mile.  Apparently another house on our block was burglarized through the doggie door a few months ago.

After listening to my body and the words of several wiser-than-me bloggers, and evaluating my performance, I have decided to change my training plan.  I am going to drop the short interval speed workouts and focus on base mileage with one good tempo run/mile repeat workout per week, and a long run, of course.  I knew in my head that I needed to train this way, but it's fun going fast!  I will also do some hill training (mostly downhill) during one run per week, probably during my easy Tuesday run.  I am a little bit sore all the time, and I know it can escalate into injury or burnout if I don't watch it.

Happy Friday!

Lunchtime: I was checking out my past blogs to see how much mileage I have put on my shoes (it's almost 900: time for new ones!), and I was surprised to see that I wasn't as consistent as I thought I was during marathon training.  There were a couple of minor injuries that laid me off for a few days here and there, and I got really sick one week.  Then I was VERY sore after the two half marathons I did.  But there were also many unexplained goose eggs.  This month will put me at my second highest mileage month ever, since I started blogging, and I'm still 3 months out from St. George.  I'm hoping I stay healthy and motivated, because it will be very interesting to see how I do with consistent consistency (is there such a thing?).  Also, if I have a goose egg day, I'm going to record it, so I can look back and know why I skipped a run.  I think I'm going to join Lybi's consistency challenge too!

Today was a good run.  We started at 5:40 today, instead of after 6:00, so that made a big difference.  I ran with my husband, two other people training for St. George who are a little faster than me, and a 1:26 half marathoner.  We were also running a new route, so I knew I had to keep up.  The first 3.75 were flat miles on our normal long run route.  Then we did about 4-5 miles of hills. 

It was beautiful where we went!  We ran up into Paradise Valley, past amazing houses with killer views of the city.  It almost took my mind off the pain.  We got some good downhills too, but not a lot of sustained downhills.  There was no water there, but it was shady.

It got pretty hot as we got back on the canal (no more shade!), but somehow I was able to speed up.  My average pace was 9:52.  There was just as much uphill as downhill, so they basically cancelled each other out.  I'm pretty happy with my overall pace, especially given all the hills. 

I'm going to post my splits ONLY to show the gains and losses on the hills: 9:40, 9:53, 9:47, 10:03 (unexplained slowdown, no hills yet), 10:08.5 (uphill), 10:16 (BIG uphill and some downhill), 10:03 (big uphill and some downhill), 9:38 (heading back down), 9:56 (flat again), 9:58, 9:45, 10:00 (slight uphill and HUMID by the golf courses), 9:33, 9:15 pace for last .5 mile.

I am now going to attempt my first ice bath.  I hope I live to tell about it.

This was a good run today, although it was HOT!  I drank almost all of my water.  I'll have to figure out how to carry enough water with me as the weekday runs get longer.  And, I have a new iPod!  And new shoes: Asics 2130.  Gee, I feel like a new woman.

Total time was 1:08:48, a 9:49 average.  The first three miles or so were around 10:00, I think, and then I sped up.

I made risotto last night, which is HUGE, because I am the most undomestic person ever.  It is delicious, although I had to stir constantly for an hour!  And, it is too rich to eat the evening before a run, FYI.

AARRRGGHHH....couldn't get out this morning.  Have to do treadmill mileage tonight with NO iPod.  Between my husband and me, we are having problems!  He has foot pain, so he is riding the bike right now.  I have mega neck pain, which theoretically should not affect my running, but it kind of does.  I'll get it done tonight-hold me to it, people!

PM-I did it.  I ran 6 miles on the treadmill at 9:40 pace.  It was so boring!  That will teach me to get up with the alarm!  I am meeting my Saturday group for a midweek run tomorrow morning, so that will be a nice change of pace during the week.  Most of them are faster than me, so I'll probably run alone anyway.  But Paradise Bakery will await at the end!

Today ended up being a recovery run because I ran last night.  I ran with my group, or behind my group, I should say.  Another girl did a track workout last night, so the two of us ran a whopping 10:20 average.  On the way home, it was already 90 degrees at 7:00!

My neck is really bothering me these days.  It's hard to get going, but once I start running, it's OK.  It hurts all the time, though.

I think I was just tired from running twice in less than 12 hours.  I think my legs will be fine for my mile repeats tomorrow.

I got engaged 5 years ago today!

PM: one hour of yoga at the gym.  I feel nice and loose, but it was HARD!  I should do this at least once a week.

Victories and defeats.  The plan was 4 one-mile repeats at 8:15 pace or faster.  I did a 1.5-mile warmup with dynamic stretching and started the repeats.  My legs felt a little shaky from the beginning, probably from the yoga last night.

The first one was way too slow: 8:27.  I just couldn't get going.  I rested for about 2-3 minutes and started the second one.  I wanted to die within one minute.  I dug deep and finished in 8:11 and then seriously wondered if I could complete the workout.  Luckily, some fast-tempo Metallica came on my iPod and pumped me up.  I decided to try one more.  I thought my legs were going to fall off.  I finished the first half-mile in 4:02, surprisingly, but slowed down and finished the third repeat at 8:12.  Then I REALLY wanted to die (have I said that yet?!).

The mistake was trying the fourth repeat.  I started but just couldn't do it.  I basically collapsed after about a third of it.  I tried to jog home, but ended up walking most of it.

I felt much better when I got home and my husband told me I am looking thinner.  :-)

Soooo, I know it is BAD to start a repeat and not finish it.  Even with knowing I would have to come home and blog my wimpiness wasn't enough to keep me going this morning.  I always thought I was mentally tough.  I mean, I run marathons, right?  How do I get mentally tougher?  How do I know when my body really can handle it?  Maybe my body is not quite up for these tough workouts yet....hmmmm..... Any tips from you toughies?

Oh, heaven.  I am in Flagstaff where it is COOL and beautiful.  I ran with my sister and husband at Buffalo Park, where I have run many a cross country meet and where my love of running began 15 years ago.  There are sweeping views of the peaks.  My husband kind of did his own thing.  My quads were a little sore.

I ran about 10:00 pace by myself and about 11:00+ pace when running with my sister.  It felt surprisingly easy, even at 7600 feet.  I think the cool weather makes such a difference, and the effort felt about the same as it does in Phoenix.  There is one steep downhill section that is pretty short, and my pace got down to about 8:00 on that section.

At about 3.3 miles, my sister wanted to walk, so I walked with her for a while.  Then I ran another mile on my own.  Afterwards, we stopped at a local coffee shop, and I got an espresso milkshake.  Perfect end to a perfect run! 

I did it!  14 hilly miles at 7000+ feet!  All after the BIGGEST meal ever last night!  I ran the first 7.62 miles on a packed urban trail and a forest trail with my husband and took a Gu at 5 miles.  We kept the pace between about 10:10 and 10:25 during that segment.  The effort felt the same as a normal long run in Phoenix.  Then we stopped at the car, and I got out the new fuel belt.  We split up at that point because my husband wanted to run fewer miles so he wouldn't exacerbate his foot pain.  I then ran about 1.5 miles on concrete, up and down a GIANT hill to get in some good downhill.  Then I got back on the urban trail for the rest of the run. 

It started getting hot after a while, and I ran out of water and Gatorade about .5 miles from the end.  That stupid thing is going to take some getting used to!  It sloshes around and adds an extra 5 pounds.  I took another Gu at mile 10 and stopped to stretch and mess with the fuel belt at 11.7.

I slowed down a bit toward the end and really wanted to walk, but didn't.  I was surprisingly  happy to see that my average pace for the whole run was 10:25, much faster than my last long run up here, I think.  My legs are very sore now, and I'm not sure why, because I ran most of the run on a soft surface.  I hit about 43 miles this week, which seems to be my upper limit for now.  I'm looking forward to next week as a recovery week, and then increase the mileage into the mid-40s after that.

Although my average pace was much slower than normal, I'm very happy with the run.  I always have a hard time at altitude.  Yeah! 

Trouble sleeping last night...I am pre-blogging my anticipated 5 miles later today.  It will be on the boring treadmill, but at least I'll have my iPod!

It's a recovery week-yeah!

PM-I got it done.  I ran at 1.0 incline.  The first mile was in 9:40, and the rest were 9:31.  I'm glad that I'm able to pick up the pace a little bit, even if it is on the treadmill.

I have to pre-blog again!  I feel lazy for not getting up, but I feel very refreshed now after 9 hours of sleep!  My husband is still injured, so I'll meet him at the gym tonight: treadmill for me, elliptical trainer for him.

PM-I did it.  5 miles on the treadmill at 9:31 pace.  I must say, I feel refreshed with the extra sleep I am getting this week.  I can stand doing 5-6 miles on the treadmill, but next week I'll be pounding the pavement again.

Pre-blogging yet again.  I slept 9 hours last night!  I might do 6 tonight, but I haven't decided.

PM-chiropractic adjustment.  Hopefully my neck issues will go away...

PM-At the last minute, I decided to do mile repeats on the treadmill and get the painful workout of the week over a day early.  I started with dynamic stretching and then warmed up for 1.5 miles at about 10:30 pace.  I did all three mile repeats at 8:19 pace with .25 miles after each (took about 3 minutes).  I cooled down with another 1.5 miles between 10:30 and 11:00 pace.  Then I did the anti-sitting stretches.

I guess the good thing about the treadmill is that I am forced to keep up the pace.  On the other hand, maybe I could have gone faster.  I probably could have...a little bit.

The other good thing is all the sleep I'm getting this week!  I still get to bed around 10:00 and sleep until about 7:00!  Next week I'll be back to the 7-hour nights.

The neck issues were still there when I woke up this morning.  :-(

I am pre-blogging again.  I might do 5 miles instead.  I want to keep my mileage around 32 miles this week, and with my Saturday workout already planned, I think I just need to do 4.5 miles today and tomorrow.

I am going to start keeping track of my weight too.  The weight is starting to come off now.  I was at 142 this morning.  I have been around 145 for most of the past 1.5 years.  I would love to get back down to 135.

PM: I changed into my running clothes at work, planning to go to the gym to hit the dreadmill outside.  Then I walked outside and it didn't feel too bad.  So I called my sister, who had instant Internet access at that moment, and she said it was 99 degrees.  Below 100 degrees at 6:00 pm in Phoenix in July!  So I drove home to run outside-yippee!

I ran without the iPod (stormy looking, and I don't want to be a lightning rod), tucked ice into my hat, and went for it.  Well, 99 degrees is HOT!  I made it, though, with an average 9:44 pace.  I am VERY happy with that pace for two reasons: (1) the heat most definitely made me slow down, and (2) my legs are usually VERY tired and sluggish the day after a speed/tempo workout.  Which, of course, might also mean I could have stepped it up more yesterday.  I am finally getting faster!

I just jumped in the pool.  It felt more like a bathtub.  Now it's raining!

Ohhh, the neck.  It's so weird how something so far from my legs can affect my running.  I can barely move, so running is out of the question.  Usually it gets better throughout the day, so maybe I'll be able to get in a few miles later.  I'm bound and determined to do my 5k time trial tomorrow!

It is 87% humidity here!  I'm going to have to change my blog name!  It rained all last night-we desperately needed it!

On a positive note, my weight was down again, to 140.5 pounds.

I learned something new about myself today: I do not do well with solo time trials.  I could not even finish the 5k!  I made it 2.5 miles going about 7:55 pace, and then I thought I was going to explode.  My legs felt like jello all the way home.

Two years ago, I had a lot of mental toughness.  It is now gone, and I desperately need to get it back.  Any suggestions?

It was very humid this morning, but cooler than normal.  My neck is really jacked up too.  I still only have about 50% range of motion, even after being awake and moving around for a few hours.  The other thing is that my training wasn't very focused this week.  I think, because it was a recovery week, my brain just checked out, which is ironic because I'm kind of following a BRAIN training plan.  Ha!  I think those are the reasons for my bad run.  But, I think it was truly a mind-over-matter thing, because my body probably could have finished the 5k.  Heck, I've been running 40+ miles a week-it had better be able to. 

On my way home, I saw a really creepy-looking guy, and he stared at me in a really creepy way.  I guarantee you, if he had been following me on my bike at mile 2.5, I would have set a PR!

10 minutes later: I read some other blogs and got mad at myself for throwing in the towel.  So I went out again!  I did 3.5 miles at 8:56 pace, which I will designate as marathon pace.  Full disclosure: I actually went 4 miles but walked .5 of them.  I did the first two miles without stopping and then walked a bit.  It is 85 degrees with 57% humidity, which is a whole new feeling to get used to!  It felt good to end the week on a better note.  Time for a swim!

The weather was so much nicer this morning: about 70 degrees with a very light rain for about the first mile.  I ran 7 miles in 1:08:23, a 9:46 average.  Nothing exciting, really, but it was nice to be back outside after being inside most of last week.  I'm shooting for 47 miles this week, which will probably be my highest mileage week ever!

My husband is still injured.  He is pretty discouraged.  :-(  I really want us to be able to do St. George together, so I hope he gets better soon.

Today was a tough workout.  I drove to my old neighborhood and ran hills.  Mile 3.1 to 3.9 was a long, steep uphill.  Then I turned around and ran downhill almost a mile to my car.  I got down to sub-8:00 for a while at the beginning, but then I got so tired I could barely maintain a 9:05, even on the steep downhill toward the end.  I wouldnt' call these easy miles, but there isn't another category.  Average pace was 9:40.

I had planned on 6 miles today.  Depending on how the day goes, I might be able to squeeze in a little more tonight.

Weight: back up to 143.  :-(  I ate a lot of junk food yesterday.

Great run today.  I ran 7.57 miles in 1:13:17, a 9:41 average.  My pace stayed pretty steady for the whole run.  It is HUMID outside.  This is the first summer that I have spent any time outside, because I used to run on the treadmill during the summer.  It's amazing how you pick up on the variations of the weather when you actually spend time outside.

Weight: 144.  I ate pretty well yesterday, so I'm not sure what's going on.  I'm hopeful that it's just bloating that will go away in a few days.

Hubby is going to a podiatrist this week, so hopefully he'll get hit foot issues sorted out soon.

Today I did my first tempo run in a long time.  I was supposed to do 4 miles but decided to just do three.  I ran 1.5 miles to warm up and then started the tempo run.  It was pretty hard to get going, even with the warmup.  My splits were 8:38, 8:27, and 8:18, which averaged out to 8:27.  My goal had been 8:24, so I was pretty close, but I would have preferred to have kept a steady pace throughout.  I finished with a little over 3 miles of cooldown.

I feel like I should be able to run these tempo runs faster.  I've gotten pretty used to the heat, though, and don't think about it as much as I used to.  But I'm sure it still affects my performance.  It never gets below 80 degrees, and now it's really humid too.  I'm going to find that heat performance calculator (I know it's somewhere on the blog) and adjust accordingly.  Overall, though, it was a good workout.

Weight: 143.

I felt VERY sluggish this morning.  Part of it was the fact that I ran a tempo run yesterday, and when I was thinking about what I ate yesterday, I realized that I hardly ate any carbs.  So there you have it.  My average pace was 10:17.

I have the BIGGEST blister on my little toe that I have ever seen.  I need to take care of it today somehow or I will have problems tomorrow.

The low tonight is supposed to be in the mid to high 80s.  Tomorrow might be rough!

Weight: 142 or 143 (I forget)

Happy Friday!

What a run!  By the end of the run, it was 91 degrees, 38% humidity, and I could feel the heat radiating off my skin!  I am a big baby.  :-)  For that reason, I didn't make it to 15.  I mostly walked the last mile home, so I didn't count it as part of my mileage.

For some reason, I always run MUCH slower than normal for the first half of my long runs.  My first eight miles were: 10:21, 10:12, 10:11, 10:11, 10:16, 10:12, 10:04, and 10:09.  It was still fairly early at that time, so it's not the heat.  Normally, I can pick it up in the second half and average under 10:00 per mile for my long runs.  Maybe the fatigue of the week just builds up.  If anyone has any explanations for the slower miles, and/or suggestions for improving this, let me know!  I always prefer to run more even splits.

Today was supposed to be  a progression run, with the last mile at half marathon pace.  Miles 9-11 were 9:49, 9:51, and 9:48.  But by then it was so hot I just switched to survival mode to make it home.  I took several breaks, stopping for quite a while at the places with water!  Miles 12-14 were PAINFUL, at 10:06, 10:25, and 10:49-yikes!

My average overall pace was 10:11, which I think is actually OK, given the heat.  I don't think it ever got under 85 or so. 

These long runs are really presenting a challenge, now that it's so hot.  I might have to drive up to Prescott for a few of these workouts in the next few weeks.  That, or get up at 3:30-whoa!

GUESS WHAT: this was my highest mileage week EVER!  Since I began keeping track, anyway.  I didn't even run this much when I was doing 20-milers!  I can't believe that I will probably hit 50 miles next week. Yippee!

I'm pre-blogging today.  I woke up every last night to my toe THROBBING.  Who knew a stupid blister could cause so much trouble?  I have been limping since Saturday.  If I can make it through the workday without limping, I'll go run on the treadmill tonight.

I really want to break 50 miles this week, so I hope the toe cooperates!

PM-the toe cooperated.  Wouldn't you know, it started KILLING me as soon as I stopped running.  I guess the solution is...run all the time!

I ran 6 miles on the dreadmill.  I wanted to do 7, but my body was acting up a bit.  Nothing I can put my finger on: a few chills, a weird feeling in what felt like a tendon wrapping my heel.  So I cut the run a little short.

For me, though, when I say I ran "only" six miles, that is a good day!

It's amazing how one can feel so different from week to week.  I felt DEAD today.  I actually had to walk quite a bit on the way home.  At about mile 5, I started feeling some intense pain in my right hip flexor, and my left groin muscle hurt when I got home.  I did run last night, and it was hotter than usual this morning, but I'm wondering if I might be overtraining a bit.

I'm adjusting my goals for the week.  I'll wait until next week to hit 50.  I just want to maintain the 46-47 mileage for this week.  Hopefully I'll feel better tomorrow.

This has been a really rough week.  I had a really hard time today and had to walk again.  My legs felt like jell-o and could barely move.  I have been getting enough sleep and eating well, but I'm going to count my calories today to confirm that I'm eating enough.  Also, my work stress level has reached a boiling point this week and will probably not subside until I leave for vacation.

I also wonder if I'm overtraining and should take tomorrow off completely.  Having to walk two days in a row really gets me down, and I'd rather rest my legs than have to walk again.  AAARRRGGGHHH!

Weight: 142

I have decided to take today off.  Work is really stressing me out, and I feel some sickness coming on.  I also don't think I can mentally handle a third day in a row of crappy runs.  Today I will live vicariously through all of the exciting race reports!

I am really glad I completed this run.  It was a big confidence booster after a mediocre (at best) week of running and heat meltdown in previous long runs.  It was not without drama, though!  I did the whole run alone.

I left the house at 5:15 (still later than I wanted), but it was still kind of dark, so I decided to run a busier route and hook up with the canal after about 4 miles when it was lighter.  As I approached the intersection where I planned to get on the canal (already 86 degrees, BTW), I saw that it was completely roped off with cops and cop cars EVERYWHERE.  I saw one car badly wrecked, but no people anywhere.  I think something else was going on because of all the cops.  So, I couldn't get on the canal for another mile or so.  At least half of the run was on concrete or asphalt, which  will get me used to pounding the pavement for 26.2 miles.  I ended up running on the canal for only about 1.5 miles total.  I felt really good for the first several miles.  My first 10 miles were: 9:53, 9:53, 9:58, 9:46, 10:11 (uphill), 10:03 (less shade), 10:01, 9:53, 9:50, 10:00.  I took my only Gu at mile 9.  I had my fuel belt with Gatorade and water, though.

Then I hooked back up with the Bridle Path, where I run on the weekdays.  It is very shady, and I figured it would be better to run there, near my house and in the shade when it was getting warmer.  Well, it was shady, but it was also after 7:00.  I started really struggling and decided to just go home and regroup.  Miles 11-13 were 10:18, 10:50, 11:53.  I went in my house, got some ice water, and checked the weather.  The heat index was 92 degrees with about 50% humidity.  I REALLY wanted to complete the run, so I drank lots of ice water and stood under the fan for about 20 minutes.  Then I put some crushed ice in my hat and set out again.  My legs didn't feel tired at all, which I took as a really good sign.

I did 3 more miles around my neighborhood to complete the run.  None of those miles was faster than 11:00, and one was over 12:00.  On the home stretch, I got a disapproving mini-lecture from my neighbor who told me it was way too hot to be out.  Thanks for your concern, sir, but we runners know what we're doing!  Another neighbor lady was doing yardwork in nice white shorts.  Hmmm.....Sorry, I digress.

Yay for 16 miles in HOT weather!  Now I have to go to work.

My quads were a little sore this morning from running 13 miles on concrete and asphalt on Saturday.  But other than that, I feel back to normal after a mediocre week last week.  The weather was almost pleasant this morning!

I ran 7 miles in 1:08:17, a 9:45 average.  Actually, I ran most of the run slower, and ran the last two miles a little faster.  It was a good run.

I forgot to weigh myself this morning.

AARRGGHH!  I'm not pre-blogging today because I don't know if I'll be able to run.  :-(  I am having pain in the ball of my right foot.  It started yesterday, mid-day, and got progressively worse as the day went on.  It was hurting constantly by the time I went to bed last night and REALLY hurt when I woke up.  But now it feels OK.  Hmmm.....

If it continues to feel OK, I'll run tonight.  I would guess my work stilettos are not the best shoes to be wearing.  Any suggestions on how to make this go away would be appreciated.

Today I will run vicariously through the rest of you bloggers!

PM-Well, I am just so excited I can hardly stand it.  I ran 6 miles at my normal pace in 100+ degree weather, and I felt great!  My foot feels fine now.  Go figure...I ran a different route than usual, which I really enjoyed.

Total time was 58:10, a 9:41 average pace.  My splits were 9:27, 9:45, 9:43, 9:52, 9:46, and 9:32.

It's amazing that I can run this well when it's over 100, but a few miles in 90+ degrees after I've already run 10 or so miles is an entirely different story!

I really needed this.  I worked until 7 pm tonight, and I have a long, important day tomorrow.  Running is the best!

I'm pre-blogging again.  My run last night was so nice that I want to do it again!  Plus, the stress at work is making me tired, and I need my sleep.

If I'm feeling feisty, maybe I'll make it a tempo run tonight.

PM-Blah.  I planned on 7 miles, ran 3.5 miles to my turnaround point, and started feeling a pretty bad cramp under my right rib cage.  It wouldn't go away.  I made it 5 miles at a 9:40.5 pace (identical splits, except for the first mile-nice!) and then the day caught up with me.  I made sure I made it to 6 miles running, but mixed in a lot of walking.  My last mile was 10:38.  Oh well.

I worked 11 hours until 7 pm tonight with no lunch.  So, it's no surprise that my run wasn't so hot.  BUT, I settled a big case today!  And I might be going to Texas tomorrow.  Time to pack and go to bed.

Today's run was OK.  I have struggled this week, because work has been so crazy.  In fact, it took over 4 miles this morning to get work thoughts out of my head!  I didn't go to Texas.  I found out I wasn't going as I was on my way to the airport.

Total time was 1:13:47 (I think).  My average pace was 9:47.  Mile 1 was about 10:00, and I gradually picked up the pace every mile to end at 9:24.  I didn't do that on purpose.  Well, maybe I did a little bit, because I wanted to get home and not be late for work.  But I felt pretty good, for the most part.

It was overcast, so the weather was pretty nice.  I hope it's overcast tomorrow morning too!

PM-goals for August:

I have had a few less than stellar weeks of running.  This month is crucial for St. George training.  My goal is to miss no more than one day of running, hit 50 miles per week a few times, and NO weeks less than 40 miles!  Oh yeah, and lose more weight.  :-)

This 16-miler was a lot better than the last one.  I ran with friends, from a friend's house, and he was kind enough to drive the route and set out frozen water bottles for us along the way.  We did two different out-and-back courses from his house.  We had beautitful scenery, and it was a great change of pace.  The first 8 miles were pretty hilly.  We ran up into the foothills of Mummy Mountain and over to the other side and back.  We had a pit stop at his house for cold water, and then did another flat 8-mile loop.

It got hot toward the end, of course, but I was able to finish strong, unlike last week.  Our average pace was 9:54, which I thought was pretty good, especially given the hills.  Average for the second eight miles was probably under 9:50.  My Garmin is in the other room, and I'm too tired to go get it.  :-)  My last mile, in 90 degrees, was 9:17.

Afterwards, we cooled off in our host's pool (I went off the diving board!).  Then he made us breakfast!

Then I came home and had an ice bath with TWO bags of ice!  I read an article in Running Times about how we need to learn to embrace pain to improve.  I am always good at doing that on long runs (that's probably why I run only marathons and half marathons!), but I need to work on welcoming the pain in tempo runs.  Bring it on!

I had a great run, and now it's time for a nap!

Today was a blah day.  It was overcast and cool, though-probably well under 80 degrees!  My legs felt beat up, and I had some aches and pains here and there.  The right side of my lower back is really bothering me.  My average pace was 9:55.  After a mental inventory, I realized yesterday was another day of very few carbs.

Yesterday my heel bothered me most of the day.  It was hurting in the same area where my husband's hurts him, and he was recently diagnosed with plantar fasciitis.  His heel is better, but now he thinks he might have a stress fracture.  I read up on plantar fasciitis and realized I have done several things I shouldn't: I ran 16 miles on asphalt on concrete on Saturday, and I ran after wearing heels all day a few times last week.  Then I wore shoes with wooden soles yesterday.  So, no more long runs on asphalt, and today I brought my speedo shower shoes to work.

My motivation is lagging a little bit right now.  I think it's a combination of work stress and a lack of improvement with my average pace.  I will try to do a tempo run this week to gauge my fitness and, hopefully, increase my motivation!  I am VERY thankful for this blog, because it will make me not quit!

The plan was 7 miles, including a long hill.  I woke up early, hit snooze and decided I wasn't going to get up, changed my mind, and got up to get dressed.  Small victory!  Then, I felt a stabbing pain in the ball of my foot.  I tried to stretch it, to no avail.  I am so paranoid about getting injured that I just went back to bed.  Now, at 11:00, it feels better, although I have worn shower shoes to work the past two days.

My husband probably has a stress fracture brought on by plantar fasciitis, so I am freaking myself out too.  How do you know if pain is bad enough to skip a run?  I know the worst thing for pf is to keep running on it.

I won't make it out tonight because I have plans.  Sigh...

I did a tempo/hill run at dusk.  I ran on the canal for .72 miles, then through the neighborhood at Granada Park, across Lincoln, and up Squaw Peak Parkway to the end of the road.  From .72 to 2.73 was uphill, including some BIG uphil, and then downhill from 2.73 to 4.73.  My splits were 9:25 (felt very easy, beginning of slight uphill), 9:46 (more uphill, and had to stop at a traffic light), 9:58 (MAJOR uphill, and then turnaround, .25 mile downhill), 8:05 (felt great), and 8:45 (.27 was barely a shuffle at the end).  For the last .75, I was probably closer to 7:30-7:45 range.  I got a major cramp toward the end, but I made it!

My cooldown was very short, and I walked back to my car.  My foot was already hurting by then.  :-(  Total time was 47:03, average 9:13.

I haven't been too consistent lately, which bothers me.  Part of it is injury paranoia, and part of it is work overload.  I'm hoping next week will set me back on track.

Although I ran fewer miles than I wanted to, I feel good about today's run.  I hope my legs agree in the morning!

No running yet today, but another HUGE milestone!  My weight is below 140 for the first time in almost 2 years!  The needle is just barely under 140, so I probably weigh 139.9 or something.  Now the real challenge: keep the scale there next week while eating lobster rolls!

I feel OK after last night's hill/tempo run.  I had some arch pain, and my left knee hurts a little.  Mainly I am just exhausted! 

A blah run.  I felt fine for the first 5 miles or so and then I really had to slow down.  I was really struggling by the end.  My legs felt really tired, like I had run a tempo run last night instead of two nights ago.  This stress is really taking a toll.  I think I am going to post some questions about it on the message board.

We got some SERIOUS rain last night, so there were puddles and fallen tree branches everywhere.  It was an extra workout to dodge everything!  It was pleasant out, though: probably in the mid-70s or so.

I chopped my hair off the other day (about 8-9 inches).  It's too short to pull back, and my hat is already packed, so I just tucked it behind my ears and went.  Because of the humidity, I looked like a giant frizz ball when I got home!  It was hilarious!  What do you short-haired women do with your hair when you don't have a hat?

Our flight leaves this afternoon.  I am SOOOO ready for a vacation!

Oh, heaven! We are at the beach in Connecticut, and I ran along the ocean and harbor today. I ran in the middle of the day and was only a little warm. It is humid, but not overwhelmingly so. I ran a similar route to last year when I was here. But today I found a new private beach that I had only seen from the water last year when we were kayaking. I'm pretty sure that I won't be allowed on that private beach, though.

The only downside to running here is that it's all concrete/asphalt. The beach was definitely too crowded today, and there are no long stretches of beach. My heel is really bothering me, so I hope it holds up OK. It was only a little tender until my husband started pressing on my heel to find the tender spot,and it has been throbbing ever since (I'm not blaming him. :-) ) There is a 5 mile race tomorrow in the next town, but I don't know where. If I can figure it out, I'll go run it.

We just finished an amazing dinner of mussels, roasted clams, littlenecks, corn on the cob, grilled chicken, grilled lettuce, and skirt steak. We ate outside by the beach. I only had a tiny bit of steak. Not the best pre-race dinner, but it was 100% enjoyable!

What a run!  We went to Newport, RI today (mom, husband, and I) and had a great time.  We walked a lot, and my heel was hurting, so I was a little apprehensive about running.  The pain went away, though.

I ran along the beach at dusk.  It was so beautiful and very cool out.  I did 5.4 easy miles at about 9:30 ish pace (9:22, 9:41, 9:35, 9:26, 9:23), ran in and got the camera, and went back out.  The lighting was perfect for pictures and I wanted  to get some good ones.  I stopped several times between 5.4 and 6 for pictures, and then I just kept going faster and faster to get to the next  few beaches before the sun went down.  I got some killer pictures that will be framed in our house! 

Then it really started raining.  I didn't think running by the water with a metal camera was the smartest thing to do, so I hauled back home.  My last couple of splits were  8:53, 8:35, and 8:51 (.4).  The pace felt good, like I could hold it for longer than a half marathon.

My knees ache a little bit.  Time to chill!  What a great day...

Long, hilly run and bike ride.  Very beautiful, rode 14.05 miles on the cruiser bike and ran 3.25 in the middle, got lost in the woods, but I'm not going to retype the whole entry again.  Lots of fun...

I am SICK with a horrible sore throat.  I caught it from my husband.  I got up at 4:25 for a planned 12-mile downhill run, drove to my friend's house, and it just wasn't happening.  I came home and slept for another 2 hours for my grand total sleep of about 4 hours.  I feel AWFUL.  With my recent slacking and now this, St. George isn't looking too good.  I was sick with a stomach bug earlier this week.  :-(

I have to go in to work today, and tonight is the Dave Matthews Band concert!  We have great seats, and I'll go on a stretcher if I have to.  He is my fave!  This will not bode well for a quick recovery, but I'll have a great time!

Ugh.  I am still sick.  But, the Dave Matthews concert was awesome!  I know if I could have some down time I would feel better.  But that's just not an option with my work schedule this week.  I haven't been able to sleep, either.

When it rains, it pours.  As if being sick for several days isn't bad enough, we got in a car wreck yesterday!  We got rear-ended pretty hard, but there was no damage to our car, amazingly!  my neck is a little stiff today, but that's it.  I just have to laugh about it now.

St. George seems to be more and more of a pipe dream now.  I'll have to reassess after I get over this sickness.  Blah...

STILL SICK!!!!  Arrgghhhh.....

Good news, though: I am able to sleep in.  I slept in today, which helped.  Also, I got some big work commitments moved, so it cuts down on my workload for the week.

Can anyone spare me some extra miles for St. George?  :-)

Feeling better...I might even be able to run tomorrow!

Well, I finally went for a run.  I ran 3 miles at a 9:55 average.  It took almost 10 minutes to get my heart rate back down to 120 though!  It will be interesting to see how much fitness I have retained after a month of sitting on my couch.  I have not gained back any weight, so that is good. 

I am having a problem with work/life balance.  Work has been extremely busy lately, and I just have not had energy, or the desire, to keep training for the marathon.  I can't do anything in moderation, though.  Basically, it's either train for a marathon and run 6-8 miles a day, or nothing.  That is a bad way to approach work/life/everything.

My husband has a stress fracture.  he was just diagnosed last week, so he is out for 6 weeks.  Unless I make some miraculous strides in the next few days, St. George is not going to happen for me.  Frankly, I'm more disappointed about not meeting all you bloggers!  However, I should have a good head start for PF Chang's.  Hopefully my husband will be able to do the half then, and he and I can do a marathon together after that.  Time will tell...