Back in the saddle?

Tonight I ran on the treadmill.  To keep it interesting, I kept changing the pace for each new song on my iPod.  I ran the last mile in 8:41, a tad faster than my goal marathon pace for my next marathon.  Whether that's a realistic goal, I don't know.  But it felt good.  I finished in 56:32, an average pace of 9:25.

Days like this make me love running more than ever.  I've been so stressed about work that I haven't slept well in a week, even when I was "relaxing" in Flagstaff.  I was freaking out this morning, but I buckled down and had a fairly productive day.  I left work at 6:00, knowing that it is imperative that I have an even more productive day tomorrow to meet my deadline.  I was dreading the run, but, wouldn't you know it, I am now completely recharged and ready to kick it at work tomorrow.  I also knew that I would be extremely grouchy if I didn't get my run in for the day.

And, I have to say, if it weren't for the blog, I very well might have skipped today's run!

I felt kind of icky on my run tonight.  I had GI issues and just generally did not feel 100%.  I finished in 59:57.  My splits were: 9:58, 9:53, 10:07, 10:14, 9:59, and 9:46.  Maybe my body just decided to take it easy, since I picked up the pace last night.

On the plus side, I finished work a little earlier than normal tonight and got started on my run while it was still light out!  I didn't have to turn on the headlamp (aka the endless source of ridicule) until over halfway through the run!

Tonight was another somewhat icky run.  Total time was 59:31, average 9:55 mile.  The Garmin was off by .03, though.  I ran until it said 3.0, turned around, and it logged 5.97.  I have the new 305, and it hasn't done this before.  Oh well.  My splits were: 10:08, 10:00, 10:06, 10:14, 9:56, and 9:26.

I'm somewhat confused by two nights in a row of sub-par performance.  I'm getting the same amount of sleep, eating lots of carbs, and staying somewhat sane at work.  I remember when training for past marathons that I was supposed to cut the mileage back every 4th week.  This will be my 4th week of 30+ miles.  Maybe I'm overtraining a bit???....Any advice or insight would be much appreciated.

Well!  So much for feeling icky!  I decided to kick it up a notch and see if my body would respond in the same way it does to a 10:00 mile, and it did!  It almost felt easier, in a way.  I made a point of focusing on my pace the whole time and really engaging my mind as I ran.  Total time was 56:52, with an average pace of 9:29.  According to Garmin, my max pace was 4:42!  Ha!  My splits were: 9:40, 9:33, 9:33, 9:34, 9:31, and 9:04.  Yay!  My heart rate recovered quickly.

It's getting darker earlier every night.  I needed the headlamp for almost the entire run.  I saw my boss again on my run, but this time he was driving.  Thankfully, he saw me and didn't almost hit me with his car-that would have been awkward!  Then, I got hooted at by guys in cars TWICE.  It's really obnoxious, but I gotta admit, an ego boost too.

I have decided to change my goals.  I bet my potential goes beyond what I posted as my original goals, so I'm going to give it a whirl.  If I run 2008 miles in 2008, I should blow past my original goals!

So, I just tried to change my goals, but I had trouble accessing the text.  Then I made changes, but they were not saved!  I'll be the first to admit that simply having figured out how to blog is a technical miracle in my world!  Any technical help would be appreciated.

Well, today I crashed and burned, and it was entirely on account of my own stupidity!  First, I decided to sleep in and start my run at 9:30.  On any other weekend, it would have been fine, but it has been hot in Phoenix all week, and the high today is supposed to be back up in the mid-90s.  So I knew it would be warm, but I was prepared.

So, I started my normal run on the canal, stopping at water stops, not thinking about the fact that, because it was later, the coach people would come and pick up their coolers!  I had planned on running 12 miles on an out-and-back course along the canal, but when I got to about 3.5 miles, I decided to mix it up.  So I ran into a residential area.  I wasn't sure where I was, but then I came across the street where my mother grew up.  So, I thought, yippee!  I'll run down memory lane, all the way to her old house.  So I did, and it was beautiful.  It's a wonderful older neighborhood full of character (and trees and grass!) with a great view of Camelback Mountain.

Anyway, I was running along, it was getting warmer, and I finally realized that (1) my water was very hot, and (2) it was almost gone.  And, has everyone ever had a hot Gu?  It is disgusting-don't ever do it!  It took me almost to my turnaround point to realize: there is a reason I stay on the canal-water!  I never think about it, because I just top off my water bottle at every stop, so I always have a full bottle.  Oops!

I realized the 12 miles was not going to happen.  I made it to 8 miles, and then I had to walk.  I walked one mile to the gas station, called my husband to come get me, and walked one more mile to where he picked me up and took me to my car.  He, on the other hand, ran 16 miles at a great pace!  I guess that's what happens when you run early and hydrated!  Oh well.  I still ran over 30 miles this week, and I WILL NOT sleep in next Saturday!!!!