Attitude is Everything!

OK-  Slow is an understatement.  This was actually a walk to the grocery store and back- but hey it is mileage, isn't it?

Ran a 6 mile neighborhood loop through the river bottom.  This is a great run as it includes quite a few hills as I work my way from the upper edge on the east side of the river to Lampton View on the west side and back over to the east side.  When I got home I took my daughter to the 'riverpark'.  She is just learning to ride her bike (this is day 1 without training wheels) so I walked/jogged/ran the 2 miles to the park.  She is doing amazingly well, unlike my poor back.

Missed the BBK's for the early miles so I went over to the gym instead.  It was probably a good thing because I was only able to complete 1.5 miles running before I gave up (darn knee again).  I moved over to the elliptical trainer and completed another 3.5 miles.  I guess its good to cross train but its not nearly as fun as running.

Ran on the treadmill today.  I had 30 min to complete my run while my little girl was swimming.  I wanted to run at least 4 miles so I had to push it a little.  My knee did great as long as I kept my speed at 8 min/miles or faster.  My last mile was a 6:45.

Ran with the BBK's this morning.  Ran the SJ 5K route 3x.  The warm-up was a slightly shortened version.  I struggled a bit with the warm-up as my right knee was killing me.  The second 5K was much better.  I ran it with Dean- chasing Cheris and Michelle.  I really enjoy running with him- he pushes me.  I think he said we finished it in 22 minutes or so.  The third 5K I ran with Nancy.  It was great getting to know her a little.  I am truly impressed with this group.  The ability level is phenomenal and everyone is so friendly.  I think we finished this one in about 23 minutes.  I keep debating as to whether I should invest in a watch-  I'm always relying on someone else to tell me my times, although, I kind of like going by exertion level rather than splits (is that what you call them?)  I was amazed at how much better my knee felt when I was running at a faster pace.  I have been struggling with it for the past 3 or 4 weeks.  This week I have noticed that when I run slow it hurts but when I pick up the pace it doesn't.  This doesn't make sense to me but when does life make sense?  Oh well- another great day of running. I love the rain!

Ran from my house to the gym to meet the kids and take them swimming.  I'm still struggling with how fast to run.  I wanted to make this an easy run because my legs are a bit tired and I would like to attempt a long run tomorrow.  Running at a pace slower than about an 8:00 min/mile hurts my knee so I end up running faster than I should.  I walked the last half mile.  It's kind of weird- it seems the slower paces caused something (plica maybe) to get pinched between the upper edge of my knee cap and the quad?  The point where the patellar tendon attaches to the tibia also gets a little sore.  When I run a bit faster or walk I don't have either of these problems but my lungs and quads need a break.  What to do?  I'm stuck in either high or low gear and I hate cross-training. 

Met many of the BBK group for a 10 miler, their last before they head off to Boston.  I'm excited for them they are going to do great.  It was fun listening to their plans.

At about mile 4 (the only uphill portion of the run) my quads got a little tired but once we leveled out again I felt great.   My knee did really well, only getting a little sore at times, I think it is on the mend.  I was scheduled to do 16 today but just don't feel it would be a great idea.  I have put in a lot of miles (for me) this week, hopefully that will make up for the shorter long run.  I hope I will be ready to run Ogden in 5 weeks.  Overall another great run.

Total miles 10.6 with an AP of 8.24. 

http://www.mapmyrun.com/run/united-states/ut/riverton/562123929357096818