Each Day Is a Gift

First day of June!  What a beautiful start of a new month, week and day!!! 

Perfect time to lace up the brand spanking new shoes.  Plus the new socks my daughter gave me for Mother's Day...just in time for the healing blister I got at Ogden.

Ran one mile for warm up then test drive the new shoes for three.  Short and sweet!

TT: 3:10.  AP: 8:47.  Splits: 10:01, 8:43, 8:15, 8:10

I think I will run 4, 6, 4, 6 this week and do the Nestle 5K on Sat .  Whaday'all think of running a 5K one week before Utah Valley Marathon?  I can count in one hand how many times I've run 5K's.  It's way out of my comfort zone.  Last year I ran the same 5K and surprised myself with an AG win.  I am thinking 5K is a good speed work.  I just want to train smart to avoid injury.  Any tips and advice will be appreciated.

Temp was in the high 50's.  I tried on a pair of running visor instead of running cap which seems to trap heat.  I think the visor works good as a sweat band.

Ran a route I haven't run for awhile.  First mile east to 1200E for warm up.  Then west along 3200N all the way to 1600W at Fox Hollow Elementary, then south to 2600N.  There's a gentle downhill on this 3 mile stretch.  The uphill comes from mile 4 going east on 2600 N with a nice headwind (summer breeze makes me feel fine!).  Then cruise home for the last mile. 

6 miles in 55:09.  AP: 9:11.  Splits: 10:04, 9:08, 8:54, 8:48, 9:26, 8:50. 

The ITB tugs a little on the downhill.  I'm icing it.  Will stretch and roll later.  Will do core work and yoga as well. 

Very tired this morning.  Didn't want to run.  Kelli's awesome workout yesterday inspired me to JUST DO IT!  I'm thinking my next training cycle of running 3 days a week will work better.  My legs will have a day of recovery and the running will not be so stale.

Ran 4.5 sluggish miles.  Saw a girl who used to live in my ward.  Ran with her some.  It's getting very warm.   I think I will run UVM like I did DesNews last year, similar conditions. 

Splits: 9:19, 9:03, 9:21, 9:04, 9:10.  AP: 9:12

Had to hurry to get'er done.  Not much of a warm up, just ran downhill first, then uphill for the first 3 miles.  Made it home in time to shower and off to meetings.  Now I am tired. Will do some stretches later.

6 miles in 51:53.  AP:  8:39.  Splits: 8:48, 8:34, 8:55, 8:43, 8:33, 8:17

Around the world core, fast abs, abductor lifts ~ 30 rep.

AM/PM yoga,  ITB stretch.

Overcast sky, perfect day for dance festival.  So excited!!!

I could never sleep the night before a race.   Got up, showered and drove myself (that's a first, driving myself to a race, that is) to Springville HS at 5:50 am.  I got there with plenty of time to kill.  Parked right by the track fence, sat in the car and watched the race organizers set up cones, PA system.  Went and got my packet.  Wow, for $11 they gave you a T shirt, coupons, energy bar, hot chocolate mix and tons of candies.  I ate my banana, drank some water, pinned on my bib and tried to come up with a game plan.  Should I run this like a fun run or should I try to defend my title.  With the ITB issue, I doubt I could get a PR.  I figured last year time of 22:15 was too fast, a mistake, was probably 24 something.  So I would be thrilled to run sub-25.

30 min before gun time, I jogged and stretched a little in the parking lot and ran over to the course.  Kathie and her sister, Kimmie, ran up to me.  We ran to the first turn, took a peek of the hill, then turned around.  Also saw Mark (Huans32) and Kristi (Mrs.Fit), Marcie (Canyon) and her son on their warm up jog.  By the time we got back, a crowd had gathered.  I saw Lucy Gull stretching by the start line.  She was one of the ladies I "paced" at Ogden.  I congratulated her for placing in her AG there and predicted that she would win her AG (which she did).  She thanked me profusely.  FUN!

After a quick stop to the pop, I headed to the start line.  Kristi and I lined up on the sidewalk about 8-10 deep while Mark lined up closer to the front.  We also saw Baldmanrunning (Zach).  The count down started; I punched my Garmin when I heard GO.  It was very crowded even on the sidewalk.  Dodging around people was annoying.

I decided to do the Galloway 5K Lowell recommended.  Run a true first mile, walk 20 seconds, take a drink, run to the second mile, walk 20 seconds and take a drink, then run to the finish.  I ran the uphill strong, glancing at my watch and saw that I was right on at 8:00.  At the first mile marker, I walked 20 seconds, no water.  I resumed running and caught all the people who passed me while I walked.  First mile split was 8:06.  Then around mile 1.5, my quads started to protest.  The downhill looked like a cliff to me while all these little kids came prancing by.  I started to worry about my ITB, focusing on not buckling.

Mile 2 couldn't come soon enough.  I walked for 20 seconds while drinking a small cup of water.  That mile came in at 8:12, darn, the Galloway walk didn't work.  I resumed running and saw Kathie just ahead, so I caught up to her.  I tried to stay with her, but she was too fast.  The ITB started to tug at me.  My quads were burning.  I walked for 10 seconds just before we turned onto the street in front of the HS.

Got on the track and heard Mark cheering.  Thought I heard him yelling to "pass people", but my wheels were falling off.  I walked just before the turn and again on the straightaway.  I saw the clock and knew I made my goal of sub-25.  I forgot to stop the watch after crossing the finish where the chute was a traffic jam and my shins started to cramp up.  I grabbed some refreshments.  Wow, they had popsicle, energy bar, hot pockets, banana, apple.  Saw TylerS as I headed to the car for my lawn chairs.

At the raffle, I sat by Lark, Mark, Kristi, Alisa and her family, Kathie, Kim and their mom.  I was very happy to finally meet Julie C.  I didn't win any prize.  The raffle lasted for over an hour with a constant stream of prizes like Wiis, toolsets, iPods, gift cards, golf sets, fishing sets, even a gazebo and a lap top.  Kathie's mom won $100 cash.  Quite a few bloggers and Flyers took home hardwares.  It was a gorgeous day, under blue sky, green mountains, cool breeze, mild temp,  And to be with some of the best running friends is priceless. 

After I got home at 11:00am, the temp was 66, so I went out for another 4.5 mile recovery run, average pace 9:40.  Now on to UVM next week and WBR the next.  I hope I didn't leave anything out there on the course today.