Create.

a.m.

30 minutes upright bike

1/2 mile swim

**Thanks for the mangos Fonz. They were so so so good!

work

Lower body strength training while working out with a patient -- sweet (love it when I can get some exercises in that way ... plus, my boss is the best and I can always ask him if I am doing them correctly, what other ones would be good, etc.)

** Everytime I go to work I remember why I am going to school and realize that it will be so worth it. I feel very lucky (and very tired). :)

p.m.

70 minutes elliptical 

14 miles. AP: 8:12 -- Everything felt very tired and very heavy.

Today's goal: Figure out a way to get 8 hours of sleep before 5:30 a.m. tomorrow morning. This is going to be a toughy. Hoping to take a 20 minute nap before lab, a 40 minute nap with the twins when I get home, and 7 solid hour this evening (which means I need to be in bed by 10:30). Keeping my fingers crossed. I desperately need the zzzzzzzs.

30 minutes upright bike

600 meter swim

- biceps

- triceps

- wobble board in squat position 2 x 3 minutes (AP/ML)

Tried to decide last night what I was going to run this morning. I knew I had a race on Saturday, but also knew that we are just running the race for fun, so decided to push it. My goal for quite some time has been to run 8 miles in 1 hour on the treadmill. I decided to do it at the gym since there would be people around to push me. Found someone that looked super fast (Fonz was not there) and put myself on the treadmill in front of him knowing that he would be able to see if I slowed down. I know that sounds stupid, but it works for me. :)

1 mile warmup

8 miles in 59:59 (I had to enter puke pace the last 1.25 miles to make this happen and am still feeling a little nauseous because of it). AP: 7:30

1 mile cooldown

Anyway ... it was much harder than I thought it would be and don't know if I want to try that again for a while. Why is it so much harder to run faster when you are not in a race??

***SIDE NOTE: I think I set too lofty of a goal for Boston and need to re-evaluate. I have talked to a few people who told me to expect 10 - 15 minutes slower than my fastest SG time. Stink! What is everyone's experience with Boston? There is not much elevation loss, but it is at sea level. Hmmmm ....

3 super easy miles

WARNING:

Way long race report! The abridged edition is this:

The race was AWESOME

PERFECT company

TONS OF FUN!!!!

First off, let me say that I have never ran a relay before and I LOVED IT!!!! I am certain what made this race so much fun was the girls (Smooth, Kathie, Kimmie, Mom of Kathie and Kimmie, and Marcie) and Andy!! I am just going to cut to the chase because midterms have begun and I am so so so so so behind!!!! OUCH!!!!

Smooth ran legs 2 and 7 and was absolutely AMAZING!!! She had 12 or 13 road kills on her first leg alone! I LOVE the time I spend with her. She is fun, laughter, dynamite and inspiration all bottled up in a little body! Thanks SSF for being my SSF!!!!

Kathie ran legs 3 and 8. WOW -- leg eight was a killer and she impressed us all. She was the greatest Team Captain with her cute binder full of directions, instructions, etc. I hope she allows me to be on her team over and over and over again! And ... who would ever believe that she is a grandma??? She looks AWESOME!!!!

Kimmie ran legs 1 and 6 and just plain cracks me up. In fact, it is impossible not to be laughing incessantly when her and Kathie are together. It is a riot!!! Then add Mom in the mix. FUN FUN FUN!!!

Marcie ran legs 4 and 9. Where to begin? 55 marathons and she looks like she is mid-30s, and yet she is 44!!!! She had the toughest leg by far and I bow to her greatness. Her asthma was acting up yet she charged up a 6 or 7% grade dirt hill (which seemed endless)!! Amazing!

As for me, I ran legs 5 and 10. Could not have worked out better since Ry came with me and our condo was literally 2 minutes away from the start of my leg. SO ... I was able to sleep in and meet everyone there. I got there early because Ry had a tee time. Worked out perfectly because I was able to see the leading runners come in to that exchange and spend a little time chatting with Andy. I was so excited to see him take off. Despite what his race report says, he looked AWESOME!!!

Leg 5 - 5.5 miles, AP somewhere between 7:19 and 7:22 (my watch is a little messed up).

** Started way too fast (first mile came in and 6:58 and I knew I would pay for that later -- STINK!!) The goal the whole time was to not get passed and pass at least one man. Ended up passing 2 women and 3 men. Could have passed another but thought I was running 6 miles, not just 5.5 and was finished before I was ready. STINK again! Oh well, that actually probably saved me by allowing me to have some reserves for my other leg. (There was one hill on this leg that was one mile long ... I kept pretending that I was Kelli in hopes of surviving. It must have worked.)

Leg 10 - 4.9 miles, AP somewhere between 7:24 and 7:27.

** Had been texting Andy (who ran my same legs) so was forewarned of the headwind. First couple miles weren't awful because it was more of a crosswind. Probably ran the steeper uphill portion a little too fast but was feeling much better than I thought I would be and was actually enjoying the run!!! Was pleasantly surprised to see the gals a couple miles into it wanting to know if I needed water. I passed on the fluids but soaked up all the cheers and encouragement. Miles 3 and 4 were tough for me. Saw Andy and Smooth with 2.2 miles to go. That helped a ton!!! But man ... seriously, seeing the finish line with that much further to go is torture! That fourth mile about did me in. I have never ran in a headwind like that while trying to run fast. BRUTAL!!!! I could taste the sand and feel its grit in my gum and it was pelting my legs. I just put my head down a bit and kept thinking about the tail wind I would get that final mile. All the girls ran in with me --- I can't describe the happiness and energy that gave me!!! THANK YOU THANK YOU THANK YOU!!!!

Anyway ... I had planned on keeping this race report short, but totally failed!!! Too many good memories!!!! :)

Race was over and we realized we had taken 6th place in the all female teams!! WOW!!!! We weren't expecting that. Cool (especially considering that the average age in our group was over 40!!!! I was the baby)!!! The girls then dropped me off at the golf course where Ry was golfing before they headed home. Ry said it would still be roughly another 30 minutes. So I ran 4 more miles (AP: 8:30).

OKAY ... I am so so so far behind (two more midterms - one on Thursday and the other on Friday and one assignment, two projects, and a quiz). STINK!!! So, I best hit the books!!

Here's to a great upcoming week everyone!!!! :)

(Btw, I wasn't very good at cutting to the chase, huh???)

60 minutes elliptical 

1 mile warm-up

8 miles - AP 7:32

800 meters cooldown then 800 meters at 3:20

30 minutes upright bike

30 minutes elliptical

3 easy easy miles -- I was so tired

20 miles -- AP 8:07

** Didn't know if I would get a chance to squeeze in a long run tomorrow, so I decided to get it done this evening. Wasn't able to leave until a little after 4:00 p.m. Temps were absolutely perfect, albeit a little windy (nothing too bad).

Managed to hold marathon pace for 16 miles before self-destructing. By that time I felt done. Come mile 18 I forced myself to run some hills. Ran up Puke Hill, down Home Stretch Hill and then back up it. Hoping that hitting those hills at the end of the run will help me mentally and physically prepare for the hills in Boston. Here's to hoping! :)

Hope everyone has a FANTASTIC weekend! :)

6 recovery miles

30 minutes upright bike

1000 meters swim

11 miles

1 mile at 8:00

8 miles at 7:29

2 cooldown miles at 10:00

** Wasn't planning on running so hard but felt good that first mile and decided to push! Fonz and a couple other were there so once I started I couldn't quit! :)

Off to study!!!! Can hardly wait for Spring Break next week. Too bad I am picking up some extra shifts at work. It'll still be GREAT though!!!!

Alarm went off at 5:15 ... after a wonderful night of Miss Sugar barking I decided to hit the snooze button promising myself that I would just hit it once. Alarm went off again. True to myself I dragged my tired tush out of bed. One glance in the mirror was all it took to see how hammered I looked. Back to bed I went!!! :)

It is now close to 14.5 hours later and I am biking (obviously not very hard). If I feel up to it I will do a little elliptical as well. I am so lazy today!!!!

PM:

30 minutes upright bike

30 minutes elliptical

Hillwork today!!! I think sleeping in yesterday helped me this morning! :)

10 miles @ 7:57 then one cooldown mile

The plan was to do one warmup mile then see how long I could hold marathon pace with 5 miles of hillwork in the middle. I knew this would be tough, but wanted to see if I had it in me. Decided I better run at the gym so that I would have an added incentive not to quit.

0.0 - 1.0  warmup, 0% incline: 8:34 pace

2.0 - 3.0   0%  incline: 8:00 pace

3.0 - 3.7   3% incline: 8:00 pace

3.7 - 4.7   1% incline: 8:00 pace

4.7 - 5.0    6% incline: 8:00 pace

5.0 - 6.4    1% incline: 8:00 pace

6.4 - 6.8    4% incline: 8:00 pace

6.8 - 7.4    1% incline: 8:00 pace

7.4 - 8.0     6% incline: 8:00 pace (This was SO HARD.)

8.0 - 9.0     0% incline: 8:00 pace 

9.0 - 10.0   0% incline: 6:59 pace (YES -- SO HAPPY!!!!)

10.0 - 11.0  cooldown

*** I am very happy with this run. It was hard for me, but I was happy with the results!

4 recovery miles

18 miles AP 7:48 :)

Was sad that I was not able to meet up with the flyers in Provo this morning. We have a million things going on today and I didn't feel right about leaving Ry to get them all done. Still more to do. The upside is that it encouraged me to get the run done so that I could get home to help. Felt awesome the first 15.5 miles and then had an Andy moment (saw spots and felt a little light-headed). That only lasted about 10 minutes and then things got better again. :) I definitely feel that I am running better than I ever have. (Knock on wood.)

Have a wonderful weekend everyone!!! :)

12.75 hours at the clinic -- that should count for something. It was crazy busy and I am exhausted! :)

Finally got home and the fam is at Costco. So, I am unwinding by taking it easy on the bike while blogging, listening to some slow jams and chewing Bazooka bubblegum! :)

Hope everyone is off to a great week!

PM

30 minutes upright bike

30 minutes elliptical

Speed day.

2 miles warmup

10 x 800 meters with 400 meters jog in between each 800 as follows:

1 - 3:30

2 - 3:30

3 - 3:27

4 - 3:27

5 - 3:25

6 - 3:25

7 - 3:23

8 - 3:20

9 - 3:17

10 - 3:08

2 miles cooldown

Then I decided that I felt great and that I might as well take advantage of it so ran 2 additional miles at 6:59 and then .5 cooldown.

**** Slept 8.25 hours last night!!!! YES!!!!! ****

60 minutes upright bike

1/2 mile swim

15 miles

14 miles  AP: 7:39

1 cooldown mile @ 10:00

** Am a little worried because my two oldest are sick. Have been sanitizing stuff like crazy!!!!!!

4 recovery (very slow) miles

22 miles - AP: 7:58

(7:49, 7:45 -- stink, I know better than starting out this fast, I will pay for it later, 7:53, 7:56, 7:56, 7:52, 8:04, 8:02, 8:12 - need to get  my  head back in the game, 7:59, 7:58, 7:54, 7:53, 7:56, 7:55, 7:59, 7:55, 7:57, here come the hills - 7:57, 8:37, 7:58, 8:11 - I have nothing left in the tank. Solid effort.)

Lower left leg pain. But with the taper I am sure it will be fine. I did have to stop and stretch for about 30 seconds to 1 minute about 4 times though. My pace would have likely been slower had I not had those breaks. I am certain the pain is a result of me pushing too hard this week. What was I thinking? It is so easy to push when you feel you are improving and are not in pain. It is hard to stop before you have signs of danger. A lesson I am still learning. The bright side is that I was able to still run at a solid effort.

Ran out of fluid at about mile 18. Stink.

Threw in some hills the last four miles. Home-strech Hill twice, Oreo Center Hill once, and Puke Hill once. I walked down Puke Hill because I was afraid that steep downhill would aggravate my leg even more, but was able to run up it.

Took gu every 6 to 7 miles as Smooth suggested.

Hit the wall around mile 20 and was very thankful that I had to stop for a traffic light. I am really hoping that with a proper taper and some race day adrenaline that I will be able to hold this pace for another 4.2 miles. There is no way I would have been able to do it today.

Hope everyone is having a wonderful weekend!!! :)

a.m.

45 minutes upright bike

p.m.

45 minutes upright bike

a.m.

70 minutes elliptical

(10 easy, 20 moderate, 30 hard, 10 easy)

p.m.

70 minutes elliptical

a.m.

30 minutes pool running

** I definitely need to get a new ipod for my waterproof case.

1/2 mile swim

p.m.

60 minutes upright bike