Create.

6 miles (4 super easy, 2 MP)

Hope I am doing this tapering thing right. :) 

***********

One of my friends posted this today. I thought it worth sharing.

An elderly Cherokee Native American was teaching his grandchildren about life… He said to them, “A fight is going on inside me, it is a terrible fight and it is between two wolves. One wolf is evil—he is fear, anger, envy, sorrow, regret, greed, arrogance, self-pity, guilt, resentment, inferiority, lies, false pride, competition, superiority, and ego. The other is good—he is joy, peace, love, hope, sharing, serenity, humility, kindness, benevolence, friendship, empathy, generosity, truth, compassion and faith. This same fight is going on inside you, and inside every other person, too.” They thought about it for a minute, and then one child asked his grandfather, “Which wolf will win, Grandfather?” The Elder simply replied, “The one you feed.” 

30 minutes bike (random/8/7.25 miles)

8 TM miles (1.5 warm-up at 8:57, 5 at a few seconds faster than MP pace, 1.5 cool-down at 8:34)

Weird how I notice little nags as I am cutting down mileage that didn't seem to be there in the preceding higher mileage weeks (not while I am running, but throughout the day). Silly taper madness. 

6 easy miles 

Was supposed to run with Annie this morning but had a text this morning saying that she was not feeling well. Huge bummer!! :(

On the bright side I was able to talk Sophers and Livvy into running one mile with me early this morning! LOVED IT!!! :)

Happy Wednesday, All!!! :) :) :)

**************

Okay, this is so funny that I had to post it. So the story goes like this: Earlier this evening I noticed a copy made from our printer of our consequence sheet (you know -- the kind of sheets that say stuff like "disrespecting parents = 1 day grounding with extra chores" and so forth). Anyway, I notice that one of the rules has been whited out (it happens to be the "no sucking your thumb or fingers rule," we have a child who still struggles with that at times). I thought that was kind of funny (thinking that this particular child was trying to pull one over on us). NOPE, come to find out that was not the case at all. True story is this: One of this particular child's friend's mother commented to her on how well behaved she was and asked her how she got that way. Well, I guess they began having a discussion which led to the consequence chart as well as the daily chore lists we have. The end result was the mother offered to pay this particular child $2.00 for a copy of each of these charts!!!! AND ... she sold them to her!!!! She is quite pleased with her entrepreneur skills and had made extra copies with the intention to sell them as well (not going to happen)!!!! Oh man ... now the whole neighborhood is going to know way too much about what meanies Ry and I are!!!! That child!!! Far too cute and ingenious to be upset about though.(Especially funny how she did not want them to know about the thumb sucking.) :)

20 minutes upright bike 

8.25 miles

** Last hard workout before Boston!!! HALLELUJAH!!!

2 warm up miles, 6 x 800 meters with 400 meters jog in between each 800, then 2 cool down miles. All 800s at 3:25 except last one which was 3:09 (that was a dig deep push). 

I am sure that there are many flaws in my training. Nonetheless, I have been relatively smart this time around. PT school may be paying off!! Now it's time to see what happens. :) :) :) 

7 mile progressive run. Started out really nice and slow and ended at marathon pace. 

Happy Friday! :) 

12.2 miles, AP 8:39 with JohnnyV and Dave on a different portion of the JRP. (We ended up on 200 South in Salt Lake before turning around. It was fun to be on a different part of the trail.)

This run seemed to fly by. Nice and easy pace with great conversation. Wore my Brooks Flow. I really wish that I would have tried these shoes on a 20 miler. I am kicking myself for not doing that. They just feel really nice to run in. Would it be completely crazy to run Boston in them when I have never run more than 14 miles at once in them? I had planned on wearing my "go to" Adidas Supernovas, but now I am wondering if I should shake it up. 

Breakfast with Ry, Annie and Nic after. WAY FUN! Now I really want to go out and run some more. But I am in taper. What to do? 

************* 

3.26 miles, AP 9:25 with Ry and Sophers :) :) :) That is actually Sophia's 5K PR and it didn't even seem like she was exerting herself!! Running today has been AWESOME! :) 

am 

5 miles (2 easy, 2 fast, 1 easy)

I am starting to feel a little panicky about Boston. I know that is normal, but it is there. I think it is because I was expecting my body to feel full of life this week and sadly it doesn't. The lower mileage makes me feel a bit sad and less confident. Also, my quads feel stiff in the morning and after sitting for extended periods of time (which kind of is a must with school). I have an hour before my next class. I should study, but I think I am going to go into the lab and stretch my lower extremities really well (emphasis on iliacus, psoas, and quads) and then do some e-stim instead. I think what I need most of all, nonetheless, is a chill pill. Anyone know where I can by a few dozen of those? :) :) :)

pm

3 miles, AP 9:24

I wasn't planning on running tonight but when Ry got home from work he said, "Want to join me on a run?" No way I could refuse that offer! :) 

Not being able to locate a chill pill I decided to do the next best thing: get in the pool! There is something about being in water that has a very calming and relaxing effect on me. It seems like forever since I have had a good swim. I need to remember how good it is for my body and spirit. 

1 mile swim :) 

Just needed a reminder that I know how to run. :)

5 miles: 1 easy, 2 MP, 2 Threshold

25 minutes bike (kil./5/10K)

mini core workout 

5 easy miles, AP 8:49

4 miles, AP 9:02 with Ry on the JRP :)

Off to catch our flight to  Boston!!!

 (Is it really going to be 84 degrees there on Monday? Oh please no.) 

Happy Friday! :) 

More later, but the short version is:

I AM SO HAPPY!!!! :)

My second fastest marathon ever but considering the heat I feel this was the strongest I have ever raced. Hated the temps but LOVED that I felt strong and consistent throughout. Also very please with how my PT schooling came in handy several times throughout the race! WAHOO!!! I suppose all the studying might be worth it after all!!! :) 

Have to run and take a test. I will finish this tonight. :) :) :)

**************

Additional details: 

In a nutshell, I had a plan with two parts: 1. Run strong. 2. Stay hydrated. I am happy to say that this was one of those races where things just fell into place. So nice when that happens.

Started out a little fast, but it felt good. Quickly decided that I was going to concentrate on effort and not pace. Felt awesome through mile 10ish. Walked through almost every aid station (even when I didn't feel like I needed to: goal was to get in the right amount of fluids and I can do that better when walking). Around mile 11 I really began noticing the heat. Quickly reviewed where the largest blood vessels are found in my body and grabbed ice from the spectators whenever I could and cooled down the skin over those areas. Had to be a little creative but I am convinced that it helped quite a bit! (Don't ask for details ... they are not all pretty! :) ) Could tell that I was slowing a little bit but just kept the effort honest and made sure to stay on top of the fluids.

Newton hills begin. I do a quick assessment. I feel 100 times better than I did last time I ran this course. Sweet. All lights are green. :)

Miles 18 - 21. Feeling hot but am looking around and notice EVERYBODY is feeling the heat. Start thinking about basic physics and human physiology. "Okay," I tell myself, "If you have 10 lbs of little potatoes and 10 lbs of big potatoes which bag of potatoes will have the most peel (i.e., the most surface area)?" I remember: "THE BAG OF LITTLE POTATOES." So I begin thinking, "There are big runners and little runners out here (I am a very little runner,) so, which body has the most surface area per volume?" Answer: "ME!!!" My thinking continues, "So, if I have the most surface area for body volume then that also means that I have the greatest means of heat loss." I am ecstatic. I quickly convince myself (and am still convinced) that it means little petite runners (like myself) have a much easier time getting rid of body heat. (I have looked some stuff up since I have been home and my theory seems to hold true.) ANYWAY, the gist of this long narrative is that this thought process gave me a HUGE psychological boost. "Yes, I am suffering ..." I thought, "BUT ... not as badly as most."

(JUST FYI: If I am wrong ... DON'T tell me. I may or may not bring this up with "The Running Professor" to get his input. I really do not want to be proven wrong. Although, if you are reading this Matt, and if I am right: DO tell me that!)

A few more miles click by.

Miles 24-26.45 (it is hard for me to run the tangents when all the tall runners are blocking my upstream visual and I have no idea where the tangents are) were tough. But that is to be expected. LOVED the crowds!!! Starting to feel really happy inside. (Especially happy since this allotted me enough time to take a quick shower before heading to the airport!)

I LOVE BOSTON!!!

Loved the time spent with everybody there. As usual Ry spoiled me rotten. Wished I could have stayed longer and spent more time with everybody. Maybe another year!!!! Thank you everyone for being so generous with your comments, advice and encouragement. I am so lucky!!!! 

QUICK NOTE:

The Golden Empire with Smooth and crew AND the Blessing of the Athletes at the Old South Church are definitely MUSTS!!!! FUN TIMES!!!! :) :) :) 

Splits:

7:33, 7:30, 7:39, 7:38, 7:59, 7:59, 7:38, 8:01, 7:51, 7:51, 8:01, 7:39, 7:55, 7:59, 7:55, 7:46, 8:19, 8:09, 8:02, 8:10, 8:23 (not sure what happened here), 7:42, 7:51, 8:18 (getting pretty dang worn out), 8:14, 8:30 (hang in there, baby), 8:30, 7:29 (one final push for .45 to hit sub 3:30). HUGE SMILE. :) 

Yoga

5 miles, AP 9:30

mini core workout

* My first run since Boston. I can tell that I am a little beat up but nothing to worry about. Mostly I am just still tired.

Trying to get caught up in school and I am leaving again tomorrow which will put me even further behind. Life is too good not to enjoy it though. 12 more days until the end of the semester. Then I get a good two week break before my internship. Wahoo!! Come on, baby! :) 

Nothing!!! Not sure what happened but I started throwing up (over and over) late yesterday afternoon and throughout the entire night. Went to the instacare to make sure I hadn't dehydrated myself. Electrolytes looked fine but the WBC count was a little high. Nothing too bad ... just some silly bug. Stupid bug!

Got on a plane and headed to Phoenix to be with my love. (He was receiving some award at President's Club ... not trying to brag or anything ... but dang my boy is fine!) :) 

Feeling much better this morning.

Hiked the Cholla trail with Ry. :)

Pretty decent hike with quite a bit of rock scrambling in near 100 degrees heat. A few too many bugs but other than that was AWESOME! :)

4 easy miles (AP 9:19) with Ry around some super fancy neighborhoods in Arizona.

Hiked Echo Trail in Camelback Mountain. Fantastic climb to the top. It was 100 degrees and absolutely brutally beautiful. AMAZING views!

There is just something awe-inspiring about mountains.  

Here is my favorite pic from our whole trip. :) :) :)

6 miles on the JRP, AP 8:05. Nice weather. 

Happy Monday! :)

20 minutes upright bike

6 TM miles, AP 8:20

core workout 

6 miles, AP 7:55 on the JRP

ST: back extensors  

Sprint Tri at the gym. I have really missed this workout.

20K bike 

5K run 

750 meter swim 

7 easy TM miles

*Three out of six finals out of the way. I cannot wait until Tuesday late afternoon. Hoping I have enough umph to last until then. :)

*Strained something in my back yesterday while practicing a 100% dependent transfer of a 200+ lb guy pretending to be comatose. Dang. I definitely need to get my biomechanics down perfectly. (Or not work with 200+ lb totally dependent patients.) :)

15 miles, AP 7:58 by my lonesome on the JRP (a comfortable push pace ... if that makes sense). Didn't leave my house until around noon. I was a bit too hot in my long sleeves and capris, but other than that it was beautiful.

 2.5 miles, AP 9:36 with Sophers as soon as I got home. On our run she found a wallet full of credit cards/no cash. We ended up having to wait for about 40 minutes for the police. We were a little chilly as we downed some yummy slurpees. 

I think I hurt my sacrotuberous or sacrospinous ligament doing the transfer on Thursday. It doesn't bother me when I run but seems to be a literal pain in the butt/lower back for the remaining hours in the day!!! Crazy. 

(Btw, I read http://andyb.fastrunningblog.com/ entry for yesterday before I ran and thought I would spend the duration of my miles counting the lingerie shops I passed. Total: zero. I suppose West Jordan and Murray aren't as exciting as Boise. :) ) 

Happy Satuday, All. :) 

1 mile swim