Create.

am

6 easy miles

pm

4 easy miles

lowerbody strength training: concentrated on hip abductors, hamstrings, and glutes.

** Toying with the idea of finishing this training cycle using Pftiz's 70/18 plan (starting with week 7). Can't decide, it seems like it might be a little much for me but thought I'd give it a shot for a couple of weeks. Am I playing with fire? I really don't know. It might be beneficial for me to follow a strict program because it will be an incentive to run the right paces at the right times (intead of too much or too little, which is often my m.o.). Hmmmm ... I just don't know.

** A bit later: Yeah, the more I think about it the more I think that schedule would be too much for me. Sigh. Perhaps I will follow it's guidelines but reduce the mileage by about 10-15%. One 70 mile week and I let my bloated ego get the best of me. Oh well ... at least I have come to my senses before I did any damage. :)

10.3 miles

8.3 miles by myself on the JRP, AP 7:39. Felt strong. It helped that a high school cross country team was on the parkway. I was inspired by how relaxed, fast, and smooth so many of them ran. Watching them put me in a good place.

2 miles with Sophia and Rylee, AP 9:40. Rylee left Sophia and me with about 3/4ths of a mile to go. She took off and soon disappeared. It was fun watching her long legs turn over rapidly as she opened up her stride and hit a higher gear. :)

Feeling good. :)

8 mile recovery run

Upperbody strength training: Tried to isolate several different upperbody muscles/groups of muscles and come up with some new exercises that I could add to my good 'ol standbyes.Was a lot of fun. Used medicine ball, blue resistance cord and dumbells. I think the most challenging was the handstand dips against the wall. Obviously I did not make this exercise up, but I had not done it before. I am no where near being able to come all the way to getting my arms to bend at a 90 degree angle before coming back up. I'll work on it! (Definitely going to be a bit sore tomorrow) :) 

afternoon:

12 miles, AP 8:09 on the JRP. It was so so so beautiful. Who would have guessed that I would have gotten a sunburn. SERIOUSLY!!! Oh, and Murray has their drinking fountains on!!! HIP HIP HOORAY!!! Let the good times roll! :) :) :)

1 mile with Sophia, AP 9:01. I timed my 12 miles so that I could get home at the exact same time as my kids did from school. I was tired but Sophers was throwing on some running shorts and ready to go! :)

early evening:

2.2 miles with Ry, AP 8:57.

6.5 recovery miles

20 miles

Another big week for me. I am very happy with how my body is handling this higher mileage. The only thing that has bothered me is my tummy. Nothing too bad, but it just feels a bit sick quite often. Lame. I do think I will take a step-down week next week just to be safe.

We had a GREAT group this morning! I hope I don't forget anyone, but I am going to try and see if I can name all who were there: Me, Smooth, Kathie, Rachel, Lowell, Toby, Karen, Matt, Brooke, Tom Slick, Marty, Adriane, Kim, Kendi, Rick, Annie (my SIL) and Nic (my brother). :) :) :)

I ran the first 5.7 miles with Annie and Lowell. Annie is running her first marathon on the 16th (Salt Lake). There is something magical about the first! I loved being with her and listening to Lowell's hilarious stories. According to Lowell's watch we ran about a 10:15 pace.

My next 14.3 miles were with an AP of 8:21. I ran 5 by myself, then 3 with Matt, a couple more by myself, a tad with Brooke, a couple with Smooth and Rachel, and then a couple more by  myself. Changing running partners like that made the run extremely enjoyable.

Smooth had OJ, chocolate milk, yogurt and bananas for everyone at the end! I just love her!!!!! :) :) :)

Happy Saturday! :)

*** Okay, I have a question: I seriously have been eating way more than I usually do. I am hungry all of the time. Should I really have this drastic of a change with my appetite with 20 extra miles per week? Also, I am craving things that aren't looked upon as healthy: like salt. I have allowed myself to eat whatever I am craving, but that could come back to bite me. I am not concerned about weight (at least at this point), I am more concerned about how the foods I am craving are going to affect my running. I eat healthy most of the time, but also have allowed myself to eat big cookies and quite a few protein bars. That's another thing, are protein bars really healthy? I would love to have the time to eat the way I should all of the time, but I often eat what is convenient (and fruits and veggies just don't fill me up).