I Can Do Hard Things

33:40

AP: 9:22

9:54, 9:12, 8:48, 5:45

I knew this was going to be a "shake my legs out", SLOW, run, so my son came along.  He rode his bike and carried a backpack with water.  My personal security detail :)

He did much better on staying on the side of the road.  He thought we rode a marathon :)  I was grateful for the water!

My legs were pretty achy after Saturday's run.  Mostly my calves and inner shins/tendons.  I'm hoping today's run got all those shakes out and I'm feeling normal tomorrow.

56:02

AP: 9:09

10:24, 9:28, 9:40, 8:43, 8:38, 8:07, 1:00

That was a CRAPTASTIC run this morning at 5:00am.  My lower right leg (calves) have felt tighter than ever.  I had to stop a few times to stretch them out.  Ughhhhh.....

I finished a great afternoon stretch and some HARD massage on my lower leg.  Lots of icing.  Please go away aches and pains.  PLEASE!

I woke up in the middle of the night with shooting pains going down my right lower leg - mostly calf area.  I thought maybe is was a charlie horse, so I got up and got a drink.  But they continued to get worse.  No running today. 

 Sigh.....

53:37

AP: 8:30

9:39, 8:57, 9:09, 8:05, 7:46, 7:34, 1:24

Legs are feeling better today than yesterday.  Calves still VERY tight and achy, but no shooting/sharp pains. 

Hubby was out of town, so I had a babysitter come at 6:00am (I though my standard 5am might be a tad early for a sitter).  I've been doing my standard 6 mile loop backwards lately and I really like it....it is now the new forward.

But it has a 1.5 mile LONG hill.  Though it is really hard, I'm hoping it will make me stronger (because it is really fun to run down)!  I saw a lot more runners out this morning.  It was fun to try to catch them....maybe that is why I ran so much faster today than normal. 

After I got through with the hill, I decided to push the pace until I got home....a small tempo run to get my legs warmed up for Hobble.  It got harder and harder that last mile, but I continued with the negative splits.

I'm worried about how my legs are going to act tonight.  They are sore.  I'm getting ART done on them this afternoon.  Hopefully that will relieve some of the tightness. 

If I didn't love running so much, I would have quit this nonsense a long time ago.  The things we put up with to fuel our passions.

Time:1:45:20

AP: 8:08

8:03, 7:54, 7:56, 7:39, 7:50, 7:48, 8:12, 8:18, 8:00, 8:34, 8:26, 8:30, 8:05

I had really mixed feelings going into this race.  My legs felt horrible all week (crazy spasms), so my once "race it" planned turned into "run it". 

I got up at 4:20am and had an upset stomach. Maybe it was the Costa Vida nachos I had for dinner last night or maybe it was nerves (or both).  I had a banana and ate an apple on the way to the start.

I actually found a really great parking spot among the gazillion cars.  The bus line was seriously long.  I found out later that they ordered 24 buses and only 15 buses showed up.  So I waited in the bus line for 30-40 minutes.  Ugh.....  I saw a few people I knew which is always fun.

On the way up the canyon, I sat next to the NICEST lady.  We were talking about "a race" versus "an event".  Utah Valley half marathon/marathon was "an event" (they had enough buses, nice swag bags, fires at the start, lots of fully stocked aide stations, massages at the finish and great stuff at the finish).  Hobble Creek Half is just "a race" to make money - no frills. 

Once I got to the top, I made a quick Honey Bucket visit.  I saw Lily, Scott, Kathie, Callie, Josse, Melody, rwardle and other friendly faces.  You start to see lots of the same people in the running world.

The race started 30 minutes late. 

Mile 1 (8:03):  Lots of dodging people and feeling good.

Mile 2 (7:54): I ran with a gal with a pink skirt.  I love picking out people to hang with during a race.  Mile markers were definitely off - they were short.

Mile 3 (7:56):  Starting to get a bit nervous that I might be going to fast and will blow up later.  But trying to take advantage of the downhill while I can.

Mile 4, 5, 6 (7:39, 7:50, 7:48):  I grabbed a cup of water at the aide station, but just spit it out.  My stomach was still feeling funny and I didn't want to throw up so early in the race.  I passed pink skirt girl and picked up purple shirt girl.  She was speedy fast.  Really starting to think I might blow up, but wanted to hang on until mile 10...then I can blowup and throw up.

Mile 7, 8, 9 (8:12, 8:18, 8:00):  I stopped at the aide station at mile 8 (I think it was 8) and walked through it.  I wanted to take some water slowly, so I wouldn't get sick.  Lost purple shirt gal.  I was starting to get tired, but just wanted to hang on until mile 10.  There was a lot more hills - not big ones, but my legs were starting to get tired and they felt big.

Mile 10, 11, 12, 13 (8:34, 8:26, 8:30, 8:05):  Definitely hit puke zone.  I kept saying to myself, "run 3 more minutes, then puke".  I walked through another aide station, hoping that the vomit feeling would go away.  I finally looked at my overall time on my watch (I occasionally looked at my split pace, but never the overall time).  So at mile 10 it said 1:18:00...so I figured 1:45:00 might be a reality. 

I was just trying to hang and finish.  I could start to hear the crowds at the finish.  I started looking for my family....seeing your family=almost finish.  My hubby and kids, my in-laws and my brother/sister in-law.  I was nervous about them being there.  I am no rock star runner and didn't want to have a cruddy race and have them witness it.  BUT I was having a good race and were definitely glad to see their faces. 

The finish line never seemed to come.  We kept going and going and going around this park.  As soon as I crossed the finish, I thought for sure I was going to puke.  So I stood there for a long time.  I got my shirt/flower/water and went to find my kids.  They were so excited and I was excited to see them.  My stomach still felt really yucky.

We hung out for awhile. Tim took the kids to Mcdonalds for breakfast and I headed home for a shower and nap.  My stomach is still really sick.  But at least my run is done for the day. 

SO overall, I am super pleased with my time.  I ran UV Half in a 1:55:00, so I was thinking I could maybe do it again.   When I looked at my watch at mile 10, I was super surprised!  My PR for the year!

Hooray for a great day and SUPER great nap!  I will be totally useless the rest of the day!