company

We had a friend join us today. He's faster than we are, so he would run out and back, out and back. He probably got 4 miles to our 3.1, but it was still fun. I hope that he comes with us more often since he is a fun and upbeat guy. He's also in our weight lifting class, so his arms and shoulders were shaking this morning too. Seriously, my abs felt neglected since I swear we spent the entire 45 minutes focusing on the shoulders. And, the room was like a sauna. We were all just dripping with sweat. Always love it when those workouts are done!
Stats: 3.1 miles in 35:26 for a 11:26mpm pace

Hello, Spring!

Shorts and a t-shirt, baby! Hello, spring! This was a great run in terms of temperatures and company. Looking back at it now, I'm sure that we could have pushed the pace a bit more. We probably could have gotten more miles, too. Oh well. It was nice to just run and talk since Carol has been out of town for a week. We did the downtown loop, so it wasn't anything too exciting. It was, however, dark. Daylight savings time started yesterday, and while it always messes with me, this time it was the darkness of our run that got me. (Well, that and the whole screwed up sleep schedule for the boys....)
Stats: 5.46 miles in 1:00:14 for an 11:02mpm pace

I'm so blah.

I struggled through the weight class today. I simply must strengthen my shoulders, and today was just difficult for me. I didn't like it. And, I'm just in a shitty place right now. I'm stressed, and it just seems like nothing is going my way. I'm not whining, really, I'm not. OK - maybe a little. I have ass loads of stuff to figure out, and I can't seem to catch a break. Plus, work, work, and more work. It's becoming a bit excessive. One positive? My pace was a sub-10 today.
Stats: 3.15 miles in 31:13 for a 9:55mpm pace

icy way

This was a nice run. I would have liked it to be a bit longer, but I got to work 30 minutes later than normal. I ran one lap in Sugarhouse Park and back to work. The park was almost empty, and since it had snowed last night, it was beautiful - and cold! The only problems that I had along the way were some icy patches on the sidewalks. If not for those, I would have completed the run in less than an hour.
Stats: 5.5 miles in 1:00:07 for a 10:56mpm pace

Well, hello Liberty!

For the first time in a LONG time, I ran Liberty Park. It was as boring as I remembered.... That sounds bad. It's a great park - it really is. But, we have run it so many times in the last two winters. This is the FIRST time I have run it so far this winter since it has been so mild. I ran it because I was going solo, and I wanted someplace safe. (A lot of people would disagree with me that this is a safe area, but it is. There are a lot of people in the park even early in the morning.) I was rewarded with a chance to see a cute little squirrel. It was actually almost enjoyable!
Stats: 4.5 miles in 46:27 for a 10:20mpm pace

Winter Corporate Games

I participated in the Salt Lake County Corporate Winter Games as the runner in the triathlon relay. It was an odd set up, at least I thought so. It was all indoors, and a timed (not a distance) event. Basically, the swimmers swam for ten minutes. They got a point for every lap that they completed. The runners ran for 25 minutes and got a point for every 1/10mile they completed. The cyclists biked (on recumbant bikes? odd) for 25 minutes and got a point for every 1/10mile they completed. Then, the just added up all of the points, and there you go.

So, I started by warming up on the indoor track with the boys. (Wait. We started by getting lost since I was given a wrong address. Therefore, we were late to the check in. Grrrr...) So, the boys and I just jogged around the indoor track a few times. Then, we wandered around and checked things out. We watched our swimmer for a few minutes, but the activity pool was being refinished, so we couldn't stay in that room for long. The fumes from the chlorine, paint, adhesives, and other chemicals was just too much. Our swimmer was awesome, though. The was just very consistent and the water barely broke when he completed his strokes. The other swimmers were very choppy and had to keep taking breaks. Our guy rocked it.

Then, we all stood around and waited for a treadmill to come open. I hadn't run on a treadmill since November 2010, and so I felt all wonky. I was running up against the front of the belt the entire time because I had it on 0% incline (I needed all the help I could get), and I was trying to get some points for our team, so I had the speed cranked (for me). In my 25 minutes, I completed 2.85 miles. The room was really hot and packed with people. I started at a 6.5 pace and continuously amped it up and down so that I could get some speed and some recovery. I was generally between 6.7 and 7.2, but at the end, I had it up to 7.4. I felt pretty good about all of that. (My stats for this portion were 2.85 miles in 25 minutes for an 8:47mpm pace!)

I had also done a slow warm-up on the treadmill, so I have bumped my overall distance up and my overall pace down for the day's total.

After I was done, we cheered on our biker who was really cranking it out. It was a really fun event, all things considered. There was a bit more waiting around than I expected, but it was a good time.
Stats: 3 miles in 30 minutes for a 10mpm pace

This is what happens when Bub takes a picture with my phone..... Oh well.

This picture MIGHT be a bit better:

wind sucks

YUCK! I can't stand the wind! It was windy when we started out, but it wasn't a horrible run until we turned south on Main Street. THEN, the wind was awful and cold. Bleck! Seriously, no fun. For the last 1.5 miles, we would "run" a block and then have to walk. It was sooooooo nasty. An hour later, I'm still not warm.
Stats: 7.39 miles in 1:24:21 for an 11:25mpm pace