F = Fail

If I were to rate my performance in December with a grade of A-F, I would have to give myself a FULL-ON BIG EFFING F!!! Total FAIL! Seriously? Four runs in 28 days? Pathetic. Not how I had planned to end this year. I'm rather pissed. At least I haven't lost that much time in my overall pace.....
Stats: 5.31 miles in 59:44 for 11:15mpm pace

oh, whatever

Ah, hell. My goal is in jeopardy, but I do still have 11 days to do something. I ran to Sugarhouse Park today, and with the exception of a really big river rat that crossed the street in the middle of the park, I was by myself. That gave me a lot of time to think about the seven pounds I've gained since Halloween. Turns out, fudge is NOT my friend. Damn. Incidentally, champagne doesn't make for the the best hydration available. Furthermore, slush isn't really fun to run in when your shoes have almost 600 miles on them and the tread is, shall we say, compromised. I'm feeling a bit blah today. Can you tell?
Stats: 5.5 miles in 1:00:46 for an 11:03mpm pace

a few miles to go before I rest

This was our first run in a week. END OF SEMESTER has caused many late nights and early mornings, but I'm submitting my final assignment today - then almost four weeks off! We ran easy today since we're both achy from the time off, but it felt great. 37*, dry roads, clear wood chip path at Liberty - it's all good. Carol surpassed 1000 miles for the year with this run. I'm still a ways off (89.3), but I'm determined to hit it by the end of December.
Stats: 4.5 miles in 49:03 for 10:54mpm pace

cleaning out the cob-webs - or spun sugar - whatever

Wow. Two weeks off didn't do me any good at all! Today's run was foggy, and the roads were really wet. We were going to do Liberty, but an almost-fall on some of the wet leaves had us opting for the roads with traffic. My hamstrings were tired by 3.5 miles, and my entire left leg was completely disgusted with me by 4.5. Carol and I are both a bit wiped out. On a side note, no matter how hard I try to disprove the theory, I think it's true that sugar actually drains you instead of making you peppier, and given the amount of sugar that I've been eating lately, it's a wonder that I was able to finish this run at all!
Stats: 5.35 miles in 1:00:18 for a 11:17mpm pace

Frickin' bad asses!

Carol and I did the old Liberty loop this morning, and we have determined that we are freakin' bad asses!
It was 32* but with the wind chill it felt like 25*, and it was WINDY! The 2-ish mile return was from hell with 33 mph wind gusts. We just tucked our chins, faced the wind, and plowed through. It was almost fun in a perverse sort of way.
Stats: 4.5 miles in 47:19 for a 10:31mpm pace (ROCKIN' IT!)

winter solitude

Solo run to Sugarhouse Park again today. I was worried about the sidewalks after the weekend's big snow storm, but they were great except AT the park. Go figure. I was the ONLY person in the entire park. It was beautiful and quiet.
Stats: 5.5 miles in 58:46 for a 10:42mpm pace

Good to run with you, friend!

Today was Carol's first run in three weeks. The time off to mend her hip didn't dampen her spirit OR hurt her pace. We were even running into a pretty strong wind for the last two miles! It was fun to run with her again. We talked about work the whole time, and I think that we both worked out a few things. She was doing such good thinking that she should probably be paid for the time! It was a good, good run.
Stats: 5.38 miles in 58:20 for a 10:51mpm pace

I would have roasted!

I did a solo run today from work to Sugarhouse Park and back to work. It was perfect running weather (40*-43*). Next week is supposed to get really cold - like highs of 35*! I took a little break at mile 3.5 to do 60 sit-ups because - well, have you seen my impressive-in-all-the-wrong-ways mid-section? Well, I HAVE! I am NOT happy at all with it. Anyway, my run was good, and I was the most scantily clad person out there! Me! In a short-sleeved shirt and long pants. Everyone else was wearing hats and ear muffs and fleece and gloves and sweat shirts and all sorts of stuff. I was warm in my swishy pants. More, and I would have passed out from the heat! And, finally, I hope Carol's hip problems are resolved soon. I would hate to have to motivate myself!
Stats: 5.5 miles in 57:23 for a 10:26mpm pace

the not-so-picturesque tour of SoSaLa

I took more than a week off from running after I returned from Canada because everything just hurt. I was achy from the waist down. I'm sure that it's the shoes. (I swapped for an old pair with fewer miles on them, but they still have 550 which is better than the 632 that my black shoes have!) Well, it's either the shoes or the five pounds that I managed to add in just two weeks. Halloween candy is evil.

Anyway, I dropped the POS Honda off at Dutch's this morning to be fixed (all four cylinders misfiring - pray that it isn't too expensive) and ran from there. So, it was a tour of very UN-picturesque SoSaLa with plenty of auto exhaust added in. I stuck to main roads (State, 2700 South, 700 East, 1700 South) because I was running by myself again and it's just not smart to run in dark neighborhoods.

Stats: 4.28 miles in 45:06 for a 10:33 mpm pace

hotel dreadmill again

Because my legs (shins/feet/knees) have hurt for the last two runs, I chose to run on the hotel treadmill today so that I would have some "give" to the surface. Also, I will be going out to dinner with a couple of account reps tonight, and I won't have time to run in the afternoon. I'm still not comfortable running in the dark in an unfamiliar place. So, treadmill it was. It was as boring as a treadmill can be, but I still got something done. Hopefully, these runs will be enough to counter the "travel food." I've tried to be careful, but it's hard. The tiramisu last night didn't help.....
Stats: 3.5 miles in 35 minutes for 10mpm pace

tired and sloppy

Man, I need new shoes. I've switched to an old pair that only has 545 miles on them instead of my newest pair that now has 620 miles. My legs are toast! I ran a short route around the Burlington facility tonight after work and before dinner. I ran mostly through residential areas with a nice parkway (like Jordan Parkway). I felt like my feet were just slapping the pavement the entire time. Sadly, new shoes aren't in the budget....
Stats: 3.34 miles in 35:43 for a 10:42mpm pace

Lake Ontario evening run

Tonight I ran along Lake Ontario in Burlington. It is really beautiful except for the tall power lines that run right along the beach. Otherwise, lovely. And cold. Lots of geese, people bundled up on the rocky part of the shore fishing for something, and quite a few runners and walkers. I was probably the heaviest person on the trail; Burlington itself seems to be filled with healthy people. I've seen a total of three smokers in three days. It's nice. The wind off of the lake is cold this time of year. I can't imagine how much colder it must get as the year wears on. The sunset was GORGEOUS. Red, orange, and pink as the sun set on the water.
Stats: 3.92 miles in 42:27 for a 10:50mpm pace.

First International Run

I spent the day traveling from Utah to Ontario. I was at the airport PLENTY early, in the air for a few hours, had just enough time to changes planes in Minneapolis, and then had to drive from Toronto to Burlington on a freeway that I feel isn’t well marked, and in a car with no keys. I know that I’m old-fashioned; the Prius just freaks me out! There isn’t even a real gear shift!
I ate some yogurt and grapes before leaving home, had a glass of OJ and some pretzels on the first plane and some water and two cookies on the second plane. Once I finally found my hotel (drove past it a few times), I just wanted to get a run in. I wasn’t terribly hungry, yet.
Knowing that I blew it for a 100 mile month, I wanted to get 75 completed which meant that I would have to run 6 miles. It was dark when I arrived, and given the fact that I couldn’t find the hotel (which is tall and obvious) I figured that running on a possibly poorly lit path in an unfamiliar town next to a big lake wasn’t a very good idea. I resorted to the hotel treadmill.
I haven’t run on a treadmill for three years. It was WEIRD. I chose an interval workout and watched the start of World Series game 4. About 20 minutes into the run I started to get hungry. I had a bit of water and noticed that I was a bit light headed. At about 3.5 miles, I whacked the emergency stop button by mistake. I was really hungry and getting woozier. I think that it was wise to only run a few more minutes for a total of 4 miles. I just had visions of me falling off the ‘mill and hitting the wall behind me.
I ran across the street to get something to eat and I was feeling more and more loopy. I almost inhaled a bag of chips while the guy at The Pita Pit made my gyro. Back to the room to eat, shower, and wash my running clothes. I’m feeling much better now.
Stats: 4 miles in approx 44 minutes for 11mpm pace

I couldn't do it

I was by myself again today while Carol continues to rest her hip. We had a goal to run all the way up that nasty hill at 8th South before the end of October. I couldn't do it. The goal was to run non-stop from 9th to 13th East, and I couldn't do it. I had to walk for about 30 steps at 1120 East. My quads were on fire, and I probably could have crawled faster than I was running. I'm disappointed. I will do it before the end of this year - preferably before the snow falls making that hill one giant ice patch.
Stats: 7.2 miles in 1:16:59 for a 10:42mpm pace

love running in the cold

Carol has a twinge, so I ran by myself today. I did the Sugarhouse(x1) route, and it was a good/quiet run. It was very dark, and I forgot my pepper spray again. I've got to remember to take that; it does no good sitting in my bag at my desk. I am already loving the cold weather. I really like running when it is below 40*. I shed my fleece at mile two.
Stats: 5.5 miles in 57:20 for a 10:26mpm pace

Brrrr.......

Carol and I ran a nice leisurely loop around SoSaLa chatting the entire time. It's good to talk through work questions and challenges during these runs. We joked about how questionable our time would be, but had a bunch of excuses for the slow pace: haven't run for 4 days and easing back into it, nursing a sore hip/toe/achilles, and getting our lungs used to the cold (37*). Imagine our surprise when we found our pace to be sub-11!
Stats: 5.25 miles in 56:43 for a 10:49mpm pace

cramming miles and homework - again

Carol and I ran the old Liberty loop today. With it being so much darker in the mornings, we are going to avoid sidewalks unless well lit. So, it's back to the roads and wood chip path. I would describe today's druation on the wood chip as "sloggy;" it just didn't feel great or fast. I think it will take a while to get used to that again. Carol had an early meeting, so she peeled off when we returned to the building while I ran another 1.4 miles of incredibly UNscenic SoSaLa (State to 17th to Main to 21st to State). Boring, but I really need to cram in every possible mile if I'm going to hit 100 for the month. I'm about 49 away from that goal and only ten days left in the month. If I run five miles EVERY DAY, I will barely make it. What the hell have I been doing all month? It hasn't been running, and it hasn't been homework.....
Stats: 5.9 miles in 1:02:13 for a 10:33mpm pace

IM conversation right after our run

Carol [7:24 AM]:
What did you get for time?
Kaye [7:25 AM]:
are you thinking what I'm thinking?
Carol [7:25 AM]:
we rock?
Kaye [7:25 AM]:
like - we have no idea how fast we really are?
or we rock?
or we kick some serious ass!
Carol [7:26 AM]:
that's us!
Kaye [7:26 AM]:
what the heck! I didn't think 10:26 pace AT ALL!
I'm shocked
Carol [7:26 AM]:
I am too.
Kaye [7:26 AM]:
I put in 5.64 miles at 58:48 (compromise between our two times) for a 10;26 pace
holy cow
Carol [7:26 AM]:
this is awesome!

I never thought....

I never thought I would do a tempo run through Sugarhouse Park, but guess what?!?!?!
OK, first I should probably say that I consider a "tempo" run anything under a 10mpm pace. I'm sure that this will change in the future - at least I really hope that it will because it means that I will be getting faster! My location splits this morning were 10:30 (work --> 7th East), 10:00 (7th East --> 13th East), 16:45 (13th East --> lap around park --> 13th East), 8:15 (13th East --> 7th East) and 9:00 (7th East --> work). It was a hard run. I had to keep reminding myself to push, and I really had to work to maintain a consistent pace. But, it paid off! Carol and I are going to focus on speed this winter. I wonder if I can shave 15 seconds off of my average pace before the end of the year?
Stats: 5.5 miles in 54:27 for a 9:54mpm pace

disorienting

We ran the Liberty loop in reverse today. There was nothing remarkable about it. It was a bit disorienting to see the familiar landmarks from the other direction. Or maybe it's because I'm still recovering from a Meniere's episode, and those always make me feel disoriented. I'm about over it, though - thank goodness! I hate that feeling of trying to catch up to your own head. Seriously, the episodes themselves are horrible, but the recovery is very strange. It's like walking one or two paces behind yourself; your brain and you body don't seem to be in the same place, and perception (like depth perception) is way off.
Stats: 5.05 miles in 54:39 for a 10:50mpm pace

I fail if I don't try

I had an interesting run today. I was by myself, and nothing remarkable happened, but I did do a lot of thinking. I finished the first mile in sub-11 time. Then, I ran up to Sugarhouse and didn't bother to look at my watch until I got to the south hill of the park. I decided to time myself hoping to beat the 50-second time that i clocked on my last run through the park. However, I don't remember where I started clocking last time. That is my excuse for this ascent being 5 seconds slower. I reached the half way point of the run in 29:31 and knew that if I worked hard, I could finish the route in less than an hour. This is where my thinking began. I don't know why, but something popped into my head, and I couldn't get it out. A couple of weeks ago, we had a training here at work, and the take-away from it was "what would you do if you knew you couldn't fail?" My answer was "everything!" I would be an astronaut, be the president, play the guitar, be a ballerina, own a horse ranch, volunteer on a regular basis, and read all of the classics. I would also lose weight. Then, it hit me. I'm not really trying. (Duh, obvious! This was NOT the revelation, by the way.) The thing that stuck in my head for the next 2 1/2 miles was this: I fail if I don't try. This mantra coincidentally fits perfectly every eight steps - that's probably why it kept circling around in my brain. From 13th to 9th, I was blessed with green lights and perfect traffic, and I tried to run it pretty fast. Even 9th to 7th felt relatively fast. I hit a light at 7th and had time to reassess my goal. My watch read 46-something. By the time I crossed the street, it was 47 on the dot. I thought that I would see if I could get a 10-minute mile. I didn't look at my watch again until State Street. When I did, I about fell down. AN 8 MINUTE MILE. My watch said 55. 5-friggin-5!!!!!!!!!! Holy shit. Maybe I should really try more often!
Stats: 5.5 miles in 56:15 for a 10:14mpm pace

I've been lazy...

This was my first run after a four day break. No good reason for the break - just general laziness (which is NEVER good). I've also been on a feeding frenzy (also never good for me). Carol and I ran a modified Liberty loop. the first mile seemed to be a good pace, but was exceedingly slow. We spent the next four miles trying to make up for it. We managed to finish in good time, but we really pushed it for the last half of the run.
Stats: 5.15 miles in 54:56 for a 10:40mpm pace

consistency is the key

Carol and I had a nice run this morning. It was just a big loop, but we maintained a very consistent pace.
Stats: 6.08 miles in 1:04:36 for 10:38mpm.

After a looooonnnngggg night...

I was up at 5am yesterday. I worked a bit from home. Then, Peanut woke up, Mommy Bub, and the Meatball. We played, we "ran" (see yesterday's pathetic post), we baked cookies, and then I went to work. I worked from 5pm until 2:30am. I was up for 21.5 hours. It was (not) thrilling. Carol and I crashed on somebody's office floor and got up again at 5am, changed our clothes, and headed out for a decent run. We ran the Liberty route with a very important potty stop in the middle. It felt good after yesterday's suck-fest. It has given me the adrenaline to work until about 9am when I'm sure that I'll need a little nap. I'm FOR SURE taking a nap during lunch, and possibly on the ride home. All I really care about is the fact that today's run was nice, and I felt strong.
Stats: 5.02 miles in 55.14 for a 11:01mpm pace (in the rain, humidity, and weird fog...)

Wouldn't even call it a run if I hadn't been pushing the boys!

There is nothing I love more than pushing 100-ish pounds of little boys/jog stroller up a mile long incline into the wind. We ended the run early because it was crappy weather, and when we stopped to play in the middle of the run, both boys got really, really wet. (It had rained last night, and they went right through a big puddle at the bottom of a slide. Oops! Mommy needs to move her butt much faster!)
Stats: 2.59 miles (shortest distance I've run in years) in 29:45 for a 11:30mpm pace (fastest pace I've ever run while pushing the boys!)

I really need new shoes

I ran by myself again this morning after three days off. Yes, I was supposed to run over the weekend, but since I have realized that short of an unexpected bonus or death of a really rich relative (of which, I have none) I will not be running another marathon this calendar year, I got all bummed out and just decided to feel sorry for myself instead. So, for the first two miles this morning, my legs were like lead and every footstrike reminded me how badly I need a new pair of shoes. (Current pair has 586 miles on them. A far cry from the 300 recommended by shoe stores....) After that, the run was pretty good even though it was essentially a boring tour of SSL.
Stats: 4.64 miles in 48:29 for a 10:27mpm pace

really pushing it!

Whew! I ran by myself today, and it was a tough run. I've decided that I'm only going to get better/faster/thinner/ultra-cooler by really pushing myself a few times per week. I know that I can't do it every day, but I can do it more often. So, today I ran the Sugarhouse Park 2-lap route. I didn't break on the way up except at the 7th and 13th lights. I took walk breaks at the top of each hill (so, four total), but I really pushed up each hill. I improved my time on the south hill from 55 seconds the first time to 50 seconds the next time, bottom to top. I couldn't see my watch well enough on the east hill to measure it. About half way through the first lap of the park I remembered that a woman was attacked just yesterday on the Jordan Parkway in broad daylight, and here I was in the dark, with very few other people in the park, alone, and sans pepper spray. (more here) I know! I know! Anyway, I only took two breaks at the 13th and 7th lights again on the way back with no walk breaks. I really, really tried to push this run. My final mile was 10:02 at the most! In all, it was a very good run (but I always miss Carol's company and conversation when I run alone.)
Stats: 7 miles in 1:10:02 for a 10:01mpm pace (yay!)
OH YEAH - I ALSO MANAGED TO HIT 100 MILES FOR SEPTEMBER! (100.3 to be exact) That's the 5th 100+ mile month this calendar year! I know - I rock.

Tempo - or vindication

We really pushed it this morning after Monday's saunter-fest. No run yesterday because life just got in the way, but we were both determined to really RUN today. After mapping the route, I can hardly believe the pace that we had. So much that I want to re-map and re-re-map because it's difficult for me to believe that we have improved this much. It's easier to believe that I've mapped something wrong or that there is a glitch in the computer....
Stats: 6.33 miles in 1:04:26 for a 10:11mpm pace

total suckage

This was a good route, decent temperatures, plenty of rest, and we ran at a 12mpm pace?!?!?!?! NOT happy about this run.
Stats: 5.73 miles in 1:09:30 for a 12:08mpm pace
SUCK

nice tempo run

I ran alone again this morning, and I decided again to skip our usual walk areas. Trying to mix it up, I ran a regular loop in reverse and on different streets. It worked. I wasn't tempted to walk at normal places because I wasn't at any of the normal places. I wanted to push it because I have a feeling that tomorrow will be a slower run. The result? Success! I think that I need to do more of these tempo runs.
Stats: 5 miles in 51:20 for a 10:18mpm pace

Mid-Mountain Marathon in retrospect

Looking back on my personal worst marathon, I think I would do the following things differently next time:

Train much, much, much more on trails.
Get new shoes (mine have 550+ miles on them).
Train more on trails.
Do more long runs (duh! What was I thinking max-ing out at 17?!?!)
Lose the ample jiggly area around my mid-section. Seriously, how long have I been carrying this around?
Train much more on trails!

Why am I blathering on about this? It's all stuff that I know and should be doing something about...

maybe someday.....

Well, this turned out to be a better run than I had planned. I ran from work to Sugarhouse Park (1 lap) and back to work. The weather was perfect for running, and there were surprisingly few people in the park. I was on my own today, and decided to push through our usual walk break areas. I only stopped for lights, and only walked in the park. The result was a 10:24 pace. Now, if I could just knock another minute off of that pace and hold it for 26 miles, I could qualify for Boston! Maybe someday.....
Stats: 5.5 miles in 57:10 for a 10:24mpm pace

the slow lane (or not)

We attacked (or tried to attack) the hill on 8th South. Today we only took two walk breaks on the hill (which is only 150 feet?!?!? WTH?!?!?). Two breaks is better than we have done in the past, so we're happy with it, but we were sllllloooooowwwwwwww today. Slowest run in a long time. That part sucks.
Stats: 8.8 miles in 1:46:38 for a 12:08mpm pace (mother stinkin' .....)
**EDIT: Carol's GPS was off (thank goodness)! We actually did 9.5 miles in 1:46:38 for an 11:14mpm pace. Whew!

the fast lane

A slow and flat run somehow turned out faster than expected. We ran the downtown loop again, and it seems like no matter what we do this route just flies by; we always run it faster than we run anything else. Really nice weather - I love running in the fall temperatures (57*). Before long, there will be snow on the ground, and we'll be wearing our running tights and fleece. :(
Stats: 5.6 miles in 58:38 for a 10:29mpm pace

first run post-marathon

Sunday night was the worst for me post-marathon. I was sore and stiff and just couldn't get comfortable no matter what I was doing. Monday was better with just mostly hip flexor stiffness (likely due to the extra walking and that middle climb of the marathon). Today, most of the stiffness is gone and my legs are just sluggish. Our running plan today was flat and slow - a gentle saunter or even plodding. Instead, we did flat and a relatively good clip! My legs are feeling "full" but no longer sluggish. They were on auto-pilot for the last mile of our run; it felt really good.
Stats: 5 miles in 55:221 for an 11:05mpm pace

Mid Mountain Marathon - not pretty, but done

I met Carol and her sister this morning at 6am, and we all headed up to Park City. (Thanks, sis, for volunteering!). After a couple of wrong turns, we made it to the start and picked up our bibs and shirts (which are quite nice - fun color). It was 36*. We hung out for about 45 minutes before it was time to toe the line.

We knew from the start that we were out of our league. These were serious trail runners. Oh well. We took off right at 8am and made a strange loop before hitting the actual trail. The uphills began immediately. It was OK, though, and two runners even recognized us from Sapper Joe. Not like it's hard - the fat chick and the old lady.

At about mile 4, Carol fell. She was a bit scuffed, and her hand really hurt, but the roots and rocks were everywhere and hard to avoid. About three miles later, my foot went off of the trail just enough to catch a root, too. I didn't go to my knees, but I went from upright to downward facing dog in a millisecond.

More tough trail. Really tough. Like really FRIGGIN tough. A couple of gals from West Tennessee were sucking lots of air (elevation) and one of them had fallen three times before the 13 mile mark.

At about mile 12, Carol wiped out again - big time. Damn roots. She said "Just help me find my glasses!" I said "They're on your face." Her hand was a bit worse, but manageable. It was about here that I started to get queasy.

We made it to the 5th aid station before the cut-off. Carol's sis was doing a great job at this aid station. (I must say that the volunteers all along the course were fantastic. Absolutely wonderful.). My barfiness increased. My shoelace also caught on a root and I actually pulled it out of the ground. Shockingly, I didn't fall! Then, with my Gu and Powerade on the verge of coming up, I stopped to crouch down. It felt so good that I decided to just sit down. Then, I figured what the hell, and I just laid down in the middle of the trail for about two minutes. It felt great.

After mile 18, there was quite a climb. Nausea intensified. We hit the top of the climb at the same time the EMTs passed us on bikes. "Yes, we're fine. Really.". The second they were out of sight, I barfed all over the place. It was about mile-we-are-insane.

I felt a bit better stomach-wise, but my hammys, calves, and lower back were killing me. At about mile-are-you-freaking-kidding-me, Carol biffed it again. This time, she popped up and said "Well, THAT one screams for an x-ray." Ah, crap! It wasn't much further until I caught another root with my shoelace. It was pretty comical, but I barely managed to stay up-right.

Sadly, the trail didn't really improve. Rain just a couple of days ago really unearthed tons of rocks. Since Carol's gait was affected by the fact that she had to hold her hand up, we just walked it in.

The results: a personal worst. 26.2 miles in 6:44:36!!! I'm not overjoyed, but this was truly the hardest marathon I've ever done. One high point: Carol was first in her age group! She was the ONLY one in her age group, but whatever.

bring it on!

Nice and easy run to Liberty and back. It felt better than yesterday even though we went faster. Now, no more runs until Saturday morning - bring on the 'thon!
Stats: 4.5 miles in 49:55 at 11:06mpm pace

cough it out

I'm trying to shake a minor cold/cough before the marathon this weekend, so I didn't run for the last three days. Today we did a short and easy run around Liberty. My throat is feeling it, but the fresh air was great. It's getting really chilly in the mornings; it will be time for long sleeves soon.
Stats: 4.7 miles in 54:34 for a 11:37mpm pace

torturous long run

Oh. My. Gawd! I was SO tired the second that I walked outside this morning to run. Luckily, I was not the only one. Carol was also wiped. Chalk it up to the beginning of a cold, my cycle, not enough water yesterday, and any other reason to whine. We ran 10ish miles, and every single step of it was hard - even the downhills! I must say, however, that Memory Grove was beautiful this morning! So happy to have that out of the way. Serious tapering begins now. There will be three more runs (Sunday, Monday, Tuesday) of 3-5 miles each - just enough to keep the blood circulating in my legs. Wednesday will be gardening at a local school as part of United Way Day, and then take it very easy on Thursday and Friday. 'Thon Saturday! Typing that makes me officially nervous.
Stats: 10.25 miles in 1:54:28 for a 11:11mpm pace

good conversation never hurts

Just an easy five with Carol. It seemed to fly by because we had a lot of interesting stuff to talk about. Perfect in advance of our 10-miler tomorrow and our taper for next week.
Stats: 5 miles in 56:33 for 11:19mpm pace.

nice and easy

We took it easy today running downtown on what is typically our speed route. Neither of us had "it" today, and we don't want to run too hard in the two weeks before our marathon. After the 'thon, we will begin a more regimented program of tempo runs and hill repeats through the winter.

WINTER! What? There was a dusting of snow on the mountaintops! Snow!

Stats: 5.2 miles in 58:30 for a 11:15mpm pace

long with a bit of creepy

This was a good long run. I haven't run long around home for quite some time. I had intended to run three 5.5 mile loops, but once I got started that just seemed so boring. Instead, after running 1/4 of the first loop, I just kept heading north until I got to Old Smelter Road. I've never run it (which is odd since that's where all of the local runners go) because it looked too intimidating. I ran to the top. I did take some walk breaks, but not many.

About 3/4 of the way up, I heard a noise in the brush. It was a quiet, squeaking noise that was strange - kind of like very new puppies when they cry for the mother that has wandered off. I clapped my hands (yeah - like that's going to scare off some coyote or feral dog), and it got worse. At this point, it wasn't a strange noise anymore because now I could place it: a duck caller. This is irritating for a couple of reasons. 1) It's not duck season. It's not any season except the white tailed ptarmigan which would only be applicable if I lived close to the Uintahs. 2) It got worse only after I clapped my hands a few times and looked around A LOT. I was obviously unnerved, and I'm convinced THAT'S why it got worse. Some jackass was just trying to screw with me which was very uncool. It was 5am, dark, and Mr. Hunter and I were the only people on this road. I couldn't see him, and he was squawking that damn duck caller just to freak me out. So, I got my phone out of my hydration pack and had 911 on stand-by. I ran just a little faster, too.

At the top of the road, I finally turned around and practiced my "quiet" running (which, at my weight, is ridiculous). I knew exactly where he had been, and I planned to run as quickly and quietly through that area as possible. I actually turned off my headlamp so that I would hopefully not be seen. Whatever. So, I was running up the hill to the place where the noise had been, and there was the guy - standing on the side of the road as still as a fence post. A really, really TALL fence post. He wasn't impeding me at all, so I just continued to run past him as fast as I could. I kept up the pace for another mile (which almost killed me - a long run is not the time to incorporate tempos). Another mile later, and I heard a bicycle approaching. Mr. Hunter, dressed all in dark camo clothes, sped past me on a dirt bike - yes - a little teenager's dirt bike. I think that the whole time, I was freaked out by a 17-year old. Ass! He really did have me scared. Finally, I put away my phone.

NO - I did NOT take my pepper spray. YES - I WILL take it next time that I run this road (and there WILL be a next time - nice, gentle up/down) in the dark. Like I said, I had just planned to run those three laps, and I wouldn't really need it for that route. I would have felt better about the creepy duck hunter if I would have had my pepper spray, but the phone worked, too.

About two miles later, the sun started to brighten the sky a bit, although it was still a while before it would come up. I found a much needed Honey Bucket and continued my run. I headed down 1000 North on a newly paved road that I've never run before. It was now that the sun finally peeked over the Wasatch and turned Deseret Peak pink and gold. I continued down a farming road next to a field of ripe alfalfa to the sound of field mice scurrying around in the weeds next to the fence and the birds moving away from me as I ran. I finally connected to Utah Ave and headed home.

When I got home, I realized that I could still do another five miles if necessary. That makes me feel good about the upcoming 'thon. I may not have gotten three 20-milers in, but to have this 17.5 run under my belt gives me the confidence that I can finish. It may not be fast, but I will finish.

Stats: 17.5 miles in 3:22:10 for a 11:34mpm pace

tired and sluggish, now...

Today's run felt like I was running through water. I was very sluggish, and I'll be happy to rest tomorrow. We ran the extended Liberty loop and passed a lot of kids waiting for the school bus. [Sigh] Summer's over....
Stats: 5 miles in 55:53 for 11:11mpm pace

tired!

Oh, man! I'm tired! After pushing it last night (and Carol had herself a fast one yesterday morning), I thought that we would take it easy today, but NOPE! We ran 6.3 miles with hills! It was just a loop through Sugarhouse and South Salt Lake neighborhoods, but it about did both of us in. When I calculated our pace, I'm not surprised! I was thinking that we would run 11:30 max pace, but:
Stats: 6.3 miles in 1:10:03 for a 11:08mpm pace!

+ 10 pounds on purpose

Stats: 3.4 miles in 44:22 @ 13:03mpm pace.
UG! The first half of this run was easy as it was all a very gentle downhill. But the return trip - gentle UPhill - was brutal. Normally, not a big deal, but I was pushing the boys in the stroller with a 10-pound bag of sugar. What was I thinking? Oh well. Now I have the sugar that I need to make lemon balm jelly tonight. AND, it was a good workout for my legs - they are still feeling it!

Still, no long....

I ran from home this morning. It was supposed to be a long run (15-16 miles), but instead it was 5.8. You have to have a heart of stone in order to get out of bed and go running when a 3-year old says "Don't go away, mommy." Despite common belief, I do not have a heart of stone, so I stayed snuggled in bed with the Peanut. It was worth it, but I'll be feeling the effects come race day (3 weeks!).
Stats: 5.7 miles in 1:02:30 which is a 10:58mpm (WHAT!?!?!)

fast, but not long

I ran alone today and did the same downtown loop that Carol and I did last week. I did it a smidge slower, but my pace was still very low 10s. (Actually, if I use Carol's garmin mileage from last week, it was 5.58 miles. If I use mileage according to the internet, it was 5.45. If I use Carol's distance, my pace was sub-10. But, since she wasn't with me today, I just have to use what I have.) Yay! I like that I'm getting speedwork in, but I hate that things aren't working out at home so that I can get long runs in. I don't feel like I can run for more than two hours before work, so the really long runs (18-22) need to be done on the weekend, and that's just not been easy. Oh well. I am getting faster, and that's always good!
Stats: 5.45 miles, 55:09, 10:08mpm, 62*

nice and easy used to be 12:30 or 12:45...

Stats: 5.1 miles in 56:47 for a 11:09mpm pace, 68*, 59% humidity
I thought it felt muggy, and I was right. We took it easy today and still managed an 11:09 pace. This is good. Just a long lap around Liberty. Carol is taking tomorrow off. I'm going to try to get 15 miles in before school. (My GOAL is to run 7 or 8 before leaving home, and then running another 7 or 8 once I get into SLC. Really, it's not likely, but it's good to have a goal.....)

nice and easy

Carol and I enjoyed a nice, even-paced run. It was nice to catch up on the weekend events. She won first place in her age group (again) at a trail 15k on Saturday. She ROCKS!
Stats: 5.15 miles in 56:34 for a 11mpm pace

Oooooo, the nerve.....

We had a nice run today. We did a loop in Sugarhouse Park for the first time in a long time. It was only 60*! Niiiiice! There was, however, an incident in the park where a cyclist ran over a runner! She was in the bike lane, but he came up behind her and ran over her. I think that he wasn't looking or paying attention or something and just crashed into her back. We didn't see it, but came upon it just in time to hear him call her a bitch as he rode away! The nerve.....
Stats: 5.72 miles, 1:02:03, 10:51mpm pace! (Yes, sub-11 even after yesterday's tempo workout!)

Flashy, you say?

Carol and I ran up Main Street to 100 S, then up to State, and back to work. It didn't feel like we were running anything other than our normal pace, but HOLY CATS, BATMAN! I think that we just logged the fastest workout together! We have each gone faster on individual runs, but not much faster, and hardly ever.
We are friggin' STUDS!
Stats: 5.58 miles in 56:04 for a 10:03mpm pace. (Yeah, you read that right. 10-minute miles, baby!)

ho-hum...

We ran through Sugarhouse and South Salt Lake today. Nothing much to see that we haven't seen before. It was fun to talk more about Carol's Jupiter Peak race, though. I really want to do it next year!
Stats: 6.85 miles, 1:19:00, 11:32mpm

nothing flashy

I ran by myself this morning because Carol is still recovering from her weekend race. (Yes, she ran again. This time, to the top of Jupiter Peak and back - a 16 mile trail run for crazies - at one point, racers were on hands and knees scrabbling up a half mile of loose rock scree. Since Nate already dubbed the Gruesome Grizzly 8k as Sapper Joe's mean little brother, I think that Jupiter Peak must be Sapper Joe's bitchy sister.)

Anyway, back to my boring run. I decided to do some speed because Carol will still be sore tomorrow and she has another race on Saturday! Stats: 5 miles, 52:11, 10:27mpm. Not bad.

disappointing pace

Stats: 11.9 miles in 2:22:40 for a 12mpm pace

Not my best run, but considering that this is my longest run for a few weeks AND the fact that I took almost two weeks off, it wasn't horrible. I probably would have done a bit better if I had worn different shorts. I was wearing the worst shorts that I have for chafing, and I'm paying for it now. Of course, if my friggin' thighs weren't so damn fat.....

Carol took the day off because she has a race tomorrow (Jupiter Peak - she's nuts....), so I was slogging it out on my own. She pushes me, and I suspect that I would have done better if she were around. Oh well. It was a nice run with the first 5 miles being a constant climb.

Rest tomorrow (and by rest, I mean baby shower, NICU reunion, new home party, and maybe swimming), and I'll go again on Sunday!

slower - in preparation for Carol's Jupiter Peak

Stats: 5.91 miles in 1:08:00 for a 11:31 mpm pace; 71* and 46% humidity.

We ran slower today because Carol has the Jupiter Peak 16 mile trail run on Saturday (8 miles up - like straight up - and 8 miles down). It was a nice run - a lot cooler than it has been - we just meandered around South Salt Lake. No particular destination, just trying to get in five miles. We ran almost six because Carol forgot to turn her watch back on, so the distance wasn't calculating. Oh well, bonus!

it's hot... and not in a Paris Hilton sort of way

Man, it's hot! 78* when we started at 6:10am. 81* when we finished. 48% humidity. We ran around with no particular idea of where we would/should go. Because of that, we didn't end up running any place very pretty. It was hot, and got hotter, and then we talked about how hot it was during our many hot walk breaks. Our walks were very short, though, and we finished with a pace that surprised both of us. It was hot.
(Stats: 5.73 miles in 1:03:07 which is a 11:01mpm pace)

long break (due to homework)

Yes - my first run in almost two weeks. I've spent the last two weeks finishing up all of my assignments for the 2nd semester of school. THAT has NOT been fun, and I seriously did not have time to run. So, I was expecting today's run to be difficult, but it was actually quite nice. Except that it was BLOODY HOT OUT THERE (78* and 45% humidity), I was not sore, or tired, or even felt like I was pushing it. Carol and I did 5 miles in 54:36 (10:56mpm pace). I thought I was going to be 11:30 or even 12 mpm, so, I'm happy with today's run. It's nice to be back out on the roads for a few reasons:
1) I gained a pound during those late night eat-anything-to-keep-me-awake sessions,
2) we have a marathon in 6 weeks (holy shit)
3) my homework is DONE for the semester!!!

rambling and swamp-like

This is the first time I've run in six days. Not good training for a September marathon, I know; however, I have gotten a lot of homework done in that time. That IS good since I'm cramming and entire semester into two weeks. (I know, I know. Let the chastising commence!)

Anyhoooo, Carol is in Phoenix (in July - I know! She's nuts; it's 116* down there!) visiting her daughter. Being the machine that she is, she's probably running at 3am. Let's face it. If there is a contest, she'll kick my ass every time even though she is 20 years older than me. (Is it me, or do I have a problem sticking to the point?) So, I was off by myself and I decided to do Sugarhouse Park. The temperature for the run was 77* with 42% humidity. Yes, that's right. I might as well be living in a friggin' swamp. (And, I know that the humidity is 77% in NC this morning and 87% in NJ, but I'm not IN those places, now AM I?) Whatever. It was hot and humid by Utah standards, so I wussed out and only did 5.5 miles. The first two miles were really tough because every muscle in my lower body was stiff from un-use (<--is that a word?). The muscles in my upper body are probably stiff, too, but since I never use them, who's to know? I considered doing the backside of the hills in the park because they are easier, but I decided to suck it up and do them head-on. (Where was I going with this?) Anyway, I'm done, and I'm happy about it. Now, more homework - oh yeah, and real work that pays the bills.

Stats: 5.5 miles in 1:00:07 for a 10:56mpm pace.

speed work

I'll consider this my speed workout for the week! (5 miles in 51:16 at 10:16mpm pace - YAY!)
I ran by myself today and did the extended Liberty loop. It was one of the coolest runs I've had lately temperature wise. Sprinklers were on just about everywhere I went, so the air surrounding the sidewalks was crisp and cool. Plus, I managed to get out the door about 30 minutes earlier than normal, so the sun didn't peek over the mountains until the very end of the run. It was a good run, and faster than normal as I had intended. Now, just a long run tomorrow and plenty of homework!

USU loop in the heat

I took the day off and decided to go running with the boys. Unfortunately, they weren't big on eating breakfast, getting dressed, going potty, or any other thing that may have gotten us out the door early. So, it was hot when we started. We ran the USU loop for the first time in many months. It was nice, and we even saw two other runners out there, both of whom were men easily in their 60s. We stopped for a couple minutes to watch a hay mower and then again to watch the garbage truck. Very interesting stuff. We also stopped at the park for a potty break. Meatball managed to hold it the entire time until Peanut sat down. Then, the waiting was just too much. Poor guy.... We finished 4.58 miles in 59:21 which is a 12:58mpm pace; I'm happy with this because pushing that job stroller is NEVER easy.

Niiiiice pacing

We ran a 6.5 mile loop through Sugarhouse this morning. We purposely avoided any big hills since Carol just had a 10k race (where she took 1st place in her division AGAIN!), and I'll be running with the boys tomorrow. (6.5 miles in 1:11:45 @ 11:03mpm pace) I didn't feel like the pace was that good, so I'm very happy with this run!

I found my thrill on Gravity Hill.

Today's run (12.34 miles in 2:19:12 at 11:17mpm pace) was pretty good. Carol ran the first 2.5 with me, but then she turned back and headed back to work. She wasn't doing long miles today because she has a 10k trail race tomorrow. (Did I mention that she took 1st place in her age group at the 5k two weeks ago? Well, she did. Awesome!)

We ran up Main to South Temple. She turned back on State and I headed up to the capitol. I ran up more of that big incline than I walked, so I'm happy about that. When I got to the top of the hill, I decided that some stairs wouldn't actually kill me, and my jiggly butt needs all the help it can get. So, I managed to climb 173 steps around the capitol grounds before heading down Bonneville Blvd towards City Creek Canyon road.

Rounding the turn in the road, I was daunted by the incline up Bonneville Blvd to B Street, but I figured I would just do the best I could. Well, not to be full of myself or anything, but I friggin' rocked it! I ran up the entire thing except for a really quick stop to take this picture:

(The sweet peas were blooming all over the place!)

Anyway, I think that this must be the infamous Gravity Hill that everyone has always talked about but that I've never actually experienced. I almost felt like I was being pulled up the entire thing. It was GREAT! From the top of the hill I ran east to I Street, south to 9th Ave, east to J Street, south to 7th Ave, east to K Street and then south to 900 South. From here, I thought that it would be good to just get a lap in at Liberty Park to ensure that I would have enough miles to be over ten for the day. After my lap here, I really started to feel the effects of the heat (73* when we started, 82* when I finished). I headed back to work. I was going to extend the run, but I just didn't have it in me, and the road I was considering had no shade which sealed the deal.

Woozy!

This was a nice run with one lap in Sugarhouse. (5.76 miles in 1:02:30 for a 10:52mpm pace) I'm more tired than I probably should be, and I'm trying to figure out why. I spent three hours at the dentist last night, so I didn't eat anything after 5pm. That's probably one problem. I also didn't drink anything after 5pm. Hmmmm... Then, immediately following our run, I was talking to someone and got very light headed and was seeing spots. I know that this is a sign that I'm about to pass out, so I quickly sat down. I think that I'll go check my notoriously low blood pressure!

Oh, I don't think that I mentioned this. Two weeks ago when I went for my uber-fun colonoscopy, they were doing my "pre-op" stuff and the blood pressure machine kept going off. One of the nurses thought that it was broken, but the nurse administering my IV looked me in the eye and said "You're a runner, aren't you?"

Oh my hell! If I hadn't been in a back-flashing hospital gown, I would have danced a jig right that moment!

THEN, in the post-op the nurse had to come in and repeatedly reset the blood pressure machine. It was reading something like 90/46. The bum doc came in and was trying to give me my results, he finally just disconnected me from the machine. He, too, looked right at me and said "Are you an athlete?" SCORE!!!!! (Procedure results: two diventriculae [?sp] that could someday develop into something, and one very small [2mm] polyp, shit! I hope that it was OK. I haven't heard anything since that day. I should probably follow up...)

AS IF THAT WEREN'T ENOUGH, I had my annual with my doc the next day. I asked how her husband-the-runner was doing. He's going to run the TOU, and MY training is going better than his!

Sometimes, I friggin' kick ass. Now, off to check my blood pressure.

(Post Script: My blood pressure was 90/55)

Short and sweet

We had to run a quick 4.6 miles today due to a conference call that I had to make at 8am. We just ran around Liberty Park and back in 49:27 (10:45mpm). It was pretty cool because they had just turned off the sprinklers at Liberty, but this also meant that it was slippery and muddy in some parts. The three day break since our long, hot run last week was nice, but any benefits that I should have felt were cancelled out due to a few beers and not-so-great food over the long weekend. Not horrible food, but not really great. When will I learn?

Summer is definitely here

It was 74* when we left and 86* when we finished! We ran 13 miles (exactly) today in 2:34:10 (11:52mpm). Not our best pace, but the heat really drained us both. The first 6.5 miles were a constant climb with only one downhill of about 50 yards. We ran up 21st to Foothill and connected to Bonneville Shoreline for a couple of miles. Then, we detoured off the trail through Tanner Park which was the best part of the run. All trails next to a creek and in the shade. It was easily 10* cooler through the park. Then, it was a difficult trudging run to get back because of the heat. Thanks to the folks at Rocky Mountain Grill for filling our bottles with ice and water. It looks like a nice little place; I'll have to stop by there sometime. I didn't even know it existed. Very nice folks. (1100 East and 20-something South - it was right across from the state liquor store) When we got back to work, we were only at 12.6 miles, so we had to run around the building. It would seem silly to stop at anything less than 13, and we were so close, but that .4 was the hardest part of the run!

June is in the books - not the book I wanted, but whatever

Lordy, it is hot out there! In order to get 100 miles for the month (still 23 shy of last month!), we had to run at least 7 miles today. Yes, 100 miles is arbitrary, but how stupid would it look to have 98.9 or something like that? Anyhooooo, Carol and I walked out and knew that it was going to be a difficult run because the temperature was 75* and 27% humidity. Sheesh! Being the brains of the operation, Carol suggested that we run someplace entirely new; that way, we wouldn't be longing for familiar landmarks. She is sooooo smart! We did a big loop from 21st and State up to 34th and Highland then back. 7.6 miles in 1:24:26 (11:07mpm)

On a side note, I just realized that my shoes have 300+ miles on them. They aren't going to carry me through the September marathon because I just realized that we have 40+ mile weeks ahead of us. Crap. Now I need to scrounge up some money for new shoes.

75* at 7am! Boy, oh boy!

I thought that after last night, I would be completely wiped out, but it wasn't really bad. Carol and I ran 6.17 miles in 1:09:12 (11:13mpm). Not blazing fast by any means, but it was also 75*! Sheesh - it's warming up really quickly. We had a fun time running around Sugarhouse and South Salt Lake, always trying to find the shadiest part of the street. It's only going to get hotter as July and August roll around, so we will just roll with it. What's that prayer thing? "Accept the things I cannot change...." (Geez - "that prayer thing".... Am I spiritual or what?)

In the genes

3.14 miles in 42 minutes (13:23mpm). Not bad considering I was pushing the boys in the jogger, and it was 80*! They are getting bigger and bigger which means I had better get stronger and stronger! They are a combined weight of 68 pounds plus the jog stroller (I still don't know how much that thing weighs). So, 13-ish minute miles are fine with me. We ran down to the track. I was thinking that they could just play in the grass and whatnot, but there were at least 20 people there getting their evening walks done. The boys ended up RUNNING 1/2 mile with me! They had a blast, and I was so proud! A 1/2 mile! They would have gone longer if I had let them. It was fun.

Red Butte Trail run

Carol and I planned to do a long run on trails today. Turns out that the trouble with this plan is that we aren't very familiar with the trails in the area, we either have to run 4 miles to get to them or drive. If we drive, we get there faster, but miss out on guaranteed miles. We chose to do that today. We thought for sure that we could make up the miles on the trail. NOT!

We hit Bonneville Shoreline right above Huntsman Cancer Institute and headed south. We took a few left turns while going up and down and up and down. Then, we were going up, up, up, up, up, and wait - a bit more up. We had to walk for a good two miles. UG! The trail was steep enough that we had to basically walk the down, too. We went left, we went right, we eventually found a road and Red Butte Creek. Finally, we decided that we had to get to work, so we headed down the road and ran through Fort Douglas and back to the car.

We only got 5.25 miles in at 15:33mpm (bummer), but they were quality miles, and a lot of fun. It was cool (especially by the creek), beautiful, and technical. My glutes, calves, and quads know that they have been worked. I'll have to get in some additional miles this weekend to make up for those that we missed today. Here is a view of the sun peeking over the mountains in Red Butte Canyon.

bouncing back!

I was tired today. Carol and I ran 7.05 miles in 1:16:55 (10:55mpm) which surprises the heck out of me! I'm still trying to recover from almost three days of fasting, and I forgot to drink any kind of electrolytes. PLUS, we ran (or tried to run) up a nasty hill on 8th South that really sapped my strength. At 6 miles, I was wiped out, but our last mile was still at an 11mpm pace. We really had to push it after the turn around point, but I'm happy that we did it.

Ragnar race reports to come shortly.

into it again

Back to the grind! We ran 5.5 miles today in 1:01:48 (11:15mpm). It was my first run since Ragnar over the weekend, and a run on very little energy since I had to fast from Saturday evening until Monday afternoon due to my first colonoscopy. So, I was running on a pretty empty tank, and I was pretty dehydrated, too. So, we took it easy, and by the end I was wiped out. I'm fasting again today because it's time to have my yearly blood work done.

I'm not going to be able to increase my monthly mileage again unless I do 52 more miles in the next seven days. It's just not going to happen. Last week was consumed with doctor's appointments and challenges at home, so I only ran 16 miles. I guess it's possible if I run 6.5 miles every day for the next eight days, but sadly, I don't think I'm going to find that kind of time.

sub-11 for 10-miles! (average pace)

The first 2-ish miles of our long run today weren't fun, but we eventually got into a groove. We had to stop for a porta-potty break about 1/2 through, but everything after that was good. Our pace in the first four miles was probably about 11:30, but the last four miles were much improved. We did 10.06 miles in 1:49:41 (10:55mpm pace!!!).

hot and humid!

We had a harder run this morning. I'm not sure why. It wasn't as bad as Monday, but it wasn't thoroughly enjoyable, either. 5.18 miles in 56:56 (11mpm) isn't horrible, though. We expected it to be a much worse pace. It's 65* out and 56% humidity which is astronomical in these parts!

MUCH better!

Today was everything that yesterday wasn't! We ran seven miles in 1:14:07 (10:36mpm). We both felt good; we ran the first two miles up to Sugarhouse a minute faster than normal; we ran longer after the hills; we ran longer coming down. Everything just seemed to fall into place. It was probably 10* cooler than yesterday, so that probably made a difference, too! It was just a good run.

YUCK! FRIGGIN' YUCK!

This run SUCKED! 5 miles in 54:10 which is a 10:48mpm pace. So, the pace was fine, although it felt like we were running 13s. We were both just not into it. I couldn't find a groove until mile 3, and then it wasn't much of a groove. It was hot. We were tired. It was just hard for some reason. Blah!

An almost long run

I say "almost" long run because I consider 10+ long. It's a personal (mental) thing, I guess. Carol and I ran together again today. It was nice to have the company again! We did 8.6 miles in 1:38:00 which is an 11:24mpm pace. Not great, but we were both tired, AND we ran up a hideous hill at 8th South. It was a decent run, but I swear this 63* feels so much hotter! I hope that I acclimate soon!

It's going to be a long summer

It is going to be tough for me to get used to the hot weather. 64* today, and it felt like 80*! I ran alone again today, one lap at Sugarhouse. 5.5 miles in 1:00:45 for 11:03mpm pace. The first two miles were really tough. I don't know if I'm still trying to recover from last Saturday, or what!

2-a-days

Bub was sick yesterday and just couldn't drive, so there was nobody to bring the truck back from the bus stop parking lot. So, after the boys finally went to sleep, I changed into my running clothes, put on my head lamp, leashed up Liz, and went for a run. 3.9 miles in 39:57 is a 10:15mpm pace. Not bad! I would have finished faster, but I literally had to slow down for the dog. It's been a long time since she has been running with me, and she got worn out at about three miles. It was a good run, though. It felt good even though it was my second of the day.

after two rest days, a decent sub-11

My quads are still sore from Saturday's "race," but after two days off - and a fall marathon looming - I decided that I had to get out today. I'm glad that I did. I ran alone and did one lap at Liberty. I probably should have done two laps, but I missed work on Friday and I don't want to get too far behind (well, any farther than I already am). 4.5 miles in 48:23, which is a 10:46mpm. It didn't feel that fast, but I really tried to push it - looks like I succeeded. Hills tomorrow.

SAPPER JOE 15K, 30K, 50K RACE – SHUH – AS IF!

Goal #1: Finish.
Check!

Goal #2: Finish without falling down.
Check!

Goal #3: Finish in 4.5 hours.
Nuh-uh. No way. Not even.

Can it still be called a “race” if you do more walking than running?
Should it be called a “race” when the only creatures that could actually do it quickly would be mountain goats or really, really nimble deer?
Was my baby brother correct (gasp) when he said “Hell, no, I don’t want to do it with you! Camp Williams is damn tough!” (answer: yes – he was correct)

Foul weather conditions were predicted in the days leading up to “race” day, but at 10pm the night before, the forecast had changed. With the exception of a bit of a nasty headwind at the end of the “race,” the weather was perfect for beating the holy living crap out of yourself!

“Race” morning had me up at 4:15 and out the door at 4:40. It should have been 4:30, but thanks to the newest member of the family who refused to do a doody outside, I was ten minutes behind schedule. I left my cell phone with Bub (who was supposed to go fishing with Kev), so I chose not to go the back way to the race. It probably would have been faster, but I really didn’t want to get stranded in the middle of BF-desert with a flat or something. I took Bangerter which was a mistake since there was an accident that routed me down some street to Redwood. Having left ten minutes late and now having this diversion, I was really cutting it close for time. So close that the ornery commanding dude at the front gate of Camp Williams got on my case for going 13 mph (instead of the posted 10mph). I get it. I get it. It’s his job, and he probably told 50 other people to slow down, and there is a reason that they don’t like cars barreling in to their security gate. I know. I’m sorry.

So, I park and head to the “race” building with about three minutes to go and a stomach that wasn’t cooperating. I walked in while the race director was giving last minute directions. I looked frantically for Carol and the registration table because I at LEAST needed my “race” number. Found the table and whispered my name and distance to the gal. I got my bag as the crowd began to move outside. Nate (another running co-worker, and the genius over at The Bloody Toe) spied me, wished me luck, and confirmed that Carol was around somewhere. I never saw him again.

I grabbed my number and safety pins out of my bag and headed to the restrooms where I ran into Carol walking out. Whew! She waited while I, well…. I was still pinning my number to my shirt when we heard the cannons go off. Yes, cannons – like, from a tank – or two, actually, as they were holding the start/finish line banner.

We fell in line behind everyone which was the plan all along. Let’s be honest. It was our first trail run, and we had trained hard, but we knew simply by looking at the elevation chart that we were no match for this bad boy. We just wanted to finish a new and different and challenging “race.” We had no idea what we were in for, but we knew that we wouldn’t be in it to win it (except in our minds, of course). Carol informed me that the words of advice (based on last year’s inaugural event) were not to go out too fast, and if you can make it past the first four miles, you would be fine. (Turns out “fine” was a subjective term.)

So, we jog through a tunnel and immediately start running up. We took several walk breaks knowing that we needed to conserve our energy for the first climb of the “race.” Like I said, it was a beautiful morning (unless you count the two men peeing on the wall of the tunnel as we passed. Why? Why?!!?). After about ½ mile, the course turned off of the dirt road to the trail. We continued to run up. And up. And up. And we eventually ceased to run, opting for a brisk walk instead.

Then, we saw the hill. Everyone that we could see was walking it which made us feel better. We decided to walk the entire thing without stopping. Seemed like a good goal, and it was totally doable. The view was great, and we were feeling energized.

Here’s an idea: Know what you’re talking about before you set random goals.

We reached the top of the hill (which, by the way, no longer felt like a hill but more like a torture session) only to find that IT WAS A FALSE SUMMIT – the first of many. Still determined, we soldiered on. (Clever use of army lingo, dontcha’ think?) UP false summit #2, then UP false summit #3. Oh, what – here are some more rocks and up ahead is friggin’ false summit #4. During this time, I was directly behind some dude who was very methodical and slow. There was no way to pass because, well, we were practically at a 45* angle. I wasn’t going to stop because we made that stupid vow not to, so I just stayed right behind him hoping that he didn’t fart (because when I say right behind him, I really mean it). We were finally able to pass him at the top of false summit #4. We could see the REAL summit finally. How did we know? Well, because there was no freakin’ way that there could be another one because otherwise, I would have sat down and cried. My calves were screaming. If the sound could have come out of my throat, it would have been akin to something from The Exorcist (replete with profanities). However, my breathing was so labored that no sound had a chance to form. Actually, had I been able to utter something, it probably would have been “Gross!” in response to some guy who blew about 15 snot rockets during the ascent….

Reaching the real summit was amazing and being able to stop even MORE amazing. We trained for this, but there is really no way to train for this. It was insane. It was also beautiful. I finally looked at my watch (which I purposely avoided until now). It read 1:14. 1:14 for four miles. I usually run 4 miles in less than 44 minutes. Holy shit. Hey, no problem, we decide. We can make up the time on the descent.

Again, always know what you’re talking about.

The descent was as steep and rocky as the climb. We had to walk most of it. We were tempted to butt-slide some of it. Dude – whatever! We laughed most of the way down because, well, who the hell does this stuff on purpose? It was awesome.

We were able to actually run about a mile DOWN to the first aid station which we reached at, ah – who cares? I stopped looking at my watch when I saw the first descent. The National Guard folks were super friendly, and they had watermelon. It was like eating a little piece of heaven at that point. OK, show’s over, we’ve got to run. UP. Again.

At some point in the next three miles we caught and passed a guy who had just finished peeing on a tree. I was happy that he was finishing instead of starting. He said to us “You two are just storming through this!” Dude, if this piddly sprinkle of water is your idea of a storm…. But hey, he did get passed by two women – one old and the other fat. Maybe it was a storm…. (The perfect storm! Fat woman, old woman, seriously difficult trail all brought together at the right time and place to signal his demise. We did, eventually, finish before him.)

This section (miles 5-10) were pretty decent. Lots of rollers, and we (smartly) walked all of the ups. We ran when we could. Finally, at the top of yet another hill, we saw aid station #2. Typically, my pride gets in the way and I run into the water stops, aid stations, or any other place where people can see me. Whatever. There was no way we were running to it. The poor guy with the field glasses had to watch us struggle all the way up the hill. Again, fantastic National Guard folks. Super nice, and this time, they had pretzels, M&Ms, and gummy bears. YUM! I took a handful, and we headed UP the next real climb with a shout of “303 OUT! 305 OUT!” from one of the aid workers. Had I not pottied before the race, he would have scared the shit out of me.

The preceding five miles of rollers were actually all uphill, but they didn’t feel like it with the downs. We were now facing a true trail for about 100 yards after which we just had to pick our way through the brush following a trail of dropped gummy bears. We didn’t make any silly pacts to go non-stop up this climb. We were past it. So, we meandered up the hill to false summit #1, then to false summit #2, and of course, don’t forget false summit #3 – I would hate to leave that one out…. Oh. My. Hell. That lasted for about a mile.

We caught a break and were able to run a mile at some point because the course leveled out. How did this happen? Was the “race” director asleep when mapping out this part of the course? How could he get so sloppy and lazy? We relished every single minute of it because we knew that there was more up to be had. And, we were right.

This next ascent wasn’t as grueling to the body, but since we could see most of it (and could see the up-ness of it), it was mentally challenging. We walked a lot. We were passed by one of the 50K runners during this section. He didn’t even seem winded. Seriously, where do these people train? We had to look long and hard to find runs with just 1000 feet of elevation change, and here this guy isn’t even straining after 4000 feet? Freak show. We were so tired that I don’t even remember cresting the second summit, but I do remember seeing the third aid station below. What a lovely sight. It became lovelier the closer we got because we realized that it had porta-potties. Ahhhhhh.

Signs in my porta-potty: “It’s your latrine, so keep it clean.” And “Seat belt use required in this device.” I found those to be remarkably hilarious.

The great guys at this aid station also had watermelon and the FANTASTIC news that the next five miles were all downhill. Wonderful men….

This next bit would have been perfect except for the wind that I mentioned earlier, but even that couldn’t suppress the joy we felt for finally running downhill. Or was it joy that we were almost done? Or was it the pain trying to escape? Whatever. The happiness carried us a long way. The men at the final aid station failed to mention (or purposely chose not to mention) one teeny, tiny little hill that felt about a mile long. It was probably only 100 yards, but it hurt. We walked it.

We were finally back on familiar ground, covering the first mile in reverse. It didn’t seem this long the first time. No, really. Where is the damn tunnel? Ah, there it is. Where is the damn finish line? We didn’t run this far at the beginning. It felt like the damn soldiers had moved the entire friggin’ base while we had been out wandering around in the hills. Screw it. I’m done running. What? There’s the s building? Well, we have to run now – can’t walk across the finish line!

We finally did finish. We crossed under the tank cannons at 5:15:30. Seriously. This 20-miler took longer than four of my marathons (which, by the way, are longer than 20 miles…..). This was, by far, the hardest “race” I’ve ever participated in. Ever. Ever, Ever, EVER!



After gasping for about 20 seconds at the finish line, I got my finisher’s “medal,” a 50-caliber shell casing with the “race” name and distances engraved on it and hung from a leather string. Very clever. And uber-cool. Like me. One tough chick.

We hit the recovery tables while some National Guard guys belted out some cheesy tunes like Brick House, Kiss (the Prince version), and some Earth Wind and Fire song. They were awesome. So was the half bagel that I snarfed down! And the orange. And the watermelon. The National Guard can re-fuel. They know what they are doing. The EMT inside called Carol “hard-core.” Because she is. I don’t know any other 60-year olds who would do this run. At least, not on purpose. He didn’t call me hard-core, though. Maybe I’m just a fat lesbian who needed the exercise. Whatever, dude. Booyah to you, and thanks for the bagel. Or, maybe he was just so overwhelmed by my stench that he couldn’t speak in full sentences. Yeah… that’s probably it.

Carol and I sat on the grass for a while. Oh, how it hurt to get to the ground. Almost as much as it hurt getting up. We cheered some fellow runners including the Perfect Storm guy and some 50Kers across the finish line. We never saw any women cross the finish line. They were all probably two hours ahead of us, but oh well. We finally managed to stand and said our good-byes as we walked to our cars. Carol thanked me for running the “race” with her. I told her that she could choose the course anytime, and I would be there. I got in the truck and wondered if I could have done 12 more miles, because the 50K is calling my name for next year. I do have to remember, though, that it has not only 12 additional big ones, but also a third climb (with its accompanying false summits, I’m sure). It still sounds doable, though.

I was wiped when I got home. I was putting the boys to bed and BARELY made it through our customary two stories. Then, I fell asleep half way through singing a song. Meatball had to wake me up to tell me to keep singing. Yesterday and today, my quads have let me know that they aren’t going to forget this punishment any time soon. I don’t blame them. If I don’t lose a toenail now, I’m sure to lose one after Wasatch Back (in three weeks) because the two together will just be too much for my sad little toes to handle.

Seriously, the 50k next year. 40 pounds lighter, and that should be a piece of, whatever…

(Oh, the stats:
20 miles
5:15:30
15:45mpm
I don’t know the finishing place yet, nor do I care. We finished with smiles – well, mostly. PS - I would have taken more pictures, but my camera battery was busy dying even though it said it was 1/2 full the day before!)
PPS - Carol and I came in 49 and 50 out of 54 racers in the 30k. We weren't last! The winner of the 30k finished in 2:40:44 - less than 1/2 our time. Holy $&!#

Whoo, boy! Look out, Park City

Well, it's official. Carol and I are signed up for the Park City Mid-Mountain Trail marathon on Sept 11. It's tough enough that the website tells entrants that if they aren't at mile 18 in five hours, they will be pulled from the course. We are, of course, going to finish the entire thing in world-record pace! (OK - PR'ing would be absolutely wonderful, but may not be possible. I'm still going to try.) The website also teases entrants with the promise of a "mostly flat" course even though their elevation chart goes up and down and up and down... I guess we'll see!

nice morning

Another easy run. 5 miles in 54:30 (10:54mpm). Tapering well for SJ. Not as nervous as I thought I would be. Another friend will be there running the 15k. I joked with him that he's a wuss for ONLY doing 15k, but he is a fill-in runner for someone who has been injured. He hasn't trained on hills AT ALL, so I actually think that he's pretty kick-ass for even giving it a shot. We'll see on Saturday!

tapering in preparation for SJ

Nice and easy run for me and Carol. We pushed the pace just a bit, but quite by accident. It felt good. I got a smidge tired in the middle of mile three, but that passed quickly. 5 miles in 53:42 at 10:45mpm average pace.

Long, slow, UP, and lovely

What an awesome run. It was slow (12:36mpm), but it was also 16.22 miles with some incredible inclines. We run UP to the capitol, UP the stairs out of Memory Grove, UP "I" Street (which is something that I would only with upon masochists and my enemies), and UP to the Bonneville Shoreline Trail. After that 9 miles of UP, it was finally time to go down, and it was wonderful. BST was beautiful - we even saw a deer in the middle of the day - with the wildflowers and green everywhere. Miller Park was cool and shady. Everything just fell into place. It was a really good (but slow) run. Look out Sapper Joe (next Saturday!).

quick and short

This was a nice and easy run. We ran the Liberty loop (1x) and talked the whole time - work stuff - but we had some good ideas to make some changes and improvements. Long run tomorrow, but today it was nice to have a short run at a strong pace (4.5 miles @ 10:52mpm).

Talking and running it out

We ran the 5-mile Liberty loop (which means that we tacked on a few extra roads and ran the perimeter) in 54:38 (10:56mpm). It was a good run. We talked a lot about the death of Carol's mother-in-law. It's been hard for her husband, and there was a lot to get off her chest. It's nice to have someone to talk with. She certainly listens to me enough, and I learn a lot from her. She is calm, and she has a very grounded way of looking at problems. That's good for me to be around because I've been very short tempered for about a year now. Yes - even more than normal....

new neighborhoods

We ran a loop from work that was a bunch of roads that we've never really ran before. It was nice to see new neighborhoods. There was a section with a steady and tiring incline. Nothing big, but just enough to be an irritant, so the down afterwards was welcome. We did 6.15 miles at 11:08mpm pace. Good start to the week. Looking for 16 miles this Friday.

sub 10!!!

I ran three laps at Sugarhouse before school. The first lap was kind of slow because I was still stiff from Thursday, but by the end of the second lap, I realized that I could do each lap in 15 minutes or less. I finished the second lap at exactly 30 minutes. My final lap was definitely the fastest of the three at 13:37. My overall time for the 4.5 miles was 43:37 which is 9:42mpm! Holy shit!

long, hilly, fun

Whew! What a run. I know that I didn't fuel quite sufficiently last night, and I sure felt it at the end of today's run. We ran from work --> state capitol --> through Memory Grove --> up City Creek Canyon (1/2 of this trail) then turned around and ran down City Creek --> up to M Street --> down to 700 E --> to Liberty --> and back to work. During this time, we gained 800 feet of elevation in the first 6.5 miles, and Carol fell and skinned her knee on the trail portion (it was quite rocky). I'm just glad that she didn't jam her already hurt wrist! Our pace really slowed from Liberty back to work; we were both pooped! Overall, we ran 14.15 miles @ 11:42mpm average pace. Not bad. The scenery and company made up for the fact that our pace was off just a bit. It was a really good run overall.

Feeling good...

Same route as yesterday, but in reverse. A bit faster (5 miles @ 10:49) but it didn't seem taxing. Running long (14) and hilly tomorrow, 16 next week, and then 19 for Sapper Joe the next week!!

Nice run in between rainstorms

This was a good run. I started out feeling tight, but that quickly disappeared. Carol and I had a conversational but good pace. We ran Liberty by way of 21st South, so our mileage was 5 instead of the normal 4.5. Our pace was 10:59mpm. The weather has been very rainy, and we were lucky to find an hour with absolutely no drops. It felt perfect at 44*. At the end, neither of us were really tired. I'm sure that we could have gone faster or longer, but since our long run will probably be on Thursday, I think that we'll just take it easy until then.

Overcrowded Race For The Cure - isn't that what everyone wants?

I pushed the boys in the annual Race For The Cure on Saturday. There were over 18K people. 18 thousand people. HOLY CATS. The strollers were to line up at the back of the pack, but I couldn't FIND the back of the pack for all of the people! So, we just lined up somewhere. I don't know how long it took us to get to the starting line, but once I started my watch, it was four minutes before I could even break into a light jog, and then for only 30 seconds. It was start, stop, start, stop, start, stop for quite some time. I was pushing them on the sidewalk, on the road, in the gutter, to the left, to the right, speed up, slow down. There were no mile makers, so I couldn't really gauge my pace. I just pushed on as fast as I could. When we rounded the corner to see the finish line, I could also see a big bottleneck at the line. Being a stickler (and rather OCD when it comes to this sort of thing), I didn't stop my watch until I crossed the line. Once we hit the bottleneck, it took a full minute to be able to cross the line. My final time was 39:49 for an average pace of 12:51mpm. This is not bad at all. In fact, I'm quite pleased with it since the last time I ran with the boys (sans crowd) my time was about 13:40mpm for the same distance. If I deduct the five minutes of purely strolling along, my pace would have been 11:14mpm. WHAT? I know that's not very scientific, but it felt like an 11:14 effort, so I'll take it.

I did manage to choke back my customary tears at the start line this year, but it was hard. Just the day before, my mom would have turned 69 had she not lost her battle to colon cancer 12 years ago. Man - 12 years. It's hard to believe that she has been gone so long. I miss her all of the time. Still. Does that ever go away?

And, on a (Bud)light(er) note, I'm swearing off all beer until after Sapper Joe is done. Wow. Have I lost my mind? Maybe, but I certainly haven't lost my rear end, and that's a very big deal.....

New best 13-mile time

I just PR'd at the 13 mile distance! We ran long today with a steady incline of 500 feet over the first four miles. Carol did ten, and I tacked on two laps in Sugarhouse for an additional three. I forced myself to run up all of the hills in the park; the last two were painful. Then, I checked my time at 13th and 21st so that I would know how long it took me to run the last two miles. I didn't allow myself to walk; my only break was at 7th. I really pushed myself and managed to pull out sub-10s in the last two miles! Wahoo!!! It was a good run and a beautiful morning. My average pace was 11:01 - YEAH!

to South Temple

I ran by myself today and decided to mix things up. I did an out-back from work to South Temple. My total mileage was 5.6 at 10:11mpm pace. I'm very happy with that. No, wait - let me make sure that I get this right: I'm VERY HAPPY WITH THAT!!!!!! However, sadly, it was not an efficient or steady run. I swear that I got stopped at every single light to wait for traffic. So, I didn't have to take any walk breaks because I got enough standing-around-waiting-for-the-light-to-change breaks. It was nice to see new sights and sounds, although I was very self conscious running past all of the construction guys - twice! I always think that people are staring (which they probably aren't) and wondering why I'm even bothering. Let's face it. I'm no super-model. I'm squat and currently shaped like an apple. I also have really white legs. It's just not a pretty sight.

slow, but steady

We did the Sugarhouse loop (x1) today at an 11:10mpm pace. We're just taking it easy this week so that we can get a long run in on Friday. Last week, we both got about 17 miles in (total), so we need to be sure to run long this week. Sapper Joe is only three weeks away, and our longest run so far has only been 12 miles. We need to be able to do 19 miles with significant elevation in just three weeks! YIKES!

counting down to Sapper Joe

Carol and I ran the Liberty route along the perimeter. That gives us .2 more miles than if we do the wood chip path. We tried to be careful and avoid the mud since Carol broke her arm last week (NOT running, by the way). It was a good run, nice to get back into it after a weekend of laziness and drinking everything BUT walking. 4.65 miles at 10:53mpm. Only 26 days until Sapper Joe's run! YIKES! RFTC 5K run coming up this Saturday. I'm doing it with the boys in the jog stroller, so I'm sure that my time won't be anything to crow about, but we're planning to have FUN.

Running the Strip

While on a getaway weekend to Las Vegas, I managed to sneak one run in during nap time. It was the middle of the day and 65* (which is HOT after the winter that I just ran through). There were tons of people out on the Strip, but I chose to run there anyway since I didn't really know my way around and getting lost didn't sound like fun. I dodged a lot of people and ran seven or eight flights of stairs. My pace wasn't great (11:15mpm), and sadly, it was the only run that I got in the entire time. I had big intentions of running three times while there, but the boys now get up at the crack of dawn, and I wanted to let Bub sleep in. Oh well.

Oh, and back on the diet. I've completely blown it in the past three weeks. Miunching to stay awake and finish my school work did me no good. Drinks in Vegas didn't help.

Not bad - and a familiar face (but ??? name ???)

We did two laps at Sugarhouse this morning. It was a good run with a couple of extra walk breaks, but no big deal. I felt good about the pace. We ran 7 miles at 10:55mpm. I swear that I saw the boys' very first pediatrician running through the park, too. The trouble is that I couldn't remember his name! So, I'm going to look it up and remember it in case I see him there again. I'll approach him next time and thank him (again, again) for taking such good care of them in those first four weeks of their little lives.

First semester paper done....

I took three days off. That wasn't the plan. The plan was to take one day off to finish up my last paper. So, I got up at 3:30AM on Friday and worked on it while the weather outside was perfect and everyone slept. (I did get a lot done, though.) Then, the boys were up, and the computer was off for a while. Then, the rain started. Bub left the house, and (as much as I hate to admit it) I sat the boys down in front of the TV so that I could work on my paper some more. After she returned and the boys napped, I worked on it some more since it was still pouring down rain. When they woke up, the sun finally came out, and we went for a walk. I worked on the paper after they went to bed.

Saturday morning brought mor work on the project until we left for Salt Lake to check in on Grandma whose back is really bad right now. I took my laptop and worked on it until the battery died. Grandma was still in bed when we arrived, but eventually got up and about. Then, we enjoyed the nice weather by going to Wheeler Farm with Grandpa. After we returned home, I plugged the laptop in to recharge. We ran around the back yard in the meantime.

Saturday night brought "camping" in the front room. The boys slept in their pop-up tent while I continued working on that damn paper until I finally submitted it at 2:30am, Sunday morning. I camped out with the boys because I didn't want them to wake up and get freaked out since it was their first night in the tent....

2.5 hours later (yes, at 6am) I was up with the boys. I was hoping to go for a run before they got up, but that was when I had planned to go to bed before 3:30am. Sunday was a day for feeding the ducks, playing in the park (where we got along better with other kids, yeah! progress), and a trip to the store. During naptime, I worked on the DEVIL bush in the front yard, filling two garbage cans with those thorny damn branches. I hate that thing. Beer break, and then the boys were up and about. We headed to the back yard for some trimming and weed pulling and playing in the sand box and running about with their noisy little weed whacker and leaf blower toys. Then, another beer break.

SO, this morning's run started slowly, and my legs were tight. However, I managed to get up to 13th east in a fairly decent time. I powered up both hills in Sugarhouse and took my walk breaks, but I wasn't as tired as I have been sometimes. I only did one lap because I've got a lot of work and system testing facing me today. (Or, I was just being a pansy...) Anyway, I finished 5.5 miles at a 11:07mpm pace. Not horrible, but I would have done better if I had hydrated AT ALL over the weekend.

Oh, finishing that paper took a lot of sugar. I know, I know. It's all wrong, but I needed something to keep me awake, and I can't do caffeine. I have three weeks off, so I'm going to start again on the no sugar/eat sensibly/lots of fruits and veggies/less absolute nutritionless food plan.

THIS is spring?

10.18 miles at 11:14mpm pace! It was SO hard not to turn around in the first mile because it was windy, and we were getting rained on. We pushed through and managed to get snowed on during our lap in Sugarhouse park. We ran up 13th East to 6th South, and then wound our way back to 21st South and back to work. It was a good long run. We would have done more hills, but Carol was really tired at the beginning, so we took it easy. It's supposed to rain for the rest of the day. I'm glad that we got it done early.

not as fast as the ROTC

We decided to run slow and short today in preparation for tomorrow's long run. We did one lap at Liberty, but we did the outside perimeter instead of the wood chip path. This actually gave us .1 more mile (which makes me feel like a rockstar for some reason). So, our mileage was 4.62 @ 10:44mpm - so much for slower! But, we both feel good and ready for tomorrow. I think that we probably feel better than the ROTC folks who were there running some sort of time trial thing. They were all sprinting at the finish and gasping for breath. We need to do some of that, but I think that we'll wait to really seriously do it after Wasatch Back. Right now, we're training for hills (which will ultimately help our speed), but after WBR, I really want to train for speed.

It's gettin' hot out here

58* and it feels so much hotter. It's going to take me a while to get used to this warmer weather. It would be easier if spring lasted longer than a week here in Utah! I think that I like running in the snow and cold much better.

Anyway, Carol and I ran a 7-miler this morning at 11:06mpm. We ran the outer perimeter of Liberty Park and up to 13th East. That hill (250' elevation change in two blocks) is a killer, but we're determined to get that kind of training done before Sapper Joe and Wasatch Back. We walked 2/3 of the hill, but on the bright side, we at least ran some of it! The rest of the run was cake. We both felt good and kept a conservative pace since we'll be doing a short, easy run tomorrow and then a long run again on Thursday.

It's gettin

58* and it feels so much hotter. It's going to take me a while to get used to this warmer weather. It would be easier if spring lasted longer than a week here in Utah! I think that I like running in the snow and cold much better.

Anyway, Carol and I ran a 7-miler this morning at 11:06mpm. We ran the outer perimeter of Liberty Park and up to 13th East. That hill (250' elevation change in two blocks) is a killer, but we're determined to get that kind of training done before Sapper Joe and Wasatch Back. We walked 2/3 of the hill, but on the bright side, we at least ran some of it! The rest of the run was cake. We both felt good and kept a conservative pace since we'll be doing a short, easy run tomorrow and then a long run again on Thursday.

stiff and sore recovery run

I am stiff after yesterday's intense run, but that's to be expected. I decided to run this morning just to flush some of the gunk out of my quads and hams. It was a good run. I was really stiff at the beginning, but I eventually got into a groove. I thought about doing two laps at Liberty, but I settled on just one knowing that I had a bunch of work on my desk and still lots of homework. I figured that the extra 15 minutes in the park could be better spent writing a paper. Although, now that I read that sentence, I think that the extra 15 minutes should have been spent running. Oh well. I was tired and sore, but by the end of my run my legs were on auto-pilot, so it was good. I forgot my watch this morning, so I'm basing my time off of what the clocks read when I left the building and returned. So, my approximate average pace was 11:07mpm for the 4.5 miles. Close enough.

Run to Ensign Peak

*What made this a quality run? The company, the scenery, the elevation change of 1220 feet, the fact that we freakin' rock!
*What made this a high effort run? The elevation change of 1180 feet - both up and down - and the distance of 12.1 miles, my longest distance in eight months (since Mesa Falls marathon in August '09).
We had originally planned to run up City Creek Canyon, but we missed the turn-off. We just wound our way through the neighborhood until the road up was gated. At that point, we turned west and ran some more. Then, we saw this little nature park in the side of the hill with a little trail that went up to something. Wanting to get some more elevation, we headed up the trail, but we didn't take the "little" trail, we took the longer trail thinking that it would quickly loop around. Well, it didn't. We kept going up and up and up until we reached the peak of the mountain. It was awesome. We never made it to the something that we had originally planned to see, but that's OK because the view from the peak had to have been better than what we would have seen. I'm so glad that I had my phone with me.
*Quads, hams, and calves were screaming at the end, and we took a lot of walk breaks, but we had a GREAT time!
Distance: 12.1 miles. Elevation change: 1180'. Pace: 11:51mpm (pretty good considering that we easily walked a mile; we walked the entire trail up; it was that steep!
(Oh, and I've lost five pounds in a week!)
View from Ensign Pean looking southwest

View from Ensign Peak looking south with capitol building in the lower left

Ensign Peak monument

free stuff - check it out

This post is for Lish and Roch since they are the only people that actually read this lame blog......
Check out this website http://mcmmama.blogspot.com/ for a chance to win some free GU products (gel, brew, chomps, etc.).

Well, in the insanely slim chance that anyone else reads this site, you're welcome to try and win some stuff, too, I suppose.

Slow it down....

We ran Liberty 1-lap today at a slower pace than we have been running. We both agree that we ran too fast last week, and that's why our long run sucked so bad. So, we have been taking it easy this week. We purposely ran slower today. I had to keep the pace down because Carol runs faster when she talks. :) We completed the 4.5 miles at a very consistent 11:05mpm. We both have gas left in the tank which bodes well for tomorrow. Our long run is being bumped up a day so that I can attend a meeting on Friday morning. We'll still run on Friday, but it will be a shorter distance. Now, I just need to remember to hydrate well today. Dang! Should have brought the Gatorade from home....

On a separate note, I think that we're going to go downtown for lunch on Friday and volunteer at the Salt Lake Marathon expo for a couple of hours.