Tuesday, August 31, 2010

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

Monday, August 30, 2010

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

Thursday, August 26, 2010

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

Wednesday, August 25, 2010

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!

Tuesday, August 24, 2010

+ 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!

Monday, August 23, 2010

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!?!?!)

Friday, August 20, 2010

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*

Thursday, August 19, 2010

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.....)

Monday, August 16, 2010

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

Thursday, August 12, 2010

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!)

Wednesday, August 11, 2010

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!)

Tuesday, August 10, 2010

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

Monday, August 9, 2010

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.

Friday, August 6, 2010

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!

Thursday, August 5, 2010

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!

Wednesday, August 4, 2010

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)

Tuesday, August 3, 2010

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!!!