Thursday, September 30, 2010

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.

Wednesday, September 29, 2010

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

Monday, September 27, 2010

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

Wednesday, September 22, 2010

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

Tuesday, September 21, 2010

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

Friday, September 17, 2010

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!

Wednesday, September 15, 2010

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

Tuesday, September 14, 2010

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

Saturday, September 11, 2010

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.

Wednesday, September 8, 2010

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

Tuesday, September 7, 2010

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

Friday, September 3, 2010

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

Thursday, September 2, 2010

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.