Saturday, July 30, 2011

Corporate Games 5k

I ran as part of a team for the O. C. Tanner Corporate Games 5k. It was a 3-lap course around Cottonwood Complex. There were two hills on each lap, and they got harder and harder. I had a little problem during the race, but I still managed to finish in a respectable time.

Here we (me, Carol, Eric) are milling around at the start of the race:



The BEST part of the race was having it be short enough, and start at a late enough time, that the boys could be there for the whole thing. Bub had them at the 1/2 way point of the first lap where they cheered "Go, Mommy!" and "Yay!" and they were just generally adorable. Then, they crossed the grass and stood at the start line which we had to cross a couple more times. They waited there and gave me high-fives when I passed. Then, they cheered for Carol and high-fived her, too. When they realized that slapping hands was so much fun, they started to high-five anyone that wanted! They loved it. As a runner, I love it when kids do that. As their mom, it was about the cutest damn thing, EVER.

Here we are getting ready to go up the first steep hill (that girl next to me is the one I really wanted to beat - sadly, it didn't work out that way):


And, here we are at the top of the little hill. Is it me, or does Carol look REALLY strong here?




Then came the finish line, and I was feeling really wiped out. I was mad at myself because I really wanted to pass this one girl, but I wasn't able to do it. (Grrrr....) But, when I crossed the finish line I got congratulations from my co-workers and what not, but the best part of the ENTIRE DAY was when one of the boys shouted "Mommy, you're the best runner ever!" I got all teary-eyed and blubbery. It was awesome.

I hope to have some pictures soon.
Stats: 3.1 miles in 31:33 for a 10:11mpm pace

Wednesday, July 27, 2011

Fall down, go boom...

Well, this wasn't a really difficult run, but it was made a smidge harder because of the soreness from yesterday's weight workout. Everything is sore. Glutes, hams, quads, delts, chest, UG! The only thing not sore are my calves. Then, at about mile 4, I tripped and really biffed it hard. I scuffed up my palms and my right knee, so now it hurts, too! I know, I know - waaaa, waaa, waaa. But, I'm happy to have the miles in. The workouts are a good stress reliever and mental break from the final 3 days of MBA madness. I'm going to pass on Friday. I am. If I don't, I might go crazy!
Stats: 5.18 miles in 59:36 for a 11:31mpm pace

Tuesday, July 26, 2011

AAAAARRRRUUUGGGHHH!!! The instructor hates me!

Today's weight class was a KILLER. As in, HARD, BRUTAL, and GRUELING. Well, that and I'm a wimp. Either way, Carol and I had noodle legs (and arms and abs) when we started our run this morning. And, it was hot. Waaaaaaaa, I know... We did a short run that felt like a million miles.
Stats: 3.66 miles in 42:19 for a 11:32mpm

Friday, July 22, 2011

awesome pace

Today's solo run was pretty good! I didn't do anything yesterday but sit on my butt and work on my business plan. Only one week to go until I'm DONE with that pesky MBA! So, I was totally rested up this morning. I did an extended six mile loop downtown. My goal was to go sub-11, but at about 5th South I realized that I might get closer to a 10mpm. I had to really push myself for the last mile, but it was worth it!
Stats: 6 miles in 59:50 for a 9:59mpm pace!
(YAY for me!)

Wednesday, July 20, 2011

Wonderful!

This was a beautiful run! I thought it was going to suck after drinking 2 (or 3) margaritas last night. (Yeah, yeah, yeah. I also did my homework. Really. And, it was perfectly understandable. Gawd - only one more week of this crap!) Anyway, it was a great run. Carol and I ran the Sugarhouse Park loop, but on the perimeter. We did this because we have signed up for the corporate games 5k which just happens to be a cross country race. Neither of us have a clue what to do. I'm hoping that it's just like a trail run. Anyway, it was a beautiful morning. After Monday's 77* run, I refused to run in 83* yesterday. A big 'ol rain storm cooled things off yesterday afternoon, so the temperatures were perfect for the entire run. As was the company.
Stats: 5.91 miles in 1:04:57 for an 11mpm pace

Monday, July 18, 2011

Ug - the humidity! Wait - bleck - the temperatures! I can't decide....

Holy HOT, Batman!
Carol and I just did the short Liberty loop in order to get some mileage in. We both said that it wasn't going to be fast, but we didn't do a very good job sticking to that plan. Our pace was 24 seconds/mile faster than what we had planned. It was hot, humid (43%), and the park was crowded! It was still worth it - I just love running with her!
Stats: 4.5 miles in 49:56 for a 11:06mpm pace

5k PR, baby!

Event: Erda Days, 5k
I love races. Yes - even that miserable 'thon that I just finished. I just love races. This one was really fun, and I thoroughly enjoyed it.

First of all, it was free. Score!

Second, there was a kids 1K. If I had known that, I would have tried harder to get the boys up. Even though they wanted to do the race with me (in the jogger), they slept in and missed it. Turns out, with the late start, I could have waited an hour and still made it in time for the race. I would complain about the late start, but really? The race was free. Who cares that the race director took all of the registration stuff with him when he went to mark the course? Anyway, the kids 1K was adorable, and the boys are totally going to do it next year.

Third, the race director was just fun. Fun, fun, fun - even though his entire house was decked out in BYU crap. He had words of encouragement for everyone via his mini-bullhorn. Especially great was him yelling for the kids in the 1K and the 5K. Things like "I'm so proud of you!" and "You're awesome!" and "You are the greatest!" He was really awesome.

Fourth, the course was easy. Completely flat, and well marked with posterboard signs taped to lawn chairs at the intersections. Even a water stop at the halfway point.

Fifth, I ran without a walk break the entire time, and I managed to keep a very consistent pace from the beginning. By doing this, I passed a lot of people who had gone out too fast. There was one boy and his mom, however, that really gave me a hard time. He was probably 12, and his mom was right behind him, gently encouraging him along. At some point, she said "this lady is pushing me, so I'm pushing you. Don't let her beat us!" I turned to her and said "Don't worry!" He was really keeping a great pace. Unfortunately, he had an asthma attack (or something like it) about 1/2 block later. The mom felt horrible and seemed to blame herself afterwards. I congratulated him after he finished, but he wasn't very happy.

Sixth, with about a block to go, I passed a pretty fit guy who was just walking. He then decided to run again. This was probably a cool-down after a 10-miler for him, because he could have readily kicked my can at any time. Instead, he ran right beside me the entire time, pushing me on with stuff like "Come on, you can do it. You're almost there. Just to the mailbox. Make it a race!" etc. I probably would have still PRd, but without him, my pace would have slowed in the last 300 yards.

Stats: 3.1 miles in 29:12 for a 9:26mpm pace
I placed 5th in my age group. I had to leave before all of the results, so I don't know how many were in my age group, but I was happy with the PR!
YAY!
My friend and co-worker, Leslie, has just started running this year. She placed 3rd in her age group (51-60) and took home a ribbon. I was really excited for her. She is doing really good for a beginner! Here's a picture of us at the finish line. (I really need to learn to aim my phone camera better!)



As a side note, my longest weekly mileage since the June 11 'thon has been 15.7 miles. Pathetic. Time to change that!

Friday, July 15, 2011

Ah, Liberty - I'm getting so sick of you..... (the park, that is)

After a good lift/stretch workout this morning, I ran the extended Liberty Loop. I felt so loose after the stretch portion of the class that the first couple of miles felt great. I promised myself to only walk or stop when traffic necessitated it, so I only had two stops (both at 17th) and one 5-step walk break. I could really feel it the last mile, and I probably slowed down a bit, but I tried to keep the same pace overall.
Stats: 5.1 miles in 53:43 for a 10:32mpm pace

Thursday, July 14, 2011

What the.....?

I haven't run for five days. Ridiculous. With that fact, I would have thought that today's run would suck. Instead, it was nice, easy, and fun. I thought our time was going to suck. Instead, it was sub-11. What the...???
Stats: 4.34 miles in 46:47 for a 10:47mpm pace

Friday, July 8, 2011

180* change from yesterday!

This was not a bad run for me. Nothing like yesterday - everything felt easy. It was Carol's day to suffer, though! Funny how that goes. Luckily, we're not usually both having a bad day at the same time, and we can keep each other going. After our lift/stretch class this morning, we did a 5-mile loop around Liberty. It was warm and humid (74%).
Stats: 5.1 miles in 59:17 for an 11:38mpm pace

Sunday, July 3, 2011

Grimm's Gate for the first time since ???

Whew! These boys are getting BIG! I haven't pushed them in the jogger for a long time, and I was paying for it during this run. It was a simple 3.3 miles, but it about did me in. The route UP to Grimm's Gate involved as much walking as it did running. It was tough, and I was happy to stop at the top and check out some butterflies while explaining the idea of camouflage, look (from a distance) at some beehives, and try to find the birds that we could hear singing. The run down was completely uninterrupted.
Stats: 3.3 miles in 41:26 for a 12:34mpm pace