Cool Runnings!

AM - Easy warmup, then I ran a couple miles at MP.  I wasn't originally planning on it, but again, this is a sign to me that the horses are neighing, and my body wants to go faster.  4.2 miles in a total of 32:56, avg pace of 7:50/mile, then 0.8 with Sparky untimed, for a total of 5 miles for the morning.

AM - the horses were definitely neighing today, but I managed to calm them down and urge patience.  4.2 miles in 35:00, average pace of 8:20.  This felt like jogging today.  Another 0.8 with Sparky untimed.  Feeling good for St. George.  I have decided I am going to have 3 goals:

1.  Gold:  3:10 or under

2.  Silver:  3:15 or under

3.  Bronze:  3:20 or under

These are subject to change based on how I feel, and I think that the morning of the race will determine what pace I feel good about running at.  Only 2 more days after today until we leave for St. George.  I am getting really excited, not only for the race, but also for the pre-race party, to meet everyone.

AM - Warmed up easy, then ended up doing 1 MP (or more like Tinman pace) mile, then cooled down with an easy mile.  The only mile I remember the splits for was the second mile in 7:45.  Ran another 0.6 easy miles, very slow, then another Tinman tempo mile in 7:47.  Total distance of 4.6.  The horses are more than neighing, they are rearing and pawing the ground.  The second mile of this run felt like I was jogging, it was so easy.  Getting really excited for SGM!

After our planning last night, I could not find Brent anywhere in the staging area, so I hung out with the 3:10 pace group.  Thankfully, Michael, the pace leader, was planning on taking Veyo easy, so this sounded good to me.  I unfortunately had my auto-pause turned on on my Garmin, which messed up my splits, as I had two pit stops I made where the Garmin stopped.  Therefore, no miles splits at this time.  1/2 marathon split was slightly under 1:35, ran the second half in about 1:40, 5 minute positive split.  I had to make a pit stop at mile 18 that cost me about 2 minutes, and at about mile 22, I started to walk a bit.  I decided to run the downhills hard and then walk any uphills, as my left calf was tightening up, and I didn't want to risk pulling it.  At about mile 24, I hooked up with a guy named Blake, and we tried to pull each other along for the last 2 miles.  By this time, my legs were totally trashed, and I was struggling to maintain sub-8:00 miles.  Had to take another walking break, then Blake and I powered it home (when I say powered it home, it was more like limped along at 7:30 pace, which was absolutely the fastest I could run at the end).  I was so caught up in my suffering and was looking for Lybi on the other side of the road that I missed her and the sign she had made for me, and didn't even hear her calling out to me.  Total time was 3:15:00, this is a huge 43 minute PR for me, I am very happy with this time even if I did not hit the BQ this year.  I felt very fit aerobically and my lungs could have continued - my poor legs were just hammered.  I told Lybi that if I had had some more downhill training, I felt sure I could have brought it in at about 3:05.  Congratulations to all the other bloggers out there - everyone did a great job!

No miles today.  I don't remember ever being this sore after a race.  I take consolation in the fact that some of the elites on the blog feel the same way as I do, although I would say for me I feel like my lower body got run over by a Mack truck.  I am not even at the stage where I can attempt to do any light jogging or even cross-training, when standing up from a sitting position or sitting from a standing position causes me a great deal of pain.  I will give it a few more days and see how my legs feel - they actually seem to be better today (Tuesday) then they were the previous day.  Maybe one or two more days of forced inactivity, and I will be ready to start out again.  I have given myself the goal of no more than 1 week of no running, earlier if possible.

Rode the bike about 8 miles, counting as about 3 miles of easy running.  Started out slow just to get the legs working again.  The pain in my legs has slowly been decreasing throughout the day.  No tylenol or ibuprofen.  Gradually increased the pace until I was cruising along at a pretty good clip.  Felt really good at the end.  I am finally able to crouch down and have my legs actually able to support me - I couldn't do that yesterday - they would just collapse on me.  I will probably do the bike one more day, and then start running again on Thursday.  I am going to start looking for a 10K to do before the end of the year.  Right now, I am looking at doing the Shiprock marathon in April, which also has some downhill portions, and I think next year that I am going to run the White Mountain 1/2 marathon for the hill experience (both up and down) to prepare me for St. George, assuming I make it into the lottery.

Approx. 7 miles on the bike this evening.  I will count this as 1/2 for running purposes.  Felt like a pretty good aerobic workout, good workout for my legs as well.  I don't have a road bike, just a mountain bike, but I got it going pretty good again.  I think that this is really helping with the muscle soreness, like Sasha said.  I could actually hop up and down today, and was jogging around at work today.  Still felt sore, but not to the extent that I couldn't use my legs.  I am pretty happy to be getting back to normal after 3-4 days, given that this was quite an effort for me, and I am also extremely happy about where my aerobic capacity is at.  Looked for 10K's - nothing through the end of the year that was not on a Sunday - bummer.  I will at least see if I can get in a 5K to get my PR down, and will look for a 1/2 marathon before the Shiprock marathon.

PM - Ran 2.5 miles for my first official run after SGM.  I could tell that my legs were not yet back to normal - I could feel it in my quads the entire run, but my lungs felt great.  I actually found myself running faster than I thought every time I glanced down at my watch.  Total time for the run was 19:57, average pace of 7:59/mile.  Felt good to get out and run.  I am probably going to do 4-6 miles tomorrow, nice and easy.

AM - Ran 6 easy miles.  My legs felt much better today, although still not back to 100%.  My body is still wanting to run faster, and I am having a hard time keeping my pace slow.  Glad to get in normal miles today.  Total time was 49:17, average pace of 8:12/mile.  This was due to the first and last miles being faster.

AM - ran 5 easy miles, felt good to get out again.  I did not run yesterday because even with sleeping in, I only got about 4 hours of sleep, because of Adam's little throwing up problem.  And we even went to bed at 9:15!  So yesterday was not to be.  I did not want to push it and get myself sick or injured.  Anyways, back to today.  Felt good, started off nice and easy, the pace continued to increase throughout the run.  I feel like I am still reaping benefits from the marathon with an increased aerobic capacity.  Total time for the run was 40:00 flat, average pace of 8:00/mile.  I have found some races for me to do - a 5K in November and a 1/2 marathon/10K in February.  Most of the other races are either extremely far away or on a Sunday.

AM - started out easy, was feeling frisky, decided I would try to do a mile at 5K pace, which would be equivalent to my LT pace.  First mile was about 8:15 or so, second mile I picked it up a bit, in 7:40.  Third mile was my LT mile, was shooting for 5:45, ran 6:00.  This may have partly been due to the previous mile, but I also feel like I need to work on my speed some more between now and my next 5K.  I currently have 3 goals in mind for the 5K in November:

1. Bronze - 19:00

2. Silver - 18:30

3. Gold - 18:00

I know the gold will be pretty difficult to reach (this would be an average of around 5:45/mile), but I feel with some good workouts between now and then, I should be able to get there.  I am open to suggestions about my training.

AM - 6.1 easy miles.  The horses are neighing again already, and I am already excited for the 5K which is almost a month away.  Total time for this morning's run was 48:07, average pace of 7:54/mile.  Picked it up on the last mile, but nothing special.  Legs feel fine after yesterday - no soreness, no dead feeling.  The only thing I have been noticing recently is that the back of my right heel is a little stiffness first thing in the morning, but only when I first start running.  No soreness when I get up, nothing walking on it, and it is fine the rest of the day.  I am not sure what this is - doesn't feel like PF, although I will work to make sure my PF is stretched every day just to make sure.

AM - no running, slept poorly and needed the extra sleep to function.

PM - 6 miles without the Garmin (batteries were low).  I started off at what I thought was a nice easy pace.  When I got to my standard 1 mile mark, I realized that I was actually running sub-8:00 pace (and it felt good, easy), so I decided to make this somewhat of a progressive run.  Only have two splits - first half was in 23:29, avg pace of 7:50, then I picked things up.  Breathing stayed nice and easy, legs could feel it just a little bit.  Second half was in 22:00 flat, 1 1/2 minute negative split, second half avg pace was 7:20.  Total time for the run was 45:30, average pace for the run was 7:35.  Tomorrow will be an *easy* run, I will make sure to take the Garmin and keep my pace at or above 8:30 for good muscle recovery.  On a side note, I thought Holt's observation on Logan's blog was quite interesting, as I have been starting to experience a bit of pain in the back of my right heel, right where my Achilles inserts.  I need to take a look at the mileage on my original trainers, and it is probably time to get another pair.  Cool Runnings!

AM - 8 easy miles.  Managed to keep my overall pace at 8:30/mile exactly (total time was 1:08:03).  Felt pretty good, although my legs were a bit tired from last night's run.  I will try to get in a couple more easy miles this evening.

AM - It was super windy this morning, with gusts up to what I am guessing at 30 mph if not more.  Miles 1 and 4 really took quite a bit out of me, as I was running directly into the wind.  Still felt good to get out.  Total time for the run was 40:37, average pace of about 8:07/mile.  Last mile was the fastest, as I was getting pushed from behind by the wind.  Will try to get in  a few more miles this evening to get my total up a bit higher.  With my body finally feeling 100%, I am ready to start working up towards 60 miles/week.  This week I will be shooting for 40, and will slowly work my way up from there.

PM - 0.65 miles with my youngest two, then 3 miles later on.  No wind to speak of, my legs were feeling frisky.  Slowly warmed up, starting at around 8:45/mile pace, gradually built up to MP by the end of the first mile.  Ran the second mile in 7:15.  Felt a little bit strained, but not too difficult.  Slowed down a bit for the third mile, 7:26.  This felt much easier than the second, but I am still counting this as MP.  Got home, cooled down and stretched out.  Feeling pretty good.  Tomorrow will be an easy day.

AM - 6.06 easy miles.  I have noticed that since the marathon, my easy run pace has increased.  I suspect this is due to increased muscular and CV fitness.  Total time for today's run was 48:37, average pace of 8:01/mile.  I had a couple of miles that were sub-8, but the rest hovered right around the 8:05-8:10 mark and felt good.  I will probably consider the two sub-8 miles to be "garbage" miles, not here nor there.  I am not sure whether to let my easy pace remain around 8:00/mile or try to force myself to run slower.  8:00 pace feels comfortable and economical.  8:30 pace at this point feels choppy and less efficient.

AM - 5.2 miles with the Garmin - started out easy the first mile, slowly built up speed. My right Achilles was a bit stiff again this morning. Lybi and I are going to go get new shoes this weekend. Decided at mile 1 that I was going to make this a speed day. Sped up to MP for the first half mile with the intention of getting up to 1/2 MP for the second half. I ended up progressing up to 10K pace. Slowed back down again, did 2 recovery miles, then sped up again for the 5th mile. Started out at MP again, but this time I got up to 1/2 MP after about the first quarter mile. Continued to speed up, got up to 10K pace, held it for 1/2 mile. Then cooled down for the 0.2 miles and took Sparky out for his 0.8 mile run (no Garmin for this part). Total time for the 5.2 mile run was 39:34, average pace of 7:36/mile. Two tempo miles were 6:51 and 6:36, respectively.

AM - ran 5 easy miles, 4.2 by myself and then 0.8 with Sparky.  I convinced Lybi not to run this morning because her left quad was extremely sore and causing a limp, so I took the Garmin with Sparky as well.  I was also curious to see how fast I was running with him, as I have never timed my run before.  With the exception of a potty break for Sparky, we were running at about 8:15 pace.  Pretty good for a little weiner dog.  And he was pulling me the entire time too.  Total time for the run was 41:09, average pace of 8:14/mile.  Slowest mile was 8:23 (first and last), fastest mile was 8:01.  I'll take that for an easy run.  Gotta get myself another pair of shoes, as my first two pairs are pretty shot.

AM - Ran 5.0 easy miles with the Garmin.  Quads were a little sore this morning from having played volleyball last night, but not too bad.  Kept the pace nice and easy, although I found that every time my thoughts wandered to something involving running fast, my pace automatically increased, and I had to slow myself down.  Total time for the run was 41:19, average pace of 8:16/mile.

AM - Did not run, slept in a little, helped one of the members of our ward move out of a house they were renting and into an apartment.  Upper body still sore from volleyball.

PM - 10.25 miles.  I was a bit tired from having replaced the rollers on our sliding glass door (what a huge pain!  I hate it when home improvement projects take longer than you had planned . . .), but was determined to get my run in no matter what.  As soon as I got going I felt better.  Did 6 miles, then came back to get a drink.  On the 6th mile I decided to throw in a mini-tempo in the middle of the mile.  Started off at about 10K pace (6:30/mile), last .2 at threshold pace (5:30/mile).  Cooled down for the last 1/4 mile of the run, went inside and got some water, then headed back out for the last 4 miles.  Now I could tell my legs were a bit worn out from the effort of that 1/2 mile earlier, took it easy.  My feet were tired at the end - I haven't ran this far for 3 weeks.  I also ordered a new pair of shoes on Friday for both Lybi and myself, so this should hopefully help.  They are the same color as my latest pair, so I will have to mark them with a sharpie or something : )   I will have to see how many pairs of shoes I have bought lately - road runner sports has a new benefit for their VIP members where after they buy 5 pairs of shoes, they get the 6th pair free.  Total time for the run was 1:22:43, average pace of 8:04/mile (this was mainly due to the 6th mile).

AM - ran 6.2 easy miles.  My right heel was pretty stiff when I woke up, it took about a mile for it to really loosen up.  I am going to start wearing the Strassburg sock at night to stretch my achilles and PF at night.  Total for the run was 50:09, average pace of 8:05/mile.  Pretty good run once I loosened up.

AM - 6 miles with a 3 mile mini-tempo run in the middle.  Wore the Strassburg sock last night, my heel felt much less stiff this morning, although still a bit.  Warmed up the first mile, then got into the tempo.  I was originally planning on doing 3 miles at MP (7:00/mile), but that quickly went out the window.  I was more or less running on feel and did not check the garmin, but I could tell I was running faster than MP.  Pace ended up being more like 1/2 MP.  First mile was 6:44, second mile was 6:36, and third mile was 6:31.  Breathing was good through the first two miles, then started getting a little bit labored on the third, but not too bad.  Legs felt good, too.  Slowed down for the last two miles.  Total time for the 6 mile run was 44:19, average pace of 7:23/mile.  Took Sparky out for another .8 miles untimed.  He was happy to get out.

AM - 6.2 easy miles with my new shoes.  I had to label them with a sharpie because they are the same color as my other Adrenalines.  I may have to start looking for a different shoe next time, unless they are going to come out with an Adrenaline GTS 8, because the GTS 7 is now discontinued.  Oh well, I have a few months before I have to worry about that.  My heel/achilles was still stiff this morning, but loosened up after about 1/2 mile.  I wore the strassburg sock again in the hopes that this will continue to stretch things out at night.  Total time for this morning's run was 50:18, average pace of 8:07/mile.  The rest of the week will be easy miles, and I am going to do a speed workout on Saturday - good warmup and then 6 x 800 meters with a target time of 2:50.  I am excited about this workout.  It will give me a good indication of what I may be able to do for the 5K.