Denouement

AM:  Dang it I slept in (set alarm for pm instead of AM) so I did four miles on the treadmill @ 7:30 pace (I always do 1.5 elevation to equalize).  I should be able to get in some more this afternoon, but I am starting the week behind since I am trying to hit 85 miles this week.

weight 123

PM:  Ran in the drizzle, 42F, starting .5 mile away from Will's Pit Stop in Provo and going up the canyon four miles.  At the turnaround I noticed dual issues:  pain in my left quad and in my left very upper calf (just below knee).  The just below knee pain was sharp at time.  I stopped and rubbed it down, then stopped again to stretch my calf.  For miles 5 and 6 the pains were distracting and frustrating, but then they faded into the background.  So 8.03 miles in 7:47 ave pace.  

Ab workout in the evening, and stretching.  I will also use foam roller on these trouble spots and try to work them out.  I have intervals planned for Wed but will skip/modify if the pain is still there tomorrow.  Often these pains are random and jump from one part of my body to another.  I hope that's the case with these too.  Last week I felt like I had a bone sticking out of one foot, but it didn't even hurt the next day.  Go figure.

Last night I used wintercrest (thanks Josse!  I smell like an old woman!) and scraped my two areas with the curved back of a comb, and applied heat.  Ran on my own.  This morning I had to watch for pains from yesterday, so warmed up slowly, stretched after 1.5, and kept it at an easy pace.  Not a single mile broke 8:00 (I did get an 8:01 :D ).  My legs were overall tired, but the specific pains from yesterday didn't register during the run.  I could feel them as I did a thorough stretching session while I oversaw my 6 year old's piano practice.

ave pace 8:13

weight 122

Evening: ab workout. More stretching, scraping, wintercrest, foam rolling.

I wanted to do intervals today, but with my pains from Monday lingering yesterday, I thought I should go safer with a marathon pace tempo.

I also have been generally unsuccessful with recruiting other runners to do speed with me.  Ali has been a good sport and helped me through some, but she's not allowed to do speed right now. So today is third day in a row alone.  I know I need to get tougher and learn how to push myself even when I am all alone, so this is kind of a transition period for me, transitioning into solo running.

I warmed up just over three miles, had a lady tell me that she almost ran into me and to be careful and I told her she almost ran into me because she didn't stop for her stop sign.  She didn't have anything to say about that (or I just didn't hear her because she drove on).  I started into my tempo.  I was hoping to start at 6:30 pace and then drop toward the end.  My gps watch seemed to wig out on me toward the middle of the run, logging a 7:13 and a 7:50 mile (even though I was still breathing hard and working over turnover).  Since I didn't know what my true pace was, and I was afraid the watch was accurate, I got psychologically weak, thinking perhaps I am just in a huge training slump, perhaps I'll never be strong enough to push myself all alone, tons of negative thoughts.  It was not so glorious.  I know I didn't push myself as hard as I should have at parts.  My legs felt really dead the last half too.  But I didn't give up and just pushed through.  I don't know splits because the watch was not working properly.  I finished in 48:51, which would be quite bad if my watch was right, and it was 7 miles.  So I almost lost it driving home but held out hope that perhaps the watch was measuring off.  I put my run into the course tool, and my overall run was 12.07 per my gps watch, and 12.5 per the course tool.  The tempo part was 7.36, which puts my average pace at 6:38, instad of 6:59.  6:38 isn't glorious but is much better than 6:59. 

I then used the course tool to measure yesterday's run, which measured at 12.71, instead of the 12.34 by my watch.  I generally knew that my watch tends to measure miles long, but come on, this is not a reasonable deviation.  Running the same course every day isn't an option because of being a lone woman, so I may need to spring for the more current version of the gps watch.

weight 120

endurox and stretching.

PM:  4.5 on treadmill.  My four year old was the only one home and awake, and he pulled up his red camping chair in front of the treadmill with some snacks and a pink lemonade and watched me run for part of the run.  He offered me some pink lemonade and how could I refuse?  I am glad my stomach is strong.  He then got bored and started sweeping the basement.  He is so sweet.  So I started out really slow and gradually worked up to 8:00 pace.  Recovery, recovery. 

I will do one legged squats 3xtwo ways, and leg scrapers (one and two legs) tonight.  This is my only weight routine I do (other than abs), and it's with light weights (12 lbs in each hand).  Of course, I do these weights while watching America's Next Top Model.

AM: 6 miles, just me and NPR. 7:39 ave pace, gps again under measured by 3%

weight 121

Ran 3.32 miles then met up with Marion and did a 4 mile tempo inside of a 6 mile run. She did great even with feeling under the weather.  You can see her blog for the splits.  She treated me to some great whole wheat bread and honey after the run.  It was great to talk with her, she's amazing!

weight 122

Later in the morning I ran just under a mile on the treadmill at Dr. Brady's.  I was wearing running shorts, running shoes and my work shirt with g's underneath, so nice and sweaty for work.  He had me adjusting my form, which I guess is attrocious. Marion popped her head in when I was getting treatment from him, I have always though I would have someone in the hall see me when the door opens when I have one leg in the air, spread eagle in my short running shorts, but thankfully I was just on my stomach - very conservative position.  Nice to see Marion two times in one day.  

Long run with 2x3 mile tempo, and one hour of running in between sets.  This is a workout from the Jack Daniel's Running Formula *Elite* marathon training programs.  I am really not good enough for all of the elite workouts, but I'm modeling this training cycle more off of this schedule, and of course by my own ideas of how I should train, which is heavily influenced by my running buddies on the blog.

Ok, so I met Ali at 5:45 at her house.  It was nice to start the long run so late in the morning, since it was a cold morning, 27F to start.  Not too much wind.  We run toward the stake center, I use a portapotty at about a mile (despite successful star earned at home - great a long run with the "runs").  We met up with the 6am group after 1.7 miles.  Stretching, then 3 miles to the 6:30 meeting point, at the Bishops storehouse (mile 1 marker of the SF half marathon for those who have run it).  I hit the bushes again.  TylerS didn't show (I wasn't sure if he would), so I am on my own for speed.  I start my first 3 mile tempo.  This is mile 1 - 4 of the SF half, except at the turn right before 4 mile mark I turn left instead of right to go uphill instead of downhill.  This stretch is gradual uphill, except a steep uphill in the second half of the fourth mile, so I knew my splits would be slower than my overall goal (goal if the whole thing had been pancake flat) of 6:05.

1 - 6:08

2 - 6:20 (wanted to keep it at 6:15, but close enough)

3 - 6:22, 18:50

Oh did I mention I am borrowing Clay's gps watch, "Try now, pay later".  It it a 205 and really cool, though it was set to scroll pages, which is really nice for easy miles but not so great when all I care about is lap pace. 

I then took another potty break, then met up with the group, had water and gu, and ran around the golf course loop, then down powerhouse road and back, another gu (at 14.3 miles now), stretching (right ham tight since first three miles), a little more jogging, then started my last three miles on the exact same course, opposite direction (slight downhill for .25, steep downhill for .25, flat for .5, then slight downhill for last 2 miles):

1 - 5:50

2 - 5:55 (I told myself to not worry about the last mile, focus on good split for this mile, and the last mile will take care of itself)

3 - 5:53 (with .9 to go I am wondering why I told myself to not worry about the last mile, but told myself to run strong, the workout had been excellent to this point and this is what marathoning is about, running fast when tired). 17:38 for three miles 36:28 for 6 miles, 6:05 ave baby!

About 3.5 cool down miles to get 21.

85 miles baby!  And I am back!  I did a hard workout by myself.  My psychology was much better than on Wednesday's tempo, so I just need to keep up the positive thinking and be tough.  It's hard to workout on my own, in the dark and cold, but I guess I relearned that I can today, and if I need to all winter, then I will.

ave pace 7:47

weight 122

endurox, stretching, ice bath