Relentless

afternoon - 5 Mall Run. Went out and about today. Legs were a bit tired, but lungs felt pretty solid. At first I thought I wouldn't be able to do more than 5 tomorrow, but once I got going things evened out and I think I will be able to do 7 or so tomorrow. (Cumulus blue 123.65)

afternoon - 8.6 River Trail. Felt pretty decent throughout the run. Some old fellow on a bike pulled up along-side me and rode with me as I ran. I think he was Name Dropper Sr. He talked the entire time about races he'd run and people he knew. But it made the run go smoother. Had to run in old Cumulus reds because I brought two different shoes to school - luckily I had these here already. (Cumulus red 509.5)

AM - 9.5 Wendy's. Earliest I have been up in over two weeks and it killed me. Run was exhausting. Ave. was only 8:15. I knew I had been running slow this week, but this was the first time I wore my watch to prove it. Yesterday was a much better run. (Landreth 28.05)

mid-morning - 10 River Trail. Sneaked out during my prep to get the run in. Right away I could tell it was going to be better than yesterday. I could feel the difference in my lungs and legs. I would say that they are both around 70% now - its coming up. Run was 1:12.30, so an average of 7:15 - the best run yet. (Stratus 363.75)

morning - 20.25 SGM course. Ran the first Steve and Bill and they kept me honest and moving for the first 10.05. We averaged a solid 7:15 for this section. Hit a water break and then planned on trying a little tempo. I wasn't sure where I would be at - maybe 6:30 or so. But Steve pulled me along and we average right at 6:00 for pretty much the whole 10, except the winchester hill (which actually split on to two miles) where I felt like I needed to sit back or I might not make it. Lungs were pretty good; they started to close off a bit toward the end. Now I am just really needing the legs to come around. This felt like one of the hardest workouts I have ever done just because it was so tough to just keep the legs moving at this pace - but it is coming around. Finished with a .2 cool to the store. (Landreth 48.3)

AM - 11.75 Target Loop. Getting wasn't bad this morning! Running was. Could feel Saturday's run in my legs - sore and tired. I am not anywhere near 100% yet, and I may just have to accept the fact that I won't be at the race. (Landreth 60.05)

Checked my resting heart rate yesterday. It was a bit high, 55. Although I haven't taken it in a long time to have a solid base to judge by, I would say that it was high because of continued fatigue from Saturday's hard workout and my body still feeling the effects of the sickness.

Goals for the week: Get everything on track as best as possible. I would like to push toward 100 miles (that sounds weird for the week before a marathon, but I feel like it would do a lot of good for me to bring my miles up and try to keep fitness strong after the stages of not running and recovering); also I need to get a solid speed workout in (800's tomorrow -kind of scary, I don't know how good they'll be); and most importantly a good long run/tempo finish on Saturday. Then next week I'll get decent mileage in on Monday and Tuesday and then set into whatever kind of taper I can get.

afternoon - 7.4 Shnobe Kibe Trail. Went out with team to hit a 7 miler to Shnobe Kibe by way of the new road to the bridge, but we were just short on mileage before the turn around. So Ruth found a sweet trail which we just extended around the mountain. It had vicious little rollers and was just a lot of fun. Fun running with the kids even though they had to slow down for the old man. (Cumulus blue 131.05)

AM - 10x800's. 2.7 mile warmup from home to PVHS. Then 10x800's. I really didn't know what to expect from this workout. I hoped it would show signs of improvement, but I realize I haven't done a workout like this in a month. They were slower than I thought. The first 5 were right around 2:55 give or take a second. Then my right hammy really tightened up and I had to stretch it a lot. 6 was 2:53, but at 7 it tightened up again and I slowed to a 2:58. Stretched really good again then 8,9, and 10 all slowed to over 3:00. Then cooled down with a mile. I was pretty disappointed about it all. (Stratus red 258.8)

When I was trying to decide whether or not to still do SLC I mentioned I didn't want any 2:35 is okay comments. Now I am pleading for a 2:35! Actually, I have decided (at least for today - and I hope I can change this later) that my realistic goal for SLC is going to be 2:50. What a bummer after such a strong winter.

evening - 3.5 Ran home from school after the track meet by way of Cottonmill East to extend it a little. (Stratus red 262.3)

afternoon - 13.25 River Trail and Fire Station desert. Went out for 8 by myself at the end of the school day and then got back and ran with the boys team out to the Fire Station and the desert around there. 1st part of the run was iffy, 2nd part was a bit better. (Stratus 377)

AM - 12 Target Loop. Hard to get out of bed, but once I did, the run was okay. Maybe just a little bit better than Monday when I did this. Happy I didn't run twice yesterday, even though this will be my only run today too (track meet). I think my legs are just waiting to come back - right there, just waiting to break through. (Cumulus blue 143.05)

AM - 10 morning practice. Had trouble getting up, since I had just barely gone to bed (dirty track meets!). Then my Jeep wouldn't start. So I barely made it to practice before Ruth had to run alone. We did AC. Then I did 2450 and 2 laps while waiting for Kimz and Austin. Then the three of us did AC. Isn't it interesting that the three that show up to practice in the morning are also the three that are actually hitting PR's and BYU and State times. (Stratus red 272.3)

Jumped on the scale this morning and was 145.8 without shoes. A bit low still - granted that was after my run, but I didn't sweat much in the chill this morning. I have always run my best races at a race weight of 150. But I think somewhere around 148 will still bring me back enough strength to run solid.

afternoon - 6 Green Springs. Ran with the boys and Ruth. Just a nice easy run to help us all try and get our legs back. (Cumulus silver 450.15)

morning - I decided to do this race for my hard workout for the day since the Steves got me in free and it was hard to workout the ride up to Central for 20 on the course. My goal was to just make it a solid workout, whatever that meant - and hopefully get a continued better feel as I approach SL in a week (yikes!)

Met up with Steve, Bill, and Clyde for a run on the course before the race. It was going to be a hard, hilly bugger. In a way I was kind of happy for that because I don't feel I can run that fast right now anyway. (Landreth 66.45)

Got back just in time to do the quick last minute race adjustments and then we were off. 1-5:25, Clyde established early control, and it seemed as if I felt okay and would just run in 2nd throughout (which is apparently just my destiny!), but this was the first solid under 6:00 minute pace I had had since being sick. 2-5:21 included the 2nd climb of the race (the first was up around the elem.) This was a tough hill up past the park, but then a great downhill which I would have loved to burn up. 3-5:36 A bit of fatigue, but nothing major. The flattest mile of the race. Worried a little about being caught. 4-5:40 Still running pretty good as we turned onto the highway. My form felt pretty good throughout the race. 5-6:22 A mother of a section. Uphill throughout with a big hill by the golf course maintenance yard. I run this section all the time on Junction, but this was the first time I raced it. At one point I looked at my watch and my pace was 7:23; I thought, "I am in a RACE and am going 7:23 pace. Oh boy..." 6-6:02 Tried to get back on pace as I topped out on the hill, but the wind held me to just 5:40 for the last .5 of this mile and I could quite bring it back under 6. .2-(.16 on watch)52 secs. (5:24 pace) Just finished it on in at a solid pace. (Ohana 6.2)(new pair - felt great)

Grabbed a drink and talked at the line for a minute and then Steve, Clyde, James, and I ran the course again and 7:30 pace and then finished it off with another 1.2 to hit the 20 mark. (Landreth 73.95)

Felt good enough about the race that I will make an adjustment to my goal for SLC. I am going to set it at 2:40; maybe a little ambitious, but today's run was solid and it made me happy to run a little better.

AM - 10.2 morning practice. AC w/ Ruth. 2450 up to DI. Then AC with a larger group! I hope the kids realize they need to be there consistently after I kind of got on them last week. Taper week! It is kind of weird going in to the week of a marathon having just run 95 last week. But it needed to be done. I plan on hitting 8 tomorrow and then a massage, 7 Weds., 5 Thurs and Fri. and then the race. So I hope that will lead me to feeling fresh and ready to go. (Cumulus blue 153.25)

AM - 8 Middleton. Ran the Middleton 8 out and back with a goal of trying to hit MP for the last four (or at least as close as I could get). I still have a struggle hitting good workouts in the morning. It is hard to run faster when I am tired, its dark, I'm hungry, I'm tired! But it was a good workout and I could feel it burning a bit. Getting back, I started my carbo load for the next three days. This is something I am still trying to figure out, but I am trying 2 new carb drinks to help get it all in. (Landreth 81.95)

AM - 6.65 Green Springs w/o extension. Run was nice today. Didn't time anything, just went with the flow. (Stratus 383.65)

Got a massage last night. It felt pretty decent. I wasn't totally mush relaxed when it was done - but I really didn't know what to expect. But it did get some crazy knots out of my back and loosened up my hammies, calves, and hip flexors a lot, so that is real good.

morning - 5.2 Parkway. Got to sleep in a little (w/ just teacher meetings today and no school). Had a solid 5 miler on the Parkway. Ran MP from the top of the Parkway down and into Cottonmill E. (2 miles: 5:30, 5:50). Rolled on the downhill, and tried to keep it smooth on the flat and felt better about it toward the end. I think 2:40 is still a legit/tough goal. Last day of carbo-loading. I have eaten so much, I don't feel like eating anymore. (Startus red 277.5)

morning - 5.05 Sego Lily Loop in Sandy. Temps were very pleasant for the run. Took about 3.5 miles to work the kinks out of the legs, but once I did, I started thinking about the race and I really started to roll w/o even noticing. (Landreth 86)
Then I went to the expo and got my number. I worried that I wouldn't be registered because no one would reply to my emails, and sure enough I wasn't. But they were very helpful and took care of it no problem. Well... here we go.

I guess I'll write about my race while I can still remember it, even though I really don't feel like it.

What a mix of emotions - I still don't really know what to say/think/feel about this run even days later. I really thought 2:40 would be possible, but with the wind, I knew it would slow me a little bit. I started out trying for it anyway. James (he ran the 1/2 and hit a big PR in 1:28!) and I got to the start with plenty of time to get ready. Then got up on the line and saw everybody after a short little warm up. (splits are Garmin, not mile markers, and it measured a little long, so they don't add up perfectly.)

1-5:44 Started off about where I wanted. Felt the group out and let the leaders go away as Sasha, Matt H., and I kind of established position. I actually wanted to start a little closer to 6, and in retrospect, I should have stayed right with Adam and Kory. 2-5:50 Pretty solid start. Sasha moves up and it's basically Matt H. and I now with no one else really around. 3-6:06 A little slower up the hill and into the wind, but just fine. 4-5:22 Big downhill mile, and we just let it roll, but don't push to overwork it. 5-5:37 Continue the downhill and near the park. 6-5:58 Settled back into pace and worked with Matt through the park. I was worried about the hills (in the couple weeks back up to the race, it seemed that I had no hill strength at all) and I had to work a little to hard to stay with Matt. 7-6:08 Set back into a good rhythm and Matt and I kept switching leads in the wind. Saw Sasha up a ways and decided working together we might get to him by the end of the race. (Oh how wrong!) 8-6:24 Wind was really working me. 9-6:23 The hill up Keller Lane ruined me. Matt pulled away and I just couldn't go and I started thinking bad. 10-6:19 Trying to work the wind and keep strong. 11-6:01 A better mile because Adam caught me and I ran right behind him for the mile, trying to get my legs back. 12-6:20 Then he left me. 13-6:57 This is where I got the worst mentally in a race I have ever been (miles 13-20). I really lost any positive thoughts and the race became a nightmare on this last climb before the turn on 62nd. 14-6:17 Tried to bring it back together on the downhill, but as the time shows I just couldn't. And I watched the lead ladies just pull away. 15-6:18 It is weird. The pace was not hard to keep at all (because it was slow), but I couldn't go any faster, and it was making me SO mad and frustrated. 16-7:00 I can't repeat the thoughts that were going through my mind at this point. Ally's grandma lives right off here and I was hoping she was out so I could quit. I just wanted to walk off. She wasn't, but that didn't stop me from looking for an out. I walked through the aid station at the end here and hoped to see a van/something that would take me in. 17-6:31 Figured I just had to keep going, so I did. 18-7:11 Walked through the aid station again. Not really because I hurt or anything at all, but just because I wanted to (to be done, to quit, to never run again). 19-6:43 Started running again. Why? 20-7:30 Walked through again. And again for no reason. The 6:30 pace wasn't hurting me at all, I just was so negative walking was my only out. But then I saw that I could still get 2:50 and I just pushed the thoughts out and decided I could make something of the run. 21-6:36 Tried to just focus on the few that had passed me because of my breaks and I actually stayed the same distance with them. 22-6:28 For a moment I thought about walking again (I had each of the last three stations), but I figured why? I don't need to. 23-6:32 Staying at this pace still. I think it showed that my endurance was just fine (or had come back pretty good), but the fastness was what was really affected by the sickness (and it had not come back at all). 24-6:37 still on pace to hit that sub 2:50 and that made me feel okay. 25-6:56 dodging a lot of 1/2'ers and the little climb in town here really hit me again. 26-7:00 I am just trying to dig, but really I am pretty spent. .2 (.34 on Garmin)- 6:29 pace. Finish was a little more organized with a 1/2 and a marathon chute. I could tell I was going down about the last .1. Legs were wobbling and I couldn't breathe at all. So I did, it was fun. I weezed and tried to breathe as they gave me an inhaler thing. But the breath came back quick and I just walked out as if nothing happened. (Ohana 32.7)

Didn't run today - but because it's Boston, I looked back to last year.  Funny stuff!  I wrote about how I hated it so much and am not going back.  Now I can't wait to go back.  Things were pretty vicious last year, and I had a struggle to the finish.  But those types of memories either strengthen (the challenge of the weather) or lessen (the final 10K struggle) as time moves on.  That's what I am hoping for with SLC.  I've had marathon struggles before: 3:30, 2005 TOU, after being very sick and not running for two weeks up to the marathon, and basically the memory of that is gone (except for passing out an mile 17 and then finishing in a cramped and knotted heap!); 3:20 2006 SLC, first marathon back from stroke, and the same thing, I just remember the fact that I was so happy to be back running even though it was a horribly difficult thing to finish.

I won't get a run in today either, with a track meet this afternoon.  But I think I will be ready mentally for a little something tomorrow!

Took another one off - no reason, just don't feel like running, yet.

morning - 3 AC morning practice. Just hit the late session with Austin. Everyone else showed up and started a bit late. Run was pretty decent. A few kinks in the hips and knees, but it was amazing how short it was. Nice to be running again. (Stratus 386.65)

afternoon - 4 home from PVHS by way of Dogpound. Decided to get a little run in instead of driving. Knees and hips felt a little better. (Stratus 390.65)

AM - 3 PVHS from home. Ran back to school carrying all my stuff in a backpack. It was a major pain - the pack dug into my arms and bounced a lot, so I carried it like a football switching arms every few hundred meters since it weighed more with a jacket and extra stuff for the track meet today. No knee or hip pain. But that's the only run for the day. (Stratus red 280.5)

afternoon - 8.5 Grapevine Springs by way of Reserve, under the culvert, on top of Highland, and down home by way of Parkway. It was a bit windy! I am tired of the wind. I felt pretty good and enjoyed the run. (Landreth 94.5)

AM - 10.5 morning practice: AC, 2450 extended, Green Springs. Although not good to have to get up, it was very nice to be running this morning. Had fun runs with the team. (Cumulus silver 460.65)

Goals for the week: Get a solid week's mileage in - don't want to put a number on it, yet. Just want to run good mileage and let my body finish its recovery. BYU this week which will probably throw off my mileage a little bit, but that's okay. Be more positive in all aspects of my life, including running.

AM - 8 Middleton. Somehow made it through this run. Man, it was slow. Creeky and tired this morning. (Landreth 102.5)

evening - 5 Treadmill @1%. Started off with 7:30 for 2 miles and then 6:58 for 3. Felt a little less worn than this morning. Hadn't been on the treadmill in awhile, but it was good. (Stratus 395.65)

AM - 10.5 morning practice. AC,2450 extended, GS. Not really tight and sore, I guess just worn out. My joints really ached this morning and kept me slow. (Stratus red 291)

afternoon - 4 Mosquito Trail to Dead Car and back with the boys and Ruth. I must apologize to Ruthie for having to run with the boys, but it makes life more interesting I am sure. Made Austin lay down (forcefully) in a ditch and that was worth it! (Cumulus silver 464.65)