16 miles on the marathon course

Today was a 16 mile run.  We drove up the canyon so we could run on the marathon course.  13 of our 16 miles today were on the marathon course.  There are a couple of uphills on the course and the more I run them the more mentally strong I will be on race day.  


The run felt good. I took a GU at mile 7 and then again at mile 12.  I drank about 16 oz of water during the run and then a Gatorade when I got home.  And I haven't had any cramping at all today.  Hooray!!  Also, I wore my new pink compression socks today and honestly my legs feel pretty darn good right now.  Maybe they really do work.


For recovery I took a 10 minute ice bath and drank my usual chocolate milk recovery drink.  


I am way excited that my average pace (even with walking while I took my GU) was 8:30.  Most of the run was a gradual downhill which helps but it is very exciting to be running that pace.  (ignore the current pace - I was standing in my bathroom after the run).  


P.S. This month I ran 170 miles!!  And I'm already at 456 miles for the year.  


P.S.S. I absolutely LOVE LOVE LOVE my Garmin 305.  I hope it never breaks because I don't want to change.  

Marathon Outfit...

 Don't judge me for my crazy pose - it was after my workout and I can't be held responsible for my thoughts. I wanted to show off the ruffles but not do a butt shot.  I don't know.  

Anyways, I got my new skirt in the mail a few days ago so I tried it out today.  It was great!  I'm not sure if you can tell just how cute those ruffles are but seriously I think I have my outfit.  Yes I know the marathon is still 10 weeks away but I want to run several long runs in my "outfit" before the race to be sure it doesn't bug.  What do you think?  Is it marathon worthy?

Today's workout was speed work.  I did 10 miles total on the treadmill.  1 mile warm up then 1 mile intervals @ 7:24 pace (8.1 on the treadmill and I pushed it to 8.2 for the last quarter mile of each one) with a 1/2 mile jog between each.  5 sets total then another 1 1/2 miles to finish it off. 

Tomorrow I'm going to run with my sister since she'll be in town - somewhere between 6-10 miles.

Sold Out

Well the marathon is sold out so if you were hoping to join me too bad.  Ha.  I can't believe I am 10 weeks away from the race.   Part of me feels like I've been training forever and part of me is worried I won't be ready.  But it is what it is and I'm going to push hard my last 10 weeks of training and get 'er done. 

Today's workout:  spin (lots of hills and endurance) & lift

Tomorrow:  speed workout

Compression Socks?

Lately I've seen a lot of distance runners in compression socks.  I bought a pair last year for Ragnar and thought with all the miles I'm putting in right now I should pull them back out.  So this morning on our 10 miler I wore mine.  They felt fine and so far my legs aren't too tired - but I feel like 10 miles is where my base is right now so I'm not sure it would matter or not.

I'm going to keep wearing them for the next few weeks of training to see how I feel in them.

I *might* have bought 2 more pair last week because they were pink and on sale so I sure hope they help!!

Today:  10 miles

Tomorrow: spin & lift

Do you wear compression socks?  Do you notice a difference?


P.S.  this picture was taken last year on a road trip to California after a triple run day.  I'm sure I looked crazy but my legs felt fine after a long day sitting in the car.

Saturday Group Run

 We had our first big Saturday group run.  I love group runs!!  6 of us started up at the top of South Fork and did 14 miles down to Magleby's for breakfast.  It was fun as we got down the canyon to run into the other girls out doing their runs too.  I loved seeing their smiling faces on the trail! 

Then we had our "meeting" over breakfast and took a picture with 10 of the 12 from our Ragnar team! 

The run itself wasn't my best run.  I felt good until about mile 12 then had to force myself to get through the last 2 miles.  I took a gu (peanut butter - it was a delicious surprise!) at mile 8.5 and a caffeine pill (blu-2-go 35 mg).  Both of them were from my free stash from my parents.  Hooray for good free stuff! I dressed too warm but I was stressing about the temp up the canyon.  My fleece was too hot and I wish I hadn't worn full tights.  I felt great for the first 2-3 miles and then was too hot the last 11-12 miles.  UGH.  Oh well lesson learned.  Overall it was a good run and a great morning with friends.  I love our Ragnar "meetings".  I have the best group of running girls around.  Love them!

If it's not hurting....

Well this week's runs must be working because I am hurting.  My poor quads still haven't recovered from the run/hike up the mountain on Saturday.  I have been stretching, rolling, using my stick - everything I'm supposed to do and still they kill!  So I guess that workout worked.

Then today's run was a tempo run on the treadmill.  I was hurting and a sweaty mess by the end of the run (but at least I wore all black so you couldn't see my sweaty boobs).  I ran a mile warm up then 6 miles at an 8:00 pace (there is no 8:04 pace on the treadmill....oh well).  Then I walked for a bit to catch my breath and finished at 10 miles total.  During the middle of the tempo run (miles 3-4) I thought I wasn't going to be able to make it.  I was feeling tired and worn out.  But I just kept putting one foot in front of the other - took a nice big swig of my zip fizz and plugged in my iPod.  Somehow it worked and I finished the entire run.  I might not always love the way I feel during a run but I love how I feel when I'm finished.  

Tomorrow:  6 miles and weights

Friday:  REST!!!

Saturday: 14 miles

My Spin Room

Today was a spin/lift day.  For my spin workout we did endurance intervals.

The workout:

Warm up - 5 min (light tension)

Power Intervals

     2 on 1 off - 5 x's

Pyramid Intervals

     Easy Flat - Fast Flat - Hill Sprint

     30 s. each/ 30 s. each/ 1 m. each/ 2 m. each

Standing Run on bike

Tempo Hill

     Start @ 60% tension with the tempo of the music and tap it up every minute keeping at the same tempo (7 minutes total)

Last night I got a text with a picture of the spin room at the gym Todd works out at in DC so I thought I'd snap a shot of my spin room this morning for him.  Look at all those bikes just waiting to be ridden at 5:30 in the morning :)

Yesterday we did the usual 10 miler.  It snowed all night but looking out my window there was only snow on the grass and none on the street so we opted to still run outside.  After the 1st mile of our loop (which took us north towards the canyon) we were in 4-6 inches of snow until we came back the last mile.  UGH.  It made for some slow going miles and very wet/cold feet (thank goodness for my smartwool socks).  It was the slowest I've run in years but at least I got miles in outside instead of being on the treadmill. 

Yesterday I hit 102 miles for the month of March and I still have almost 2 full weeks left!

Tomorrow's workout:  TEMPO RUN 10 miles total w/6 @ 8:04 pace

Today's Run...well it was more of a workout

This week is a "rest" week so no speed work or long run. Today was another 10 miler. We decided to mix Ragnar hill training in with our run. So we ran from the valley up to the base of the Y then hiked up to the bottom of the Y then back home.

It was crazy steep and even though we weren't running (speed hiking is a better name for it) I could not catch my breath. My calves and buns were burning sooooo bad.

It was a great way to mix it up and get a serious butt kicking workout. On the way home we ran through a 5K that was going on. It was great to get cheered on. Ha!!

Free Gu

Last weekend my sister and parents went to a nutrition expo in California. So today when they got home they hooked me up with all the goodies they picked up just for me. Yippee! I love it.

I can't wait to try out a few of these new options. When I go to Runners Corner I always buy the same stuff - orange vanilla roctane. It's by far my favorite for the way It makes me feel. I also like vanilla and chocolate accel gel. But I don't stray much beyond those.

What do you use on long runs?

Bleh!

Today my run sucked.  That's all there is to it.  10 miles of pain.  My leg hurt and I was just dragging.  At the end of the run I looked at my avg pace and it was 20 seconds slower than my normal pace.  UGH!  

I hate days like today.  I still did my miles so I should be happy - but that's not really me.  I need some time to beat myself up a little.  

Maybe it's the fact that my body still thinks it's 4:00 am - thank you so much daylight savings.  Maybe I didn't eat right yesterday or drink enough water.  Maybe running our loop backwards was just that much harder.  Who knows.  And honestly I don't care what excuse I can come up with I want to feel stronger on my next run than I did today.  The only thing that got me through the run at all was the fact that I was running with my 2 girls and they pushed me to keep going.  Without knowing it they totally kept me going.  By the end of the run I had both ears plugged into my iPod and I was 3 feet behind them just trying to finish the run.  The last 1 1/2 miles was so hard but I did it because I wasn't alone.  Thank goodness for friends!

Rollin' my legs

This is the roller I have.  I have a love/hate relationship with it.  It hurts when I roll but I feel so much better once I'm done.

I found this article about where endurance athletes need to focus their rolling.

http://tptherapy.com/release-your-strength-endurance-training.php

I'm not sure I'd call myself an endurance "athlete" - but I am doing endurance workouts so I figure this fits my needs.  Personally the area I have the most pain is my Piriformis. In addition to my roller I also use a tennis ball for the areas I can't roll and "The Stick" on my calves and arches of my feet.   

Last night my muscles hurt so bad in a few spots it was hard to fall asleep.  Sad I love sleep!  I'm trying to roll it out twice a day right now so that I don't get injured.  I am NOT going to let myself get injured this year.  I have too many races to do and too many miles to run!!

Today's workout:  spin & weights

Tomorrow:  10 miles

Daylight Savings + Early Morning Run = SUCKS!

Today when the alarm went off at 5:10 am it felt like 4:10 am!  I seriously hate daylight savings.  My kids were moving in slow motion this morning and I didn't get up to run.  I just couldn't do it.  I sent a text to the girls and bailed on them.  I hate doing that but it was just too early!  


I did manage to get my run in this afternoon.  9 miles with just me and my iPod.  So boring.  The good part is that it was like 65 degrees so I got to run in a tank top and shorts.  I felt so free with so little clothing on!  I also noticed that when you run in the afternoon there are no old people like me out running.  Only college students and skateboarders.  

I am thinking about getting these shorts for ragnar to wear under my sassy sparkle skirt.  I love my other lulu shorts but I'm not sure if these are too short or if they'd be comfy.  Is it worth the $58?

Next time I'll rest

Today our long run was 12 miles.  I thought it would be a piece of cake.  My base is at 10 miles and last week I ran 18.  I was sorely mistaken.  Today's run was harder for me physically and mentally than last week's run.  I ran yesterday instead of taking a day off to rest.  Big mistake.  My legs started the run tired and it just went downhill from there.  I made it through the whole run but it just didn't feel good.  My pace was slower this week than on last weeks long run.  Frustrating.  So the take away from today's run is to make sure my rest day is always the day before my long run.   


P.S.  I'm getting really excited that spring is in the air.  It's light out in the mornings (at least until tomorrow) and it's starting to warm up!!

How do I measure up?

I like these fitness tips so when I saw them I thought I'd share them.  

Let's see how well I do these?

Start Running:  Yes. I run 4 days a week.  

Drink more water: Yes. I drink a good amount of water (and diet coke...oops). 

Log what you eat: Sometimes. Only when I'm trying to lose weight - I should do this more so I can be sure I'm fueling my body right

Never skip breakfast: Yes.  I have a protein shake every morning.

Exercise with a friend:  YES!  This is the only way to exercise.  I have a great group of girls that I exercise with.  Love them!

Eat more veggies:  Sometimes.  I love veggies when they are fresh out of the garden so if summer and fall would get here I could for sure say yes to this one.

Set goals & rewards:  Yes.  I am pretty much always signed up for a race and I LOVE to reward myself.

Weigh yourself weekly:  Yes.  Friday is my weigh in day.  

Enjoy cheat days:  Yes, Yes, Yes.  However, maybe I should have a few less of these.

Have fun & stay positive: Yes.  This isn't usually an issue with me.  I love working out!

P.S.  Today's workout was an 8.5 mile run and tomorrow is our long run of 12 miles.

Another treadmill record

Today's workout was a tempo run so it was a treadmill day.  And are you ready for this?  I actually look forward to our treadmill days right now.  It's great to run in shorts and tank top.  And it's nice to have something different.  And with tempo it's nice to just set the speed and go for it without looking down at my Garmin every 10 seconds.  The workout was 10 miles w/6 at an 8:06 tempo.  I ran a warm up mile then did my 6 at tempo.  By the last mile I was ready to be done so I sped up every quarter mile to get 'er done faster.  Then I went back down to an 8:45ish pace for my last 3 miles.  

One of the runnin' girls started later than me so when I finished I walked on the treadmill chatting with her while she finished her 10.  When she finished I looked at the treadmill and I was at 98 minutes so I just kept walking until I hit 100!!

When I was leaving the gym I looked down and realized that my tank top really showed sweat today (I will not be wearing that pink tank to the gym again) and I noticed that I was only sweaty on my boobs!  It was crazy embarrassing.  I looked hilarious and who knows how long I had looked like that without realizing it.  Oh my!

Tomorrow:  8 miles and weights

Today's Spin workout

I did a music class today.  Every song dictates what we do for our workout and we just go with beat of the tunes.  I love these workouts and feel like I get my best workouts this way.

I even got a text from someone in the class on my way home that said: 

"just burned 483 calories in your 45 minute spin class.  that's 90 more than in last nights class.  you kicked my trash this morning.  thank you" 

Here is what we did for each song.

1 - warm up

2 - tempo hill

3 - seated hill (high tension)

4 - intervals 

5 - jumps

6 - recovery

7 - seated hill

8 - standing hill

9 - tempo hill/run the bike

10 - fast flat/sprints

11 - seated hill

12 - jumps

13 - cool down

After spin I lifted.  I love how exhausted I am after a great workout.  And tomorrow is a tempo run on the treadmill.

Caught in the Act

This morning I didn't get up to go running so after a few back and forth text messages we figured out a way to fit it in during lunch.  Don't tell anyone but I might have missed a meeting to get my run in.  When I was getting ready to leave one of my co-workers walked into my office and took this picture.  I had to swear him to secrecy that I was going running instead of the meeting.  

The run was great.  It was almost 60 degrees out!!  My biggest regret is that I wore a long sleeve shirt instead of a tank top.  My awesome running partner and I were both super busy today so fitting in a run wasn't easy but I am so glad we did it.  And we did 10 miles at an 8:22 pace!!  It was really different running during the middle of the day.  My brain doesn't really work at 5:30 am so I don't really think about the run that early - I just do it.  I felt every step today.  It could also be due to the fact that it was our first run after the 18 miler.  

Speaking of the 18 miler,  my second toe on my left foot hurts soooo bad.  It is the only thing on my body that hurts post run.  I am guessing it's just the toe nail but I honestly thought I broke my toe because of how bad it hurt Saturday night.  Really?  My toe is the most sore part of my body.  That doesn't even make sense but it's true. 

18 miler recap

Today was an 18 miler.  I haven't run this far since 2009 so I was stressing a bit but it ended up being great.  At mile 13 we stopped for a minute to GU and this cute old man ran by so we asked him how old he was.  75!  What a stud.   He said "some people run for time, some for distance, I just run to stay alive".  We only chatted with him for a few minutes but it was inspirational seeing him out there running.  I want to be an old lady out with the running girls hitting the trail for a "stay alive" run.  When we were leaving him he said "if you want to be real runners you should get really good shoes"  his son apparently designed some cool barefoot type shoes. I'll have to check them out.  Personally I consider myself a real runner - I mean I did put in 41 miles this week.  But I guess from his point of view I haven't made it yet :)

Details of the run:

We did a different route than normal which was a great way to break it up.  The run was a 9 mile out and back on the Provo River Trail.  There were a few icy spots but for the most part it was great.  I loved not fighting cars and stop lights during the run.  

I did a gu at mile 7.5 and a roctane with caffeine at mile 13.  Drank 15 oz of water and 10 oz of Gatorade. My body felt good and no cramps so far post run.  YIPPEE!!! The way out was a slight uphill and we did a negative split coming back.  Average pace overall was 8:40 (at the half way turn around I had 8:49 on my Garmin so we made up some good time).  It was cold (25 degrees) but we went a little later than normal (7:30 am) so at least it wasn't dark out.  I love the feeling that the last 4 miles were my fastest miles.  I was dead on my feet the last mile but I plugged both ears into my music turned it up and told myself over and over that I can do anything for a mile. 

For recovery I did a 10 minute ice bath (I hate them so much but I swear by them on helping me feel better), took 2 Aleve, drank a Winder Farms recovery chocolate milk, rolled and stretched.  So far I'm exhausted but not dying every step I take. 

Total miles this week: 41

Motivation For Tomorrow

Tomorrow is a long run day and we are doing 18 miles.  I am pretty nervous about running that far and how I will feel.  

I'm not going to let my head give out first!!

Life of a running mom

I just got this text with this picture from a friend who will remain nameless:

Umm is it 6:17 pm and I've been in my workout clothes since 5:10 am?

The true life of a running mom.  Get up before the crack of dawn so you can workout while the kids are still sound asleep in their warm beds. Get home from the gym just in time to make breakfast and get the kids ready for school.  Then maybe hurry and run a few errands and then a few more.  Just to realize you still haven't had any time for yourself to do the simple things like shower.  


And I'm sure that now it's time to make dinner and maybe run a few more kids around to their activities.  Maybe tonight before bed there will be time for a nice relaxing bubble bath and a good book.  


Today's workout:  weights and hill workout on the treadmill.  I didn't get a very good hill workout in because I didn't stretch or roll out my legs last night after my run so my legs were rebelling this morning and kept cramping up.  Don't worry I paid the price this morning by rolling extra slow and I am going to roll again tonight before bed.