New Race Outfit

I love (and I mean really love) buying new running clothes.  It's the way I reward myself for hard work and training.  Plus I love having a new outfit for every big race I run.  I train hard then focus my race jitters on random stuff like picking a new outfit.  I love running races in lululemon skirts - they are super comfortable, have 3 pockets to carry all my GU's and iPod and are dang cute.  

So when I saw this new black and white striped skirt I knew it would be my race outfit.  I wore it on my 22 mile run and it was perfect.  I am of course throwing in a touch of pink too.  I used to always race in all black - but the pictures weren't nearly as fun.  So next week if you're looking for me crossing the finish line at St. George you know what I'll be wearing. 

September where have you gone?

Wow - I haven't posted in a month.  Sorry I've been busy running and getting kids back in school and taking an amazing vacation.  

My training has gone great except for the week when we went to Florida and on a Disney Cruise.  I only ran 10 miles total over 8 days....oops!  I planned to run but the first day on the ship while I was on the treadmill we were coming into port and the movements of the ship turning, slowing down and docking were too much for me so I called it at 5 miles.  The next day I planned on running 9-10 miles outside on the island.  Disney has a 5K so I would have a course to follow and would be safe.  But by the time we got off the ship and started the 5K it was 80 degrees and really humid.  I ran the 5K - and took 2nd overall and 1st woman finishing in 22 minutes and a few seconds (I didn't have my watch so I don't know exactly).  It was so hot I knew without any drinks and nutrition it wouldn't be smart to run more miles so I just ran the course out and back a few times to run in with my sis-in-law and mother-in-law who ran the race.  I'm guessing I put in between 5-6 miles total.  Then the next day I woke up and my low back was killing me so I knew I needed to take it easy and without my mom next door to work on my back I didn't dare put a lot of miles on for risk of injury.  So....I had a nice unplanned week of rest. 

Just after I finished

My SIL after her finish. 

My MIL's 2nd 5K ever.  She was awesome!

My sweet plastic finishers medal - my kids love it!

When I got back I was a little stressed because it took me 3 days to feel good on a run again.  But by my run on Wednesday when I did my speed work (1 mile intervals) I felt great.  I did a week of good runs and now I'm tapering to get ready for the race.  8 more days!!!  I am so ready to just get it done.

This weeks workouts:
M - 7 miles
T - spin
W - tempo run 6.5 total with 3 at 7:40 pace
Th - 6 miles
F- rest
S - 8 miles

August Recap

My goodness I'm so behind on my posts.  This whole back to school thing takes a while to get used to.  August was a big month for me - my highest mileage month EVER  (191.10 miles) in my life.  Which might be why I've been feeling tired.  But I also feel very ready for the marathon. 

 

Saturday was my 22 mile run.  We got dropped off up the canyon and ran down all the way back to the house.  I felt better on this run than on our last 20.  I did GU chomps at mile 7 and 17 and a roctane gel at mile 11.  We dropped drinks along the trail so that I didn't have to carry anything - one of my gatorades got taken but luckily there was a water fountain near that stop.  I did the whole thing without music too.  

Monday was supposed to be a 10 mile recovery run and even though it was Labor Day there was lots going on so I left my house at 5:30 am to drive up the canyon to meet a friend who was staying at her cabin for the weekend.  It was really dark at 6:00 and the trail just seemed too scary to both of us.  So we ended up running 4 miles up a mountain and back down.  Not the best "recovery" run - it was a tough 8 miles but I finished it.  It rained on us the last mile which was actually really nice. Then yesterday I taught spin and did crossfit.  And today was a 9 mile run. 

Throwback Thursday

Finish line at the UV marathon June 2012

Last year I set the goal to train and qualify for the Boston Marathon.  I had only done 1 marathon in 2009 before.  I found a training program.  Started this blog and made my goal a reality.  In June of 2012 I ran the Utah Valley Marathon and the conditions were horrible - hot and a serious headwind the whole way.  I missed qualifying by a couple of minutes and was heartbroken.  Now I'm almost done training for my 4th marathon in a 16 month period.  I know my body better than ever before and I know how hard to push and train.  But man am I tired and ready for a break.  No matter how tired I am right now I am not going to stop pushing hard and finish my training with a bang so I can race hard in a few weeks at St George - it's 36 days away!!!!

This week's workouts:
Monday:  10 mile run
Tuesday: spin and crossfit
Wednesday: 8 miles total w/ 4 one mile intervals @ 7:20 pace and crossfit
Thursday:  8 mile run 
Friday: rest
Saturday:  22 miles

I'm tired

Today was another 10 mile run.  I really didn't want to get up when my alarm went off at 5:00 am.  But I knew I had to do it so I forced myself to get up, get dressed and go.  And by 8:00 am this morning I had run 10 miles.  Picked up a few things at the grocery store.  Made and served fancy birthday pancakes to my 9 year old and got 3 kids off to school. 

I've realized that I'm starting to get tired and I just keep telling myself 3 more weeks of hard training then I can taper and then it's race day.  I'm ready to not be marathon training for a while.  I think maybe I've done too many races in the last 18 months.  4 out of my 5 marathons and lots of other races in between.  I'm tired and ready to run for fun for a few months.  I love racing and it keeps me motivated....but I am ready to have my races be half marathons or shorter :)

Saturday we did 16 and it was a good run.  I felt fine the whole run and we ran the last 3 miles faster than the first 13.  Always a good sign.  I will stay motivated until St. George and I plan on running hard.

Ragnar Trail - Snowbasin Race Review

What a fun race this was.  I am so glad I did it and even more glad that these 7 girls were willing to do it too.  Only one of our runner's is an experienced trail runner and 2 of them had never set foot on a trail before the race.  And the other 5 of us had gone 1-5 times before.  But we had a blast and kicked some serious butt on this race. 

How it works:  You have 8 runners and each runner does 3 loops - all runners do the same 3 loops but in a different order.  First runner does green - then second yellow - third red - fourth green....you get the point.  I was second runner so I ran Yellow (6.4 miles) - Green (3.5 miles)- Red (4.8 miles).  

We all drove up together in the party van then had to haul all our camping crap up the mountain to find a spot to set up.  This was a sweaty, tiring process at noon.  But we got it done and were ready to rock before our race start time - 2:30 pm.  I was second runner so I started a little after 3:00.  It was so freaking hot when I ran.  I took my handheld water bottle and drank 1 1/2 over 6.5 miles.  

I had a horrible run for my first leg.  It was hot, my stomach hurt from eating too close to the run, it was hot, I wasn't mentally prepared to run up a ski slope and just how hard that would be.  At one point I looked down at my garmin - I had been run/walking uphill for so long I knew I must be almost ready to go downhill.  I was at 1.83 miles and I nearly cried.  I was so tired and I wasn't even 2 miles in - how would I do 4 more miles and then do the whole thing 2 more times????  I decided to stop and look around for a minute and it was beautiful then I just forced myself to keep going.  I finished my first run in  1 hour 11 minutes at an 11:09 pace.  I suck at running fast downhill and got passed by more people going down than up - that's depressing.  

coming in from leg 1

My dirty trail shoes

My even dirtier feet - it took a lot of baby wipes to clean these babies

 Right after I finished - I was sooooo grumpy.  That run was the hardest 6.3 miler I've ever done.

My 2nd leg was Green - 3.5 miles around midnight.  I got to wear my sweet new headlamp.  I ran the whole 3.5 miles without walking once.  Wahoo!  It wasn't fast but I did it.  I ran it in 38:39 at a 10:57 pace (it felt way faster than that - ha ha).  I didn't get passed at all and even passed 1 person on a downhill.  After the first half mile I only saw 2 people so I was completely alone in the pitch black.  I didn't let myself freak out but I also didn't stop running because I wanted to be done bad.  I passed one girl walking with a headlamp and flashlight - as I came up behind her I yelled "I'm not a bear....or a rapist....just another girl running".  I'm not sure if she thought I was crazy or not but at least I didn't scare her.  The craziest part of the night run was the bat that flew right in front of my headlamp and freaked me right out.  I think I'd rather see a bear on the trail than be attacked by a flying rodent!!  (I have serious issue with rodents).  When I finished my second leg I felt great and was back to my old happy running self. 

 We are cute in our bandanas and headlamps

 After my 2nd leg I cleaned up and crawled in the tent and slept solid for almost 5 hours.  I thought I wasn't sleeping so I looked at my watch and it had been 5 hours - crazy.  I laid in bed for a little longer and then decided to get ready for my last leg and start hydrating.  My last leg was the "hardest" leg.  It was the steepest but not the longest.  4.8 miles with a 1200 foot incline in the first 2 miles.  I started my run right around 7:00 am and the sun was just coming up.  It was SO BEAUTIFUL!!  I absolutely loved this run.  It was hard but so gorgeous and the fast downhill made up for the uphill. 

 this picture doesn't do how pretty it was justice

and this picture doesn't do justice to how steep these trails were

 I was so happy on this run - this was close to the very top of the mountain

I finished leg 3 in 51:47 at a 10:45 pace.  My first 2 miles were around a 13 min/mile and I was under an 8:00 pace on my last mile.  I started to get more and more comfortable with downhills and didn't get passed going down this time :) Really though I only saw 2 people this whole run so there weren't many people to worry about.  

We finished the race in 23:21:44 and took first place in women's submasters.  I loved this race and even though it was so dang hard I would do it again in a heartbeat.

the finishers medal

  

the campsites and main village

This week's workouts:
T - spin
W - 10 miles
Th - 9 miles w/5 at tempo

My Bad Habits

 Today on facebook I saw this article from Runners World and it cracked me how many of these bad habits I break.

Here are the highlights of my bad habits (at least some of the ones from their list).


3. Forgoing SPF.  I've had my fair share of red shoulders from runs.  Usually I'm good because I run at the crack of dawn before the sun has a chance to wake up.


6. Being your own doctor.  I am totally at fault for this....but really I took classes in college 20+ years ago so I'm sure I can self diagnose.

7. Skipping stretching. I am horrible at stretching after a workout.  I'm usually in a hurry.  I *try* to stretch at night but I suck at doing it unless I am really really sore.

 

 

9. You never rest.  Big issue for me.  I am always afraid that if I skip a workout I'll get behind.  I know this is something I need to be better about.  I'm getting old and tired and need to rest a little more.

 

Not bad only having 4 of the 10 they listed.  I'm sure I do the other ones too - but I like to think they aren't soooo bad I need to fix them.  Ha. 

 

Update on past workouts:

Today:  trail run with a few extra road miles

Yesterday: spin and crossfit

Moday: ran 5.5 treadmill/crossfit in the morning then ran 4.5 miles on the trail at night 

Saturday:  20 miles (I was too tired to take pictures or post about this)