TexasLindsey

8 miles at 4:45am. Weather=82 degrees, 45% humidity, 59 dew point, 8 mph wind, dark. Average pace=9:29/m.

mile 1- 10:39

mile 2- 10:45

mile 3- 9:26

mile 4- 9:05

mile 5- 8:35

mile 6- 8:57

mile 7- 9:18

mile 8- 9:11

Ran with Tim really easy pace today. He and Ashley went to buy an eliptical last night and he didn't get much sleep. Ashley went to the doctor about her leg and had a xray, bone scan and MRI over the course of 3 weeks. Turns out the acute pain she had in her quad was a severely inflammed muscle and not a femur fracture. I find these running injuries to be so facinating. She's going to do the elipitical for a few weeks and physical therapy and then she'll be back running with Tim and I.

Today was a nice and slow run. We got a little faster in the 5th mile going up a hill. My quad didn't bother me today. I have been rolling it and stretching my legs throughout the day. Also, I got up at 4am today and stretched very well. It's really not even that bad of a pain when I do have it - like maybe a 2 on a scale of 1 to 10 - but it is annoying and I don't want it to get worse.

Boston Marathon registration starts on Sept 12th. There are 4 waves in the registration process this year based on how much faster you were than the qualifying time. I get to register with the last wave on Sept 19th, which means I might not get in. For my age/gender my qualifying time is 3:40 this year and my marathon was 3:35:10... so 10 seconds faster and I would have gotten to register with the 3rd wave on September 16th.

My goal marathon this year is White Rock Marathon in Dallas. I'm hoping to get 3:25 or better. If I succeed, then next year (when my qualifying time is moved up to 3:35), I will be a full 10 minutes better and get to register for Boston with the 2nd wave.

6.5 miles at 5:00am.  Weather=83 degrees, 49% humidity, 62 dew point, 7 mph wind, dark.  Average pace=9:47/m.  (10:49, 10:19, 9:48, 9:40, 9:06, 9:12, 9:15)

Tim and I ran really slow.  He said he is super tired.  He's an accountant and this is corporate tax season so he's been working alot of OT, going to bed late and then getting up at 4:30 am to run.  We talked about 9/11 the whole run almost. 

Tomorrow I'm running 13 miles with the group.  Plan is to stick to around an 8:15/m pace for most of it but then do a nice tempo in the final 4-5 miles and try to get down to some 7:45's or faster for those miles. 

Then on Monday I'm running a Labor Day 15k with the Fort Worth Running Club.  It's their best race of the year.  Alot of fun.  I'm not trying for a PR for this race since I haven't done any speedwork and I've slacked off on milage these last two weeks... I'll be happy if I do 7:45/m.   

13 miles at 6:30am with my running group. Weather=76 degrees at start, 84 degrees when finished, 49% humidity, 62 dew point, 5 mph wind, sunny. Average pace=7:45/m.

mile 1- 8:49

mile 2- 8:25

mile 3- 7:47

mile 4- 8:01

mile 5- 7:43

mile 6- 7:34

mile 7- 7:40

mile 8- 7:07

mile 9- 7:10

mile 10- 7:32

mile 11- 7:24

mile 12- 7:52

mile 13- 7:51

Great run with the group this morning. My plan was to do about 8:15/m pace for the first 9 miles and then speed up and do the final 4 at 7:45/m.

However, I was feeling pretty energetic for some reason. I started getting faster after mile 2. I ran with Tim the whole way. It was so nice through the middle part of the run because it was in the shade and it felt really cool. I was feeling great until around mile 9 when my ipod stopped working. This pissed me off to no end. I had to really focus the final 4 miles running without music and having to listen to my heavy breathing. At mile 12 we lost the shade and I told Tim I couldn't keep up. He slowed down for me. The final mile I was running on fumes. I'm really happy with the run today. It was alot of fun. I didn't have any leg pains but my right foot had some blisters.

One cool thing that did happen today was that I met Jody from the blog!!! She was running most of the way with us. I asked her name because she was new. She said Jody and I did a double take because I knew Jody from the blog also lived in Fort Worth. I asked her at a water stop and it really was her! So neat!

Weather=65 degrees, 27% humidity, 40 dew point, 18 mph wind gusting to 25 mph, sunny. Average pace=7:41/m (according to my garmin).

mile 1- 7:07

mile 2- 7:35

mile 3- 7:49

mile 4- 7:50

mile 5- 7:43

mile 6- 7:47

mile 7- 7:49

mile 8- 7:57

mile 9- 7:40

final .3 pace- 7:40

I didn't do as well as I thought I could. I think I ran too much and too hard on Saturday. My legs felt dead the whole race. I just didn't have that extra gear. I felt ok aerobically though. I started out with the 7:10 people and slowed down to the 7:40's so therefore, I got passed the whole race. This sucks so much. It's so much better to start out slower and run negative splits passing other people the whole race. Even if your overall time is slower it's just psychologically better to pass people than to be passed.

Oh and my ipod stopped working at mile 7!!! I blame mile 8's time completely on my being so pissed about my ipod!! Grrrrr! I fiddled with that stupid thing trying to get it to turn back on. Then I took out my ear buds and my right ear drum popped or something so not only did I have to hear myself breathing the rest of the way but I heard it as an echo! LOL It really was distracting.

Anyways, one good thing I'm thinking is that I felt like I was sputtering the whole race and I maintained 7:40's for the most part... which is my goal pace for my marathon. So if I can have an off-day with dead legs and all this wind and still do 7:40's, then I think by December if I have fresh legs and good weather I should be able to meet my 3:25 marathon goal. (This may be overly optimistic of me to say but that's the story I'm telling myself!!)

6.2 miles at noon.  Weather=85 degrees, 17% humidity, 36 dew point, 5 mph wind, sunny.  Average pace=9:30/m.

 9:56, 9:01, 9:40, 9:40, 9:37, 9:05

My husband had to go into work at an unusual time today so I was unable to meet Tim at our scheduled 4:45 am.  Noon was my only chance to run. 

As soon as I started running my left quad started hurting.  Usually it feels better after it warms up so I decided to keep going but go slow.  It finally started feeling better around mile 4. 

The quad wasn't my only issue though.  My right big toe has a blood blister from the race.  It is deep under callus and I haven't been able to pop it.  It started hurting around mile 2 and it got worse and worse.  So I was pretty much  miserable the entire run.  I thought about cutting the run short.  I felt like crying because I am tired of these pains messing up my running plans.  Every step felt like a needle was driving into my big toe. 

Eventually, I started listening to the music and I got myself into a trance.  I started thinking of the pain as something that was trying to stop me and I would NOT let the pain win. 

I'm glad it's over with and I perservered.  Now I have to figure out what to do about this blister before I run with Tim tomorrow.

9.4 miles at 4:45 am.  Weather=69 degrees, 39% humidity, 43 dew point, 8 mph wind, dark.  Average pace=9:18/m.

mile 1- 10:31

mile 2- 9:25

mile 3- 8:57

mile 4- 8:39

mile 5- 9:23

mile 6- 9:03

mile 7- 9:16

mile 8- 9:07

mile 9- 9:09

final .4 pace- 9:41

Ran with Tim.  The weather was absolutely heavenly.  My blister hurt at first but then I didn't feel it after the second mile.  My minor surgery last night was a success I guess.  Woo Hoo!  My left quad hurt in the first 2-3 miles but then I didn't notice it after that.  I wonder what this quad thing is... maybe just a minor strain?  Fascia injury?  I don't know but it's annoying.  It does seem to be better than it was 2 weeks ago.  The roller thing helps alot. 

So tonight I am going to the track with the group!  I'm so excited because I bought my first pair of spikes since HS.  It's going to be fun!  Then tomorrow Tim and I are doing easy 6.  Then on Saturday the group run is 15 I think.  

Tim won 1st place in the 40-45 age bracket in the 5K on Labor Day.  He's been doing track workouts and racing 5K's all summer.  I think I need to start doing more 5K's to work on speed.  I feel slow right now. 

6.4 miles at 5 am.  Weather=65 degrees, 50% humidity, 46 dew point, 5 mph wind, dark.  Average pace=9:13/m.

10:21, 9:34, 9:12, 9:06, 8:59, 8:50, 8:45

Ran with Tim today and went easy.  I felt pretty good today.  The weather was once again perfect!!!  Also, I did the roller thing on my quad before I stepped out the door and for the first time in a long time it didn't hurt at all the entire run.  My blister foot hurt at the beginning but then it stopped by the end of the first mile.  Man, that foot is looking pretty beat up. 

I ended up missing the track workout last night.  I decided I didn't have time.  I've got too much going on.  First, I'm getting ready for my son's 4 year birthday party or, rather, parties.  We're having a little party for him today with the neighborhood kids AND we're having a party at Chuck E Cheese with family on Saturday.   Second, 18 month old is sick with a fever.  And third, my in-laws are coming in town for the Saturday party and they are staying with us so I've got to get ready for them. 

So between all that's going on right now, I got 5 hours sleep... but in blocks:  slept 3 hours, got up for an hour to take care of baby, slept 2 hours, got up to run.  

Now it's on to a really busy day today.  I should feel more overwhelmed but I think running has put me in a good mood and I feel determined to get it all done. 

Tomorrow it's 15 miles with the group.  If I make it through this weekend in one piece, I can do ANYTHING!   Woo hoo!

15 miles at 6:45 am with my running group.  Weather=65 degrees at start rising to 72 degrees at finish, 47% humidity, 50 dew point, 4 mph wind, dark then sunny.  Average pace=7:34/m.

mile 1- 7:57

mile 2- 7:28

mile 3- 7:29

mile 4- 7:23

mile 5- 7:30

mile 6- 7:37

mile 7- 7:35

mile 8- 7:28

mile 9- 7:24

mile 10- 7:23

mile 11- 7:37

mile 12- 7:26

mile 13- 7:44

mile 14- 7:30

mile 15- 7:55

Great run this morning.  I can't believe I did it!  The entire first half of the run my left quad was hurting me and I thought that I might injure it if I continued at this pace but then I decided to just risk it.  I focused on my form because I figured that the biggest danger for injury would be if I got sloppy.  I was in a great rythem.   The weather was perfect.  I have a new ipod and it did not malfunction which was nice considering most of recent long runs I had ipod issues. 

The first two miles it was Tim, myself, a girl whose name I forget, and 4 guys who run sub-7:00's.  After the water stop the sub-7:00's took off.  Around mile 5 the other girl said she was heading back because she only wanted to do 10.  So I ran with Tim the rest of the way.  We were the only people doing 15.  The guys in front of us turned around at 6.5 miles. 

I seriously was a little worried about how long I could keep up 7:30's and I was worried about my quad... But amazingly at the turn around, the pain in the quad completely went away.   Hmmmm.... weird.  Miles 7 through 11 felt awesome.  I did have a burning feeling in both quads during this time, similar to what I feel when I do weights.  I'll probably be really sore tomorrow. 

Miles 11-15 were a sufferfest.  Mile 11 had 3 short steep hills. The sun was starting to heat up the temp fast.  It felt so much hotter than when we started.  I told Tim I couldn't maintain and he should go on if he felt like he wanted to speed up.  He told me he wasn't going to leave and I wasn't going to slow down.  Um, ok.  So I didn't.  Actually, it was really motivating.  Mile 12 had 1 steep hill which zapped me even further.  At mile 13 my watch had us at 1:38:00.  2 miles left.  Let's do this!!  I don't know how, but let's do it.

I was hanging in there fairly well until the final mile when I looked at my watch and saw current pace was 7:20.  I shouldn't have done that because I think mentally I thought I couldn't do it anymore.  I started to give up and the average pace slowed to 8:03 for the last mile when were at 14.5 miles.  Then Tim said, "You have 1/2 mile left.  Dig Deep.  Speed up.  Let's get it under 8."  I said ok.  I mustered everything I had.  We had a final steep hill up the leeve and then a downward slope to the store.  I finished the mile at 7:55.  Average pace =7:34/m.

Awesome.  I'm really happy with myself today.  I feel completely wasted now of course.  I did do a shot of protein when we finished and I drank a protein shake when I got home.  I am trying to take it easy but my son's Chuck E Cheese birthday party is at 2:30 pm.  Whew!  By the time I'm done with this day, it will feel like I ran a full marathon!

6 miles at 5:30am. Weather=66 degrees, 73% humidity, 57 dew point, 3mph wind, dark. Average pace=9:40/m.

10:44, 10:11, 9:26, 9:10, 9:03, 9:27

Ran with Tim. My left quad was bugging me the entire way. It's probably only a 2 on scale of 1 to 10 of pain. I just wish I knew what it was.

Tim said he thought I could do a 7:34/m for a marathon based on the 15 miler we did 2 days ago. That would be sub-3:20. I don't know about that... but I am pretty positive about my 3:25 marathon goal (7:50/m).

I'm running another 15K this Saturday. Hopefully, I will do better than the last one. I think I need to do a tempo run on Wednesday to prepare.

8 miles at 4:45am.  Weather=79 degrees, 31% humidity, 46 dew point, 8mph wind, dark.  Average pace=9:13/m.

10:48, 9:21, 9:04, 8:33, 8:44, 8:52, 9:18, 9:43

Almost missed the run this morning because I forgot to turn my alarm on.  Luckily, I popped awake at 4:30 and I got ready in record time.  Met Tim at the halfway point and did an easy run.  My quad hurt the first half but then it got better... like usual. 

Slept in this morning. It was nice to not have to wake up at 4:15am, but now I can't run unless I can find a babysitter. If I wait until my husband gets home, the temp will be 101.

8 miles at 4:45 am.  Weather=67 degrees, 59% humidity, 52 dew point, 17 mph wind, dark.  Average pace=9:01/m.

9:57, 8:31, 8:38, 8:55, 8:41, 8:44, 9:05, 8:48, 9:38

Tim's wife, Ashley, hasn't been running with us because she hurt her quad.  She's been doing physical therapy and has been cleared to do 3 miles 3 times a week now.   So the first mile was warm up as I ran to the corner to meet them.  Miles 2-5 were with Ashley.  The rest were just Tim and I.  It's good to have her back.  It was a fun run. 

Tomorrow everyone is off work including my husband, so we're meeting at 9am!  Woo Hoo!  Sleeping in a little!  15K race is on Saturday. 

5.5 miles at 9:00am.  Weather=70 degrees, 60% humidity, 55 dew point, 10 mph wind, cloudy.  Average pace=8:30/m.

9:00, 8:03, 8:07, 8:19, 8:43, 9:43

15K race is tomorrow and once again I did NOT do a tempo run or any speed work this week.  I would give some excuse about the weather or my lack of babysitting but the truth is  "If you really want something, you find a way; If you don't, you find an excuse!"  I need to do better.  

Weather=70 degrees, 76% humidity, 62 dew point, 8 mph wind, cloudy.  Average pace=7:38

mile 1- 7:14

mile 2- 7:25

mile 3- 7:40

mile 4- 7:47

mile 5- 7:43

mile 6- 7:41

mile 7- 7:33

mile 8- 8:03

mile 9- 7:51

final .3 pace- 7:07

So I tried something new today and I think it back fired.  I didn't take any gu at all.  I also didn't have any water until mile 8.  As a result, I now have a new found appreciation for gu.  I do better with it.  It was really humid today and it felt hard to breathe.  I kept thinking my sports bra was too tight and I couldn't breathe but I think it might have been the humidity. 

I can't believe I won.  I don't feel like I deserved it.  There was one girl who was on my heels the whole race.  She tried to surge past me in mile 2 but I surged back and wouldn't let her pass.  Then she started closing in at the half and I tried to speed up.  Mile 7 was pretty good, but then I bonked.  I think it was the lack of gu.  I am too used to it.  I actually stopped to drink water at mile 8 which is why that mile didn't look too good.   I figured the girl was going to pass me but she never did.  With .3 mile left I had to go up a short steep hill and the girl was right there about maybe 30 yards behind me.  I mustered everything I had to do the 7:07 pace at the end.  She evidently did not match my speed because I think I finished maybe 50 yards ahead. 

I am getting really tired of not performing these races like I think I should.  I need to do speedwork and tempos.  I was running so much faster in the spring and I'm sure all the mile repeat workouts I did made all the difference.

Tim won 1st place overall.  He ran a 6:42/m.  He wanted 6:30/m.  Everyone was complaining about the humidity at the end.  I was 8th overall, 1st place female.  It really wasn't that competitive of a race but it still feels pretty good to win!   I also was #1 overall female for the 1st race of this series.  If I stay on top for the next two races (half marathon and a 20 mile race), then I win a new pair of shoes and a jacket I think. 

Tim and the other "fast" guys who finished ahead of me were making fun of my shoes afterwards... they called them concrete blocks.  Maybe I should get some lighter weight shoes for races.

8 miles at 5:30am.  Weather=67 degrees, 80% humidity, 61 dew point, 6 mph wind, dark.  Average pace=8:49/m.

My watch wasn't charged so I don't have the splits.  Tim told me our average pace after we were done.  Ashley ran with us for the first 4 miles.  My left quad hurt for the first 6 miles. 

8 miles at 4:45 am. WEather=61 degrees, 65% humidity, 49 dew point, 3mph wind, dark. Average pace=8:58/m.

Did same route as yesterday. Ran 1 mile to corner to meet Ashley and Tim. Ashley ran with us for 3 miles then she went home. Tim and I did another 3. Then 1 mile home.

Ashley's just getting over an injury so she is building back up gradually. Actually, she has been kinda pushing the pace a little when she runs with us, which is ok with me. I think I tend to go slower without her around. Tim just matches our pace usually. These are his slow runs. He ran 8 with me slow yesterday morning and then ran 12 in the evening at 7:22 pace for a total of 20 miles yesterday. He says he's going to start doing more doubles and ramp up his training now that corporate tax season is over (he's some kind of accountant).

I guess I really need to get my butt in gear too. I've been complaining for weeks and weeks about not having enough babysitting so I can do tempos or speed workouts. I'm sick of hearing myself whine. I think I've been focusing on "why" I couldn't instead of "how" I could. Therefore, I'm going to attempt to do a good tempo on the treadmill today or tomorrow when my 1 year old takes a nap. I'll see if my 4 year old will watch cartoons and let me run. Normally, I use his nap time to catch up on dishes or laundry or computer stuff... but if I'm going to take my training to the next level, I'm going to have to figure out better ways to manage my time. I can do it. Positive attitude.

8 miles at 4:45am. Weather=76 degrees, 57% humidity, 59 dew point, 3mph wind, dark.

No watch today. Ran with Ash and Tim. Tim said average pace was 8:55 but we had some faster miles of around 8:30 in the middle.

My 1 year old is such a restless sleeper. He wakes up at least 3-4 times a night now and I'm the one who has to get up to check on him. I'm really suffering from chronic lack of sleep. I feel so... unenthusiastic about everything lately. Blah, blah. How can one exercise as much as I do and feel so down?

---------------

5 miles at 1 pm. Weather=71 degrees, 50% humidity, 10 mph wind gusting to 22 mph, mostly cloudy. Average pace=8:56/m.

My sister is babysitting my 4 year old today. The weather was so nice I decided that instead of doing the responsible thing and catching up on housework, I would take Ryan to Trinity Park and push him in the running stroller. It worked out really nice because he fell asleep. The miles ranged from 8:45 to 9:05 pace depending on whether I was going against the wind. I would have kept running but it started to sprinkle and I didn't think Ryan would enjoy getting wet.

It occured to me that maybe I've felt kinda down lately because I'm vitamin D deficient. I run in the dark in the morning and then I stay indoors all day avoiding the heat. Now that it's getting cooler outside during the day, I need to get myself and my boys outside more.

I'm feeling great after this afternoon run. Still really fresh... I don't feel like I ran at all today.

6.2 miles at 4:45am.   Weather=53 degrees, 80% humidity, 50 dew point, 6 mph wind, dark.  Average pace= 9:13/m.

10:30, 8:54, 8:51, 8:36, 9:26, 9:31

Perfect running temperature today.  It was wonderful!  Tim and went a little faster in the middle but then we started talking and slowed down.  He is running a 5K race tomorrow at the Rahr Brewery.  It's a fun race and afterwards they have free food and beer.  They even have beer pancakes apparently!  I'm running 14 miles with the group at the store and then I'm driving over to the Brewery to hang out with them.  The group run starts at 6:30am and the 5K race is at 9am.  Hopefully, I'll be able to get there in time to see the race. 

It was difficult for me to wake up today because I was so tired.  I went to bed at 9pm but I had to get up a couple times with the baby.  I am going to have to do sleep training with him or else I'm going to go crazy.  I can't continue doing this every night. 

When I got back from running, I took a nap of about an hour until the kids woke up. 

13.8 miles at 6:30am.  Weather=63 degrees at start, 69 at finish, 50% humidity, 5 mph wind, dark then sunny.  Average pace=7:45/m.

mile 1- 8:39

mile 2- 7:55

mile 3- 7:59

mile 4- 7:51

mile 5- 7:49

mile 6- 7:48

mile 7- 7:38

mile 8- 7:27

mile 9- 7:17

mile 10- 7:43

mile 11- 7:44

mile 12- 7:44

mile 13- 7:44

mile 14- 6:59

Great day today!!  It started out Jody, Melissa and I.  Melissa is a 24 yr old girl who was new to our running group in June and ran with us a few times but then she went out of town for awhile.  Today she was back and she brought her two older brothers who are also her roommates.  The brothers were the only people ahead of us.  It's funny because before I knew they were Melissa's brothers, I was running behind them and thinking, "those two guys have like exactly the same gait"...  later in the run she told me they were her brothers and it made sense. 

So the first 3 miles, I was having trouble with the pace.  I was keeping up but I thought maybe Jody and Melissa had much more energy than me.  I felt like I couldn't keep up, but I did anyways.  By mile 4-5 I started to "wake up" or the caffeine started kicking in.  We caught up to the brothers and passed them in fact.  Melissa hung back with them.  Jody and I went ahead.

At the turn around Jody and I ran until our garmin's said 7.2 miles because we thought that would get us closer to 14 at finish.  The second half of the loop was shorter than the first.  However, Melissa and her brothers, who were behind us, turned around at 7.0 miles.  When I realized this, something clicked in my brain.  We were now 1/2 mile behind them, whereas before we were ahead.  Before this happened, I didn't think I could maintain our current pace... but once I saw that 1/2 mile gap, I got this huge second wind.  I was like DETERMINED to catch up to them. 

This will explain the really faster times in miles 8 and 9.  By the time I closed in on the mile 9 water stop, I was about 150 yards behind the brothers (Melissa had already fallen behind and was now running behind me).  But those brothers took a 5 second stop at the water stop and kept running.  AHHHHH!!   I had to stop.   I needed gu and water... geez!

So I waited for Jody and Melissa who were just behind me and we ran rest of it together.  Melissa was falling behind in between water stops because she was having stomach trouble.  I was feeling really energetic today though.  Moreso than normal.  So that last mile I just let it loose and it felt GOOOOOD!  I was on fire and I knew it!   My ipod was playing just the right songs at just the right time too.  Oh, and I wore some older shoes today and my blisters were not bothering me in the least.  I figured that would be a gamble but it worked out in my favor.  So lots of good stuff.   Where was all this energy last week for the race???!  

Well, one thing that helped other than the lack of blister pain ---> today I was taking gu!!  I could be a gu representative after these last few weeks of experimenting with and without it!!!!   GU is so important to my performance!

Anyways, so I finished really happy.  I had fun talking to Jody after the run.  She gave me alot of good ideas about structuring my training during the week.  Then I drove over to the Rahr Brewery 5K and watched Tim and Ashley run.  It was fun to be a spectator for a change!   THEN I came home and got ready in a hurry and went to the TCU football game!!!!!  My mom babysat.  We rarely get babysitting so this is a rare treat!!! 

GREAT DAY!   I'm very happy!!

8.2 miles at 4:45am.  Weather=66F, 48% humidity, 49 dew point, 3 mph wind, dark.  Average pace=8:52/m.

mile 1- 10:21

mile 2- 8:49

mile 3- 8:27

mile 4- 8:15

mile 5- 8:36

mile 6- 8:39

mile 7- 9:00

mile 8- 8:55

final .2 pace- 8:00

First mile to corner to meet Ashley and Tim.  My body did not want to run faster than 10:00 miles at first.  After a couple miles I started feeling better with the pace.  Mile 6 was uphill and we saw a skunk on the sidewalk right next to us.  Ashley and I screamed and jumped into the street.  It was kinda funny.  Tim was like, "Don't scream!"

Ashley and Tim left after mile 6.  I ran the rest on my own. 

4.8 miles at 10:30 am.  Weather=85F, 43% humidity, 7mph wind, sunny. 

Ran a 2.4 mile loop twice at the park by my sister's house. Took a brief water break in between each loop.  It was HOT!  There was zero shade.  I was also miserable because I ate too much breakfast before running.  I was going to do another loop but I kinda sick.  Note to self: Don't eat a bunch of eggs before running!!

Loop 1 - 20:25 (mile 1- 8:39, mile 2- 8:21, final .4 pace- 8:16)

Loop 2- 20:12 (mile 1- 8:56, mile 2- 8:27, final .4 pace- 6:45)

Tomorrow morning I'm meeting Tim for 12 miles.   

12.3 miles at 4:45 am.  Weather=71F, 49% humidity, 51 dew point, 5 mph wind, dark.  Average pace=8:42/m.

mile 1- 10:56

mile 2- 8:42

mile 3- 8:32

mile 4- 8:15

mile 5- 8:54

mile 6- 8:34

mile 7- 8:15

mile 8- 8:47

mile 9- 8:19

mile 10- 8:15

mile 11- 8:29

mile 12- 8:35

final .3 pace- 9:23

Ran first mile to corner to meet Tim and Ashley.  Ashley ran with us mile 2-6 miles.  The first couple miles running with them I did not feel like going that fast.  The effort felt like sub-8's even though it wasn't even close! I started feeling more ok with the pace after mile 3.   I took 3 gu's: one before the run, one after mile 4 and one after mile 7.  There were many hills which is why the paces were all over the place.  I think we actually were going fastest on the uphills and taking the downhills easier. 

I'm feeling pretty good right now.  I have run 12 miles, watered the yard, made myself a protein shake, took a shower and did my running log.... and my kids still haven't woken up yet!  Very productive morning!   I wish I had time for a nap now but I bet they'll be waking up soon.

Track workout with my running group at 6:30pm. Weather= 98F

I tried out my new track spikes today. Made it two laps in the warm up before they aggrevated my plantar faciatis so I took them off. My left quad was also bothering me. I think wearing the spikes made me run the warm-up too fast too. I think it was like 7:45 or 8:00. Ashley and I were having fun though.

So then we talked to our coach, Gary Anderson. He's so knowledgeable! He's a sub-3:00 marathoner at 50 years old. He's always winning 1st place masters in all the races around here. He got into running about 10 years ago but before that he played soccer. He gave me alot of great advice and he said if I send him my training log and recent race stats, he'll give me some suggestions for workouts. He thinks varying your milage and pace everyday will make you faster. He runs everyday averaging 85 miles a week with 3-4 days being faster paced and the rest slow and easy. However, he says you can't run more than you have time to recover for. It will do you no good to run a bunch of miles if you can't get enough sleep. He really knows his stuff!

So Gary told Ashley and I since it was our first track workout in over a year that we should run laps and do the straight aways at 5K pace and easy run the corners. We were supposed to do it for 15 minutes.

I don't think I was doing it right. I think I was running too fast. I was doing the straight parts at 6:00 pace or faster. I only made it 11 minutes before I quit. Yeah, I quit. I was feeling so lazy. My quad was also bugging me. Then I ran a mile cool down at 8:30 pace.

Everyone else was doing Yasso-800's. I think I would have liked doing that instead. Oh well, next week maybe I'll be more motivated.

When I got home from track, I walked into chaos. I remember why I run in the mornings now. My husband seems to only be able to play with the kids when he babysits. He can't feed them, wash them, clothe them, brush their teeth and otherwise get them ready for bed unless I am here to tell him what to do. Why? It's the same every single night. So we didn't start all this stuff until I got home. We got them down about 9:15 am (about an hour late).

People always ask me when I'll go back to work. Frankly, I'm in no hurry because my husband wants to have the responsibilities of a teenager... aka, take the trash out -- when asked. He will only remember when asked!

5.5 miles at 5:30am. Weather=74F, 25% humidity, 17mph wind, dark.

mile 1- 11:00

mile 2- 8:59

mile 3- 8:36

mile 4- 8:39

mile 5- 8:21

mile 6- 10:04

So I ran to the corner 1 mile to meet Tim and Ash. Did not feel like running. I wanted to sleep so bad! Got to bed late because of track last night. I would have run the whole thing at 10:00 pace if it were up to me.

When I got home, I took a nap. My 4 year old rooster boy woke me up 45 minutes later, "Mommy, it's wake time".

Tomorrow I'm running 15 with the group. I'm going to try to go 8:00 miles until the half way point and then speed up and get down to 7:30's the second half. We will see though, sometimes the plan changes based on what other people want to do. If someone starts out 7:45's, I'll probably keep up cuz I can't help myself.

I did 7:45 average last weeks 14 miler and I did 7:34 average for the last 15 miler. My marathon goal pace is 7:50/m. I'm being told that it is not good strategy for me to run these long runs at marathon goal pace.

I know it seems backwards, but I run slower all week than I do on Saturday long runs. It's like my long runs are also my tempos. I enjoy it this way because I'm motivated to run fast when I'm around other people on the trails.