Fuel SMART,Train HARD, Run FAST.

11:00AM- It was wonderful to sleep in today. Angie and I had planned to run together this morning, but ended up skipping it becuase the weather wasn't looking good as of last night, so we'll get it in next week. Anyone want to join us?

So I jumped on the TM. I planned to run 10-12 steady, but ended up running out of time before I had to leave somewhere, so I sped up the last 5k in 19:11 (6:10AP) with the last mile in 5:38. The pace actually felt good, but with effort. I found my mind wandering off as the belt took my legs through the motions. This would be difficult time to get on the track for me right now. Plus, I ran at 0% incline.

6 easy on the TM. My legs feel strangely good for a Monday.

6:00AM- Nice morning around 45 degrees. It started raining on the way back and it actually felt nice.

Progressive 90 min run down Main Street into Farmington. Easy on the way there, then picked up the last 5+. I treid to keep the effort steady on the hills, and didn't show too much of the pace slipping, but I was breathing hard. Last five miles around 7:00, with the last few under that. I tried to finish hard and felt tired at the end.11.36 / 90 mins. Cd 1+ for 13.75 miles total.

I honestly don't know what I am training for.

5:45AM- I had fun run this morning with Scott up City Creek. We had good conversations and even saw some wild turkeys. It turns out Scott is a great turkey caller. Take him hunting! Plus, he hooked me up with some Altra trail shoes!

4 mi wu on TM

Alternating 300/400 with equal rest

5x300@5:40, then 5:00 for the rest

5x400@5:10

9:00PM- Easy run later with Steve after we both got home from work. We were exhausted. He's training to hike the Grand Teton in August with his brother and is doing well in his training. I'm certain running would be one of the first things to go in my life if I were working 80 hours a week. I admire his dedication so much. I need to help by making healthier dinners. Maybe that's today's focus- frozen healthy meals and lunch snacks to pack. Also, my new Altras felt really good.

6:00AM- 8mi with Andy on Davis. Lots of snow. 8:02AP. Feeling extremely exhausted. We had this converstaion..."I don't know why I'm so tired!?" Oh, but I really do all realted to poor choices (except daylight savings, of course) Last week was a bit of a  harder running week as of late, poor sleep, and coming off a long strech of work days. Then yesterday, I ate "breakfast cookies" for breakfast, skipped lunch but managed to eat a cookie on the way home, then Little Ceasers for dinner. Then I went to bed remembering that I forgot to drink any water the entire day, so hurry and drank some water before bed:) Perhaps most of us could find these same reasons, plus so much more to why were are tired, yet we still get up and get it done. Some of us would even dare call it balance. Huh.

I may take a small break from posting for a while, but will still keep up with everyone else.

5:45AM- I met up with Scott W, Criag L, and Matt W., at the Capital to run up to the towers that over look Bountiful. The wind was cold, but for better the higher we ascended. I couldn't tell that it was their taper week. I can't stop comparing them to mountain goats. Fun run with great people!

A few hilly miles with Steve.

I almost took took a break from the blog for 24 hours. I thought it would feel nice, it didn't. I'm too fun.

6:00AM- Nice miles with Andy on LPT. 8:00ap. Lots of talk about cleaning supplies. I'm sure Andy's dying for another male to run with. Too bad! We need to loop Kam in again, somehow.

6:45AM- Nice morning temps at 46 degrees, although the wind made it seem cooler. I felt rested and naturally got into a groove after a few miles.  There weren't as many runners out this morning, but there was a guy riding a horse down Main Street in Centerville. 

I headed down 400 E, down to Main into Farmington. The wind really started to pick up in the 4th mile which made the hills especially arduous. I tried to keep a MPE on miles 4-6 before stopping at the Chevoron for a GU. I walked out and the wind was gone. I hoped it would aid me on the way back with a nice tail wind, but everything was calm and beautiful outside.

I headed back the same way I had came. I thought of skipping 400 E, due to the added hills, but thought it would be good for me. I tried to pick up the pace to hmpe (half marathon pace effort:) I've noticed on this route, for me, mpe is usually around 7:30 pace, and hmpe is just under 7:00. However, the wind drained the pace even more today. In fact, I never hit under 8:00 until mile 7( 7:47, 7:00, 7:13, 6:58, 7:23, 6:41). I stopped my watch at 900N and jogged another mile cd. 12@1:33:26, 7:47 AP. I didn't go into the run with any plans to push the pace, but I seemed to get into a groove and it never felt too uncomfortable until the last mile, when I tried to have a harder finish. I feel pretty good about today's effort!

Also, this week I ran 6 days in a row! The last time I did this, was this exact week last year. I am going places.

4:25AM- I sat in bed thinking of ways to stay awake. I had just woken up from a nightmare about a baby trying to kill me with a knife. Think Chucky. Then I fall back asleep for just minutes, to see my very pregnant friend ( who is in real life due any day)  no longer looking pregnant. When I ask her where her baby is, she shrugs it off and says she doesn't know. Then she puts her hand to the side of her mouth as if to tell me a secret and says, " but I hear there's a baby in a dumpster in Ogden if your looking for one." Somehow I don't make a connection that it's likely her baby, but instead start thinking about how I can find the baby and keep it for my own, instead of going through a pregnancy. I needed to run.

I couldn't believe my eyes when I saw the temperature was at 57°!! I didn't really believe it so I overdressed, but wore one less later than usual. I totally warmed up by after 3 minutes, but there was a head wind so it helped me stay cooler.

I took it easy as I ran down Davis, around 8:45 pace. It felt nice to go slower, but unfortunately it made the miles drag by. So I decided to play a game on the way back by counting all the steps I took on grass. Apparently, I ran 3,322 steps on grass on the way back (4.5 miles) I'm not sure how useful that information is, but it made the miles tick by. I guess I could compare it to my overall steps found on my Garmin (50% of the total, since I only counted one way), then decipher the percentage of time spent on grass for the last half....but again, how would that information be useful and what purpose would it give to document? I'll probably still figure it out anyway. 

Happy St. Patrick's Day! The only green I've worn today is bird poop on my wrist. The benefits of running on grass are many, one of them being the prime bathroom stall for every bird under every tree.  It made my kids laugh so hard when I got home. I should have kept the green on, I've already been pinched by three-redheaded-miniature-leprechauns today. 

6:00AM- Apparently when I silence my phone, it also silences my alarm. That seems like an override feature you would want on your phone. Needless to say, I woke up at 5:51, the time I normally leave. I got ready in 8 minutes and was able to meet Andy at LPT. 

It was pretty cold out, but no wind. There was even some light snow on the bridges. It seemed darker than usual, too. I felt sluggish. 8ish miles total.

My husband about met his maker last night when he decided to forgo the dinner I saved for him and eat hotdogs around mid- night when he got home. If he had ran it by me, I would have told him that those hotdogs were opened over a month ago. Needless to say, he spent the night terribly sick and I layed awake feeling bad for him. Somehow, I still magaed to get close to 7 hrs of sleep, which is really good for me actually, but maybe it was the interrupted sleep throughout the night that left me feeling incredibly groggy getting out of bed. 

6:30AM-  Very slow miles up to Davis and to the half way point. On the way back I ran a 30 min Fartlek with 30 seconds fast/ 60 seconds easy. The last 10 mins I moved it to 60hard/60easy. None of my splits recorded because my watch kept sending a message saying all my laps were full. Whatever that means. Regardless, the effort was decent-ish.

5:30 AM- 13+ miles on LPT with Andy. 

All runs have felt tiring this week. I think I'm going to stay around 50 mpw for a while until a race catches my attention. 

Okay, I have been nutty for the past 24 hours watching the Buffalo 100 mile results. I kept waking up in the night and reaching for my phone to see the updates. I've stalked Facebook all day and finally made myself put my phone away for a few hours:). I only know a few of the competitors, through Scott W, as he has been kind to invite me to some of their early morning trail runs. I am always in awe of how much they train and endure! It has brought a new and different perspective to the sport of endurance running, for me. A big congrats to Matt VH  (16:47) for taking the men's title and to Jennelyn (20:18) for taking the women's title and breaking the course record!! I've tried to stalk the results for Scott all day, but have come up dry as well as for Craig. Good luck to Zac and Matt W in the 50 miler!  o inspired by these athletes. It makes me want to lace up my trail shoes for an ultra!

Well the excitement must have rubbed off on my workout today. I am super stoked with my current fitness level. I felt surprisingly good during the first few minutes of my run, so I decided to push the effort and see how fast I could the last 5k my progression run. I felt rested and semi relaxed(?) for the given effort. It never felt too strenuous. I know I would struggle to run this outside right now, but I'm going to run with it!

2.5 mi wu

5.2mi @ 6:50, 6:40, 6:10, 6:04, 5:49, 1:00 (.20) =32:34 (6:20AP)

5k was timed for 3.1 miles, even though I ran an extra .10 at the end for 5.2 mi total

Last 5k@18:33 (5:54ap)

Happy to be here at this point:)

6:00AM-PT hip and leg exercises with 1 mi wu

PM- Hilly night run with Steve. He ran the whole way!

FUN.

6:00AM- Met up with a new group today at Farmington Pond with Aaron W., Alex, Ryan L.,and some guy that competes on ski hills, missed his name. These guys offered a lot of good tips and seem to and know the mountains well. Very cool group. We ran on the lower terrace to the upper terrace. Some of the guys thought it would be fun to descend down a rocky side to get down near a cave. At the bottom we spotted a natural stream and several spots of poison Ivy. It was so beautiful out there. I couldn't believe the views all around. I've spent too much time on Main Street. My shoes were awesome on the trail! 1:33:00 for 6.5 miles. I feel beat. Some of the guys ran Buffalo on Saturday so I was glad they were holding back some. Note to self- get a brighter head lamp and a little back pack thingy.

8:00PM- 10 miles with Karen. So fun to catch up!  

7:00AM- I felt like a loser showing up late for lots of dumb excuses. Met up with Kam, Becky and Andy, for part of it. Good chats. 

8:15PM- Met up with Karen for an easy 5 miler down 400 E.